Blinded by Lies
by jamcreynolds
Summary: That fateful Halloween night, Sirius makes a mistake that sends him running to adopt his niece through blood magic. Little Hermione becomes his salvation and his reason for living. Follow their story through Hermione's years at Hogwarts and through the second blood war. Slow-burn Harmony. Completely AU.
1. Chapter 1

A/N- Here we are once again, my friends. This story has over 150 planned chapters and while I don't think that the chapters will be near as long as they were in The Prophecies, it still leaves me with an epic sized story. Lordy, is all I can say.

Before we begin, I want to cover a few things. First off, this is going to be an ultra-slow burn Harmony story. It will follow our heroes through all their years at Hogwarts and Harry won't get with Hermione until sixth year. If you can't hang with something for that long, I completely understand. I love me a slow-burn and still find myself frustrated at times when I have to wait a ridiculously long time. Let's face it, this one is going to be a long wait.

Secondly, this story is going to be modeled off what happened in canon but won't follow it to a tee by any means. Not to mention, it's been ages and ages since I read the series Harry Potter and since I'm old, I'm sure that I've forgotten something along the way. If you have any questions on if I meant to change something or if I just forgot what the hell I read five years ago, feel free to ask.

This story is extremely AU and while I have tried to fashion it after canon, merely tweaking the story to fit this craziness, I'll try not to let it get too boring. There are three parts, the first being before Hogwarts, the second being during their school years, and the final part being during the war. This fic is going to frustrate me to no end and will probably take me the better part of a year, if not longer, to write so if you decide to embark on this journey with me, I hope you're in for the long haul.

Finally, while I have taken this story and made it my own, the original idea from Part One was given to me from a fan, Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle. All kudos go to her for starting me down the dark and winding path.

Now I'll be bringing this ridiculously long A/N to a close (my longest one to date, ever!). Hope you enjoy the story.

Disclaimer: None of this story belongs to me except the twist on the plot. I'm sure that the plot has been done before and the characters belong to our queen. I haven't made a single knut off this story or any other, my bank account tells no lies.

Part 1

Chapter 1

October 31, 1981

Sirius couldn't place the reason why, but he knew deep in his heart of hearts that something wasn't right. He had spoke with James just that morning and while he was going stir crazy from being cooped up in Godric's Hollow, all had been well. He had been able to hear Lily screeching at James to get his damned head out of the fireplace and help her catch the cat, something about Harry had used accidental magic and charmed it purple.

This was a normal day for the Potters. They bickered and argued like they had been together for a hundred years rather than just a few but made up just minutes after a spat. Harry was the light of their lives and meant more to them than the ridiculous amount of gold in James' vaults at Gringotts. It was par for the course for Sirius to admit that Harry was the light of his life as well.

Voldemort had them all in hiding. Sirius was still going on missions for the Order of the Phoenix, so he was more of a move every night kind of hiding. Remus was constantly off with the werewolf packs which was what originally had sparked the hint of mistrust in their furry friend. It was James and Lily and Frank and Alice that had gotten the raw end of the deal, having to go completely into hiding because of a prophecy that Sirius had yet to hear in entirety. James had told him that he had heard it from Dumbledore but was under oath to not repeat it to a single person. Sirius hadn't taken offence. Some things were bigger than hurt feelings.

Since Dumbledore had cast the fidelius charm on the Potter's cottage in Godric's Hollow, James had instantly volunteered Sirius for the job of secret-keeper. While Sirius was honored and pleased at his friend's trust in him, he knew that he went out far too often, consorting with the enemies too often, to feel like that was the safest option. Since they had started to doubt Remus' loyalties, Sirius suggested that they use Peter since he mostly stayed home and took care of his ailing mother. While disappointed, James and Lily admitted that his idea had merit.

For a year now, they had stayed safe in the little cottage. They were able to go out into the small garden behind the house but that was the extent of it. James especially was losing his mind since he was used to nightly adventures with his friends at Hogwarts in the form of Prongs. Sirius was unsure who Frank and Alice had used as their secret-keeper but since he received an owl from them every month like clockwork, it was clear that they were doing fine in their confinement as well.

It was because of this sense of unease that he found himself flying his motorbike to Godric's Hollow, just to check on his friends and godson. The last thing that he wanted was to ignore the feeling and then discover that something terrible had happened. Sirius guided his bike to the ground, completely astounded and horrified at what he saw before him in the rising moonlight.

The upstairs of the cottage was blown to pieces, the room that was his godson's open to the elements. He could see Lily laying on the ground, her vibrant red hair spread around her like an oriental fan. He landed in the back garden and rushed inside the house to feel his heart get ripped out of his chest.

His oldest and best friend in the world, was laying in a pile of rubble, eyes closed with glasses askew on his face. His wand was nowhere to be seen and it was clear that he wasn't breathing. This didn't stop Sirius from rushing to his side and gathering James in his arms, hauling him to his chest, and letting out the most mournful sound he had ever heard. It took him a moment to realize that it had come from himself. His best friend was still, however, already gone from this world.

Suspecting that Lily was dead as well, Sirius rushed upstairs to throw himself down at her side too, checking for a pulse like she had taught him to so many months before. Unlike James, her eyes were wide open and the glassy, unseeing haze he saw in them turned his stomach. Unable to hold his dinner in, he turned and retched on the nursery floor, filled with loathing for himself. Peter had betrayed them and there was nobody to blame for that but himself.

Stumbling to his feet, narrowly missing the pile of sick next to her body, Sirius turned to see that Harry was sitting in his crib, silent, just watching the scene unfold before him. There was a scar on his forehead now in the shape of a lightning bolt that Sirius had no idea of how it got there. He went to the crib and Harry grinned up at him, standing so he could hold his hands up.

"Up, Siri, up." Sirius hadn't been able to refuse his godson a request yet so was happy to lift him out of the crib where he had clearly watched his mother be murdered before him. The toddler's hands twisted in his long, black curls, tugging them until it forced a laugh from Sirius' hoarse throat.

"'Pin me, Siri, 'pin me." Sirius let out another choked laugh before he untangled his hair from Harry's chubby little hands.

"Not right now, pup. We have to get you somewhere safe and I need to catch me a rat."

As much as Sirius hated to leave Lily there on the floor by herself, he had no choice. He wanted to lay her next to James, so he could have the illusion that they had died a peaceful death together, but he couldn't set Harry down in this mess and do that. The last thing he expected was for someone to come crashing through the same door he had entered through. His wand came up quick as a snitch only for him to realize that it was Hagrid, already wiping his eyes on a pink and white checkered tablecloth. Sirius lowered his wand only for Hagrid to speak.

"Dumbledor' tol' me that there was sometin' going on at tha Potter's. I came as fas' as I could." Sirius knew that this was a golden opportunity that he couldn't believe was being handed to him. Walking forward, the animagus held his godson out to Hagrid.

"Take Harry with you to Hogwarts. I've got to find Peter, I'm going to kill him." Hagrid took the infant but turned confused eyes to Sirius. He growled his frustration.

"Don't worry about it now, Hagrid, I'll explain everything later. I need you to get Harry to safety and keep him for me until I come get him." Sirius didn't wait for a reply before turning to head for the door. As he left the cottage, he called over his shoulder.

"Use my motorbike, it'll be safer than the broom you came on." Now that the wards were broken, Sirius didn't even make his way out of the back garden before apparating away.

His first stop was the shit hole flat that he was staying in at the moment. He used a charm to pack all his things. He knew that there was no way he could bring Harry there. His ancestral home, Black Moor, was empty and had been for a couple years; he would take Harry there to raise him and nobody could contest it since he was the heir. Once the charmed bag was shrunk down and stuffed in his pocket, he decided that Peter was a creature of habit, that had been proven several times through the years. Knowing that the wizard wouldn't willingly abandon his mother, he apparated to the garden that they always used when visiting Peter.

It was clear that the rat wasn't expecting anyone to come find him in his home; this made absolutely no sense since he never left unless he only left when he had no other choice. It was clear now just why that was, too afraid of getting caught in his lies and duplicity. Peter was seated at the table with his frail-looking mother, spoon feeding her soup. Sirius had trouble putting the friend who betrayed his best pal and the son who took such good care of his mother together. Before he could speak, Sirius lunged forward and grabbed hold Peter. Before Sirius realized what was happening, Peter had apparated them out of his mother's house and onto some random street in Hogsmeade.

His "friend" managed to drop his wand the second they landed, throwing himself away from Sirius. There were a few people on the street, walking briskly to wherever their destination was. Sirius could see the absolute fear in Peter's eyes and he was sure that it was because he looked as insane as his family was rumored to be. He was glad. The rat deserved to feel terror before he died at Sirius' wand.

"Pick up your wand, rat. I wouldn't want anyone to say that I killed you in an unfair duel." Peter shrank visibly, not reaching for his wand in the slightest, hoping that it would stave off the impending end. Sirius just chuckled darkly before casting a slicing hex at his ex-best friend. It hit him right across the chest and blood poured down his robes.

"Last chance, rat. Get your wand or die on your knees." Peter started to bawl, and Sirius couldn't take that. He reached out and kicked him, knocking him on his arse in the mud. Sirius raised his wand, more than ready to deliver the last blow.

"I hope you rot in hell, Peter. You sure won't be going to where James is." He knew the spell though he had never used it before. The animagus knew that you had to mean it, that you had to gather all the hate inside you and fuel the spell. There was plenty of hate but for a moment he hesitated. In that moment, however, he thought of James and Lily and all the crazy and beautiful memories they had together. He thought of Harry and how he would grow up not knowing his parents, how Sirius would have to be a poor stand-in. His resolve was strengthened.

"Avada kedavra." The jet of green light left his wand but not at the angle that he had anticipated. Someone had thrown themselves into his back at the last possible moment, shoving him forward just enough to skew the spell. Rather than hit Peter, it slammed into someone standing in the shadows. The young man dropped like a rock, the same lifeless look in his eyes that Lily had had.

Sirius was struck silent and still at just what he had done. After a few moments, he turned to see a woman behind him, auror badge clearly pinned to her robes. Her face was stricken, many emotions crossing her features before she focused on Sirius.

"That was my partner, you fucking killer!" Peter was still crouched on the ground, sobbing, but Sirius wasn't surprised when the woman ignored him. Her wand came up and she started blasting spell after spell at him, determined to bring him down. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Peter reach for his wand and disappear with a soft pop.

Sirius knew that he was in trouble. He had killed an auror and it wouldn't matter that he had meant to kill Peter. He had used an Unforgivable, successfully at that. It wasn't a good situation and he had to do some quick thinking if he was going to get out of it, so he could retrieve Harry. He realized that he had a way out of this, but it was going to cost him in the popularity department. It would mean flouting the ridiculous pureblood laws that he had claimed to hate his entire life.

Even though he was furiously sending spells back at the woman auror, his mind was working through what he would need to do. It was a good thing that the woman was clearly new in her job because a seasoned auror could have easily taken him down with how distracted he was. Deciding that his only course of action was to make his way to St. Mungo's, Sirius flashed the woman a haunted look before disapparating away.

The animagus appeared outside the muggle entrance to St. Mungo's. This wasn't something that he wanted to do, at least not for this reason. He had been aware that his brother Regulas had been seeing Lucius Malfoy's younger sister Erise. He had been aware that when his brother went missing and was assumed dead, she had been heartbroken. What he hadn't been aware of was the fact that they had had a daughter.

Sirius had received a missive from St. Mungo's earlier that day regarding his niece. Apparently, the Order had learned of Erise's location and tried to blast their way in, for what purpose Sirius wasn't sure. He hadn't been made aware that they were even searching for Lucius' sister, but he supposed when he thought about it he wasn't surprised. The blasting curse they had used had caused debris to lodge itself in Erise's chest. While it did say in the missive that the Order members had done their best to save her life, he knew that they didn't count losing her as a true loss. She had merely been an untapped vessel of information.

Their daughter had been injured. He had to admit that he was surprised that they had taken her to St. Mungo's rather than himself to begin with. Perhaps because they didn't think that he would take her? While he didn't consider himself father material, he would never have turned away his brother's child. Even though Regulas had made bad decisions, he felt sure that the younger Black had regretted his decision. He had meant to go to St. Mungo's and claim his niece the next day but due to recent events, he couldn't afford to wait.

Sirius blew through the doors, not bothering to speak with the Welcome Witch. His missive had told him exactly where his two-year-old niece was located. While he hated what he was about to do, it was necessary. He couldn't afford to let Harry go who knew where. He figured that he should probably care about his niece more than his godson but since he hadn't even known of her existence, it was hard to focus on her now. As much as he knew it wasn't right, she was a means to an end. He knew that he would grow to love her with time, but Harry was his main concern.

There was an ancient pureblood law that had never been repealed. He remembered being disgusted about it when his father had been tutoring him to take over his Wizengamot seat. No matter the crime committed, if the pureblood in question was the sole parent of a pureblood child, Azkaban would be forfeited. At the time it had sickened Sirius. Why should a person be spared punishment for his crimes just because he was pureblood? It made him sick that he was about to capitalize on it.

Sirius made his way to the sixth floor, meeting nobody's eyes along the way. Nobody seemed too bothered to see him there probably recognizing him by his signature raven curls and grey eyes. When he reached the main desk, he flagged down the pretty young mediwitch that was walking by.

"Excuse me, miss, I was sent a letter today about my niece being brought in. Erise's Malfoy's daughter." Recognition flashed in the young mediwitch's eyes before she openly checked him out. Under normal circumstances, Sirius would have set up a date with her after flirting shamelessly but tonight he was in no mood. When she realized that he was uninterested, her face was schooled into something more professional.

"Right this way, sir." Sirius followed the young woman through the corridors until they reached a room at the end. Sirius could hear a young girl screaming, calling for her daddy and her mummy. Lights were flashing in the corridor and he realized that in her distress, her magic was flaring. The mediwitch gave him a grim smile.

"I hope you can do something with her. She won't let any of us near her. Every time we try she somehow stuns us. We've never seen accidental magic so strong." To be truthful, Sirius was surprised at this. While it was true that all purebloods were inter-related somehow, it didn't always mean that their magic was weak. However, it was a fact that it was a strong possibility if you bred with someone related too closely to you. His mother and father were second cousins, no last name change needed when they had married. One would think that they would be destined to be weak of magic or touched by insanity, but he and Regulus were neither. Both were rather strong wizards, much stronger than most in their family.

Bellatrix was a prime example. Her parents were related but further down the line. While she was an exceptionally strong witch, she was mad as a hatter. Narcissa was weaker but completely sane. Andie was powerful and had all her mental faculties. While Sirius knew that his family was related several generations back to the Malfoys, it wasn't recent enough to play a part in his niece's magic. It was probably a case of inheriting her father's and mother's strength in magic and it manifesting early. It also meant that he was going to have a rough few years. Sirius steeled himself to get stunned when he tried to approach his niece.

The animagus pushed open the door and spotted three mediwitches trying to calm the child. The looked harried and frustrated, eyes tired and hair falling around their shoulders. Sirius glanced at his niece and was stunned. He couldn't focus on anything but her for several seconds.

She was beautiful.

She couldn't be any older than two with a chubby heart-shaped face. Her eyes were a brilliant icy blue, the signature color of the Malfoys. It was like a punch to the gut, however, to see her raven curls, just past her shoulders. It was like looking in the mirror. It was so clear that she was a Black it was no wonder that his brother had kept her hidden from the world. She would surely have been a target. Even though he had come in to adopt her to keep himself out of prison, he felt an affinity for this child. She was alone in the world and terrified, missing her mother and father. How often had he felt completely alone growing up, terrified of his own family? A fierce surge of protectiveness welled up within him and he had to fight it down, so he wouldn't scare her. Her little voice was the sweetest sound he had ever heard.

"Daddy?" Sirius was unsure what to say. Should he allow her to believe him to be her father, knowing that she hadn't seen him in a year, since he was going to adopt her anyways? Should he tell her he was her uncle? Would she even know what an uncle was? The oldest mediwitch made the decision for him.

"Yes, honey, that's your daddy." Her eyes lit up and she held her arms out for him to lift her, much as Harry had just hours prior. There was still a trickle of blood down one of her cheeks and a massive bruise forming on one of her arms. Unable to help himself, he walked forward and lifted her into his arms. She instantly burrowed into his chest, her thumb going into her mouth for a moment before speaking.

"Bad men hurt mummy." He was astounded that this child could speak as well as she did. Harry only managed short sentences and they were rarely the full word. He called Sirius Siri for Merlin's sake. He wasn't sure what to say in return but decided that he had to try to make the little girl feel better.

"I know, sweetness. You're going to stay with me, alright?" He couldn't help himself. He ran his fingers through her beautiful black curls and nuzzled the top of her head. She nodded her head against his chest. Sirius chuckled softly at her before speaking.

"You're hurt, sweetness. Let's let these nice ladies heal you. I'll stay here with you the whole time." He took a seat and perched his niece on his lap, gesturing for the mediwitch to come forward and heal her. It took a matter of minutes for the young girl to be healed and the mediwitch smiled softly at him.

"I take it you're Sirius Black?" He nodded, aware that his niece's eyes were drifting closed.

"What's her name?" The woman gave him the oddest look but answered him nonetheless.

"Her aunt and uncle told us that her name is Hermione Alula Black and that she is two years old, her birthday is September 19th. They wanted to take custody of her, but pureblood law says that a child goes with the father's family. You don't know her? Why would she call you daddy?" Sirius raked a hand through his hair.

"I didn't even know she existed until I got the missive about her. She probably thinks I am her father, Regulus and I always looked like twins even though there was a year between us." She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Are you equipped to handle a child?" Sirius nodded.

"I have friends that will help me." She gave a firm nod before standing.

"We must sign some paperwork to release her into your care." Sirius nodded and stood, cradling Hermione in his arms. He was handed off to a matronly woman that looked to work in administration. He followed her into a small and stuffy office and took the seat she indicated for him. As much as he was already in love with his niece, he needed to get her back to Black Moor, so he could perform the much-needed blood magic.

"Since you are the girl's blood relative, you don't have to sign any custody papers like you would if you had adopted her. You're just signing papers stating that you are willingly taking her into your care." Sirius nodded and grasped the quill in his hands, briefly looking at the parchment before him. With a flourish, he signed his name and title, a title that he rarely used unless it would benefit him. Even though he had been disinherited, the Wizengamot had reinstated him since he was the last Black and they were loathe to let an Ancient and Noble House die out. The older woman smiled at him after checking his signature.

"That's all, Lord Black. You're free to take your niece. We wish you the best." Sirius gave her a small smile even though the last thing he felt like doing was being cheerful. His best friend in the world was dead, a woman he considered to be his sister murdered, and his godson orphaned. The betrayer had escaped since the auror had intervened. His sense of urgency to get to Black Moor was renewed.

Sirius stood and wrapped his cloak around his niece, heading towards the lift. He exited St. Mungo's as swiftly as he had arrived. Once back out on the muggle side of the entrance, he made sure that the coast was clear before twisting on the spot. When he landed, he was standing in the foyer of the Black ancestral home. He never understood why his mother refused to live there; she had always preferred Grimmauld Place. Sirius had always loved Black Moor. In the later years of his parents' marriage, his father had stayed there while his mother retained residence at Grimmauld.

Hermione didn't wake through the apparition, something that surprised him. Sirius stalked into the library, setting the little girl down on the couch before the fire that the elves had set. He wasn't sure how they knew that was where he would go when he arrived, but he appreciated it nonetheless. While he had always hated Kreacher, his mother's personal elf, he had always found his father's elves to be a delight.

His father had once been a proud man. Sirius had idolized him until he turned thirteen when his mother had goaded him into punishing Sirius with the Cruciatus for talking about his Gryffindor friends. It had been clear that he hadn't wanted to, he had never been a demonstrative man, but Sirius had never doubted that he loved his sons. However, he did as his wife asked to keep the peace because his mother had the talent of making everyone's life complete and total hell. While he understood his father's actions now, to an extent anyways, that hadn't mattered at age thirteen. He had been betrayed and felt like his father didn't love him anymore. That had been the beginning of the end for him. He had a feeling that his mother had been behind him being disinherited as well. Uncle Alphard had confirmed it before he died.

Sirius went to the fireplace and threw in the floo powder found on the mantle. He called out for Gringotts, and urgently asked for the Black account manager to come through. Once Furybolt stepped through, Sirius sighed in relief. He had no idea when the aurors would come calling but he wanted the adoption finalized when they got here. Sure, he would still have to pay exorbitant fines for using an Unforgivable, but it would save him prison time.

"Furybolt, thanks for coming. I need you to perform a blood adoption tonight." The goblin narrowed his eyes at him.

"You want to engage in blood magic? Your father told me that you were most staunchly opposed to such things." Sirius sighed and raked his hands through his hair.

"I am, Furybolt, but I also am in a bit of a predicament. James and Lily Potter were murdered tonight. They were betrayed by Peter Pettigrew and I went after him. An auror tackled me as I shot off the curse to end him and it hit another auror. I must make sure that I'm not in Azkaban, so I can be here for my godson. He was still alive, and Voldemort was gone. I'm not sure what happened but I know that he is at the middle of it. That means I must blood adopt my niece. This beautiful little girl was Regulus' daughter. Her mother was killed today by the Order. I'm already her legal guardian but that won't be enough." Furybolt nodded his head in understanding.

"I understand. The ritual isn't difficult or time consuming. As you know, the adopted party usually takes on the genes and blood status of the person adopting them. Since she is already genetically belonging to your family, I doubt anything will happen in that regard. Her magic may strengthen since she'll have your magic in her system as well as her mother and father's. This will also increase her chances for the famous Black insanity. However, since you and your brother were free of it, I imagine things will be fine in the end." This worried Sirius for a moment but decided to take the goblin's word. He nodded his acceptance and the goblin produced a silver bowl and a dagger. He nodded towards Hermione.

"Put your niece in a deeper sleep so she won't wake when I cut her hand." Sirius produced his wand and muttered the somnus spell. Nothing changed in Hermione but to put her in a deeper slumber. Furybolt took her hand and slashed her palm, the blood running freely into the bowl beneath her. Once the required amount of blood was collected, the goblin waved his hand at her palm, healing it completely. There would always be a small scar there. Sirius knew that he was next and held his hand out willingly. Furybolt cut a deep cut through his palm, the blood pouring from the cut and into the bowl, mixing with Hermione's in a hiss of smoke. Once his cut was healed, the goblin began to chant.

"Ego hunc sanguinem esse meum sanguinem nostrum sanguinem non praevalebunt."

Furybolt said it several times over and while Sirius wasn't quite sure what it meant exactly, he could feel the invisible ties between himself and his niece tighten even more. Her outward appearance didn't change except maybe shedding some of her baby fat. He couldn't stop himself from reaching out and stroking her hair again, reveling in it's silkiness. So much like his own. He was drawn from his thoughts by Furybolt speaking in English again.

"Take her hand in yours, palm to palm." Sirius did as he was bid and watched with rapt attention as the goblin poured the blood concoction over their joined hands. Since it had been smoking, he had assumed that it would be hot but was instead pleasantly cool. Hermione smiled in her sleep. The goblin chanted a few more times before he waved his hand and vanished the blood. He gestured for the two of them to part, so Sirius set her hand back down on the couch.

"It's done, Lord Black. Hermione Alula Black in now officially your daughter and your official heir until you produce a son. I can assume that there will be a large withdrawal from the Black vaults sometime tomorrow." Sirius gave a tired nod.

"Yes, I'm sure that the aurors will be along at some point tomorrow. I can't wait." Furybolt chuckled before standing and making his way to the fireplace.

"I must return. I'll be hearing from you tomorrow then. I wish you the best with your daughter." Without waiting for a response, Furybolt stepped into the flames and was gone.

Sirius sat down on the couch at Hermione's head. He was a father. He had a daughter. While he had been around for much of Harry's life, he wasn't entirely sure that he could raise her on his own. He didn't know the last thing about raising a child, much less a daughter. He had never even had a serious girlfriend, playing the field and moving from girl to girl as they struck his fancy. With a sigh, he called for the head elf.

"Candy." An older elf appeared before him.

"Master." He smiled at the diminutive elf.

"My daughter and I will be living here for the foreseeable future. We'll sleep in here tonight, but can you have the others prepare rooms for the both of us? Also, send a voucher with one of them to get her some clothes. I'm not sure what size she is but I'm sure you have a better idea then I do." Candy nodded emphatically.

"Yes, master, I's will have Kiki go tomorrows. Yous rooms be ready in morningtime." Sirius smiled at her softly.

"Thank you, Candy."

The elf popped out of the room and Sirius settled onto the couch. He waved his wand, enlarging it enough to be a bed for them both. While he would have preferred a bed, he knew that none of them were ready and didn't want to wait. He snuggled into his daughter, wrapping an arm around her middle and pulling her against his chest. He summoned a blanket and covered them with it, not cold with the fire going but he was sure that she would be.

His mind went to the sight of his friends, dead on the floor, the scar on little Harry's forehead. He needed to get things squared away with the Ministry and then he would make his way to Hogwarts to claim Harry. He was sure that he was stuck in the Hospital Wing with Poppy or in Minerva's quarters. They would all be heartbroken and would want to keep the last living Potter close.

While everyone around the nation was celebrating the defeat of Lord Voldemort, Sirius was laying on the makeshift bed, sobbing as quietly as he could at the loss of his friends. It was clear now that he could trust Remus, that he had been undeserving of their suspicion. Vowing to find him after the Ministry and apologize, Sirius tried to sleep. While he had lost so much, he had also gained a daughter. The last link to his brother. The muggles always said that when a door closed, another opened. Sirius vowed to try to think of it that way when things just became too much.

A/N- There we are, first chapter done! I can't say how often I'm going to be able to update this story since it's summer and my life is insane, but I promise to do my best. Let me know what you think, reviews make me smile.

Ego hunc sanguinem esse meum sanguinem nostrum sanguinem non praevalebunt = I take this blood to be my blood, our blood will prevail.

This translation is thanks to google translate, if it's wrong, I apologize!

Next up, the aurors at the Ministry and meeting up with Remus. Should be interesting!

Love,

Alicia


	2. Chapter 2

A/N- Here's the next chapter, y'all! I hope that everyone enjoyed the first chapter. Thank you to everyone who has already followed, favorited, and reviewed my story. You da bomb! Your support so far has been overwhelming. Anyways, I won't go on and on, I'm excited to get started.

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing. I haven't made a dime off this story; my bank account wouldn't lie.

Chapter 2

November 1, 1981

Sirius was caught in the middle of waking and sleep. He hadn't slept well at all, he had fitfully tossed and turned into the wee hours of the morning. Honestly, he wasn't surprised. His best friend had been murdered, the traitor had escaped, and he had taken a life. He couldn't recall seeing the face of the auror that he had killed but he had dreamed of the woman's face as she watched her partner fall. All in all, it hadn't been the best of nights.

Hermione had slept soundly all night; she was obviously a cuddler, snuggling into Sirius every time he shifted away from her. It made him wonder if his brother had ever slept with her like he was; this thought didn't make him feel any better. His brother was assumed dead and he knew that Moldyshorts was behind it. He wished more than almost anything that he and Regulus had been able to settle their differences before he died.

He could tell that the fire in the library had died awhile ago. The air was cool, and his nose was cold. He forced himself to open his eyes and make sure that Hermione was still asleep. When he saw that she was snuggled into his side still, he smiled softly at the sight of her.

Hermione was beautiful. Sirius still couldn't believe that she belonged to his brother. Never in a million years did he think that Regulus would flout pureblood tradition and have a child out of wedlock with the Malfoy daughter. He supposed that his mother would have eventually approved since it would have been a favorable match for both families, but she would have howled for ages over the embarrassment and scandal the child would cause the family. He reached out and fingered one of her silky black curls before calling for Candy. When she appeared before them, Sirius tried to smile at her.

"Please light the fire, Candy. I don't want Hermione to get too cold." The elf gave an enthusiastic nod before snapping her fingers. Flames jumped to life and Sirius sighed in comfort. The heat pouring from it already was warming him. Just as he sat up, Hermione rolled to her side, her eyes fluttering open. She didn't seem to care that she was in a place she had never seen before; her eyes focused on Sirius and she smiled at him as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"Daddy." He reached out and stroked her cheek, smiling softly at her.

"Morning, sweetness. Are you hungry?" She struggled to sit up on her own so Sirius reached out to help her. She gave him a resolute nod. It made Sirius wonder if she had even eaten the day before since they weren't able to get near her at St. Mungo's.

"What do you like for breakfast?" Hermione grabbed his hand and started playing with his fingers, tracing their lengths with her own fingers.

"Eggs and bacon." He was still surprised that she was able to speak as well as she could. He figured that Erise must have taught her on her own or hired a very private tutor for the girl. Sirius turned to Candy.

"Can you find some eggs and bacon for breakfast? I'm not sure what you are prepared for here since I've been gone so long. Whatever you need to run the house, charge it to the vault." Candy gave another enthusiastic nod.

"Yes, master. Candy sent Dip and Dot out last nights after you arrived. The manor is stocked and ready for Master and young Mistress. Candy will have Tippy makes yous breakfast." Sirius was impressed that the elves had already stocked the manor for them to live there. He would have thought that it would at least have taken a day or so. Of course, this probably just meant that they had stayed up all night to do so. The animagus returned his attention to his daughter.

"Let's get us get a bath before we eat." Hermione began to whine but Sirius just raised his eyebrows at her. It was a move reminiscent of his father. Whenever he or Regulus had started to whine about something, his father would have raised an eyebrow at them, signaling that they would be punished if the whining continued. He suspected that Regulus had done the same because Hermione instantly ceased her whinging.

Hermione jumped from the couch and stood, waiting for him to join her. When he was upright, Hermione took his hand and looked up at him, silently telling him that he would have to tell her where to go. Sirius had no idea what rooms had been prepared for the two of them, so he decided to head to his old room. There was an ensuite bathroom that they could both bathe in.

As they left the library, Hermione swung their hands, counting to herself. What she was counting, Sirius had no idea, but he wasn't going to say anything. If it made her feel better, he was okay with letting her continue. They climbed two sets of stairs before Sirius led her into the room that he had called his own since as far back as he could remember. Deciding that he wasn't entirely comfortable with bathing his daughter on his own, he called out for Candy again.

"Can you please get one of the younger elves to come and help me bathe Hermione? Make sure that they bring something suitable for her to wear." He regretted saying that the second it was out of his mouth. He knew what the elves would consider suitable clothing and he didn't want his daughter to be drowned by propriety before she could even read. He let the order stand, however. When the aurors showed up, it would just concrete the defense he was going to use with embracing the pureblood ideals. Candy nodded and popped out of existence, Hermione laughing at the elf joyously. An elf that Sirius had never met before appeared, eliciting more laughter from his daughter.

"Master, I's Sipsy. Candy sends me to help with young Mistress. Sipsy is a brand-new nanny elf and I's would loves to take care of master's heir." Sirius smiled at the young elf. She would be perfect.

"I've never given a baby a bath and while I realize that Hermione isn't technically a baby, I'm not sure that I would be doing it right. Can you help me?" Sipsy was nodding enthusiastically. Sirius had to smile to himself. The elves were all so happy that they were home. It wasn't a well-known fact, but elves loved taking care of children and the Black elves were no different.

Sipsy moved to the bathroom and began running water, pouring a potion in that made bubbles appear. She was humming softly to herself, in her own world. Sirius was a little surprised when Hermione tugged on his hand.

"What is that thing?" He still couldn't believe her grasp of the English language.

"That's a house elf. They are here to help us, but it is our duty to never take advantage of them. They're part of the family and should be treated as such. Therefore, when Sipsy tells you to do something, you are to obey her. She wants to make sure that you're safe and taken care of." His daughter cocked her head to the side for a moment before speaking.

"She's here to help us so we need to be nice to her. I understand, daddy." He ruffled her hair and smiled down at her.

"I'm glad, poppet. Make sure that you always listen to Sipsy." She nodded resolutely. Sipsy turned back to them and motioned for Sirius to start undressing his daughter. While he was mildly uncomfortable with undressing a small child, he knew that there was nothing sexual about it. She was his daughter and even though she didn't come from his loins, the protectiveness and sense of duty that he felt for her assured him that nobody would look at him twice for bathing his daughter.

Hermione was quite agreeable to helping him undress her. While Sirius was quite adept at undressing grown witches, undressing a small one made him feel out of his depths. He was sure that if James was alive he would be rolling in laughter. Thinking of James made his heart clench in despair. His best friend was gone. When he had originally got the missive from St. Mungo's he had been thrilled that his niece and his godson would grow up together. Now, he only had to wait for the aurors to arrive, so he could take his licks and then claim his godson from Dumbledore.

Sipsy took over completely when it came to bathing his daughter. Sirius made to come help but was shooed away by the bossy little elf. He wouldn't complain. He really had no idea what the hell he was doing. Hermione was playing with the bubbles, splashing water all over Sipsy but the elf didn't seem to mind. She gently chided his daughter but laughed when she tried to rub the bubbles on Sipsy. Realizing that he was no longer needed in the bathroom, he moved into the bedroom to start going through his things and reminisce about times past.

He was surprised that Sipsy had her in there for another twenty minutes. While he was sure that Hermione was clean long before then, he assumed that she had let her play in the water to make her feel more at home. Sirius made a mental note to send Sipsy out for bathtub toys. He knew that Harry enjoyed them immensely. Once she came out of the bathroom dressed in a long dress that looked extremely proper, he sighed in relief. Her hair was dry and combed back, half of it held back by clips. It was clear that Sipsy knew exactly what to do with her curls.

Once they were out, Sirius instructed Sipsy to take Hermione to breakfast, so he could bathe in privacy. While he wasn't ashamed of his body in any manner of speaking, he didn't feel right with his daughter waiting outside the loo for him to clean himself. He showered off quickly, dressing in the clothing befitting the station of Lord Black. He even made sure to wear one of his father's robes that were embroidered with the family crest. After all, it was only a matter of time before the aurors arrived, demanding his audience. He would rather be prepared.

Once he was out of the shower and dressed, he made his way to the dining room. Hermione was perched on a booster seat at the formal table, feeding herself eggs, bacon, and kippers. When she caught sight of him, her eyes lit up.

"Daddy!" He chuckled softly and took the seat next to her rather than the head of the table. While it would have been unacceptable if there was company, it was perfectly fine to happen when it was just the two of them. Sirius dug into the plate that appeared before him, not realizing that he was hungry until the food was set before him.

Once he began, Sirius couldn't stop. It was quite clear that he had not anticipated the hunger from the day before. He could admit that it was a day from hell, James was dead after all, Lily too, but he had eaten only hours before arriving in Godric's Hollow. He couldn't help but feel a little guilty at the fact that he was enjoying breakfast while James and Lily were dead. Especially when it was his fault.

He finished long before Hermione had, watching her do her best to feed herself with undisguised amusement. She was so advanced in so many things but when it came to eating she was at the same level as any other two-year-old. When she finally tired of feeding herself, she turned to her father.

"What happened to mummy? The bad men hurt her." Sirius reached out and stroked her cheek again, unsure of what exactly to tell her.

"Did mummy ever tell you about heaven?" He severely doubted it since Erise was a pureblood and heaven was a muggle thing, but he was surprised when she nodded her head yes. Sirius heaved a deep sigh.

"The bad men hurt mummy. She didn't want to leave you, but she had to go to heaven. She wanted me to take care of you, so I could love you in her stead." Even though he wasn't quite sure that she understood what he was saying, she nodded, tears in her eyes.

"Mummy isn't coming back then?" His heart broke at the saddened look on her face.

"No, poppet, she went to heaven and left you with me. Do you think that we can get along?" Hermione nodded emphatically.

"Yes, daddy, we'll be best friends." Sirius felt his heart swell at her words. Before he could answer her, Candy popped into existence at his side.

"Master, peoples are trying to get through the wards. Should Candy lets them through?" Sirius heaved a deep sigh.

"Yes, let them through." He turned to Sipsy. As much as he hated to do it, he had no other choice.

"Once the aurors arrive and see Hermione, I want you to apparate to Malfoy Manor with her. Do not leave her for anything. Tell them that I'll be along once this mess is cleaned up. If they try to keep my daughter from me, I'll press official charges." Sipsy nodded solemnly. She understood exactly what was going on; while Hermione was a Malfoy by birth, she was the Black heir and should be protected as such. There was a resounding knock on the front door, several rooms away from the dining room. Sirius gathered his strength, squared his shoulder, and lifted his chin.

"Show them in, Candy." The elf didn't respond, just disappeared from where she was standing next to him. Just moments later, there were footsteps outside the door. The door opened and six aurors filed in, wands held aloft, steel in their eyes.

"You've under arrest, Sirius Black, for the murder of Auror Matthews. We've been ordered to bring you into the Ministry for questioning." Sirius nodded and stepped forward. Hermione, however, understood their words and burst into tears.

"No, daddy, you can't go." Sirius flashed the men a dirty look for bringing his daughter to tears. He knelt before her and pulled her into his embrace.

"Don't be scared, poppet. I'll be back by dinner. You're going to go see Auntie Cissa and Uncle Lucius. When I get home, I'll come get you and you can see your new room." The auror behind him snorted but was silenced by one of the others elbowing him. A happy look overtook his daughter's face.

"I love Aunt Cissy and Uncle Luci. I get to spend all day with them and Draco?" Once again, he couldn't believe how well she spoke. Much to his confusion at her love for her Death Eater relatives, he nodded.

"Yes, sweetness. You get to spend all day with them. I'll come get you this evening." She threw herself into his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck. He kissed the side of her head before shooing her back to Sipsy. Once she was there, he beckoned Sipsy forward. When she reached him, he whispered.

"Stay with her at all times. If I don't return tonight, keep her safe. I'm not sure if she'll be in danger at the Malfoy's but don't let any harm come to my heir." Sipsy nodded reverently.

"Sipsy will protect young miss with her life. Bad Malfoys won't touch her." Sirius nodded his approval, standing to face the aurors. Once he was facing them, he spoke aloud.

"Sipsy, take your mistress to her family at Malfoy Manor. She doesn't need to see this." Behind him, he heard a pop and knew that his daughter was gone. Now that the young eyes were gone, one of the aurors stepped forward and punched him in the stomach. Sirius couldn't keep his breath as he dropped to his knees. The older man bent at the waist to hiss in his ear.

"That's for Auror Matthews. We know you're guilty, Auror Montrose saw you kill him. You'll get far worse than that in Azkaban. Hope you enjoyed telling your daughter goodbye; that's the last time you'll see her." Sirius kept his temper, as difficult as it was. He knew for a fact that he wouldn't go to Azkaban but that didn't mean that he didn't deserve it. He felt terrible for the aurors life that he had taken but there was nothing that he could do about it now.

Sirius allowed them to haul him to his feet, magically binding his hands behind his back. While the situation was going to be embarrassing, being dragged into the Ministry of Magic bound, there was nothing that he could do about it. It was going to have to take his testimony, that of Furybolt, and then an audience in front of the Wizengamot to make sure that he was set free.

-O-

Lucius was sitting with his wife at the dining room table, eating their breakfast in silence. He knew why the silence was present. His sister had been murdered by the Order of the Phoenix the day before and his beloved niece had been taken from them.

Erise had been in love with Regulus since they were thirteen years old; while he wasn't thrilled that they had conceived and bore a child out of wedlock, he knew that secrecy was key. Lucius and Narcissa were targeted so many times just because of Lucius' reputation as a Death Eater. Being the sister of a well-known Death Eater and being a Death Eater, himself made the whole family more of a target, especially since they didn't have safe wards to hide behind.

Regulus had never been a favorite of Lucius. He was quite sure that the younger man wasn't loyal to the Dark Lord, but since his sister was with him, there was no way that he would ever speak of his suspicions. When Regulus had disappeared, Lucius was quite sure that the Dark Lord had caught him in his thoughts of betrayal, but they never heard anything about his death. Being a traitor was something that the Dark Lord would have boasted about.

Lucius adored his niece. While he loved his wife and his son more than he could say, he had been more than disappointed when the healers had told them that Narcissa would never carry another child to term. He was grateful for his heir, but he couldn't help but admit that he had always wanted a daughter. There hadn't been a Malfoy daughter before his sister in over two hundred years. He would have loved to carried on the tradition.

For this reason, Hermione was the light of his life. While he loved Draco with all his heart, there was definitely something to be said for daddy's girls. He knew that she had a daddy, but he hadn't been seen in a year. He had filled in for the position since Regulus had disappeared without a word. He knew that his sister was heartbroken, but she did her best to keep her heartbreak to herself.

Hermione spent just as much time at the Manor as she did with her mother in their modest home. Lucius had offered them money, so they could afford a better place but Erise had refused. She wanted a small and cozy home, something that Hermione could be comfortable in always. While he hated to see them fending for themselves, Lucius had respected her decision.

Hermione was quite taken with Draco even though she was almost a full year older than him. Erise had gotten her a tutor early on, training the girl in language and many other areas. He intended for Draco to have the same, determined to make sure that his son would be second to none, except maybe his niece. Narcissa was just as in love with Hermione as he was; she was her only niece (that she claimed, the metamorphmagus didn't count in their opinion) and she hoped to keep her for herself to raise as her daughter.

They had been brokenhearted when the aurors had taken Hermione from them after the attack on Erise by the Order. It was clear that they hadn't meant to kill her, but it also broke their heart to realize that their sister was gone forever. Hermione was the only link they had to Erise; the fact that she was going to be sent to Sirius Black set an ill feeling in his middle. He was a member of the Order and the last thing that he would do was let his niece visit their Death Eater relation. Narcissa immediately wanted to renounce their ties to the Dark Lord, especially since he had apparently been vanquished by the Potter boy. Lucius was leery, not wanting to be the victims of retaliation. Narcissa was currently nagging in his ear.

"Lu, he won't let us see her if he thinks that we're following the Dark Lord. We must renounce him or we're going to lose our niece forever. Sirius doesn't have a hard heart; if he thinks that we've changed, he'll allow us to see her whenever we want." Lucius raked his hand through his long blond hair, a sign of emotion that he rarely allowed himself.

"I know, Cissy, but what about those that will strike against us? Your sister would show us no mercy even if it is to keep the Black heir safe." Narcissa slammed her silverware down with a hard look upon her face.

"I don't give a fuck. Hermione is your niece through your sister and my cousin through my cousin. I want to make sure that I get to have a say while she grows up. If I have to say that we were under the Imperious, it's a price I'm willing to pay. She's the only daughter I'll ever have. Don't you dare try to take her away from me. You will do what you must to keep her around and you will treat Sirius with as much respect as you have to for him to let her spend time here. I won't have her and Draco growing up apart." Lucius was surprised to hear her curse; she was the consummate lady and cursing was most certainly not listed in her abilities. Therefore, he nodded since it was clear that if he decided otherwise she would never forgive him.

"Very well, my dear." He had no sooner spoke before there was a pop behind them. When Lucius turned around, Hermione and an unknown elf was standing behind him, his niece smiling.

"Uncle Luci, Aunt Cissy! Daddy told me to come see you today." Lucius was beyond confused since he was aware that Sirius had been made her custodian. While she had Malfoy blood in her veins, her eyes proved that, it was a proven fact that children went to the father's family, so they could take their places as heirs. As much as this irritated Lucius, he understood it. While Hermione would be responsible for bearing the heir of the house that she married, her second son would be the heir to the Black fortune so long as Sirius never had any more children. While he wished that Hermione could have married Draco, they were simply too closely related. Therefore, he hoped that they could be raised together, something that most Malfoys never seemed to get to do.

"Hermione, love, what are you doing here?" She threw herself into his arms and he didn't hesitate to hug her close and kiss the side of her head.

"Bad men came for daddy, just like they hurt mummy. He told Sipsy to bring me to you and keep me safe." Lucius couldn't believe that Sirius Black had sent his niece to their house for safety. Surely, he had to think that they were the epitome of danger and evil? Just who had taken him from his niece? Sipsy seemed to realize that they would have questions.

"Master had to gos with men with badges. He tells me to bring young Mistress here and hims be by to pick hers up tonight." Lucius didn't miss the fact that Black hadn't trusted his niece with them alone, sending one of his elves along for the ride. While he would normally have been offended, he wasn't in this instance. He wouldn't have allowed his niece to go anywhere that he wasn't one hundred percent sure that she was safe.

"I assure you …." He trailed off because he had no idea what the elf's name was.

"Sipsy." He continued.

"Sipsy, we have no intention of harming our niece. She means just as much to us as our son Draco does." While the elf took his words at face value, he could see that she doubted his word. That was fine. He would just prove that they were safe for his niece to be around. There was no way that he was going to give her up without a fight.

"Please join us, Sipsy. Hermione and Draco haven't seen each other for a couple days and they're likely to spend hours together. Feel free to move around our home without hindrance." While it made him grit his teeth that he had to grant an elf this kind of freedom, it was necessary for Black to believe that his niece was safe with the. As much as he hated it, it was a price that he was willing to pay.

-O-

Sirius couldn't believe the willful ignorance of the aurors that were questioning him. He had told them the story from step one, feeling that there was something off the evening before. They hadn't believed him when he told them that Peter was the secret keeper and the traitor that betrayed his best friend to the Dark Lord. They sure hadn't believed that he hadn't meant to kill the auror that fateful evening before.

Sirius wasn't sure what else he could say to make them believe him. He had told them innumerable details, things that they surely would have been able to check on with any of James and Lily's friends. They had flat-out called him a liar when he told them that Peter had escaped when his killing curse had hit the young auror. He was unsure of what exactly he could say to prove his point so at the end, he just remained silent.

The Wizengamot had been pissed when they learned of his blood adoption of his niece. Furybolt had been called to testify that he had indeed performed the blood magic required for Hermione to be his daughter. Once they heard his testimony, chaos had ensued. While Sirius was more than thrilled that there was nothing they could do about him killing the auror, he still felt terrible that he had taken a life. Before he had been called in front of the full Wizengamot meeting, he had vowed that he was going to do whatever he could for the young auror's family.

"Lord Black, please tell us exactly what happened last night." Sirius sighed. This was perhaps the fiftieth time he had been told to recount the events as he knew them but so far, they hadn't been recognized. He raked a hand through his hair, determined that the members of the Wizengamot would hear the truth.

He explained how he had been best mates with James Potter, how he had been asked to be their secret keeper for the fidelius charm but had refused because he would be the first guess. Sirius had detailed how he had gone after Peter and tried to kill him after betraying his best friend and almost killing his godson. Even though he was most ashamed, he had told them how the female auror had slammed into him, throwing his killing curse off to hit the auror that was across the street from him. It had taken all he had to keep the tears at bay while he told the story.

Not that any of it mattered. They hadn't believed a word that came out of his mouth except for him saying that he was indeed guilty of killing the auror with the killing curse. They had all wanted prison justice then but had been denied by Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody. He had insisted that he go before the Wizengamot to learn of his fate.

Sirius now stood chained to the chair before the Wizengamot, ankles and hands both bound. He had never been happier that he had sent Hermione to the Malfoys. Lord Greengrass was speaking, a more pompous arse Sirius had never cared for before.

"We've all heard the testimony of not only Lord Sirius Black but the goblin Furybolt. Do we all agree that he falls beneath the old law Merlin number 4385?" He could tell how much the other members hated to acquit him but there was little else they could do. He was the Black heir, the second most wealthy family in the wizarding world, and he had more than a fair alibi. Even though nobody looked thrilled, every single member of the Wizengamot raised their hands. Lord Greengrass spoke with a sneer.

"We, the Wizengamot, find Sirius Black innocent of crimes against Merlin and humanity. We order that he raise his daughter with clear determination of our traditions. We also find that the defendant pays a total of 500,000 galleons for the use of an Unforgivable curse on the night of October 31, 1981."

Even though the fine was a little steep, Sirius was more than happy to pay it. Even though it hadn't been ordered of him, he was going to find something nice to do for the auror's family that had been affected. While he felt terrible for his actions, he also knew that no recompense would be welcomed so he would have to be sneaky.

The depth of the fine should have worried him. It was half a million galleons, something that would worry any other family in their world. However, they were only a short bit behind the Malfoys in wealth and half a million galleons wouldn't do a thing to his vaults. If anything, it would see the purebloods investing in his businesses because they were sure that he was on their side. While he had no intent of publicly claiming their loyalty, he wasn't going to tell them that he was one hundred percent loyal to the light. That would be like kicking your own mother in the teeth. While he would have loved to do that to his own mother, he knew that feeling that way simply wasn't normal. His mother had been a special kind of evil.

The chains suddenly left his wrists and ankles, letting him know that he was indeed a free man. Lord Greengrass spoke again.

"Please remand the agreed upon fine to the Ministry by the end of the day." All the Wizengamot members rose from their seats and began to file out the doors. Sirius heaved a sigh and started for the door himself, the entrance that the public used. He didn't see a single person from the Order of the Phoenix. He had thought that Dumbledore or Remus would come and see how his trial turned out but there wasn't a single person there to support him.

Sirius quickly left the Ministry. He still had to make his way to Gringotts to pay his fine and he hoped to have time to go see Remus before he went to pick up Hermione. He hoped that she was doing alright at Malfoy Manor. He headed across Diagon Alley to Gringotts, ready to get this whole ordeal over with.

The animagus stepped into the wizarding bank, scanning the large room for Furybolt. Seeing that he was with someone, he made his way to his account manager's queue. He waited at the required distance, noticing that it was Walden Macnair ahead of him. Once Furybolt realized that he was waiting, the goblin hurried Macnair along, though he didn't look much very happy about it. Furybolt waved him forward.

"First, let us get business out of the way. Then I will give you information about what occurred last night in Godric's Hollow." Sirius perked up at these words. He slid the paperwork from the Wizengamot across the counter to the goblin. The goblin shook his head.

"Half a million galleons? You should have fought that. They only gave Peregrine Parkinson a hundred thousand galleon fine for the same thing. They capitalized on the fact that you're the second wealthiest wizard in our world." Sirius knew that he was right, but he had no urge to fight the Ministry on it.

"I know but I did kill an auror. I'll pay my fine, so nobody can say that I was shown favoritism. Besides, we both know that all the rich bastards that do business here are going to invest further in the Black family businesses. It may be half a million galleons, but it'll repay itself quick enough." The goblin chuckled to himself.

"That's true enough. I expect you to make that back in just a month's time." The goblin steepled his hands under his chin. Sirius waved his wand, silencing the area around them so nobody could accidentally overhear them.

"The word amongst the goblins is that the wizard known as Lord Voldemort learned of the Potter's location through a source unknown to us. He struck your friend down first. We don't know the details of how, just that he was killed first. Ragnok himself told us that the Dark Lord tried to kill young Potter, but Lily Potter cast herself in front of the curse meant for the boy. Once he turned his wand to young Potter, the killing curse rebounded, leaving the scar on his head that you told me about. It is believed by all that he is gone for good, but that isn't so. There is dark magic involved, the darkest. We are unsure as to what exactly, but our records show that the Dark Lord is still alive. Dark magic is the only thing that could have saved him after being hit by the killing curse." Sirius cocked his head to the side.

"How is it that Harry survived then? For a killing curse to rebound off him, leaving only a scar?" Furybolt tutted softly.

"His mother cast herself in front of him, taking the curse meant for him. She willingly sacrificed herself. That produces protection. Sacrificial love is one of the strongest protections in our world." Sirius nodded his head slowly, taking in the words of his account manager. After almost a full minute contemplating the situation, he gave the goblin a grim smile.

"Thank you, Furybolt. The information is appreciated. One last thing before I go. Can you lock down the Potter vaults except for Harry's trust account? I know that with both Lily and James dead, I'm in charge of their finances until Harry is of age. I don't want anyone thinking that they can start dipping into their vaults because they're dead." Furybolt nodded.

"Absolutely. I know you rally behind Albus Dumbledore, but I wouldn't trust him completely. He was trying to convince James Potter to help finance your side of the war. I wouldn't want him to think that he could do so now because James is gone." This really didn't surprise Sirius. Once he had accepted his title as Lord Black, Dumbledore had broached him about funneling money into the Order of the Phoenix to help fund the war. He had agreed to a small amount, but it obviously hadn't been enough for the wizened old wizard.

"Again, thank you." Sirius didn't wait for a response before turning and leaving the bank. He was ready to go see Remus and apologize for mistrusting him.

Knowing that Remus still lived at The Den, his parents' old house in the middle of nowhere, Sirius stepped off the steps and apparated. He was already keyed into the wards there so he apparated to just outside the front door. He knew that the wards would alert Remus to the fact that he was there. It didn't take long at all for the front door to fly open and for Remus to step through, fury written upon his features.

"You dare come here after your treachery?!" Sirius was silent in his confusion. Treachery? After a couple false starts, he finally spoke.

"I'm not sure what you're on about, I wanted to come tell you how sorry I was that I was doubting your loyalties. I need your help. I have my niece and I'm going to get Harry, I know I can't –." He was cut off by Remus' roar.

"You betrayed James and Lily! They're dead because you handed them to Voldemort, you gave away the secret of their location!" Sirius should have seen this coming. The aurors at the Ministry hadn't believed him and neither had the Wizengamot. He had expected his friend to know him better than that, but he supposed that he hadn't seen Peter betraying James either. Maybe they were both blinded by lies. He held his hands out, trying to calm down his friend.

"I didn't betray them, Remus, I swear it. We switched at the last second, Peter was the secret keeper, not me. I would never have turned them into Voldemort. James was my brother in every way but blood. Lily was like a sister to me. Harry is my godson, I love him. You can't honestly think that I would be capable of a betrayal such as this." Remus just seemed to get angrier.

"I went to Peter's this morning to make sure that he had heard the news. His mother was there and told me that you showed up there last night and you both apparated away. He hasn't returned. I heard you killed that auror too. I bet you killed Peter and hid his body, so you could spin this story." Sirius couldn't believe the things that his friend was saying to him. When he spoke, it was spluttering in indignation.

"I did try to kill Peter because he betrayed James and Lily. An auror hit me from behind and the curse went astray and killed the auror. Peter disappeared when she started to attack me." Remus snorted, obviously not believing a word out of his mouth.

"I don't think so. You killed Peter and you betrayed James and Lily. If I have anything to say about it, you won't ever see Harry again. I'll be damned if you sacrifice him just as you did his parents." Now Sirius was furious.

"You can't keep me from him. I'm his godfather and I was named to take over custody of him if anything happened to James and Lily." Remus snorted again.

"Keep telling yourself that. Get the fuck off my property and don't ever come back. If you do, I'll kill you. Once you're gone, the wards will no longer admit you." Sirius couldn't believe what he was hearing. Sure, he had killed the auror, but he had never thought that his friend would turn on him in this time of strife. They needed to stick together. He must have hesitated too long because Remus growled again.

"Get out, Black, and don't ever come back." Sirius knew that he wasn't going to get anywhere with Remus this day, so he grasped his wand and disapparated.

Sirius landed in the foyer of Black Moor and was surprised how the manor was already starting to feel like home. He hadn't even been able to tell Remus that Voldemort wasn't dead at all. He sat in one the high-backed chairs by the floo and raked his hand through his hair. How was he going to care for two children without Remus? He could only hope that Minerva or one of his other friends from the Order would help him. Frank and Alice perhaps? With Voldemort gone, they would be free to leave their home once more.

Realizing that he didn't have time to wallow in his self-pity, Sirius pulled his hand from his hair and stood. He still had to go brave the Malfoys and get Hermione back. He really wasn't looking forward to this but knew that it had to be done. A stray thought hit him like a ton of bricks. There was every chance in the world that if Remus believed the worst of him that everyone else would too. There could possibly not be a single person he knew would be willing to help him. It was sobering to consider.

Refusing to let that thought settle in his head, he stuck his hand in the pot of floo powder and tossed it into the fire. Once the flames turned green, he stepped inside and called out for Malfoy Manor. To his complete surprise, it went through. He had to wonder why his father had an open floo connection to Malfoy Manor, but he didn't pause to consider it. He wanted to see his daughter. An elf appeared before him, dressed in a tea towel.

"Comes with Snitch. I's take you to master and mistress." Sirius figured that that would be the only way he could manage to find his way in a decent amount of time so he conceded. He followed the small creature through the corridors, past numerous rooms, until they stopped in front of a door that was shut.

"This is Master Draco's play rooms. They's waiting for yous." Sirius nodded his understanding before heaving a deep sigh. He was going to have to face up to his cousin and her husband eventually; he might as well get it over with early. He pushed the door open to find Hermione sitting on the floor next to Draco, trying to teach him how to count. Lucius and Narcissa were sitting on a sofa a few feet away, both with books in their hands but keeping an obvious and careful eye on the children. Narcissa rose to her feet and smiled at him. Sirius was so taken aback that he almost didn't answer when she spoke.

"Sirius, it's good to see you after so long. I'm sorry to hear about your friends." Sirius couldn't help but to snort at her words. Afterwards, he realized just how rude that must have seemed.

"It was your all-powerful lord that killed them. Are you really that sorry? Wouldn't that be treason or something?" His cousin's face froze for a moment before she lowered her gaze.

"Most of us don't care about blood status. No, we don't want the mudbloods ruining good family names, but it's always been about preserving traditions and the old ways. People like Dumbledore want to just shuffle the mudbloods into our world and change it to fit them. If they want to be a part of our world, they should fit to us." Sirius hated to admit it but Narcissa had a point. Too many times had Dumbledore brought muggleborns into their world without a single thought as to if they would fit in. There were many old customs and traditions that he had grown up doing but it was now frowned upon by the new order. Still, he couldn't agree with her completely.

"You may want to preserve our ways, but you really think that you're better because of your blood. Lily Potter was the consummate muggleborn and her magic was ten times stronger than your own, don't even deny it. How do you explain that?" Narcissa had a deer in the headlights look before she pulled the emotion from her face.

"I never said that we were right to follow the Dark Lord. We regret it actually. If our families hadn't been embroiled in the war on either side, Regulus would still be here, and the Order never would have tried to raid Erise. We know they wanted information on Lucius. This war cost us both family and nobody cared that we were on opposite sides. The only thing that we can do from here is to change for the better and make sure that we never make those mistakes again." Sirius couldn't help but want to believe his cousin.

When they were younger, Sirius had always loved Narcissa. She was a couple years older than him and always made time to play with him and Regulus while Andie and Bella had always blown them off. There weren't many members of the Black family left and if he had the chance the get close with one of them, he was going to do his best to make sure that it happened. While he didn't trust her completely, he could see that she was genuinely contrite. However, that did not extend to Lucius.

"What about him? He of the same opinion as you, cousin?" Narcissa shot Lucius and pointed look and Sirius could tell that this conversation was killing the elder Malfoy. He gritted his teeth but ground the words out to where they sounded mostly civil.

"I can't say that I agree with you on the opinion that muggleborns aren't weaker in magic. Most of them are. Lily Potter was an anomaly and you know it. That doesn't mean, however, that I haven't realized the error of my ways. My baby sister is dead because the Order wanted information on me because of the support I gave the Dark Lord. I know that they didn't show up at her home and try to kill her, that it was an accident, but that doesn't mean that I want to be their friends either. I don't want to become a part of your merry band of idiots that follow the old man blindly but I'm more than willing to admit that I was wrong for following Lord Voldemort." Sirius couldn't believe that he had gotten the man to give as much as he had.

While Lucius hadn't agreed that blood superiority was a sham, he had admitted that he should never have followed the psychopath Lord Voldemort. Sirius couldn't even dispute his words; most muggleborns weren't as strong in magic as their half-blood counterparts. Lily Potter had always been strong, and he had wondered more than once if she was the descendant of a squib. However, this still didn't mean that as stronger wizards that they were better. This being said, he knew he wasn't going to get Lucius to admit to that. Probably ever. Sirius scratched his chin.

"So, you're wanting to call a cease fire between our families? Is that what this is about?" Narcissa had the decency to blush a little at his words.

"To an extent, yes. Lucius and I can't have any more children and Hermione has become like our daughter. We love her and she's the only piece of Erise that we have now. Losing her from our lives isn't worth following the Dark Lord or playing political games with the Black family. We recognize that she is yours to care for and we don't want to contest that. We just want to be a part of her life." As much as Sirius wanted to tell her to fuck off, he couldn't. If changing loyalties for a child wasn't the purest of reasons, he didn't know what was. However, he was going to make Narcissa work for it.

"If you want to pull our family back together again, you need to reach out to Andie. I'm not saying that she'll respond but if she does, I want you to try to get close again. Our parents were arseholes, disinheriting us because we didn't do exactly what they wanted. If you want me to believe that you're willing to be tolerant, prove it. Reach out to your blood traitor sister and invite her and her muggleborn husband into your home." Sirius felt that it was fair but Narcissa looked horrified.

"Siri, you know what Bella will do to her if she ever finds out. How could you want that to happen to Andie? I didn't agree with her marrying the mudblood, but I never wanted to lose a sister over it. Bella will kill them." Sirius had to admit that she had a point. While it would be acceptable for Narcissa to embrace Sirius with open arms, it would be quite another if she were to do that to her sister that had openly defied her family by marrying a muggleborn. He supposed that he would have to concede just a little on this point.  
"Bella will be caught sooner or later. Once she's in Azkaban, you reach out to Andie. Until then, no more saying mudblood. That's the last word that I want coming out of my daughter's mouth." Narcissa looked confused.

"Daughter?" Sirius raked a hand through his hair.

"I went after Pettigrew last night for betraying James and Lily. I shot a killing curse but was hit in the back by an auror. My curse hit an auror rather than the rat. I had to adopt Hermione with blood magic to keep myself out of Azkaban. She's my heir now until I have a son." Lucius did not look pleased at the fact but remained silent on the matter. Narcissa took several seconds to process it but nodded her head in understanding in the end.

"It was all you could do. Pay your fine, do something nice for the young man's family, and try to move on. Hermione needs you." Sirius still couldn't get used to this version of his cousin. Since she had grown up, she had never been so open or accepting. He decided to lay it on the fact that she was now a mother.

"That's what I plan on doing. For now, though, I need to get Hermione, so we can head home and get some sleep. I'm knackered and she's still realizing that her mother isn't coming back." Narcissa nodded.

"Any time you need time for yourself or advice on anything, please call on us. We both love her as if she were our own." Sirius was still leery about the situation but realized that if his situation was as dire as it could be, he would probably need their support. Therefore, he nodded gratefully.

"Thank you. I'm sure that I'll have her over here several times a week. I may love her already, but I never planned on being a father before I was thirty. I have no idea what I'm doing." Narcissa chuckled softly.

"I understand. Anytime you need us." Sirius knelt before Hermione and tucked a curl behind her ear.

"Ready to go home and see your new room, poppet?" She began nodding her head enthusiastically.

"Oh yes, daddy! I hope it's purple and silver." He chuckled at her enthusiasm. Narcissa bent and kissed the top of her head.

"I assume that home is Black Moor since the elf accompanying her had the family crest on it's clothing?" He nodded before remembering to call for the elf. When he made to, Sipsy appeared from the shadows. Sirius smiled at her.

"You've done well, Sipsy. Go on home and we'll be there in a few minutes." Sipsy nodded without a word and disappeared with a pop.

Narcissa and Lucius both guided him back to the foyer where he had flooed in from. Hermione was bouncing in excitement at the thought of getting to see her new room. After grabbing a handful of floo powder, he turned to meet the Malfoy's eyes.

"Thank you." He wasn't sure if he was saying it for them watching Hermione that day or if it was because they wanted to help him out with his new daughter. Regardless, he felt it needed to be said either way. He didn't wait for them to answer, just threw the powder and watched the flames turn green. Sirius and Hermione flooed away in a whoosh, leaving bewildered but happy Malfoys behind them.

A/N- There we have it, folks. Number two is in the books. I hope that you enjoyed it. Thank you for your continued support. Leave me a message after the beep and let me know what you think.

Next chapter, Sirius goes to Hogwarts to see Dumbles.

Love,

Alicia


	3. Chapter 3

A/N- Here we go for round three, my lovelies! Thank you, thank you to everyone out there reading and reviewing, you guys make my day! I hope I do this chapter justice since a lot of you have been asking about it and making guesses as to what will happen. Anyways, I won't go on for forever, I know you want to read this as much as I want to get it written!

One last thing…I really hate to put my stories on an update schedule because my life is insane, and I would hate to disappoint you all if I missed one. I'll try to post an update every two weeks at the absolute longest.

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing. I haven't made any money from this story or any others that I've written.

Chapter 3

November 2, 1981

Sirius came awake with a groan. The sunlight was streaming through the heavy curtains, the beam of light landing perfectly in his eyes. If he hadn't known any better, he would have thought that Candy had done it on purpose. Throwing the curtains open had been her favorite way to wake him when he was a child.

He stood from the bed and made his way to the loo. Candy had placed him in the master suite of the manor, Hermione just two doors down from him. The night before he had had Dip and Dot start on reading the room next to hers for Harry. While he hadn't explained Harry coming to live with them, it was clear that his daughter understood that there was something else going on. She hadn't asked about it, but he doubted that that would last.

After relieving himself, he decided that a shower was in order. Today, he was going to take Hermione to Hogwarts, so he could retrieve Harry. While he was nervous as all hell, he was also excited. He felt terrible for just hoisting the young tot off on Hagrid; it hadn't been one of his best decisions since it had led to the death of a young auror but there was nothing for it now. He would retrieve his godson, and all would be well even if Remus wanted nothing to do with him.

Sirius stepped under the spray and began lathering his curly locks. His mind strayed to the conversation the night before with his cousin and her husband. He was unsure of just how much he could trust them, but he understood he'd never find out if he didn't at least try to trust them. There was no way that he would trust them completely any time soon, but he decided that he could trust them with Hermione's safety. Their love for her had been shining clear and bright in their eyes whenever they had spoken of her.

The animagus rinsed off and crawled out, toweling off since he had left his wand on the table by his bed. He threw the towel back on the rack before walking out into the room naked. When he walked into his closet, he was astounded. Gone were his ripped jeans and muggle rock band tee shirts. Gone was his beloved leather jacket and steel-toed boots. In their place was trousers, oxfords, sweaters, and suits. Robes lined one wall just by itself, making Sirius cringe. Dressing like a Lord had always been his least favorite part of being the heir. It seemed as though Candy had made sure that if he was claiming the title that he dressed the part.

"Candy!" The elf appeared before him. When she saw him standing in his closet starker's, a furious look on his face, a smirk crossed her features.

"Yes, master?" Sirius was trying to rein in his temper, but he had a feeling that it wasn't going to work. While he didn't have the Black family insanity, he did have an explosive temper that usually did him more harm than good.

"Where did you put my clothes?" Candy began rifling through the clothing hanging before him before pulling out a lovely charcoal grey pair or trousers, a white oxford, and a set of robes matching the trousers perfectly.

"I's gived them away. You're lord of the manor now, you have young miss to teach and train. Candy will not lets yous bring the house I love so much shames just because yous want to dress like a muggle. Yous dress proper or Candy will dress yous." Sirius shouldn't have been surprised. Candy had always been an overbearing elf, determined that she knew best for the Ancient and Noble House of Black. Candy was one of the reasons that his mother had hated it at Black Moor. Not only did she refuse to take orders from his mother, she continuously told her that she shouldn't be so terrible to her children. Deciding that it just wasn't worth the fight, Sirius sighed and took the clothes in Candy's hand.

"Overbearing nag. What would you do if I told you to punish yourself?" He had never once seen Candy punish herself. Of course, he had never heard his father tell her to either. While she was bound to Regulus and Sirius as well, they would never have dreamed of ordering that of Candy. She would have tanned their hides. The head elf snorted.

"Candy wouldn't dos it, of course. First duty of house elf is to care for master, master's family, and House. Dressing like street urchins isn't taking cares of the House, it's bringing shame. Candy won't punish herself for doing hers job." Sirius barked out a laugh at her words. Leave it to the overbearing elf to have her own opinion on the matter and then make her word law. She popped out of existence before he could say another word.

With a heavy sigh, Sirius began to dress in the clothes that Candy handed him. Once he was finished, he turned to stare at himself in the mirror. While he hated looking like a pompous git, he could admit that he looked damned good. The grey made his eyes pop and the clothes fit him perfectly. He was unsure how they had filled his closet in two days' time with perfect fitting clothes, but he wasn't going to complain. The last thing he wanted to do was go get fitted for these hideous clothes.

Sirius exited his room after sliding his wand up his sleeve. He stopped two doors down and opened it quietly, hoping to see that Hermione was still sleeping. No such luck, however. She was sitting on her bed, pillow propped behind her, with a book in her hands. He had no idea where she had gotten the book, he assumed that one of the elves had given it to her, but the fact that she was trying to read was amazing. She closed the book rather abruptly and then held her hand out. He was confused for several seconds before a book came whizzing by his head.

Hermione had summoned a book from the library wandlessly. He could only chalk it up to accidental magic but to see it so controlled wasn't something that he had expected. It reminded him that she had been stunning mediwitch's in St. Mungo's. He was going to have to get a tutor for her quickly, so they could begin working on her control. Otherwise, who knew what she would do accidentally if she was in ever in distress. When she caught sight of him, she squealed in pleasure.

"Daddy!" She bounded from the bed and wrapped herself around his legs until he bent to give her a proper hug. He held her close and kissed the top of her head.

"Morning, sweetness. How long have you been awake?" She shrugged her shoulders as she pulled away from him. Sirius couldn't help but chuckle at her.

"You want to go with me today and meet some new people?" She nodded enthusiastically.

"Oh yes, daddy, I love meeting people. Mummy always told me that nobody could see me except for family and my Madam." Sirius couldn't help the stab of guilt at her words. She was a young child. She should never have been locked away from people just because her mother and father were high profile in the war. Sirius called out for Sipsy and when the elf appeared, he turned back to his daughter.

"Get you a bath with Sipsy and let her help you get dressed. I bet she can do your hair pretty. Then we'll eat breakfast and go meet some new people." His daughter bounded to the bathroom, excited to get the bath out of the way so she could move on to new adventures. Sirius only hoped that it would go well.

Leaving Hermione in Sipsy's capable hands, Sirius headed down to the dining room. Once he took his seat, Dot brought the Daily Prophet and a cup of black coffee. The elves had learned early on that while most people preferred tea, Sirius adored coffee. The headline caused him to slosh his beloved coffee all over his hand.

 _Lestranges and Crouch Jr. Torture Longbottoms to Insanity!_

 _By Roger Dunleavy_

 _After the fall of Lord Voldemort Halloween night to little Harry Potter, everyone thought that they were safe. While it wasn't common knowledge, Frank and Alice Longbottom, top aurors for the Ministry of Magic, were hidden away under the fidelius charm. They let the charm lapse just yesterday morning and by six o'clock last night, they were patients in St. Mungo's._

 _Rodolphus, Rabastan, and Bellatrix Lestrange, accompanied by Barty Crouch, Jr., found their way to the home of Frank and Alice Longbottom. The pair met the four Death Eaters in the front garden of their home, leaving their year-old son in the home in the company of an elf._

 _Both aurors were tortured for no other reason than to find their fallen master. When Frank was rendered insane from the repeated use of the Cruciatus, the four Death Eaters turned their wand on Alice. Both aurors held strong for longer than a person would anticipate, but in the end, it just wasn't enough._

 _The highly gifted pair of aurors now reside in the Spell Damage ward in St. Mungo's. Whether they will be allowed to return home is unseen at this point. Their one-year old son, Neville, has been sent to live with his grandmother, Augusta Longbottom, who refuses to comment for this article._

 _All three Lestranges and Crouch, Jr. have been capturedt and remanded to Azkaban to wait until they will stand trial for their crimes against humanity. The Wizengamot set the trial date for November 17, 1981 in an emergency meeting just last night._

 _All of us here at the Prophet will keep young Neville and Madam Longbottom in our thoughts._

Sirius couldn't believe it. Frank and Alice had been tortured by his sick and twisted cousin. She had driven their minds to the edge where they just couldn't handle it anymore and had taken their lives from them. Sure, they were still alive and breathing, but the very essence of who they were was gone. What they had done to two of his oldest friends was worse than death.

Sirius was pulled from his thoughts by Hermione arriving, the thundering of her feet outside the door to the dining room. He could hear Sipsy scolding her so when she came through the door, her head was hung low, moving at a more sedate pace. He could hear Sipsy whispering to her.

"Yous can't run like that, Miss. Yous could fall and break yous neck. What would yous daddy do if yous was to get hurt like that?" Hermione didn't reply, merely nodded before Sipsy continued.

"When you and yous daddy comes home, Sipsy will takes you outside and yous can run all yous want." Her head came up and she threw her arms around a startled Sipsy. Neither spoke a word, Hermione just walked over to the seat she had claimed as her own, crawled up into it, and waited silently. Only seconds passed before the meal arrived.

The pair ate quickly, neither one of them wasting time when it came to filling their bellies. Sirius had always been serious about eating since his mother's favorite punishment for him when he was a young boy was to refuse him food when he misbehaved. When he had been at Black Moor, the elves would sneak him food after everyone had gone to bed but when it had occurred at Grimmauld Place, he was forced to starve. Kreacher seemed to hate everyone aside from his mother and his younger brother and would laugh at him being punished.

Once the meal was finished and cleared, Sirius called for Dip to bring them their cloaks. They would be apparating and since you couldn't apparate onto Hogwarts land, he was going to have to shoot for the front gate and then walk across the grounds. Hermione was beyond excited at the thought of going somewhere new.

Since Sirius was the Lord of the manor, he was able to apparate through the blood wards. As his heir, Hermione would be able to as well. Since this was possible, they only had to stand from the table, grasp hands, and disappear with a pop. Once they landed outside the gates of Hogwarts, Hermione was uproariously laughing. Sirius was confused beyond measure. Side-along apparition was terrible; it always left him nauseous. However, Hermione seemed to find it delightful. He would probably never understand his daughter. She jumped up and down and tugged on his arm.

"Again, daddy, again!" Sirius could only shake his head at her exuberance. To appease her, he disapparated them to ten feet behind where they had originally appeared. Her peels of laughter reverberated off the trees that surrounded the gates. He raised his eyebrow at her when he saw that she was going to ask him to do it again.

"We'll do it again when we leave." She quieted and nodded, clearly appeased at his promise.

The gates swung openly silently which Sirius took to be a good sigh. Surely if Dumbledore believed that he was a traitor, he would never have let him into the school during term time. Of course, it was also after nine in the morning and all the students would be in class.

Sirius bent to pick up Hermione and carry her. While she was rather accomplished intellectually, she was still just a two-year-old little girl. Her legs weren't long enough to keep up with his strides across the rugged terrain of Hogwarts grounds. She had no qualms about riding in her father's arms through the chilly morning air. When they caught sight of Hogwarts for the first time, she gasped and pointed.

"Look at it, daddy! It's amazing. Where are we?" Sirius chuckled but kept on walking.

"That's Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. That's where your Aunt Cissy, Uncle Lucius, and I went to school. When you turn eleven years old, you'll come here too. The best times of my life were spent at Hogwarts." An excited gleam appeared in her eyes.

"Can't I go now? I promise to be good and always listen to my teachers." Sirius barked out a laugh.

"No, poppet, you have to stay with dreary old dad for now. Don't worry, your time at Hogwarts will come soon enough." She looked devastated but simply nodded.

Sirius continued his trek across the grounds, finally getting close enough to the castle to see that there were two people standing just outside the Entrance Hall. He instantly recognized Albus and Minerva though he could have sworn that he could feel someone's eyes on him. The pair stepped forward so Sirius set Hermione down on the ground next to him. He moved forward to meet them but held Hermione back with a hand out to the side. The looks on Albus and Minerva's faces weren't very welcoming. Sirius decided to break the ice.

"I've come for Harry. I should have never sent him with Hagrid, but I wanted Peter to die for betraying James and Lily like that. It was one of the biggest mistakes of my life." Albus didn't say anything but Minerva said enough for all of them.

"You lying, conniving, piece of dragon shite! You killed Peter Pettigrew, turned the Potters into your lord, and when you killed an auror, you found a child to adopt so you could escape prison. All you ever did was tell everyone how those laws were outdated and complete rubbish, now you're using them to your benefit. You've played us all like a fiddle. You won't ever lay hands on Harry Potter, that much I can promise you." Sirius was surprised at the level of venom in her voice. It was clear that she truly believed everything she was saying, and he was unsure what to say to make her believe him.

"Minnie, I wouldn't lie to you about this. I've never supported Voldemort, James was my brother. I'm Harry's godfather for Merlin's sake. You know that's a magical bond that can't be broken. I would break it if I handed the Potters to the dark lord. Everyone knows that he wanted Harry." Dumbledore finally spoke.

"You're a traitor, Sirius. Nobody can find hide nor hair of Peter Pettigrew to corroborate your story. His mother tells us that you showed up there and looked ready to do him harm. You killed an auror. What other conclusion am I supposed to draw from these facts? If you think I'm letting you go near Harry Potter, you're sadly mistaken." Now Sirius was getting well and truly pissed. His voice raised enough to be heard clearly over the howling Scottish wind.

"I expect you to come up with the truth, which is what I'm telling you. I did show up there to kill Peter. I did shoot the killing curse but the auror intervened and my curse hit another auror. Peter disappeared. He's the one who handed James and Lily to that psychopath, of course he's going to go into hiding. I did use the laws protecting the purebloods by adopting my niece that you and the Order orphaned so I could still be here for Harry since I know that James and Lily named me his guardian if anything were to happen to them. You can't keep me from Harry anymore than you could take Hermione from me." Albus pulled his wand, brandishing it wildly. Sirius wondered just what was wrong with him; the old wizard was usually calm and collected even when he was angry. This was totally odd behavior.

"That whelps mother was collateral damage. We wanted information on Lucius, not for her to die. She's the one who got too close when we blasted in her door. We dropped her off at St. Mungo's, I thought that was more than generous considering who her parents were. You've said yourself that your brother was a Death Eater and a cold-blooded killer. Erise couldn't have been much better if she had a child with him outside of wedlock." This Sirius couldn't stand for. His own wand slid out of his sleeve while stepping in front of Hermione. The last thing he wanted was for her to be hit if Albus threw a curse.

"Look in my fucking head, you stubborn fucking bastard! You'll see that I'm not lying. I have control of James and Lily's estate, I have custody of Harry. You tell me where he is right now, or I'll bring you up on charges before the ICW." Albus shot him a disdainful look.

"You're forgetting something, Mr. Black. You're an animagus. The animal inside you clouds your mind and it's almost impossible to read you, just the same as Remus. Go ahead and take me before the ICW, who do you think they'll believe when I tell them that you betrayed the boy's parents and sent them to their deaths and now you want their son, the boy who saved us all? They're going to laugh in your face." Sirius went cold at his words. It was likely that Dumbledore was right. While he knew that he would win if it was before the Wizengamot, he was completely unsure about the ICW. The International Confederation of Wizards was well-known for being fair and just. Since Dumbledore was the Supreme Mugwump of the Wizengamot, he couldn't be tried there. Therefore, that left the ICW. Still, Sirius had to try.

"You're just a controlling fucking prick that is pissed he couldn't get his hands on all the Potter fortune. The goblins told me that you wanted James to funnel money into the war effort. My money wasn't enough? Are you sure that the money went to the war effort and not your own personal vault?" While he truly didn't think that Dumbledore would steal the money for his own personal gain, he didn't care. If he could damage Dumbledore's reputation, he would.

Out of nowhere, two curses flew out of Dumbledore's wand. Sirius had his wand in his hand but was nowhere near fast enough to cast a shield at such a short distance. The first was a cutting curse that landed on his knee, slicing a tendon he was sure since he dropped to the ground, unable to bear weight. The second was obviously some sort of binding spell that flew right over the top of him and hit Hermione behind him.

Ropes wrapped around her several times over, getting tighter and tighter as she struggled. Sirius was struggling to his feet, so he could go to her and help her. Minerva was screaming at Albus, telling him that he couldn't hurt a child no matter who her parents were. However, this wasn't needed since Hermione was well and truly angry now. Sirius wasn't sure what she was going to do but he had a feeling that it wasn't going to be pretty.

In the end, Hermione Black screamed.

Her piercing cries echoed off the walls and turrets of the castle. The ropes disappeared from around her and Albus' wand was blasted out of his hand. He took another step forward as if to retrieve it, but Minerva laid a hand upon his arm, holding him back. When she finally quieted, she stepped forward in front of Sirius.

"You won't hurt my daddy again." Sirius could see a grudging respect in Minerva's eyes but only loathing in Albus'. He struggled to his feet fully, blood running down his leg in a small river.

"Don't worry, that will be a charge against you also, Albus. Cursing a minor child, almost an infant when you're the Headmaster of a school, charged with protecting so many young children. Don't worry, they won't need my memory. They can take Hermione's." There was a brief flash of fear in the older wizard's eyes before his face went calm again. He turned his own wand to his leg, splinting it so he could bear weight on it enough to get them off the grounds of Hogwarts.

"Leave, Mr. Black, before I call for the aurors to escort you off the premises. Sirius snorted at his former Headmaster.

"Not a problem. I'll see you in court."

Hermione took his hand when he turned, walking slowly so she kept pace with him. Sirius had to repress a chuckle when she turned and stuck her tongue out at Albus and Minerva. There was hissing behind him, so he was sure that neither one of them appreciated the move, but he didn't care. The old fuck had cursed his daughter, intentional or not. He had everything he had gotten coming to him.

The trek that had taken only ten minutes before was taking almost half an hour now that he was injured. They had just reached the gates to have them swing open, allowing them to leave, when a silvery grey patronus appeared before them. For a moment, his heart leapt in his throat.

A doe. Lily's patronus.

Was it possible?

His hopes were shattered when the unforgettable voice of Severus Snape resounded in the cold air.

 _Meet me at the Three Broomsticks in private room number three in twenty minutes._

Sirius sighed. The last thing in the fucking world he wanted to do was meet with Severus bloody Snape on his own. He was aware that the Death Eater had turned spy for the Order. He was also aware that he was the one who had leaked the prophecy to the Dark Lord. He was quite sure that Severus didn't know that he knew. When Albus had met with Severus that dark and stormy night to discuss their terms, Sirius had been frolicking in the night air with James in their animagus forms. James had been a hundred meters away, too far away to hear their whispered conversation. Sirius, however, had heard everything. It was out of respect for Dumbledore that he had kept his mouth shut about the conversation to absolutely everyone. Now, it seemed, he was going to have to deal with him about something. However, the timing seemed far too perfect for it to be anything other than the conversation he had just had with the Headmaster.

Sirius reached down and grasped Hermione's hand again, twisting on the spot to reappear in front of the Three Broomsticks. Hermione's laughter rang out and even though Sirius couldn't imagine feeling worse than he did, he smiled. His godson was gone, he had no idea where he was, everyone thought that he was a traitor, and his knee was fucked up. He wasn't sure if things could get worse. Of course, when you threw Snape into the mix, it was always possible.

Hermione stayed by his side as they made their way to the bar. Rosmerta was looking as busty and beautiful as ever. Sirius had been trying to hook up with her for ages only for her to laugh at him and tell him that he was far too young for her. He was quite sure that she couldn't be more than ten years older than him. Regardless, now wasn't the time. He was injured, his daughter was present, Snape was on his way.

He asked for the key to room three, throwing a few coins out to pay for it's use. He told her that a professor would be along to meet with him and send him on his way when he arrived. She seemed genuinely surprised that he didn't try to hit on her like always, but her confusion cleared when she peered over the counter and saw Hermione.

Sirius didn't hang around and allow her to ask questions. He took Hermione by the hand again and led her up the stairs to the private rooms. The stairs were murder on his knee and he swore that if Severus didn't have anything worth hearing to say, he was going to castrate him. Sirius had never dealt with pain well.

Since it took him ages to get up the stairs and then find room three, they had only sat down for a handful of minutes before Severus knocked on the door and breezed in. Both men were silent as they sized each other up. It was Hermione that surprised Sirius.

"Uncle Sevvie!" Sirius was noticing that all Hermione's favorite people had eeee after their names. Cissy, Luci, Sevvie, daddy. It's a good thing he already loved her because otherwise it would drive him mad. Her familiarity with the potion's master astounded him, however. Hermione flew across the room and into Snape's arms, hugging him close. While Severus did appear to be a little uncomfortable, he returned her hug. When they broke apart, Sirius gritted his teeth.

"What the fuck is going on here?" Severus raked a hand through his lank hair before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a vial and handing it over.

"Pain potion. Until you can get to St. Mungo's and fix that." Sirius couldn't help but mistrust him just a little. He was still a Death Eater after all. He opened the vial and sniffed it first, bringing a smirk to Severus' lips. When he realized that it was indeed pain potion, he quaffed it quickly before handing the vial back. The pain immediately eased, letting Sirius breathe easier.

"Now tell me what the fuck is going on here." Severus sighed this time.

"There are things about me that you don't know, things I've done -." Sirius cut him off.

"I know you're a Death Eater, I know that you're spying for Dumbledore because you heard the prophecy and told Voldemort. Pretty sure you turned spy because you still love Lily and wanted to protect her." The look on Severus' face was priceless.

"How…how did you…. how in the fuck did you know?" Sirius shrugged.

"I'm an animagus. I was outside and heard your whole conversation with Dumbledore that night. This doesn't tell me what we're meeting for right now or why my daughter calls you Uncle Sevvie." It was clear that the name embarrassed him by the pink tinge to his cheeks. Severus sighed again.

"When you and your brother had your falling out, Regulus and I became best friends, much like you and Potter. When Hermione was born, he and Erise named me her godfather, much the same as Lucius and Narcissa did when Draco came along. I'm honor bound to protect her, just like you are for Lily's boy. I could no sooner harm her than you could harm young Potter." Sirius knew what this meant. Snape believed him.

"You mean that you believe me?" Severus nodded, rolling his eyes.

"Anybody far enough removed from the situation would realize that you would never do something that would harm your godson even if you had turned traitor. Albus obviously doesn't have any godchildren, otherwise he would understand." Sirius knew exactly what he was trying to say.

"You're saying that even though you hate me, you're willing to put our differences aside to be close to Hermione?" Severus gave only a sharp nod in answer. Sirius considered him for a few moments. It was true that the man could be lying about it all, but Hermione had called him that ridiculous name. She obviously loved him, not something a normal child would do if he didn't care for them in return. He did understand that if he was indeed her godfather, he would never harm her and do whatever he could to protect her. It was his turn to sigh now.

"Alright, I'll give you the same deal I gave Lucius and Narcissa. No words like mudblood around her. You drop the superiority bullshite. You always protect her, even if it's with your life." Severus looked affronted.

"I would never let harm come to her if I could prevent it. I don't love many people, but I love your daughter." For some odd reason, Sirius believed him.

"You can see her whenever you like. We're living at Black Moor, just floo ahead and I'll make sure the wards will accept you. She'll be at Malfoy Manor quite often so long as the pair of them abide by their word. You're more than welcome to see her there." Severus breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, Black." Sirius snorted.

"We're practically family, you know. Don't you think we should graduate to first names?" Sirius really hated to think of the man as family but seeing the look on his face at his words had been hilarious. It was through gritted teeth that Severus nodded.

"Absolutely, Sirius." Sirius nudged his daughter over to go sit on the potion master's lap like she had been wanting to since he had arrived before speaking.

"So, what's the story on Dumbledore? Do you know where Harry is? Do you have any information that would help me in this custody battle?" Severus wrapped his arms around his goddaughter and sighed.

"The old man refuses to tell me where young Potter is. I know that Minerva and Hagrid are aware, but they refuse to speak of it. I do know that he will do everything in his power to keep the boy out of your hands. He truly does believe that you'll kill the boy or hand him over to Death Eaters." The potion's master paused for a moment.

"As for his story, I'm not entirely certain. He trusts me to gather information but not to keep his secrets. I know that he had been hoping to get Potter to finance the war. I'm not sure if that's really what he was doing or if it was going to his personal account like you said. He's just so bloody Gryffindor that I'm not sure I could see him doing something so underhanded." Sirius snorted.

"Don't let that act fool you. He's more Slytherin than you are. Did you forget that he blackmailed you into spying for him and then he failed to keep James and Lily safe? To me, that sounds like something the dark lord would do." Severus was quiet for several seconds.

"I suppose I can see that, but I really don't think he's taking the money for himself." Sirius conceded this point.

"I agree, I don't think he wanted the money for himself. That doesn't mean, however, that I wouldn't trust him to go about the money in an honest way. Sure, it might be allocated for the war effort but who's to say that anyone aside from Albus would have access to it? It would guarantee that we kept him in power, something he obviously delights in." Severus nodded.

"I could see that. He conned me into agreeing to protect Potter with my life after Lily was killed. He told me that it was my fault, that I had put my trust in the wrong people." Sirius felt the familiar lick of shame.

"It wasn't your fault, it was mine. They both wanted me to be their secret keeper, but I told them to use Peter because everyone would suspect that it was me. If I had been in hiding it would have been different but since I was still going out on missions, it wasn't a good plan. We should have used Remus." Severus hummed his agreement.

"Does the wolf agree with Dumbledore?" Sirius started to bristle at the man's use of the word wolf but remembered that the wolf in question thoroughly hated him now. Instead, he hung his head and nodded.

"Remus sincerely believes that I turned James and Lily into Voldemort. There's no reason for him to believe otherwise when Dumbledore is telling him he's right." Severus gave a resolute nod.

"It seems we're at an impasse. I'll keep my ears open for you in return for seeing Hermione whenever I'm able." Sirius shook his head.

"I don't expect you to keep spying past these questions. If I know Dumbledore he's made you take oaths. The last thing I want is for you to get caught up in one of those and end up dead. Then I'd have to figure out how to tell Hermione." Severus snorted.

"Alright. I'll be round in a few days. I don't get many days away from the idiot children." Sirius openly laughed now.

"Speaking of idiot children, can you direct me on how to get in touch with the tutor Hermione had? She's already got a great start and I'd loathe for her lose it." Severus gave a sharp nod.

"I'll owl you the information tonight." There wasn't much else to say.

Severus stood and allowed Hermione to hug him again before he bid them good day. Once he was gone, Sirius turned to Hermione and smiled at her.

"You doing alright, poppet?" She gave an enthusiastic nod.

"Yes, daddy. We need to fix your knee." Sirius chuckled even though he didn't have much to chuckle about.

"Alright, you bossy little thing. Let's go turn our key in and we'll go to St. Mungo's." Hermione nodded happily, eager to allow him to take his time on the stairs.

One thing was for sure; Sirius had much to consider and the first thing on the list was getting his family solicitor on a case against Dumbledore.

A/N- Boom, another chapter down. Now I want to point out that while Dumbledore is planned to be light in this story, he's definitely not going to be the good guy he's portrayed as in canon. He's going to be shady and a real prick because he really does think that Sirius is a traitor. Once the truth comes out, it will get better but trust me, bridges will be burned for them to be friends. Anyways, I've rambled enough. Let me know what you think! Reviews make me smile.

Next up, Sirius goes to court before the ICW.

Love,

Alicia


	4. Chapter 4

A/N- I'm back again, my friends. I know that some of you have made comments about Remus, Minerva, and Dumbledore being OOC, that they would never react the way they did. While this is true, I put in the summary that this was AU. They all feel betrayed and Sirius is an easy scapegoat. These characters are only going to get worse as the story goes on so if that isn't your thing, no offense taken at you moving on. I promise you, all these characters that are acting irrationally are going to be on the side of the light, they're just going to be flawed, much like you and I are. If you can handle my portrayal of the characters, I'll see you on the other side. Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing, you're seriously awesome.

Side note: You guys are getting this chapter earlier than usual but it's because I work the next three days and can't guarantee I'll be able to give y'all a chapter in that time frame. Happy Friday!

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing, I haven't made any money. I work like a dog and sweat my ass off daily so all the money in my bank account is mine by honest means.

Chapter 4

December 1, 1981

Sirius couldn't deny that he was nervous beyond measure. Today was his court case in front of the ICW, or International Confederation of Wizards. While he was as prepared as he could be, he also was aware that Albus Dumbledore was a well-respected wizard in many countries. It was going to be difficult to discredit him.

Sirius had called upon the Black family solicitor, a Mr. Silas Toomey, the day after his encounter with Albus. Sirius was quite certain that the man disbelieved him as everyone else in his life but in the end, it didn't matter. He was going to fight tooth and nail for custody of Harry no matter what he believed.

Mr. Toomey had a plan, of course. He wouldn't be the Black family solicitor if he hadn't. While Sirius considered himself far more forgiving than the rest of his family, it was quite apparent early on that if the man didn't put forth all his effort into winning this case, he would be out of his arse so to speak. Since their solicitor couldn't afford to lose the Black family as clients, it was a given that he would do anything short of avadaing someone to win.

The animagus tried to distract himself from his nervousness with thoughts from the past. Even though there was a constant ache in his chest where James, Lily, Remus, and Harry belonged, he had done his best to focus on the positive. First was Hermione, his beautiful and incredibly intelligent daughter. They had only gotten closer since he adopted her, and he could say without a doubt that she was the light of his life. He had taken Severus' owl several days after their meeting, the one containing the name and contact information of one Madam Cambridge.

Madam Cambridge came highly recommended from numerous pureblood families, she had produced the recommendations at their first meeting. Since Narcissa had expressed interest in her tutor as well, Sirius had allowed her to attend the meeting. She had been working with Hermione for a year already and while he didn't want Madam Cambridge to know that he was loathe to switch from her now, he still wanted to make sure that she was the best choice for his daughter.

While he was pretty much set on Madam Cambridge, he also checked out numerous other tutors in the wizarding world. Even though some of them already had charges, Sirius was arrogant enough to know that the name Black would have most of them renouncing their charges to flock to his door if only he said the word. In the end, he had decided that Madam Cambridge was the best there was to offer. So perfect, in fact, that Narcissa had begged her to take Draco on as well and teach the children together. For quite the hefty increase in pay, Madam Cambridge had agreed happily.

Hermione flooed to the Malfoys every other day now for lessons. On the days she didn't, Narcissa flooed Draco over and left him with one of their elves. Sirius found that he didn't mind his tiny cousin being there several times a week. He had indeed gotten closer to Lucius and Narcissa, if for no other reason then their children growing up together and getting along. While he hadn't confided in his cousin and her husband in anything other than his upcoming trial, he was getting along famously with them and they had stood by their word.

Narcissa had been upset to hear that Bellatrix was found guilty by the Wizengamot for torturing the Longbottoms to insanity. Sirius suspected that her upset was not because her oldest sister was sent away but because she had inflicted the worst punishment possible on someone. Narcissa was a softy at heart and she was quite against unnecessary human suffering. For this reason, Sirius couldn't help but wonder how she had gotten mixed up with the Dark Lord.

Bellatrix had been convicted, of course, as had Rodolphus, Rabastan, and Barty Crouch, Jr. While none of them had been sentenced to the Kiss, they had all four been convicted of life in Azkaban. Both fates were horrible, and Sirius really couldn't wager which one was worse. Narcissa had cried when the sentence was handed down, both in attendance. Sirius had comforted her as best he could, Bella was her sister after all, but in the end had smirked his cousin's way as she had been led off by aurors.

Since Bella was now in Azkaban, Narcissa had to hold up her end of the bargain. She had owled Andromeda the very next day, begging for her to meet with her in her home, that she wanted to rekindle their relationship. What Sirius hadn't expected was for Andromeda to owl him and ask his opinion. He had only tweaked the truth a little when he told his older cousin that Narcissa was genuine and that he had already mended bridges with her.

Sirius hadn't been present for their first dinner. From what he heard from both parties, he was happy that he had agreed to keep Hermione and Draco overnight that night. It had been explosive at first, literally and figuratively. With emotions so near the surface, both women had lashed out at the other, ending in a duel of epic proportions. In the end, it took Lucius stunning them both, binding them to chairs so they could talk without hexing each other.

Apparently, it had taken hours for the two to air their grievances with each other. Lucius had been pissed off fire whiskey by the time they were no longer fighting but it had all been worth it. While they weren't perfect, they were both willing to try to make their newfound relationship work.

Sirius had been invited to the next "family" dinner. When presented with Andromeda and Ted Tonks, not to mention their metamorphmagus daughter, Lucius had seemed downright thrilled to see Sirius, which the Gryffindor was more than amused at. The dinner had gone smashing, however, and as a family, they were well on their way to mending all their fences.

Severus had held true to his word, showing up the weekend after they had met. He had stayed the whole weekend and while it was awkward that first time, the following two weekends after that had been just fine. It made Sirius wonder just how their lives could have been different if they had managed to put their differences behind them back in school. In all actuality, it was a good guess that James would have never married Lily because she would have been with Snape. As much as he hated himself for thinking it, he was glad that the pair had had a falling out. James had loved nobody aside from Lily and Sirius would never begrudge the man who was his brother in everything but blood his happiness.

To his knowledge, Remus was still holed up at the Den. He hadn't heard any news of him on the streets or in the Ministry. Lucius had told him that all had been quiet on his front as well. Since Sirius had started to take over managing the Black estates and businesses, he heard quite a bit but never anything about Remus. Dumbledore was a different story. It was made clear to everyone through the Prophet that he would be going before the ICW against Sirius for custody of Harry Potter. His godson's location was never leaked, however, and it was driving Sirius mad.

These thoughts brought him back to the present, the fact that he was getting ready to walk into a courtroom housing thousands of people that had come to watch the battle between the betrayer of the Potters and Dumbledore. Hermione was standing next to him with Narcissa on one side, Lucius on her other, both holding her hands. They had decided to leave Draco in the safety of Malfoy Manor with their army of house elves to watch after him. Hermione had balked at leaving him there by himself, but Sirius had assured her that it was safer for him there rather than with them. Only then had she capitulated. Narcissa gave him a soft smile.

"I'm hoping for the best for you, Siri. It would be wonderful to raise Hermione and Draco with young Harry Potter. He needs to grow up and know that he has a heritage and a legacy." Sirius grinned at her for the use of his childhood nickname.

"Thanks, Cissy." Lucius gave him an encouraging nod before they led Hermione out of the private chambers and out into the gallery where they would watch the proceedings. Sirius watched them leave and couldn't help but consider just how he had ended up where he was today. In the only words that he could come up with, Peter Pettigrew. With a scowl, he turned toward the door he was supposed to take. Heaving a deep breath, he stepped through and strode to the defendant's table and took his seat next to Mr. Toomey.

It was clear that his solicitor could tell that he was nervous. While he didn't offer any words of comfort or encouragement, it was clear by the look on his face that he expected to win this battle. Dumbledore had chosen to not have representation, feeling that his position as Supreme Mugwump would be good enough to protect him. While Sirius wanted to be irked at the absolute arrogance of his opponent, he still couldn't help but worry.

The gallery was full. There were thousands of people gathered to watch this battle play out in person and Sirius couldn't blame them. Even though court proceedings did absolutely nothing for him, he probably would have turned up too just to see what happened in such an epic battle.

After watching the gallery long enough to spot Hermione and the Malfoys close to the front, he turned back to the scene before him. There was a collection of a hundred different wizards, most with a country name before their person. The Supreme Mugwump of the ICW was an ancient man, one as old as Dumbledore if it was to be believed. Dumbledore was across the aisle from them, seated at a table all by himself, a satisfied little smile on his face. Sirius couldn't help but to want to punch it from his features. When the doors the enormous room closed, the Supreme Mugwump brought the room to order.

"We've been brought here today by Lord Sirius Orion Black, who is pursuing the custody of his godson Harry James Potter, heir to the Ancient and Noble House of Potter. He is bringing charges against Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Supreme Mugwump of the Wizengamot of Britain for kidnapping, assault against a child, and misappropriation of funds. We'll work our way through each of these charges today and then it will be left up to the esteemed body of the ICW to make their ruling. I hold the veto power as befitting my station." Sirius took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, as the Mugwump, a man by the name of Percival Chalmers continued.

"Mr. Toomey, would you prefer to bring your case first?" Silas rose to his feet as he addressed the Mugwump.

"Absolutely, sir. The first charge we'll bring before the court is misappropriation of funds. I would like to enter into evidence paperwork from the goblins of Gringotts, Britain branch. In this paperwork, there is proof that a total of 200,000 galleons were donated by Lord Black to the war effort in the name of the Order of the Phoenix. There is also proof in there that Albus Dumbledore tried to withdraw 500,000 from the Potter vaults after their deaths, citing that James Potter had given his consent before he died. When the goblins researched the account Dumbledore had begun for the war effort, they found that it no longer existed. I would like to call Epoxymoch to the stand first to testify for Gringotts." Silas turned to one of the doors after handing the information to the man in charge of handing evidence to the governing body.

"Epoxymoch." The door swung open and a rather ancient looking goblin appeared before stepping up to take his seat next to the Mugwump. Silas gave him an encouraging smile, which he sneered at.

"You were the goblin that was called upon to investigate these charges. We in no way hold the goblin horde responsible if a guilty verdict is found today. Could you tell us your findings?" The goblin showed his rows of tiny razor-sharp teeth before folding his hands under his chin.

"My findings are as follows. Lord Black did indeed donate a sum of 200,000 galleons into an account that existed for the war effort. He and Albus Dumbledore signed a very basic contract, stating that the funds were to be used for the Order of the Phoenix, getting people into hiding, things of the like. That much is fact. The contract is in the stack of parchment you hold now." The witches and wizards were now shuffling through their parchment to find the one he was speaking of.

"It is also fact that Albus Dumbledore attempted to withdraw 500,000 galleons from the Potter vaults after their death, citing on the parchment in your stack that he was given permission to do so before James Potter was murdered. Since he could have possibly pushed that through due to his standing in the Wizengamot, it is only the intervention of Lord Black that this did not occur. He requested through his own account manager that all Potter vaults be frozen until such time that he could go over them since he was made custodian of them until young Harry reaches the age of his majority." There were soft gasps from the gallery and Sirius felt a slight thrill. Witches and wizards hated to be stolen from, especially wealthy people, and there was a good portion of those sitting on the ICW today. Epoxymoch continued.

"I also tried to bring the balance of the account in question and found that it had been dissolved shortly after Albus Dumbledore tried to funnel more funds into it from the Potter vault. It was merged with his own personal vault, the balance there in the parchment you are holding in your hands. Also included is an itemized list of withdrawals from his personal account and to whom they were paid to." Every single witch and wizard was poring over their copy of the parchment. Dumbledore sat there at his table, alone, hands folded serenely on his lap, eyes twinkling. Sirius wanted to punch him in his crooked nose. Mr. Chalmers spoke.

"It shows in these records that Mr. Dumbledore hasn't spent a thing from his vault except for large amounts of common staples, sent somewhere unspecified. These charges are congruent with feeding and clothing those hidden in safe houses, the very reason that the money was donated. The money that Lord Black donated has been used in the manner that it was meant to be. Epoxymoch, please step down, I'd like to hear from Lord Black for a moment." The goblin seemed pleased to be free to leave, hopping down without a word. Silas turned his way and urged him with his eyes to take the witness stand. Once seated, he waited patiently for the Mugwump to speak.

"When you signed that contract with Mr. Dumbledore, did it state that the money would remain in the account that you put it in?" Sirius gritted his teeth.

"No, sir. It stated that the funds I donated would be used to help the war effort." The man put the parchment in his hands down on his table before meeting his eyes.

"It is quite clear in the parchments your solicitor handed up that there have been no withdrawals from Mr. Dumbledore's account that haven't been war related. That does not constitute misappropriation of funds." Sirius nodded but couldn't help but answer back even though he probably shouldn't.

"Maybe we should change the charges to attempted theft. He still tried to take money from James and Lily's vaults after they were dead. It very well may have gone through if I hadn't frozen their accounts until I could sort them out." The Mugwump glared at him.

"Very well. Amend the charges and I would like to have Mr. Dumbledore up here to hear his side of things." Sirius stood and caught sight of Hermione cheerfully waving at him. While he didn't wave back, he flashed her a grin. Dumbledore stood and made his way to the seat Sirius had just vacated. Mr. Chalmers met his gaze.

"Mr. Dumbledore, it is clear that you have stood by your word regarding the money that Lord Black donated. What do you have to say regarding the money you attempted to get from the Potter vaults after their deaths?" Dumbledore stroked his beard for a few moments before answering.

"I had spoken with James the day that they were murdered regarding their contribution to the war effort. He had agreed to donate 500,000 galleons and have his account manager handle the transaction, much the same as Lord Black's had. I was under the impression that this transaction had already been handled, just needed my signature. I would never have stolen from James and Lily Potter." Sirius got a funny feeling in his gut when he saw the gleeful look cross the Mugwump's face for just a moment after Dumbledore spoke. He wondered if they knew each other. Mr. Chalmers nodded.

"Very well, we'll vote later on your innocence or guilt." Dumbledore returned to his seat and Mr. Chalmers turned to Mr. Toomey. He hoped that Silas was ready to bring his a-game.

"Continue with the next charge." Silas stood and ran his hands down the front of his robes, smoothing them out.

"The next charge we will bring against Albus Dumbledore is assault against a child. As Headmaster of Hogwarts, this is a serious charge. I would like to call Lord Black to the stand, as well as a mind healer." Mr. Chalmers nodded, and Sirius stood again, re-taking the witness seat.

"Please tell us what happened, Lord Black." Sirius took a deep breath and vowed to remain calm. This was the one charge that he was sure of, he just needed to play his cards right.

"I had gone to Hogwarts with my young daughter Hermione to speak with Mr. Dumbledore about the location of my godson. We got into an argument and he pulled his wand. Mine stayed in my pocket for a few minutes, not wanting to escalate the situation. When I saw that he didn't care that I had my two-year-old daughter standing behind me, I pulled my wand but didn't cast. He was so angry that he cast a cutting curse at my knee, slicing the tendon in two, which sent me to the ground. His second curse was some form of an incarcerous, which sailed over my head and hit my daughter.

Hermione was so livid that she exploded out of the ropes holding her and disarmed Dumbledore with her accidental magic. Minerva McGonagall had to restrain him to keep him from retrieving his wand and doing who knows what to my innocent daughter." He was quite certain that the Mugwump and Dumbledore knew each other now. The faint tensing of the man's jaw gave it away. Silas nodded at Sirius, taking that as his sign to move away from the witness' seat. The rest of governing body remained silent as they watched things play out in front of them. Silas called for the mind healer.

"Healer Ainsworth." A matronly woman came through the doors and settled in her seat to look out at everyone in the gallery. It was clear that she was used to testifying, something that Sirius really didn't want to think about. Silas smiled softly at her.

"Thank you for coming, Healer Ainsworth. You are employed at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, correct?" She gave a sharp nod.

"Yes, sir. Have been for nigh on fifty years." Mr. Toomey smiled again, this one looking somewhat like a shark going after its next meal.

"I understand that you drew a memory from little Hermione Black's mind the day that she was assaulted. Due to Lord Black's status as an animagus, he is unable to submit to legilimency, our usual form of verifying the truth. Therefore, after he was healed in your wonderful facility, the records being part of the parchment packet you all have mind you, you were called in to remove the memory of what happened." Healer Ainsworth nodded.

"Yes, I was requested the remove the memory from her mind, not only for the purpose of this trial but because Hermione Black has already suffered the loss of her biological father and watched her mother die before her eyes. Lord Black was concerned that she would begin having nightmares." Silas gestured for someone to bring forth the pensieve. Once it was set on the table in the middle of the room, Silas turned back to Healer Ainsworth.

"Please tell us about the memory we're about to see." The older woman leaned forward and folded her hands on the table, a no-nonsense air about her.

"First off, what you won't be able to tell by viewing this memory is the terror Hermione Black felt at watching her father fall before her and the absolute fury she felt for the man who had cursed not only her father but herself as well. Her reaction is extreme, the strongest accidental magic I've felt in decades, but then again, she is only two years and watched her mother die only days before this even happened. There is no expecting a child that young to exert control while facing the level of terror that she was." The man running parchment between all the members of the governing body retrieved the memory that Healer Ainsworth had turned in before the start of the trial and poured it into the pensieve. After a quick spell, the memory was projected for the whole room to watch.

Sirius couldn't help but turn to watch his daughter's face as the memory played out. Since he had requested the memory be removed, Hermione only had knowledge of it in the very back of her mind. Watching what happened would likely affect her and not in a good way. He tried not to worry since he had spoken to Lucius and Narcissa about it beforehand, hoping they could stave off her reaction.

The whole of their conversation was there for everyone to see. The memory had started just as they were reaching the castle and didn't end until Sirius was hobbling away after bandaging his bleeding knee. There were gasps at not only Dumbledore cursing Hermione but at her display of accidental magic. There were, however, several mistrustful glances Sirius' way, probably because he had admitted to killing in auror on accident in the memory.

He caught Hermione's eye after the memory was over. She looked pale and was clinging to Narcissa, but she hadn't reacted violently as he had feared she would. For that, he was grateful. The last thing he wanted was to terrorize her more. He hadn't even wanted to bring her with him today, but the Malfoys had insisted that it would help in the long run, show him as a responsible family man no matter what he had done before.

When the memory came to an end, the room was silent. Sirius wasn't sure if it was because they watched Dumbledore attack a child or if it was because of her display of accidental magic from nothing but screams. Finally, the Mugwump turned to Healer Ainsworth.

"Is that level of accidental magic possible? I've never seen it before." The matronly woman took a deep breath.

"It is. I haven't seen it in decades, like I said before. It was in a young man that unfortunately died from dragon pox in the 1960's. Believe it or not, he was a muggleborn. In the case of Hermione Black, her father, Regulus Black, and her mother, Erise Malfoy, were both extremely gifted when it came to magic. When Lord Black adopted her through blood magic, she inherited magic from his genes as well. To put it bluntly, a normal witch or wizard has magic from two parents. Miss Black has magic from three." The room remained silent and Sirius shot another look at his daughter. She was now seated in Lucius' lap, snuggled into his chest, realizing that they were talking about her. He had no doubt that Lucius was whispering to her that she was most certainly not in trouble if the tears on her cheeks were anything to judge by. Mr. Chalmers waved Healer Ainsworth down from the stand.

"I'd like Mr. Dumbledore to give his testimony of this event." Sirius watched as Albus stood and took the seat that Healer Ainsworth had vacated. Mr. Chalmers didn't look as confident as he had before.

"Please tell us why you would bind a child like that." Dumbledore sighed and looked contrite. Sirius couldn't tell if it was genuine or not. He liked to believe that his old Headmaster wouldn't want to hurt a child but now that he thought Sirius was a traitor, he was unsure of just what the old wizard was capable of.

"I never meant to hurt the child. I was angry at Lord Black, the very reason that I sent the spells his way. I didn't expect him to drop and I had already sent the second spell at him. I never wanted to harm Hermione Black no matter who her parents were." Sirius wanted to snort but refrained. There were a few sympathetic looks in the governing body but most were still hard-faced. Mr. Chalmers nodded and dismissed him.

"We will vote later in the day as to your innocence or guilt." Dumbledore took this to mean that they were moving on and stood, returning to his seat at the table opposite of Sirius. The Mugwump continued.

"Let us continue on with the final charge of kidnapping." Mr. Toomey nodded and stood.

"I would like to call Lord Black to the stand." Sirius was getting extremely tired of getting up and down, but this was the last time. He hoped. Silas gave him an encouraging nod.

"Tell us why you wanted Mr. Dumbledore charged with kidnapping." Sirius took a deep breath and began.

He told them how he and James had grown up together, how both their families were prominent purebloods. He told them of their Hogwarts years together and how their bond had only grown closer. He was the best man at James' wedding, he was named godfather to their only son, and he stopped and visited them as often as he could once they went into hiding. He couldn't help but tear up at the part where he had found James and Lily, cold and dead in their cottage in Godric's Hollow. He told them how Hagrid had arrived and since he was so consumed with getting revenge on Peter Pettigrew, he sent the infant on to Hogwarts for looking after until he could retrieve him.

Sirius was completely honest about the death of the auror on that fateful Halloween night. He kept the tears at bay, that just wouldn't do, but he knew that the emotion bled through into his voice. He told them about the missive from St. Mungo's and how he saw adopting Hermione as his daughter as a way to escape prison and be there for Harry now that he was an orphan. He made sure to include the ruling of the Wizengamot and the ridiculously high fine that he paid with no qualms.

Since the gallery and governing body had witnessed the confrontation between himself and Dumbledore, he touched on it only briefly, just enough to explain that he wanted Harry to come home with him more than anything, so he could make sure that he had the life his parents would have wanted him to have. Mr. Toomey had produced the parchment needed from Gringotts stating that James and Lily had indeed made Sirius not only the custodian of their vaults, but the only person that should gain custody of Harry in case of their deaths. It was clear to Sirius that when the paperwork had been drawn up, James had still doubted Remus, or he would have made the list as well. While it still would have killed Sirius to release his godson to Remus, at least he would know that Harry would be loved and treated well. At the end, Sirius couldn't help but add one last quip.

"I'm well aware that I'm not able to have a legilimens look through my memories, but I'm willing to submit to a wand oath or veritiserum to prove my innocence." There was a collective gasp throughout the room. Most of the governing body looked on with approving expressions but Mr. Chalmers looked irritated. It was him that spoke.

"Even though there are precedents where we have used veritiserum, we try not to do that anymore. A tolerance can by built up to the potion and a person especially gifted in occlumency can overcome it. We do not permit wand oaths or Unbreakable Vows in this court room because they result in the loss of life and loss of magic. Our world is sparsely populated as it is; we would never think to endanger our numbers. If you are unable to submit to legilimency due to your status as an animagus, we must simply take your word against that of Mr. Dumbledore's." Sirius wanted to rage at the fact that the Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards was in Dumbledore's pocket, but he knew that there was nothing else that he could do except rely on the governing body of witches and wizards to believe the truth when they heard it. Sirius stepped down only for Mr. Chalmers to call Albus to the witness stand to defend himself.

"Tell us why you are not guilty of kidnapping." Dumbledore folded his hands serenely in his lap and gave the room a soft smile.

"I am the one who cast the fidelius charm on the Potter's home. While I was not there to see Lord Black take on the role of the secret keeper, he is the one that I fed into the spell since James told that was who they were going to use. This means that Lord Black had to give their location away to the Dark Lord and to let young Harry go with Lord Black would surely mean his death or turning to the dark side to take over where Lord Voldemort left off." Sirius could not believe the words that came out of his mouth. How could he seriously believe that he would turn Harry into the next Dark Lord? It was so preposterous that he was struck silent for several moments before he began hissing in Silas' ear.

"You ask him if Lily Potter could have changed the spell, Professor Flitwick always praised her for her work in charms. He wanted to take her on for a mastery." Mr. Toomey nodded and stood.

"Mr. Dumbledore, your charms professor, Master Filius Flitwick, wanted to take Lily Potter on as an apprentice, correct?" The Headmaster's eyes narrowed at his words.

"Yes, he did. He claimed that she was the most talented student that he had seen in years." Silas nodded understandingly.

"Is it true then, that Lily Potter could have changed the spell when they realized that their choice in having Lord Black as their secret keeper wasn't well thought out?" Rage flashed in Dumbledore's eyes. Sirius could tell that he was gritting his teeth when he answered.

"I suppose that it is possible but let's be honest. A woman with no formal training altering a spell that I cast without my knowledge? It doesn't seem likely." Sirius knew that they weren't going to get much better than that. There was a small amount of doubt and he could see it reflecting in the expressions on those making up the governing body. Mr. Chalmers cleared his throat and spoke before anyone else could.

"Thank you for your testimony, Mr. Dumbledore. We're going to adjourn so we may deliberate on the charges." Dumbledore stepped down and re-took his seat at the table opposite of him. Since Mr. Toomey was sorting through parchment in front of him, Sirius stood and made his way through the gallery to find Hermione and the Malfoys. When he kneeled before Hermione, she threw herself into his arms.

"I'm not in trouble, am I daddy? Uncle Luci told me that I wasn't, but I acted terribly." Sirius chuckled as he hugged her close.

"Uncle Luci is right, poppet, you're not in trouble at all. You helped daddy that day and you deserve a treat. How about ice cream for dessert tonight?" Sirius had learned that it was her absolute favorite, so she was quick to nod her head up and down.

"Oh, yes please, daddy." He kissed the top of her head and turned to his cousin and her husband. It still astounded him how easy it was to get along with the pair of them.

"What do you think?" Lucius raised an eyebrow at him for a moment before speaking.

"I think you're going to lose and not because of your solicitor. The Mugwump is obviously in Dumbledore's pocket." Sirius hated to have his fears confirmed but couldn't fault the man for telling him the truth. He had no idea what to do if he lost so his voice was small when he spoke.

"What the bloody fuck am I going to do if I don't get Harry? They'll turn him against me quicker than a snitch." Narcissa reached out and patted his hand.

"You can't stop them. We'll make sure that Hermione and Draco befriend him when they go to Hogwarts and tell him the truth. I know you planned on hiding nothing from your daughter anyways." This wasn't his preferred plan of action, but he realized that it was all he had. Nodding to his family and kissing Hermione on the top of her head, he stood and returned to the table that Silas was still occupying.

The wait was long and nerve-wracking. Sirius called upon every bit of training that his father had instilled in him in not showing his emotion, but it was difficult. Dumbledore seemed perfectly at ease over at his table. The gallery seemed to be waiting in bated silence, Sirius knew that they wanted to see just what charges would stick to the "most powerful wizard in the world". When the governing body and the Mugwump filed back into the room, Sirius noted that there were more than a few sour expressions. He only hoped that this boded well for him. Mr. Chalmers stood and faced the room at large.

"In the case of attempted theft of funds from the Potter vault, the ICW finds Albus Dumbledore guilty. A fine of 50,000 galleons will be levied against his personal vault." Sirius couldn't fucking believe it. He got a fine and it was to be taken out of the vault that his money was sitting in. Mr. Chalmers continue.

"In the case of assault against a minor child, the ICW finds Albus Dumbledore guilty. Whether by accident or design, you still cursed a two-year-old child. Not only will there be a fine of 50,000 galleons for the offense, an additional 50,000 galleons will be awarded to the child to be put in trust until she is of age to access it." Sirius wanted to laugh now. He was sure that there was somebody out there just wanting to make Albus' life a complete hell. Sure, two hundred thousand galleons in that vault belonged to him, but that meant that one hundred fifty thousand galleons had been awarded to either the ICW or Hermione. While it wasn't ideal, he'd rather them have it then Albus. Mr. Chalmers looked nervous when he spoke again.

"In the case of kidnapping, the governing body finds Mr. Dumbledore guilty since there are clear stipulations by his birth parents as to who the primary caregiver of their son should be." Sirius felt his heart leap in joy before the man continued to speak.

"However, as Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, I hold the right of veto. In this case, I do. Whether Lord Black is telling the truth or not, it is best that he not be associated with Harry Potter, the Vanquisher of the Dark Lord. If there were other Death Eaters looking for him, Lord Black is the first place they would look. I order that he be remanded to his muggle relative's home and cut off from wizarding society until he reaches the age to attend Hogwarts. Only anonymity will keep him safe. Lord Black, you may not contact him at all until he contacts you. Our world can't have you putting our hero in danger."

Sirius felt like he had been kicked in the gut. Even though the panel of a hundred witches and wizards had felt Dumbledore was guilty, the Mugwump had overrode him, sending Harry to Petunia, a horrible excuse for a human. He wasn't allowed to contact his godson until he contacted him, and everyone knew when that would happen. Never. Albus would sink his hooks in him at the first possible second and poison his godson against him.

Sure, they had won on the attempted theft charge and the assault against Hermione but what Sirius had really wanted to win was the custody of his godson. He was sure that James and Lily were cursing him from the beyond, pissed that he had failed to secure custody of their son. Rather than wallow in his grief in front of the masses, he stood and made his way over to the table Dumbledore was at.

"I hope you reside in the darkest pits of hell until you realize the mistake you've made here today. Then, I hope that those you've fucked over will give you what you truly deserve." Dumbledore just smiled that serene little smile of his before speaking.

"Spoken like a true agent of the dark. Harry will be safe from you, I guarantee it." Dumbledore glanced over at the Malfoys, who were keeping Hermione close.

"Don't worry, he won't be allowed near your spawn either." Sirius saw red and there was nothing he could do to hold back his words.

"You come near my daughter at any point in the rest of her life, I'll fucking kill you and they won't find the body. Just remember, if this happens, I won't go to Azkaban, that's a guarantee. Half the Wizengamot would cheer at your painful demise. They follow the Dark Lord after all." While he saw no fear in the older wizard's eyes, Sirius could tell that his words affected him. Of course, this meant that Hermione was going to need protection whenever she left the Manor. He wouldn't stand for her to be hurt just because Dumbledore wanted him gone. Sirius turned at stalked away from the wizard he used to call Headmaster. When he reached the Malfoys and Hermione he knelt and pulled Hermione into a hug.

"I love you, sweetness. We're done here. Are you ready to go home and get ice cream?" Before she could answer, Narcissa spoke.

"Let's go to Malfoy Manor. You can drink just as easily there, Lucius will most likely keep you company, I can watch over Hermione and make sure that she's taken care of." Sirius thought for a moment and realized that her idea had merit. He really didn't want to be alone and he did want to drink himself to a stupor, so he wouldn't have to deal with the fact that his godson had just been taken from him for good. In the end, he nodded his agreement and allowed his cousin to lead him out of the court room while Lucius followed with Hermione in his arms.

-O-

It was clear to Lucius just three drinks in that Sirius was innocent of everything that he had been accused of. Yes, it was true that he had thought that from the start, but it was only this day that he truly believed it. The man was heartbroken that he hadn't received custody of his godson.

While Lucius had never been a huge fan of the Potter family in general, he could acknowledge that they were powerful enough in their own right. They were just as Ancient and Noble as his own family or the Blacks; if he had had a daughter he wouldn't have been opposed to a match with a Potter. To see Sirius so upset, however, cemented his belief that he was indeed innocent.

This meant that his Lord had indeed used the services of a Gryffindor, something that he had sworn to never do. While it wasn't a huge thing, it still dinged the trust the blond had for the Slytherin heir. Not only was he using Gryffindors now, he was going after children. The latter of the two had Lucius curling his lip in disgust.

As much as he hated the Order the of the Phoenix, they didn't target children. Sure, Hermione had been injured in their raid of her home but that hadn't been their objective. They had even sent Hermione to St. Mungo's for treatment. Lucius knew from first hand experience that the Dark Lord had no qualms targeting, torturing, and murdering children. It turned his stomach.

It was for this reason that he decided that maybe his wife's cousin had the right of it. Did he believe that purebloods were above mudbloods? Sure. They were notoriously weak in magic. It had nothing to do with their parentage, per se, but the fact that he wanted this offspring to be strong in magic. Breeding with a weak muggle born would not be a smart move in that aspect.

This outlook, however, didn't mean that only purebloods were powerful. Harry Potter was the perfect example. Lily Evans had been one of the few exceptions to the muggleborn rule. She was powerful and gifted, something that she passed down to her son. The young boy was a half blood and had vanquished the Dark Lord without holding a wand in his hand. It was clear that magic was the factor he cared about now, not so much the blood status.

Sirius drank himself to a stupor, crying at the end for the loss of his godson. While Lucius couldn't handle such emotional displays all the time, he understood this one. If the Gryffindor had kept Hermione from himself and Cissy, he would most likely have been just as heartbroken as the man before him. It wasn't something that he liked to think of, therefore, he tried to temper it with thoughts of the future.

He knew that if he and Narcissa returned to the Dark Lord when he returned, Hermione would be gone from their lives for good. Since she was the last remaining link he had to his beloved sister, Erise, that just wasn't an option. Lucius had a feeling that the Dark Lord would indeed return some day; it just wasn't feasible that he wouldn't since they had never found his body. Therefore, this left only one option available to himself and his wife.

Help Sirius in his mission to stop the Dark Lord once he returned.

He hated to side with the Order for any reason, but it seemed that they now had a common goal, even if they weren't aware of it. Sirius had told nobody but them what the goblins had said regarding their Lord. This meant that they were merely biding their time, hoping that their children would be grown and strong before he decided to return. Lucius didn't hold his breath on this matter.

This meant that it was imperative that Hermione and Draco had the most extensive education that they could get before the inevitable happened. While he was sure that Hermione would be tasked with protecting Harry Potter, Lucius had no urge to see either of his children injured in this task. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that whatever Hermione's mission was regarding young Potter, Draco would adopt it. The pair were already thick as thieves.

Lucius chased the last of his fire whiskey down, grimacing slightly at the burn all the way down to his stomach. He left Sirius snoring on the couch, determined to find his wife and reaffirm his love for her after his epiphany.

A/N- I know that many of you saw this coming and I'd like to say that you were right. I did say that this story would be following canon and that most certainly doesn't mean that Harry would be raised with Hermione and Sirius. Anyways, let me know what you think. Reviews make me smile.

Next chapter, Hermione's sixth birthday.

Love,

Alicia


	5. Chapter 5

A/N- I'm back, y'all! So many of you were upset over me sending Harry to live with the Dursleys last chapter but I'm trying to stick to canon. Obviously, that won't be possible in many instances, but sending him away was crucial to the story. These next few chapters are going to be filler chapters, showing snippets of Hermione and Sirius' lives before she goes to Hogwarts. Hang in there. A huge shout out to those that are reading, reviewing, favoriting, and following this story. Y'all are rock star readers! Enough for now, I want to bang this chapter out!

** Shout out to SereniteRose for being my 100th reviewer. Ya do bomb, girl! **

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing in any of my stories and I haven't made any money from them. As much as I would love to be a professional author, these stories are written for my entertainment.

Chapter 5

September 19, 1985

Sirius had decided long ago that he was going to play the pureblood front, spy on them and such for signs that the Dark Lord had returned. Today was going to be the final part in this plan.

As much as he hated being a responsible Lord, he was. Sirius attended Wizengamot meetings, listened to new bills and voted accordingly, just as the other purebloods would expect him to. He attended balls and parties, was invited to every major social event on the calendar. Even though he refused to marry at this time, he escorted a beautiful woman to every event, showcasing his proper breeding and upbringing.

It all made him sick.

Sirius hated always having to wear the right thing. He detested always having to be proper. He was always having to pretend that he hated muggleborns and half-bloods alike, which he couldn't stand. He loathed that he couldn't just fuck one of the women that he escorted to all those parties; pureblood custom would have demanded that he marry them.

It was for this reason that Sirius now commiserated with Severus, a man that he had grown close to over the years. Severus was constantly playing both sides of the fence, gathering information for Dumbledore and keeping his Death Eater friends from suspecting his duplicity. Severus hated it as much as Sirius did but had no other option due to the oaths he had made to the conniving old bastard.

Sirius did the best that he could to cope with everything. When Hermione stayed with the Malfoys, he would venture out into the muggle world and pretend to be some rich CEO. Women fell at his feet, most were quick to sleep with him. There had been one woman that he had developed feelings for but when he realized that he would soon be embroiled in a blood war and she was all muggle, he cut things off without another word to her. It was harsh, but it was the only way he could cope with it. That had been when Hermione was four. Now he simply made certain that the women knew that he wasn't going to date them or marry them before he slept with them.

Hermione was none the wiser. She still thought that the sun rose and fell around her father, something that Sirius cherished more than anything. He had been best friends with James and Remus, even Lily to a degree, but they had never needed, had never counted on him. He had been the practical joker all the way, never the one to be counted on when his friends needed something. Looking back, he could see how selfish that had been of him but there was no going back now.

Hermione, however, needed him. She loved him fiercely and she counted on him to be there for her. It was a heady feeling, being wanted and needed, especially when he grew up knowing that nobody in his family needed him or wanted him outside of his duties as the heir. Even though he was trying to fit into the pureblood circles, he had sworn that he would never treat Hermione like some of them treated their children. She would always know that she was loved and wanted.

His daughter astounded him daily. Madam Cambridge still tutored Hermione and Draco together, flooing to Black Moor every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for their lessons. She met with them at Malfoy Manor on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, although Saturdays were only a half day of lessons. Both children read at a level far above their age, not something that surprised him since Hermione had always had an affinity for books. While he was quite certain that there was no way in hell that every book in Black Moor's library could be read, he knew that his daughter would end up giving it a try. Draco was almost as bad but did allocate time to flying and quidditch.

The pair were learning muggle subjects as well as magic. It was something that he had insisted on. Erise had never told Madam Cambridge to teach her daughter such subjects, but Sirius wanted her to be as educated as possible, so all aspects of the world would be open to her once she graduated from Hogwarts. He really hoped that she wouldn't flee to the muggle world but if that was what she wanted to do, that's what she would do. Her happiness was tantamount.

Their lessons in magic were somewhat limited. They were unable to carry wands; therefore, they couldn't really practice. However, this didn't stop them from learning theory and practicing pronunciation of spells and wand movements. He was quite certain that they had memorized the spells and wand movements for all the first-year curriculum at Hogwarts.

Sirius had learned early on that there would be a time that Hermione would have to go before Albus Dumbledore and that the man would feel no remorse in rummaging around in her head. Sirius was unable to be read due to his status as an animagus, Lucius and Narcissa were quite accomplished occlumens themselves. However, nobody was as good as Severus Snape. He kept his relationship to Hermione quiet, only telling the Headmaster that he saw her because she was at Malfoy Manor when he visited there on his information gathering missions.

Sirius had begged Severus to teach Hermione and Draco.

While Draco had picked up quicker than they had thought, Hermione still struggled. She was an exuberant child, full of love and laughter that just couldn't be contained. Since she was only six, it was work getting her to control those emotions. She was doing better but still had a long way to go. Severus reassured him that it would get easier for her as she aged; small children weren't meant to control their emotions. This had caused a flash of shame to rush through him, sure that he was stealing away her childhood, but Severus had stopped him with a quick reminder that if her mind was open when she went to school, Dumbledore could insert any manner of thoughts into her mind if he so chose.

Sirius could honestly say that he was never a kid person before. He had cared for Harry and then Hermione, but he had avoided other children like the plague. Arthur and Molly Weasley had already had six children that they dragged to every single Order meeting. He found that his little cousin had made the list of children that he cared for.

Lucius and Narcissa hadn't been kidding those years ago when he had first gotten Hermione. She and Draco were practically attached at the hip. They took turns staying the night at each other's house and Sirius couldn't recall the last time that just he and Hermione had done something. Draco was always included in their plans and Hermione was always included in Lucius and Narcissa's.

They rarely argued, in fact, they seemed to balance each other out. Where Hermione was always laughing, Draco tended to be more serious. Hermione could be emotional, Draco always seemed to think about his reactions first. Hermione excelled in schoolwork where Draco lagged just a little and didn't let her get too caught up in her studies. If they weren't so closely related, Sirius wouldn't have been surprised if they had ended up marrying each other.

Sirius had wanted to make sure that he had no secrets from his daughter. Even though Narcissa and Lucius had told him that she was too young, he had told her all about himself and that Halloween night. He had told her how important it was that she befriend Harry when she went to Hogwarts, her and Draco both, how they needed to protect him because there was going to be another war.

He had expected his daughter to rage at him for killing someone; he had expected her to let her emotions run free and cause a rare burst of accidental magic. None of this happened, however. As emotional and exuberant as his daughter could be, she could also be serious if it was called for.

Hermione had floated into his arms and hugged him tight, told him that since he was sorry for killing the man, she forgave him. She had promised that she would become friends with the boy who should have been her brother and she would protect him if he needed her to. She had insisted that she work harder so she could learn more in her lessons.

This had been three months ago.

Sirius had assured her that she was already doing well in her lessons and that she didn't need to work any harder. She had seemed flabbergasted when he told her that she was to go outside and enjoy the grounds with Draco, sending Sipsy along for company. In short, Sirius was surprised by his daughter every single day and he loved her for it.

He was getting ready to embark on the last step of integrating himself into the pureblood circles. It was Hermione's sixth birthday and he was throwing a party for the pureblood elite and their children to attend, somewhat of a tradition in their circles. It was a time for the parents to mingle and the children to make friends with each other. Sirius had always thought that this was the main event in betrothing their children, but he had assured Lucius and Narcissa that there would be none of that going on.

Lucius and Narcissa had been allowed to marry without a contract because they had truly loved each other. This wasn't common practice amongst their peers, however. Since Sirius thought the whole idea was a complete sham, he had readily agreed when the Malfoys had begged him to allow Hermione to marry for love, as they would be allowing Draco. It was quite progressive of them, not something that they would have agreed to if they hadn't done it themselves.

His friendship with the Malfoys still astounded him sometimes. Now that he knew Lucius, he found him rather witty and entertaining. His humor was dry but that didn't matter to Sirius. He could be sarcastic with the best of them. Narcissa was as sweet as he remembered her growing up. That dinner so long ago with Andie had starting the healing of their relationship and the pair were now quite close. Ted still didn't come around too often but not because he wasn't welcomed; he was always busy with his legal practice and who knew what else. Sirius wondered if it had something to do feeling uncomfortable in their homes. If that was the case, he never forbade Andie or Dora from visiting.

Nymphadora had been a regular visitor to both their manors when she was younger. She had loved helping take care of Hermione and Draco since she was six years older than them and had always wished for a younger sibling. Now, she had just went off to Hogwarts for her second year, a proud Hufflepuff just like her father.

The funniest part of young Nymphadora going off to Hogwarts had occurred when she had returned for Christmas her first year. She had told them all over Christmas dinner that Dumbledore had asked her what it was like visiting with the Malfoys and the Blacks. When she had told him that they were her family and that she loved them, he had been confused. He had then asked after Hermione, wanting to know if she was like her father. Apparently, the astute eleven-year-old Hufflepuff had realized that he was asking too many questions and told him that if he wanted to know about her family so badly he should owl her cousin Sirius and ask.

The whole table had laughed uproariously at that, the little badger showing her true colors in her strength of loyalty to her family.

Sirius, though, wasn't surprised at the old man's interest. While he hadn't been fired from his job as Headmaster, he had indeed lost much of the support of the pureblood community. Attacking a Black child, one of the closest things to wizarding royalty there was, whether by accident or design, had made him no friends. The charge of attempted theft did nothing for him either; he was seriously mistrusted in all circles except for those made up of half-bloods or muggleborns.

Sirius supposed that he should feel guilty for fucking up his reputation like that when there had been an accord between James and Albus, but he didn't. You don't fuck with family, the unofficial motto of the Black line. Dumbledore, most assuredly, had fucked with the Black family. All the more reason to keep the charade of how he really felt about purebloods to himself.

Sirius hadn't heard a word from Remus since that day outside of his family home. There had been no news around his circles either, nor the Ministry. Even though they clearly weren't friends anymore, Sirius couldn't help but hope that the werewolf hadn't died somewhere with nobody there. He tried not to linger on those thoughts for too long as they only managed to depress him.

Sirius was pulled from his inner monologue by Candy appearing next to him, pressed and dressed in a pristine tea towel bearing the Black family crest.

"The firsts of the guests have arrived, master." He gave a sharp nod and couldn't help the flutter of nervousness. While he had gone to every social event of the year since taking up spying, he had never opened Black Moor for entertaining. This was the first time and he could say that he was scared to death that something was going to ruin the day for Hermione. Even though it wasn't the party he would have wanted, she was very excited at meeting other children.

His daughter was standing at the doorway that led into the drawing room that the children would be occupying. She was next to Draco, dressed in a royal blue set of robes that fit her perfectly. There was no denying that Narcissa had been teaching her how to act with company. Draco was similarly dressed, in black, his robes clearly expensive and tailored. Sirius wasn't sure how they were supposed to play in these clothes, but it was what society called for. Thoros Nott was the first to arrive, his young son Theodore at his side dressed similarly to Draco. Thoros bowed slightly to Sirius, a show of respect for the Lord of the manor.

"Allow me to introduce my son, Theodore. He's excited to meet young Hermione and Draco." Sirius gave the boy a small smile.

"Well, my daughter and cousin are over there by the door. Go meet them, they're excited too." Both men chuckled as the boy ran over to the pair waiting impatiently for him.

-O-

Hermione was so excited to meet the other children that her father had invited to her party. She loved Draco as much as she did her father, but she was sure that the more friends you had, the better off you were. Her father had told her so many stories of himself and his best friends and she wanted to be just like him. She clutched at her cousin's hand when a handsome boy bounded over to them, dressed properly in much the same manner as Draco. He skidded to a halt before them before bowing to Draco and taking Hermione's hand and kissing her knuckles softly.

She couldn't help but to chuckle softly. This wasn't required until they were much older. The boy was trying to impress her, whether it was because he wanted to or because his father had instructed him to she didn't know.

"I'm Theodore Nott but you can call me Theo." Hermione curtsied at him.

"I'm Hermione Black and this is my cousin and best friend, Draco Malfoy." Theo reached out and shook Draco's hand.

"I hope we can all be friends." Hermione nodded happily and pulled both boys in to the drawing room that they were going to be staying in while the adults had their drinks next door.

The elves had set up games all over, games that Hermione had never got to play because there weren't enough people with just her and Draco. Before they could even sit down, another boy appeared, a dark-skinned boy that flashed a bright smile at them. He introduced himself as Blaise Zabini and he hit it off quickly with Theo and Draco. They had just started talking about quidditch and the matches that they had attended with their fathers when a girl a few inches taller than Hermione walked in, her long black hair tied back demurely. Hermione smiled at her warmly.

"Hello, I'm Hermione Black. What's your name?" The girl rushed forward and hugged Hermione, catching her off guard.

"My name is Pansy Parkinson. I've never met another little girl before. I only have my brother and he's already at Hogwarts." Hermione smiled at her, forgiving her for being nervous.

"I've met my cousin but she's six years older than me. She's at Hogwarts too. It's usually just Draco and I." The girl's eyes went to Draco since Hermione pointed him out.

"Oh, he's so handsome." Hermione wrinkled her nose even though she knew it was in bad taste.

"Ewww, he's my cousin. My best friend. I don't think he's handsome at all." Pansy laughed now.

"That's how it's supposed to be, silly. I don't think my brother is handsome at all but everyone else thinks he is." Hermione nodded, content with her words if she wasn't required to think of her cousin like that.

While the two girls were speaking, several other children filed in, two boys by the name of Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe, and three girls by the name of Daphne Greengrass, Tracey Davis, and Millicent Bulstrode. Hermione liked them all very much even though none of them enjoyed learning or reading. Draco was the popular one with all the boys and unsurprisingly, Pansy was running the girls side of things. Hermione didn't mind. They were nice enough and would be good friends but none of them understood her like Draco.

Hurrying over to join in on one of the games they were all starting to play, Hermione let her thoughts drift away while she enjoyed her birthday.

-O-

Sirius watched his daughter through the open door. She had let Pansy Parkinson take over her party, but she didn't seem too upset about it. Hermione was playing a game with the rest of the girls. Thoros Nott and Gregory Goyle, Sr. stepped up to watch beside him. The three of them were silent for almost a full minute before Thoros spoke.

"Would you be interested in a betrothal contract between my son and your daughter? She would do my House proud." Sirius knew that it would be coming and was more than ready.

"No, not at this time. If she becomes interested as she gets older, I would love to revisit this conversation then. The last thing I want is my daughter to be bound to someone that she might end up not liking. Make no mistake, she will be a proper young lady, but I want her to be happy above all else. I have no need for added wealth so that leaves her with more options." Sirius was sure that his words were condescending, but he didn't care. He wouldn't be bullied into signing Hermione's life away just because the other Lords wanted her married into their family. However, he was pleasantly surprised when Thoros nodded.

"I can respect that. As purebloods, we tend to marry for money, power, and influence. You have more than enough of all those things so why should you sacrifice your daughter's happiness? I would do the same thing if I were in your shoes. If I had a daughter, my Aliana would have killed me if I betrothed our daughter without her input." Sirius chuckled at his words.

"I remember her in school. Even though she was the most proper young lady, she was a force to be reckoned with. I remember in our third year, she caught me trying to prank some Slytherin first years. She hit me with stinging hexes right on my arse the whole way down the corridor. Who knew she could run in robes like that?" Thoros burst out in laughter, holding his belly and drawing the attention of the children. When he got himself under control, he smiled.

"Aliana was something else. I wish Theo could have known her." Sirius clapped him on the shoulder.

"Sorry for your loss, mate." Thoros nodded but dropped the subject. They floated back over to the main body where Sirius took up conversation with Lucius and Severus. Since Dumbledore had no idea that Hermione was Severus' godchild, he couldn't speak with her outright until the guests went home. She had been told and had been surprisingly alright with it. Hermione had understood that it was needed in order to keep her godfather safe.

Sirius watched as Narcissa and Posey Parkinson made their way into the room with all the children, probably to make sure that they were all getting along. He could hear Posey making over Hermione in her high-pitched, nasally voice, which made him want to rip his ears off his head. He had no idea how Peregrine could stand her.

Conversation turned to politics as they always seemed to at functions like this. Peregrine Parkinson and Gerald Greengrass joined them, ready to discuss the newest reforms being pushed through at Hogwarts. Sirius barely listened. He really couldn't give two shits but kept the look on his face that showed it was very important to him.

His mind wandered to what was going to happen when Voldemort did return, and he refused to take the Mark? As much as he liked to think that he was spying on his fellow purebloods, he wasn't as strong and brave as Severus. The man bore the Mark and the hatred that came with it, all with a stoic expression. Nobody trusted him aside from the Malfoys and himself. This also begged him to wonder what would happen when Lucius was called. Would he return to that life, casting himself and Hermione far from their family? Would Draco be forced to bear the Mark at his father's insistence? What would Narcissa do?

Sirius liked to think that his cousin would sooner murder her husband than give up the girl that she considered her daughter. He didn't think that she would ever stand for her only child to bear the Mark either. He and Severus had discussed it at length under the influence of fire whiskey. He was under the impression that Lucius didn't believe in the cause like he had before, that Narcissa never really had. Both wanted to preserve the old customs and Voldemort had been an easy way to go about doing so. While both thought that they were inherently better than most muggleborns, they had never signed on to demolish a part of their world.

Sirius was pulled from thoughts by Candy appearing next to him.

"It's times for cakes and presents." Sirius gave her a sharp nod, the kind that was reserved for when there was company that would frown upon the elf's bullying of her family. As much as she irritated Sirius some days, he would never allow her to come to harm for doing what she thought was best for his family.

Sipsy herded all the children out of their play room, Dip and Dot helping her. They were all laughing boisterously, at what Sirius was unsure. Once they realized that all the adults were watching them, they quieted back into the children they had arrived as. Sirius wasn't having any of that.

"Don't stop having fun on our account. It's time for presents and then cake." All the children began cheering, a beautiful flush present on Hermione's cheeks.

The present opening was insane, to say the least. All the children had wanted Hermione to open their gift first, they wanted to have the one that she loved the most. Sirius remembered those days, what it was like to be young. While she seemed embarrassed as hell, she bore it well and thanked everyone sweetly for their gifts. Candy, Dip, and Dot appeared directly afterwards to clean up the mess, transitioning the room for cake.

Hermione begged them not to sing to her, so they acquiesced. The cake that appeared was enormous and beautiful besides. It was decorated as the night sky with Ursa Major as the focal point, the constellation that her middle name was derived from. Sirius watched as his daughter grabbed Draco's hand and pulled him to the cake with her, intent on keeping their tradition of blowing the candles on their birthday cakes together. It was Theo that spoke up.

"Hey, that's Hermione's cake. You can't blow out the candles, that's cheating. Her wish won't come true." Sirius nodded as he chuckled softly.

"Right you are, young Theo. However, these two have blown their candles out together since they were old enough to have a cake. She helps him on his birthday. They say their wishes still come true, but we don't know because they only tell each other." The adults all chuckled at this explanation, but the children looked confused. Nothing more was said though.

The pair blew out their candles with little fanfare and Sipsy stepped forward to cut the cake. Pieces were passed around to children and adults alike. The children laughed amongst themselves, smearing icing on their faces, reminding Sirius that they weren't always preprogrammed little robots. A few of the parents didn't look very happy with it, but most seemed to be fine with it. The adults continued their conversations with each other, the woman all discussing the ball at the Greengrass' the following weekend. Sirius was slotted to take a young French pureblood witch that Narcissa had introduced him to.

When the children began tiring, their parents began to offer their thanks and gather their offspring. Sirius watched as little Pansy Parkinson hugged Hermione close, promising to be her best friend. His daughter looked at her, perplexed, and he was sure it was because she considered Draco to be her best friend. She remained silent, though, and hugged her new friend back. The other girls are offered her hugs as well and Sirius hoped that she at least kept the friendship of some of the girls. He didn't want her to have only Draco in her life.

Once all the guests were gone, Sirius sank into the nearest couch while the elves began clearing away the dishes and the mess. Hermione crawled up in his lap and snuggled her head under his chin, her favorite position. He wrapped his arms around her while the Malfoys, Draco, and Severus settled around them.

"Have fun, poppet?" She nodded against his chest.

"I had fun. They were awfully loud though and none of them like to read." Severus snorted next to him.

"That's because they'll grow up to be dunderheads while you and Draco won't. I think that we're going to start the pair of you in potions on the weekends come next week. Just think about how far ahead you'll be compared to your friends." Hermione drew her eye brows together in deep thought.

"Won't that make them hate us?" Sirius kissed the top of her head.

"Nobody could ever hate the two of you. You're perfect." Sirius knew that he probably shouldn't tell her that she was perfect, but he didn't care. She was his daughter and if he wanted to boost her confidence, he would. Hermione, however, lifted her head and smiled.

"You're silly, daddy." He patted her on the bottom and shoved her off his lap.

"If you two are going to eat popcorn and read before bed, you better go to your rooms and get baths. Sipsy and Dot will take you. We'll be up to kiss you goodnight when it's time." Both Hermione and Draco were quick to exit the room, neither running as they had been taught. There was laughter that followed them, then faded away as they climbed the stairs together. Narcissa sighed.

"She's never going to be interested in popularity, that much is certain. She allowed Pansy to just take over her party." She looked so dismayed that Sirius wanted to laugh. It was Lucius that spoke next.

"She likes to wear pretty things but that isn't the most important thing to her. She won't ever be like Pansy Parkinson or any of the other girls. Make no mistake, however, that little spitfire will be a trendsetter. I guarantee you, every father of boys her age will be sending Sirius betrothal contracts. Our little Hermione is the whole package, beautiful, powerful, and intelligent." Sirius snorted.

"They can send them all they want. Hermione will get to make her own choice in that aspect. Once she settles on a young man that deserves her, I'll talk to his father and get a contract set up. I hate the blasted things, but it would protect her as my heir." Lucius nodded his agreement.

"I agree. The same will happen for Draco."

Their conversation was brought up short when Severus finished off his drink and stood.

"I must return to the school. I have rounds in ten minutes." Sirius nodded and stood to shake his hands.

"We'll see you next weekend for the new potions lesson." The Slytherin gave him a sharp nod and headed for the floo, disappearing in a flash of green. Narcissa was grinning ear to ear.

"You know he's going to lose his mind trying to teach a five and a six-year-old how to brew potions." Sirius grinned back.

"Why do you think I plan to attend?"

The room dissolved in laughter as they got more comfortable and finished off their drinks.

A/N- Not as long as normal, but these next few chapters won't be. These are just little flashes of Hermione's life before Hogwarts. Seven total. I hope that you enjoyed this little piece of fluff, for that's exactly what it was. Leave me a line and let me know what you think. Thanks again for reading!

Next up, Hermione spills everything to Draco.

Love,

Alicia


	6. Chapter 6

A/N- Once more into the breach, my friends. Here we are with chapter six already, I know it hasn't been long, but I can't believe that I'm already this far. Just one more chapter and part one will be over. Hermione and Draco are almost headed to Hogwarts! Anyways, thank you to everyone out there that is reading, reviewing, following, and favoriting, you guys are my heroes. You keep me motivated, which is a good thing for y'all! Enough for now, this won't be a long chapter, but I want to bang it out!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with this story. Original story idea belongs to Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle and the rest I'm sure has been done before. I haven't made any money off any of my stories.

Chapter 6

January 3, 1989

Hermione smiled as she saw the ever-familiar foyer of Malfoy Manor come into view from the floo. Her father had just sent her through to come spend the week with Draco, Aunt Cissy, and Uncle Luci. Uncle Luci was trying to get her to call him Uncle Lucius, but Hermione was the first to admit that it was a lost cause. He had been Uncle Luci to her since the day she was born, it would likely never change. Even though he complained, Hermione could tell that he didn't mean it. He adored the fact that she had a pet name for him, just as he had for her.

Her uncle, the most notorious cold-hearted bastard in the wizarding world, called her his sunshine. Hermione couldn't remember a time when he hadn't. Even though he wasn't the most demonstrative of people with his son, his love for Hermione and Aunt Cissy always shone through. Draco was jealous at times and she couldn't blame him. Hermione always made sure to point out that he was the son, so he was supposed to be manlier in his emotions, just like his father and cousin besides. Most of the time he accepted it.

Hermione was well-aware that Aunt Cissy treasured her. It was clear in every movement, every word the older woman gave her. Her aunt had adored her mother and it showed through word and action every single day. The socialite delighted in taking her niece shopping for every occasion under the sun, spending ridiculous amounts of money on her that truly weren't warranted. This never stopped Aunt Cissy, however. She just gave and gave with no thought to anyone else, least of all herself.

Hermione was well-aware that her father and aunt and uncle had not always gotten along. Her father had told her the truth about everything, telling her that her aunt and uncle had followed an evil wizard by the name of Lord Voldemort while he wanted to vanquish him. Her would-be brother, Harry Potter, had somehow sent the Dark Lord into the great unknown, how nobody knew for sure. Once the Dark Lord was gone, her aunt and uncle had renounced their beliefs and vowed to fight for the light to keep her in their lives.

For this reason, her aunt and uncle were as close as ever to her heart.

Draco was their son and her best friend besides. They had shared everything since the day that Draco was born, a full nine months younger than Hermione. She had never minded. Her father had reminded her all the time growing up that it was imperative that she remain safe and the only places that he was certain that was possible was at Black Moor, her ancestral home, and Malfoy Manor. While she was allowed out to attend birthday parties and such of her friends, she was always accompanied by at least one elf and an adult that her father trusted. She knew that list was extremely short, consisting of himself, her aunt and uncle, and her Uncle Severus.

Uncle Sevvie, as she still insisted on calling him, was one of her favorite people in the whole world. Even though he was almost always sour and snarky, he never failed to make her feel cared for and safe, the same feelings that she associated with the rest of her family. He lived at Hogwarts with the wizard that had attacked her when she was only two years old; her father had told her that he had tricked her godfather into spying for him.

Hermione knew that her father had been completely honest with her about all things. She knew the deepest and darkest secrets of her family, good and bad alike. She knew that Uncle Luci had tortured and killed people, she also knew that he would do whatever he had to do to protect herself, Draco, and Aunt Cissy from harm. Uncle Sevvie had done much the same as her other uncle but had sold his allegiance to the person that he thought could protect the woman that he loved for his whole life. She knew that there was an empty place in his heart where Lily Potter had once resided.

Her father had admitted to her many years ago that the night that his best friend James had been murdered, he had handed his godson over to one of the men who worked at Hogwarts, so he could extract revenge. His sorrow and regret over the fact that he had murdered an innocent auror on accident still weighed on him heavily. Hermione was not blind to her father's faults; she just managed to see his good traits as well.

Hermione chose to forgive every person in her life their mistakes they had made. She knew that it probably wasn't her place, she hadn't been the one who had suffered at their hands of course, but she couldn't help but try to ease their guilt. She loved her family and they would always be important to her, no matter their past. Maybe some would call that folly, but she had yet to be proven wrong for having faith in her less than perfect family members. Pip popped into existence next to her.

"Come, Missy Mione, Draco is waitings for you in his rooms." Hermione laughed softly at the tiny little elf. Pip had been assigned to Draco when he was only three years old. Draco was very attached to him which Hermione found adorable. Not that she would ever tell him that. Best friend or not, he could still get downright moody.

Hermione started for the door, making her way down the corridor past the day room. Aunt Cissy was inside, pouring over magazines, fashion most likely. Uncle Luci was nowhere to be found but Hermione was certain that he was most likely at the Ministry. It was where her father had been headed after he put her into the floo. She stuck her head in the doorway.

"I'm here, Aunt Cissy. Pip's taking me to Draco now." Her aunt's head came up and she smiled brightly at her.

"That's wonderful, dear. He's been waiting for you for at least an hour now. I swear, the two of you act like you didn't just see each other yesterday." Hermione giggled.

"I know but we can't help it. Draco is my best friend." Her aunt raised her eyebrow playfully.

"Trust me, we're all aware." She turned her attention back to the magazine for a moment before she spoke.

"Little Pansy Parkinson's birthday is in two days' time. Tomorrow, you and I are going to go shopping and find you a new dress." Hermione groaned softly.

"I just got three new dresses a month ago. Can't I wear one of those?" Aunt Cissy looked up at her.

"No, you can't. We can make a day of it. It'll be fun, I promise." Hermione sighed and nodded. While she wasn't completely against shopping, her aunt took it to a whole new level. Where the boys were passionate about quidditch, her aunt was passionate about shopping. Since there were no other females for her to share the experience with, Hermione was almost always dragged along.

"Alright, Aunt Cissy. Could Aunt Andie and Dora come along too?" Her aunt's eyes lit up, an indicator that she hadn't considered her sister and niece as shopping partners. She beamed at Hermione.

"Absolutely. I'll owl them right now. Go on up and see Draco, dear." Hermione cheered internally. While she loved her Aunt Cissy, she could shop for hours. If Dora came, Hermione could quiz her about Hogwarts, her classes, and her boyfriend Charlie Weasley. They had seen each other several times over the Christmas holidays but they hadn't had a chance to discuss these things with Draco right there. He always whined that his cousin was dating a Weasley.

Hermione continued on her way to Draco's room, located on the second floor of the west wing. Hermione had her own room in the family wing as well, right next to Draco's, but she rarely stayed there. She had ridiculous amounts of clothes in the closets and such, but she usually ended up sleeping in Draco's room with him. They had shared a room for years so they never thought about it anymore. Knowing that Pip had already informed her cousin that she was there, she didn't bother knocking before just going in his room.

Draco was stretched out on his bed, a sketch book on the duvet before him. Hermione smiled at him before she kicked off her shoes and crawled up on the bed next to him and took his book away from him. She inspected the drawing he was working on. It was a massive dragon in a multitude of colors with fire shooting out of it's mouth. Hermione smiled at him again.

"This one is brilliant. I wish I could draw." He nudged her shoulder with his own before taking it back, a light blush coloring his cheeks.

"You sing way better than I do though. Dance better too." Hermione shrugged her shoulders.

"I suppose. What do you want to do today?" He laughed at her earnestness.

"Since when do you not want to read?" Hermione shrugged her shoulders, eyes dropping to her hands resting in her lap. Draco instantly knew that something was wrong.

"What's wrong, Miney?" He rarely called her that name, telling her that it was childish. When he did, it was always because he was trying to convince her to do something that they shouldn't be doing or trying to get information out of her. She raked a hand through her long black curls.

"I'm just thinking about everything. I'm not sure what Hogwarts is going to hold for me since the Headmaster hates me. You don't know everything, Drake." His eyes clouded over in confusion.

"I'm not sure what you mean. What do I not know?" Hermione was unsure of what to do. She wanted to tell Draco everything, but she was unsure if she would get in trouble. The last thing that she wanted was to get grounded because she hadn't minded her father. Draco clearly saw her hesitation and frowned.

"We tell each other everything, Hermione. Are you mad at me?" Hermione shot her eyes up to his face, instant remorse on her face.

"No, I'm not mad at you at all. I just don't know if I'm supposed to tell you everything that my father has told me. Uncle Luci and Aunt Cissy might get mad." Draco cocked his head to side as he considered her words.

"Why would they not want me to know?" Hermione began to knot her fingers in her lap.

"Well, there are a few things about your parents that they haven't told you. I'm not sure if they know that I know, otherwise it would probably be a huge fight between my dad and your parents." Draco scooted closer to her.

"Tell me. I won't tell a single person that I know." Hermione stuck out her pinky, a type of promise that her father had shown her.

"Pinky promise?" Draco nodded and hooked his pinky with hers.

"Promise." Hermione turned sideways and fell to her side, pillowing her head in Draco's lap. His hand began stroking her curls, something he had done since he was old enough to tell her that he loved her hair.

"Well, it all started when our parents were in school. None of them liked each other, mostly because there was a wizard that some of them followed that didn't want muggleborns to be in our world."

Hermione told him the whole story of her father and his friends, how they had hated Uncle Sevvie and those like him, how they were mean to him and played pranks on him. She told him his parents had followed Lord Voldemort just like Uncle Sevvie and how her father had been on the other side of the war. The little girl held nothing back, making sure that her cousin knew that his father and godfather had tortured and killed.

Draco seemed to take it well enough. His hands tightened in her hair, but he didn't lash out or yell. He urged her on, clearly wanting her to continue with her tale. Hermione told him about her father trading secret keepers with Peter Pettigrew and going after him once the Potters were discovered murdered in their home. The boy seemed unmoved when she told him of the auror that her father had killed.

The next show of emotion from her cousin came when she told him about the encounter between herself and the Headmaster on the grounds of Hogwarts. His hands clenched in her hair again as she told him that her father had the memory removed from her consciousness because he was worried that she would have nightmares from being attacked. Hermione enumerated the trial a month after that incident and the charges that Albus Dumbledore had been found guilty of, how he had finagled his way into keeping Harry Potter from her father. Draco finally got tired of sitting up as she finished up, shifting her head out of his lap so he could lay down next to her. He reached out and held her hand.

"So, what are we going to do? I don't think that this Albus Dumbledore is going to be all that nice to you." Hermione began to bounce their joined hands on the bed as she contemplated his question. In the end, she decided to be honest with him.

"I want to help Daddy. He misses Harry and he can't even talk to him unless Harry talks to him first. I want to become his friend, so I can tell him that everything that Dumbledore has told him is a lie. I want to help protect him because if he really did send Voldemort into some state of unliving, his followers are going to want revenge on him. He hasn't been taught like we have; he was sent to live with muggles. I want to help him learn and protect him until he can protect himself. I don't think that the Headmaster is going to protect him." She could tell that Draco was considering her words.

"You know that Dumbledork is going to tell him to stay away from you, tell him that you're evil just like your dad and my family. I think it's going to be harder than you're thinking." Hermione felt tears prick her eyes but refused to let them fall.

"I know. I've just been thinking about it today and it's depressed me. Everybody that isn't pureblood is going to hate me because of Dumbledore." Draco gripped her hand tighter.

"Even if that's the truth, it won't matter. Eventually, Dumbledork is going to mess up and everyone is going to know what a liar he is. When they discover that, everyone will like you. What isn't to like?" Hermione rolled over and hugged her cousin close for several seconds.

"Thanks, Drake." He laughed softly when she released him.

"I'm going to help you. You won't be able to do all that stuff by yourself while going to school too." Hermione nodded, secretly thrilled that her cousin was going to help her on her mission. She felt a tear leak out of her eye which she quickly hid by burying her face in the duvet for a moment. When she turned her face back to her cousin, she smiled again.

"Thanks, Drake."

The pair didn't speak after that. They spent the afternoon laying on the bed together, napping and reading together as they usually did when they spent time with each other. Hermione knew for certain, though, that she felt a million times better now that her best friend knew her secrets and he had promised to help her.

It made her heart feel lighter.

-O-

Harry was exhausted. He was eight years old and living with his aunt and uncle. They told him the story almost daily that he had been dumped on their doorstep, a note tucked into the blanket that had kept him from the cold. His parents had been drunks and killed in a car accident that ended up being their fault. Harry wasn't sure why his family insisted on reminding him of this fact, but they did.

His cousin Dudley was the same age as he was but treated much better. Harry had learned early on that while they both lived in the home, they were by no means equal. Dudley enjoyed his own room and hundreds of toys. He was able to eat all the food that he could stuff into his fat face and watch whatever he wanted on the telly. His friends were allowed to come over whenever he wanted them to and he got to have the most wonderful parties for his birthday.

Harry, on the other hand, lived in a tiny cupboard under the stairs, so tiny that he had to duck inside or hit his head on the stairs above him. He had no toys to call his own, just a few stolen ones that he hid from Dudley, so he could play with them late at night while the rest of the house slept. Harry rarely went to bed with a full belly and was clothed in Dudley's hand-me-downs, already several sizes too big for him. Harry did all the chores around the house and in the yard, cooking and cleaning like he was their personal slave and he had never received a gift in his life.

His life was horrible, and he knew it.

Every night before he would fall asleep, Harry would fantasize about a different life, one where he was with a family that loved him and wanted him to be happy. One where his aunt and uncle didn't hit him or starve him. One where Dudley didn't beat him up with all his friends, laughing at him when he finally cried. He wished more than anything that he could leave number four Privet Drive for forever and never return.

This would never happen though.

A boy at school had told his friends about karma, explaining that bad things happened to people who did bad things. Of course, Davey hadn't been telling him; Harry had no friends and was reduced to eavesdropping. This made him wonder what he had done to deserve his life.

Harry was quite certain that his aunt and uncle were keeping something from him. He wasn't sure what it was, but he wasn't so stupid as to miss the sideways glances that they gave each other when odd things happened around him. Just the other day his aunt had been complaining about his hair being too unruly and had sheared it as close to his scalp as possible with kitchen scissors. It had looked horrid and Harry had cried himself to sleep at the thought of facing the children at school the next day, knowing that they would ruthlessly tease him.

When he woke up, his hair was just as long as it was before Aunt Petunia had cut it.

Harry had been thrilled that his hair was back to normal, but his family had been livid. They had demanded to know how Harry had managed this and when he didn't have an answer for them, it had earned him a black eye and split lip. He had been told to tell the teachers at school that he had fallen down the stairs.

Once his aunt and uncle had thought that he was no longer paying attention, however, they had turned wary and worried eyes to each other. Harry knew that they were hiding something but for the life of him, he had no idea what. He wondered if the reason his family hated him so was because of the secret they kept from him. Would he ever find out?

Harry sighed and turned back to the task at hand, making dinner for Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and Dudley. The three of them didn't believe in balanced meals, not that he had ever ate one even close to resembling balanced. There were no vegetables, just the meatloaf and mashed potatoes and gravy. Even Harry understood that this was why both Vernon and Dudley were so heavy. Aunt Petunia usually picked at her meals, citing that her weight was very important to her even though Harry couldn't help but think the uncharitable thought that his aunt was not an attractive woman.

Harry stood back and watched his family eat, hiding in the shadows for them to finish so he could clean up. Once all the work was done, Harry would be allowed to consume the miniscule amount that his aunt had saved back for him. Harry knew that he was malnourished; he was the smallest boy in his class, even smaller than the girls. His clothes hung off his body and he always inhaled the tiny lunch that his aunt sent with him, not even wanting to spend the money for him to eat a lunch from school.

Once they were finished, he silently cleared the table while the rest of his family moved into the living room to watch the telly. Harry cleaned and rinsed the dishes quickly, his belly gurgling loudly at the prospect of finally getting to eat. The dishes were all put away when he finally gathered his plate out of the refrigerator, wolfing it down. It was always a possibility that Dudley would come in, hungry again, and take his food, leaving Harry hungry for the evening. He had learned long ago not to tarry.

Harry didn't bother going into the living room with the rest of them. It would only start a fight and he would end up in trouble. Therefore, he headed to his cupboard under the stairs, so he could change into his pajamas. He had school in the morning and would have to be up early to cook breakfast for the family. Once he was ensconced in his little cot, he let the tension leave his body.

Harry fingered the toys that he had filched from Dudley, debating if he wanted to play with them before going to sleep. As much as he wanted to, he knew that there was always a chance that they would be discovered, and he would be punished again. Therefore, he lay there in the dark and dreamed about the future.

Someday he would have a family that loved him, someone that wouldn't hurt him or starve him. He would move away from the Dursleys and never darken their doorway again. He imagined tons of friends that always had his back and never beat him up. He dreamed of having enough food on his table to fill his belly whenever he was hungry. Harry closed his eyes and let sleep pull him under to the sound of the telly playing in the background.

Someday.

A/N- A shorter chapter than usual but I warned y'all that the chapters in this story might not all be as long as they were in my last story. This was just kind of a filler chapter anyways. Only one more chapter before Hermione and Draco go to Hogwarts, hope you guys are ready for part two! Anyways, leave me your thoughts on the chapter, they make me smile.

Next up, Harry's birthday before all the children head off to Hogwarts.

Love,

Alicia


	7. Chapter 7

A/N- Here we go, my friends. Another chapter down, incidentally the last one of part one. After this chapter, Hermione will be at Hogwarts. Even though I wanted to make part one longer, I thought that it would draw out the chapters to an even more ridiculous degree. Therefore, I hope that you all can hang tough with me in knowing that these short little chapters are going to morph into chapters of Hermione at Hogwarts, dealing with Harry straight on. I've had a few negative reviews wishing that I had placed Harry with Sirius but for canon events to occur that just wasn't possible. I hope you all can forgive and forget.

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing. The original idea belonged to a reader that was kind enough to pass their idea on and have me like it. If there are any mistakes in the chapter, I claim them all.

Chapter 7

July 31, 1991

Sirius swirled the fire whiskey in his glass around, staring into the fire. It was Harry's eleventh birthday and should have received his Hogwarts letter today. In just one short month he would be shipping his daughter off to reside in the same building as Albus Dumbledore, a worry that floated to the forefront of his mind whenever he wasn't otherwise occupied.

Hermione and Draco were currently upstairs. Rather than playing games or causing trouble, they were planning which books to bring with them to school. The pair were ridiculously advanced, probably well into their fourth year in spells, history, potions, and the like. They had just recently began practicing with their wands; the wards on Black Moor and Malfoy Manor cloaked the use of underage magic.

The pair had been practicing wand movements since they were old enough to understand instructions to do so, spell enunciation coming shortly after that. Hermione especially was pleased to note that all her practice hadn't been for naught. Every single spell she had cast with her wand had been successful. Draco had acquitted himself just as well; his spells were just as strong as Hermione's and perfectly cast.

Sirius was proud of them. Through the years, Draco had become like a son to him. He spent at least three nights a week at Black Moor with Hermione, being the brother to her that Harry should have been. While he would never deny Hermione the company of her cousin, he couldn't help but be resentful at the fact that it should have been Harry there with her.

Maybe he was just maudlin at missing the last ten years of his godson's life.

Hermione had assured him time and time again that he had done everything that he could to get Harry and keep him safe. He knew that she was right but there was still that underlying sense of guilt when he considered the fact that Harry had spent his childhood with Lily's sister. Lily had never had anything good to say about the woman and Severus had told him that she had called Lily a freak from the very first burst of accidental magic. Sirius could only hope that Petunia treated her nephew better than she had her sister.

Severus had become close to him; just as close as James if the truth were told but in a different way. Hermione had drawn them together so many years ago, but they had cultivated a friendship where they had common interests and nurtured it. It was clear that Severus had never had a friend that was as loyal as Sirius aside from Lucius and he seemed to flourish in knowing that he wasn't the outcast he once was.

Lucius and Narcissa were the ones that had surprised him the most. Both had renounced their bigoted ways, on the surface at least, and held Hermione close to their hearts. They spent ridiculous amounts of money on her and treated her as if she were their own daughter. It was more than he had ever expected, and he was grateful for it.

Sirius had no idea what would happen with them when the Dark Lord returned. He knew that Lucius was Marked and couldn't expect him to put his family at risk to renounce him. Narcissa had become as close as ever to him through the years; he had relied on her when Hermione had started her cycle, he relied on her to make sure that his daughter had good taste in all things that mattered. She was Hermione's surrogate mother and he loved her for it.

Lucius doted on her shamelessly. It was clear to the world that he was the apple of his eye, much the same as she was for Sirius. He had his own little pet name for her and was always quick to smile warmly at her, a feat that most people is their world would never believe due to his reputation. There were pictures of her all over Malfoy Manor and he knew that Draco was jealous sometimes. Hermione always pointed out to him that his father loved him just as much, he just wasn't as demonstrative because he wanted Draco to be a man about it. She assured him that he would feel the same way about his own children someday.

Sirius finished the fire whiskey in his tumbler and poured himself another four fingers. There were two days a year that he allowed himself to get completely pissed: Harry's birthday and Halloween. Both were for obvious reasons. Hermione usually spent both those days at Malfoy Manor but Lucius and Narcissa had a previous engagement that they had been unable to reschedule. He didn't mind, really. If anything, it reminded him that he should probably make sure that he didn't do anything stupid since there were children in the house.

Candy was flitting around the room, straightening up the stacks of books that Hermione had left out the night before. Her room was always immaculate, but she left a mess in the library every time she visited. It drove the elves mad, but he was more than pleased that she wasn't perfect. For years, she had labored to be perfect in his eyes, unaware that she already was. For her to have one definitive fault made his heart smile.

He took another swing as he contemplated his daughter. She was gorgeous, there was no doubt about that. Her ebony curls now reached her waist, shiny and sleek against the expensive robes that Narcissa insisted on buying her. Her eyes were still icy blue, a reminder of her Malfoy heritage. Her eyes matched her cousin's perfectly, and if it weren't for Draco's platinum locks, they could have been siblings. She was still quite short, but Sirius couldn't be sure that she wouldn't hit a growth spurt somewhere along the way. She was only eleven after all.

Just looking at her made Sirius swell with pride. He knew that his brother would have been proud, and he did his best to follow what he thought his brother would have wanted for his daughter. While they hadn't parted on good terms, Sirius was the first to admit that Regulus would have loved his daughter more than himself and done whatever he could to protect her. Sirius endeavored to live up to his brother's wishes every single day.

A shriek of laughter broke the silence in the library. Hermione dashed in, her cheeks flushed and expression happy. Draco darted in after her, his pale skin rosy like hers. Hermione laughed again as her cousin darted after her, hands outstretched. His daughter hid behind Sirius, hands on his shoulders.

"Protect me, daddy. Draco says he's going to tickle me to death because I threatened to turn his hair blue." Sirius couldn't help but chuckle. There were times that both children were ridiculously serious but there were also times that they surprised him by being the most playful children he'd ever met. He lifted an eye brow at their exchange.

"Why would you want to turn his hair blue, poppet?" Draco's cheeks colored further, and his expression was full of warning.

"Don't you dare, Miney. If you do, I'll tell Theo that you think he's the most handsome boy in the world." Sirius wasn't sure what to make of this conversation. Hermione, however, was unafraid.

"Go ahead, tell him. It isn't true, so you'll just end up looking stupid for telling lies." She turned to Sirius and smirked evilly.

"Drake has a crush on Pansy and he wants to impress her. I told him that even though she's my friend, she's quite daft about most things. He should be focusing on his studies, not impressing girls that don't even know how to cast a proper spell." Sirius figured it was something along those lines. Regardless, he had to point out that his daughter wasn't being very nice.

"I know you think Draco can do better than Pansy and I happen to agree with you. You don't get to decide that though, sweetness. It's Draco's life and his choice. Turning his hair blue just to embarrass him is just mean. Would you want him to turn your hair orange or something just because he didn't agree with one of your decisions?" He could see his daughter visibly slump at his words.

"No, daddy." She turned apologetic eyes to her cousin.

"Sorry, Drake. I won't turn your hair blue." Her cousin nodded his head and relaxed his stance. Sirius didn't like seeing them argue.

"Why don't the two of you go find Dip and see if she'll get you some ice cream? It seems as though the pair of you need something to distract you and keep you from causing trouble." Hermione hugged him quickly before rushing forward and taking Draco's hand in hers, so she could pull him out of the library.

"Come on, Drake. Let's see if we have chocolate." Draco nodded and allowed her to lead him out of the library, both intent on their dessert. Sirius could only shake his head. Hermione could be so bossy sometimes, determined that she was always right.

He couldn't help but wonder if his daughter did indeed find the Nott boy handsome. Theo had been a guest at Black Moor several times through the years, but he had never got the impression that his daughter had a crush on him. Perhaps she hid it well, however. Sirius knew that he wasn't ready for his baby girl to be interested in boys though. She was only eleven.

Sirius settled back into his arm chair and took another swig of whiskey. He was about to settle further into his contemplation about Harry and missing so much of his life when the floo in the foyer activated. Since there were only a handful of people with unfettered access to his home, he wasn't worried. He simply threw back the remainder of his whiskey and waited for them to find him. He wasn't surprised at all when Lucius and Narcissa joined him, Lucius going to the bar before taking his seat next to Narcissa on the sofa. His cousin's voice was soft.

"It hasn't gotten any better through the years?" Sirius shook his head.

"No, I know what those muggles are like. Lily never had anything good to say about them and Severus said that her sister was terrible growing up. I know that Harry hasn't had a good childhood and I can't help but feel guilty." Lucius sighed and raked a hand through his hair. He really had turned out to be a good friend through the years.

"You did all you could. I could never have gone to check on him without alerting Dumbledore. Severus probably could have but the boy would never have been able to hide the fact from the old man when he gets to Hogwarts. That would have given away everything. It isn't ideal in the least but there was nothing else that you could do." Sirius nodded, his gaze fixed in his lap.

"I know. Doesn't make me feel any better though. I would kill someone if they treated Hermione or Draco like I know they're treating Harry." His cousin and her husband nodded their heads slowly. They did commiserate with Sirius, but they still had no clue what Petunia was like.

"It doesn't matter. There's nothing that I can do about it now and that's what I must make peace with. I can't wait until this second war is over with." Narcissa darted her eyes over to her husband for a moment before speaking.

"Actually, that's what we came to speak with you about." Sirius was terrified. Was it possible that the Dark Lord had already returned? He wasn't prepared in the least and neither was Harry. As if sensing where his thoughts had went, Lucius spoke.

"We know what you've been doing all this time though you've never said a word about it to us. We know that you're only in the pureblood circles because you want to know when the Dark Lord returns. I understand that. I also understand that young Mr. Potter has no way of knowing what is going on if Hermione doesn't tell him." Lucius paused before continuing.

"Narcissa and I are also aware that your daughter told Draco everything a couple years ago. He's never said a word, but we were able to tell that his allegiances had changed. No longer is he committed to doing whatever it is that I say; he's now determined that he is going to help your daughter bring Harry Potter onside and show him the truth regarding Albus Dumbledore. It's for this reason that we are flummoxed." Sirius really couldn't say anything. He had had no idea that Hermione had told Draco anything about what he had told her all those years ago. In hindsight, however, he should have seen it coming. When he spoke, it was tentative.

"What are you trying to tell me?" Narcissa reached out and grasped her husband's hand before letting him take the floor.

"What I'm saying is that we aren't able to let Hermione go. We remember our agreement all those years ago and know that if we were to return to his side when he returns, it would result in Hermione and Draco being split up. Not only would it kill him, we couldn't bear to be separated from her. She is like the daughter we never had, and it would kill us to lose her now over something as trivial as blood purity." Sirius sucked in a breath, unsure of how to proceed. When he finally spoke, he was unsure.

"You're sure? You know that he will target your family." Lucius nodded, quite resolutely.

"Yes, we're sure. We've considered it for years. Neither one of us wants to lose Hermione or you for that matter. We're family and there is nobody else that we would trust Draco's safety with. If we were to return to the Dark Lord's ranks, we would never be safe, and neither would Draco. We want to help you spy. When the second war happens, we want to be firmly aligned with the light, even if it's not through Albus Dumbledore." Sirius couldn't even manage to think about how thankful he was that his family felt this way.

His greatest fear had been losing everything that he had gained since losing James and Lily. Sure, he had always imagined that he would lose the Malfoys, Draco too for that matter. He had never expected them to put Sirius and Hermione before their own well-being. Unexpected tears pricked his eyes, but he held them back ruthlessly.

"Are you positive about this? Once you go down this path, you can't ever turn back." Both Lucius and Narcissa nodded.

"We're positive. Even if we stayed with the Dark Lord, he would someday Mark Draco and that's the last thing we would ever want." Sirius knew that there was a frog in his throat as he contemplated their words. His voice was hoarse when he finally spoke.

"Thank you. Hermione would have been devastated to lose you. She would never have understood. Thank you." He realized that he had thanked them twice, but he felt that the situation called for it. The pair rose as one, Narcissa stepping forward to press a kiss to her cousin's cheek.

"We would never abandon the two of you. You're family after all." Sirius returned the kiss to her cheek before smiling.

"You and Lucius have become my closest confidants." Lucius said nothing, he had never been much for showing emotion when it came to males. The pair stood and left the library, the floo activating proof that they had already left.

Sirius sat and considered their words. No longer was he alone. They had determined that Sirius and Hermione were more important that Lord Voldemort, taking their side over his in the oncoming fight. While he didn't expect many others to take the same attitude, he could only hope that they would understand their stance. It was no secret, after all, that Sirius was a Gryffindor through and through, repudiating the Dark Lord at all turns. The Malfoys had just made the decision to stand with him. It was a heady feeling.

Sirius considered his position now. He was already better than he had been at the start of the evening. He had never wanted to break from Lucius and Narcissa, had never wanted to take Hermione from her aunt and uncle. Even though he knew that it would make it harder for the Order of the Phoenix to believe him when the truth came out, he felt stronger knowing that the Malfoys were on his side.

Things had to get better, right?

-O-

Harry couldn't believe what he was reading. The post had been an experience, shooting hundreds of letters through the slots, fireplace, and windows to reach him. He had finally taken hold of one of the letters addressed to him even though his uncle was doing his level best to make sure that he didn't. To say that he was surprised at what he had discovered would have been an understatement.

Harry Potter was a wizard.

It all made sense now that he had read the letter to him, inviting him to attend a special school for wizards. He had never heard of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but he was quite certain that his aunt and uncle had. This is what they had been keeping from him for years, that he was sure of. He was still a little disbelieving of the fact that magic existed but there was nothing for it now. Even his aunt couldn't deny that magic existed now that he had seen his invitation.

Harry was unsure how to go about accepting his invitation to school. The letter spoke of sending an owl, something that he had no idea how to do. Therefore, he just hoped that they would assume the best and know that he was coming. This, of course, left him with the problem of getting his school supplies and finding his way to King's Cross. There was no way that his aunt and uncle would help him out.

Everything was so clear now, why he was able to do things that his peers weren't. He was a wizard and from the few comments that he had heard his aunt make, it was likely that he would never fit in in their world again. He knew that his aunt had hopes, however, that she could still pass him off as normal. Harry couldn't help but snort to himself. It wouldn't happen anytime soon if he could help it.

As shitty as his life was, Harry had been granted an out. If he didn't show up on the first of September, they would surely send out the cavalry to figure out why he hadn't been sent along. Sure, his family could lie to the best of their ability, but Harry got the distinct impression that they feared just what he would someday become. It kept with the thought that they had kept his heritage from him in the first place.

He was currently cleaning up after dinner, already being forbidden from eating that evening. Even though he would be starving in the morning, it was worth the fact that he was able to keep the letter from earlier to reread over and over to his hearts content. To him, it was worth the trade.

Harry wasn't aware of any family that had magic in their genes now; this left only his mother and his father as the culprits. His aunt had refused to answer any of his questions, but this didn't bother him. There was nothing that his aunt could do to him once he left for school and for the ten months or so that he would be there. He would only have to suffer with the Dursleys through the summer holidays now.

Once the dishes were washed and put away, Harry slipped away into his cupboard and changed into the rags that he usually wore to bed. He laid down on the cot that took up the tiny space he was allotted and threaded his fingers behind his head.

Harry couldn't help but wonder what the school would be like, if he would have friends there since they would be just like he was. He was thrilled at the idea of friends, though he tried not to get his hopes up. He had learned long ago that if he hoped for something too much, it usually didn't come true.

His mind was still boggled at the thought of magic being real.

Harry took his glasses off and laid them on the floor next to his bed before rolling over to snuggle under the thin, threadbare blanket that covered his cot. The muted sound of the telly in the background lulled him into a place between wakefulness and sleep; Harry decided that he wanted to dream of Hogwarts.

For once, life was grand.

A/N- Another chapter down, look at me go. Thanks to everyone out there reading and reviewing, you guys are the bomb. I did have a few problems responding to reviews last time so if you didn't get one, I apologize. Forgive me? Anyways, leave me a message after the beep and let me know what you think!

Next chapter, everyone heads to Hogwarts.

Love,

Alicia


	8. Chapter 8

A/N- I'm back again, my lovelies. I got a couple days off work and while I still had to adult and do things around the house, it afforded me with enough time to produce this chapter for you. It isn't often that life works out like that for me but it sure is nice when it does. My continued thanks to those of you out there reading and reviewing this story, you guys are seriously awesome. It's much appreciated. I have nothing else of import to say so I'll just get started!

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing and I haven't made any money off this story or any others that I've written.

Part 2

Chapter 8

September 1, 1991

Harry glanced around King's Cross station, quite certain that there was no Platform 9 ¾. He really should have gotten Hagrid to tell him exactly where he was supposed to board the Hogwarts Express because for the life of him, he couldn't find it.

The biggest man that he had ever seen had arrived at his house one day just a short week ago and explained that he was there to take Harry shopping for his school supplies. They had visited a place called Diagon Alley and the wizard bank Gringotts. Harry had had no idea that his parents had left him money; he hadn't known that they were well-off. Harry could only shrug his shoulders. He hadn't known anything about his parents.

Hagrid had told him that his mother and father had been murdered by an evil wizard called Lord Voldemort. He had explained to him that their oldest friend had turned dark and turned them over to his master, which resulted in the murder of his parents. Harry had been so upset that he had broken a shop window in display of accidental magic. He had been deeply embarrassed at his show of power and apologized profusely, offering to pay the owner for the broken window. The man had simply laughed and waved his wand at the glass, repairing it to it's former state. It had been the first show of deliberate magic that Harry had witnessed, and it had been amazing.

A group of redheads hurried by, all of them pushing a cart much like he was. He stood back and watched as the woman, a plump and somewhat frumpy sort, ushered her children into the bricks that separated Platform 9 and 10. To watch the children disappear as if they hadn't been there had been disconcerting to say the least. When there was only one child left, Harry decided to be brave and step forward.

"Excuse me, ma'am, I was wondering if you could tell me how to get through?" The woman, a little girl, and boy that appeared to be the same age as himself turned to see who he was. The boy gasped out loud, pointing at Harry excitedly.

"Look, mum, it's Harry Potter." The woman gave him a kind smile and beckoned him closer.

"It's nice to meet you, dear. I'm Mrs. Weasley and this is Ronald and Ginny. This is Ron's first year to Hogwarts too." Harry gave them all a polite nod before turning his attention back to the platform. The woman smoothed his hair down in a motherly way before answering.

"To get onto the platform, you simply run through the barrier between nine and ten. The Hogwarts Express is on the other side." Harry took a deep breath and nodded. She gestured for him to go first. With a burst of bravery, Harry rushed into the bricks, finding himself on a crowded platform once he came to a stop. Ron came through right behind him, almost crashing into him because Harry had been too busy staring at the huge train. Just moments after Ron came through, Mrs. Weasley and Ginny followed.

Harry stepped towards the train since he had nobody to say goodbye to. Ron was currently being smothered by his mother, the other redheads long gone. Once he got closer to the Express, he wrestled his trunk and owl cage off the cart and began pulling them onto the train. Not sure if there were special places for first years to sit, he flagged down one of the redheads that passed him. The badge on his robes looked very official and Harry hoped that he could help him.

"Excuse me, are there assigned seats on the train?" This boy surely had to be related to Ron. Their hair was the same vivid shade of red, rather pretty actually if it had been on a girl. The boy sniffed at him imperiously.

"No, if you find a compartment that's empty, anyone is free to sit there." The boy was already walking off, leaving Harry to wrestle his belongings on the train by himself.

After almost ten minutes, Harry had his trunk and owl cage situated in an empty compartment. He had just taken his seat when the door opened to reveal Ron lugging his own trunk behind him.

"Mind if I sit with you, mate?" Harry flashed the boy a smile and shook his head. He took the seat next to Harry and began fishing around in his pocket, finally pulling out a haggard-looking rat. Harry's attention, however, was riveted on a man that seemed to be staring at him even though there was a pane of glass between them. Ron was getting ready to speak but Harry spoke before he could.

"Do you know who that man is and why he's staring at me?" Ron gasped when he saw to who Harry was referring. Even though he was still waiting for an answer, Harry couldn't take his eyes off the man. A small girl was next to him, smiling up at him before turning eyes to Harry as well.

The girl was very pretty. Even though he usually paid girls no mind, Harry could say without a doubt that the girl next to the strange man was quite stunning. There was a boy next to her, already several inches taller than she was. He thought that they were friends, but the same icy blue eyes shone back at her. They had to be related. The girl had just thrown her arms around a man with long blond hair, most assuredly the father of the boy next to her, when Ron finally spoke.

"That's Sirius Black, mate, he's the one…" Ron trailed off and Harry couldn't help but notice the blush that tinted his cheeks.

"The one who…?" Ron raked a hand through his shaggy hair.

"He's the man who betrayed your parents to You-Know-Who. That must be his spawn next to him, she looks just like him." Harry felt the blood in his veins turn to ice.

"How did he not go to prison?" Ron shrugged.

"I don't know. Mum and Dad always tell me that I'm too young for such conversations. Maybe Percy or the twins would know. We can ask them when we get to Hogwarts." Harry nodded his head absentmindedly, still watching the man outside the train. He was now hugging his daughter close, kissing the top of her head before laughing merrily at whatever she said. Harry could hear Ron introducing him to his pet rat, Scabbers, but he continued to watch the man and pretty girl.

This could be a very long year at Hogwarts.

-O-

Hermione fought back tears. Today was bittersweet; she and Draco were leaving for Hogwarts, something she had looked forward to for as long as she could remember. It was also the day that she was going to be leaving her father alone for the better part of a year. Sure, there would be holidays and such, but it wouldn't compare to being home with him all year long like she had been.

They had just arrived at Platform 9 ¾. Hermione and Draco both had their trunks stowed in the pockets of their robes, their shrinking charms quite helpful. She could see her father searching the crowds for Harry Potter, his eyes scanning the smallest children hungrily. It was several minutes before he grasped her shoulder and gestured with his chin.

"There he is, poppet. Merlin, he's tiny. Have they been feeding him? He looks just like James." Hermione went on her tip toes and tried to see where her father was pointing.

"I can't see him." Sirius knelt next to her and pointed as unobtrusively as possible.

"There, he's getting on the train now. Merlin, I wish I could go talk to him." Hermione felt badly for her father. She knew that he wanted to have Harry in his life more than anything.

"I'm going to be become friends with him, daddy. I'll tell him the truth." He pressed a kiss to the top of her head while watching the boy through the windows of the train. Hermione was recalled to the situation by her Aunt Cissy.

"Let's say our goodbyes, the pair of you needs to consider boarding the train so you have decent seats." Hermione realized she was right and moved to hug her aunt closely. Her familiar jasmine perfume was comforting, and Hermione found that she was going to miss it.

"I'll miss you, Aunt Cissy. I'll write every week." Hermione could see Draco shaking his father's hand, so polite and formal. She moved away from her aunt to throw herself into the arms her uncle.

"I'll miss you too, Uncle Luci. We're definitely coming home for Christmas so make sure you take time off from the Wizengamot to spend time with us." Her uncle laughed outright, drawing disbelieving looks from those around him. He kissed the top of her head before ruffling her curls slightly.

"We'll spend all the time in the world together. Now, do well in school and keep Draco in line. I expect to get good reports back on the both of you. If you have any problems, go to Severus." Hermione grinned at her uncle before nodding and moving to her father.

"I'm going to miss you most, daddy. Promise me that you won't sit at the manor all day and waste away." Her father threw back his head and laughed.

"Do you really see Candy allowing that to happen? She would have my hide and you know it. The little demon doesn't believe in respect." Hermione laughed now.

"She respects you just fine when you aren't being stupid. Promise you'll write me." Her father ran his hand down the length of her raven curls, curls so much like his own.

"I will write you every week, I promise. You promise that you go to Severus if you have problems and to leave Dumbledore as alone as you can. I fear what sort of retaliation he may have against you." Hermione was somber as she nodded her agreement.

"I promise, daddy. I'll stay away as much as I can." Suddenly, her eyes pricked with tears.

"I love you." Her father kissed her forehead one last time.

"I love you too, sweetness. Be good and get good marks. I know you'll make me proud." Draco reached out and grasped her hand with his larger one.

"Come on, 'Mi. Let's board." With a last wave to their parents, Hermione and Draco both boarded the train, doing their best to find an empty compartment. Once they were ensconced in one by themselves, they removed their trunks from their pockets and returned them to their original size. Her father had explained that the house elves would deliver their trunks from the train to the appropriate common room. After settling in, Hermione turned to her cousin.

"Since when you do you call me 'Mi?" Draco shrugged, his cheeks tinging pink.

"People are going to think we're babies if I call you Miney. That a just us nickname." Hermione nodded. His reasoning was sound. The train began to move, and both moved to the window to wave farewell to their parents until Christmas. She couldn't help the thrill of excitement that went through her. They were finally on their way to Hogwarts! They resettled in their seats and Draco broached the subject they had talked about thousands of times over.

"What house do you think you're going to be in?" She wrinkled her nose.

"I'm not sure. I think I have traits of all four houses. Dad was a Gryffindor though, so maybe a lion?" Draco eyed her critically.

"I don't think so. Sure, you're brave if the occasion calls for it but you think everything out. You never act brashly. Besides, your real dad was a Slytherin, so was your mum." Hermione had to give him that one. She never acted without thinking.

"What about you?" He grinned at her.

"I know I'm going to be a snake. There is no doubt in my mind." Hermione laughed at his confidence. Truth be told, she thought he would be a snake too. Then her fears settled into her chest and her eyes became uncertain.

"What if we aren't in the same house? We've never not been together." Draco slipped an arm around her shoulders and hugged her close.

"We'll still see each other all the time. We're still going to be best friends. We just won't sleep in the same part of the castle." Hermione nodded against his shoulder, still not appeased but not completely terrified. To get her mind off being separated from her cousin, she smiled brightly.

"Let's go make friends with Harry before we reach Hogwarts. We'll get to him before Dumbledore does." Draco chuckled as he stood.

"More proof right there that you're going to be in Slytherin." Hermione didn't speak, just followed him out of the compartment.

The pair traveled the length of the Express, peering into the windows of all the compartments as they went. They were near the end when Hermione spotted Harry in a compartment that had three redheads in it. They had to all be brothers because they looked remarkably alike. Draco groaned before she could open the door.

"You owe me for this. Those are Weasleys and they hate our family with a passion. Father told me all about it." She rolled her eyes at his dramatics before sliding the door to the compartment open. All eyes turned to herself and Draco, making her insides quake slightly when she saw the disgust on their faces. Regardless of her inner turmoil, Hermione flashed them a bright smile.

"Hello, we came to make friends. It's our first year at Hogwarts and we wanted to spend the train ride with other children our age." The youngest redhead's eyes landed on Draco and scowled.

"We aren't friends with Malfoys." Hermione drew her eyebrows down in confusion.

"Why not? I'm a Malfoy too and I assure you, we're earnest in our desire to be friends." Sneers graced the faces of all the redheads faces now. One of the older boys spoke. He and the other boy appeared to be twins because Hermione could tell no difference between them.

"You sure don't like a Malfoy." Hermione could hear the disgust in their voices and she stiffened her spine while raising her chin.

"My name in Hermione Black, daughter of Erise Malfoy. She was a little before your time, so I doubt you know who I'm talking about." The younger boy spoke again. Harry had thus far remained silent, though he didn't appear to be desirous of her friendship either.

"Hermione Black. Should have known that the spawn of a traitor would be a Malfoy too." Now Hermione could feel her hackles rising but a hand between her shoulder blades by Draco forced her to calm herself.

"My father is no traitor. Even the ICW believed him. You were still pissing in your pants at the time, so you really wouldn't know, would you?" She turned to Harry.

"I'll still be friends with you. You haven't been mean." Harry opened his mouth to speak but Ron beat him to it.

"He doesn't want to be friends with the daughter of the bloke that got his parents murdered. Can't you run along and find any snakes to play with? None of us here give a shite about being your friend." Hermione felt the familiar tears prick at her eyes again, but she refused to let them fall. Draco stepped forward now, anger painted on his features.

"Don't talk to my cousin like that. She has been nothing but nice to you and you just keep insulting her. I guess that's what bad breeding will do to a person." Hermione wished that Draco hadn't insulted them, but she really couldn't blame him. His father had charged Draco with protecting her at school and it was a duty that Draco took quite seriously. One of the twins spoke again.

"Maybe you and your cousin should just move along. You're clearly not wanted here and you're making a shite situation worse because you won't take a bloody hint." Hermione opened her mouth to speak again before a voice behind them startled her.

"Just what is going on here?" Hermione spun around to see a redhead with a prefect badge on his robes staring at them with a disdainful expression. The youngest boy in the compartment spoke again.

"We were minding our own business and they burst in, looking for 'friends'. We told them we weren't interested, and they refuse to leave." While Harry wasn't nodding, the two older redheads were. The prefect shook his head at what she assumed was their behavior.

"Get back to your compartment and leave these fellows alone. They aren't interested." Hermione hung her head and nodded, unsure how she was supposed to befriend Harry when his friends hated her on sight. They hadn't even tried to get to know her before deciding that they hated her. No wonder Uncle Luci had warned Draco about them.

Hermione and Draco both trudged their way back to their compartment. Once they were seated inside again, Hermione took a shaky breath. They hadn't even reached school and they had already been chastised by a prefect. One that was partial to the other party, sure, but chastised all the same.

"I don't understand how they can hate me so much when they don't even know me." Draco shrugged his shoulders before tugging on one of her more errant curls.

"I don't know but we'll get Potter to be our friend when they aren't around." Hermione nodded but she was no longer sure of herself.

"I don't think he's going to be friends with us. He didn't say a word, but he sure didn't look as though he wanted to be friends with someone that is related to the person he thinks got his parents killed. I think we just lost our chance." Draco tugged her hair hard enough to make her squeal and then glare at him.

"You aren't giving up yet. You never give up and you're not going to start now." Hermione continued to glare at him but nodded. No further conversation was had about the subject because their compartment door slid open and their friends filed in. Draco looked particularly pleased that Pansy was among them, as was Theo, but Hermione was far happier to see Daphne. While she liked Pansy, Hermione got along better with Daphne since the girl wasn't quite as outgoing.

Hermione settled back into her seat and smiled at her friends. Maybe the trip to Hogwarts wouldn't be so terrible after all.

-O-

Harry couldn't believe that the pretty girl that had been hugging Sirius Black had wanted to be his friend. Her father was responsible for the deaths of his parents and she wanted to become best friends. It was the most absurd thing he had ever heard.

After Percy made her and her cousin leave, the Weasleys all talked about how the Blacks were a dark family and that they couldn't be trusted. The Malfoys were brought into the conversation and were cited to be extremely rich and snobby. Harry could honestly say that if he hadn't known who the girl was, he would have accepted their friendship. They were both very nice and hadn't started hurling insults until the Weasleys had done so. The bullied kid inside him quailed at the treatment of this girl by people she had never met before, but Harry hardened his heart.

Her father had as good as killed his parents himself.

It was for that reason alone that Harry was entirely uninterested in friendship with the pair. He could care less that they had money or that they were reported to be dark. They were only eleven, how dark could they be? The Weasleys, Ron in particular, assured him that he had made the right choice.

Aside from that one altercation, Harry enjoyed his trip to Hogwarts. The Weasleys treated him as if he was a normal wizard, not the freak of nature that his family told him he was on a daily basis. He reminded himself that he wouldn't have to speak with them until the following June. It was like a dream come true. The train pulled to a stop in a place called Hogsmeade Station and Harry couldn't suppress the excitement that had been bubbling in him since he had woken up that morning.

It was now dark outside, the day passing quickly when he was surrounded with his new friends. His belly growled loudly since the only thing he had ate that day was a ton of candy that Ron had talked him into buying off the trolley. Fred and George instructed them to leave their things in the compartment, that elves would be along and take their things to the castle. Harry couldn't have been more grateful; it had been difficult to get his trunk loaded by himself.

They left the train and were ushered to the boats on the lake, Hagrid calling out for all the first years to follow him. In his broken speech, he told them to load into the boats, no more than four in each one. Harry had spotted the girl, Hermione, with her cousin just ahead of them, an excited look on her face. It was at the last possible moment that Harry realized that they were going to get stuck in a boat with them, the group of people they were with fitting four in the boat ahead of them. Harry sighed inwardly. There was nothing for it now.

The pair climbed in the boat, still unaware that Harry and Ron were loading in behind them. When they turned and saw who was accompanying them, Ron sneered. It was hard to tell if they could see it since it was dark outside, but Harry had a feeling that they knew. Ron just couldn't keep his mouth shut even though the pair hadn't said a word.

"If you didn't want to have to share a boat, you should have had daddy dearest buy you one." Hermione pursed her lips together, clearly disapproving of his statement, but the boy was by no means timid. He was quick to hurl an insult back at Ron.

"We don't mind sharing with people, we just mind sharing with you. We're scared 'dirt poor' is catching." Harry could see the tips of Ron's ears turning red in the reflection of the moon on the lake. He knew that if this continued, it was likely that one or all of them would end up in the lake.

"Just leave it, Ron. They can stay on their end and we can stay on ours." Ron's hands fisted at his sides, but he said nothing else.

The trip across the lake was beautiful. Harry could hear something out in the distance splashing in the water, but he didn't ask what it was. It sounded large and he could only hope that it was friendly. Halfway across the lake, Harry got his first sight of Hogwarts and it took his breath away. This would be his home for the next ten months. It still seemed too good to be true. Hermione grabbed her cousin's arm and gasped.

"Look at how beautiful it is, Draco. I see why they make us take the boats across the first time." Hmm. So, Draco was the cousin's name. While he wasn't particularly interested, Harry filed the information away for later. The rest of the trip across the water was silent, everyone taking in the view as apparently only happened on your first trip to Hogwarts.

They reached the dock on the other side and Hagrid climbed out of his boat, so he could start helping them out of their own boats. Even though Hagrid helped Hermione out of the boat like he did all the other students that came before her, he caught a slight sneer on the half-giant's face. Did nobody like the girl aside from her cousin? Once they were all out of the boats, Harry followed the other students as they were led to the main steps of the castle by Hagrid. He held the door open and waited for them all to file in and come to a stop before shouting.

"Wait ri' here, Perfessa McGonagall'll be here in a mo'." Hagrid had just walked away when a very stern looking older woman appeared out of the huge doors to their right. She didn't glare at them, per se, but it was clear in her expression that she was in no mood for arguing or whining.

"You are about be sorted into your house. They are Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Slytherin, and Gryffindor. Your houses will become your family for your duration here. Any triumphs will be shared amongst them, as will failures. Once you've been sorted, please take a seat at your house table. You will know which one it is by the cheering." There was general unrest in all the students, eager to get on with the sorting. The professor nodded her head after seeing that they understood and called for them to follow her.

Harry couldn't believe the sight of the room she led them into. All the other students were seated in there at four long tables that stretched the length of the room. The ceiling looked like it was night outside, stars and moon shining brightly. He faintly caught Hermione leaning into one of the girls walking with her and telling her that the ceiling was bewitched to look like that. They came to a stop at the front of the room where a stool was set out with an ancient looking hat sitting on top of it. Much to Harry's supreme surprise, the hat began speaking.

"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,  
But don't judge on what you see,  
I'll eat myself if you can find  
A smarter hat than me.

You can keep your bowlers black,  
Your top hats sleek and tall,  
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat  
And I can top them all.

There's nothing hidden in your head  
The Sorting Hat can't see,  
So try me on and I will tell you  
Where you ought to be.

You might belong in Gryffindor,  
Where dwell the brave at heart,  
Their daring, nerve and chivalry  
Set Gryffindors apart;

You might belong in Hufflepuff,  
Where they are just and loyal,  
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true  
And unafraid of toil;

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,  
If you've a steady mind,  
Where those of wit and learning,  
Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin  
You'll make your real friends,  
Those cunning folks use any means  
To achieve their ends.

So, put me on! Don't be afraid!  
And don't get in a flap!  
You're in safe hands (though I have none)  
For I'm a Thinking Cap!"

Harry was astounded. He was unsure as to which house he wanted to be in, but he had never expected a hat to be the thing that sorted him. A talking hat no less. The woman that had led them in there began calling out names.

"Hannah Abbott." Harry watched one of the taller girls shuffle her way to the front of the room. He hair was platinum blond and straight as a pin, hanging down just past her shoulders. The professor set the hat on her head and after only a few moments, it called out.

"Hufflepuff!" The table in the middle of the room went wild and the girl's cheeks flamed at the attention. She took off the hat and handed it to the professor, so she could hop down and scurry over to her new house table. Once she was seated, the woman called out for the next student.

"Hermione Black." Harry watched the pretty girl heave a deep breath, clearly nervous as to where she was going to be put. He thought that she was muttering to herself under her breath, but he couldn't be sure. Now that he could see her with all the other students, she was easily the smallest girl. She took a seat on the stool and then waited as the hat was set on her head.

Whereas Hannah had been sorted in seconds, Hermione was still sitting there a full ninety seconds later, a look of fear on her face. Harry wondered if the hat was going to sort her or not. Whispers were going up around the room and Harry could see her beginning to squirm. Finally, almost a full two minutes from the time it was set on her head, the hat yelled out.

"Slytherin!"

Ron, Fred, and George had explained about Slytherin's on the train ride. They were usually regarded as evil and dark, the wizard who had killed his parents had been in Slytherin. Hermione was also a Black, a family that was akin to wizarding royalty according to his new friends. While most people would be despairing about being in Slytherin, Hermione grinned happily and handed the professor the hat before getting down and skipping over to her new table on the left side of the room.

As the first snake sorted, their table went wild. He could see a light blush rise to her cheeks, her pale skin showing the color vividly. Once she was seated, Ron leaned over and spoke softly in his ear.

"Told you, evil witches and wizards come from Slytherin. Good riddance."

Professor McGonagall continued with the list, boys and girls both taking their turns when their names were called. The students went to all four houses, almost equally, and every table cheered when they got a new student. It seemed to sneak up on him when he heard his name called.

"Harry Potter."

A hush fell over the room, whispers sprouting from every table. Harry knew why they were acting like they were; Ron had explained that he was famous on the Express. With trepidation, Harry stepped forward and took the seat offered to him. The hat was set on his head and he was surprised to hear the hat speaking to him inside his mind.

' _Aw, yes, Harry Potter. A fine, young lad I see, a fine mind with lots of talent. A thirst to prove yourself. Where to put you though. Slytherin would serve you well, you're ambitious after all.'_ Harry began whispering to himself, eyes scrunched together tightly.

"Not Slytherin, not Slytherin." The hat laughed in his head.

' _Not Slytherin, eh. Better be…'_

"Gryffindor!"

Everyone at the Gryffindor table went wild, whooping and hollering their approval of his sorting. The professor gave him a proud smile and he couldn't help but wonder if she had been a Gryffindor. He handed the hat to her and made his way to his new table, Fred and George beckoning him to sit with them. Since he knew nobody else at the table, he was quick to take the seat offered.

Harry tuned the rest of the sorting out until he heard Ron's name get called. His siblings applauded happily when he became a lion as well. Without further ado, the Headmaster bid them to eat, huge amounts of food appearing on the table before them. He couldn't recall ever seeing that much food at one time in his life.

Harry ate his fill, the first time in years. Even though his stomach was aching, he couldn't make himself stop, a side effect of never getting enough to eat he was sure. Pudding arrived, and he tried something called treacle tart and it was instantly his favorite. Just when he thought that he was going to fall asleep at the table, the Headmaster stood and began speaking.

"Before I dismiss you, I want to remind all students that the Forbidden Forest is just that, forbidden. Classes begin tomorrow morning and you will receive your timetable at breakfast. For those of you not wanting to die a most horrible and painful death, the third-floor corridor is out of bounds." He paused and smiled serenely out at the students.

"Enough for now, off you trot to bed." Harry was suddenly exhausted.

He rose to his feet and followed the other Gryffindors out of the Great Hall. The prefects were spread amongst them, showing them the landmarks that would get them to breakfast without getting lost. Harry trudged up seven floors before they came to a portrait of an extremely large woman drinking wine.

"Fairy wings." It was clear that this was meant to be the password and the door swung open.

He and the other first years were shown around quickly, everyone feeling the effects of the full meal. Once the bathrooms were located, Percy showed them to their room, a large spacious room that housed five beds. Their trunks were sitting alongside them, ready to be unpacked whenever they saw fit. Harry was quick to strip off his clothes and climb into his pajamas; he noted that the other boys followed his lead.

Harry didn't worry about unpacking, he vowed that he would do it the following day. The boys did take a few moments to introduce themselves since they would be sharing a room for the next seven years of their lives. Even though he was exhausted, Harry couldn't quite get his brain to turn off enough for him to fall asleep like the others.

It was several hours later before he finally dropped off, nervous and excited for his day of classes the following day. Not a thought was spared for the girl that had reached out to him and tried to be his friend.

-O-

Hermione was unpacking her trunk in her new dorm room. She shared it with four other girls, Pansy, Daphne, Millicent, and Tracey. She had known them all for years so there really wasn't an awkward stage where she had to introduce herself to anyone. All Draco's friends had been sorted as snakes as well.

As she put away her belongings in the chest of drawers and wardrobe, her mind returned to the embarrassing display of hat stall. The hat had been stumped as to where to put her, telling her that she would happily fit in any of the four houses. Hermione wasn't quite certain that happily would fit if she was a Gryffindor, but she felt like it had done a fair job of assessing that she had the traits that all four houses prized.

Once her belongings were put away, the trunk disappeared into storage, she assumed. Deciding that she would shower in the morning, she went ahead and changed into the pajamas she had laid out. The girls around her were doing the same, although Pansy and Tracey decided to shower before bed.

Hermione had told herself that she was going to write her father before bed and tell him where she had been sorted into but when it came down to it, she was far too tired. Besides, she knew that Uncle Sevvie would be flooing her father after the feast and letting him know where she ended up. She could just as easily write him after classes the next day.

Hermione crawled into bed and snuggled down into the fluffy silver duvet on her bed. She reached out and pulled the curtains around her bed, not used to sleeping in the same room as anyone but Draco. She was excited to see her timetable the following day though she didn't think that the curriculum was going to offer much of a challenge for her.

Her mind drifted to the situation with Harry. The only option she had left available to her was to be persistent. She couldn't force him to be her friend and he would never listen if she tried. Therefore, like Draco said, she was just going to have to keep trying and not give up.

Vowing to try again the following day, Hermione gave into her exhaustion and allowed sleep to pull her under.

A/N- In case y'all haven't figured it out, Ron is going to be a bag of dicks in this story too. I just can't seem to write him as a decent person. The other Weasleys are going to be arseholes too but they won't be searching for Hermione or Draco to be mean to them. Be patient, eventually life will get better for our characters. Much later, ha-ha. Anyways, let me know what you think, reviews make me smile.

**Sorting hat song was taken from J.K.R.'s Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

Next up, first day of classes.

Love,

Alicia


	9. Chapter 9

A/N- I'm back once again, my friends. Happy 4th of July to all my American friends! Not many of you were very happy with how Harry just capitulated to the Weasleys but remember that he has no friends, has never had friends. He doesn't want to lose the few that he's already made. Put yourself in an eleven-year-olds shoes that is in the same situation. Anyways, big thanks to all those that have read and reviewed the story, you guys are rock stars. I appreciate it more than I can say.

** Shout out to leonix2009 for being my 200th reviewer! Thanks for being so awesome! **

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing except the plot twist on this story. Even then it's probably been done before. I haven't made any money off any of my stories, trust me, the six dollars I have in my account tells no lies. Adulting sucks.

Chapter 9

September 2, 1991

Hermione was excited for her first day of classes. She had been the first to rise in her dorm, determined to be up and ready so she wouldn't be late for breakfast. They would be receiving their time table then and she was eager to see just what classes she was going to have. Her father had told her that all first years took the same classes, that they weren't varied until their third year when electives were available. Hermione had already started studying many of the electives with their tutor at home, so she was unsure as to which ones she would choose when the time came.

Since she was up so early, she was the first one in the common room. She had decided to wait for Draco there, knowing that he would come down eventually for breakfast. She was re-reading her potions text book when the door to the common room opened and her godfather stepped through. Since there were no children around, Hermione had no qualms throwing herself in Uncle Sevvie's arms. He hugged her back fiercely before releasing her to grin.

"I'm proud of you for making it into my House. I knew that you weren't going to take after your father." Hermione laughed.

"Thanks, Uncle Sevvie. Honestly, the hat let me choose because it said that it couldn't decide. I wanted to make sure that I was with Draco. Who knew that the hat would stall out and have no idea what to do with a student?" Her uncle laughed at her.

"It's happened a time or two since I've started teaching but they've never had the hat on their head for as long as you did." Hermione shrugged at his words.

"Did you tell dad that I'm a snake? Is he alright with it?" Her uncle ran his hand down the length of her curls.

"I flooed over and told your father, Lucius, and Narcissa last night. They were all thrilled that you and Draco made it into Slytherin." Hermione sent her godfather a sheepish grin.

"I was worried that dad would be disappointed if I wasn't a Gryffindor like him." Uncle Sevvie have her an understanding smile.

"I know. Trust me, he's not." There was thundering on the stairs coming from the boy's dorms. Her godfather stepped away from her and assumed his potion's master persona. Draco, Theo, Greg, Vince, and Blaise all appeared moments later, satchels ready on their backs.

"Good morning, Professor." He nodded his head at the boys before turning back to Hermione.

"I've come to make sure that all the first years make it to breakfast on time. Were the girls getting ready when you came down?" Hermione sighed because she had absolutely no idea.

"They weren't when I came down, but I've been awake awhile. I'll go up and check on them." He gave her a stiff nod and she turned to head back up to her dorm. When she pushed through the door, she found that all the girls were slinging their bags over their shoulders and getting ready to make their way down together. Pansy caught sight of her first.

"How long have you been awake?" Hermione grinned at her.

"Awhile. I was too excited to sleep. I'm so ready for classes to start." Pansy just shook her head as if she didn't understand.

"You are odd, Hermione." She shrugged her shoulders as if she had nothing to say for herself. She had learned long ago that it did no good to discuss academics with Pansy.

"Professor Snape is downstairs waiting to make sure we get to breakfast on time. Hurry." The other four girls hastened their steps, following Hermione back down the stairs to the common room. Once they were all gathered again, Uncle Sevvie spoke.

"Before we go down, I want everyone to listen to me. You are Slytherins and therefore, the rest of the school is going to assume that you're evil by association. The other students are going to try to get you in trouble. Other professors may favor the other houses over yourself. It's unfair and I don't expect you to like it, but I do expect you to not retaliate. I'm known for showing favor to the snakes, everyone will tell you. This is true. However, I also expect you to not get caught causing trouble or getting caught in petty house rivalries. You are Slytherins and you are above that. Don't let me hear of you retaliating. If you have a problem that you can't handle yourself, come to me. I can't guarantee that the other professors will help you. Now, are you ready to head down to breakfast so you can get your time tables?" Hermione nodded enthusiastically, Draco copying her movement. Daphne looked excited as well but curbed her actions. The rest of them nodded but looked much more sedate.

"Follow me."

Professor Snape took off and led them out of the common room and up the stairs out of the common room. They wended through the corridors until the familiar sight of the Great Hall came into view. Gesturing for them to file in and take their seats, Hermione watched her uncle stalk back the way he had come. She figured that he was going to be entering from the staff entrance.

Hermione and her class of first years took their seats at their house table and began spooning food onto their plates. She wasn't particularly hungry, she usually wasn't when she was nervous, but she knew that she needed to eat. The last thing that she wanted was to get a headache during class. Therefore, she ate a small pile of scrambled eggs and a slice of toast with marmalade.

Once most of them had finished their meal, her uncle came down from the High Table and started passing out the time tables to the whole house. Since it was alphabetical, Hermione was near the front of the line. Her father had told her that as they got older, they would get double periods but for their first year, they would all be regular classes. She perused her schedule while Draco leaned over her shoulder.

"All but one of our classes are with the Gryffindors. Do the professors hate us that much? Their hatred of Slytherin is legendary." Hermione had been surprised to hear Theo speak. Where Draco was usually the outgoing one and the first to speak on any given subject, Theo did make observations occasionally. Just not often enough for Hermione to not swivel her head to look at him.

"Maybe this year will be different. Maybe if we're nice to them they'll be nice to us." Theo shrugged his shoulders, obviously not wanting to tell her that she was being stupid to believe that. Draco squeezed her arm softly.

"Maybe, 'Mi, but we need to be prepared for the worst. My father said that Slytherins stick together so if they're mean to one of us, we all stand up for that person." Hermione knew exactly what he was doing and while she hated that it was necessary, she was grateful. They all knew that Hermione was already widely hated throughout the school due to her father and his supposed actions against the Potters.

Everyone nodded their agreement to Draco's words and stood, deciding that they wanted to leave early to find their first class. Hermione knew that the other first years were scared to ask for directions but since she most certainly didn't want to spend the next thirty minutes looking for the Transfiguration classroom, she stopped by one of the older boys.

"Can you tell us how to get to Transfiguration?" The other first years couldn't believe that she had stopped and asked but they all hung on every word. The boy narrowed his eyes at her.

"What's your name?" Hermione smiled at him even though he didn't look particularly pleased.

"Hermione Black, what's yours?" Suddenly, his face cleared, and he didn't look put out at all. He reached out and took her hand in his before bending over it to kill her knuckles. Hermione felt her face flame but the other girls behind her were whispering jealously.

"I'm Marcus Flint. I would love to show you and all the other firsties to Transfiguration." Hermione instantly felt terrible.

"Oh no, I wouldn't want you to miss your breakfast. Directions are perfectly fine." The older boy shook his head.

"Absolutely not. My father would have my hide if I let a daughter of the house of Black get lost of her very first day." Hermione felt her cheeks grow hot again but nodded.

"Very well. I appreciate it very much." While Marcus stood and gathered his things, his friends watching him with amused expressions on their faces. Marcus had just beckoned for them to follow him when Draco leaned over and whispered in her ear.

"Watch out for him. He heard your last name and realized you're royalty. He's sucking up so maybe he can petition for your hand when you get older." Hermione frowned at his words before meeting his eyes.

"You really think so? I'm only eleven for Merlin's sake." Draco nodded sagely.

"I'm positive. Father told me that people were going to react like that towards you. You're the heir to the richest family in Britain after mine. Everyone is going to want a piece of you. Why did you think Father told me to look after you? It wasn't because he didn't think that you couldn't hex someone seven ways from Sunday if they crossed you." Hermione considered his words and concluded that he was probably right. She gave a resolute nod at her cousin.

"Thanks, Drake, I'll keep an eye on him."

Hermione then hurried up behind Marcus with her friends, eager to get to their first class.

-O-

Harry was near to bursting with excitement at learning magic. Ron had done nothing but complain since they had received their time tables, whinging that he hated schoolwork and they needed to make quidditch a subject. Harry had bore it good-naturedly, laughing at the faces that his friend was pulling.

Even though he was quite certain that he didn't want to be friends with Hermione Black, he found that he couldn't take his eyes off her when she had stood with her friends and stopped by an older boy, so she could speak with him. At first, he had appeared annoyed, but Harry watched as his expression changed. He couldn't help the foreign lurch deep in his belly when the boy had bowed over her hand and kissed it. His eyes followed her out of the Great Hall which Ron noticed right away.

"I don't blame you, I'd keep an eye on that one too. Who knows if she wants to finish the job of killing you for her dad?" There were several hisses from Neville and Seamus and Ron turned red.

"Sorry, mate. Didn't mean it the way it sounded." Harry decided that he didn't want to fight with his new friends, so he nodded his head in understanding. It was Neville that spoke next.

"Ron, you're being too hard on Hermione. I've known her for years, Draco too, and they're both really nice. I've been to her home and haven't been treated badly at all." Harry swiveled his head around, so he could look at the other Gryffindor.

"Why were you at her house? Doesn't your family care that her father was a traitor to the light?" Neville rolled his eyes.

"I'm a pureblood. Most of the purebloods grow up together after their sixth birthday. I've been to all her birthday parties, some of Draco's too. Hermione is really smart, and she doesn't mind talking about plants with me." Neville sighed before continuing.

"My gran knew Lord Black when he was friends with your parents, my parents were friends with all of them. She told me that he would never have sold out your parents to You-Know-Who." Harry considered his words before speaking.

"She said something about the ICW believing him. Do you know what that's about?" Neville shook his head.

"No, gran never talks about those days. I only know the part about Lord Black because she was telling Ron's mum one day in Diagon Alley when I was with her and he passed them. He greeted them both respectfully and Mrs. Weasley started in about him. My gran told her that about Lord Black being friends with my parents and the Potters." Harry wanted to consider his other friend's words, but Ron spoke as he stood.

"You believe what you want, Nev. Do you think it's worth taking the chance of her killing Harry in his sleep?" Harry rolled his eyes again at his friend's theatrics but remained silent as he followed him. They needed to get to class after all.

Harry was regretting leaving breakfast late. All the Gryffindor first years had no idea where they were headed so in the end they stopped and asked Percy for directions. After he directed them to the third floor, Harry started for class, the rest of them following him, apparently promoting him to leader.

As he turned the corner leading him to the classroom, he caught sight of Hermione and her group of snakes queuing up outside the door. The older boy was bent over her hand again, kissing her knuckles before he bid her farewell. Her cheeks were a lovely shade of pink. Draco Malfoy glared at the older boy, said something that caused his face to harden, and pulled his cousin away by her elbow. He watched the blond boy pull her aside and speak with her, his face going from anxious to happy before he reached out and tugged on one of her curls. Harry almost winced at the shriek she let out. Ron didn't bother hiding his distaste.

"Merlin, Malfoy, I know you two are cousins, but I think it's just a bit too close for you to consider her as a prospect. We all know that the Blacks and Malfoys are as inbred as they come." Since Hermione Black hadn't thrown any insults and him or his friends since they had met, he was rather surprised when she stepped in front of her cousin and glared at Ron.

"Actually, the Malfoys and Blacks haven't been paired together for over two hundred years. As a proper pureblood, you should know that. Perhaps your stupidity can be attributed to troll genes, one can never be sure. I haven't gone on insulting your family, have I? I would appreciate it if you didn't insult mine." Draco was openly laughing at Ron now, the rest of the snakes behind them were snickering into their hands. Ron was sputtering, and all the other lions looked angry aside from Neville. Harry couldn't feel that Ron had deserved her words just a little bit. Hermione hadn't started anything with him, but she had certainly finished it. Before Ron could speak again, Neville stepped forward and took Hermione's hand in his, so he could bend over it and kiss her knuckles. The Gryffindors all fell silent as they watched the interaction.

"It's been a few months, Hermione. I'm sorry that we'll miss your birthday party this year. Maybe we could get together and study sometime." He turned to the rest of the snakes.

"You're all welcome of course. I haven't seen any of you since Draco's birthday." The rest of the Slytherins seemed to not have a problem with Neville, the boys shaking his hand firmly. They spoke for a few moments in the queue before Ron started hissing to the others.

"Bloody traitor." Harry couldn't let that pass.

"Ron, that isn't fair. Those kids have been his friends since he was six. Is he supposed to just drop them because they're in Slytherin? Would you have dropped me if I had been sorted into Slytherin?" He hadn't mentioned to Ron just how close that possibility had come to being a reality. His friend sputtered next to him, but in the end, looked defeated.

"No, I suppose not." Harry gave a sharp nod.

"Then let Neville have his friends. He's not asking that you befriend them, he's just telling us that they're not so bad, that he's known them for a long time and has more insight into the matter than we do." Nobody got to say another word because the door opened at the witch who had handled the sorting the night before stepped out and ushered them inside.

The two houses each sat on one side, none of them looking too keen about mixing company. The woman introduced herself as Professor McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor House. Without further ado, she bid them to remove their texts, parchment, and quill from their bags and to take notes. Most of the Slytherins did as they were told, as did most of the Gryffindors. Harry had never been called upon to take notes in muggle school, he simply hadn't been old enough, but he wrote down the things that the professor had told them were important.

They went over their syllabus for the year and started the lesson on changing a matchstick to a needle. Harry was excited to try the wand movement and incantation, but the bell ended class before they could begin. He was a little disappointed but reminded himself that he had Transfiguration the very next day and there was nothing saying that he couldn't give it a try that night.

The class dismissed, and Harry watched as Hermione Black went to the front of the room and asked Professor McGonagall for directions to Charms. Harry watched as a flash of dislike crossed her features, but she hid it quickly and gave her short and succinct directions. Hermione then snagged the arm of her cousin and pulled him from the classroom, the others following behind her easily. Since Harry had no idea where he was going, he decided to follow as well, though at a distance.

They found Charms with no problems. The door was already standing wide open so they all filed in and took their seats. Harry once again sat by Ron, pulling out his text, parchment, and quill, assuming that this class would most likely be just like Transfiguration. Their professor, a tiny little man by the name of Professor Flitwick, appeared and started the lesson post haste. Harry repeated the same actions as he had in Professor McGonagall's' class, taking notes as well as he could. When he glanced over at Ron's parchment, it was woefully wanting; there were only a few lines scribbled on the page and his friend was staring out the window. Harry nudged him sharply, gesturing with his chin to pay attention.

They were learning the wand-lighting charm and Harry was excited to see that they had ten minutes to practice before class dismissed to lunch. Wanting to see how everyone else did, he waited before he cast the spell and watched those around him. Ron failed on his first attempt, also his second and third. Neville managed it on the third try, while Dean and Seamus got it on their fourth. Hermione and Malfoy both got it on their first attempt, looking quite bored. Most of the other Slytherins managed it, though not on their first or second try.

Finally, Harry decided that he needed to try before the class dismissed. He gave a wave of his wand, said the incantation as clearly as he could.

"Lumos."

His wand flickered but then went out. Harry frowned before waving his wand again, putting more concentration into the spell. This time when he spoke the words, his wand lit up and help, illuminating the area around him. Ron flashed him a grin.

"Wicked." Harry grinned back, proud of himself that he had managed his first spell with no problems. Before he could say anything else, the bell rang, and Professor Flitwick was speaking.

"We'll continue practicing next lesson, everyone make sure you bring your wands." Harry gathered his things quickly, shoving it all into this bag so he could hurry out of the classroom. His first spell had been cast, setting him on the path of following his parent's footsteps. Today was a great day.

-O-

Hermione ate better at lunch than she had at breakfast. Both morning classes had been a success but a disappointment at the same time. Even though she hadn't had time to change a matchstick to a needle in Transfiguration, she had already practiced it at home once she had gotten her wand. Charms had been a breeze as well, the lumos spell being the first spell she had ever learned at age three. While it was deemed a success, Hermione could already tell that she was going to be bored out of her mind this year. By the look on Draco's face, he was thinking the same thing.

The Slytherin table was subdued compared to the other three houses, though Hermione still found it louder than what she was used to. She supposed that she would eventually get used to it but until then, she tried to stave off the oncoming headache. Her mind drifted while she waited on the others to finish.

Hermione couldn't help but feel just a little bit guilty at the fact that she had retaliated to Ron Weasley. Her uncle had been quite clear in saying that they had better not get caught retaliating and then she had done it in plain view and hearing of a professor's classroom, a professor that clearly didn't like her. She didn't miss the expression that crossed her face when she had asked for directions to Charms; Professor McGonagall either really hated Slytherins in general or was such a loyal supporter of Dumbledore that she had believed his story hook, line, and sinker. Though, her father had told her that the woman had been present the day that the old man had cursed her. Now, she could only hope that nobody opened their mouth to her uncle.

Hermione had felt eyes on her throughout both her classes. Out of the corner of her eye, she had caught sight of Harry watching her and she wasn't sure how to take it. While she was pleased that he was showing interest, the Slytherin wasn't sure if it was the right kind. It certainly wasn't a good kind of interest if he was watching her because he was worried that she was going to attack him.

More than anything, she had wanted to tell him the truth, to make friends with him like her father wanted. She wanted to make their family whole again. Neville had had no problems showing that he was friends with her, that he had accepted her, but the rest of the lions still didn't want a thing to do with her. Her thoughts were interrupted by a boy tapping her on the shoulder. She caught sight of Draco glaring before she turned to see the most stunning boy she had ever seen in her life.

His blond hair hung to his shoulders, not platinum blond like Draco's but a warm honey blond. His eyes were a brilliant sea green and were focused solely on her. Even though her mouth was dry, she gulped softly, hoping that she wouldn't be required to speak. The other girls were whispering next to her, what Hermione couldn't tell though.

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Thorfinn Rowle and I'm a seventh year. Would you allow me to escort you to your next class?" Hermione knew that her cheeks were flushed, probably down into her neck as well. Before she could answer, Draco stood and faced the older boy down.

"The only way you're getting near her is with me present. It isn't proper for you to escort her without a family member since you're making quite clear that you're interested in her. You're aware that she's only eleven?" Rowle faced Draco with a hard expression.

"I'm more than aware of her age. I'm merely introducing myself and offering my services. There is nothing you can do to stop me, Mr. Malfoy." Draco lifted his chin and his face went impassive.

"I assure you there is. All I need do is send a single owl to either my father or hers and that will be the end of you. You think either one of those two will stand by and let you manipulate her?" A flash of fear crossed the features of Rowle before he grudgingly nodded.

"Of course, all the first years are welcome to come with us." Draco gave a nod and helped Hermione to stand. She had finally gained some of her abilities back, so she had little problem gathering her things. Rowle didn't wait for the others, just took off, assuming that they would hurry after him. Draco took her hand and placed it in the crook of his arm, escorting her so Rowle wouldn't attempt it. She stuck her tongue out at him, finally drawing a smirk out of him.

Since they were headed to Herbology, Rowle led them to the door that would take them nearest the greenhouses. After telling them to go straight for the big building on the right, Rowle left with a swish of robes. The girls all started exclaiming excitedly.

"Merlin, did you see him? He was gorgeous!" Hermione couldn't help but agree. However, after seeing how he acted after Draco had called him out, she had a feeling that he was just wanting a chance at marrying her as well. Apparently, most purebloods were superficial enough to only want to marry someone for their money, standing, and power. Once they were well on their way, Draco spoke quietly.

"I heard the boys last night in the dorms after they thought we went to bed. They were comparing numbers and Rowle has been with more than his fair share. You can count on the number being even higher by the time he married you. By the way he was talking, I don't think that he would remain faithful either. I know that's a big deal for you." Hermione nodded.

It was true. Her father had instilled in her, as well as Aunt Cissy and Uncle Luci, that when she married she should be able to expect loyalty from her spouse and she would give it in return. They implored her to only marry for love and hope that it would be a good match. Since she knew that her father didn't care about blood status, she didn't figure that her aunt and uncle could say much about her choice when the time came for her to make it.

When they entered the greenhouse, Hermione turned to see that the Gryffindors were following behind them, though further back than she had expected. She and Draco took seats together at the front of the room, getting out their supplies so they would be ready when Professor Sprout appeared. The lions filed in and took seats together much the same way they had when they had attended Transfiguration and Charms. When Professor Sprout breezed through the door, she smiled at the class.

"This won't do. I promote house unity in my class, so you will be paired with someone from the opposite house. See your pairs on the boards and move accordingly." Hermione looked up and her heart leapt.

She was paired with Harry!

Hermione stood and moved towards Harry, waiting patiently for Ron to gather his bag and move on. He threw a glare her way, but she steadfastly ignored it as she took his seat. Draco had been paired Ron and she felt terrible for him. Pansy was with Seamus, Daphne with Lavender, Millie with Parvati, Theo with Faye, Greg with Dean, Neville with Tracey, and Vince with Sally. It had worked out perfectly, surprising Hermione. Hermione sent a small smile Harry's way.

"Hello." He didn't glare at her, but he didn't respond. Nothing else could be exchanged since Professor Sprout launched into her lecture for the day. After going over the syllabus, she started on the bouncing bulb, something that Hermione had covered years ago with her tutor. She took diligent notes even though she had her original set in her wardrobe back in her dorm. She caught Harry trying to read her notes, then look at his own before he started writing again at a rapid pace. His handwriting truly was atrocious.

The bell rang, and Hermione began to collect her things. Harry was doing the same next to her and he had yet to speak a word to her. Deciding that it was now or never, she turned to him.

"I'm glad that we're going to be partners in this class." He just stared at her for a few moments, confusion flickering on his features, before he finally spoke.

"I've got to go. Ron's waiting on me." Hermione knew that her face fell at his words, but he wasn't there to see it. He had already started in the direction of the door where Weasley was waiting for him impatiently. Draco came to her side and tugged her hair softly.

"It'll work out, I know it will." Hermione nodded and turned to her cousin.

"Let's go to History of Magic. We have it with the Ravenclaws."

Hermione vowed to herself that before the next day of classes she was going to get her notes from her tutor out and use them instead of taking new ones, taking down any new information in those. It made the most sense. Draco smiled at her and gestured for her to lead the way.

-O-

Harry was confused. He was unsure of how he felt about Hermione Black. He had taken Neville's words into account, also Ron's, but he couldn't help but feel as though he was betraying the memory of his parents by even considering befriending her. He would have to ponder the situation long and hard before he made a final decision.

Sure, he wanted to remain friends with Ron. Harry had never had friends before and Ron and his brothers had been his first. He wasn't the happiest with how they treated Slytherins, Ron especially, but he supposed that they probably had some reason for it, one that he wasn't privy to. However, he also liked Neville and he couldn't see the clumsy boy being friends with someone that wasn't at the very least a decent person.

They were headed to the common room, Ron spouting that he wanted to play wizards' chess during their free period. While they hadn't been assigned homework on their first day of classes, Harry was a little excited to continue practicing the lumos spell and start practicing for Transfiguration. It was rumored to be the most difficult subject in Hogwarts. It simply wouldn't do to fall behind before they even began.

Ron was insistent, however, citing that they could practice later that night. Since he was already complaining that Harry was paired with Hermione in Herbology, he capitulated. His friend set up the chessboard and explained the concept of the game since Harry had never played before. While Ron didn't seem to be the most dedicated to school work, he was quite good at explaining how to play the game.

They played for the whole of their free period, Ron beating him both times that they were able to play. Harry didn't feel as though he would ever get the hang of it, but Ron assured him that his second attempt was much better than his first. Harry decided to give it awhile before he abandoned it completely.

The pair headed down to dinner together, Fred and George walking with them. They were telling him and Ron about the prank that they had pulled on the Slytherins, the first years specifically, promising that they would get to witness it at dinner. Harry wasn't sure how he felt about that but decided to see just what the twins had done. If their hair turned pink or something like that, he could admit that that could be funny.

They slid into the bench seats at the Gryffindor table and immediately started to dig into their meal. Harry piled his plate high with chicken and potato casserole, the food at Hogwarts being the best that he had ever eaten in his life. Hermione and Malfoy arrived, though they were alone. The rest of the first years appeared to have stopped somewhere along the way, leaving the cousins to make their way alone to dinner.

Harry watched as the pair put food on their plates, laughing together about who knew what. Hermione good-naturedly shoved her cousin with a smile on her face while Malfoy reached out and tickled her side. Just watching them made Harry wish that things could have been different between himself and Dudley. He doubted that they ever would have had that easy camaraderie the pair displayed but just getting along and not hating each other would have been nice.

The whole table watched on the edges of their seats as Hermione Black poured herself a glass of pumpkin juice. She offered it to Malfoy, but he shook his head and gestured to the milk that he had poured himself. The pretty first year took a drink and set it down without realizing that there were now words appearing on her face. Harry couldn't read them yet but if he knew the Weasley twins the tiny bit that he thought he did, he'd be able to quite quickly.

Suddenly, a Hufflepuff screeched when she saw the words on Hermione's forehead and cheeks. The whole Great Hall looked up to see just what was happening, but it was quite clear when everyone started staring at Hermione Black. Malfoy was furious, that was plain to see, holding his cousin's face in his hands to try to see what the words said. Fred (or was it George?) leaned over and guffawed.

"Snake slag in training. I wish that the others would have been here to drink the juice too." Harry was speechless. He was still trying to wrap his head around what was happening. The rest of the table was tittering apart from Neville. Hermione was now openly crying, her house circling around her protectively, while she buried her face in Draco's chest. Harry couldn't help but feel a little guilty even though he knew that he wasn't responsible for this act and he wasn't laughing. Neville, however, stood abruptly and shoved his full plate of food at the twins, splattering them everywhere when it came to a halt. His face was red, and Harry had a feeling that this wasn't going to end well, especially when he saw Professor McGonagall headed their way. Professor Snape was already at Hermione's side, arm wrapped around her shoulders and speaking quietly with her.

"You two are fucking despicable. I've never seen such a display of cowardice, you're not even deserving of wearing Gryffindor colors. You're third years and you played a malicious prank on first year Slytherin girls. Hermione Black has done nothing to deserve your actions, all she did was express the wish to be friends with all of you. You insulted her, you insulted her family, and you humiliated her. The rest of you are just as despicable for thinking it's funny. If I wasn't determined to make Gryffindor proud for my parents, I'd request a new sorting, so I could distance myself from arseholes like you." He leaned over even further so he could make sure that the Weasley twins heard him.

"Just because your family has fallen from the pureblood elite doesn't give you the right to torment those who haven't. Hermione is a good person and she would never hurt anyone. I'm ashamed to be in Gryffindor right now." Professor McGonagall had heard every word and she was clearly shocked silent. Neville got out of the bench seat and stalked over to the Slytherin table where Hermione was still wrapped up in the embrace of her cousin and Head of House. He hugged Hermione close when he got there and then turned to follow them out of the Great Hall. Harry was instantly brought back to the happenings at his own table. Professor McGonagall was now speaking low, a sure sign that her anger was red-hot. The twins were quailing in their seats.

"I cannot believe that students in my House would stoop so low as to humiliate a first year in such a way. It makes no matter who the student is or how you feel about them, it is completely unacceptable. Mr. Longbottom said it better than I could. I'm ashamed of my own House right now." The twins tried to defend themselves.

"It wasn't supposed to be just her, it was for all the first years." Fury flared in her eyes.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better? That's even worse. I may not care for Miss Black, but I will not tolerate my House tormenting an eleven-year-old girl. There is a ridiculous amount of animosity between Slytherin and Gryffindor already and tonight just made it worse. I'm sure that I don't have to inform you that the Black family is like royalty in our world and you just attacked its princess. What do you think the rest of the pureblood society is going to do about it?" This was turning into a lesson, apparently. Harry was grateful since this was all foreign to him. Ron snorted at her words, however.

"Not all purebloods think that Blacks are royalty. The Weasleys don't, we think they're scum. Neither do the Browns, the Abbotts, the Bones, many others. It's only the dark purebloods that do." Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow at her.

"I think you should look around, Mr. Weasley. Does Susan Bones look very happy? What about Hannah Abbott? Yes, I saw Miss Brown laughing, but look at all the other pureblood children sitting at these tables. Most of them don't look very happy. Mr. Longbottom is an example. His family is as light as they come but he just gave you a piece of his mind and left with Miss Black. Yes, he's friends with her now, that much is real, but he's friends with her because his family paid court to hers." His Head of House sighed and tried to calm herself down. When she spoke again, it was at a normal volume.

"I'm not saying that you have to regard Miss Black as royalty. I think it's all rubbish. I am saying that you are all foolish if you think that this won't somehow come back around on you. Not only is it wrong what happened to Miss Black tonight, it wasn't smart to paint a target on your backs and on the backs of your families. You need to be smarter, especially when the girl has done nothing to any of you." She squared her shoulders and raised her chin high, the whole of the Great Hall watching with interest. When she spoke, it was loud enough to carry.

"Mr. and Mr. Weasley, you will both serve a month of detention with Professor Snape. The rest of Gryffindor House will spend tomorrow night in detention as well, with Mr. Filch. I think scrubbing the castle down by hand will be a fitting punishment for laughing at your fellow student." Harry wanted to point out that he hadn't laughed at all but decided that it probably wouldn't be wise since the rest of his peers had. The table accepted their punishment silently but not happily. Harry waited until the table started to break up before he stood and started for the door.

He wanted to go to his dorm, take a shower, and crawl into bed. He wanted tomorrow to be a better day. Unsurprisingly, Harry realized that he no longer wanted to practice his spells and decided to do just that.

-O-

Hermione was sitting on her uncle's lap, cuddled into his chest, as Draco sat nearby watching them with a pained expression. She knew that he felt helpless and that he didn't like it but there was nothing that she could do about it. Uncle Sevvie was stroking her curls, calming her down.

The words were already gone from her face, but she couldn't stop the burning humiliation she felt at the whole Great Hall laughing at her. Her house had closed ranks around her, shielding her from the view of others but that didn't help the fact that everyone knew that she had 'snake slag in training' spelled onto her features.

She had just been informed of the punishment that Professor McGonagall had levied against the whole of her house. While she was happy that they were getting punished, she also knew that it had nothing to do with the fact that the stern professor liked her or wanted to protect her. It was done to protect her own house from retaliation, that's why she had punished everyone. It made it worse when considered that their punishment wasn't for her, it was to protect them.

Uncle Sevvie was furious, not that she expected him to be anything but. The words had been vanished from her face before they had even left the Great Hall, but he had still insisted on bringing them to his office where she could gather herself and he could comfort her. The fireplace in his office flared and her father stepped out of it. Hermione flew off her uncle's lap and threw herself into her father's embrace. He held her tight and sat next to Draco, reaching out to ruffle her cousin's hair.

"What happened?" Hermione buried her face in his neck while Uncle Sevvie explained. She could feel her father getting tenser and his arms holding her tighter and tighter. When her uncle went silent, her father put his finger under her chin and forced her to look at him.

"Don't let them see that this bothers you. Cry all you want to Draco and Severus but don't give them power over you. You're better than the fucking Weasleys, Hermione. If this is how they treat young girls, I seriously wonder about their upbringing. When I was in school, the only pranking on first years was done by first years. This is unacceptable." She nodded, her tears finally dry.

"I won't, daddy. I just don't know why they don't like me. I tried to be friends with them, Harry and the Weasleys, but they were mean to me and said that they didn't want to be friends with us because you're a traitor and we're Malfoys. They don't even know Draco and I, how can they say that?" She was honestly confused about the matter. Her father stroked her hair while he tried to find the best answer.

"They do that because that's how they've been taught to think. They're doing what their parents have taught them. Their parents all think that I'm a traitor and that I'll do the unthinkable and have you kill Harry off for me. They know that Lucius was a Death Eater in the first war and have taught their children to hate them for that reason. There is also a long-standing feud between the Malfoys and the Weasleys so that plays into it also. As for Harry, I have a feeling that he didn't have a very good childhood. He may not have had friends and he's scared to lose the ones that he's already made. It doesn't excuse him condoning this kind of behavior, but I understand it." Hermione considered his words for several moments before she nodded her head.

"I guess that makes sense. I just don't think that he's ever going to be my friend which means that he won't ever listen to me about the truth." Her father kissed her forehead.

"Poppet, you don't have to solve all the problems. I know you want to help and if you can, that's wonderful. If you can't get through to Harry, that isn't your fault. The truth will come out someday and when that happens, I'll be waiting. Don't beat yourself up if he won't listen to you. His mother and father were both extremely stubborn." Uncle Sevvie snorted.

"That's the understatement of the year." They all chuckled softly before her father met her uncle's gaze.

"I'll let this slide this time but if something like this happens again, I will destroy the Weasley's standing in the Ministry. I can take aspersions on my name and character, but Hermione shouldn't have to pay the price for being related to me." Hermione sat up and met her father's gaze unflinchingly.

"I'm proud that you're my father. You've never done me wrong." He laughed at her now before setting her on her feet.

"I know, sweetness, I'm just saying that you shouldn't have to suffer because of things in my past." She knew that her father was getting ready to leave; she had been warned that he wouldn't be able to stay long so the Headmaster wouldn't discover his presence.

Hermione hugged him close around the waist, reveling in the firm hug he held her in. She felt him shake Draco's hand behind her before he released her and stepped towards the floo.

"Stay strong, poppet. Draco, I'll tell your parents that you're acting admirably regarding your cousin." Hermione sniffled just once.

"Love you, daddy." He took a handful of floo powder and prepared to throw it in the fire.

"Love you too, sweetness." With a flash of green flames, he was gone. Draco took her hand as they turned to Uncle Sevvie. He smirked at them before standing himself.

"Come on, you two. I'll deliver you to the common room and I suggest you make it an early night. Today was a long day and I have a feeling that tomorrow isn't going to be any better." The pair nodded and followed their uncle out of his office and into the dark corridors of the dungeon.

-O-

Severus was livid. He stalked through the corridors of the dungeons, making his way up to the second floor so he could meet with Albus. Yes, his Slytherins had been the butt of pranks before, hell, he had been for years. Never had one been this humiliating, not one that he was aware of anyways. The fact that it was his godchild that was the victim made him want to kill someone.

He had learned that Minerva had assigned the Weasley twins to him for a month of detentions. While he was thrilled that they would be his, he was also worried that he would seriously curse them for causing his niece to cry into his robes until she had been exhausted. This was unacceptable, and it would not be happening again.

Albus must have known that he would come because he didn't have to produce the password at the griffin. It merely leapt out of the way when he stood before it. He didn't bother to wait for the stairs to deliver him to the top, he climbed them on his own in a hurry to get to his employer. When he threw the door open, he found not only Albus but Minerva as well. He slammed the door shut behind him and stalked over to the desk where the pair were conversing quietly.

"You took no points from your house, Minerva? Yet you tell me that I'm the biased one." She did manage to flush at his words and he couldn't help but wonder if she had merely forgotten. Not that it mattered. He was out for blood.

"A month of detention isn't enough for those two fools. They completely humiliated a first year in my house. I don't claim that my house is perfect, but they don't attack innocent first years. Hermione Black has done nothing to anybody since she's been here, and her father is livid. I would call for expulsion." Both Minerva and Albus looked scandalized. Minerva was the first to recover.

"That's going too far, Severus, they're just children. I've never punished my house so harshly as I did tonight. Mr. Longbottom was the only one to escape punishment, even though his language left much to be desired." Severus picked up and trinket off Albus' desk and threw it at the wall, shattering it completely. He was heaving deep breaths, so he willed himself to calm down. This wasn't how Slytherins acted.

"Those disgraces made the words 'snake slag in training' appear on the face of an eleven-year-old girl. Not just any eleven-year-old girl, Hermione Black, the same girl that the Headmaster has a charge of assault against a minor for. If this went public, how do you think our world would view that this had been allowed to happen?" He knew that he would have to spin it like he was concerned about the Headmaster to get what he wanted. This also seemed to warm both parties up to him. Albus sighed and began twirling his beard.

"I understand the repercussions, Severus. I'm not the happiest with the Weasley twins right now, nor with the rest of Gryffindor house, but I can't expel the children. Even if it ruins my reputation, I need the Weasleys in the Order. I don't think that Lord Voldemort is gone for good and we will someday have to resurrect it. That would be near to impossible without Arthur Weasley. He's well-liked in the Ministry and could net us many allies. You will just have to make sure that they remember the month of detention they spend with you, Severus. It's the best we can do." He folded his hands and narrowed his eyes.

"Why does her father know what happened?" Severus couldn't believe the stupidity of the Headmaster. Even Minerva was looking at him as if he was daft. Severus refused to back down.

"He is her father. It is procedure to inform parents when their children are seriously injured or targeted in some way. I owled him and he responded immediately." Albus was angry, that much was certain.

"I will handle informing parents about their children. That does not fall in the purview of your position, Severus." He smirked at the Headmaster.

"Have you informed him yet?" Albus' eyes hardened at his words.

"Not yet. I had planned on doing so after our discussion, so I could inform Mr. Black as to the punishments those involved would be receiving." Severus knew he was lying but remained silent. The Headmaster continued.

"If you go behind my back again, Severus, a formal complaint will go in your record. None of us want that." Severus hadn't expected any less of a threat, but he decided to hit the Headmaster where it hurt.

"I understand but you should be thanking me. Since I informed Mr. Black about young Hermione, he's agreed to not retaliate. However, you might warn your precious band of weasels that if a prank of this magnitude occurs again, he plans on ruining your recruiter's reputation in the Ministry. Not only will the Order be crippled, the family will starve. I doubt that anyone will hire a muggle-lover when his family has brought shame upon him by injuring a young girl who was guilty of nothing." Albus could tell that he was serious, but Minerva was disbelieving.

"He wouldn't do that, not over a prank, surely." Severus snorted.

"Don't act like you're so surprised, Minerva. You think he's a traitor, after all. Why would he have no problems turning over his best friend's family but then have a problem ruining one of the most high-profile members of the Order of the Phoenix? Maybe you should consider that because frankly, him being a traitor never made sense to me." He feared that he had said too much but Albus just chuckled.

"You never did want to believe that you and Sirius Black were on the same side at any point in time, Severus. I'll pass along your message to Arthur and make sure they have words with their children. If that's all?" Severus gave a sharp nod and turned to leave but decided to get one more jab in at Minerva.

"Don't worry, both Mr. Black and his daughter are aware that the only reason you punished your house like you did is because you didn't want anyone to retaliate against them, not because you were truly disappointed in them." She looked seriously affronted which gave him just a little bit of hope for her.

"Severus, I assure you that I am most embarrassed at what my house has done. I will admit that I don't like having Miss Black here, I think that she is danger to the other children considering what her father is capable of, but I would never condone for a child to be harmed. I admit, I made their punishments harsher so there would be no retaliation, but I don't like seeing any child hurt." Severus arched a brow at her.

"I really hope that's true, Minerva." He didn't wait for an answer before he swept out of the office and headed for his dungeons, robes billowing behind him.

A/N- This chapter turned out to be a monster! I want to point out that the twins are out of the game now. They're going to get better from here on. I know that a lot of you have left reviews concerned that all the Weasleys are complete douches. That won't always be the case. No more spoilers though! I hope that you all enjoyed the chapter. Leave me your thoughts after the beep, reviews are love.

Next chapter, a fight breaks out and Dumbles gets his hooks in Harry.

Love,

Alicia


	10. Chapter 10

A/N- That last chapter was the longest yet and for those out there that don't like long chapters, I apologize. Though I can't say that there won't be others in this story that won't be just as long, maybe even longer. We shall see. A huge thank you to those of you that continue to review, favorite, and follow this story. I know that there will be times that your support is going to be all that keeps me going since this is going to be such an epic-sized story. Anyways, enough for now, let's get started!

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing except the personal plot twist. The characters belong to J.K.R., I only use them for my own nefarious means.

Chapter 10

September 8, 1991

Hermione sighed as she brushed her through her curls. Once again, she was up and awake before her room mates though they weren't surprised anymore. Hermione had never been one to sleep in overly long, even on the weekends, so she was always the first one awake in the mornings. The older Slytherins had already accepted it and now waved her way when they finally emerged from their dorms in the mornings.

Life was good, well, mostly. Even though her classes were going well, Hermione was bored. Everything they had covered so far was something that she and Draco had learned a long time ago. While she completed her homework and handed it in on time every single day, she wanted something else to fill her time. She loved learning and she felt like she wasn't going to learn anything for quite a while here at Hogwarts.

Their third day of classes, Hermione had finally sent home a letter to her father requesting that he get with Madam Cambridge and have her assign them things to learn about. She was going out of her mind not learning anything and the last thing that she wanted was to lose her edge. Her father had responded and told her that he would ask but that he had no idea if she would agree since she had only been commissioned for the summer holidays now that they were in school. She was still waiting on a response.

Hermione had further become the subject of ridicule because she gained the most points for Slytherin. While her house mates were more than happy to let her rack up the points for them, it rubbed the rest of the school wrong way. She understood that they all felt like she was sucking up, trying to be teachers pet. They had all made it quite clear that they thought she was looking for favor with all the teachers, but the truth was that she wasn't. She answered so many questions because if she didn't there was every possibility that she would fall asleep in class because she just wasn't challenged.

Hermione and Draco studied in the library every evening after dinner, working on their homework and then pursuing their own interests. Neville had approached them one evening, asking if he could join them and get their help in transfiguration, one of his weakest subjects to date. Hermione had happily agreed and once the rest of their friends realized that the pair was willing to help them with their homework, they had their own little study group. Neville attended three nights a week while the others attended as their assignments came due.

While it wasn't the stimulation that she was looking for, Hermione still enjoyed her time in the library with her friends. She never allowed them to goof around and she was quick to turn a glare their way if they tried. Most of them respected her and Draco though, only showing when they were serious about getting their homework done.

Hermione still hadn't had any luck with Harry yet. They had had several more herbology classes and Harry had been distant at every one. Originally, she had thought that he was taking time to consider her before he made a decision, but it didn't seem like that was the case now. He wasn't rude to her, nor mean or condescending in any way, but he wasn't friendly and when she tried to be, he merely ignored her. She had wanted to give up, but Draco kept pushing her to continue trying.

Hermione vowed that she would; she hadn't forgotten the promise to herself to get her father's story out there, to make sure that the person who mattered most believed him. She also hadn't forgotten the promise she had made to herself to protect him if necessary. It wasn't something that she necessarily wanted to do, she was just a child after all, but she knew that she was more well-equipped to protect him than he was himself.

For the most part, Harry seemed to do just fine in his classes. She noticed that he never got the spells on the first time, but he usually did on the second. She did notice that he seemed to hold back, probably from growing up with those horrid muggles that raised him. If they had made their distaste for magic well-known, he could be repressing his power subconsciously. It was something to consider when he clearly had the most talent of his friends.

His friends. Ron Weasley was still completely horrid to her, but the others seemed to leave her alone. Most of the time, anyways. They still taunted her for answering all the questions right and being a teacher's pet but those she could live with. Ron was the only one that was down right mean to her when they met in the corridors and classrooms.

He had called her names, insulted her family and name, insinuated that she and Draco were shagging (honestly, who thought of those sorts of things at eleven?), and told the world that if it weren't for Snape awarding her all those points, Slytherin wouldn't be in the lead for the House Cup. The truth of the matter was that while a good portion of her points did come from her godfather, a fair portion came from the rest of the professors as well. When nobody else volunteered answers, she would swoop in, answer correctly, and win a grudging five points per question.

Dean and Seamus hadn't been mean to her specifically other than the comments about her being a know-it-all. They seemed to be friends with Harry but not as close as Ron and his brothers. They did make comments about her other friends, so she assumed that they had only decided to be nicer to her to keep themselves from being punished. Neville was certainly Harry's friend, they sat together quite often but once again, not as close as Ron. She knew that the rest of their friends were flabbergasted that he came and studied with a huge group of Slytherins, but Neville just shook his head and told them that if they weren't such prats they would have been welcome as well.

The girls were all friendly with Harry as well, but none as much as Parvati Patil. The girl was gorgeous with her beautiful brown skin and long, dark hair that reached her waist. On days they didn't have to be in Hogwarts uniforms, she and her twin wore saris, stating that they were far more comfortable than the clothes that British wizards wore. Hermione was most jealous of Parvati, though she would never admit it to anyone other than Draco. She was effortlessly friends with him while Hermione was working her tail end off to get him to pay attention to her, only for him to ignore the fact that she was alive. It was frustrating.

She set down her hairbrush and gathered her bag before heading down into the common room to wait for Draco. He was almost always down before the other boys, so they usually made their way to breakfast without waiting for their other dorm mates. They all met up for breakfast though, and usually made their way to class together.

Hermione was getting along with her dorm mates a little better. None of them really understood her, not like Draco anyhow, but she did consider Daphne to be a good friend. Pansy, Millie, and Tracey were her friends as well but more due to circumstance than anything else. They were worried about fashion, gossip, and hair and makeup charms. While Hermione could appreciate looking nice, it wasn't the most important thing in her life.

Draco seemed to be losing his crush on Pansy, though he wouldn't admit it to Hermione. He seemed to get annoyed with her quite easily and had told her to bugger off several times. A hurt look had passed her features, but she had quickly obeyed Draco, which made Hermione just a little sick. Hermione and Draco had been told their whole lives that they would be marrying for love, Pansy had not. She was expected to marry to further her family's fortune and power and marrying Draco would certainly accomplish that.

The Slytherin plopped down into one of the chairs by the fire. Her aunt would have been horrified at her lack of grace, but nobody was there to see it. She had just pulled her book out of her bag when Draco came down the steps, bag slung over his shoulder. His eyes had shadows under them and Hermione couldn't help but worry. She went to her feet and met her cousin halfway, pushing his hair off his forehead.

"Are you alright, Drake? You look terrible." He batted her hands away from his face as he scowled at her.

"I'm fine, I just couldn't sleep. I've had a headache all night." Her hands went to her hips.

"Why didn't you go to the Hospital Wing and see if Madam Pomfrey would give you a headache potion?" He rolled his eyes at her before starting for the door.

"Where do you think I'm headed now? Merlin, Miney, give a bloke some peace." Hermione bit her lip guiltily. She followed behind him a few steps.

"Sorry, Drake. I was just worried. I didn't mean to come on too strong." He sighed and slowed down for her to catch up.

"I'm not angry. Let's just go get my potion so I can eat something. Right now, my head hurts so bad I think I could throw up." Hermione wrapped her hand around his arm and let him lead her to the Hospital Wing. Once they were there, Madam Pomfrey bustled out and clucked her tongue at them for being out so early. She supposed that she couldn't blame her; it was only a little after seven.

"Are you two here for a reason?" Her tone was brusque, but Hermione didn't get the impression that she was irritated with them. Draco was holding his head, so Hermione took the opportunity to speak for him.

"My cousin has had a headache all night, said he feels sick at his stomach. Can he have a headache potion?" With a quick smile, Madam Pomfrey hurried away and returned quickly with two vials in her hand. She handed one to him first.

"This one is a headache potion. Take it first." Draco was quick to swallow it down and Hermione could tell instantly that it had given him relief. He smiled at the mediwitch before he was handed another potion.

"A pepper-up. It's obvious you didn't sleep last night, young man." Hermione watched in undisguised amusement as her cousin drank it down and steamed at the ears. Once he had handed back the vials, Draco bowed slightly at the mediwitch.

"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey. I appreciate it." She smiled back but made a shooing motion to herd them towards the door. Once they were back in the corridor, Hermione turned to make her way back down to the Great Hall when she ran into a wall. She felt Draco jerk her back roughly, which caused her to almost stumble, but he caught her round the waist. After glaring at him for a moment, she turned her attention into what she had hit, and her stomach lurched.

All her occlumency shields went flying up.

While she always had basic shielding in place now, it was possible that an accomplished legilimens would be able to peer into her mind, though she would always know when it was happening. Their godfather had made sure of that. He told them that they weren't quite as good as he was, but he attributed that to the fact that he had decades of practice where they only had years.

Albus Dumbledore, esteemed Headmaster of Hogwarts, was peering down at her with a distasteful look on his face. He was wearing a lurid set of pastel purple robes and a pointed hat that completed his ridiculous ensemble. His hands were clenched tightly at his side as he spoke.

"You might watch where you're going, Miss Black. One wouldn't want you to come to injury." Hermione wanted to snort at his words but decided that she needed to keep the meeting as short as possible.

"Sorry, sir, we weren't expecting anyone else to be out and about quite this early." She could feel a gentle probing of her mind and couldn't help but smirk when he met her eyes after realizing that he wasn't going to get in.

"That's illegal, sir. My father told me that it's against the law for anyone to probe the mind of a child under the age of seventeen without their parent's express permission. Somehow, I doubt my father told you that it was alright." The Headmaster gave her a kindly smile.

"I was merely trying to ascertain that you weren't injured, my dear. We wouldn't want your pride to get in the way of your health." Hermione was livid and knew she should keep her mouth shut but just couldn't make herself.

"I know when I'm injured and when I'm not. I assure you, your mind probes aren't needed." He bowed slightly to her before stepping out of their way.

"You should hurry along to breakfast before Mr. Goyle and Mr. Crabbe eat all the sausages." Draco took her hand in his and began pulling her down the corridor, not giving her a chance to speak again. Taking the chance that Uncle Sevvie might still be in his office, they headed there next, even though it was several floors away. Hermione was still seething but Draco was calming her down slowly with rhythmic strokes across her knuckles with his thumb. When their godfather opened the door and ushered them inside, she let out a sigh of relief.

"What has you two at my door this early in the morning?" Draco turned to her and gestured for her to tell the story. She quickly filled her uncle in and watched his reaction. Fury flitted across his features but was quickly replaced by amusement.

"I assume that you had all your shields in place?" She gave a resolute nod.

"Absolutely. He saw nothing. I know I shouldn't have told him that I knew but I couldn't help myself." Uncle Sevvie bent and kissed the top of her head and then duplicated the gesture on Draco.

"No, it was brilliant. He knows you know now and he'll be afraid to try again for fear of prosecution. He already has one charge on his record pertaining to you, another would get him sacked. He's going to assume that if you're skilled in occlumency that Draco is as well. He'll watch himself around you both from here on out. Your father, Lucius, and I discussed this not that long ago, trying to decide how long he would wait before he tried. Your father wanted me to tell you when it happened that you did well, keep up the good work, and continue to do your best to stay away from him. I find it's good advice." Hermione and Draco both nodded their understanding.

They bid their uncle farewell and headed back towards breakfast where they should have been quite awhile ago. It was almost over when they got there but they were able to eat a plate before it all disappeared. Hermione let her thoughts drift while they ate, Draco making excuses for them to their friends, explaining about his headache through the night. It had been just the day before that the Weasley twins had made their way the Great Hall and stood before her at the Slytherin table.

*Flashback*

Hermione was poring over her Defense Against the Dark Arts text with Daphne as they ate breakfast. The whole school was in attendance, there didn't seem to be many students having a lie in that day. Surprising, honestly, since most students waited until the last second possible before stumbling their way to breakfast. A hush fell at the Slytherin table and Hermione glanced up to see what the problem was. Hermione saw that Draco was focused on someone behind her, so she turned to see who it was.

Fred and George Weasley, the arseholes who had fed her a potion that made that at hideous phrase appear on her face.

Hermione didn't stand, she knew that it was rude, but it was less than they deserved. Draco, however, stood from the other side of the table, spine straight and shoulders thrown back.

"Is there anything we can help you with, gentlemen?" Hermione could see that the last thing he wanted to do was be polite to them, but it was expected of him, especially with an audience. Their behavior had to be beyond reproach. One of them, she wasn't sure which, stepped forward a little before speaking.

"We wanted to formally apologize for our actions a few days ago. We were trying to come up with a fun prank for you guys, something to make everyone laugh, but it ended up being malicious and hurtful. We realize that now and we wanted to apologize for victimizing you." As much as Hermione didn't like them at the moment, it was clear that they were remorseful. She really didn't think that they had thought their actions out, even Uncle Sevvie had confirmed that from their discussions in detention. Draco's eyes flicked to her and then he cocked an eyebrow, showing her that whatever happened next was up to her.

Since they had come and offered a public, formal apology, Hermione knew that she would have to respond in kind. Hoping that she didn't regret her decision in the future, she stood, climbed out of the bench seat and turned to the twins. She only came up to their shoulders, still the smallest girl in their year.

"I accept your apology and move that we put this incident behind us. I restore your honor and hope that we can move forward from this as friends." Both twins looked flabbergasted at her words. Hermione held her hand out and both were quick to continue in pureblood custom, proof that they weren't completely ignorant of their heritage. First one stepped forward and took her hand before bowing over it and kissing her knuckles, then the other followed suit. Draco seemed reluctant but when they stepped back, he gestured for them to sit.

"Share a meal with us. We don't bite."

The twins were quick to sit on either side of Hermione, sandwiching her between them. It was clear that the rest of the snakes were unsure how to take it that the Weasley twins were not only sitting at their table but were displaying pureblood mannerisms that nobody had been quite sure that they had been aware of. To Hermione, it was clear that their parents, while not holding much stock in the old ways, had still passed them onto their children as their heritage demanded. Hermione understood to a point. She thought that most of the customs and such were ridiculous, but her father had insisted that she have the knowledge anyways. She thought it was sound advice. It was always better to know and choose not to use it than to be completely ignorant.

While she had been nervous about Draco inviting the Weasleys to eat with them, her fears were quickly quashed. They were talkative and quite funny once you got past their extremely outgoing personalities. They talked about their pranks and their dreams of opening their own joke shop someday and some of the older students that had been listening in were quick to say that they could see it being a success. When they admitted to having a bit of a problem with one of the potions for some product they were making, Hermione kindly pointed them in the direction of a book that would help them after extracting a promise that they wouldn't use it on unsuspecting students. They were most grateful.

Neville had joined them for a short period of time, long enough to ask if she could help him with his potions assignment that evening in the library. With a warm smile, she had agreed, and he had went about his way. The twins looked confused and she had explained that a group of them got together almost every night and worked on homework together. As they were leaving, the pair promised that they would stop in sometime and see what it was all about. Hermione didn't expect them to follow through since they didn't seem to be academically inclined if didn't have to do with a prank, but the thought was nice.

Having two less enemies was nice as well.

*End of Flashback*

Slytherins and Gryffindors had Defense Against the Dark Arts this morning, followed by a free period. The teacher was an odd sort, Professor Quirrell. He was the jumpiest person she had ever seen and didn't seem to be all that knowledgeable about his subject. Most of the snakes made fun of him because he smelled so strongly of garlic and wore a turban. Hermione tried to stay above all that, she didn't like to be made fun of after all, but she could admit privately to herself that he was her least favorite teacher.

While the other teachers seemed to act like Harry was just another student, Professor Quirrell was constantly singling him out, asking his opinion on things and making references to killing the Dark Lord. It was different to say the least but who was she to say anything? The Headmaster had been the one to hire him, he would have to be the one to do something about his odd behavior.

The bell rang while she was contemplating her upcoming class. Hermione heaved a sigh, braced herself for another useless lesson, and allowed Draco to lead her out of the Great Hall.

-O-

Albus paced the length of his office that evening, waiting for Harry Potter to arrive. It would be his first meeting with the boy and he had to make sure that he knew exactly who he could trust and who he couldn't. It wasn't that he didn't think Harry couldn't make good decisions on his own, but the fate of their world depended on him making the right decision.

He had kept a careful eye on Harry from afar since the beginning of school. His teachers, all aside from Severus, claimed that he was a quiet, talented boy that was strong in magic. This gave him hope. If they trained him well enough, he could save their world where nobody else could.

His mind drifted to the Black chit. She was a thorn in his side and had obviously been taught occlumency at a young age to be as accomplished as she was. He could break through her shields if he had enough time but there was no way that that could ever happen now that she knew he was a legilimens. It would land him in Azkaban quicker that he could say quidditch. He attributed her skill in the subject to her father hiring someone to specifically keep him out her mind and where she was skilled, he could almost guarantee that the Malfoy boy was as well.

To his surprise, neither child had caused any trouble yet. Albus had expected them to instantly start problems with Harry or try to woo him to their side. So far, Black had been friendly but hadn't pushed too hard. He had caught her watching him across the Great Hall but other than that, there was nothing beyond reproach.

In the split second she hadn't had her more extensive shields up this morning when she had ploughed into him, he had caught just one small wisp of thought. Make friends with Harry. Whether it was a wish or an order, Albus had no idea but it was what had prompted this meeting today. There was no way that he could allow that friendship to happen when he knew that Sirius had an ulterior motive.

All those years ago, he had somehow managed to convince the ICW of his innocence. The only thing that had saved him and young Harry was the fact that Mugwump Chalmers had been a childhood friend. He had merely explained the importance of keeping Harry safe, so he could save them again in the future and his old friend had been more than happy to use his power of veto to help him.

The other two charges had been complete dragon shite, however. He truly had thought that the Potters had filed the paperwork to fund the war, so he didn't think that he should have been held responsible for going after the money once they were dead. As for the charge he received regarding Miss Black, that was shite too. He had meant to hit her father with that spell, not her. He most assuredly wasn't too broken up about hitting her, especially after she had blown his wand from his hand afterwards but hitting her had not been his intention.

Albus was pulled from his speculation by a knock on the door. He waved his hand and saw Harry walk in sheepishly, hand on the back of his neck. His eyes were darting all around him, probably nervous and thinking that he was in trouble. Albus needed to put him at ease and smiled kindly.

"Please, young Harry, take a seat." He made sure that he took the seat behind his desk, gesturing for the boy to take the one in front of him. He knew that his eyes were twinkling and could see that it put the boy at ease.

"You aren't in trouble, dear boy. I just wanted to have a chat with you and see how your year was progressing thus far." With a relieved breath, he grinned at the Headmaster and he was instantly reminded of James after he had pulled a prank.

"School's been going good so far. I have a few friends and classes are going well. I'm trying to be careful not to fall behind." Albus nodded encouragingly.

"I hear you received a detention on the second day of school with the rest of your classmates." The boy blushed and lowered his eyes but nodded.

"Yes, sir. It was for laughing at the prank the twins pulled on Hermione Black." The boy was an open book and he could see quite clearly that he hadn't laughed at the prank, had in fact thought it quite malicious. His thoughts about Hermione Black were teetering on a knife point since he was uncertain if he should accept her hand of friendship or shun her like his friend Ron. The twins seemed to not mind her now that they had spoken with her and Neville seemed quite close with her and the Malfoy boy. It would be something to consider later.

"Yes, that wasn't the best showing of the Weasley twins charms. Though I understand why they did it." Harry cocked his head to the side.

"You do?" Albus nodded sagely, noting that he had the boy hook, line, and sinker. He would believe anything he told him at this point.

"Have you heard the tale about your parents and how they were murdered?" Harry shrugged.

"Kind of. Hagrid told me a bit and then Ron told me that Sirius Black betrayed them but that's really all I know." Albus sighed for effect.

"Would you like to know?" Harry nodded eagerly.

"Yes, please." He steepled his hands under his chin in front of his beard.

"Growing up, Sirius Black and your father were best friends. Sirius came from a notoriously dark family but had told everyone that he was shunning them, that he didn't want to follow Voldemort. He moved in with your dad when he was only fifteen years old.

Once they graduated, your father was already engaged to your mother and they married young. Black was your father's best man and he played the part seamlessly. It took about a year before Lily fell pregnant with you. They were all in the Order, were all on missions quite regularly, some that went terribly wrong. I have since suspected that Black sabotaged them in the some way, though I'll probably never know. Your mother became an off-duty member, meaning that she attended meetings and such but didn't participate until you were born.

When you were born, your parents were so proud. I remember holding you for the first time at an Order meeting, that's Order of the Phoenix, an organization devoted to fighting Voldemort, and you could just see the pride shining in their eyes. They had made Black your godfather, which means that he was charged with caring for you if anything were ever to happen to both of them. He seemed to be proud as well.

Your parents went into hiding after you were born for reasons that you don't need to know right now. I cast what is called the fidelius charm on their home in Godric's Hollow. That means that one person can know the location of the home and are referred to as the secret keeper. They can tell other people where the home is located but nobody else can, the spell prevents it. Your parents insisted on using Sirius Black as their secret keeper, saying that they trusted your life with him.

It held for a year. The night of Halloween in 1981, Lord Voldemort arrived at your home in Godric's Hollow and struck your father down. He then went upstairs to where your mother was trying to protect you. He told your mother to move aside and she refused. He killed her for not listening and then turned his wand on you. When his curse hit you, however, the curse rebounded and hit him instead. Tell me how you think Lord Voldemort found your home." Harry swallowed hard, the anguish clear on his face.

"Sirius Black had to have told him, right?" Albus nodded, pleased that the boy was quick-witted.

"Yes, Sirius Black told him." Harry's expression was one of pain.

"Why isn't he in prison? If he was a supporter, if he betrayed my parents, why in the world isn't he rotting in prison where he belongs?" Albus decided that they needed tea. He discreetly called for an elf and asked them to bring them the hot beverage and when it appeared, he poured a cup for Harry. The boy sipped it and seemed to calm slightly. Albus continued.

"He knew that he was going to be implicated since he was the only person that could divulge the whereabouts of your parent's home. He went to their other friend Peter Pettigrew's house and threatened him before apparating him away. Nobody ever saw Pettigrew again after that. Sirius was seen in Hogsmeade where he took the life of an auror and fled the scene." Albus paused and took a drink of his own tea.

"Sirius had received a missive earlier that day telling him that his niece had been orphaned. Her father had been a Death Eater and her mother was Erise Malfoy, young Draco's aunt. She had been killed that day and the child had been transported to St. Mungo's, the magical hospital. Sirius had been named caretaker since he was the last of the Black line. He retrieved her before the aurors could get there and fled to his ancestral manor. There, he adopted his niece through blood magic.

Now what you aren't aware of is that the system regarding laws in the wizarding world are very old and outdated. What is important to you is that there is a law in effect that states if a pureblood child has only one pureblood parent, that parent can't go to Azkaban and leave behind an orphan. Complete rubbish, but that was the law. Still is for that matter. Sirius was sent on his way with a half a million galleon fine once the Wizengamot realized that they couldn't send him to Azkaban for the deaths of your parents or the death of the young auror.

He has since claimed his title as Lord Black and has traveled the pureblood circles, the very ones that he claimed to hate once upon a time. He has embraced the Malfoys, known Death Eaters, and he raised his daughter with their son, cousins though they are. They've all been thick as thieves since." Albus could see the tears that the boy was trying to hide. Since he didn't want to embarrass him further, he acted like he didn't see anything.

"Hermione told me on the train that it wasn't true, that the ICW believed him. What does that mean? Was he really innocent?" Albus growled internally. This was more than he wanted to reveal.

"He came to retrieve you from me a few days after your parents died. He claimed to be innocent and I told him that I wouldn't be revealing your whereabouts because I was quite certain that he wanted to kill you himself. He had Hermione with him that day, she was only two years old. We dueled over the fact that I wouldn't give your location to him and one of my spells hit Hermione. She reacted as any two-year-old would. She screamed.

However, her screams were full of magic. My wand was snatched by a wind, her bindings fell to her feet and she stepped in front of her injured father and in no uncertain terms told me that I wouldn't harm her father again. Even then, she was dangerous and completely devoted to her father." A look of awe was on his young charge's face. Albus continued before he could expound on that look.

"Sirius took me to the International Confederation of Wizards. It's like an international court. He charged me with cursing his daughter and tried to gain custody of you. Since he had the memory of our duel that day removed from his daughter, I was charged with assault on a minor even though it was clear in the memory that I didn't mean to hit her with the spell. However, I wasn't angry. My spell did indeed hit her, and she didn't deserve that." He knew that he was winning points with him by admitting the truth.

"When it came time for us to present our cases regarding custody of you, it was my word against his. They did find that he was innocent but the Supreme Mugwump suspected that he had paid off numerous members of the governing body. Therefore, he used his power of veto to revoke the charge and let you stay with your aunt and uncle, deeming Sirius unable to contact you until you were seventeen or you contacted him first."

Albus could see the thoughts whirring around in his mind, taking in all the details and trying to make sense of them. He let Harry sit there for several minutes in silence. Deciding that he wanted to make his point, he spoke again.

"I would strongly advise you to stay clear of Miss Black and Mr. Malfoy. While they may sincerely want to be your friends, there is always the chance that they want to hand you over to the man who caused the deaths of your parents. Believe me when I tell you that that isn't something that I want to see happen." Harry nodded jerkily.

"Yes, sir. I can see that's the best way forward. I'll just continue to ignore to them both." Albus nodded happily, his eyes twinkling again.

"Very good, Harry. If you have nothing else to report, I'll let you be on your way. I'm sure you have more important things to do with your evening besides spend it with an old man." Harry nodded and left his office in a daze. Albus smiled to himself.

Sirius wouldn't ever get his hands on the Boy-Who-Lived now.

-O-

Harry wasn't sure what to think about everything the Headmaster had just told him. Hearing about the deaths of his parents had broken his heart, he had broken down crying for Merlin's sake. It was Sirius Black's fault that he was subjected to living with his horrid aunt, uncle, and cousin instead of his parents.

He swiped his arm angrily over his eyes, wiping away the first sight of tears.

Harry stalked through the corridors, angry now as he continued to think about what the Headmaster had told him. Killing his father's friend and then killing an auror, all so he could adopt his orphaned niece and get out of prison in the end. It was the dumbest thing he had ever heard but he wasn't surprised. It seemed that fate wanted to punish him for something.

Ron, Dean, and Seamus had apparently come looking for him and met up with him just a few corridors away from the Headmaster's office. Ron bounded up to him, wide smile on his face.

"Fred and George told us that there is secret entrance to the kitchen and if we find it, the elves will give us food whenever we want it. Want to come help look?" Harry nodded. He needed to get his mind off the meeting with the Headmaster before things started exploding around him.

The four of them searched for over an hour, tickling every portrait they found. It was the only clue that the twins would give them, so they were determined to tickle every single one. Harry was growing tired and bored, however, and was just about to suggest that they call it quits for the night when a group of Slytherins rounded the corner, obviously heading back to their common room. Ron cracked his knuckles and sneered their way when he saw that Hermione was leaning on her cousin's shoulder, half asleep as they walked. Harry now felt revulsion when he laid eyes on her.

"What have we here? More incestuous displays between first cousins. Merlin, you two need to set your sights higher." Harry wanted to shake his head in frustration. He didn't understand why Ron couldn't just leave the two of them alone. Hermione was just about to step forward when Draco shuffled her behind him and glared at the lot of them.

"Why are you so obsessed with my cousin and I? Which one of us do you have a crush on? I assure you, it isn't returned by either of us so it would be appreciated if you could turn your wandering eye somewhere else. Maybe the two blokes on your right. They seem to like you just fine." Dean and Seamus stepped forward menacingly.

"Ron's not a poofter and he doesn't have a crush on the traitor. He just doesn't understand how the pair of you are so close if you aren't shagging. Maybe that little temporary tattoo on her face was right." Hermione was trying to get around her cousin, but he was holding her back with his greater height and weight. Draco was livid, she could see that, but Crabbe and Goyle were the ones to step forward first.

"Don't talk about our friends like that. Hermione is eleven, she isn't a slag. She was raised better than that." Seamus laughed.

"Says you. Maybe you should ask Malfoy." Harry couldn't believe that it escalated like it did when Goyle stepped forward and punched Seamus right in the nose. Dean threw himself in the fight, as did Crabbe, and the four of them ended up wrestling on the floor before the rest of them. None of the boys moved to stop them. Hermione, however, finally shoved her cousin with all her strength out of her way and ran forward to help pull the boys apart. Dean's elbow caught her in the face and knocked her on her arse, blood now running down her face to stain her robes. Draco pulled his wand and a loud boom sounded, bringing the four boys to halt so he could bend down and help his cousin up.

"Can't you ever leave well enough alone? Now look at you, you'll have to be healed." Nothing else was spoken before Professor Snape rounded the corner, fury dancing in his eyes.

"What is going on here? Why are you all on the floor and why is Miss Black's nose bleeding?" Draco stepped forward, obviously the leader of the bunch.

"They stopped us on our way to the common room. Weasley was insulting Hermione and I like usual, insinuating that we're in an incestuous relationship. We exchanged words, I told him that neither one of us had a crush on him, so he needed to look at his friends. They in turn made a comment about Hermione indeed being a slag and Goyle hit Finnegan. It became a brawl. Hermione got around me and tried to get them apart, but Thomas elbowed her in the face and knocked her down. I sounded the cannon to get them to stop." Her uncle looked livid.

"Crabbe and Goyle, fifty points a piece from Slytherin for fighting in the corridors along with two detentions to be served with me. Finnegan and Thomas, fifty points a piece from Gryffindor and two detentions to be served with me. Thomas, an additional twenty points for injuring a student that was trying to help you end the fight. Weasley, twenty points for starting the altercation and Mr. Malfoy, ten points for not walking away." He looked at Potter.

"Ten points from you, Potter, for doing nothing, especially when a girl was injured. Chivalry should not be dead. Miss Black, thirty points for trying to break up a fight involving four people that are larger than you. Everyone get out of my sight aside from Miss Black and Mr. Malfoy." Harry was grumbling to himself as the four of them made their way back to the common room

It was clear that Snape was showing favoritism, who else would take points for not breaking up a fight after a girl got hurt. He may have been inclined to help Hermione Black before his discussion with the Headmaster, but now he just wanted to be shot of her. No friendship was worth dying for.

Harry didn't say a word to his dorm mates, just went upstairs and got ready for bed. It had been a shite day and all he wanted to do was cry himself to sleep over the death of his parents and his innocence.

-O-

Severus led them to his office once more. Once safely ensconced inside, his wand appeared, and he pointed it at his goddaughter, stopping the blood flow. A quick cleansing charm siphoned away the blood. He glanced at Draco.

"Is that really what happened?" He gave a nod.

"Every word was true." Severus nodded.

"Crabbe and Goyle should have let them throw the first hit. If it had happened like that I wouldn't have taken points. Make sure you tell them to be smarter about it. They're Slytherins for Merlin's sake." Hermione laughed softly.

"I'll tell them. Thank you for fixing me up." He pulled them both in for a hug before kissing her head.

"You're welcome. Now off you go, make sure all your homework is done for my class tomorrow or there will be points to be taken." Hermione hugged him close and nodded.

"Yes, Uncle Sevvie." He groaned.

"You've got to update that to Uncle Sev, you aren't four anymore." She chuckled as she released him and headed for the door.

"I'll think about it. Love you, goodnight." Draco mirrored her words but without the love you.

"I love you both. Good night and sleep well."

The door closed behind them and Hermione ground her elbow into her cousin's side.

"Don't do that again. I don't like being protected all the time." Draco laughed openly at her.

"Don't count on it. Your father and mine both expect me to protect you while we're here. Once we start dueling, then I'll consider letting you fight your own battles." Hermione stuck her hand out to shake his.

"Deal." They shook and started for their common room. Apparently, they had advice to pass on to Crabbe and Goyle. Hermione suddenly grinned.

"You know, they're your friends so you get to tell them." He heaved a deep sigh and nodded.

"Only if you beat me to the portrait hole and back." Hermione took off without warning, laughing as he chased after her.

A/N- Another chapter down, y'all. Hope you all enjoyed it. Did I redeem the Weasley twins in your eyes? Leave me your thoughts, they make me smile!

Next up, the first flying lesson.

Love,

Alicia


	11. Chapter 11

A/N- Lordy, don't kill me everyone! I know the last chapter was harsh, but it had to be done! The title of the story is Blinded by Lies…anyways, I hope y'all forgive me. Big thanks to everyone out there that are following, favoriting, reading, and reviewing the story, you guys keep me motivated. I'll be quiet now, so we can get on with the show.

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing except the personal plot twist. There isn't anything new under the sun, y'all. I haven't made any money from this story or any others.

Chapter 11

September 15, 1991

Hermione had been dreading today since the day she had received her time table. It was their first day of flying lessons.

While she had been taught to fly at a very young age, her father and uncle had insisted, she didn't do it well and she detested it. Hermione was quite accomplished at a height of two meters off the ground but any further and she froze up. Draco teased her mercilessly, he still did whenever the situation arose, but she couldn't help it. She was terrified of plunging to her death after slipping off her broom.

Draco, of course, was an ace on a broom. Hermione was nothing but a ball of nerves every time she watched him, but her father and uncle encouraged him and cheered him on when he did something incredibly stupid above the trees of the family quidditch pitch. Draco owned the best broom that money had to offer while Hermione refused to let them buy her one. As if her cousin could tell that she was worrying internally, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they entered the Great Hall.

"You're going to be fine, 'Mi. Nothing is going to happen to you, there will be a professor there the whole time. Your father and mine never let you fall, she won't either." Hermione nodded her head but remained silent. Nothing he could say would calm her nerves to where she didn't have to worry about it.

The pair dropped down into their usual seats at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall. Draco instantly began dishing himself up a large breakfast while Hermione spooned a small amount of eggs and a piece of toast onto her own. She had never been a big eater, just eating enough to where her belly wasn't growling anymore. Draco jumped into a conversation with Theo and Blaise about their lessons that afternoon, so Hermione tuned them out. Since the girls were discussing the new winter line of clothing in France, Hermione paid them no mind either. Her mind flitted momentarily to her homework for the day, sure that she had finished it all.

Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Charms were on the agenda for the day. Since her godfather was determined to help her become friends with Harry, for the first time ever, he had assigned seats and they were forced to sit with someone of the opposite house. Hermione was paired with Harry while Draco was paired with Parvati. Hermione had thought for sure that he would enjoy working with such a beautiful girl, but he did nothing but complain about how stupid she was. Even though it was mean, Hermione couldn't help but giggle just a little.

Not that Harry was much better. Where he did rather well in his other classes, he was truly terrible in Potions. She wasn't sure if it was her uncle's caustic remarks the first day of class or the fact that none of the Gryffindors seemed to enjoy the subject, but he couldn't brew anything to save his life. Hermione found it endearing. She was terrible at flying and he was terrible at potions.

Hermione couldn't help but notice that her would-be brother was just a little bit cute. Not in a classic way like Draco or Theo but in a real, down-to-earth way that spoke to her. His hair was unkempt, and his glasses were thick, but the fact remained that he was what Hermione would dub as good-looking. She could never tell anyone, however, not even Draco. The teasing would never stop.

Originally, Hermione had thought that he was starting to warm up to her, he didn't treat her like the rest of the lions. That hope died after that altercation in the corridor between Seamus, Dean, Vince, and Greg. She wasn't sure why that had made it change, but it was obvious that it had.

Harry now ignored her completely, even when she spoke directly to him. Their fourth Potions class had seen her telling him quietly that he shouldn't add the daisy root yet, that it came after the rat spleens. However, he hadn't appreciated it. He had exploded at her, screaming at her for the room to hear that he didn't need help from a know-it-all, traitorous, swot. Hermione had been so stunned that she had just stared at him, confused as to what she had done wrong.

Her house had jumped to her defense, all of them righteously indignant that their princess had been spoken to like that. Hermione had ruthlessly held back her tears while her godfather had taken fifty points and assigned detention for not having the sense to listen to advice that would net him a passing grade. The rivalry that had been brewing already exploded full force after that.

There were skirmishes in the corridors now, mostly between Greg, Vince, Seamus, Dean, and Ron, but her snake friends were always extremely careful to never get caught. Twice now, Hermione had left her parchment alone on a table in the library while she fetched a book and come back to find it destroyed, ink spilled over the whole thing. Draco had been shoved into an empty classroom and locked there for hours before Hermione had found him.

This didn't mean that the Slytherins were innocent, because they weren't. The girls were vicious, Pansy especially. She had given a hair loss potion to one of the house elves and convinced it to put it in both bathrooms that belonged to Gryffindor first years. Lavender, Faye, Dean, and Ron had all reported to their Head of House completely bald. They had been horrified and Pansy had laughed for days.

Hermione knew for a fact that after Ronald had called her a traitorous hag, Draco had overheard plans that he had made with the other boys to look for the entrance to the kitchens. Draco had told their godfather and later learned that it had gotten all the boys aside from Neville a point loss and detention. The whole situation was ridiculous, and Hermione hated it, but she couldn't put a stop to everything.

Neville was the only one that remained above it all and by unspoken agreement, both sides left him out of it. He usually sat with his Gryffindor friends at meals but spent time with his Slytherin friends in the library in the evenings. Harry usually didn't instigate the problems between their house, but he was never one to back down when he was involved by association.

Hermione had written home to her father about it but there really wasn't anything that he could do about it from there. He had just told her to keep her eyes open and always be careful, that there would always be people out there that wanted to hurt and humiliate her because of who she was. He had been extremely pleased to hear that the Weasley twins had formally apologized for the prank they had played on her as well.

To her surprise, the Weasley twins seemed to have no interest in pranking her or her friends. They had shown up in the library one evening, much to Hermione's surprise, and worked on potions with her. The rivalry between their houses was already underway and they had promised her that if they weren't targets, they would refrain from pranking her whole year. They also added the proviso that Ron couldn't get seriously injured but there hadn't been anything malicious done to anyone. Yet. Hermione seriously worried about what would happen as they got older.

Breakfast ended before she could ruminate further. She and her friends gathered their bags and started for Potions, one of her all-time favorite classes. However, since she had done all this work years ago it still bored her some. Her father had started sending on work for her and Draco from Madam Cambridge, assigning them research on certain spells and subjects. Draco figured that they were already well into their fourth-year studies in Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Spell Theory, and Wards. Of course, the latter two weren't offered at Hogwarts but Hermione didn't care. They were interesting subjects and she planned to continue them.

They all started for the dungeons, ready to start with potions. She and Draco were the only ones in class that were advanced, but Theo and Daphne held their own. They weren't great but with practice they could be. The rest of her friends were just as hopeless as Harry, but she didn't care, and they didn't seem to either. Hermione would always be grateful that her godfather had saw fit to teach her and Draco at a young age.

Their group filed in and took their seats, arriving earlier than the Gryffindors. Hermione used to look forward to sitting with Harry but since his change in attitude, she almost dreaded it. She was still determined to befriend him, but the situation was looking more and more bleak every day. Since today was going to be a lecture class, Hermione pulled her notes from her bag along with her quill and ink. Class had become much easier for her since she started using her notes from her younger years when she had originally learned the information. She did glean new information, she had a different teacher after all, but for the most part, the information was the same.

The lions skulked into class only a couple minutes before her uncle was due to arrive, a brave move on their part. Uncle Sevvie got angry when they weren't prepared and ready to begin when he entered his class. Harry took the seat next to her sullenly and when she met his gaze for just a moment, he glared at her. She quickly turned her eyes to the front where her godfather had just entered.

Uncle Sevvie launched into a lecture about the forgetfulness potion, brewed to make the drinker forgetful. It wasn't a terribly difficult potion, it was on the first-year curriculum after all, but Hermione still checked that her notes were immaculate. She could feel the glower coming from the other half of the table, more so than usual, and she wondered if he hadn't slept well or something. She didn't recall hearing anything from her friends about pranks played on him the evening before.

When her uncle ended his lecture, there were only a few minutes left before the bell rang. Hermione put the lid on her ink and stored it away in her bag, her quill following. She had just restacked her sheaves of parchment when Harry spat out a question at her.

"Are you so much a swot that you take notes before you even get here? Isn't the point of coming to class to take notes? No wonder they call you a teacher's pet." It wasn't the most malicious thing he had ever said to her, but it still stung. She tried not to answer angrily like she wanted; the last thing she wanted to do was make this whole rivalry worse.

"No, they're notes from Madam Cambridge, my tutor. I learned all this years ago, I just saved my notes. I use them now, so I don't have to do the work all over again." His next words hurt.

"A tutor paid for with money from your traitor father. I know what he did. You can warn him that I won't rest until I see him thrown in Azkaban, you with him if I discover you're helping him." Hermione fought the sting of tears.

"Helping him what? He isn't doing anything. He isn't a traitor and he's an excellent father. You would have had a happy life if you had come to live with us." Harry sneered her way before leaning over her menacingly.

"Your father is the reason I don't have a father." Hermione didn't even get to say anything in return because he spun around and stormed off only seconds after the bell ringing. Draco was instantly at her side, his hand wrapping around her arm gently.

"What was that? You look like you're about to cry." Hermione brushed the lone tear that had escaped from her cheek before she smiled at him.

"He just threatened to put dad in Azkaban, me along with him, if he finds out I'm helping him. I'm not sure with what but it's clear that Dumbledore got to him. I don't have any chances left to become his friend." Draco tugged one of her curls before pulling her out of the classroom.

"Don't give up hope. It may not happen for awhile but eventually he's going to start questioning things. When that happens, you'll be there." Hermione turned now teary eyes to her cousin and couldn't help her whisper.

"What if he's been so mean to me by then that I don't want to be friends anymore? Dad will be so disappointed." Draco wrapped an arm around her waist and hugged her tightly from the side.

"Don't borrow trouble. If it comes to that, we'll deal with it then. Until then, we'll just stay out of his way." Hermione nodded and hugged her cousin back.

She tried to bolster her spirits as they made their way to Defense Against the Dark Arts. It was her least favorite class, the professor was quite odd. While she and Draco weren't dueling yet, they had already learned several hexes and curses, could cast a shield on the fly, and knew about many dark creatures. Not only was the class a joke for her and Draco, it was a joke for the rest of the students as well since their professor seemed to have no idea what he was doing.

Hermione and Draco settled at their table together, pulling their notes from their bags. The rest of the students filed in and took their seats, removing their parchment, ink, and quills. Hermione wished she could just take a nap in this class, but she knew that if she would get caught, she'd get detention and then her father would be disappointed, not to mention Uncle Sevvie.

Harry entered last with Ron and Parvati, the trio laughing quietly about who knew what. It still rubbed her the wrong way that he was such good friends with Parvati when he wouldn't give her the time of day unless it was to insult or hurt her. They took their usual seats, Ron and Harry together and Parvati with Lavender. Professor Quirrell entered right after and immediately launched into his lecture about vampires.

Since that was one subject that she and Draco hadn't covered with Madam Cambridge, Hermione took diligent notes, but promised herself that she would fact check everything he told them in the library later. Half the things that he was saying didn't seem to make any sense. The attention of the whole class seemed to wander though the man didn't notice. When the bell finally rang, Hermione gathered her things and was one of the first ones out of the classroom. Something about Professor Quirrell gave her the creeps. She just wished that she could pinpoint what it was.

She and Draco followed their friends down to lunch in the Great Hall. It was fish and chips today, one of Hermione's all-time favorite meals so she loaded her plate more than usual. Pansy and Daphne laughed at her, surprised that she was going to try to take on a plate that size, but she waived them off. Draco was caught in conversation with Greg and Vince, apparently trying to explain to them the potion that they had just learned about in class.

Lunch passed without incident. When Hermione finally ate her fill, she waited for her cousin patiently. Charms was next and while she excelled at it, it wasn't her favorite. It saddened her heart that the one subject true to her heart, transfiguration, probably wouldn't be offered to her beyond what she learned at Hogwarts. Professor McGonagall and the Headmaster were the only masters in Britain and they both seemed to hate her.

While Hermione earned her fair share of points in that class, it was still obvious that the professor didn't like her the way she did her own cubs. She tried not to take offense. Her godfather couldn't stand most Gryffindors; the only one he was interested in knowing at a deeper level was Harry and right now that was off the table. Hermione sighed. She just wished that they were able to act without restrictions.

She and her friends entered Charms with no fanfare. Professor Flitwick was one of the few that didn't treat Hermione like she was trash because her father was a "traitor". She wasn't sure why, but it was reassuring all the same. Ron had told the class one day that she shagged her cousin every night and instead of turning his head like the others probably would have, pretending they hadn't heard, Professor Flitwick had deducted points and put the redhead in detention. Hermione was more grateful than she could say and had made sure to stay behind and thank her professor after class.

Professor Flitwick had reassured her that he didn't listen to gossip and no matter what the Headmaster had said, he had attended the ICW court date so long ago that determined that Sirius was most likely innocent. In her gratitude, she had hugged him tight for a few moments before she remembered that she wasn't supposed to act that way, but the half-goblin had laughed at her softly and sent her on her way. Since, it had become her second-favorite class. If she couldn't pursue a Transfiguration mastery, she would pursue her second favorite subject.

Today they were learning the softening charm. She added what notes she could to her already immaculate ones, noting that Draco did the same. She was completely flabbergasted by most of the classes' lack of attention. Harry was one of the few that actually paid attention and attempted notes. Once again, she found herself wishing that he would just listen to her, so he could benefit from extra teaching as well.

The class ended without time to practice the spell, not something that worried Hermione. Since the time she had received her wand, she had taken the time to practice every spell she had ever learned. It had taken a few weeks, but that time had proved to her that she was indeed ahead of her peers in many ways.

Class dismissed without further ado and Hermione couldn't be more nervous. It was time for their flying lessons and she dreaded it more than anything she could recall in recent history. She allowed Draco to pull her out of class and through the corridors to the door that led them down to the quidditch pitch where the lessons were taking place. She could see Draco's eyes gleaming when the hoops came into sight; he had made clear that he was planning to try out for the team the next year since first years weren't allowed. His love for quidditch was surpassed only by his love for her and even though she hated that he wanted to play such a dangerous sport, she hoped that he would make it on the team.

Madam Hooch was already waiting outside for them, brooms lined up on the ground in two rows. For once, the Gryffindors had beat them there, obviously excited for their lesson. Hermione knew that Harry had never flown and since Dean, Faye, and Sally were all muggleborn, they hadn't either. When it came to the skill of the others, she wasn't sure, but they seemed excited just the same. It made her smile just a little, seeing people excited for something that scared her to death.

Draco rubbed comforting circles between her shoulder blades, knowing that her level of tension was out of this world. The others, even those in her own house, were shooting them weird looks. Finally, it was Daphne that approached and asked what they were all wondering.

"What's wrong, 'Mi?" Hermione scrubbed her face with her hands and Draco started to step in front of her, with a smart retort she was sure. She hurried and answered before there would be hurt feelings within her own house.

"I hate flying. I know how but the thought of falling scares the life out of me." Rather than make fun of her as Pansy might have, Daphne pulled her into a quick hug and flashed her a sympathetic smile.

"Nobody is going to let anything happen to you, 'Mi. You're our friend and we would never let anyone make fun of you either." Hermione laughed a nervous laugh.

"I don't know, this is just the kind of thing Pansy would laugh at." Draco nodded but Daphne shook her head.

"If she does, I'll prank her myself." Hermione appreciated the show of loyalty. Daphne had never really acted like she was in awe at Hermione's last name; they had mostly got along because they both had a love for learning. After learning that she was almost royalty in the pureblood world, it was most welcome to have a friend that didn't care about her parentage. She was pulled away from her friend by Madam Hooch beginning their lesson.

"I want you all to step up to a broom, Slytherins on one side, Gryffindors on the other. Once there, hold your hand out over your broom and say 'up'." Hermione stepped up next to her cousin and did as she was instructed. She knew that she had the confidence to make the broom respond, it was in the air that she got nervous.

"Up." The broom flew into her hand and Draco turned to smile at her. His had responded even faster. To her surprise she s aw that Harry's broom slapped into his hand in less that a second. It was a very good possibility that he would be a strong flier. Their professor was encouraging those of them that the broom didn't respond to immediately. Parvati was one, and she was exclaiming that she wasn't used to brooms, only flying carpets. Hermione couldn't help but be jealous. A flying carpet would be an amazing experience.

After several minutes, everyone had their brooms in their hands. There was an air of excitement surrounding them all and Hermione sighed. It seemed as though she was the only one less than excited about flying. Madam Hooch was speaking again.

"Everyone mount your brooms and lift the handle slightly. It will lift you in the air. Do nothing else, I want you to just hover there for a few moments." Hermione was alright with this. A meter off the ground didn't bother her. The class was quick to comply, and despite the instructions, Dean Thomas started rising further in the air.

"Mr. Thomas, lower the handle of your broom and come back down with the rest of us. You have not been cleared for that height." Hermione watched as he did lower the handle of his broom, but it just kept climbing. It was clear that someone had tampered with his broom and she wondered exactly who it was. By the look on Theo's face, she suspected that it was him.

Madam Hooch was still hollering at him to come down, not realizing that there were other forces at play. Hermione could see the terror on the other boy's face and she felt for him at that moment. They all watched it happen in slow motion; there was nothing else that she could do. Dean got high enough that he hit one of the outcroppings of the castle and knocked him off his broom. He went plummeting to the ground even though it was only five meters or so. When he landed on the ground, there was a sickening crack of bone.

Hermione watched sympathetically. Her first time flying she had fallen off and broken her arm. Her father and uncle had forced her back on, but the experience remained at the forefront of her mind. Madam Hooch landed and gestured for the rest of them to do so. She quickly checked on Dean and turned on the rest of the class.

"Mr. Thomas needs to go to the Hospital Wing. I'm going to deliver him and return here right after. You are all to wait her and stay on the ground. If I discover one of you has been in the air while I'm gone, you'll be out of Hogwarts faster than you can say quidditch." Hermione didn't doubt her words, but it was obvious that the others did. Hermione could only hope that they would listen.

Madam Hooch stalked off with Dean at her side, his arm cradled against his chest in pain. Everyone else was now on the ground and Hermione couldn't help a sigh of relief. Ron and Harry seemed to catch the sound and Ron pounced.

"Miss Pureblood Princess isn't a real witch. She doesn't like to fly, the most basic of magical functions." Hermione's temper flared, and she stepped forward.

"I know how to fly perfectly fine, I've been able to for years. The fact that I don't like to means nothing." Ron openly laughed at her, but Hermione held herself back.

"How can you call yourself a witch if you don't like to fly?" Hermione ground her teeth together.

"I'm more of a witch than you'll ever be a wizard. You skate through classes doing the bare minimum and you think that the world owes you something. Let me tell you now, it doesn't. You need to start working hard now so you don't end up a useless excuse for a wizard." Seamus stepped forward, his wand in his hand, and shot a curse at Hermione. What, she wasn't sure, since they had yet to learn any, but she easily cast a shield. Rather than Draco step forward and defend her, Theo did, broom in hand.

"You and me, Weasley, a race. If you win, we leave you alone the rest of the year. If I win, you apologize publicly to Hermione." Everyone was nodding until Harry stepped forward.

"You go against me and if we're caught by teachers, the deal is null and void." Theo nodded and stepped forward, hand outstretched. The Gryffindors didn't seem to understand what that meant, and Hermione began to seriously wonder if they knew anything. Finally, Harry stepped forward and shook his hand. Draco stepped forward and named the terms.

"You both race to the castle, slap the wall, and race back, The first one back wins." Hermione knew that her cousin had faith in their friend. He had been flying just as long as they had, and he was quite good at it. Both boys nodded, and Draco shot sparks from his wand.

"Go!"

Harry and Theo took off like a bat out of hell, both racing with all they had to the castle wall. Theo, who was a conservative flier, barely hit the wall. Hermione was astounded at the ease in which Harry flew. It was obviously something that came naturally to him. When they hit the castle wall, Harry did some fancy loop that she had never seen before while Theo skimmed the surface of the castle with his fingertips. It was an all-out race back to their starting point, Theo barely winning in the end. Hermione felt triumphant until she looked over at the door leading to Hogwarts and saw Professor McGonagall striding out of the castle, red spots high in her cheeks.

"Just what in the devil is going on here?" The whole class remained silent until finally Parvati spoke.

"It was just a friendly race, Professor." Professor McGonagall looked around and noticed the absence of Madam Hooch.

"Were you supposed to be flying without Madam Hooch here?" There were several seconds of silence before they all finally shook their heads no. The Gryffindor Head of House sighed and lowered her head before finally raising it and meeting their eyes.

"Thirty points from both Mr. Nott and Mr. Potter. I don't see any need for detention since this is the first offense but if this happens again, there will be far more consequences." The rest of the class nodded but their professor wasn't finished.

"Mr. Potter, please come with me." Hermione watched as he nodded meekly, sure that he was going to be in trouble. The rest of the class was silent until Madam Hooch reappeared only to quickly dismiss class. Hermione was thankful; the last thing that she wanted to do was face her fear in front of a bunch of people that would only laugh at her. Hermione threaded her arm through Draco's and pulled her over to Theo's side. Her friend gave her a confident smile.

"Don't even apologize. We're good as far as I'm concerned. I'd have done the same if it was Pansy or Daphne." Hermione grinned at him, thankful that he was aware of how uncomfortable she would be. Instead, Hermione smiled.

"Actually, I wanted to thank you for what you did. I hate that we're always in trouble but it's nice knowing that our enemies have apologized at one point in their lives." Theo nodded but turned on his heel and made his way over to Vince and Greg. Draco wrapped an arm around her and smiled.

"That was a lesson for everyone. The last thing we want is for someone to get the better of us. That could have easily happened to you." Hermione felt shame at his words. Would she have let something happen if they hadn't been so hateful? Her cousin seemed to realize her train of thought and smiled.

Not caring what was going on around them, Draco led her off the quidditch pitch and towards the castle. They entered the Great Hall with no fanfare, though everyone was still wondering just what McGonagall wanted with Potter. The Slytherins took their usual seats and the other grades even commiserated their tough time today.

Dinner appeared before them and Hermione ate the bare minimum since she didn't have much appetite. She had fully expected for people from the Gryffindor table to come over and make fun of her, but they didn't. To her surprise, they left the snakes completely alone. Not that she was complaining. Since there was nobody else to complain, Hermione let her fears float away so she could finish her dinner with less stress. This wasn't meant to be, however. Harry, Ron, Dean, and Seamus all approached the Slytherin table, smiles on their faces. Even though they wore smiles, Hermione couldn't help but disbelieve them. It was Ron that spoke.

"We wanted to thank Nott from the bottom of our hearts. Since McGonagall caught the two of them racing, she saw the moves Harry had and placed him on the house quidditch team. Youngest seeker in a century, all thanks to Nott." Hermione couldn't help but feel righteous indignation at their words. There weren't any first years allowed on the team and they made an exception for Harry, most likely because of what his name was. Suddenly she was livid.

"You can gloat all you want but it all means nothing. There aren't any first years allowed on the team and he isn't on the team because of talent. He's on there because his Head of House pulled strings with the Headmaster, someone who obviously favors your house. Trust me, this doesn't gain any of our respect because it's shady. If it wasn't, you would be following the rules and fighting a fair fight against those others that are qualified to compete. Not to worry though, if you need something like this to boost your ego, by all means. None of my house is going to take the time to call you pathetic to your face." Hermione didn't wait to see what the reaction of the rest of her house was. She stood as regally as she could and stalked away, spine straight and chin raised high. Silence followed her and she didn't mind. Once they were in the common room again, Theo spoke.

"How are we going to compete with that?" Draco snorted.

"Leave it to us. We're going to go complain to Professor Snape. If he can't do anything about it, we'll believe him. Until then, there's hope." The rest of their house nodded before going their own separate ways.

-O-

Severus was livid. Hermione and Draco had just visited his office and told him the entire awful story. While he agreed that they should have all been punished, the fact that Potter was allowed on the school quidditch team was complete bullshite. Quidditch teams were meant for students in second year and above, students that earned their spots, and the fact that McGonagall had surpassed tradition was utter tripe. All it served was her being able to put a decent flier on her team that she thought would excel.

The worst part was that Severus agreed with her.

From the memories that his godson and goddaughter had provided him with showed that Potter was an exceptional flier. Severus would have been pleased to have his team fly against him in the future, win or lose, but the fact that he had made the team in a default manner made him sick.

Severus was on his way to the Headmaster's office. Not that it mattered. He knew that Potter would be allowed to play no matter what he brought up in defense, but he still had to try for the rest of his house. He knew that Hermione and Draco would understand but the fact that nobody else did irked him. How were they supposed to set an example for the rest of Hogwarts if they proved that there were some that were above the rules?

Severus finally came to the griffin that led to the Headmaster's office. He was usually more attentive to his younger children and if he had been he would have realized that there was a serious lack of respect at the moment but there wasn't much that anyone could do now. Deciding to break the silence, Severus spoke.

"Today, our first years had their first flying lesson. It would have set the class right to know that there was nothing that we could hold against them. However, they were threatened with expulsion if they flew without the proper professor. It took several moments to be able to get the children under control. Members of both houses were flying at this point, everyone deserving of expulsion.". It was clear that Severus was the most passionate about the situation. Once silence fell and had been present long enough, Dumbledore spoke.

"The score is even. There were no detentions, and nobody lost more points than the other." Severus couldn't fucking believe it. Somebody had insinuated that it was a fair interaction. He turned to the Headmaster and sneered.

"You're going to tell me that you're going to allow Minerva to allow the Potter boy to serve on the quidditch team, throwing all our rules for the last century down the toilet? Take points from my house and tell them that all is well while the other person is rewarded beyond measure?" Dumbledore held his hands out in placation.

"I just know that young Harry needs something to keep his mind off the horrors in his life. Quidditch is a good substitute. You can't deny him that, Severus." Severus leaned forward and met the eyes of his employer.

"This is bullshite, Headmaster, and you know it. All you're doing is fostering hatred between the houses and encouraging them to hate each other. It's going to be the downfall of our world."

Severus knew that there was no use in hanging around now that the Headmaster wasn't even going to listen to his words. He turned on his heel and stalked out of the Headmaster's office, robes billowing behind him.

Nothing of what he had said had meant a single thing.

-O-

Harry was unsure as to how he felt about his appointment to the quidditch team. Sure, his friends were thrilled. Even Professor McGonagall seemed happy but that meant nothing when he considered the situation at hand. The fact that he was being rewarded a spot on the quidditch team while Nott was in trouble didn't seem very fair.

Harry wanted to be normal more than anything else in the world. The fact that he was being lifted above all other made him somewhat sick, but he really had no idea what to do about the situation. It was clear that the rest of the school hated him since he had only won the position in a technicality; he wanted nothing more than for them to see that he deserved the position because he had worked hard for it.

That wasn't what had happened though. Professor McGonagall had awarded him a spot on the team no matter what he said and no matter how he had protested. He supposed that there was nothing he could do about it now. Harry snuggled into his bed and considered his day.

Hermione Black was always at the forefront of his mind. He knew that she didn't deserve his time or emotions, but he couldn't help but feel terrible for how he treated her. Dumbledore himself had told him that he was proud of him for how he treated her, but it still made him sick to think that he was anything like Dudley.

Ron and Parvati assured him that he was right, that Hermione needed to keep her distance because of who she was, but a sliver of his soul knew that he was wrong. Still, he wasn't quite ready to admit that his Headmaster was wrong. Therefore, he continued the path that he had sent him down, hating all those that may have had something to do with the man who was a traitor to his parents.

Harry sighed.

There wasn't much that he could do about the situation, therefore, he kept his feelings close to his chest and only allowed Ron close enough to see them. While he adored Parvati, there was something about her that he just couldn't trust. Harry sighed again.

He decided that he wasn't going to dwell on the situation any longer. Closing his eyes and drawing the darkness around him like a warm blanket, he allowed himself to be drawn into the darkness. When he closed his eyes, his body relaxed, and it was only a moment or two before sleep pulled him under.

A/N- That's another chapter down, y'all. Hope you enjoyed! Leave me your thoughts after the beep and let me know what you think. Reviews make me smile.

Next up, a wizards' duel.

Love,

Alicia


	12. Chapter 12

A/N- I'm back! Happy to hear that most of you are enjoying where I'm taking this story. There have been a few naysayers but that's normal. Anyways, thanks to everyone again for supporting me in writing this story. Y'all are the bomb. Now that I've rambled on long enough, I'll get started on the stuff you really want to read.

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing. The characters are JKR's, I only use them for my own nefarious means. I'm sure that the plot has been done before by the hordes of fanfiction writers that came before me.

Chapter 12

October 18, 1991

Harry ran a hand through his unruly hair as he and Ron headed to breakfast. He suspected that someone had put itching powder or something of the like in his trunk. It sounded exactly like something that the twins would do. He would have suspected the Slytherins but there was no way that they had been able to get into his dormitory whereas the twins only had to open a door.

Ron was chattering next to him about something that Parvati and Lavender had said. Harry sighed. He liked both girls, he really did, but when they got together they were an unstoppable force of fashion and gossip. It wasn't something that he particularly liked to listen to.

Parvati had started hanging around himself and Ron over a month ago. She was pleasant enough; the Indian girl was never mean or rude to him. He enjoyed having someone around that wasn't Ron. Harry knew that Ron was his best mate but when he went off on his tangents that all Slytherins were evil, he just couldn't handle it.

Since Parvati was always around, he couldn't help but wonder if she was only feigning friendship because of who he was. He knew that while the boys in his dorm were genuine in their liking him, he knew that the older students that tried to befriend him were only doing so because he was famous or on the quidditch team. Harry snorted. He wished he wasn't famous at all and simply had his parents.

Thoughts like these were dangerous. Whenever he became melancholy about the loss of his parents or how terrible his life was outside of Hogwarts' walls, he always thought of Hermione Black. They were rarely charitable thoughts to be truthful.

Harry couldn't help but feel the sting of betrayal even stronger than before when he realized that everyone outside of his own house seemed to genuinely like the girl. Her father was responsible for his situation, she was trying to befriend him, so she could haul him home to her father to finish the job. Dumbledore had made it clear that since Hermione had no mother, Sirius Black could do anything he wanted and not get thrown into Azkaban. He could murder Harry in front of the whole school and he would only be fined by the Ministry.

He had briefly wondered why the esteemed Lord Black hadn't done anything else that was illegal, but he quickly remembered Professor McGonagall's words. The Blacks were like royalty. He wouldn't want to do anything to tarnish his perfect reputation even though Harry thought that it was already shite. Murder tends to do that to a person.

Even though he rarely had thoughts about Hermione Black that weren't negative, he couldn't help but admit that she was beautiful. In fact, she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, even Ron agreed when he could pause his diatribe about her traitor father. Though he would never admit it to anyone, it was Hermione's face that he saw in his mind when he wanked at night. It was a new development for him, wanking in general, and it made him feel dirty that he imagined the daughter of the traitor responsible for his parent's death.

Not that there was anything on the twelve-year-old girl to really look at. She was still very much a child and always wore proper clothing. Harry had gone to fetch something for his aunt one day over the summer and had seen a magazine on his uncle's bedside table. There was a scantily clad woman on the front and Harry hadn't been able to stop himself from flipping it open and ogling the naked women inside. It seemed far more likely that his mind would return to that instance when he brought himself to completion but that was never the case. It made him sick.

Harry and Ron took their seats at the Gryffindor table, Seamus and Dean already seated and shoveling food into their mouths. Harry served himself at a much more sedate pace; he no longer stuffed himself like he wasn't going to get to eat again. He had even gained some weight and no longer appeared to be gangly when he looked at himself in the mirror. The proper nutrition had also done wonders for his height. He was still the shortest boy in school, but he had shot up two inches. Neville was standing at the Slytherin table, talking and laughing with Hermione and Malfoy. Harry knew that they had been friends before school, but he still couldn't piece together why he would want to be friends with someone who's family had destroyed their own.

Neville had come clean late one night in their dorm room about his parents and what had happened to them. All the boys had listened raptly as Neville told them what he knew of what had been done to his parents. Apparently, Malfoy's aunt and Hermione's cousin had taken her husband, brother-in-law, and another ardent follower of Voldemort and tortured his parents into insanity. They were later caught and sent to Azkaban, where they had now resided for the last ten years, but the damage was done and while his parents were certainly still alive, they weren't capable of acting as true parents should. With a parting retort, Neville laughed and re-joined them at the lion's table. Harry couldn't help it when he blurted out the question.

"How can you be friends with them when you know what their family did your parents?" Harry instantly regretted the question when he saw the flash of pain cross his friend's eyes. His face hardened slightly before he spoke.

"While their family may have done harm to mine, Hermione and Draco did nothing to me. Hermione was two years old, Draco only one." Ron seized on his words like a dog on a bone.

"I understand that, but you've gone over to their houses since you were little. How can your gran let that happen knowing what happened?" Neville slammed his cup down on the table and there was fury etched in his features now.

"Not that I expect you to understand, Ron, but Lord Black has done right by my family. He cast Bellatrix from the family tree and then paid an extremely large amount of money to my family in reparation. Not only did he pay us reparation, he has taken care of all my schooling since he feels responsible for the fact that Bellatrix took away my parents. It wasn't his fault in any way but since it was his family that caused it, he insisted on doing the right thing."

This wasn't what Harry had been expecting him to say. He had expected stuttering, maybe telling them that he just did what his gran told him to do. That would have been the response Ron would have given. It was clear that Ron feared his mother on a very visceral level. Not that he blamed him. He had heard the howler that Molly Weasley had sent the twins after the prank on Hermione Black. It was clear that she was the reason that they had apologized the way they did but they were quick to reassure everyone that since giving her a chance, they did indeed like her a lot. Ron, however, just had to keep pushing.

"You're letting that traitor pay for your schooling? Well, I guess that makes sense why you're nice to them." Neville's face suddenly went impassive at his words. Harry wondered if it was something that purebloods were taught as children. Every single one of them aside from Ron seemed to be able to turn their emotions off at will.

"I'm nice to them because they're my friends. Lord Black paid the Longbottom family reparation when I was two years old. A fund was set up for my schooling at the same time. It has never been spoken of since. I attended parties at both their homes and nobody ever treated me poorly. Narcissa Malfoy, Bellatrix's sister, was always welcoming and motherly, she never made me feel guilty for my parents landing her sister in prison. For the record, Ron, you might want to start referring to Lord Black by his title. If the right people were to tell him that you were disrespecting him, and yes, I mean Hermione and Draco, he could retaliate on your father. There's a reason that your mother ordered the twins to apologize no matter how much she doesn't like the situation." The twins, who had been sitting just a couple down, leaned over and nodded their heads sagely.

"If you would just give her a chance, I think you'd like her. Yeah, mum made us apologize but we quite like her now. She always helps us when we ask for it, she and Malfoy are really smart. The rest of the little firsties aren't as bad as we thought they'd be either." Ron shook his head angrily.

"I don't recall asking the two of you for your opinions." Harry couldn't help but agree with Ron. While he wasn't going to go out and make war with Hermione and Malfoy, he had every intention of heeding Dumbledore's advice when it came to befriending Hermione Black.

Ron was the only person that he had confided in regarding what he and Dumbledore had spoken about. Since the redhead hadn't had the full story on what happened that Halloween night ten years ago, he had hung on every word and told Harry that staying away from the Slytherin pair was probably his smartest move. Harry felt somewhat vindicated; at least someone else agreed with his decision to follow Dumbledore's advice.

The argument was halted by the bell, dismissing them to their first class. Transfiguration was up first, with the Slytherins of course. Harry couldn't help but wonder who had decided to put the snakes and lions together for almost all their classes. He and Ron stood, the rest of the boys following suit after snatching one last piece of toast for the way. They traversed the corridors quietly, the tension still vibrating between Ron and Neville. Once they arrived, Neville took his usual seat with Faye and he and Ron took the table next to them.

Harry noticed that the Slytherins were already present; he always wondered why it was that they were always early and always seemed to be prepared the second that the bell rang. Harry could appreciate being punctual and ready for class, but they seemed to take it to a whole new level.

He watched from the other side of Ron as Hermione pulled her text out of her bag, scattering a stack of parchment across the floor as she did so. She huffed angrily and went to her knees to gather her parchment, but Ron managed to snatch a few of them that had landed near his feet. She jumped to her feet and glared at him.

"Please give me back my parchments." The Slytherin side of the room was silent as they listened to her overly polite tone. Harry saw Malfoy reach out and touch her back, probably trying to calm her down. Ron sneered her way.

"I don't think that I will. The last thing you need is another O on your homework. Maybe I'll just burn it and you can take a T for once." Dean and Seamus were snickering off to the side of them. Hermione's face went completely impassive.

"That's a nice thought but those aren't assignments for Hogwarts. Please return them before I'm forced to take them." Ron smirked at her before he took the parchment in both hands and ripped them in half. Hermione launched herself at Ron but was stopped by a spell hitting her. Harry turned to see Professor McGonagall standing in the doorway, wand held aloft, expression thunderous.

"Just what do you think you're doing, Miss Black?" Harry hated that he instantly thought that the color that suffused her cheeks made her look lovely.

"Parchment fell out of my bag when I pulled out my text. I was picking them up and Weasley took some. I politely asked for them back and he refused. Then he tore them in half." His Head of House swung her gaze to his friend, who did look rather shamefaced.

"I was just funning about, Professor, they could be mended easily enough." McGonagall didn't look impressed.

"Twenty points from Gryffindor, Mr. Weasley, for attempting to destroy another student's property. Forty points from Slytherin, Miss Black, for being caught in the act of trying to harm another student. Anymore incidents and you'll both be in detention." The stern woman held out her hand to Ron and he handed them to her. She waved her wand over them, repairing them, before she really paid attention to them. Her eyes narrowed in confusion and then began flipping through them. Harry could see that Hermione was gritting her teeth at the intrusion but remained silent. Her face finally came up and met Hermione's gaze.

"What are these, Miss Black? They are far too advanced for you." Harry could see the cold fury at her words.

"They are assignments that Madam Cambridge sent Draco and I. I have to owl them to her today, so I would appreciate having them back." Harry wondered what was on the parchment.

"Is Madam Cambridge a private tutor?" She gave one sharp nod.

"Why are you learning about spell theory and wards? Ancient Runes and Arithmancy aren't offered until third year." The young girl was back to gritting her teeth.

"Draco and I have been learning all of those things for years. Please return my assignments to me." Professor McGonagall narrowed her eyes at the tone but handed them back to Hermione.

"Why are you still continuing with Madam Cambridge while you're at Hogwarts?" Hermione seemed to be contemplating her answer. Finally, she gave a matter-of-fact answer.

"Draco and I aren't challenged here. We want to continue to learn. It's quite simple." His Head of House's eyebrows went up.

"Today, we're turning parchment into silk. When did you learn that spell?" Hermione raised a single eyebrow. Harry wished that he could do that.

"When we were five. We made sure the spell worked once we got to school." Harry didn't quite believe that fully, but he wasn't going to speak out of turn and land himself in detention. He was still unsure as to why this conversation was occurring in front of the entire class.

"How far have you made it in your studies?" Hermione got a confused look on her face but answered anyways.

"The end of four year. Hence, why we are continuing our education with Madam Cambridge while we are here at Hogwarts." Harry wasn't sure that his Head of House even remembered that they were in class because she just kept going.

"Why have you not told anyone that you aren't challenged?" Hermione quirked her eye brow again.

"Do you really want the answer to that, Professor?" The reply was curt.

"Yes, I do." Hermione stiffened her spine and raised her chin, her shoulders squaring as she stared down the Transfiguration professor.

"Nobody aside from Professor Snape and Professor Flitwick would do anything about it." McGonagall instantly looked offended at her statement and began to sputter.

"Of course, we would, we want all our students to do well." Hermione cocked her head to her side as she scoffed.

"No, you wouldn't. You think that Draco and I don't know that all the teachers don't like us because of who are our parents are? You think we don't know that the Headmaster hates us? You think we're unaware that as Slytherins, everyone looks at us like we're evil? Trust me, we're well-aware and know exactly what would happen if we were to ask for special treatment. Everyone would say that we wanted an easier curriculum, that since our families are wealthy that we wanted everyone to cater to us. The fact that we're bored out of our minds holds no bearing. Ma'am." It was clear that she tacked the ma'am on the end of her spiel because she didn't want to end up in trouble for disrespect.

Harry could tell that his Head of House was shaken to her core. It seemed that everything Hermione had said was ringing true to her and it made Harry wonder what she was going to do about it. In the short time that he had spent at Hogwarts, he had learned that McGonagall was not a witch to be toyed with and who was a force to be reckoned with when her mind was set on something.

"I assure you, Miss Black, that I will be speaking with the Headmaster about your education." Hermione shook her head as she took her seat.

"That isn't necessary, Professor. We're fine with the arrangement we have now." Suddenly recalling that they were indeed in class, their Transfiguration professor cleared her throat and strode to the front of the class and began her lesson.

Harry sighed. That wasn't what he had anticipated happening when he came to class today.

-O-

Hermione was livid. Not only had the ginger git taken her assignments and then tore them in half, Professor McGonagall had questioned and quizzed her about her education as if she had the right to. She turned her assignments in every day and they were always perfect. Beyond that, her education was none of the woman's business.

While Hermione would absolutely love to get a more advanced curriculum, especially in Transfiguration, she knew that it would never happen. The Headmaster wouldn't approve it. She was sure that they could probably fight his decision since Uncle Luci was on the Board of Governors, but Hermione really didn't want to hassle with it. It would be more trouble that it was worth, especially since she was still receiving a quality education from Madam Cambridge.

When the Gryffindor Head of House had promised her that she was going to take the matter to the Headmaster, she wanted to laugh out loud. The woman didn't have to like her, but she should want to teach her students to the best of her ability without being guided by guilt. Hermione knew exactly the effect her words to the professor had had: extreme guilt that she had let prejudices keep her from doing her job. As far as Hermione was concerned, getting more difficult work for herself and Draco should have been broached ages ago. They'd been in class for almost two months and neither had turned in anything less than a perfect essay or failed to perfect a spell on the first try.

Professor Flitwick had indeed been the only professor to ask them if they were challenged enough. While she had hated lying to the half-goblin, Hermione had told him that they were, that they were extremely diligent in their schoolwork. She knew that he would have to bring a curriculum change to the Headmaster and once again, that was more trouble than it was worth.

Hermione was forced out of her thoughts by the bell ringing. She gathered her text and pushed it into her satchel. Draco led her out of the classroom and turned them towards the Charms corridor. They took their usual seats at the front of the classroom and waited patiently for class to begin. Others were trickling in as the time passed, obviously not eager for class. Draco leaned over and whispered in her ear.

"I can't believe you took Professor Cat down a peg or two. It was brilliant." Hermione snorted as the met his eyes.

"Until Uncle Sev finds out. I'll be in detention for days." Draco ruffled her hair much to her chagrin.

"I bet he isn't angry at all. You didn't lose points, you didn't get detention, and you pointed out that the whole school is prejudiced against not only us but all Slytherins." She nodded but they were silenced by Professor Flitwick entering and beginning their lesson.

They were learning the fire-making spell, something that Hermione and Draco had mastered long ago. She still checked her notes against what the half-goblin was teaching them, not adding a single thing to her notes. They were paired off to begin practicing. Hermione and Draco decided to be sporting and pair off with other people, so they could help where needed. It wasn't something that they normally did but since it was the fire-making spell, they decided that it was worth it.

Draco paired Greg while Hermione paired up with Millie, the worst in their group at Charms. She wasn't sure if they girl hated the subject or what exactly caused her complete and total failures in that class, but Hermione decided to help where she could. Much to her surprise, Draco had Goyle casting the spell properly on his third try, something unheard of for the boy. While he really did have a sweet personality, Greg wasn't known for being the most intelligent She knew that other houses made fun of Greg and Vince both, said that they were nothing but boulders, but she didn't believe that. It just took them longer to grasp things.

Millie was another story. Hermione couldn't fault her effort, it was clear that the girl was trying her hardest to produce flames, but her magic wasn't cooperating. When Hermione considered it, she realized that while Millie always did well on her classroom assignments, she always faltered on practical application in almost every class. She was going to have to research and see if she could discover something to help the girl.

Much to the bigger girl's absolute delight, her spell was successful on her eighth attempt. She laughed and threw her arms around Hermione in glee, thanking her profusely for helping her to cast the spell. Hermione just hugged her back, there wasn't much else she could do since the girl was hanging around her neck, laughed, and told the girl that she needed to gain confidence.

Professor Flitwick awarded everyone points that had successfully cast the spell. The only ones that hadn't managed it were Lavender and Pansy, so they were assigned extra practice as homework. Both grumbled to themselves about it but neither voiced complaints. Professor Flitwick dismissed them just moments before the bell rang, telling them that lunch would be served momentarily in the Great Hall. Hermione was excited since she was starving.

Lunch ended up not being in the cards, however, since just outside the Charms classroom, Ron Weasley stepped in front of her, effectively blocking her way. Hermione sighed; the last thing she wanted to do was deal with him being a complete git to her. Draco, however, wasn't going to take his shite now that they weren't in class.

"Why can't you just leave her alone, Weasel? We told you before, she doesn't have a crush on you. Go talk to the blond, she can't seem to stop staring at you." Hermione knew that would piss him off, so she was unsurprised when the redhead drew his wand and let it hang at his side.

"Like I would have a crush on a traitor. Take it back or I'll make sure I curse you both bald." Draco laughed openly now.

"You just heard in Transfiguration that Hermione and I are already through most of the fourth-year curriculum. You think you stand a chance against us? It's not like you're quickest snitch in the sky anyways." Ron stepped forward, but Harry held him back, so he could step forward himself.

"Don't insult my best mate. He didn't have a thing to say to you. You need to just keep your face out of his business." Draco smirked at Harry, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Hermione is my business. She's my cousin and best friend and your 'best mate' does nothing but torment her and insult her. Maybe if he wasn't a complete waste of space, he would know that it's impolite to treat young ladies as such, especially when she has done nothing to him." Harry's chest was heaving, and she could tell that he was angry.

"He treats her that way because she's a traitor, she was raised by a traitor. When you embrace that kind of life, you have to be willing to suffer the consequences." Draco laughed again at how angry Harry was.

"Hermione is a traitor? Traitor to who, to what? That doesn't even make any sense. If you seriously believe that Uncle Sirius is a traitor than you aren't half as intelligent as I had hoped." Ron finally spoke again, fury evident in his voice.

"We'll settle this once and for all. Wizard's duel, tonight at nine. Trophy room and don't be late. Bring your second. I hope Harry wipes the floor with you." Before Draco could retort, Ron grabbed Harry by the shirt and pulled him away from them and down the corridor. Hermione wasn't sure if she should laugh or cry.

"I can't believe that they want to fight a wizard's duel. They've been taught a total of twenty spells since they've gotten here. They can't be serious." Draco laughed softly as they started for the Great Hall.

"I think they are, though Harry didn't appear to even know what a wizard's duel is. I'm a little surprised that Weasley did." Hermione couldn't help but chuckle at his words but sobered quickly.

"I'm your second and you are not going to hurt them. It wouldn't be sporting." He rolled his eyes at her.

"I know, Miney, Merlin. Do you think I'm an evil Slytherin too?" She laughed and shoved him in his shoulder.

"Oh hush. I'm starving, and we need to get to lunch." Draco offered her his arm with a grin.

"We wouldn't want Princess Black to waste away from hunger." Hermione shoved him again before taking his arm and letting him lead her down the corridor.

-O-

Severus was nearly growling in irritation by the time he reached Albus' office. He had received a message from a house elf that his presence was requested in the Headmaster's office during lunch. He was sure that his Slytherins were being blamed for something, especially since the marked point loss that morning, which put him in the worst mood.

The door swung open to reveal that Albus and Minerva were both present and sitting tensely by the fire together. Severus sighed. Why did he have a feeling that this meeting was about both his godchildren? Deciding that there was nothing to do but get the ball rolling, he took a seat in an armchair before the fire as well. After a few moments of silence, he finally spoke.

"I'm missing lunch. Does anyone want to inform me what this impromptu meeting is about?" The Headmaster gestured to Minerva.

"Minerva called this meeting, not me. I'm just as clueless as you are." Severus turned his eyes to his colleague. She took a deep breath and met his gaze.

"Did you know that Miss Black and Mr. Malfoy are highly advanced students? There was an altercation in Transfiguration and I found papers that Miss Black said she needed to send off to a Madam Cambridge. I shouldn't have but I rifled through them after I repaired them and found work on wards, ancient runes, spell theory, spell creation, and arithmancy. When I questioned Miss Black, she told me that she and Mr. Malfoy weren't challenged so their tutor sent them work to do in their free time." Severus steepled his hands under his chin and cursed inwardly. He had no idea how Minerva had encountered her assignments from Madam Cambridge but if she knew, Albus would certainly know. Hoping that the children hadn't spoken of his part in their education, he nodded curtly.

"Of course, I know they're advanced. Draco is my godson and he's attended lessons with Miss Black since they were infants. Lucius has always been proud of them and boasts about them every chance he gets." Minerva stared at him, shocked.

"You knew that they were this advanced? Miss Black told me that they had worked their way through most of the fourth-year curriculum." Severus nodded.

"Yes, I knew. Not the specific level but I knew they were far above their peers. They don't want special treatment, so they just do all matters of assignments from Madam Cambridge and owl them back and forth." Minerva shook her head.

"This is unacceptable. I asked her why they had never said anything that they weren't challenged, and she told me that nobody would do anything if they knew. She informed me in front of the whole class that she knew that the professors didn't like herself and Mr. Malfoy and that everyone would assume they wanted special treatment because they're wealthy. She also insinuated that nobody would do anything because they're Slytherin and everyone thought they're evil. I'm here now to demand that they be put in higher classes. There is no sense in them biding their time, wasting their time and money on classes that they have no need of." Severus smirked. It was cute that she thought she was going to get her way on this when the Headmaster would have to be the one that agree to it. True to form, Albus began stroking his beard.

"Minerva, that isn't possible. You know as well as I do that if we do that for them, then there will be people out there that want to make the classes easier because their children aren't as gifted. It's a double-edged sword. Not to mention that they would be ridiculed not only by their peers but by the older students they would have classes with." Her mouth fell open in disbelief. She was silent for several seconds before she found her voice.

"That is unacceptable, Albus. Those children aren't learning a thing and that isn't right. We're professors above all else and teaching is what we're supposed to do. Besides, nobody is going to ridicule a Black and Malfoy, least of all the Slytherins. They're royalty in our world, you know that. It would simply broaden their horizons. You have to agree to this." Severus almost felt bad for the witch. She was trying to do the right thing, but guilt was her motivator and that made him just a little sick at his stomach. Albus was shaking his head.

"I can't, Minerva. If I start showing favoritism now, I'll have to show it to everyone. They may continue their correspondence with their tutor but that is all I'm willing to do." Severus hadn't expected any less. No doubt the Headmaster felt that if the pair weren't learning anything, it would be less that they could do to Harry. That truly did make him sick. Therefore, Severus sneered at his colleague.

"Dumbledore has spoken, Minerva. You should know by now that he only wants what's best for his students. By students, that means everyone except my students." Severus knew that the old man would probably be pissed at his words, but he would blame it on keeping his cover. She pursed her lips and went to her feet.

"I'll have you know that I expected better, Albus. I expected that we would be better educators than this." She didn't say anything else before she swept out of his office, head held high. Albus watched her go before he turned to Severus.

"You know that isn't the case. You care about all your students." Severus nodded his head.

"I know, I was keeping up appearances. It wouldn't do for me to appear to be too friendly or caring. She knows that I care for my students and the others can go hang." Albus chuckled.

"We both know that isn't true. You protect Harry with your life." Severus wanted to snort at the man but thought better of it. He didn't want to protect the little brat since he insisted on hurting his goddaughter's feelings constantly. However, he didn't feel like allowing the Headmaster to get a dig in without getting in one of his own.

"I also know that you filled Minerva full of dragon shite. The only reason you aren't making sure that they learn anything here is, so they won't have as much in their arsenal to use against Potter." Dumbledore nodded his head.

"Yes. We can ill afford for Black or Malfoy to get to Harry. The last thing that we need is to lose him to either. The fight would be over before it begun." Severus felt vindicated that the man admitted as such to him. However, he questioned him.

"You really think that is their goal? Get Potter to be their friend and then take him home to their fathers to do their worst?" Albus nodded his head again.

"It is my fear. I'm not certain that is their plan but just the possibility is frightening." Severus made commiserating noises in the back of his throat.

"I suppose. I have never heard of such plans from either. Lucius trusts me, I think that he would inform me of this plan and implore for me to help if I could." Albus was silent for several seconds.

"That may be true, but I remember well the animosity between yourself and Sirius Black. I'm not sure that he would want to include you in any plans that involve something important to him." Severus wanted to laugh outright now but held it back. If only the old man knew that they were the closest of friends now.

"I defer to you in this matter, Headmaster. Now I find I must make my way to lunch." Albus twinkled his eyes at him as he nodded a final time.

"Good day, Severus."

Severus left with a scowl on his face, robes billowing behind him.

-O-

Sirius was sitting in his library with Lucius and they were discussing the latest bill to come through the Wizengamot. It wasn't too terribly exciting, but it was better than sitting there by himself. It was just before dinner and the pair were winding down Narcissa arrived.

Sirius was lonely, that much was certain. He missed his daughter and his cousin, the sounds they made in the house even when all was quiet. The elves all doted on him even more now that there was nobody else to care for and it wore his nerves. He was officially counting down the days until the Christmas holidays. Sirius threw back another swig of his fire whiskey as Narcissa flounced in the room in the palest blue taffeta gown he had ever seen. They both stood, and his cousin floated into her husband's arms, kissing his cheek in greeting.

"Hello, how was the Wizengamot today?" Lucius returned the kiss and Sirius was kept from answering by a tapping on the window of the library. He rose and walked over to the window, throwing it open to allow in an ebony owl with bright yellow eyes. Sirius couldn't help but worry; this was Severus' owl. Lucius and Narcissa seemed to realize it as well and looked on nervously. He shoved the bowl of owl treats at his friend's owl and returned to his chair before ripping the letter open and reading it aloud.

 _Sirius,_

 _I hope this letter finds you well, well, as well as you can be considering the Wizengamot is in session. I don't have much to report this week. Hermione and Draco are both doing extremely well in class, though Hermione did lose forty house points this morning because of an altercation with a Ronald Weasley. Apparently, he tore her assignments for Madam Cambridge in half and she went after him. Minerva walked in at that moment and stopped her, only taking points rather than assigning detentions._

 _Your daughter is a fireball, that much is true. When Minerva mended her parchment, she caught sight of exactly what they consisted of. When she questioned Hermione, she told her that Hogwarts didn't challenge her or Draco. They went back and forth before the entire class, Hermione finally telling her that she didn't tell anyone because nobody would do anything about it, not only because they aren't liked in school due to their parentage but because all Slytherins are assumed evil._

 _Minerva got indignant and righteous, calling me to Albus' office so she could demand that they be allowed in more advanced classes. It did nothing to sway his answer, of course, but it was amusing to watch her try to better the educational experience of the children because a twelve-year-old guilted her._

 _I haven't spoken to either of them since the incident and if I know Hermione, she's avoiding me. She probably thinks that I'll be cross with her because of the forty points she lost and the information that was discovered. I'll let her stew for a few days before I finally put her out of her misery and tell her I'm proud of her._

 _I must go to dinner now so I'm ready to patrol the halls and find all the little monsters out breaking the rules. I'll write you if anything catastrophic occurs but otherwise, expect my owl next week._

 _Severus_

Sirius wanted to get angry at the letter, but he knew that it wouldn't do any good. He expected Dumbledore to do everything in his power to keep his little girl down. The whole situation was a shit show but it was what it was.

Sirius had wanted to go to the Ministry the second that Severus had told him that Albus had tried to use legilimency on Hermione. While he had been expecting it, it didn't make it any easier once it actually happened. Lucius and Narcissa had both stopped him but he was shaking in anger at the intrusion. They reminded him that Hermione had kept him out and she had called him out on his actions, ensuring that he wouldn't do it again. Draco would now be safe as well since Severus had never hid the fact that the two took lessons together and learned the same things.

Lucius and Narcissa arched eyebrows at the letter. There was nothing bad in this one, aside from the fact that Hermione was still being bullied by the youngest Weasley. None of them worried about the situation though. Hermione and Draco had both wrote home and told them that Draco was quick to defend her when she didn't do it for herself. Lucius was the first to break the silence.

"Our little girl put Minerva McGonagall in her place in front of their whole class. She guilted her into taking action." Narcissa was grinning and Sirius gave into the amusement of the situation.

"She is a little fireball, that much is true." He raised his glass of fire whiskey, duplicating it so one could be handed to Narcissa. She and Lucius both followed suit.

"To Hermione and Draco, they're going to take Hogwarts by storm." They all drank to the toast, Candy popping in next to Sirius.

"Dinners is done, master. Yous and Malfoys get to dining room before it's cold." He chuckled at the affronted look on Lucius' face. Candy popped back out and Lucius shook his head.

"That elf is a pushy harridan." Sirius laughed and nodded.

"Yes, yes she is." He gestured for the two of them to lead the way, leaving the letter from Severus on the table next to his chair. His belly growled loudly.

Dinner was calling.

-O-

Hermione was being as quiet as possible as she sneaked out of the Slytherin common room behind Draco. Draco had told their friends about the duel, laughing about how Weasley had decided it was a good idea. They had all shaken their heads, surprised at the idiocy being shown by the redhead. None of them had the experience to participate in a wizard's duel.

All their friends had wanted to come watch, but Draco had told them no. The more people that sneaked out, the bigger chance of them being discovered. Being caught out of their common room after curfew to fight a wizard's duel would most certainly net them detention. They had reluctantly agreed with Draco and made them promise to give details of what happened when they returned.

Draco led them out of the common room and through the dungeons up to the fourth floor where the trophy room was located. Hermione couldn't help but feel nervous, not for the duel itself, but because she was scared to death of getting caught by someone. There were voices ahead of them and Hermione knew that it was Harry and Ron. They slowed momentarily to listen to their conversation before showing themselves.

"You're going to do fine, Harry. We've learned plenty of spells, just use them and dodge anything he throws at you. If you go down, I'll take your spot." Hermione rolled her eyes. The simplest way to explain dueling in the history of. Draco decided that they had heard enough and appeared in the open doorway. He stepped through, Hermione behind him, and Harry and Ron fell silent. Silence held for several moments before Ron burst out laughing.

"You brought Black as your second? A girl?" Draco raised an eyebrow, but Hermione stepped forward.

"You should worry, Weasley. You take several tries in class to get your spells right. I've known the spells you know for years. For your sake, I hope that Harry doesn't fail." His mouth closed with a snap and Draco laughed out loud before gently pushing her over to the side.

"You stay over there, 'Mi. If Potter disarms me or knocks me to the ground, you're up." Hermione could see Harry gesturing for Ron to do the same thing. Hermione did as her cousin asked and waited passively for them to begin. Draco paced out the distance between them and smirked at Harry.

"We must observe the niceties. First, we bow. Since I'm a gentleman, I'll allow you to cast the first spell." Harry nodded and both boys bowed to one another. Hermione watched as Harry lifted his wand and cast.

"Locomotor mortis." Hermione was a little surprised to see him use the leg-locker curse, she had anticipated the body-bind, but it was executed beautifully. Draco seemed a little surprised that his aim was perfect. Rather than cast a shield, he moved quickly to the side and the spell crashed into a large trophy on the shelf behind Draco. It clattered noisily to the floor, the sound reverberating through the room and the surrounding corridor. They all stood there silent and still, making sure that nobody had heard them. It was only moments later, however, that Filch's voice could be heard.

"There are students out of bed, Mrs. Norris. Go find them!" Hermione didn't bother waiting to see if she was going to come their direction. She grasped Draco's hand dragged him out of the room towards the nearest staircase. Harry and Ron were hot on their heels. Even though they needed to go up rather than down, they launched themselves onto the moving staircase right behind Hermione and Draco.

Since it was only one staircase, it ended when they reached the third floor. Knowing full well that they had to find another staircase to go down or up, both boys followed Hermione and her cousin. There were footsteps coming from the far end of the corridor and she suspected that they belonged to her godfather. The Slytherin made a snap decision that she hoped would keep them out of trouble.

Hermione reached the door and tried to open it, only to find it locked. Knowing that they needed somewhere to hide, she pulled her wand and whispered the unlocking spell. The door swung open and the four of them piled in the room and slammed the door shut. They all waited in bated silence to see if someone burst in the room and assigned them detention. After a full minute of only their breathing filling the room, Hermione sighed and turned around to see the room they had taken refuge in. What she saw surprised her.

An enormous three-headed dog was sitting atop a trap door.

The dog came awake slowly and Hermione was silent, unable to warn any of them of the danger they were in. Not only did the dog look pissed off, it was extremely close. She could see that it was chained to the floor but that did little to make her feel better. The boys finally turned and saw exactly what she did, and Ron screamed.

The dog was no longer calm. It jumped forward, barking and snapping its jaws. Hermione tried to move out of it's range but since the others were in her way, it was hard to do. Instead of catching her with it's teeth, it caught the skirt of her uniform and ripped it. She felt Draco and Harry both take hold of her arms and haul her closer to them, further out of reach. Draco's wand appeared, and he was quick to unlock the door once more, so they could escape before anyone got seriously hurt.

After her cousin shoved her unceremoniously through the door, Hermione looked down and realized that her skirt was torn beyond help. She also saw that her blue silk knickers were on display, along with a red scratch on her upper thigh. She squeaked when she realized that the boys would see everything, trying desperately to cover herself with her hands.

Her squeak caught the attention of Harry and Ron and they were both now staring at her exposed skin. Hermione tried to hide behind Draco, the only boy that had ever seen her in her knickers before and that had been years before. He was checking to make sure that the door was locked securely behind them. When he turned to see why she was dancing around him, he saw her predicament and then realized that the boys were staring at her. He shoved her behind him while he took his robes off and thrust them behind him. Once she was putting them on, he turned angrily to Harry and Ron and raised his wand, casting stinging hexes on them both.

"Ow, what the bloody fuck, Malfoy!?" Ron just got angry.

"We're telling the professor you did that!" Hermione could see that Harry rolled his eyes and elbowed his friend. Draco answered first, however.

"Go ahead, tell a professor. Make sure you also tell them that you were out after curfew, fighting a wizard's duel, and got hexed because you were being uncouth bastards and staring at a girl's knickers when her clothing became compromised." Ron started to speak but Harry interrupted him.

"We aren't telling a professor, Ron. Use your head." He turned to Hermione and she fully expected that he was going to make fun of her. Instead, she was pleasantly surprised.

"I apologize for my behavior, Miss Black." Hermione made sure that her cousin's robes were fastened all the way up before she stepped out from behind Draco.

"I accept your apology, Mr. Potter." She noticed that she got nothing in the way of an apology from Ron. Draco laid his hand on her lower back, turning her towards the dungeons.

"We all need to get back to our common rooms now." The Gryffindors needed no further urging and turned to go in the opposite direction.

Hermione followed behind Draco back towards their common room, keeping an eye open for the prefects and professors that were still out patrolling. Although, Hermione had a feeling that it was getting to be late enough that there wouldn't be many people left. When they were only a corridor away from their common room entrance, Hermione pulled her cousin to a stop.

"Did you see underneath that dog?" He raised his eyebrows and shook his head. She couldn't help but feel contemplative.

"It was guarding a trap door. We were in the third-floor corridor, the one that Dumbledore said is forbidden." A look of comprehension crossed his features.

"I wonder what he's hiding down there." Hermione shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm not sure but I have a feeling it's dangerous whatever it is." Draco nodded and put an arm around her shoulders.

"Come on, lets get inside. You know the others are going to want to hear about our adventures." Hermione giggled slightly before allowing her cousin to lead her towards the Slytherin common room.

Hopefully, it was going to a short tale and she could go to bed.

-O-

Harry and Ron rushed into the Gryffindor common room, out of breath from running from Mrs. Norris. He had never felt any certain way about cats, but that beast was enough to make him hate them for life. Ron was already heading towards the couch, panting, then taking a seat to catch his breath. Harry took a seat next to him, mirroring his actions. Finally, Ron was recovered enough to speak.

"Why did you apologize to her?" Harry rolled his eyes.

"Even if her father is a traitor and I don't want anything to do with her, it was still rude and wrong of us to do. We shouldn't have been staring at her like that when it obviously made her uncomfortable." Ron nodded agreement for once but kept talking.

"Did you see those knickers though? They looked super expensive." Harry rolled his eyes again only Ron didn't notice.

"Well, her father in the second-wealthiest man in Britain. The wealthiest man in Britain is her uncle. I'm sure that they are very expensive, especially since Neville said that Malfoy's mum takes her shopping all the time." Ron shrugged his shoulders, obviously not sure what else to say. In the end, he went to his feet and yawned.

"Come on, mate, let's go to bed. We have Potions in the morning." Harry stood and followed his friend up to their dormitory where they stripped off their clothes and put on their pajamas. Harry flopped down in his bed after a quick goodnight to Ron, pulling his curtains closed.

His mind went to the ridiculous duel that they had tried to take part in. It was clear that he was way out of his league when it came to dueling and would probably stay that way until they practiced it in class. Percy had told them that they would begin in fourth year, which seemed so far away. There was nothing for it though, he would just have to wait. His eyes were growing heavy as he laid there in the dark.

His mind went back to Hermione Black standing there in her knickers and he cursed himself inwardly. Where Ron had been worried about how expensive they were, Harry couldn't get it out of his mind how perfect that color had looked on her. Her skin was pale, much like her cousin's, except for the angry red scratch across her thigh. He knew he shouldn't feel bad about the scratch marring her skin, but he did.

He hadn't even thought twice about reaching out and pulling her closer to himself and Malfoy. No matter how much he despised her father, he would never wish death or disfigurement on her. Harry knew that he should keep his distance, even if that meant her being injured, but it just seemed wrong to let her get hurt because he and his friend had been stupid enough to call for a duel. Besides, she had saved their hides by finding that room, regardless of what was inside.

Harry yawned and willed his mind to quiet. He was tired of thinking about Hermione Black and her father and he refused to continue when he had to face Professor Snape in the morning. After all, she was quite forgettable, Hermione Black. Harry snorted to himself.

 _Just keep telling yourself that._

A/N- Holy hells bells, another long chapter! It wasn't originally going to be this long but what do you do? Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this installment! Leave me a message after the beep and tell me what you think. Reviews are like chocolate and whiskey shots.

Next chapter, an encounter with a troll.

Love,

Alicia


	13. Chapter 13

A/N- Hey, y'all, I'm back with another chapter. I got a few PMs that complained about me commenting on Harry bringing himself to orgasm at such a young age. I even had one reader tell me that I was a sicko for writing such a thing in a story, that it wasn't appropriate for such young children. I want to clarify that I googled when boys began bringing themselves to completion and it said ages 10-12. Since eleven fit right in the middle, I went with it. I'm not sick, it's a fact of life that all people, boys and girls alike, face eventually. If you want to quit reading the story, I completely understand. However, don't insult me and call me names because I wrote about something that we all go through whether you want to admit it or not.

** Shout out to thoupetty for being my 300th reviewer! You're my hero ((: **

Anyways, now that that uncomfortable conversation is over with, I'm going to get started. Thank to everyone for your continued support, it means the world.

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing except for the personal plot twist. The basis of the story belongs to Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle and the characters are JKR's. I've made no money from story or any other.

Chapter 13

October 31, 1991

Hermione knew that today was going to be a bad day. She had known for years that her father sent her to Malfoy Manor on Halloween and Harry's birthday for only one reason. He wanted to get completely pissed so he didn't have to think about what happened on those days.

The Slytherin was aware that Halloween was a hard day for her father; he had lost his best friend in the world that night. The events and mistakes he had made that night had led to him losing Harry to Albus Dumbledore and losing his one remaining friend, Remus Lupin. She understood that the last thing he wanted to do was relive it all; therefore, he drank until he was smashed and then passed out in the library, looking at albums.

Hermione had never spent a Halloween at home; at first, she was sure that her father didn't want her around for such an important holiday. She had cried into her Uncle Luci's robes, wailing how her father didn't want her to be there to make him happy again. Uncle Luci had explained to her once her sobs had subsided that sometimes people needed space to remember difficult and hurtful things. He had implored to her that her father still wanted her and loved her but needed a few nights a year to himself to deal with the mistakes he had made in his life. Even though Hermione had only been six at the time, she had understood.

This year she hoped things would be better since Hermione had contact with Harry; it wasn't good contact by any means, but she was able to reassure him that his godson was fed well and being treated like a young boy should. Uncle Sev had told her that he was handling this year better than the years before, so she was hopeful that all would be well. This didn't mean that she was holding her breath though.

Draco came down the stairs from his dorm and saw her seated in the common room. He made his way to her quickly before pulling her into a hug. Hermione didn't speak, she just hugged him to her tighter, thankful that there was one person that knew that she would be worrying about her father relentlessly. Over a minute went past before he finally pulled away and shot her a winning smile.

"He's going to be fine, Miney. Don't worry about him. He's strong, you know he's going to do what he does every year, which means that all will be well come morning." His words really didn't make her feel any better, but she supposed that they were true. Her father would still be pissed at the end of the night, so she could only hope that the next day he felt better.

Hermione let her cousin lead her out of the common room and through the corridors out of the dungeons. Hermione couldn't help but be thankful that they were close to the Great Hall, unlike Gryffindor, whose common room was located on the seventh floor. Once they reached the doors to the Great Hall, they pushed inside and took their usual seats at the Slytherin table.

They were the only ones present from their year, not really a surprise anymore. Once everyone had learned their way around the castle, the others rose even later in the morning, hoping to catch just a few more minutes of sleep rather than worry about breakfast. While Hermione normally didn't eat a lot, she still maintained that she needed food on her stomach to learn at her full capabilities.

Draco served up his plate while she put a small amount of scrambled eggs on her plate along with a slice of toast and a few bites of cut up fruit. It was all she would be able to manage, and she knew that she would eat every bite, unlike Pansy who piled her plate high with food and then only ate half of it. She barely held back a chuckle at the thought of Pansy; it wouldn't do to anger Draco.

Just three days before, Pansy had received a letter from her father and had shown it to Hermione. In it, he had told her that she needed to turn up the charm around Draco because he was sending a betrothal contract to Uncle Luci. Hermione had told her that it wouldn't work but she had ignored her entirely. It was for this reason that Hermione had little pity for the girl.

It had been lunch time when Pansy had sidled up next to Draco at their house table and laid her hand on his thigh. Draco had looked at her thoroughly confused as to why she was touching him; Hermione was the only girl to have touched him aside from Aunt Cissy. He threw her hand off him and demanded to know what she was doing.

Pansy had told him in no uncertain terms that they were going to be betrothed in a short time. Draco had looked at her as if she was mad before sending a questioning look Hermione's way. Pansy scooted impossibly closer to Draco before Hermione had finally taken pity on her cousin and told her that his parents wouldn't even sign a betrothal contract. The dark-haired girl had looked crest-fallen but had scooted away from Draco in a hurry. Hermione had felt just a little bad after that.

Hermione was pulled from her thoughts by the Weasley twins sitting on either side of her, both pressing a kiss to each of her cheeks. She could tell that they flamed red but there was nothing for it now. Instead, she tried to play off that all was as normal, not that anyone believed it. Draco was shooting her glances that suggested that he was getting ready to tease her.

"What are you boys doing over here this morning? You never sit here and eat." She knew her voice was slightly unsteady, but she did her best to ignore it. Fred (she could tell them apart now) shot her a grin.

"We just wanted to come and check on the wellbeing of our favorite snake after we heard what happened last night." Hermione's blush deepened if it was possible.

The night before, someone (she suspected the Gryffindor boys) had loaded the book she left at the table in the library with confetti. When she had returned to her seat and opened it to continue her reading, confetti had shot in the air and spelled out the word 'slag'. Everyone in the library had seen it but there was no proof as to who had done it, so it had gone unpunished. Just thinking about it made her shrink in shame. George seemed to realize her embarrassment and laid an arm around her shoulder for a few moments.

"When we said it, we only meant it as a prank, not that we truly believed it. Maybe whoever did it this time did as well." Hermione chuckled softly at his attempt to make her feel better. Rather than call her out on it, she agreed with him even though she didn't believe it for a second.

"Maybe."

The rest of their house filtered into the Great Hall, all of them looking rather tired and asleep. Hermione wasn't sure how late they stayed up at night, but it was always later than she did. She thanked Merlin every night that she had perfected a silencing charm years ago.

Neville came over and checked in with her, making sure that their plans for studying the following evening were still on. Hermione had agreed but once he left, Draco had teased her about Neville having a crush on her since she was the one that he talked to the most of all their friends. Hermione blushed furiously before telling her cousin that Neville was an upstanding young man and he would never make his interest known so young, unlike a certain witch they knew. Draco had turned a suitable shade of pink and Hermione had felt rather vindicated.

Breakfast dismissed, and the pair headed towards Transfiguration. Uncle Sev had informed them almost two weeks ago that Professor McGonagall had taken her request for them to be in more advanced classes to their Headmaster, but the man had denied her request. Her uncle had also told them his reasoning, but they were less surprised than the Deputy Headmistress. Therefore, when the pair were split into a pair together, they gaped.

Minerva McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor House, had just laid a parchment on their table that they had never seen before.

Hermione couldn't quite keep her eyes off the parchment. It contained an assignment that they had just sent back to Madam Cambridge, meaning that their professor was going to teach them advanced classes until the Headmaster found out. Hermione wasn't sure how long it would last, but until he figured it out, she planned on learning as much has she could. In the meantime, she and Draco finished the assignment that Madam Cambridge had just assigned and hoped that the next lesson would bring something that they didn't know.

Though Draco had been more surprised that she had been, Hermione had insisted that they keep their lessons a secret from everyone aside from their godfather. Even though their heads had been bent together in serious thought, Hermione had made sure to convince everyone that they were discussing a family matter rather than their studies.

Transfiguration ended with no fanfare, the only complaint coming from Lavender Brown for having the class attempt such a difficult spell. Hermione had wanted to snort at the blond; it was clear that she was just lazy since half the class had completed the spell before they had been dismissed. Just more proof that Hermione would probably never get along with Lavender even if she was ever lucky enough to become friends with Harry.

Harry was obviously not too happy with History of Magic. It was no surprise that Professor Binns hadn't impressed anyone when he had appeared, he began lecturing on the early goblin wars that had plagued society. Hermione took her notes diligently, adding what she could to the notes that she already had wrote down. Class didn't change any from what it would have been if Hermione and Draco had taken notes for the entire lesson; for this reason, she couldn't feel bad that the students weren't listening to her any more than they did if they were in the library and she hushed them into silence.

Once History of Magic concluded, notes and assignment clear in their notes, the bell dismissed them to the Great Hall once more. Lunch was important to Hermione. It was clear that she did better with food on her belly at breakfast and the same was true for lunch. Nothing worth mentioning occurred in the Great Hall and Hermione was grateful. They were headed to Charms next and she wanted to have her head on straight, so she didn't disappoint Professor Flitwick.

All the first years made their way to Charms together and it reminded Hermione of their first week at school. While boys still asked her occasionally to escort her to class, Draco never let them unless he was invited to come along as a chaperone. Even though it was an outdated practice, she was thankful that her cousin cared enough not to abandon her to the masses. Even though she should be used to the attention the boys showed her, her aunt had warned her how it would be for her someday, they all made her feel uncomfortable.

The group of ten Slytherins entered Charms together, laughing about some inside joke between the boys. Hermione hadn't been paying attention, so she was left as the only one not laughing as they took their seats. Once seated, she didn't bother taking her parchment, ink, or quill out; last class, they had spent the entire time lecturing about the levitation charm. Today, they would be putting it to use. Professor Flitwick entered, happy grin on his face, and spoke to the class.

"I'm moving you into groups of four. I want you all to help each other and master the levitation spell before we all leave today." Hermione groaned inwardly and hoped that her group consisted of all Slytherins. None of the Gryffindors liked her at all and they would make her life hell. Even helping Vince, Greg, or Millie would be preferable. Professor Flitwick waved his wand at the board and the groups appeared.

Hermione groaned.

Not only was she paired with all Gryffindors, she was paired with Ronald, Dean, and Seamus. Draco was paired up with Harry, Pansy, and Millie and she was sure that he was just as unhappy as she was. While he had appreciated that Harry had apologized for staring at her bare skin and knickers after their farce of a duel, her cousin and protector had been less than impressed that the apology was even needed. Draco was the only boy that had ever seen her in her knickers and that hadn't happened since they were seven.

Hermione knew that none of the boys were going to come to her, so she reluctantly gathered her belongings and moved over to the table that Harry had just left so he could take her seat next to Draco. She slid into the seat next to Ron quietly, trying her hardest to not bring attention to herself. It really wasn't the best of choices that her professor had put her with Ron; he was the worst of the bunch.

When she took her seat, Ronald sneered at her but remained silent. Dean and Seamus shoved their desks over to push them together before taking their seats. The boys began trying to master the spell, each taking their turn, completely skipping her. It was fine by her; she didn't need the practice in any way. She listened as Ron and the other boys continued to mispronounce the spell, putting emphasis on the saw part of the spell rather than the o part. Finally, she couldn't stay quiet any longer. It was a poor choice on her part since Ronald was the one who was trying at the moment.

"You're saying it wrong. It's levi-O-sa, not levio-SAW." His eyes darkened, and he scowled hatefully at her.

"Let's see you try it then, traitor." Hermione quailed slightly under his unwavering gaze, but she squared her shoulders and raised her wand.

"Wingardium leviosa." The feather that they had been given raised from the desk and floated into the air, wafting gently as if it had been caught by a slight breeze. All three boys scowled at her now but were cut off by Professor Flitwick.

"Wonderful job, Miss Black. If you could help the other boys I would appreciate it." Hermione gave him a shy nod before lapsing into teaching mode like she did with her friends from Slytherin. The only difference was that her friends usually appreciated her help. Before she could continue her initial explanation, Ron spat out the most hateful words at her.

"I can't believe that we were stuck with the traitor. Tell me, Black, did daddy dearest groom you to be the insufferable hag that you clearly are? Nobody likes you except your house." Hermione started to sputter her defiance.

"That isn't true, Neville likes me and so do your brothers, they just ate breakfast with me this morning." Ron snorted harshly.

"Your father paid Neville off and my brothers are probably getting a payment of a different sort. What male in their right mind would turn down having your legs wrapped around them?" Hermione couldn't even believe that he was talking like he did; what eleven-year-old said such inappropriate things? Yes, she knew what they meant but only because her Aunt Cissy had made sure that she wouldn't be left vulnerable against the opposite sex.

"My father paid the Longbottom family reparation for the wrongs Bellatrix had done against their family. It was before Neville could even talk, that has nothing to do with him being my friend. As for the twins, that's complete rubbish. We're eleven and sex should be the last things on our minds." It was at this point that Hermione knew things were going to get so much worse. The glint in the redhead's eyes warned her that she wasn't going to like what he said at all.

"Really? That wasn't what you were saying when you threw yourself at Harry and me. Had your skirt down and showing us your expensive blue, silk knickers. You made quite clear just what you wanted from us. You were just hurt that we wouldn't touch your ugly arse with Neville's prick." Hermione couldn't believe that he would twist her getting her skirt ripped by the three-headed dog into what he was saying in front of Seamus and Dean. She was also well aware of what would be said once class was over. She would be painted as a slag and there was nothing she could say to discourage the gossip. Ron had played his hand and she had to admit that he had played it well.

Hermione noticed that the other boys were now laughing at her, silently guffawing directly to her face in order to keep Professor Flitwick from discovering what had been said. Suddenly, she realized that their words would be around the school by the Feast that night. Hermione couldn't hold her tears in and rather than have the whole classroom witness them, she turned and fled, not even bothering to gather her bag before she did so.

Hermione ran for she didn't know how long. The Charms classroom was located on the fourth corridor and before she realized what was happening, she was ensconced in one of the stalls of the girl's loo on the first floor. It was one that was off the beaten path and rarely used; she was glad. The last thing that she wanted right now was company and that included her cousin. He would bluster and get angry and that was the last thing that she wanted to listen to.

Hermione considered her life at this point. Her father said that he wasn't counting on her to get close to Harry and tell him the truth, but she knew that deep down he was. Not only was Harry completely against her now, so were his friends. His friends couldn't just leave her alone and let her continue with her life as she pleased; they had to do their best to make her life a complete hell. She wasn't sure why they were so obsessed with making her feel terrible, but it seemed to be the Gryffindor's favorite past time.

Hermione passed the rest of the afternoon away in the girls' toilet. Sometimes crying and sometimes feeling sorry for herself, either way she still felt terrible. She knew that it was past the time for the Feast to begin before she finally decided to show her face. If she knew Draco, he was going spare trying to find her. Hopefully he didn't do anything rash while looking for her. She had just splashed cold water on her face when the door slammed open and a troll lumbered in, club clutched tightly in his hand.

-O-

Draco was about to lose his mind.

He was well-aware that the Weasel had done something to upset his cousin during Charms, he was just unsure as to what it was. She had run away from Charms and left her belongings there, a true showing as to how upset she was. Draco hadn't bothered with his wand when he realized that his best friend was gone; he had stridden forward and punched the sneering redhead in his face while he was mimicking to his friends about Hermione running off.

Professor Flitwick had lost his patience at that point. He had pulled Draco back by hand, forgoing his wand completely. This didn't stop Draco throwing him off and going after Weasley again. He was stopped, however, by Theo and Blaise stepping in front of him. Their professor was vibrating in fury.

"Mr. Malfoy how dare you lay hands on Mr. Weasley! You will serve three detentions with me starting tomorrow evening." Draco knew that his father was going to be disappointed when he heard but he didn't care. Hermione was his priority.

"Why don't you ask Weasley what he said to Hermione to make her run out of class crying? Nobody hurts my cousin without answering to me. If you think I'll get in trouble with my parents, you're dead wrong. They charged me with taking care of their niece and they will be most displeased." Professor Flitwick turned his eyes to the Weasel and narrowed his eyes.

"Why did Miss Black leave so upset?" It was clear that he wanted an answer and Ron was not used to lying to professors.

"She got her feelings hurt when we tried to tell her how to do the spell." It was feeble sounding at best and Draco sneered, the rest of his house along with him.

"Liar. Hermione mastered the levitation spell when she was six years old." Even though the professor's eyebrows raised at the information, he turned his gaze once more to the redhead. Weasley stammered for a few moments before he revealed the truth.

"I said that she had made inappropriate overtures and that Harry, and I had rebuffed her." Draco knew exactly what he was referring to. He could see that Harry looked stunned but that didn't help. Instead, Draco lunged once again at Weasley, brought to a halt by Greg and Vince this time. Now Professor Flitwick looked thunderous. Draco knew that Hermione was his favorite student.

"Detention, Mr. Weasley, for slandering a student and passing false rumors. Miss Black is eleven, to say she was engaged in the sort of things you insinuated would be utterly ridiculous. You will spend tomorrow evening with Professor Snape. Maybe you'll learn to respect other students the same way your brothers did." Ron's face showed that he wasn't planning on learning anything from his encounter. Draco couldn't help but sneer at the redhead, hoping to scare the life out of him if nothing else.

"I'll make sure to tell my father and Uncle Sirius what happened today. I'm sure that your father isn't too attached to his Ministry job." He could see the redhead pale further at his words, but he didn't care. He didn't get to comment further since the bell rang and he wanted nothing more than to find Hermione and reassure her that everything was going to be alright.

Draco gathered his things and then grabbed his cousin's, throwing it over his shoulder as he vowed to look for her. He knew that the rest of their house was concerned about Hermione, but he didn't think that she would appreciate being found in tears by all his house. Therefore, he turned to the rest of his house and took a deep breath before speaking.

"I know you want to help me look for Hermione but think about how embarrassed she's going to be when I find her; don't make her live through that embarrassment with everyone watching. I'll bring her to the Feast as soon as I find her; trust me, there will be retribution against the redheaded slime." Everyone looked vindicated at his words but didn't look happy at him banning them from going after Hermione. It was Theo that spoke first.

"I know that you have first dibbs on retribution, all of us would agree with that, but Hermione is our princess. This can't be allowed to stand how it is." Draco nodded.

"I know how you feel and I appreciate it. My family will as well. However, this is a family matter and I will make sure that the Weasel knows what's going to happen if he's going to spread lies. I'm going to send a letter home tonight and tell them what he did." The rest of his house nodded and allowed him to begin looking for her on his own.

Hermione would be disgusted to hear herself described as Slytherin's princess even though that's what she was. The name Black was far more important in their world than the name Parkinson or Nott. He knew that she hated the fame and notoriety that came with being a Black, but the fact remained that it was hers by birthright.

Draco began searching. He had a whole free period to search before the Feast began and he hoped to have found her by that point. The Slytherin searched all her usual hiding places; the owlery, the window seat on the sixth floor, and the unused classroom on the fourth floor turned up nothing. He was unsure of where else he could look since Hermione would never have ran to the library or her room upset. The last thing she would have wanted was to have people see her so upset.

Draco cursed to himself about the fucking Weasel. Only he would try to tell his friend that Hermione tearing her skirt and him staring at her knickers was her making an inappropriate gesture to him and Potter. He knew for a fact that while Hermione would feel terrible about the redhead's father losing his job, his father or Uncle Sirius would make sure that he took a pay cut or something of the like. Maybe a forced vacation. Hermione would chastise him and say that was cruel to punish the family for one of their actions, but she refused to see that that was how his father and Uncle Sirius worked. Family was the most important thing to them and they didn't like to see or hear about Hermione getting hurt, even if it was just her feelings.

The Halloween Feast had started not too long ago, and Draco still had no idea where his cousin was. Deciding that he might need help after all, he turned to head to the Great Hall. Once he entered, he scanned the Slytherin table, hoping that she had decided to come down from wherever she had hidden and eat. There was no such luck, however. She wasn't at the table and he didn't spot her anywhere else in the room. Weasley, however, was sitting at the Gryffindor table next to Harry, shoveling food into his mouth at an alarming rate. Draco could only sneer in his direction; if he were to go to the lion's table, he would probably punch him in his freckled face again. Instead, Draco took his usual seat at the Slytherin table and the rest of his friends looked at him expectantly.

"Where is she? Is she alright?" Draco scrubbed a hand down his face at the onslaught.

"I don't know, I couldn't find her. I checked all her favorite places and she isn't anywhere that she usually is. She would never go to library." He turned to Daphne.

"Was she in your dorm?" Daphne shook her head.

"No, she wasn't there, and it was clear that she hadn't been there since this morning." Draco let out a frustrated sigh. Trust his cousin to discover a hiding place that nobody in the bloody school could find. He was surprised when Missy Selwyn, a fourth year Slytherin, leaned over the table to speak over her friends.

"I'm not sure if it was Hermione but there was a girl crying in the first-floor girl's loo, the one by the staircase." Draco was about to thank her but couldn't because the door to the Great Hall slammed open and Professor Quirrell rushed in, hand clutching at his turban.

"Troll in the dungeons, troll in the dungeons! Thought you ought to know." The students all began screaming, and Draco could barely hear himself think. The only thing he could focus on was getting to Hermione since she didn't even know that there was a troll loose in the school. Suddenly, Dumbledore's voice was magnified and yelling at them.

"SILENCE!" The room fell silent immediately and the Headmaster took the opportunity to begin issuing orders.

"Prefects lead your house back to your common rooms in the most direct manner. Professors follow me, so we can see to the troll." Draco wasn't about to leave his cousin in the girl's loo.

The Slytherin stood with the rest of his housemates and followed the six prefects. As they left the Great Hall, Draco hung back just enough to duck behind one of the statues and make his way up the stairs rather than down towards the dungeons. Once the stairs stopped at the first floor, Draco bounded off the stairs and headed for the loo that Missy had heard a girl crying in.

Just outside the door, Draco could hear screams, Hermione's screams, and the sounds of something hitting the wall. Then, taking him completely by surprise, there were shouts that didn't belong to Hermione. Draco drew his wand and burst through the door and almost dropped it in bewilderment.

Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley were in the bathroom, watching as an enormous mountain troll lifted his cousin off the ground by her hair.

-O-

Harry couldn't believe the situation he found himself in sometimes. He was in a school for magic and there was a troll loose in the dungeons. He was unsure how big trolls were, but he got the distinct impression that they weren't good. It seemed as though the professors were all going to take care of the problem, but he still couldn't help but worry. Suddenly, he realized that there had been one person missing from the Slytherin table.

"Ron, did you see Hermione Black at her table?" His best mate snorted.

"Why would I care about that traitor?"

Harry couldn't believe his friend. Merlin knew that he was his best friend, a great one, but he could be such a bully sometimes. Just the fact that he had lied to their friends about Hermione making inappropriate gestures to himself and Ron was ridiculous. They both knew that Hermione had only showed them her knickers because the three-headed dog had torn her skirt.

"You should care because Malfoy is already going to tell his father that you have been bullying his niece and he's going to get your father fired from his job. Dick move on his part but what do you think he's going to do if his niece gets hurt by a troll because she's off somewhere crying because you were mean to her?" Harry could see that his words affected his friend.

It was no secret that the Weasleys were extremely poor; Harry didn't much care and neither did anyone else in Gryffindor house. However, he had to wonder, to himself of course, just why that was. Every other pureblood child came from a family that was at least comfortable, if not wealthy. He was unsure what politics were at work, but he vowed to ask someone soon. Regardless, the last thing that the Weasleys needed was to have Ron's father lose his job because he's being a complete prat to Hermione Black. Ron finally figured out that he may be in even bigger trouble.

"What do we do?" Harry stood and followed the prefects out of the Great Hall just as the rest of the student body was. He leaned over to Ron's side and whispered in his ear.

"Parvati said that there was a girl crying in the loo on the first floor. I'd bet that's Black. Let's go warn her to get back to her common room; the last thing we need is for her to get caught unawares by a troll." Ron was quick to nod his agreement. Without drawing any attention to themselves, they slipped away from the group and started for the stairs that would take them to the first floor.

Harry knew that Malfoy must be losing his mind with worry over his cousin. As much as he didn't like the boy, it was clear that he cared deeply for his cousin. Harry was also able to admit now that he was slightly obsessed with Hermione Black. Even though he wanted nothing to do with her and had no plans on becoming her friend anytime soon, he couldn't keep his eyes off her. He couldn't not think about how brilliant she was when she performed every spell in class to perfection on the first try.

Harry and Ron rushed through the corridors, hurrying to find Hermione in the girl's loo. It only took them a few minutes to find the loo and once they reached there, Harry was glad that they had come. Hermione was inside, screaming in fear, and there was crunching sounds that sounded suspiciously like porcelain sinks being torn from the wall.

The pair burst through the door, they were Gryffindors after all, and what Harry saw horrified him.

Hermione was being held up be her hair, or maybe the nape of her neck, he really couldn't tell. Her feet were dangling a good meter and a half off the ground and she was trying her best to get her hair loose from the troll's grip. Her wand had clattered to the floor beneath her and she was whimpering in pain. Harry faintly heard the door open behind him, but he was frozen when he saw the troll lift his club and swing it at Hermione. It landed on her calf and there was a sickening crunch of bone.

Before he could even react, Malfoy shot out from behind him, wand raised high, and shot he wasn't sure what spell at the troll. It bounced off it, of course, but it kept the attention off Hermione. The troll howled in outrage and dropped Hermione and she landed in a heap with a cry of pain. Sinks were knocked off the wall and bathroom doors were ripped off the stalls. Water was spurting from the sinks, soaking the room.

Harry watched as Draco ran forward while the troll was momentarily confused by the spells and took hold of his cousin's robes and began to drag her towards the entrance of the bathroom. Harry couldn't fault his actions; it was what he would have done if he had been able to act quick enough. It didn't last long, however, since the troll was now enraged. It reached down and grabbed Hermione's leg, the same one that was obviously broken since it was sitting at an angle. She screamed in pain, but Harry finally realized he needed to step forward.

Harry didn't bother casting a spell; instead, he jumped on the troll's back and began hitting it with his fists. While he knew that it wasn't harming the beast, he also knew that he was distracting it enough to make it turn loose of Hermione's leg. It howled in indignation and started thrashing about, doing its level best to throw him off it's back. Malfoy was now standing off to the side after dragging Hermione further into the bathroom, wand held aloft.

"Hit it in the back of the head with a stunning spell, Potter!" Harry wasn't sure what a stunning spell was, but he began hitting the troll in the back of the head with his fist. Malfoy growled in frustration.

"Point your wand at the back of his head and yell stupefy!" Draco did this several times over so Harry wasn't sure what this was going to accomplish but he did as he was told regardless. To his complete and utter surprise, his spell hit the troll and he dropped to the ground which sent Harry rolling close to Hermione and Draco.

The troll was laying on it's side right where it had fallen. Ron was still standing at the door, dumbstruck and still. Draco was crawling to his cousin, panic written in his features even though Harry was sure that he didn't want to broadcast his fury. He had Hermione wrapped in his arms and was whispering in her ear, gathering her close to him. Harry couldn't help but feel just a little jealous before he quashed the feeling. He couldn't want his mortal enemy.

Before any of them could speak, the door to the bathroom slammed open and the Headmaster, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Snape all filed in. They were caught off guard at exactly what it was they were seeing but aside from a moment of not knowing what was going on, their expressions were blank. Professor Snape was the first one to speak, although Harry wasn't sure how. His leg seemed to be bleeding heavily, though he hid it quickly behind his robes.

"What in the bloody hell is going on here?" Harry wasn't sure that his professor had meant to curse but he had and there was no taking it back. Professor McGonagall spoke next.

"I think what Professor Snape is wanting to know is just why you are all in this bathroom with a troll instead of in your common rooms like you were ordered to be." Harry was going to speak up and take the blame since Ron had been the reason Hermione was in there to begin with, but he was cut off by Hermione.

"It was my fault. I followed the troll because I thought that I could beat it. The others came to save me from my stupidity. Don't punish them, it just isn't fair." Harry couldn't believe that she would lie for them. Even though he figured it was more for her cousin, she had included not only himself but Ron as well. It was clear that she had no loyalty to the redhead, but he suspected that she was grateful all the same. Professor McGonagall sounded quite angry when she spoke.

"I'm highly disappointed in all of you. The fact that you saved Miss Black doesn't mean a thing." The Headmaster broke in.

"Now, Minerva, you know that it does mean something. They saved Miss Black and I'm sure her father and uncle would be grateful." Harry wasn't sure what that meant but he just rolled with it. Hermione, however, narrowed her eyes and spat her words as if they were poison.

"I went after the troll by myself, I wanted to make a name for myself. Draco and Potter came after me hoping to dissuade me from making such a colossal mistake. Once they realized I was in trouble, they stepped forward and helped save me." Harry could see that Draco was livid with her story, obviously shaking his head in disagreement. However, nobody paid attention to him. When he spoke, it was hesitant.

"Professor, I don't think that -." Harry was cut off by the Headmaster.

"If Miss Black is willing to take the blame for tonight's events, it sounds like a good plan. The last thing that the savior of the wizarding world needs is to be at blame for a young girl being emotional and running into danger." Harry wanted to barf at his words. They all knew that it was a lie that she had told to keep them safe. The best he could do was keep her wish alive and believable. Professor McGonagall, however, looked livid, believing completely that her house was innocent.

"I am well-aware that taking down a mountain troll is quite the feat. However, it's a clear violation of the rules since you were all instructed to go to your common rooms." She turned to the rest of the students and Harry knew that the points losses were coming.

"Miss Black, fifty points for clearly not listening to the Headmaster and following the prefects to your common room. Mr. Malfoy, twenty points for going after your cousin. After all, family comes first, even that is something that a Gryffindor can appreciate. Mr. Potter, thirty points for doing the best you could to stop the troll and casting spells beyond your skill level to save another student." Harry watched as Hermione bowed her head and snuggled into her cousin's side, crying harder than she had in ages he was sure. He couldn't help but feel bad for letting her lie for him. Professor Snape stepped forward and glared at everyone.

"Yes, Minerva, make sure you take points before the girl has even been treated for her obviously broken leg. I'm sure that's not insult to injury." Harry could see that his Head of House felt terrible once the girl's state had been pointed out, but she said nothing. Instead, she had allowed the Slytherin Head of House to take control of his student and levitate her out of the loo. Once they were gone and the Headmaster had left, Harry's Head of House fixed her gaze upon him.

"I'm very disappointed that you let that girl lie for you, Potter. Filius told me exactly what happened in his class and Miss Black had no idea that there was a troll in the building. I punished her instead of you and Mr. Weasley but know that I've never been more disappointed in you both. Gryffindors are always honest and you did your house a disservice today." Harry hung his head, even though Ron didn't, at her words. They were all true and he had no excuse for his cowardice. Instead, he nodded his agreement with her words and once she gestured for them to leave, he hurried to their common room.

Even though he deserved it, he couldn't bear to lose any points from his house, Hermione Black be damned.

-O-

Severus couldn't remember being this livid, ever. Maybe when the Dark Lord had killed Lily, but it would be a close toss-up.

Severus knew that his goddaughter was lying the second the words fell out of her mouth. He also knew that she was trying to protect not only Draco but Harry as well. He knew she wouldn't care if Weasley was in trouble but since he was there she was forced to include him in her story.

They were currently in the Hospital Wing, Draco perched on her bed with her and rubbing comforting circles into her back as they waited for the skele-gro to do its work. Severus had already scared away the Headmaster and Professor McGonagall; while he was sure that it wouldn't matter in the long run, he was quite committed to keeping those that would bother them out of their face. Madam Pomfrey bustled over and met his gaze.

"She's free to leave as long as she promises no serious activity on that leg for the next forty-eight hours." He nodded his head and gestured for the two students to stand.

"I understand, Madam. I'll do my best to keep her as sedate as possible." She flashed him a smile before helping Hermione gather her things and helping her towards her godfather, even though she didn't know that tidbit of information. Severus stood and took her hand in his before drawing it into his arm, so he could formally escort her. While it wasn't required for such an elderly wizard to perform for such a young witch, it was a show of respect, and in his case, love for the witch in question.

"Please allow me to escort you to your common room, Miss Black." Hermione was quite aware that he was trying to keep the scene to a minimum before he started to pull her towards his office. Once they were all safely ensconced inside, Severus turned his severe gaze to his goddaughter.

"Why would you lie?" She blanched slightly before she finally decided on how she wanted to answer.

"I didn't want Draco punished for my weakness when Weasley lied about my honor. I didn't want Harry to think that I hated him like I did Weasley. The best way to go about doing both of those things was to lie about what really happened." Severus sighed. While she was correct, that didn't mean that he enjoyed her actions being necessary.

"What did really happen?" Draco shot her a look that clearly asked her how much they wanted to divulge of their adventures. Since Uncle Sev had done nothing to earn their mistrust, she nodded and proceeded to tell him the whole story. It began with Ron's suggestion of a wizard's duel and ended with both Harry and Ron staring at her knickers.

Severus couldn't say that he was pleased when he finally worked out the rest of the story for himself. It didn't do any good for him to get angry in front of the children, however. The last thing that he wanted was to keep them from trusting him. He realized that there was nothing he could say at the moment that wouldn't end up sounding petty or judgmental, therefore, he remained silent. Severus rolled his shoulders when Draco spoke next.

"I'm going to write father tonight. Weasley needs to learn his place and as much as I hate to say it, Potter does as well. If he's going to hang around Weasley, he needs to know what can happen to him, especially if his friends are so bloody stupid." Hermione looked panicked for a few moments, her hands clutching at the fabric on her cousin's chest.

"Drake, please, don't have Uncle Luci fire their father. It isn't his fault that his son is a complete cad." Draco sighed and rubbed his hands down his face in a clear motion that said he was only capitulating because of Hermione.

"I'll only suggest that they give him a pay cut or force him to take a vacation, that you don't want him to be majorly punished since it's only one person in the family that's a complete idiot. I think I'll pass on, however, that his family should know that their lack of serious punishment is due to your interference." Hermione was nodding happily so Severus stood and urged them to do the same.

He escorted the pair back to their common room, knowing full well that their friends were waiting on news from them. Severus knew that his godchildren would try to downplay the situation, but he couldn't erase the fact that what happened had happened. He just wished that his goddaughter hadn't been forced to lie about what had happened, especially since she was likely to suffer in loss of opinion of Filius Flitwick. Severus wondered if he could somehow bring the half-goblin around to their way of thinking. He wasn't sure, but he was aware that the professor had already chosen his favorite student and it just happened to be Hermione.

Severus didn't even bother going to Albus' office; all he would be doing, along with Minerva, would be gloating that little miss perfect wasn't quite so perfect. The last thing that he wanted to listen to was his colleagues talking about how his goddaughter had got what she deserved. Severus sighed as he settled back into the chair behind his desk and pulled a piece of parchment to him. He would write to Sirius and inform him as to the reasons behind his daughter's point loss. He knew the man wouldn't be happy about it, but he still had a right to know. Severus sighed and picked up his quill.

These children were going to be the death of him.

-O-

Draco had just finished telling their friends what had happened to Hermione and they were just as livid as he was. Yes, he was thrilled that he wasn't in trouble, but Hermione should never have had to have lied about what happened. That irked him more than anything, especially since they had learned growing up that honesty was key. He understood that she didn't want Harry to hate her more but taking this punishment on as her own was completely insane.

Draco laid his quill down and decided that the letter to his father was the best that it was going to get. He decided to proof read it before he sent it off.

 _Father,_

 _I know that you're probably busy so I'm sorry for bothering you so late at night. I wanted to let you know that Hermione was injured tonight when a full-grown mountain troll got into the school and attacked her. She was in the loo crying because the youngest Weasley had told everyone that she had made inappropriate gestures to him and Potter; this wasn't true, not in the least, but he told them that she showed him her knickers. Know that while he and Potter did see her knickers, it was because her skirt was torn, and they were staring._

 _Before you start yelling at me, I gave her my robes and Potter apologized for staring, he did appear to feel bad. Weasley took it a step too far and made her run out of class crying. The troll found her in the loo while the rest of the school was evacuating to their common rooms._

 _I went after her and found her with the troll, holding her up by her hair. Potter felt bad and he made Weasley come with him to warn her. The troll still broke her leg with his club and I feel terrible that I couldn't stop that. I tried to pull her to safety once he released her, but it turned on her again, lifting her up by her broken leg. I was trying to stun it but it's skin was too thick. Potter jumped on it's back to try to distract it and I finally yelled at him to stun it in the back of the head. When it worked, and the troll fell to the ground, the professors arrived._

 _Even though Hermione had no fault whatsoever in the situation, she lied to the professors and told them that she went after the troll. It made sure that I didn't get a punishment and neither did Potter or Weasley. This is why I'm writing._

 _Hermione has already demanded that the Weasleys not be permanently punished; she says that she would feel guilty. I propose, however, that elder Weasley take a pay cut or some sort of forced vacation so they get the point that their youngest needs to be reined in. I'm leaving this in yours and Uncle Sirius' capable hands. I'll continue to take care of Hermione as best as I can (as much as she'll let me)._

 _Thank you, Father._

 _Draco_

The letter sounded fine, so he folded it up to send off tomorrow morning. He was sure that Severus was informing Sirius of the events as he sat there so his letter wouldn't be a huge surprise. He was more than happy to let his godfather take the heat by being the first one to inform his family of the events that had taken place tonight. He sighed as he rose to his feet and headed for his dorm.

This was not what he had expected to happen on their first Halloween in the castle.

-O-

Harry lay in his bed, hands behind his head and piled under blankets. He couldn't help but wonder about what had happened that evening. Sure, he had known that he would be facing punishment when he went after Hermione Black; he hadn't expected any less. The last thing he expected, however, was the girl to lie to all her professors and save not only himself punishment but Ron as well.

Harry wasn't under the false impression that she was trying to save Ron from punishment. Most likely, she was trying to save her cousin and Harry just got lumped in there as a bonus. He knew that she wanted to be friends with him and this would be the perfect opportunity to win support from him.

It wasn't going to work, however. Sure, he was slightly obsessed with the girl; he couldn't keep her out of his mind. This didn't mean that he was going to rush into her arms and become best mates with her; he knew who her father was, and he knew what her agenda was. Dumbledore wouldn't lie to him and he was going to do the best he could to remain safe.

This didn't mean that he wasn't perplexed by the girl's actions. He was confused as hell as to why he wanted to be friends with him so badly. Sure, he could understand doing what her father told her and getting close to him, so he could trap him in the end. Harry never would have thought that his would mean taking the blame for something that was clearly not her fault. He shook his head and closed his eyes, determined to get some sleep before classes tomorrow.

Hermione Black was indeed a puzzle that he would figure out someday.

A/N- There we are, folks, another chapter down. Boom! I really didn't foresee this chapter being that long but look at me go, ha-ha. Let me know what y'all think, I do so like to read your opinions.

Next chapter, first quidditch match of the season.

Love,

Alicia


	14. Chapter 14

A/N- Here we are again, my lovelies, with chapter 14. It doesn't seem like I should be this far along in the story. I want to send a shout out to all those that are reading and reviewing, y'all keep me motivated and make me smile.

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing. Nothing but the personal twist on this story belongs to me and I've made no money on any of my stories.

Chapter 14

November 19, 1991

Hermione had settled into her new routine nicely. Almost three months at school had let her know just how far advanced she was. She was still bored out of her mind in all her classes but comforted herself with the thought that Madam Cambridge was still sending them advanced assignments. Her father and Uncle Luci had also promised that they would start teaching them dueling when they returned home for the summer holidays.

Professor McGonagall had managed to give them advanced assignments for all of two weeks. One day, they suddenly stopped, and Hermione instantly knew what had happened. Somehow, the Headmaster had discovered what she was doing and put a stop to it. Uncle Sev had then told them that Dumbledore had done a random check of the assignments turned in by the pair in all their classes. The Transfiguration professor had reluctantly handed over their advanced assignments, knowing that she would likely suffer an official complaint since she had expressly went against his wishes.

Her godfather told them that she hadn't gotten a complaint in her file, but she had received a stern dressing down at the staff meeting. The other professors had seemed surprised that she was allowing first year students to do fourth year assignments but there was nothing for it now. Even though Hermione knew that the stern professor didn't like her because of who her father was, she felt compelled to thank her for the effort she had put forth into trying to challenge them.

Therefore, she had left a note on her desk one day after class while she was speaking with one of her Gryffindor students. Hermione never knew if she read it or not but that wasn't what concerned her. She had left a note and it made her feel better. Draco had shaken his head at her, mirth dancing in his eyes, but let her carry on without a single word.

The atmosphere since the troll incident was tenser than ever. Hermione made sure to never start any arguments and always keep her opinions to herself. Draco tried to do the same, although he found it more difficult when she was being teased and taunted. Ron Weasley remained the worst of the bunch. The other Gryffindors still teased her relentlessly but they weren't near as ruthless as Weasley.

It had gotten worse when her father had written her and told her that he and Uncle Luci had strongly suggested to Arthur Weasley's boss that he be given a three-week long vacation. He had told her that the patriarch of the Weasley family had protested, insisted that he didn't need a vacation, but his superiors had insisted. Once they were made aware of Ron's actions, she was quite sure that they knew who was responsible for his forced leave.

Hermione still felt terrible for it, however. Ron was the only one that had done wrong by her, even the twins had apologized and made friends with her. The Weasley parents certainly hadn't done anything wrong to her so it just felt wrong to punish the whole family because their youngest son was a complete arsehole.

Ron still teased and tormented her, but he was careful to make sure he never brought her integrity or virtue into the conversation. She was sure that he had gotten a nasty letter from home and she knew for a fact that the twins had threatened him (they were proud to inform her of just how creative they were when they threatened him), none of these things, however, kept him from being a complete prat. Mostly he made comments about her father being a traitor and her being a suck up to the teachers. It was ridiculous, so Hermione did her best to just let it all roll of her shoulders. She usually succeeded.

Harry was a different story. He never started altercations with the others, but he wasn't afraid to rise to the occasion if it called for it. He still wasn't friendly to her, in fact he ignored her very pointedly when they were paired together in class. He wasn't mean to her at all, which was heartening, but rather he acted as though she didn't exist. That hurt her more than anything.

Since this was how he wanted things to be between them, Hermione had decided that she would just follow his lead. It was clear that he wasn't going to want to be her friend any time soon, so she saw no point in making herself miserable by being constantly rejected. It wasn't the most ideal situation, but it was what she had to deal with. She would protect him from afar if she could and then act as if they shouldn't have grown up as brother and sister.

Draco nudged her with his elbow, bringing her out of her reverie. Her breakfast was gone and when she looked at his plate, she realized that he was done now too. He smiled at her, likely more than aware of where her mind had went, but he remained silent. He never mocked her or teased her for wanting to be Harry's friend and being hurt by the fact that she had been so thoroughly rejected.

"Ready to head out there? I want to get a good seat." Hermione nodded, excitement shining in her eyes.

Today was the first quidditch match and since it always made for a good match, it was Slytherin versus Gryffindor. They had all witnessed the rivalry between the two houses and it was made even worse when you added in the matches. Everyone was talking about how good Harry was at seeking, and even though the Slytherin team didn't believe it, she could tell that they were worried. He wouldn't have made it on the team if Professor McGonagall didn't think that he was talented. The Gryffindor Head of House's love for quidditch was legendary at Hogwarts.

The group of first years stood and started for the door that led to the pitch. While Hermione didn't enjoy flying in the least, she had been to enough quidditch matches through the years that she had a certain appreciation for the game. It didn't come close to reading or learning but it was enjoyable enough. She wasn't all that pleased that Draco was planning on trying out for the team the following year, she was scared to death that he would get injured, but it was one of his dreams and she would never take that away from him.

The rest of the school fell in behind them, eager to find good seats to watch the match. Hermione had a book tucked into the inner pocket of her cloak, but she wasn't sure if her friends would allow her to read it. More than anything, she was excited to get outside and breathe in fresh air. Since it had turned cold, she had spent more and more time in the library or her common room as well as her hidey holes throughout the castle.

The group of ten found seats on the front row since they weren't tall enough to see over some of their classmates. Hermione was squeezed in between Draco and Millie and since they were both bigger than her, they served as a little bit of a wind block. It was almost December and the weather had been frigid for well over a month now.

It took almost half an hour for the whole school to find seats in the stands. Hermione was quite cold by that time so she surreptitiously cast a warming charm on herself when nobody was looking. They weren't supposed to learn that charm until third year which she thought was just cruel since none of the older children were offering to cast one upon the younger students. Draco nudged her and grinned, and Hermione realized that she hadn't been as sneaky as she had thought.

All four houses had their own stands and the smallest set of stands were used by the Headmaster and the professors along with any guests that might show to come watch the match. Hermione knew that if Draco made the team Uncle Luci and Aunt Cissy would be there to watch him every time he played. Truthfully, she was a little surprised to see that there weren't that many parents present in the box currently.

Madam Hooch strolled out on the pitch, whistle around her neck and broom in hand. The students were all sitting on the edge of their seats, vibrating with excitement as they waited for the match to begin. A boy from Gryffindor was commentating the match. Hermione had seen him hanging around with the twins, but she wasn't sure what his name was. Hermione watched him wave his wand at his throat, casting the sonorous charm she was sure.

"Welcome everyone to the first quidditch match of the season. Today is Slytherin versus Gryffindor, snakes against the lions. Both teams have been working hard so far this year so make sure you cheer extra loud for them." He paused and turned to Professor McGonagall, nodded and then turned back to the pitch.

"Let's hear it for the Slytherin team! Captain and chaser Marcus Flint, keeper Miles Bletchley, chaser Cassius Warrington, chaser Graham Montague, beaters Lucian Bole and Peregrine Derrick, and finally, seeker Terrence Higgs." The Slytherin students all went wild, cheering loudly as their team appeared on the pitch and fell into formation behind Marcus Flint. From the other end of the pitch, the Gryffindor team emerged.

"Here come the lions, cheer loudly! Here comes our captain and keeper Oliver Wood, chasers Angelina Johnson, Katie Bell, and Alicia Spinnet, beaters Fred and George Weasley, and finally our seeker and youngest member in over a century, Harry Potter!" The whole school went crazy at his announcement. Slytherin was subdued since most of them still thought that it wasn't fair that Harry's bad behavior was rewarded with a spot on the quidditch team.

Hermione watched as they all mounted their brooms and hovered in the air. Madam Hooch bent down and flipped open the lid to the box that held the balls needed to play. She released the snitch first; all that was visible was a glint of gold before it was gone. She could see Harry and Terrence trying to see where it went but she knew that it was a lost cause.

Next to be released were the bludgers. Since there were only two and they careened around the pitch wildly, it was unsurprising that the beaters followed them even as they headed to opposite ends of the pitch. Finally, Madam Hooch pulled out the quaffle and the chasers all stepped forward, eager to beat the others out for possession. With a sharp whistle, Madam Hooch threw the large ball up into the air and it was a mad dash by the chasers.

Hermione watched as Slytherin took possession of the quaffle, passing it seamlessly between themselves as they headed for the hoops at Gryffindor's end. Lee was shouting in the background, urging the Gryffindor chasers to step up their game and steal the ball back. This didn't happen, however, since Fred Weasley (or was it George? She couldn't tell from this distance.) reached a bludger and smacked it as hard as he could towards Cassius. It caught him right in the elbow which caused him to drop the quaffle, Angelina swooping forward and snatching it from the air just a meter below him.

Hermione shook her head in dismay. She didn't want anyone to get hurt but she had a feeling that Cassius had a broken bone since he was favoring it now. Hermione watched as Marcus called for a time out and spoke with the chaser; it was only moments later that he waved him towards the ground and the reserve chaser flew up in the air. Hermione hoped that they got plenty of practice time as well, otherwise their team wouldn't be near as flawless in their teamwork.

The match continued in this fashion for over an hour; Slytherin was in the lead, 120-70. She could see that her classmates were getting overly confident and she hoped that the players weren't doing the same thing. If Harry caught the snitch, the lions would win. She turned her gaze back to watch the Weasley twins, marveling at how they themselves were like human bludgers. The boy commentating paused her thoughts, however, when he commented on Harry Potter.

"Look at Potter, his broom appears to be jinxed!" Hermione felt her heart drop into her gut when she caught sight of Harry flying high above them. His broom was jerking up and down, shaking like mad, and he was barely holding onto the handle as he dangled above the pitch. She reached out and clutched Draco's forearm with her hand, her nails digging into his pale skin. He hissed in pain, but she barely noticed.

Hermione scanned the crowd, doing her best to see who could be cursing the broom. Since it had been fine for over an hour, the curse would have to be being applied at that moment. The students all looked on in worry, even her godfather looked like he was sitting on the edge of his seat.

Until she caught sight of a man sitting on the bottom row of the staff stands.

Professor Quirrell was sitting by himself, hunched over and shivering. She wondered why he didn't bother casting a warming charm on himself but that wasn't the important thing. What was important was that his eyes were locked on Harry and his broom and he appeared to be chanting to himself. Hermione instantly knew that this was the person responsible for trying to kill Harry.

Without a single word to Draco or the other students that were watching in worry, Hermione flew to her feet and raced down the steps that led to the seats for the students. She wasn't quite sure what she was going to do when she reached the professor, he was a professor after all, but she knew that she had to do something before Harry plummeted to his death.

Since the staff stands were the closest to the Slytherin stands, she didn't have far to run. Deciding that she couldn't do anything out in the open, she hurried underneath the seats, silencing her shoes so nobody would hear her blundering about beneath their feet. She pulled her wand without a second's hesitation and took a deep breath before she cast the spell at the professor's robes.

"Incendio."

Flames erupted from her wand and fire quickly spread on the bottom hem of his robes. She didn't wait around to see if her plan had worked; the last thing that she wanted was to be discovered as the one who had technically attacked a teacher. Once she was out from under the stands, Hermione high tailed it back to where she had left Draco and the rest of her friends.

After she was seated again, her cousin shot her a confused glance. Hermione didn't have to worry about explaining her actions when a shout went up next to them. Professor Quirrell was standing, beating his robes with his bare hands. She wasn't quite sure why he wasn't using the aguamenti charm to put it out, but she wasn't going to suggest it to him. Her godfather stepped down from his seat, wand held aloft, and water shot out from the tip of his wand. Professor Quirrell was now drenched and looked extremely pissed off.

Hermione turned her gaze to the sky and noticed that Harry's broom had stopped bucking and he was able to muscle himself back up onto it. Once he was properly seated again, he sped off. The other students from both Slytherin and Ravenclaw were laughing at the fact that their professor had somehow caught fire. Professor Quirrell was red-faced now that he knew that he was the cause of so much laughter. Draco leaned over and whispered in her ear.

"You set him on fire." She grinned at him. Her father would be proud.

"He was cursing Harry's broom. I couldn't let him fall when I could do something about it." He nodded his head that he understood.

"He didn't see you, right?" She narrowed her eyes at him and he held his hands up in surrender.

"Of course, he didn't see me. I'm not stupid." Draco laughed now.

"Of course, you aren't, 'Mi." Her cousin bumped her shoulder with his before tuning back into the quidditch match.

Slytherin was still ahead, 180-150. The skill on both teams was apparent, even to someone like Hermione who wasn't too interested in the sport. The boy commentating made a crude comment about one of the Gryffindor chasers and Professor McGonagall reached out and smacked the back of his head. The boy laughed good-naturedly and continued with his commentary without missing a beat.

Hermione was just beginning to think that the match was never going to end. She was cold, warming charms only did so much after all, she was hungry, and she wanted to finish her homework for Madam Cambridge. She was just getting ready to whine to Draco when the crowd gasped. When she caught sight of Terrence and Harry racing across the pitch at breakneck speeds, her heart dropped into her belly again.

They were high in the air and when they both dived suddenly towards the ground, Hermione dug her nails into her cousin's arm again. Before she knew what had happened, the pair pulled up at the last second and landed, Harry's hand clutched over his mouth like he was going to get sick. Terrence was watching in confusion, as were the rest of the spectators. Hermione could see when he began coughing and after the third cough, the snitch popped out of his mouth and landed in his open hand.

The whole stadium fell silent.

"Gryffindor wins, 300-180, Harry Potter caught the snitch!" Hermione could tell that her classmates and house team were disappointed, but they were trying not to show it. Professor McGonagall was jumping up and down in the stands, jabbing her finger at Uncle Sev in triumph. She was unsure what the woman was saying to him, but he didn't look happy in the least. The Gryffindor team had rushed Harry and lifted him up on their shoulders, Harry's face cherry red at the show of attention. Theo was grumbling, as were the other boys around her.

"Fucking dragon shite. Potter made the team because of his name. None of the rest of us were offered spots and we're all fair flyers." While Hermione was happy for Harry, her father would be proud of him for sure, she couldn't blame the Slytherins. It wasn't fair, but she was quickly learning that she wasn't going to have a fair experience at Hogwarts. She reached out and squeezed Theo's arm softly.

"Just let it go, Theo. Next year, you can all try out and you'll give him a run for his money. There's nothing else we can do about it." He grinned at her briefly but nodded in the end.

"I know, I just hate it. Just because we're Slytherins doesn't mean that we should be hated by everyone." She moved closer to Draco and threaded her arm through his before she responded.

"My father was a Gryffindor and look at him now. Everyone hates his guts. Life isn't fair, so we just have to make the best of it." Theo looked contemplative for a few moments before he turned to Vince and Greg to go over the finer points of the match. This was something that Hermione wanted no part of. She smiled at her cousin and started to pull him towards the castle.

-O-

Harry couldn't believe that he had caught the snitch.

Sure, he had done well catching it during practice, Oliver had told him time and time again that he was the best seeker he had ever seen, even better than Charlie Weasley, Ron's older brother that had just graduated the year prior. Just like practice, though, everything and everyone else disappeared the second he started to concentrate on finding the snitch.

His broom, however, had worried him. Professor McGonagall had secured the broom for him and he hadn't asked her where she had gotten it or how. He supposed that he should have just in case someone was trying to make him fall on purpose. He just couldn't see his Head of House trying to kill him off but after that experience, he wasn't sure about anything anymore.

The team finally set him down outside the locker room. They were all laughing and playfully shoving each other, all of them excited to have won their first match. Ron had followed them to the locker room and promised Harry that he would wait outside for him to shower and change. There were murmurs of a party in the Gryffindor common room, but Harry wasn't sure if they were true.

He showered off quickly, starving now the match was over and the pressure to win was gone. He dressed just as quickly, the team following suit. Even though the girls were a little slower than the boys, they weren't in the locker room for longer than half an hour. They left the locker room and the pitch as a team, Oliver said it would make more of a statement if they entered the Great Hall together.

Oliver had been correct. Since the meal was already being served, everyone was in the Great Hall when they entered. Cheers and catcalls erupted, making Harry blush again. They took their seats at the table, all of them sitting together, the other lions scooting down to make room for them. Ron congratulated him half a dozen times on playing a good match and Harry thanked him with a grin.

The meal passed by quickly, everyone congratulating the team and telling them what a remarkable job they had done. Harry finally tuned all the well-wishers out, so he could enjoy his meal and finish it in a timely manner. Once the rest of the team was through, they all stood as one and Oliver spoke.

"Celebration party in the common room, everyone. Fred and George, you're in charge of food and drink." Percy was there with them and he looked conflicted.

"I don't care if there's a party but no alcohol. Nobody on the team should be drinking, you're all too young." Harry was pretty sure that Oliver was a fifth year, same as Percy, but he didn't look too bothered at the prefect's words.

"Let's go, everyone." The whole house trouped after the team and Harry was beginning to wonder how long this treatment would last. While he had enjoyed it at first, it was getting rather uncomfortable.

As one, Gryffindor house made their way out of the Great Hall and into the corridor. It was there that Harry and the rest of their house met a large group of Slytherins headed for the dungeons. Harry cursed to himself; if only they had left a few minutes later, there wouldn't have been any trouble. He wasn't surprised when Ron was the first one to pop off. It was getting annoying.

"So, did the Slytherins cry when their team lost?" Harry watched as the snake's eyes flashed. It wasn't just the first years this time, there were several third years there too. Harry couldn't help but notice that Hermione Black was with them, looking quite lovely in her skirt and button up shirt. Theo Nott stepped forward and sneered their way.

"We aren't sore losers. If this had happened next year, we would have shaken your hands and told you well done. This year, however, it's dragon shite. Potter had the rules bent for him because he's the precious Boy-Who-Lived. If it had been myself or Draco, we would have had points taken away or worse. Oh wait, like I did. Only Potter would get rewarded by having the rules broken for him." Harry felt a stab of guilt at his words. It was true; he had broken the rules the same as Nott had and while Nott had been punished by points loss, Harry had received a spot on the quidditch team. Sure, he had head points deducted as well but that was nothing in the wake of being put on the team. Oliver held his hand out and tried to defuse the situation.

"I understand why you see it that way; if it was the other way around, we would feel the same. Put yourselves in our shoes though. If you were offered such an advantage, would you have turned it down? No, you wouldn't have. You're Slytherins and that means you're ambitious and want to win. It isn't our fault that Harry was put on the team, I didn't even get a choice of having him. I doubt that he got the choice to play." Harry shook his head, not really wanting to make the Slytherins any more of his enemies.

"I didn't get the choice, I was just told that I was meeting with Oliver and that I was on the team." Hermione stepped forward just a little and spoke.

"It's not their fault, guys. Yeah, its not fair that the professors did this, but they didn't have a choice in the matter either. We'll make a proper go of it next year." Oliver nodded at her words, but Ron just couldn't let her speak without insulting her.

"Why are you talking again? It's clear you don't know shite about quidditch, all you do is read and do homework." Marcus Flint's little brother Marco stepped forward menacingly.

"Shut your gob, Weasel. Hermione has been to more matches than you have. You're just jealous that she wins us tons of points and you only lose them." As if sensing that this was going to be a disaster, Oliver started ushering them towards the stairs.

"Tell your brother he played a damn good game today. If Harry hadn't caught the snitch, you would have won." Marco nodded his head respectfully before turning back to his house. Harry let the rest of his house usher him towards the stairs while Fred and George grabbed Ron by the scruff of his neck and started hissing in his ear.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? You know what her father did to dad just because you can't keep your mouth shut. Hermione is a good girl, a sweet girl. There is no call to be mean to her like you are, even if her father is a traitor. That doesn't mean that she is." Ron scoffed openly at their words.

"I've learned what I can get away with saying and what I can't. Obviously, I can't tell her that she's a nasty slag. I can tell her she's nothing but a know-it-all bookworm that has a traitor for a father." George cuffed him on the back of the head roughly. Ron howled in indignation.

"Just remember that her uncle is a school governor. It wouldn't take much for him to get you expelled for openly bullying his niece. I guarantee you that Draco would back him up." Ron snorted now.

"Malfoy can go get hanged. I don't care what he tells his father." Harry finally decided to step in before it ended in a brawl in the middle of the corridor.

"Enough, Ron. You need to back off Black. She clearly has power in this place and it's not worth bringing her wrath down upon you without good reason." Ron eyed him as though he had never seen him before.

"Since when is being a traitor not a good reason?" Harry groaned in frustration and the twin's expressions hardened. Fred (or maybe George?) spoke.

"Back the fuck off her, Ron, or we're going to write home and tell Mum. You know what she'll do to you at Christmas." Ron paled and nodded quickly.

Harry wasn't sure if he would stick by his word, but it was better than nothing.

-O-

Severus couldn't help but scowl at Minerva sitting next to him at the High Table during dinner. She was still gloating over the fact that Gryffindor won the match today and his snakes hadn't. Albus was just watching with a small smile on his face, gloating himself on the inside he was sure. Minerva was now enumerating the ways that Potter was going to help their team win not only the Quidditch Cup but the House Cup as well. Finally, Severus could take no more.

"Cease your gloating, you insufferable harridan. The only reason you won that match is because you bent the rules to put a first year on the team, something that hasn't been done in a century. If I had tried to do that with Mr. Malfoy, you would have been crying to Albus before I even got the question to join out of my mouth." Minerva halted her words immediately, her mouth hanging open to show her complete surprise. Deciding that he should get all he needed to say out before she realized that she was still able to speak, he continued.

"Yours and the Headmaster's blatant show of favoritism isn't going to help anyone. It's going to create deeper rifts between the houses and when your horrid little lions win the quidditch cup, the rest of the school will resent them because they know that they only won due to Potter being allowed on the team because of who he is. You're telling the world that you think he's better than everyone else." Severus wiped his mouth and took one last drink of his wine before he stood. Albus was no longer twinkling and Minerva was starting to look indignant.

"How can you say that, Severus? He's an exceptionally talented flier, he needs as much practice as he can get." He snorted at her words.

"Draco Malfoy has been flying since he was two years old and he's quite accomplished as well. I don't see you making allowances for him. I know for a fact that he's a better seeker than Terrence Higgs. However, he's abiding the rules, as am I. Anything you say from here on out is just you trying to convince yourself that you've just cemented the house rivalries that Weasley is trying to worsen all by himself." Severus didn't wait for them to speak again before stalking off.

He left the Great Hall by way of the staff door and started for the dungeons. The last thing that he wanted was to deal with brats in the corridors. He decided that he would take his grading to his quarters rather than his office. There would be less disruptions that way. After gathering what he needed from his office, he moved into his arm chair and pulled his quill out, so he could begin.

Severus sat there for several hours grading, stunned at the levels of idiocy his students had reached. He wasn't sure how they managed to fuck their essays up as badly as they did but was sure that it had to do with the combination of not listening, quidditch, and hormones. He was almost ready to quit, there were only two essays left, when there was a knock at the door. Severus heaved a sigh, quite sure that it was Minerva coming to gloat some more.

"Go away, Minerva, I'm going to bed." There were muffled words, but the knocking resumed. He took a moment to gather himself before he stood and wrenched the door open. Rather than seeing Minerva, his goddaughter was standing out there, peering down the corridor to make sure that nobody was watching. He reached out and grasped her elbow, pulling her into the room. Once the door was closed, he pulled her into his arms and hugged her close.

"I've missed being able to see you like this all the time, little one." She buried her face in his robes, breathing him in. She had done that since she was small child. His hands carded through her curls as she pulled back.

"I miss you too, Uncle Sev." He chuckled.

"At least you've quit calling me Uncle Sevvie. It was cute when you were six but you're older now." She grinned and nodded before pulling away completely and sitting on the couch in front of the fire.

"Draco knows that I've come. The others are still celebrating." He sat on the couch next to her and laid an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side like he did when they were home.

"What you brings you here, little one?" She breathed in his robes again before answering.

"Professor Quirrell was the one cursing Harry's broom. I realized that he was chanting something and keeping eye contact with Harry. I'm the one who set his robes on fire. I crawled under the stands and did it quickly, then ran before I got caught. I'm not sure why he's trying to hurt Harry, but I couldn't let it happen." Severus gave her a small smile.

"I don't blame you at all. You did the right thing and then you told me. Now I can be on the look out for other things he's up to." She nodded, clearly relieved at his words. She blew out a breath and smiled at him.

"Thanks, Uncle Sev. I didn't want to get in trouble, but I knew I had to tell you." He ruffled her before standing and pulling her to her feet.

"You better get back to the common room before anyone realizes you're missing. Make sure you tell them to keep it quiet and it has be over midnight." She nodded and gave him one last hug before slipping out of the room once more.

Severus sighed. This wasn't the kind of information that he could just give to the Headmaster. Not only would he ignore it since it came from Hermione, he'd be pissed as hell that it was slandering his personal pick of professors. Therefore, Severus was going to have to do exactly what he had told his goddaughter. He was going to keep an eye on the quirky little professor and make sure he didn't cause any more trouble.

Severus sighed and steepled his hands under his chin. This was going to be a long year.

-O-

Albus knew that Severus was right. His choice, and Minerva's, had fostered nothing but animosity between the houses. Not that he would ever admit it. He was well-aware that by making the house rivalry even worse, he was just turning people away from the light side that might make the choice to not follow their parent otherwise.

Albus sat behind his desk and twirled his beard in his fingers. Was he doing the right thing? Was he making the right decisions? He knew that Hermione Black wanted to befriend Harry desperately and he knew that it was so she could lead him to her father. However, after the tale he had told Harry about her and her father, he couldn't help but wonder if he had done the right thing in turning young Harry so against another child.

Albus shook his head trying to rid himself of these thoughts. He had done the right thing, he was keeping Harry safe from those that would harm him for no other reason than the Dark Lord hadn't managed to kill him when he was only a year old. He pushed his doubts from his mind and hardened his heart.

Hermione Black was the daughter of a traitor and he would do everything in his power to protect Harry Potter from her obvious charms.

A/N- There we are, folks, another chapter down. Not as long as my last couple chapters but decent-sized to say the least. Anyways, thanks for being awesome and encouraging me along the way. Leave me a message after the beep and let me know what you think. Reviews are love, y'all.

Next chapter, Christmas for our amazing characters!

Love,

Alicia


	15. Chapter 15

A/N- I hope that everyone enjoyed the last chapter. I know that there wasn't much interaction between our favorite characters, but they can't all be thrillers. Hang tight with me! There won't be any interactions in this chapter either, it's pure family and Christmas. Please excuse the lack of descriptions; it's hard to get in the mood for Christmas when it's 104 degrees outside, or as my son puts it, hotter than the devil's butthole. Thanks to everyone that continues to read and review this story; it's going to be long and there are going to be times that I want to quit. Your reviews make me want to continue.

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing but the personal twist on this story. I haven't made a dime off this story or any others, trust me, if I had I would have quit my job and taken on writing full time!

Chapter 15

December 25, 1991

Hermione came awake slowly, stretching languidly in her own bed. Draco was asleep next to her; they had stayed awake most of the night before wrapping the gifts for their family. Her eyes came open and she stared at the starry sky above her bed. She knew that she was going to be getting out of bed in just a short time, it was Christmas after all, but she doubted that her family would want to get up before the sun rose. Draco snored softly next to her and she sighed.

After the quidditch match against Gryffindor, the taunting and tormenting had lessened considerably. Hermione made sure to always keep to herself unless she was around her own house. Acting like she wasn't paying attention to what was going on around her seemed to keep the others from speaking to her. It still hurt that this was necessary since she was more outgoing than what she currently acted but it was for the best. Draco was especially perturbed that she had to change her personality just to get through school.

Life had been great since they had returned home. The first few days had been spent at Malfoy Manor with Aunt Cissy and Uncle Luci, her father retrieving her the night before to stay for the rest of the holiday. Draco had come with her since they were still having lessons with Madam Cambridge. Since it was Christmas morning, Aunt Cissy and Uncle Luci would be along soon. Aunt Andi and Dora had declined the invitation to spend Christmas with them, they had decided to spend the holiday with Ted's family, but had promised everyone they would be over on Boxing Day.

Aunt Cissy had taken her shopping the day after returning from school. Since Uncle Luci had taken time off from the Wizengamot, he stayed home with Draco, doing what she wasn't sure, but both had laughed as she whined on her way out. It had been hours later that they had returned with enough new clothes to clothe her completely for the next three years. Hermione had insisted that she didn't need any new clothes, but her aunt had insisted.

Her father had just laughed at her when she complained the night before and told her that it made her Aunt Cissy happy to take her shopping and treat her as a daughter since she wasn't able to have one of her own. Hermione understood that but sometimes the shopping was just too much. There were times that she just couldn't help but think that her aunt would be better off with a niece like Pansy. Fashion was very important to her.

Hermione had fun spending time with her uncle as well. He bought her a complete set of first edition classics and they had spent several days holed up in the library of Malfoy Manor reading them. Most people weren't aware of the fact that her uncle loved to read. Some of her fondest memories of him growing up were them reading together in the library. Sometimes Draco joined them, sometimes he left to go fly with Theo, Blaise, Greg, and Vince.

The Slytherin started when her door opened, and Uncle Luci stepped in, dressed in his best. She couldn't recall every seeing him when he wasn't dressed impeccably, with the exception when he would comfort her in bed when she was little and had had a nightmare. Draco was stirring next to her and her uncle chuckled.

"You two are still sharing a room? How do you sleep separately when you're at school?" Hermione sat up and wiped her eyes before answering.

"It wasn't that we meant to sleep together last night. We stayed up wrapping gifts and fell asleep." Her uncle snorted as Draco sat up.

"You aren't fooling me. Even if you hadn't been wrapping, he would have stayed in your room. You stayed in his room the whole time you were at the Manor. Tinky tells us everything." Hermione couldn't hide the blush that colored her cheeks.

"Draco's my best friend. We would never do anything inappropriate." Uncle Luci came forward and sat on the edge of her bed before tugging one of her curls softly.

"I don't care what those children you go to school with say. Cissy and I know that there is nothing untoward going on between the two of you. You've slept in the same room since Draco was born." Hermione couldn't resist hugging her uncle for understanding that she and Draco were more like siblings than anything. He squeezed her tight before releasing her and going to his feet.

"Get up and dressed. Your aunt went to go wake up your father. I think you two got off lucky having me wake you up. You know she's going to pour water on him or something." Hermione let out a giggle as she bounded out of bed.

"Hurry, Draco, if Dad is getting soaked by Aunt Cissy, I want to see it." Draco started laughing and Uncle Luci left so they could dress. Hermione took the bathroom while Draco threw clothes on behind her changing screen in her room. When she remembered the gifts they had wrapped, she decided to ask for help.

"Candy?" The elf appeared and smiled at Hermione.

"Whats can Candy do for Mistress?" Hermione hugged the elf quickly before standing again.

"Draco and I wrapped those gifts last night. Can you move them downstairs for us and put them under the tree?" Candy nodded enthusiastically.

"Oh yes, Mistress. Hurry down, Master is taking his showers since Missy Cissy woke him up." Hermione groaned slightly before she turned to Draco.

"We missed it. He's already taking a shower." Draco laughed at her pout as they started for the door.

"Does your father know that you like seeing him suffer at the hands of my mother?" Hermione shrugged as they started down the stairs.

"If he doesn't, he should. He laughs at me when she drags me shopping. It's only fair that I get to laugh at him when she torments him." Her cousin nodded.

"Fair point."

For as long as Hermione could remember, the Black family Christmas was held in the library. There was parlor that the family had used in the past, her father remembered many Christmas' in the parlor. Hermione refused, however. She said that the library was cozier than the formal parlor. Nobody ever seemed to mind so it had become tradition.

Hermione and Draco entered the library to find that her father, aunt, and uncle were already there, seated around the tree and drinking tea. Hermione ran to her father's side and sat in his lap briefly, so she could hug him close. He hugged her back tightly.

"Happy Christmas, Hermione." She kissed his cheek before standing.

"Happy Christmas, daddy."

Hermione had handed out gifts to everyone since she had been able to read. The adults had always found it endearing that her favorite holiday was Christmas and insisted on overseeing the entire holiday. Her father had admitted that it had been different this year since she hadn't been there to oversee decorating or telling the elves what desserts needed to be served with Christmas dinner. It made her feel guilty for leaving her father there by himself, but he had told her to stop. He wanted her to go to school and enjoy the experience and told her that he was more than capable of taking care of himself. Hermione wasn't quite sure that she believed him completely, but she had let it stand.

Hermione had sat down with her father last night before Draco had flooed over. He had wanted to know everything about Harry and how school really was. She hadn't lied to him; Hermione had told him everything she knew about Harry, the good and the bad. Her father seemed disappointed in his godson, but he didn't come out and say it. Once she had told him everything about Harry, he had surprised her into silence.

"I guarantee you that Dumbledore got to him. He told him all the bad things and twisted the truth, so he wouldn't want anything to do with you." Looking back, Hermione could see that that could possibly be the truth. He had hugged her close and kissed her temple.

"He'll come around eventually. Until then, just do your best."

He hadn't been impressed when she told him how much the Gryffindors liked to bully her. He had cursed and thrown his whiskey tumbler, swearing to her that he was going to have Lucius do something about it in his capacity as a school governor. Hermione had let him wear himself out before she had taken his hands in her and told him that she didn't want him to help her yet. He hadn't been the happiest with the situation, but he had agreed to let it go until she asked for help. Uncle Luci gestured to the tree with a smile.

"Are you going to pass out the presents or do we need to pass the job onto Draco?" Hermione stuck her tongue out at her uncle while her aunt laughed. She went to her knees and began passing out the gifts.

The next hour passed in a flurry of wrapping paper. Hermione lost count of how many gifts she had opened; there had been numerous ones from her aunt and uncle, the same amount from her father. All her friends had sent gifts for both herself and Draco, along with the Weasley twins. There were several small tokens from people her father and uncle worked with, those she had met throughout the years. Those, she suspected, were more for gaining favor with her father.

The next several hours were spent with everyone enjoying their gifts; Hermione had several new books to read, an impossible amount of clothes, most of them from Aunt Cissy, perfumes, a new cloak with a built-in warming charm from Draco. The best gift she had received had been from her father in the form of a pure black kneazle kitten. It had instantly curled up in her lap and fell asleep. Hermione had instantly dubbed her kitten as Tenebris, Latin for dark. He seemed to like it and already answered to it.

Hermione had already almost finished the first book she started reading when the elves called them to dinner. Dip and Dot were quick to serve the meal once they were all seated, and there was more food then she knew what to do with. They ate until they couldn't move. Once they adjourned to the library again, the mess was cleared away and they settled before the fire to continue enjoying their gifts.

It was times like these that Hermione enjoyed the most; being at home and spending time with her family doing nothing important. It was these moments that made her wonder what her real father and mother would have been like. She had heard more stories than she could count from her aunt and uncle, her father as well. Uncle Sev had the most recent stories about her father but they weren't always the most pleasant since he had been in the Dark Lord's employ.

Uncle Sev joined them for the leftovers they had that night. Since it wasn't the summer holidays, he was required to oversee Christmas dinner before he could follow his own pursuits. He thanked everyone for his gifts and passed out his own in turn. Hermione received a rare text on potions that he promised he was going to start teaching her that summer. Draco had received an autographed jersey that belonged to his favorite quidditch player. Both had been thrilled with their gifts.

Hermione turned her thoughts to the gift that she and her father had sent to Harry, anonymously of course. Her father had told her that it was an invisibility cloak that had belonged to Harry's father, an heirloom that was passed down from father to son for almost a century. Her father had wanted to just send it, but Hermione had insisted that they send a note, so he would know the history behind such a gift.

It was almost midnight before her aunt and uncle headed back to their Manor, dragging Draco along with them. They insisted on having him home for at least a day to give Hermione time with her father. She suspected that it was also, so they could spend time with just him as well. Hermione didn't mind; she and Draco wouldn't always be able to spend all their time together.

After pressing a kiss to her father's cheek and promising him that they could spend the whole day together the following day, she scooped up Tenebris and carried him upstairs, happy to see that the elves had installed a food and water dish in her bathroom. She changed into her pajamas and crawled under her duvet with one of her books, determined to finish her second book before she fell asleep. Tenebris jumped up next to her and curled up against her belly, purring loudly as he fell asleep.

Hermione finally dropped off at almost two, smile on her face from the remarkable holiday she had spent with her family.

-O-

Harry sat bolt upright in bed, a nightmare sending him out of sleep. After a few deep breaths, his heart slowed, and he scrubbed a hand down his face. It was several moments later that he realized that it was Christmas morning and there were gifts at the end of his bed. Ron was stirring in the bed next to him before sitting up abruptly as well.

"It's Christmas, Harry, let's open our presents!"

Harry hurried to the end of his bed and saw his presents piled there. Since he had never received presents before he wasted no time in ripping them open and exposing what he had received. He had gotten a homemade jumper from Ron's mum; all his friends had gotten him something. Ron had gifted him with seeker's gloves for when he played quidditch and the twins had gotten him huge box of candy.

He began flipping through the book that Parvati had given him, Quidditch Through the Ages. Harry had read the copy that Hogwarts had but this was the most recent edition. Ron was rifling through his own box of candy that he had received from Neville. Harry was surprised that the boy had given Ron anything at all after all the grief he had given him for being friends with Hermione Black and Draco Malfoy.

Harry slipped his new jumper on and even though it was truly horrid, he was thrilled to have gotten it. He had never gotten anything that someone had taken time to make him. Ron was complaining that his was maroon and he hated that color. They made their way down to the fire and sat before it for awhile before they were joined by the twins.

They all compared gifts for a few hours since they were the only ones there. Percy was around but they hadn't seen him. The twins joked that he was off patrolling even though there hardly any students in residence. The Weasleys were only there because their mum and dad had gone to Romania to visit their second son who was a dragon tamer there.

Harry learned quickly to not eat anything that the twins had gifted him with. Ron had pulled out a bar of chocolate and inhaled the whole thing. Just moments after he had finished it, he had turned into a snail. It only lasted a minute but when he returned to his human form, Ron was livid. He went after the twins, trying to curse them as they ran from him.

Eventually, Harry gave up watching them and decided to get change out of his pajamas for Christmas dinner. When he got there, there was an owl that he had never seen before waiting on his bed for him, package attached to it's leg. He hurried to his bed and removed the package. The bird flew away before he could offer it a treat or try to see who it belonged to.

Harry ripped open the package eagerly to reveal a shiny, shimmering cloak. It was thin as parchment and flowed around his fingers like water round a rock. He threw it on around his shoulders, unsure how it was going to be much use if it was too thin to keep him warm. He had just thrown it around him when Ron came in and let out a yelp of surprise.

"Where the bloody hell did you get that?" Harry wasn't sure why he was so surprised until he looked down and realized that he was now invisible from his neck down. He was silent for a few moments.

"I just got it off an owl that was waiting for me. I don't even know what it does." Ron scoffed at his words.

"It's an invisibility cloak. They're super rare and very expensive. Somebody must have really wanted you to have a good Christmas." Harry didn't miss the jealous look that crossed his best mate's face.

"Was there a note?" Harry went back to the wrapping and sure enough, in the bottom of the package was a slip of parchment. Harry read it aloud.

 _Harry,_

 _This cloak belonged to your father, an heirloom passed down from father to son for a century. He would have wanted you to have it._

 _Use it well._

Ron was grinning and came over to finger the fabric. When he stepped back, his words were slightly in awe.

"We're going to be able to get away with so much stuff with this." The twins yelled from the bottom of the stairs.

"Hurry up, we're going to miss the feast!" Harry folded up the cloak and stowed it into his trunk before putting on the clothes that he had picked out the night before. After he and Ron were dressed, they hurried down and met with the twins.

Together, the four of them went to Christmas dinner. There were only twelve students total, so the professors were interspersed through the students. Harry ended up next to Professor Snape, his least favorite professor since he always managed to somehow denigrate him in class. Dinner passed without incident and the whole table laughed when the Headmaster made Professor Snape set off crackers.

All in all, it was the best Christmas that Harry had ever had.

The students were dismissed from the feast and Harry and the Weasleys all made their way back to their common room. They passed the afternoon away playing exploding snap, wizards' chess, and other games that Harry had never heard of. Since there were so few students, the Headmaster had informed them they the elves would just be sending leftovers up to the common rooms.

When the food arrived, they ate with gusto, Percy finally appearing right before it was served. He ended up staying the rest of the evening with them, trying to beat Ron in chess. Harry had learned long ago that Ron was impossible to beat at chess, so he and twin sat back and watched as Percy did his best. Harry decided to call it an early night even though they really hadn't done anything.

He lay there in bed for an hour, letting his mind wander over inconsequential things until he heard Ron come in and flop into his bed. Only minutes passed before snores were heard coming from behind his closed curtains. Harry couldn't settle, why he wasn't sure, but since his eyes weren't even the least bit droopy, he decided to give his dad's cloak a try. Harry dragged the cloak out of his trunk and threw it around his shoulders once more.

He stole out of the dormitory and then out of the common room, noting that the twins and Percy were also out of the common room. Harry made his way through the corridors, unused to not fighting crowds of students as they made their way to class. Since there was nobody patrolling the corridors, Harry let himself wander aimlessly, looking into rooms that he hadn't yet.

The Gryffindor found himself on the fourth floor, close to the trophy room, and found a door that led to an unused corridor. After following the corridor, he entered a room that was completely empty aside from a large mirror. Harry was curious as to why it would be in a room all by itself, so he stepped up to it and gazed at his reflection. His reflection remained the same.

For a moment.

Rather than seeing an eleven-year-old boy in the mirror, he saw himself at age sixteen with a man that looked remarkably like himself standing behind him, hand on his shoulder. A woman with red hair and green eyes had her arms thrown around him in hug, laughing gayly. What surprised him the most was the fact that the man from the train, Sirius Black, was standing next to his father, laughing at whatever his father had said. Hermione Black was in front of Harry, looking up at him with a smile on her face and his arms were wrapped tightly around her waist. He watched as his older self bent and pressed a kiss to her neck and she pecked his cheek before he could pull away.

It was like a train wreck.

Harry found himself sickened at the fact that Sirius Black, the man who had handed his parents to Voldemort, and Hermione Black, his only daughter, were in this odd reflection. As much as he hated it, Harry couldn't look away. The scene before him reflected what his life would have been like if Black hadn't gotten his parents killed. It was enlightening and depressing at the same time.

Harry was unsure how long he sat there and watched the scene in the mirror. His body was stiff and cold when the door behind him opened. He flew to his feet and stepped away from the mirror, not wanting whoever had come in to see the strange image reflecting back at him. He was surprised to see the Headmaster stepping inside the room.

"Good evening, Harry. I see you found the Mirror of Erised." Harry nodded.

"It's rather strange." Dumbledore chuckled.

"Yes, it shows us our heart's desire." Harry wasn't quite sure what to think about that.

"I saw what I wanted to have in my life reflecting back?" The Headmaster nodded.

"What did you see?" Harry couldn't help but feel that that was a rather personal question but didn't see the harm in answering.

"I saw myself around sixteen with my parents." He left out the fact that Sirius and Hermione Black had also been reflected at him. Dumbledore nodded understandingly, commiserating noises coming from his mouth.

"This mirror is a helpful tool in discovering truths about yourself but not much else. It will be moved tomorrow, I'm afraid. It doesn't do to dwell on hopeless dreams." Harry sighed sadly. As much as he wanted to watch it again and again, despite the traitor and his daughter being in it, he understood why the Headmaster was doing this. Harry would be there every night otherwise, watching a version of himself with his parents. Dumbledore spoke again.

"Run along back to your common room. We wouldn't want young Mr. Weasley to wake up and realize you weren't there." Harry nodded and wrapped his cloak back around him. The Headmaster spoke in surprise.

"Where did you get that cloak?" Harry wrapped it around himself tighter, afraid that the Headmaster was going to try to take it away from him.

"I got it from an owl, someone sent it to me for Christmas. Said it was my dad's and it was passed down from father to son for a century." The Headmaster's eyes narrowed but he remained silent. Finally, he nodded towards the door.

"On with you, pip, pip."

Harry didn't need to be told twice. He scurried out of the room and through the corridors until he reached his common room. After he slipped in, he made his way to his room and put his cloak in the trunk once more before climbing back into his bed. He laid there contemplating his first Christmas with friends. He considered it for another hour before he finally felt himself dropping off.

It had been the best Christmas of his life.

A/N- There she is, guys, another chapter finished. It isn't very long and there wasn't any interaction between Hermione and Harry, but it was kind of a fluff chapter. Sometimes, we all need a little bit of fluff. Hope you all enjoyed! Let me know what you think, reviews make me smile.

Next chapter, our Slytherin duo see a dragon.

Love,

Alicia


	16. Chapter 16

A/N- Alright, y'all, I'm back with the next chapter. There have been a few negative PM's and reviews saying that it is taking too long for Hermione and Harry to make up and become friends. I posted in the summary that it was an ultra-slow burn. Harry won't discover the truth about Hermione and Sirius until third year, they won't get together until sixth year. I wasn't lying, y'all. This story has a planned 155 chapters, not to mention others that may get thrown in there as I see fit. I'll also reiterate that this story is going to follow canon events to an extent; if you have a question, I'm more than willing to answer it if it won't give away the story line. Please don't send me hateful messages telling me that Harry needs to pull his head out of his arse and become friends with Hermione. I know he does, but he's been brainwashed. If slow-burns aren't your thing, I completely understand that you're frustrated. This story isn't for you. For those that want to continue to take a walk on the dark side, welcome. I have Doritos and we all know they're the best. Thanks again to everyone reading and reviewing this story, you guys are seriously the bomb.

Disclaimer: I own the personal plot twist on this story and that is all. The original idea belongs to Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle and the characters and such belong to our queen, JKR. I haven't made any money off this story or any others, trust me, if I was, my bank balance would be more than a hundred dollars. Adulting sucks.

Chapter 16

January 18, 1992

Harry woke up abruptly from a rather graphic dream. Hermione Black had been standing before him, naked as the day she was born, beckoning him forward with a small smirk on her face. Her breasts were merely bumps on her chest, but Harry didn't care. They were lovely, and they were hers, therefore, he had loved them.

His cock was rock hard in his sleep trousers, not something that was unusual anymore. When this had started in the summer, he had been sure that there was something wrong with him; it wasn't until he had gone in to wake Dudley one morning for breakfast that he realized that maybe it was normal for boys his age; not that Dudley would admit it. They were still enemies and wouldn't go out of their way to help each other.

Deciding that he needed a cold shower, he rose from his bed and gathered his toiletries and clothes for the day. All five boys shared a bathroom attached to their dorm; there were five shower stalls and five sinks on one side of the room and five stalls with toilets on the other. It wasn't fancy by any means, but it was functional and got the job done.

Harry stripped off his clothes and stepped under the frigid spray. Goose bumps erupted over his skin, but he held fast; he dreaded the times when he had to bring himself to completion. It was always enjoyable, but he had come to hate the fact that he always pictured Hermione Black. He longed to be able to imagine Parvati naked under her sari, she was beautiful after all, but Hermione's face always floated to the forefront of his mind.

He washed himself quickly, his cock finally deflating after several minutes of being assaulted with ice cold water. Harry was thrilled that he wouldn't have to torment himself with thoughts of Hermione again; even though he wanted no part of Hermione Black, he could admit that he couldn't stop thinking about her, especially after seeing her in the Mirror of Erised.

After he turned off the water, he was quick to towel off and dress. There were sounds coming from their dorm, so he was sure that the others were finally rising and getting ready for the day. Most of them preferred showers at night so they could sleep later but Harry had always been the opposite. Showers woke him up and cleared his mind for the day.

Harry returned to his room and noticed that all his friends were ready for the day and were gathering the books they would need for their classes. He was quick to follow suit. It was Potions today and the last thing that he wanted was to be caught unprepared in Professor Snape's class. Harry cocked his head to the side when he thought of the surly professor. He acted as though he hated Harry with a fiery passion but there were times that Harry had caught him watching him with a contemplative look on his face. However, his curiosity wasn't great enough for him to chance asking.

The boys headed down to breakfast as a group, laughing and ribbing each other about who knew what. Once they reached the Great Hall and took their seats, Harry piled his plate high with waffles and bacon. The others followed his example before turning the conversation to the quidditch match coming up the following weekend between Puddlemere United and the Falmouth Falcons. Since quidditch was something that Harry could understand, he was more than happy to join in the conversation.

As usual, Ron was the last one to finish his meal. Harry had no idea how the boy ate so much and didn't weigh as much as Dudley. He could admit that his friend's manners were atrocious, which surprised him. The twins and Percy weren't rude at all when they ate. Harry was getting the impression that since Ron was the youngest boy he was spoiled and allowed to get away with most things. Harry didn't understand it since he had never been spoiled or favored in any way, but he supposed that if he had been, he would have taken advantage of it too.

Ron really was a great friend. Sure, he had his flaws and he could be a bit of a bully to the Slytherins. He got jealous over the dumbest things, but he was also loyal and kind to those that were close to him. Harry had watched him hold Parvati close in a hug while she cried because she had exploded her cauldron all over herself and boils had erupted on her face. He hadn't revealed a single secret that Harry had told him and he was always quick to defend the twins when someone spoke badly of them.

Seamus nudged Harry out of his thoughts, gesturing for him to gather his things since Ron had finally finished. He flashed the Irish boy a quick smile as he picked up his bag and followed everyone out of the Great Hall. Potions was up first, and he wasn't sure what they would be doing so he wanted to be there early, so he could make sure that he was ready for whatever Snape threw at them.

Even though he got fair grades in the subject, Potions was his least favorite subject. Harry knew that Professor Snape's harsh words were part of the reason, but the other part was that it reminded him of cooking, something that he hated to do since he was forced to do it at the Dursleys. As long as he continued to pass, he wouldn't complain but if Snape started to fail him because of his obvious dislike, he would go to Dumbledore.

They reached the dungeon classroom and entered, Harry groaning inwardly. He shared a desk with Hermione Black in this class. It was true, she was exceptional at Potions and she did try to help him when he made mistakes. He hated being forced to interact with her; he did his best to ignore her in day-to-day life and being forced to be in such close quarters with her was maddening.

Of course, she was already there, text, ink, and quill lined up on her desk, ready to take notes if need be. Her hair was pulled up in a messy bun, curls escaping to brush against her shoulders. Her uniform was perfect, though it usually was. Harry couldn't remember a time where he hadn't seen her in a perfect uniform aside from when the three-headed dog had torn her skirt. He felt a blush color his cheeks at the thought of her in her pretty blue knickers.

Harry took the seat next to her and he began to emulate her actions. His text and quill were pulled out of his bag and laid on the desk, but Harry had to dig a few moments to find his ink. With a curse under his breath, he realized that he had forgotten to put the new pot in his bag the night before since he had used the last of his ink in Transfiguration. Since Ron was sitting at the table next to his, he leaned over and spoke as quietly as he could.

"Ron, do you have any extra ink with you? I forgot to put my new pot in my bag." Ron's eyes widened at his words. This was the worst class to show up to unprepared. The redhead shook his head. This time Harry cursed a little more loudly. He was just about to turn and ask Seamus when he heard Hermione's voice. It was reluctant and soft, and Harry knew that he was to blame for that. The last time that she had tried to help him he had told her that she was a swot and didn't need her help.

"You can share my ink if you'd like. I don't mind." Harry spun around to blast her. After his dream this morning and suffering the frigid water because of her, he wasn't in the mood for her to be nice to him, especially when it was only because she wanted to befriend him and take him to her father. However, his words didn't get a chance to leave his mouth because the door slammed open and Professor Snape entered, his black robes billowing behind him. Harry heaved a sigh; he would have to share now, or he would land himself in detention.

With a quick nod, Harry watched as she pushed her pot of ink to the middle of their table. It would be slightly inconvenient since he had to reach so far but it was better than a point loss and detention for being unprepared. This, however, didn't go unnoticed by Professor Snape. He stepped down from the dais that his desk sat on and stood before their desk. Harry didn't look up but instead focused on his text.

"Well, Mr. Potter, it seems that you have come to my class unprepared. It's extremely nice of Miss Black to offer to share her ink with you after how you treated her the last time she tried to help you." Harry raised his eyes and met his professor's gaze.

"Yes sir." The dark-haired man turned to Hermione.

"Five points for helping out a fellow student when they could have been more prepared." Her eyes met their professor's gaze as well and Harry was surprised to see genuine respect shining in her eyes.

"Thank you, professor." Professor Snape swept away back to the board, so he could begin his lecture.

Hermione ended up pushing her ink closer to him since it was clear that her notes were already perfect. Harry couldn't help but wish for a copy of her notes, so he wouldn't have to struggle like he did at taking them. He would never bring himself to ask, however. Even though it was clear that she knew the lecture from start to finish, she still paid rapt attention and raised her hand politely when she wanted to answer a question.

By the end of class, Slytherin had gained almost forty points and Gryffindor had lost fifteen. It did no good to get angry at the unfairness of it all. He wouldn't say that Slytherin gaining points had been unfair; Hermione had answered the questions correctly when called upon. It had been extremely unfair for Snape to deduct points from Ron for breathing too loudly.

Harry gathered his things quickly, shoving the ink back to Hermione unceremoniously. He knew that he needed to thank her, she had saved his arse so to speak. She was gathering her things as well. When he shoved the ink her way, she smiled and said nothing. Harry's voice was gruff when he spoke.

"Thanks for letting me share your ink." She slung her bag over her shoulder and her cousin appeared at her side, probably nervous that Harry was going to throw insults her way. She smiled again.

"You're welcome." Harry watched as her cousin pulled her away and out of the room. Ron appeared at his side, sneer in place.

"I can't believe you shared her ink. She's probably got a crush on you now." Harry snorted at him as he threw his own bag over his shoulders.

"No, she doesn't. If her father follows Voldemort like you and Dumbledore say, she's probably already set up to marry one of their friend's kids, like Nott." Ron nodded as they left Potions.

"Probably right."

They chatted about how ridiculous the homework assignment in Potions was, how long it was going to take them to accomplish. Harry really wasn't too worried; he did a fair job on essays in the class, it was usually the practical work that he struggled in. He commiserated with Ron, however, who was terrible at both. He had told him only once that he should just buckle down and get the essay finished with no whining rather than put it off to the last second and then whine about it, but it hadn't mattered. Ron hadn't changed his ways and was therefore only passing by the skin of his teeth.

The pair settled in together once they reached History of Magic. Harry, while finding the class dead boring, enjoyed the subject matter. History had always intrigued him, even in his muggle primary school. It was much more enjoyable to take notes in History of Magic than in Potions.

Professor Binns appeared through the floor and began his lecture forthwith. Harry was quick to put quill to parchment and take notes as best he could. Ron was dozing next to him, not that the ghost noticed. Most of the students were napping to be honest. He, Hermione Black, Draco Malfoy, and Daphne Greengrass were the only ones awake and paying attention.

Harry paid no attention to Hermione during History. He had hit his limit of dealing with her and was quite successful in making sure that she stayed firmly out of his mind currently. Professor Binns assigned them a fifteen-inch essay on some goblin that Harry had never heard of. Once the bell rang, he gathered his things once more and headed to lunch in the Great Hall with Ron.

Lunch was a sedate affair; it usually was after Potions and then History. Everyone was still half-asleep and were running on auto-pilot until food woke them up completely. Harry always thanked Merlin that lunch came after History, otherwise they would surely lose points in another class for not paying complete attention.

As he ate, Harry's mind wandered to the Prophet from two weeks prior. It had declared that there had been a break in in Gringotts and the vault had already emptied. It just so happened that the vault that had been broken into was the vault that he and Hagrid had visited when they had went school shopping. He wasn't sure why he couldn't just forget about it, but he had a feeling that it was extremely important.

He also wondered what the chances were that the small package that Hagrid had removed from the vault was what the three-headed dog was guarding on the third floor. It made no sense for the Headmaster to put something so dangerous in a school, but he supposed that this way of thinking could be due to his muggle upbringing. Maybe it was normal in a wizarding school.

When they finished their lunch, Ron and Parvati were walking closely together out of the Great Hall, laughing about something. Harry and Ron had broken down and told her about discovering the three-headed dog a few weeks ago since she was their friend and they were both certain that she would keep the secret. She had been thrilled but quite frightened at the prospect of facing the beast herself. She had called them brave and Harry couldn't help but feel his chest swell a tiny bit at her words.

He decided to run his idea by them before heading the Charms; they had a fair bit of time before they were due. Therefore, Harry pulled both of them into an alcove a few corridors down from the Great Hall before speaking. Ron looked intrigued while Parvati just looked confused. Harry took a deep breath before beginning.

"I just had a thought. You both know that I went to Gringotts with Hagrid over the summer, right?" Ron and Pav nodded so he continued.

"Well, the vault that was broken into a couple weeks ago was the vault that Hagrid needed to visit for the Headmaster. He's the one that emptied the vault. What if whatever was in that vault is now what the three-headed dog is guarding?" Both his friends' faces went blank for a few seconds. Not the impassive look that most purebloods had mastered but a completely blank look that he hoped meant that they were thinking about his words. Parvati was the first to speak.

"I don't know, Harry. This is a school. Whatever was in that vault must be dangerous; the Prophet said that the person who broke into it was a follower of You-Know-Who. Why would the Headmaster bring something so dangerous into a school full of children that couldn't dream of protecting themselves?" Harry had to admit that she had a point, but he still wasn't convinced that he was wrong. Ron, however, was of the same opinion as Harry.

"I think you might be right. Dumbledore lives here and if he felt that whatever was in that vault wasn't safe at Gringotts, he would want it where he knew it was safe at all times. What better way to do that then by putting it under a three-headed dog?" Harry nodded his agreement.

"I mean, Pav has a point, it would be dangerous to bring it here but tell me how safe it is to put a beast like that in a school where just anyone could find it. I mean, a group of four first years found it." Parvati shrugged her agreement to his point. Before they could finish what they were saying, there was a shuffling sound from outside the alcove. Harry put his finger to his mouth, so they would be quiet. He peeked out of the alcove and saw Hermione trying to pick herself up off the ground while her cousin helped her. He wasn't entirely sure that they hadn't heard anything, however. He stepped out and his two friends followed him.

"Were you listening in on my private conversation, Black?" His tone was harsher than he had expected it to be, but he wasn't sorry. What they had been discussing had been important. Hermione didn't get to answer because Malfoy stepped in front of her, his face twisted in a sneer.

"She tripped and fell. We don't give two shites about what you and your pet weasel were talking about. You do not get to talk to her like that, especially when she's done nothing wrong." Now Ron stepped up, which was always a recipe for disaster. Harry put an arm in front of him, indicating that he wanted him to be quiet. Ron looked disgruntled but listened. Parvati, however, did not.

"Poor little perfect princess fell down. Are you sure you tripped on your own, and nobody sent a trip jinx at you? Nobody can stand you because you're just so bloody perfect. I'll have you know, however, that nobody from our house aside from Neville is under your spell. We all think you're an ugly, stuck-up, swot who has followed her daddy to the dark side. Oh wait, your real daddy was a Death Eater. Proud moment for you, I'm sure." Harry saw Hermione's eyes water, but she tamped them back ruthlessly before stepping in front of Draco and into the personal space of Parvati. She looked angry enough to curse her so Harry stepped closer too. Hermione didn't draw her wand, however, only came close enough to make Pav take a step back which caused her to trip and fall on her arse.

"You ever say such things about me again, Patil, I'll make sure that your family fortune disappears before you can utter the word quidditch." Fear was evident on Pav's face, but Harry couldn't help but think that she brought it on herself with her unkind words. Hermione then turned to him and Ron, fury still dancing on her features.

"I can handle being made fun of for getting good grades, that just shows you're jealous. However, if either one of you ever insults my real father again, you'll regret it. I'll make sure your reputation is so fucked, you won't want to step foot outside of your home." Ron was pissed, sputtering and turning red. However, he remained silent. Maybe he had taken it to heart when the twins told him that the next time he fucked up, it would cost their father his job.

Harry, however, wasn't quite sure what to make of her threat. He wasn't sure that she would follow through on it but if they did anything in this very moment, she would. Parvati had pushed her too far and the magic emanating from her was astronomical. The ends of her curls were sparking and there was a hazy quality to her eyes. Even though he was the one being threatened, Harry couldn't help but find her show of temper and power fucking hot. His dick was rock hard in his trousers (thank Merlin he was wearing his robes) and it begged him to stroke it roughly to completion. Instead, he took a step back and gestured for Parvati to stand.

"We weren't trying to insult you, Black. Parvati is more than happy to apologize for any words that angered you." Parvati glowered at him darkly but nodded in the end.

"Please forgive my words, Miss Black. I meant no harm." Everyone knew that her words were a lie, but it didn't matter. They seemed to appease Hermione since she stepped back next to her cousin, who put his arm around her shoulders.

"See that it doesn't happen again." All three of them nodded and watched Malfoy lead Hermione off through the corridors. They weren't quite out of sight when he saw her crouch down and Malfoy pulled her robes up past her knees. There was a nasty scrape on her knee and Harry felt terrible. She really had fallen, and he had accused her of lying. Both his friends were whining about Hermione, but he ignored them.

"Come on, let's get to Charms."

-O-

Hermione could feel her magic stirring within her after her encounter with the Gryffindor trio. Draco was rubbing insistent circles in between her shoulder blades trying to calm her down. She shouldn't have been surprised. While most witches and wizards had the magic of two parents dwelling within them, she had three, which tended to make her more volatile when she finally lost control of her temper.

It also worried her because when her father had adopted her through the blood magic ritual, their goblin had warned him that it would also raise the chances of her inheriting the gene that doomed her to madness. While she didn't think that she felt mad, ever, she was scared that it would crop up as she got older. She doubted that her cousin Bellatrix was completely mad at twelve years old.

Her father had warned her years ago that as a Black, they tended to have short and explosive tempers. From an early age, Hermione had worked on controlling her emotions, something that was helped by her occlumency training with Uncle Sev. Where Draco had excelled at the subject, it had taken her a ridiculously long time to master; several times through the years it had taken her to master it she had just wanted to call it quits and become an animagus, so she wouldn't have to worry about the subject.

There were only a few occasions in her childhood where she had lost her temper completely. Whereas Uncle Luci and Draco had been appalled, her father and Aunt Cissy had taken it in stride, completely understanding that she couldn't help her reactions. In fact, her father had told her that her control over her temper was better than his own.

The pair took their seats in Charms and Draco started to pull his materials from his bag. Hermione sighed and started to do the same. Her knee was aching from where she had landed on it when she had tripped. It was scraped pretty good, but she had refused to let Draco take her to the Hospital Wing. It was just a scrape after all.

While she didn't feel guilty for letting her temper fly at Patil's words, Hermione did feel badly for letting Draco lie to them. They had stopped outside the alcove when they realized that all three were in there speaking in hushed tones. He had rationalized that no good could come from them coming up with things with nobody knowing any better; they were Slytherins and needed to make sure that they weren't planning anything stupid. She and Draco had heard every word they spoke, Hermione only crying out when she had tripped on her way away from the alcove.

Professor Flitwick entered before she could speak with Draco about the conversation they had overheard. He bid them to begin working on the severing charm. They had taken all their notes the class before and this one would be purely practical. Hermione sighed. She wanted a challenge more than anything in the world.

Since their professor had learned that Hermione and Draco were so far advanced in all their classes, he tended to pair them with others that needed the extra help and extra time to practice. Hermione usually didn't mind if she wasn't put with Weasley. He usually refused to listen to listen to her and was a complete prat to her as well. Thankfully, this class she was paired with Millie while Draco was paired with Weasley.

Hermione worked as hard as she could to make sure that her friend could accomplish the spell before they left that day. Millie worked as hard as she could, only just accomplishing it before the bell rang. She wanted to tell the girl that she may need tutoring, so she didn't fall behind but she really didn't feel that it was her place. She knew that her parents were well-off, so she wasn't sure why they hadn't procured her a tutor before Hogwarts like her father and Uncle Luci had.

Once they were dismissed from Charms, Draco escorted her out of the castle towards Herbology. It was still one of Hermione's least favorite classes, but it was only one of the two classes that she was seated next to Harry in. Usually she was excited for the fact that she might win him over with a small act of kindness; today, not so much. She had threatened to ruin his reputation, along with his friends, if they spoke of her real father again.

Her cousin seemed to understand her reluctance but chose not to comment. He escorted her to her seat and took his own, leaving Hermione to pull out her own parchment, ink, and quill. She was sitting there calm and collected when Harry and the Gryffindors walked in. Harry didn't speak to her, didn't look at her in fact, before he pulled his own belongings out, readying himself for class.

Professor Sprout appeared and began her lecture over asphodel and it's uses. As usual, it wasn't enough to stimulate Hermione's mind or keep her interested, but she did her best to pay attention anyways. She did manage to add two lines to her notes, information that the professor had given them that she didn't already have written down. They were assigned a twelve-inch essay on asphodel before they were dismissed to dinner.

Hermione and Draco quietly cast warming charms on themselves as they traversed across the grounds on their way to the Great Hall. It was much colder in Scotland that Hermione was used to, so she got cold far quicker than she did at home. Once they had found their way back inside the castle, Hermione and Draco started for the Great Hall for dinner.

Dinner was a boisterous affair; Pansy and Millie were bragging about the latest prank they had played on the lions. While the rest of her friends laughed, Draco included, Hermione could only shake her head in exasperation. They didn't seem to realize that if they continued the prank war, they would also continue to be victims. She ate her fill of roast and potatoes before pulling the latest assignment from Madam Cambridge out of her bag.

Hermione was grateful that they were able to continue with their lessons taught by their long-time tutor. However, she got frustrated with the fact that it took several days for the lesson to be taught since they were owling back and forth; she had learned much quicker at home with Madam Cambridge in front of her. Hermione didn't get to work for long because Draco nudged her with his elbow and leaned over to whisper in her ear.

"Look, Harry and the Weasel are sneaking out of the Great Hall. We should follow them and make sure that they don't try to get under the three-headed dog." Hermione groaned but knew that her cousin was right. It sounded exactly like something that Gryffindors would do. She unceremoniously shoved her work back in her bag before turning to Daphne.

"Hey, Daph, will you take my bag to the common room for me? Draco needs my help and I don't want to have to haul it around." She nodded her agreement.

"Sure, Hermione. I'll put it in the dorm on your bed." Hermione grinned at the girl before stepped away from the bench seat. With a deep sigh, she turned to Draco.

"Lead the way. You saw them leave." Draco threaded her hand through his arm and escorted her out of the Great Hall as he sometimes did.

It was clear early on that the pair wasn't headed to the third floor where the dog was located. In fact, Hermione and Draco tailed them to the doors leading them out of the castle. She had a feeling that they were going to visit the gamekeeper, but she wasn't sure. Draco started to pull her out the door, but she dug in her heels.

"Draco, there is no need to follow them now. They aren't going to the dog." Draco reached out and tickled her ribs. Hermione had to bite her lip to keep the giggle in.

"Come on, Miney, don't be a stick in the mud. Have a little fun." Hermione crossed her arms over her chest.

"How is trekking all over the grounds in the freezing cold fun?" Draco jogged away from her but yelled over his shoulder at her.

"Because you'd be doing all that with me." Hermione groaned to herself before following her cousin. He was grinning at her now, but she just scowled at him.

"You're a pain in the backside." Draco laughed.

"You love it." Hermione rolled her eyes and allowed him to pull her towards Hagrid's hut.

The sun was setting quickly, the oranges and pinks reflecting off the snow on the ground. It really was quite beautiful, but Hermione could admire it from inside; it was downright freezing outside. They could see through the windows of Hagrid's hut that both boys were inside; both appeared to be studying something on the table rather intently. Hermione slowed down, intent of making Draco return to the castle with her. She was in a skirt for Merlin's sake. Her cousin sensed her words and spoke first.

"Come on, just one quick peek through the window, then we'll go back to the castle. I just want to see what they're studying so hard." Hermione could admit a little curiosity herself, so she gave a shaky nod, her teeth starting to chatter.

The pair crept up to the window, mindful of the debris that was laying around the house. The last thing they wanted was for Hagrid to know they were there because they had made too much noise. There was a large brick below the window and both stepped up to look in the window. What Hermione saw stunned her into silence.

A baby dragon was sitting on the table, Hagrid, Harry, and Weasley gathered around it, watching it closely.

Hermione hissed at the stream of fire that came from its mouth, almost burning Harry but hitting Hagrid's beard instead. She clutched Draco's hand tightly, unsure of how she was supposed to look away from something that most certainly had the potential to be a disaster. The Slytherin didn't have to look away, however. A violent shiver wracked her body and she stumbled slightly, knocking into Draco, who fell off the brick and into a pile of junk.

Hermione jumped off the brick just in time to see the three occupants rush to the window. Draco was already standing up, so she started to drag him away from the hut, knowing that they were probably going to get in trouble for spying since she knew for a fact that the three of them had seen them. Draco was cursing softly under his breath, but Hermione paid him no mind. What mattered now was getting back into the castle and to their dorm; the last thing they needed was to be caught out after curfew as well.

Once they stepped foot inside the castle, Hermione started to pull her cousin towards the dungeons. He followed willingly, though a little stiffly. She attributed it to him landing on a pile of trash. Once they were in a deserted corridor, she turned his way.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get us caught. I'm sorry you're hurt, I just couldn't help shivering. It's so cold out there." Draco chuckled at her.

"It's fine, there's nothing they can do about it anyways. Maybe now they'll be more careful rather than just watch a baby dragon where anyone could be watching." Hermione's jaw fell open.

"We could get in trouble for spying, of course we need to worry." Draco shook his head.

"Nope. If they were to complain that we were spying, and somebody talked to us, what do you think they would assume we would tell them? That they had a dragon, of course. That's highly illegal so I have a feeling that none of them are going to utter a word to or about us." Hermione felt her stomach unclench at his words.

"You're right, of course. I didn't think of that." Draco threw an arm around her shoulders before making her walk again.

"That's what you keep me around for…that and I'm devilishly handsome." Hermione tickled his ribs much like he had just a short time earlier.

"Your ego gets bigger every day. Sooner or later, your head won't fit through your shirts." Hermione took off in a light jog, laughing as her cousin chased after her.

-O-

Harry cursed softly to himself as they trooped into the common room. He had just spent the last half hour consoling Hagrid, trying to convince him that Hermione and Malfoy wouldn't turn him in for having a dragon. Harry hadn't realized that it was illegal to have a dragon until Hagrid had explained it to him.

His huge friend had waxed on and on about how he loved dragons and how he had always wanted one. Harry personally thought that he was crazy but who was he to judge? Ron had went on about his brother Charlie and how he worked with dragons in Romania, getting Hagrid more upset by each passing minute.

Finally, Harry had told the enormous man that they needed to get back up to the castle, so they didn't get in trouble for missing curfew. Hagrid had seemed to pull himself together enough to wish them well and thank them for being there with him for such a momentous occasion. Harry shook his head in exasperation as Hagrid was talking to himself about sleeping arrangements for the dragon and making sure that it had the correct food.

Harry flopped down on the couch nearest the fire. It was frigid outside, much colder than winter in Surrey. Ron sat next to him, a contemplative look on his face.

"Do you think they followed us or do you think they knew about the dragon and wanted to see it for themselves?" Even though it sounded a little self-centered, Harry answered truthfully.

"Hagrid said he hadn't told a soul about the dragon. I think they were following us to see if we were doing anything they could get us in trouble for." Ron grumbled next to him.

"Too bad we can't tell on them for spying." Harry nodded.

"I suppose. It's not like we can just broadcast what they saw while they were spying." Ron's fist clenched.

"If they tell on Hagrid, I'm going to pummel Malfoy's face. See how pretty he is after that." Harry rolled his eyes.

"No, you won't. The last thing your family needs in more trouble because you got in a fight. Just leave it alone for now, we don't even know if they're going to say anything." Ron snorted.

"You know they will." Harry really wasn't so sure that they would but remained quiet. He really didn't want to argue with Ron right now. He turned and slapped his friend on the shoulder.

"I'm tired so I'm heading to bed." Ron nodded and stood.

"I'll come with you. We need to get up early, so we can get that essay for Transfiguration finished before class." Harry groaned as he started for the stairs.

It was always something in this wonderful world of magic.

A/N- Boom shocka locka, another one bites the dust. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, there was more interaction between our two sets of friends and the plot moved forward. Drop me a line and let me know what you thought, reviews are love.

Next chapter, Ron receives a nasty bite and a plan is formulated to get rid of a dragon.

Love,

Alicia


	17. Chapter 17

A/N- I'm back! Get excited, lol. I just got off work and decided to bang out this chapter, or at least as much of it as I can. It's no secret that I live in Kansas and this week the Largest Night Rodeo is in town. Yay me. Since I live here, I'm treated to the PA system keeping my awake until eleven and then I get to listen to the band from the dance until two am. It's great. We'll just say that if I didn't decide to write right now, I'd be sleeping. Anyways, I'll quit whining, I just needed to get that off my chest. Thanks for reading and reviewing, y'all, it keeps me so motivated.

**Huge thank you to skyeryder01 for being my 400th reviewer. You're awesome!**

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing, I'm sure these tropes have been done thousands of times before. I haven't made any money off my stories. Only in my wettest dreams do I own Harry Potter and Co. If I owned them, Fred and Sirius would have survived, and Hermione would most certainly have ended up with Draco or Harry.

Chapter 17

February 3, 1992

Hermione hummed happily to herself as she came down the stairs from her dorm. Her hair was hanging long and heavy down her back; she had decided to wear it like that since it was so bloody cold in the castle. It made her wonder if there were spells that could produce heat in rooms; it really did make it difficult for her to write essays when she couldn't feel her fingers.

Once she was in the common room, Hermione pulled out her essay for Transfiguration to check it for mistakes once more. She was quite certain that it was perfect already, but she would only have to wait for ten minutes or so before Draco appeared to head to breakfast with her.

As she checked her spelling and grammar, Hermione let her mind wander to the incident involving the dragon. It turned out that Draco had been correct; neither Harry or Weasley nor Hagrid had uttered a word about her and Draco spying on them. Hermione still felt guilty when she thought about it, but she supposed that they really should have been more careful. Anybody could have been watching and she knew for a fact that if any of the other snakes in her year would have been the ones to see the dragon, they would tattled quicker than a snitch.

Hermione and Draco had decided that they weren't going to say anything unless they absolutely had to. The last thing that they wanted to do was make the rivalry between the two houses worse. However, she had insisted that the second that the dragon hurt someone they needed to go to Uncle Sev. Draco had agreed and though he told her that the only reason he agreed was because she would be heartbroken if it ate Harry, she knew he would feel guilty for something of that magnitude.

After she finished checking her essay over, she stuffed it back into the folder she had for her completed homework. She didn't get a chance to pull out her Potion's essay because Draco came ambling down the stairs, yawning widely. Hermione couldn't help but notice that he looked like complete shite. She went to her feet and met him by the door, leaving together before commenting.

"You look like you've been run over by a herd of stampeding hippogriffs. Did you sleep at all last night?" He shook his wearily.

"No, I had another headache. I'm pretty sure that it's because Greg and Vince both snore so loud that unless I fall asleep first, I can't fall asleep at all. It's started to get better in the last hour though." Hermione threaded her arm through his and watched him worriedly.

"Should we go to the Hospital Wing? At least you'll be able to get a pepper-up." Draco shook his head as he yawned again.

"No, I'm fine. The headache is better, and I think I'll be fine after I eat." Even though Hermione didn't agree with his logic, she just nodded her agreement. The last thing she wanted to do was start an argument with Draco when he wasn't feeling well.

For the first time ever, Hermione led Draco to the Great Hall rather than the other way around. Even though he was in the proper position to appear as escorting her, she was guiding him because he was so out of it. Once they were in their usual seats at the Slytherin table, Hermione began piling her cousin's plate high with everything that he usually ate. Rather than get affronted as he usually would, he gave her a grateful smile before beginning to eat.

Hermione served herself and ate at a much more sedate pace than Draco. Other students were beginning to file into the Great Hall and take their seats. After several more minutes, she saw Harry slink in, still half-asleep, and take his normal seat next to Parvati at the Gryffindor table. Hermione still couldn't help but feel the tiniest twinge of jealousy at the beautiful Indian girl; she was effortlessly friends with Harry while she was cast as his enemy. Deciding that the last thing she needed was to become melancholy at her train of thought, she banished it from her mind.

The rest of the Slytherins entered breakfast just a few minutes later, most of them looking awake and well-rested. Rather than take her normal seat next to Hermione, Pansy sat on the other side of Draco and seemed to take in the sight of him, frowning slightly. Before she could say anything, Neville plopped down in front of them, smile on his face.

"How are my favorite Slytherins?" Hermione grinned at him; Neville really had come a long way since she started tutoring him in Potions. The rest of his grades were decent so while she wouldn't be happy with them, he had told her more than once that he was thrilled.

"Good, Nev, how are you?" Before he could answer, Pansy started petting Draco's head since it was buried in his hands with his elbows propped on the table.

"What's wrong, Drakey? You don't look very good." Hermione could only shake her head incredulously. It was as if the talk she had had with Pansy a few months prior had vanished from the girl's head. Draco shot her a dirty look that she completely missed. Surprisingly, it was Neville that spoke.

"Pansy, you know he hates it when you call him that. He always has. You're just going to piss him off if you keep calling him that." Pansy shot him a dirty look but didn't say anything before turning her attention back to Draco. Hermione wondered if she should step in; that's what Draco would do for her. With a deep sigh, she turned to her friend.

"I talked to you about that, Pansy. Leave Draco alone; we're eleven and twelve. The last thing he needs to be thinking about is a betrothal contract, Uncle Luci and Aunt Cissy will agree." Pansy glared at her now, but Hermione wasn't scared.

"You don't know that. Daddy said that Mr. Malfoy said he would think about it." Hermione knew this was an outright lie, probably told by Mr. Parkinson to his daughter so she wouldn't give up hope. Hermione felt her anger flare, but she tamped it back down. Pansy was her friend and she didn't want to lose her because of hurtful words that she really wanted to say.

"Either you or your father has misunderstood. Stop pushing yourself on my cousin, it's clear he doesn't feel well." Even though she hadn't outright called her a liar when she had wanted to, Pansy still stared holes into her head.

"If he's so sick, you should have insisted that he go to the Hospital Wing. It's what a good cousin would do." The whole table fell silent and Draco finally seemed to realize that something was going on. Neville was fingering his wand under the table, Hermione could tell, while the rest of their table watched in trepidation. The rest of the Great Hall was still blissfully unaware, however, of the tension. She knew that she could never let this slight on the House of Black stand, it would show weakness in a house that really didn't believe in showing any, Hermione rose to her feet and decided to give the girl a chance.

"What did you say?" Pansy rose also, unaware of the attention that their argument was garnering.

"I said a good cousin would have made sure that he went to the Hospital Wing." Hermione pulled her wand from the sheath on her arm and let it hang limp at her side. Deciding that she knew exactly what she wanted to do, her wand flicked just a tiny bit while she muttered under her breath.

"Faciem palmis caedebat."

An invisible hand reached out from her wand and slapped her friend across the cheek hard enough to snap her head to the side. When she turned her face back to meet Hermione's eyes, there was a bright red handprint across her pale skin and tears were swimming in her eyes. Hermione felt absolutely horrid but knew that she had to remain strong, so her family would remain on top. Her father needed to be portrayed without weakness to gain information when Voldemort returned. She laid her wand on the table, noticing that she had garnered the attention of her godfather and Professor McGonagall. Both were heading her way, so Hermione leaned towards Pansy and whispered to her.

"Don't you ever insult myself or my family again. Remember who you're speaking to; we're friends and I'd like to remain that way but don't presume to think that if you slight my honor again that I won't cut you from this group faster than you can say quidditch." Fear flitted across her features and Hermione knew that her message had been received loud and clear. She had just leaned back away from Pansy and put a contrite look on her face when the two professors swooped down upon them.

"Just what is going on here?" Professor McGonagall sounded livid. Her uncle was staring at her face, so she opened her mind just enough for him to slip in if he was attempting it. Once she felt his presence, she replayed the memory and how she had given the girl a chance to take it back. When she felt him pull away, her barriers went back into place. Hermione turned to the Transfiguration professor. She was just getting ready to explain when Pansy spoke.

"Nothing, Professor. Hermione and I were having a heated discussion and her magic got away from her. No harm done." Her uncle looked surprised but remained silent. Professor McGonagall looked incredulous.

"You expect me to believe that someone that is almost through with their fourth-year classes doesn't have complete control of their magic? I find that quite farfetched." Hermione kept her face impassive before nodding. If only the woman knew that she was already through her fourth-year classes.

"Nobody is perfect, Professor." The older woman scoffed before meeting her eyes.

"I don't believe you. Therefore, you will be deducted twenty points for your lies and a detention with me for harming Miss Parkinson." Hermione kept her face free of emotion, but she was freaking out on the inside. She had never gotten detention before; how was she going to explain this to Uncle Luci and her father? What would Uncle Sev say? Her godfather decided to speak.

"Whatever happened to having proof, Minerva? The victim is saying that it was an accident. Nobody else has said anything about hearing her verbalize a spell. If she's on par with Draco, she hasn't mastered non-verbal spells." McGonagall turned a sharp eye to her uncle.

"Don't patronize me, Severus. We both know she's guilty. You just don't want your star pupil in detention." Her uncle leaned over and whispered in his colleague's ear.

"We'll take this before the Headmaster directly after breakfast." She glared at him but nodded. Her uncle appeared to glare at her but when she felt his mind probe hers once more, she let him in.

" _Come to me after your detention. We'll talk. I'm not mad."_

Hermione gave the barest minimum of nods before her uncle stalked away, robes billowing behind him like always.

Since breakfast was officially over, Hermione gathered her bag and started for the door, not even making sure that her cousin was following her. He was, however, and caught up with her easily, Neville and the others trailing behind him. Pansy was last, head hanging low in shame. Nobody was speaking to her and Hermione wanted to make clear that she wasn't going to keep everyone from being her friend. The handprint on her cheek seemed impossibly brighter but for that, Hermione was glad. It would serve as a reminder to those around her that she wasn't one to be trifled with when pressed.

She was aware that she let Weasley and the Gryffindors talk badly about her father but in the scheme of things, their opinions didn't matter. She didn't really care what her friends thought of herself or her father either, but it was important for them to respect her and her family name for the information that it would provide later. Hermione was quite certain that once the truth came out, most of her friends would kick her to the wayside anyways. Just before entering the Transfiguration class room, she turned around abruptly and spoke.

"Pansy had a momentary lapse in judgement and nobody is to shun her." Everyone nodded sagely before she turned back to the class room door and headed through it. Draco took his seat next to her and rather than let him start preaching to her, she started on him first.

"You can't hardly keep your head up. After this class, you're going to the Hospital Wing and getting a potion for your headache and a pepper-up. Don't cross me right now." He reached out and rubbed her leg under the table.

"You did the right thing. Don't feel bad either, you're a great cousin." Hermione bit her lip and nodded, unable to respond because Professor McGonagall entered, her wand sparking to bring them all to attention.

"Pass your homework forward and turn to page 117 in your text." Hermione did as she was bid, wasting no time in following directions.

Class passed quickly; the spell was to learn how to turn a mouse into a snuff box. It was the most ridiculous thing ever but since it was on the curriculum, Hermione had already learned it. All she could think to herself was that it was a good thing that Draco had already mastered the spell since he was hardly awake through the class.

Hermione noticed early on that Ronald Weasley wasn't in attendance. Harry was in his normal seat, taking notes like he usually did. It was rare to see one of the boys without the other so Hermione couldn't help but wonder just what had happened to Weasley. She tried to distract her mind; it wasn't like she would ever find out why the boy was missing class so there was no point in dwelling on it.

Class dismissed with them receiving the assignment of an essay over their next chapter in the text. Hermione sighed to herself. Another boring assignment; she comforted herself with the reminder that she had three assignments from Madam Cambridge waiting for her in her dorm room.

Once they were out in the corridor, Hermione shoved her cousin gently towards the fourth-floor staircase. He growled at her, but she just laughed at him. She pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before shoving him again.

"Go, you stubborn arse. I expect to see you looking better by the time she releases you." Draco grumbled to himself but followed her instructions. Their group was just getting ready to start for the dungeons when Pansy came forward, eyes cast downward.

"I'm really sorry, Hermione. I didn't mean what I said, I promise, I was just upset because you seem so sure that Mr. Malfoy won't sign a betrothal contract. I'm really sorry you got a detention also." Hermione sighed. She had been hoping to forego this conversation since she knew she was just going to feel worse.

"I understand, Pansy, just don't let it happen again. I only know what Draco and I have been told our whole lives and that is that there would be no betrothal contracts for either of us until we were sure that we were in love with someone. Both our fathers have been extremely adamant. What do you think would happen if you were married to someone that you hated and forced to have children with them?" Pansy shrugged so Hermione continued.

"You would resent them, hate them maybe. Do you really think that your magic is going to blend well with someone that you resent or hate? Probably not the most conducive for conceiving a child." Hermione knew that her words were complete tripe, but she could see that her friends were buying it. Right now, she was sure that she could tell them that the sky was purple, and they would believe her. Pansy nodded.

"That actually makes sense." Hermione gave her a small smile before she turned and started for Potions. What a wonderful day it had been, and it wasn't even lunch.

-O-

Draco knew that Hermione was right, but he hated admitting it, especially to her. She always got that self-satisfied smirk on her face and he always got the impression that she was laughing at him. Who was he kidding, of course she was laughing at him.

The Slytherin pushed open the doors to the Hospital Wing to see that there was only one student in residence. Weasel. Draco had wondered why he wasn't in Transfiguration but hadn't cared enough to eavesdrop or anything of the sort, although honestly, he wasn't sure that he would have had the energy. Madam Pomfrey was nowhere in sight so he decided to go see if he could make the redhead spill why he was all trussed up in bed, looking like he was in a fair amount of pain. If it was a quidditch injury, Draco was going to laugh his arse off at him. Acting more confident that he felt, he wandered over to Weasley's bed and waited for the redhead to acknowledge him. When he realized who was standing at his bed, the Weasel sneered.

"What the fuck do you want, snake?" Draco decided to have fun with him since he was so hateful.

"Tsk, tsk, don't you think you should speak with more respect when it comes to your betters?" Even though Draco really didn't think that he was better than most people, Weasley was one of the people that he would always see as below him. It had nothing to do with the fact that he was a pureblood but because he was a complete tosser. As predicted, Weasley started ranting at him, his hands waving and pointing at him and random things in the room.

"You think you're better than me? That's a bloody joke, you wouldn't be shite without your daddy and your sweet little cousin." Draco was sure that he hid his reaction when Hermione was mentioned but he doubted that he had since Weasley latched onto it immediately.

"Your cousin is pretty fit, but I'm sure you know that. Maybe I should overlook the fact that she's a traitor and date her long enough that she falls for me, that she agrees to let me take her virginity and I impregnate her with my seed before dumping her. Both your families can suffer the indignity of raising a Weasley cast-off." Draco was livid at his words but refused to let the redhead's words get to him.

It was in this moment that he realized why Weasley looked like he was in pain; his hand was free of bandages so there was nothing hindering the view of the deep bite in the flesh, oozing green pus. Just looking at it was enough to turn his stomach. When the redhead realized that he was looking at his bite, he hid it under his blanket like he had been caught doing something he shouldn't have been or doing something extremely stupid.

Then it dawned on him.

Dragon bites were famous for the green pus they produced. Weasley had somehow managed to get himself bit and was now in the Hospital Wing because the pain had become too great. Draco snorted to himself; Hermione was going to just love this, especially since they had vowed to tell someone if the dragon hurt anybody.

Rather than react to seeing the bite, Draco laughed at his words. The redhead's face turned purple in his rage. He obviously didn't like the fact that he was being laughed at. Draco left a trace of amusement in his voice when he answered.

"Trust me, if you could ever convince Hermione to love you, I would raise your bastard myself. The problem with your plan is that you're bloody stupid. Hermione will never fall for you, she would never shag you, and she would never be stupid enough to get pregnant. She's far smarter than you are so why don't you just bow out before you embarrass yourself panting after her. It's already bloody disgusting watching you have a crush on her from afar."

The redhead was furious but since he couldn't get out of the bed, he picked up a book on the bedside table next to him and threw it at Draco. Draco was laughing hysterically on the inside; it was so much fun to poke the bear, especially when the bear was Ronald Weasley. He dodged the book easily and scooped it up in his hands, tucking it into his robes.

"Thank, Weasley, I needed something to read." Weasel growled in frustration but was stalled from responding by Madam Pomfrey appearing. With a last smirk in the redhead's direction, Draco followed her behind a curtain. Her voice was curt and business-like but not unkind. Draco liked that about her; while most of the professors didn't like the Slytherins, Madam Pomfrey didn't seem to mind them.

"What's wrong, Mr. Malfoy?" Draco hopped up on the bed and let the fatigue hit him once more.

"I had another headache all night. It's almost gone now but I'm falling asleep in class. Can I get something for both?" She tsked at him, reminding him that he had used it against the redhead across the room.

"You should have come sooner. I fear the pepper-up will keep you awake tonight." Draco shrugged his shoulders, unsure of what she wanted him to say. She regarded him for a moment before turning on her heel.

"Wait here until I come back." Draco nodded, and she disappeared from behind the curtain.

To pass the time, Draco pulled the text Weasley had thrown at him from his robe and looked at the title. _How to Care for Dragons: A Beginner's Guide_. As if it wasn't obvious enough that he had been around a dragon; this was like a flaming sign saying that he was guilty. To pass the time, he flipped through the pages only to find that a piece of parchment fell out. Draco bent to pick it up, seeing that it was a letter. He scanned it quickly and grinned.

He had to tell Hermione.

-O-

Harry had just finished dinner and was getting ready to leave to go see Ron. He was waiting on Parvati to finish eating or talking to Lavender rather. Neville was seated on his other side but was having a conversation with the twins. Even though Harry had more important things to worry about, he couldn't help but to feed his obsession and ask after Hermione Black.

"What happened this morning with Black and Parkinson?" Neville set his fork down and wiped his mouth, his expression grim.

"Are you sure you want to know?" Harry found his behavior odd but figured he was probably going to hear about some pureblood ritual or something. He really didn't understand those. He nodded at his friend, who sighed.

"Pansy was all over Draco. Hermione told her to stop, that there wouldn't be a betrothal contract, that she and Draco were going to marry when they loved someone. Pansy not only told her that her father had told her it was possibility, she then told Hermione that she wasn't a good cousin because she wasn't making Draco go to the Hospital Wing when he was sick." Harry wanted to snort; it all sounded extremely petty to him. Neville continued.

"Hermione gave her the chance to take it back, but she repeated it. She cast a spell to slap her in the face, then warned her that she would lose her circle of friends if she ever spoke ill of herself or her family again. Pansy covered for Hermione, but she still got detention and lost points." Harry was flabbergasted. She really slapped her and threatened to take her friends away because she didn't like her opinion. As if Neville could read his mind, he spoke again.

"I've been warning you all year, Harry. Hermione Black has more power in our world than the Headmaster, all because of who her father is. I've known her for years and she is the kindest person you'll ever meet. She hates it when people are in pain; however, there is one thing you don't do to a pureblood and that's insult their family. Just look at how angry Ron gets when one of the Slytherins say something to him. Think of how Lavender gets when the other girls make comment of her mother divorcing. It's how our world is. She restored Pansy's honor by accepting her apology and making sure that all their friends knew they were free to continue being friends with her." It still sounded ridiculous to him.

"We talk badly about her father all the time. Why would she allow that?" Neville smiled at him as if he couldn't believe he hadn't put it together yet.

"Her family has already punished Ron's family and will continue to do so if he doesn't stop. She can't threaten you with much because you don't live in our world. Plus, she wants to be your friend. She already knows that you hate her because of who her father in, so she doesn't want to give you another reason to hate her." Harry could see this but had one more question.

"So, she can't do anything to the muggleborns either?" Neville laughed.

"Oh, I didn't say that. If she convinced her father and her uncle to make a law saying that you had to meet certain criteria to return to Hogwarts, say have all O's in their classes, it would affect them most certainly. She's just smart enough to know that Dumbledore is going to have your back more than anyone because you're the Savior, the Boy-Who-Lived." Harry gulped at his words and nodded.

His mind returned to the incident two weeks prior; Hermione had threatened them all when Parvati had insulted her real father. Ron and Parvati had been reasonably cowed, but it was just now occurring to him why they had been. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about the girl that wanted to be his friend so badly holding so much power. Neville had assured him more than once that she didn't like wielding the power at all, but it was clear that she would do it if need be. It was something to file away for later contemplation.

Parvati waved him on once she realized that he was waiting on her; Harry was only too happy to comply. He liked Parvati but sometimes she was just too much energy, too much fashion, and too much gossip. He hurried from the Great Hall to the Hospital Wing, hoping that Ron would be finished eating dinner, so they could talk. He wanted to tell him about Hermione Black and what his thoughts were on the matter; surely, he would understand the pureblood aspect better than he did.

It didn't take him long to find the Hospital Wing since they had been in school now for six months. He knew where all his classes were and could find them in his sleep, though the staircases might pose a problem. Ron was indeed done eating when he pushed through the doors and was instead sitting on his bed and staring into space, a worried look on his face. Harry sat on the bed next to him.

"What's wrong, mate? You look like you've seen a ghost." Ron turned his eyes to his friend and Harry could see genuine worry in them. He raked a hand through his shaggy red hair before speaking.

"I fucked up, Harry. Malfoy came in here during Potions and he was baiting me, which means I baited him back. He insulted me, and I threw my dragon book at him, the one that had the letter from Charlie in it. If he finds it, he's going to know and snitch on us." All thoughts on the altercation between Hermione and Parkinson flew out of his mind and he began contemplating his friend's words.

"He kept the book?" Ron nodded miserably. Harry did his best to comfort his friend by punching his arm lightly.

"It'll be alright. Why would Malfoy want a book on dragons?" Ron snorted.

"You know that Draco is Latin for dragon. Why wouldn't he be interested?" Harry hadn't thought of that. However, learning about dragons and learning how to care for them were two different things. He brushed his hair back over his scar before he spoke.

"I don't think he's going to read it. We go on with the plan and we'll use my dad's cloak. We'll make sure to keep an eye out for Malfoy and Black. We both know that where there's one, there will always be the other." Ron nodded enthusiastically, happy to have a plan rather than the undecided wallowing he was doing before Harry arrived. With a shake of his head and a smile in exasperation, Harry pulled the chess board from his robes.

"Come on, we can play until just before curfew."

Ron happily complied.

-O-

Hermione headed to her detention with Professor McGonagall. Draco had told her during dinner that he needed to speak with her in private once she returned to the common room and she quickly agreed. It was clear that whatever is was he needed to discuss, it was important.

While Hermione didn't dread the detention itself, she did dread spending it with Professor McGonagall. It had been clear from the start that the woman didn't like her, that she didn't think that she was any better than a dirty traitor. She had only given herself and Draco advanced work because she had made her feel guilty, not because she cared that they were challenged in school. If she had cared, she would have gone to the governors on their behalf and fought the Headmaster's decision.

Hermione stopped at the door to the Transfiguration class room and heaved a deep breath, preparing herself for what was to come. She assumed that it would be lines; she could live with that. The Slytherin had always wrote fast. Since the door was cracked, Hermione felt that she should knock. There was no sense in getting started on the wrong foot.

"Enter."

Hermione pushed open the door to find her professor sitting at her desk grading what appeared to be essays. She wasn't sure from what year and frankly she didn't care. The last thing she wanted to do was to spend more time than necessary in this detention. She stood before her professor's desk and waited for her to quit writing. It was several seconds before she lowered her quill and stood, only to come around to the other side of her desk. Hermione was not prepared for what came next.

"Tell me why you cursed Miss Parkinson." Hermione gritted her teeth and clenched her hands into fists behind her back.

"It was accidental magic, I already told you." Professor McGonagall hummed softly and began pacing in front of her. Hermione decided that this wasn't' what she had signed up for and took matters in her own hands.

"What will I be doing for detention?" The animagus stopped in front of her and grimaced.

"Your Head of House convinced the Headmaster to cancel your detention and re-instated your points that I deducted. Apparently, the Weasley twins were his reasoning. I still want to have a conversation with you." Hermione glared at her mutinously. She had lured her up here with the promise of detention and then wanted to question her.

"Unless it pertains to my schoolwork or any misconduct, you have no right to have any sort of conversation with me." The Transfiguration professor looked shocked and then affronted. Her hands were clasped together tightly in front of her when she spoke.

"How far ahead are you in your studies?" Hermione wasn't about to set herself up. Therefore, she smiled sweetly as she answered.

"Turning mice into snuff boxes." Her professor growled at her.

"Don't lie to me, Miss Black. We both know that you're far more advanced than what you portray in class." Hermione wasn't about to bullied by this professor. Her father had told her that she had been his favorite while he was in school but had turned on him when Dumbledore refused to believe the truth. Therefore, she glared at the professor and took a step back from her towards the door.

"If you think I'm stupid enough to hand you ammunition to use against me, you're barmy." Now her professor looked offended.

"Miss Black, if you think that I would use this information against you, you're sorely mistaken." Now Hermione was livid.

"Professor, I don't trust you any further than I could throw you. You've been Dumbledore's lap dog since the first war, you refused to see the truth about my father, and you refused to acknowledge that even if it was true, that didn't mean that I was evil. Are you aware that I chose to be in Slytherin? The hat told me that I would do well in Gryffindor; what would you have done if you hadn't been able to fall back on the hating me because I'm a Slytherin? Everything I tell you, you'll run to the Headmaster and tell him. Let's just say that he's tried to insert himself in my mind once already; do you really think I'm going to give him information that he can use? Use your head, professor. You and the Headmaster have clearly drawn lines in the sand and you think we're on opposite sides. You'll never get information from me. If you want to punish me, feel free. Draco and Professor Snape will inform my father and uncle poste haste and you'll be without a job for trying to squeeze information out of a first-year student." Hermione knew she was going to get detention now. Her professor was dumbfounded at her words and it took several moments for her to gather herself and speak.

"I would never tell the Headmaster something that you told me in confidence and I don't hate you." Hermione snorted.

"I never once said that you would tell the Headmaster with your mouth. He'll pluck it from your mind while you don't even realize that he's there. As for you not hating me, maybe if you acted like you believed that in public, I'd have reason to believe you." Hermione stepped closer to the door, more than ready to escape.

"I told Professor Snape I would tutor the other first years after detention and since that isn't going to occur, I'm leaving." Hermione didn't wait to see if her professor nodded or not. She turned and fled.

It didn't take long for her to find her way to her uncle's office. She knocked on the door politely and it swung open immediately. She was ushered inside and once the door shut, he gave her a quizzical look. Hermione sighed, sure she was going to get in trouble now.

"I just got back from detention. Or from what was supposed to be detention." His eye brows rose, and she sighed again.

"Just look." She lowered her barriers and allowed her godfather in. Hermione replayed the memory in her mind, her uncle watching closely. When she finished, her uncle pulled out and she re-shored her barriers. He rubbed his chin softly, clearly contemplating what he had shown her. It was several minutes later that he spoke.

"I'm proud of you. She was certainly fishing for information though I'm sure she was just curious. You confound her, she has no idea what to think of you. She wants to believe Dumbledore, but she also can see that you aren't a malicious girl. She even admitted in the meeting with the Headmaster that Pansy probably insulted your family. She's a pureblood herself, she knows our ways. However, I want you and Draco to watch yourselves around her. The last thing we need is for her to learn something important." Hermione nodded.

"Are you angry with me for this morning?" Uncle Sev opened his arms to her and she hugged him close.

"No, little one, I'm not angry and neither is your father or uncle. They're proud of you for doing what needed to be done." She nodded against his chest and held the hug for a full minute before pulling away. He seemed to sense that she had other things to do that night, so he shooed her towards the door.

"Remember my words, little one. Tread carefully and don't forget to tell your cousin." Hermione blew him a kiss before nodding.

With a quick wave, Hermione left the same way she came and made her way to the common room. The second she came through, everyone began barraging her with questions about her detention. She still laughed a little that they Slytherins all called Professor McGonagall Professor Cat. With a promise to tell them after a few minutes, she turned to see Draco waiting for her impatiently. She sat down next to him and cast a silencing charm around them.

"What's wrong, what's so important?" Draco brushed hair off his forehead and blew air out of his mouth in one long breath.

"Weasel is in the Hospital Wing, I saw him there earlier today. He has a dragon bite on his hand, I saw it. I knew we were going to have to tell someone but then he threw a book at me. In the book, I found a letter from one of the older Weasleys. Here, read it." Hermione took the letter and opened it.

 _Dear Ron,_

 _How are you? Thanks for the letter - I'd be glad to take the Norwegian Ridgeback, but it won't be easy getting him here. I think the best thing will be to send him over with some friends of mine who are coming over to visit me next week. Trouble is, they mustn't be seen carrying an illegal dragon._

 _Could you get the Ridgeback up the tallest tower at midnight on Saturday? They can meet you there and take him away while it's still dark._

 _Send me an answer as soon as soon as you can._

 _Love,_

 _Charlie_

Hermione sighed, unsure of what they should do now. Should they tell someone and let them deal with it, getting not only Hagrid, but Harry and the Weasel in trouble? Should they trust that the duo would get the dragon to the tallest tower that late at night with no help whatsoever? After a few moments contemplation, Hermione turned to Draco.

"I think that we should let them try to get rid of it. However, I don't trust them to get it done on their own. I'm not that confident in them. I think we should follow them and make sure that it gets done." Draco was nodding slowing, considering her words. Finally, he met her eyes.

"That sound like the plan that has the least amount of collateral damage. Merlin knows the two idiots are just trying to be good friends. Why it never occurred to them to tell Hagrid he needed to tell the Headmaster I'll never know." Hermione snorted at his words but remembered her uncle's words.

She told him about her conversation with Professor McGonagall and then the words from their godfather. He was livid at the fact that she had been tricked into meeting the Transfiguration professor, but she had quickly reassured him that she was fine, and their godfather had told her she had done well. He was quick to cool down which made Hermione smile softly to herself. Just as she was going to comment on how much better he looked, the crowd pressed in closer, wanting answers about her detention. Hermione laughed to herself as she cancelled the silencing charm.

Some things would never change.

-O-

Minerva was still seated at her desk in her class room at almost midnight. She had a tumbler of fire whiskey in her hand and had been contemplating Miss Black's words since she left.

It was true, she hadn't attempted to hide the fact that she didn't like the girl. The animagus hadn't gone out of her way to see if the girl had been challenged like she had been known to do with her lions in the past. Bill Weasley had been a prime example; he had been a precocious child and had advanced quickly. The rest of her words didn't make as much sense.

Dumbledore would never lie to her about Sirius being guilty if he wasn't. The man was nearly infallible, and his instincts were on pointe. Minerva believed that Hermione Black may have been misled because it was obvious that she believed in her father's innocence. There was also no way in hell that her mentor was ransacking her mind; he was a Gryffindor after all.

What the Slytherin girl had said regarding Dumbledore trying to look in her mind startled her though. How would she know what to look for, let alone the fact the Headmaster was a legilimens? How could she be that skilled in occlumency at the tender age of twelve? The only person she knew that knew the practice of occlumency was Severus. Would he have taught her?

Minerva wanted to laugh at herself. Of course, he wouldn't have. She was Sirius Black's daughter and her father was single-handedly responsible for the death of his childhood sweetheart, Lily Evans. She had been certain that he carried a torch for her still, but she had never asked him. The animagus had a strict policy that if someone didn't bring it up in conversation, she shouldn't ask about it. This sounded hypocritical since she had just questioned a student about something she hadn't wanted to talk about, but it was also fact that she had brought the whole subject up in Transfiguration that day Weasley had torn her papers in half.

Minerva threw back the remainder of her whiskey. The contents of her conversation with the young girl would bear further contemplation when she wasn't quite as inebriated. Vowing to watch the Headmaster closer, Minerva rose to her feet unsteadily and started for her chambers.

It was an afterthought that she needed to make Hermione Black trust her.

A/N- There you are, friends, another chapter down. I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks again to everyone reading and reviewing, you have no idea how much I appreciate it. Leave me a message after the beep and tell me what you think, whether you love it or hate it.

*Charlie's letter was taken word for word from Philosopher's Stone.

Next chapter, a dragon is sent off.

Love,

Alicia


	18. Chapter 18

A/N- Well, y'all, I survived the rodeo, praise Jesus. My daughter rode in the Grand Entry, so I was forced to attend once but I suppose that I can live with that. The bad news is that I must work the next six days so I'm not sure how quickly I'll update. I continue to write on my phone during my lunch breaks, but we shall see. Don't be surprised if it takes an extra few days. Shout out to everyone reading and reviewing, favoriting and following. You guys are seriously the bomb. I'm going to shut up now and let you get on with reading.

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing about this story except the personal twist on the plot line. We all know that there isn't anything new under the sun. I'm a broke bitch so it's obvious that I haven't made any money from my stories.

Chapter 18

February 8, 1992

Harry sighed deeply, picking at his dinner. He was nervous for that night, Saturday night, the night that Charlie's friends would be arriving to pick up Norbert. He wasn't quite sure if Hermione and Malfoy knew their plans or not, Ron had never gotten his book back, but he was nervous that they would be caught. Not only did he and Ron have a lot to lose, so did Hagrid.

There hadn't been any further encounters with Hermione Black since he had accused her of listening in on his, Ron's, and Pav's conversation. He had thought long and hard about the conversation that he had had with Neville about why Hermione had slapped Parkinson and why she still tolerated the behavior from himself and Ron. The whole concept was still foreign to him, but he could readily admit that the wizarding world was wildly different from the muggle and he was nowhere near well-versed enough to judge.

Harry also admitted to himself, only in the privacy of the curtains around his bed, that Hermione showcasing her power and dominance made him rock hard. He had wanked several times since then to the image of her slapping Pansy and then threatening to ruin her; he wasn't sure if this made him a deviant (he had heard the term from his aunt while she whispered it to his uncle) but truly, he didn't care.

Harry wished more than anything that he could get over his infatuation with Hermione Black. He would freely admit that she was the most beautiful girl in school, all the boys in Gryffindor said so, even the seventh years. She was also the most powerful, that much had been evidenced in the sparks from her curls when she was angry and the hazy look the took over her eyes when she had been done wrong. Harry could admit that he saw why she was his heart's desire even though he knew that it would never happen.

For as much power she held, Harry also didn't think that she abused it. According to Neville, she had told everyone that Pansy wasn't to be shunned and had seemingly forgiven her without any repercussions. She rarely retaliated to Ron even though he tormented her worse than anyone, even though Harry had the most reason to torment her. She hadn't told anyone about the dragon that she had spied on the table in Hagrid's cabin. Harry didn't think that she was going to throw away the stiff set of morals just to turn them in for helping out a friend; there was no other way that she could see it as anything but.

Harry was pulled from his ruminations by Ron pushing away his plate. It seemed that their daring escape for Norbert that night hadn't dampened his appetite in the least. Neville shot them a questioning glance before turning back to his Herbology text in front of him. Dean and Seamus were caught in an animated conversation with the twins and Lavender, Parvati was listening in and laughing. Harry didn't think that he could handle anymore normal at the moment, so he gestured for Ron to follow him out of the Great Hall.

Since he knew that he would never be able to study while he waited the few hours before the drop off, he pulled Ron to the quidditch pitch. He knew if he went flying for just a little while, it would settle his nerves. Ron seemed amenable, so he followed without complaint. Just as they left the castle, Harry leaned over and spoke softly to his best mate.

"Are you nervous? I know I am. The last time we were out after curfew on purpose, we almost got eaten by a three headed dog." Ron snorted at his friend before answering.

"Yeah, I'm very nervous. I'm afraid that Malfoy and his pet are going to snitch on us and get us and Hagrid in trouble. If that happens, I don't think I'll be able to control myself around them." Even though Harry knew that his friend needed to reign his temper in, he couldn't help but agree. Keeping his mouth shut about the matter from here on would be extremely difficult. Still, he needed to remind his friend just what was at stake.

"I know you won't want to control your temper, but you must. What will your dad do if he loses his job?" Ron sighed deeply before answering.

"I know I can't lose control, but Merlin, those two tossers would deserve it." Harry nodded as they reached the broom shed. Since Ron didn't have a broom, he was relegated to the school brooms and since Harry didn't want his friend to feel bad about not having one, he used one as well.

The pair took off from the ground and started out by flying around the pitch. Ron appeared to be flying in a very set pattern; Harry suspected that he was imitating what he had seen his brothers do during practice. He didn't want to worry about quidditch, however, so the Gryffindor left Ron to it. As the evening wore on, more and more students made their way inside. Harry knew that they should as well, it had been drilled into them by Madam Hooch that flying at night wasn't safe, he was loathe to do so. Flying calmed his nerves.

Finally, once darkness had fallen completely, Harry hollered for Ron to call it a night. They landed in the middle of the pitch and walked the rest of the way to the broom shed, not wanting to take a chance of hitting the dwelling while on their brooms. His nerves returned as strong as before and he sighed.

The pair headed for the castle, Harry knowing that they needed to get to their common room before curfew. There was no way that they would be able to sneak back out later if they were caught being out after curfew already. The corridors were mostly empty on their way to the common room; this fact would be helpful once they were sneaking out. However, it was a Saturday night so there would surely be professors out patrolling until who knew what time.

Once they were back in the common room, Harry and Ron were blasted with music. The older students were dancing to what Harry thought was the Weird Sisters and the younger ones were watching and laughing. Fred and George had somehow managed to sneak in food and drinks, so it reminded Harry of a tame party. It made no matter, though, if this continued, it would be much easier for them to sneak out.

Harry and Ron took seats on one of the couches in front of the fire, Dean and Seamus sat next to them. They proposed that they play a game of exploding snap and while Ron accepted, Harry shook his head. His head wouldn't be in the game and there was nothing worse than having the cards explode on you. The three boys seemed to enjoy their game and Harry even laughed when Ron ended up with a singed jumper because he had been just a little too slow.

Time passed slowly for Harry; he wasn't sure why he was so nervous about this, he hadn't been near this nervous when they had sneaked out to fight the wizard's duel. Now that Ron was caught up in the game with Dean and Seamus, he didn't seem nervous at all. Harry could only shake his head; only Ron could get sidetracked from something this important by a game.

Eleven o'clock arrived and Harry nudged Ron. They were meeting Charlie's friends at midnight and they still had to get out to Hagrid's and get the dragon before making their way back up to the Astronomy Tower. Harry had already stowed the invisibility cloak inside his school robes so all they had to do was get away from Dean and Seamus. Ron seemed to realize that and took it upon himself.

"I've had enough, guys, my mum is going to kill me for ruining this jumper." He turned to Harry next.

"Let's go get some of those snacks while these two find someone else to play with." Dean and Seamus clapped Ron on the shoulder and stood, already heading off to where Neville was talking to the twins.

Harry and Ron started for the door, looking over their shoulders to make sure that nobody was paying attention. The music was still blaring so everyone was focused on that and Harry was grateful. They slipped out of the portrait hole quietly. The Fat Lady sniffed at them when she realized that they were heading out rather than in.

"You know it's after curfew, if you're caught, you'll be in trouble." Harry didn't answer her, but Ron rolled his eyes at her.

"We're aware, we know the time. We'll be back shortly." Harry started down the corridor a little way before he threw the cloak over himself and Ron. The last thing he wanted was for the Fat Lady to realize what his cloak did and tell one of the professors.

Once they were headed to the main entrance of the castle, things got interesting. The pair ran into several students on the way, some snogging and some clearly up to no good. They had to duck into an alcove when they passed Professor Snape and then again when they almost ran into Professor Sprout. They finally reached the main entrance and slipped through, heaving sighs of relief that they hadn't been caught.

The way to Hagrid's was well-known and well-travelled by the pair. They didn't trip on the rocks that littered the ground since they knew where they all were. Once the reached the gamekeepers hut, Harry pulled the cloak off himself and Ron. Harry knocked on the door and it swung open immediately. Hagrid was crying, tears rolling down his face while he blew his nose on what looked to be a tablecloth.

"Thanks, ya two, fer doin' this fo' me. It means a lot ta Norbert an' me." Harry patted his enormous friend on the arm.

"I know, Hagrid. I'm sorry you can't keep him." He waved them both in the house and gestured to a crate on the floor.

"I got 'im settled in there, he's got 'is favert teddy and plenty 'o food." Harry nodded and waved Ron over.

"I hate to run, Hagrid, but we only have thirty minutes to get Norbert up to the Astronomy Tower. We have to go." Hagrid nodded and blew his nose again. Harry assumed that he had said his goodbyes to the dragon since he made no moves to the crate.

Harry took one end of the crate while Ron took the other. It wasn't very heavy, but it was awkward, making the trip to the Astronomy Tower an interesting one. Since the cloak wasn't big enough for the crate and both of them, Harry decided to throw the cloak over the crate. Hopefully, they wouldn't run into any professors and if they did, they'd be able to move fast enough to hide before they were caught.

The trip back to the castle took much longer then the trip out to Hagrid's. They might have been able to go a little faster if they could see. Ron had wanted to use his wand to light the way, but Harry wouldn't let him. The last thing they needed was for someone to look out one of the many windows of the castle and see someone outside lighting their wand.

They were as quiet as they could be when they re-entered the castle. Norbert was no longer calm inside the crate and was moving from end to end, throwing the weight around. Once they reached the second floor, Harry could hear footsteps heading their direction. As quickly as they could, the pair slipped into an alcove directly across from the griffin that guarded the Headmaster's office. After just a few moments, Professor Snape stepped to the griffin and muttered something, Harry assumed it was the password since the statue moved and allowed him entrance.

Harry and Ron crept out of the alcove and hurried to the staircase. Professor Snape was the very last person that he wanted to be caught by. They hurried the rest of the way through the castle, finally reaching the Astronomy Tower with only minutes to spare. He wasn't sure how they hadn't been caught but he wasn't complaining.

The pair sat on the crate as they waited for Charlie and his friends. Both were breathing hard and even though it probably wasn't the smartest place to sit, Harry was beyond caring. He wanted to be back in their dorm, curled up in bed. He didn't mind helping Hagrid, but this ordeal had turned out to be more trouble than he had expected.

There was wand light off in the distance; Harry nudged Ron, so he could stand and help him haul the crate closer to the edge. Once Norbert was in a better position, they turned their attention back to approaching people. Harry sighed impatiently. They must not be certain which tower was the Astronomy Tower.

Finally, the approaching light was upon them and three people landed in front of them. It was clear that one of them was Ron's brother; he had matching hair and freckles. However, where Ron was tall and lanky, Charlie was shorter and much more muscular. He had heard stories from Ron and the twins about how Charlie was a womanizer, that he never dated and only shagged girls for a good time. Harry wondered why any girl would shag him knowing that he would never date them and would be with another girl the next day. After seeing him in person, he understood why girls fell for him.

The two friends that he had brought with him were built similarly. Charlie couldn't have been more than six feet, but his friends were taller. Burn scars littered all their arms and Harry made a mental note to never become a dragon tamer. Charlie stepped forward and hugged Ron tight before ruffling his hair.

"Hey, little bro, haven't seen you in ages. How are you?" Ron was grinning at his brother.

"We're good. Didn't know what we were getting ourselves into when we agreed to help Hagrid." Charlie opened the crate just a little to peer inside.

"Where did he even get the egg?" Harry shrugged his shoulders, so Ron answered.

"We have no idea. All I know is that after that bite, I'm ready to be shot of it." Charlie reached out and took Ron's hand, so he could inspect it. It was still red and inflamed but the wound itself had closed. The redhead released him and pulled a tube out of his pocket. He threw it to Ron with a grin.

"Put this on it twice a day until it isn't red anymore. Pomfrey did a good job getting it to close but it'll stay red and painful for ages without that cream. It'll still take a week or so, but the pain should be gone." Ron grinned and shoved the tube into his pocket.

"Thanks, Charlie." The two men that were with him pulled what looked like belts out of their robes and began lashing the crate to their brooms. Harry didn't see how hauling a crate between them several hundred feet in the air was safe but who was he to judge? Like Ron, he was just ready to be shot of Norbert. After they were finished, Charlie hugged Ron one more time.

"We really have to go. Tell the twins I said hi and that they need to write more. I'll come visit over the summer." Ron hugged him back and nodded before stepping back.

Without another word, the three of them took off and flew away into the darkness. Harry could just make out the crate swinging between the two brooms and he hoped that dragons couldn't vomit, otherwise they would have a huge mess to clean up. Once they could no longer distinguish the people out of the darkness, Harry and Ron both turned to leave. Before they could even take a step, a familiar voice rang out, fury evident in her tone.

"Just what is going on here?"

Fuck.

-O-

Hermione and Draco watched from an alcove on the seventh floor as Harry and Weasley wrestled something between them. It was clear that there was something there even though they couldn't see it. Hermione realized that they had thrown the invisibility cloak over whatever held the dragon.

After they watched the pair struggle their load up the steps leading to the Astronomy Tower, Hermione crept up after them slowly, so she wouldn't make any noise. When she realized that there were people up there with them and they were lashing what appeared to be a crate to two brooms, she came back down to find Draco waiting impatiently.

"We can go. They're hooking the crate to brooms as we speak." Draco let out a relieved breath and nodded.

"Let's go before we get caught." A voice cleared behind them.

"It's too late for that." Hermione dropped her head in resignation. They had come this far and once their mission was accomplished, they'd been caught by the teacher that hated them most in school. Draco turned and stood shoulder to shoulder with Hermione, meeting the gaze of Professor McGonagall.

"What are you two doing out of your common room so late at night? Don't even think about lying to me either." Hermione was unsure of what to say. If Harry and Ron told her the truth, she would end up looking like a liar if she had tried to cover for them. Draco turned and looked at her before shrugging his shoulders. Hermione sighed.

"Everyone has told us that you aren't really accepted in your House unless you sneak up to the Astronomy Tower at midnight. You caught us leaving." The animagus cocked her head to the side, clearly disbelieving of her words.

"I don't believe that, Miss Black. What is up in the Astronomy Tower that made you leave your common room?" Hermione knew that she answered too quickly but couldn't change it now.

"Nothing, Professor." The woman narrowed her eyes at them.

"Wait here." Hermione sighed again. She was going to find Harry and Weasley and they were going to think that Hermione and Draco had snitched them out. She could hear them speaking and only moments later both boys followed McGonagall back down to the seventh floor. Weasley exploded.

"I knew you two couldn't just leave well enough alone!" Harry was glaring at them too and Hermione knew that the hope of friendship was gone now. Even though she wanted to tell them that they hadn't snitched on them, she refrained. It wasn't like they would believe her anyways. The animagus turned to the Gryffindors and spoke.

"Why were you two out of the common room? I knew you were gone when I was called by a ghost to come put an end to the party." Hermione could see Harry trying to come up with a believable reason. In the end, he settled for one that wouldn't happen in a million years.

"We were doing our Astronomy homework and we needed to come out and see the constellation to clarify a point." Hermione wanted to burst out laughing. As if Weasley did homework, let alone clarify something to do with said homework. However, she refrained. Professor McGonagall seemed to disbelieve them as well.

"You're telling me that you two were doing your homework during that party? The party where the music was so loud I couldn't hear myself think?" Both boys nodded their heads vigorously. The older woman rubbed her temples for a moment before sighing.

"I don't believe any of you and since you can't give me a valid reason to be out of your common rooms at midnight, you will all four lose fifty house points and each serve a detention tomorrow night. Let this be a lesson to all of you." Hermione was surprised that they had all been punished equally. However, the animagus turned to Hermione and Draco and spoke again.

"We will drop these two off at their common room and then I will escort the two of you to your Head of House. I'm sure he'll be wondering why there is a point loss of this magnitude." Hermione nodded but couldn't help but worry.

Her godfather hadn't been angry at her yet, for any points loss or supposed detention she had received, but she had a feeling that this time would be different. She and Draco should have just gone to him when they discovered the dragon and had him watch the two idiot Gryffindors to make sure that they got the dragon sent off. As if he could feel her worrying, Draco pulled her hand through his arm and patted it. Weasley rolled his eyes at the gesture while Harry silently fumed.

Professor McGonagall lead them down the corridor to where Hermione assumed the entrance to Gryffindor Tower was. When the professor was far enough away, Ron leaned over and hissed in her ear.

"You won't get away with snitching on us. We will pay you back." Hermione rolled her eyes at him but remained silent. Draco was sneering at the redhead. Harry pulled his friend away from her, so he could whisper to her now.

"I know you both snitched and it was a low blow. Don't ever let us catch you doing something wrong or the pair of you are going to go down." Hermione could see the hatred in his eyes and her eyes pricked with tears. No, Harry hadn't liked her before but there had never been hatred in his gaze before. The professor came to a stop ahead of them and gestured with her head for the two boys to get in the common room. They muttered the password low enough that Hermione didn't hear it and once they were gone, Professor McGonagall started off again.

It took them nearly ten minutes to reach Professor Snape's office. She assumed that he would be in his quarters by now, but the light was still on under the door. Hermione tightened her hand on her cousin's arm while McGonagall knocked briskly on the door. It swung open to find their godfather glaring at them all. After he waved them inside, he spoke.

"What is going on here?" Professor McGonagall sniffed imperiously before explaining.

"I found your snakes just outside the Astronomy Tower. They gave me some rubbish story about it being tradition to sneak out and visit there but I don't believe them. Upon further examination, Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley were already in the Tower. I think that there was some sort of altercation that was planned but I have no proof." Her uncle looked livid.

"What were their punishments?" Hermione quailed under his gaze, shifting closer to Draco. The animagus clasped her hands in front of her as she answered.

"All four of them lost fifty points a piece and they are all to serve a detention tomorrow evening." Hermione could see a flicker of surprise cross her uncle's face, but it was gone before McGonagall saw it. She assumed that it was because the professor had punished them all equally.

"Thank you, Minerva, I can handle it from here." Professor McGonagall bowed her head slightly before turning around and leaving them there alone with an obviously angry godfather. Once the door was closed, he waved his wand and cast a silencing charm.

"What in the fuck were you two doing out after curfew? You know that this will reach the Headmaster's ears. I can't believe that you two were so reckless." Hermione felt tears prick her eyes at his tone but held them back ruthlessly. She couldn't remember her godfather ever speaking to her like that and she didn't like it. Draco knew she was upset and began rubbing soft circles in between her shoulder blades as he spoke.

"We should have come to you, but we didn't want Potter and Weasley to think that we had snitched on them. That idiot Hagrid as well." Her uncle seemed to stop his pacing for a moment due to his confusion.

"What are you talking about?" Hermione let Draco continue since he had started the explanation. Her uncle still looked angry, but he no longer looked like he wanted to kill someone.

"We followed Potter and Weasley one night out to Hagrid's. We were afraid that they were going to get in trouble. They ended up watching a dragon egg hatch with the man. We never said anything because we really didn't want anyone to get in trouble and it would have made the whole rivalry between our houses explode. We promised ourselves that if it hurt someone we would tell." The livid expression appeared on his face again.

"The day I missed Potions, Weasley was in the Hospital Wing with a bite on his hand. A dragon bite. We exchanged words and he threw a book at me. I knew that we were going to have to come tell you. However, I opened the book and there was a letter in there from Charlie Weasley, making arrangements to pick up the dragon tonight from the Astronomy Tower at midnight. Since they were getting rid of it for Hagrid, we just followed them to make sure that it was really gone. They were lashing the crate with the dragon in it to brooms when Professor Cat caught us." Hermione watched in horror as her uncle picked up the tumbler he had been drinking fire whiskey from and threw it against the wall. His voice was soft now.

"You're telling me that that idiot Hagrid had a dragon on the grounds and you two knew about it and did nothing because you didn't want to get anyone in trouble?" Hermione shrunk into her cousin's side even further before nodding. Draco answered.

"Yes, professor." Hermione wasn't sure if it was the fact that he had thrown something or that Draco had called him professor that forced her uncle to calm down. They never addressed him as professor when they were in private. Her uncle raked a hand through his limp hair before picking up his wand and waving it at the mess, vanishing it from sight. He sounded much calmer when he spoke again.

"I don't think I need to tell you both how monumentally stupid that was. Dragons are dangerous; they aren't pets and they can kill people. Everyone was lucky that Weasley only suffered a bite and that Madam Pomfrey could treat it. I don't expect you to tell me all your adventures; I don't want you to tell me everything. Sometimes you need to make mistakes to learn from them. For the love of Merlin, if it's involving a bloody dragon, tell me. You won't get in trouble. Do you understand?" Hermione nodded her head again and Draco spoke for them both.

"Yes, sir."

Hermione didn't like feeling like this; she was a well-behaved child that couldn't remember her father or either of her uncles ever raising their voice at her. She had never been spanked or anything like what Pansy and Daphne talked about. Sure, the elves weren't above using a stinging hex on her rear if she misbehaved but she was unfamiliar with this show of temper, especially from her calm and controlled uncle. Her father, yes, but never Uncle Sev or Uncle Luci.

Draco seemed unfazed, however, and she chalked that up to the relationship he had with Uncle Luci. There had been plenty of affection when they were younger but when Draco started to get older, Uncle Luci had gotten more distant. He told her that it was preparing Draco to be not only a Malfoy, but a man. Nobody would take him seriously if he hugged other men and showed them affection in public. Even though he doubted his father's love for him sometimes, Hermione could kind of understand.

Hermione watched her uncle finally look at them and his eyes widened at what he saw. He turned completely to them and held his arms open to them. She wanted to bolt into them but waited for a moment to make sure that that was really what he wanted. When he didn't move, Hermione dragged Draco into her uncle's embrace. She felt him kiss both their heads and then rest his cheek atop her curls. Draco pulled away first, but Hermione held tight to him around his waist. He carded his hand through her curls as he spoke.

"I'm sorry, little one. I didn't mean to get so angry. I shouldn't have shouted at you or thrown the glass. It just worried me that not only could the two of you been injured, Potter could have been as well." Hermione nodded against his chest.

"We'll tell you next time, we promise." He snorted at her words before pulling her away from him.

"Let's just hope that there isn't a next time." She giggled just a little and nodded.

"You're both going to experience a fall out come morning and everyone finds out where the hundred points went." Draco snorted now.

"We'll tell them to go get bent. Hermione wins the most points for our house anyways, she has more of a right than anyone to lose them." Her uncle nodded.

"I agree, just expect it. For now, the pair of you need to get back to your common room and go to bed." Hermione and Draco both nodded before heading towards the door. Their godfather shot them a smile before they opened the door and showed themselves out. Hermione sighed as the common room came into sight.

It had been a long night.

-O-

Severus stalked through the corridors once more, heading for the Headmaster's office. While he tried to keep his visits with the man to a minimum, he felt that the situation called for it. A bloody dragon in the school was more than urgent if anyone asked him.

Severus felt terrible for frightening his goddaughter. He had never shouted at her, not even when she was small. While Sirius was known for exploding in anger over various things, Hermione had never been on the receiving end of his anger. She was an extremely well-behaved child and he doubted that Lucius had ever yelled at her either. Seeing her shrinking away from him and into Draco had calmed him down faster than a calming draught would have. It was no secret that Hermione was tender-hearted and even though she would be the first one to show a person who was boss, it ate at her for days and it wore on her conscience.

He muttered the password to the griffin once more. At least this conversation would be more stimulating than the one he had attended earlier. While it was necessary, Severus hated going over the expense reports for not only the school lab and stores, but his personal ones as well. He wasn't surprised when he saw that while Albus was now in pajamas, he was still seated behind his desk rifling through paperwork.

"What has you calling so late, Severus?" The Slytherin sighed and took a seat in front of the desk.

He told the Headmaster everything that his two young charges had told him. Severus implored to the man that Hagrid needed speaking to, that he was bringing dangerous creatures onto the grounds and then letting two eleven-year-olds make the trek out of the castle and then back at midnight. He couldn't understand why the man just hadn't taken the beast to the Astronomy Tower himself. There would have been far less questions asked. When he finished, he sat back and waited for the reassurance that the Headmaster was going to take care of this. Instead, the man smiled at him softly.

"All's well that ends well." Severus couldn't believe this blasé attitude. He couldn't keep the bite out of his tone.

"You're telling me that's your final say on this matter? Potter and Weasley were getting rid of a dragon. What would you have done if your precious Potter had been bitten?" The old fool's eyes started twinkling.

"Harry and Mr. Weasley were demonstrating exactly why they were put in Gryffindor. They were helping Hagrid because their loyalty is to their friends. I will of course speak with Hagrid, but all is well. The dragon is gone and that's what matters." Severus doubted that the man was going to say a single word to Hagrid; he had always been a favorite of Albus'. Rather than sit there and argue (he would just be wasting his breath), Severus stood and headed for the door.

He didn't say a word before he left. If he did, he would likely explode and tell the Headmaster exactly what he thought of him. It wouldn't be a pretty scene, that was certain. Therefore, Severus stalked out of the office and through the corridors until he was ensconced in his quarters. There, he poured himself another glass of whiskey before settling in his arm chair. After this glass, he would head to bed. He would write the letters to Sirius and Lucius in the morning.

It had been a long night.

A/N- There you are, y'all, another chapter. I literally banged this out in two hours so if it's terrible, I apologize. Thanks again to everyone out there reading, I really do appreciate you all. Leave me a message after the beep and tell me what you thought. Reviews are love.

Next chapter, detention and the Dark Lord.

Love,

Alicia


	19. Chapter 19

A/N- Hey, all, I'm back with another chapter. I got a few PM's asking me why I've made Hermione so passive and why she feared Severus. It's easier to just answer here. Hermione was raised as a pureblood, not a muggleborn. As a general rule, purebloods treat their women with more care, pamper them so to speak, so she has been sheltered to a degree. She would never dream of letting someone slander her family name and she's more than powerful, but she's been taught to let men take care of certain things. Look at how Draco looks out for her and she lets him; the wizarding world is patriarchal, and Hermione has grown up in it. Her backbone only shows when she is pushed.

As for why she fears Severus, that's because he has always been a favored uncle. He's taught her and loved her and she's been a well-behaved child. She's never had him angry at her before, let alone show his anger in such a demonstrative way. I remember being young and hiding behind my brothers when my dad would yell so I don't see this as too far-fetched.

Anyhoo, enough for now. Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing, y'all keep me motivated.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story. The characters belong to J.K.R. and the trope has been done a thousand times before. I don't make any money off my stories, otherwise I wouldn't be eating hot dogs for dinner tonight.

Chapter 19

February 9, 1992

Harry was still livid. He had been fuming the night before when he had realized that the Slytherins had snitched on them. He had assumed that it would get better as the day went on, cooling his anger, but that wasn't the case. He and Ron had woken up that morning and by the time that he went to breakfast, their whole house had known that they were the ones that had lost them a hundred points, taking them out of the running for first place in the house cup.

Harry and Ron had tried to explain to Seamus, Dean, and Neville that the Slytherins had snitched on them, that they had been helping Hagrid, but Neville had openly scoffed at them. When he had told them that Hermione and Draco would never snitch on them because they wanted to be friends with them, Ron had lunged for their friend. Harry had managed to pull him back at the last moment but that didn't mean that the whole house hadn't seen their exchange. Neville had made sure to tell everyone that Hermione Black and Draco Malfoy wouldn't have snitched on Harry Potter. Since a good portion of the Gryffindors were purebloods, none of them dared to believe the story that Ron and Harry were telling. None of them wanted to cross the Malfoys and the Blacks.

This had soured Harry's mood even further. Before, he had only been extremely angry. Now, he was outraged. He knew that the pair had snitched on himself and Ron, they just didn't want to lose face with the rest of the school to admit it. Ron agreed with him, but the twins just shook their heads at them and told them that they were being stupid. Even Parvati wanted no part in their accusations.

Harry wanted to do something to retaliate to the Slytherins, but he was unsure as to what. He didn't want to be caught and he was scared to death that if he was, he would lose even more credibility in the school. First and foremost, he wanted to prove his innocence and make sure that the world knew that the Slytherins were really at fault.

Harry tried to put it all out of his mind as he and Ron headed down to Hagrid's hut. They had just finished lunch and since it was a Sunday, they had the rest of the day free. They should probably be doing homework, but Harry knew that he was too pissed off to concentrate. Therefore, he and Ron had decided to go down to Hagrid's hut and make sure that he knew that Norbert was sent off with Charlie before they had been caught.

After Harry knocked on the door of the small hut, it swung open to reveal Hagrid wearing his usual garb. He looked like he was getting ready to go out into the Forbidden Forest, but he ushered them in like he had no other plans. After serving them tea, the half-giant started to cry.

"I'm so sorry, I neva' meant fer ya ta get in trouble fer me." Harry's heart stopped for a moment. How did anyone know that Hagrid had even been involved? This was just further proof that Hermione and Malfoy had snitched on him. His voice was hard when he answered.

"It wasn't your fault, it was the fault of those that turned us in. Or maybe mine and Ron's for letting them discover the truth." Hagrid shook his head as he blew his nose.

"No, no, Perfessa' Dumbledore said tha' he didn't discover abou' the dragon 'til afta' you were caught. Perfessa' Snape tol' 'im." Harry had to stop for a moment to process this. If Hermione and Malfoy had snitched, wouldn't they have told them about the dragon?

"We know they snitched, Hagrid. Don't try to keep us from hating them for what they did." Hagrid looked perplexed at his words. After a few moments, he spoke.

"Who do ya think tol' on ya?" Harry couldn't keep the sneer from his expression.

"Hermione Black and Draco Malfoy. They knew when we were taking the dragon to the Astronomy Tower. They clearly told McGonagall." Hagrid shook his shaggy head.

"No, they din't snitch. Perfessa' McGonagall caught them outside the Astronomy Tower; she thought tha they were spying on ya. They din't say anythin' abou' the dragon 'til they were already caught." Harry wasn't sure that he believed this information and from the look on Ron's face, it was clear that he believed it even less. Harry wasn't sure what to believe. Hermione Black would lie to save her own skin (she was a Slytherin after all) and Hagrid would parrot anything that Dumbledore told him. Rather than argue with his first friend, Harry changed the subject.

"Well, regardless of what happened, we only ended up with a points loss and one detention. It could have been way worse." Hagrid nodded.

"Yeah, the Headmaster did decide ta make your detention wi' me." Harry couldn't believe how this just kept getting better and better. He sputtered for a few moments before he finally asked his question.

"How do you know the they didn't tell on us all?" Hagrid cocked his head to the side.

"Perfessa Dumbledore wouldn't lie 'bout somethin' li' tha'." Harry wanted to shake his head in exasperation but decided to just let it drop. At least their detention wouldn't be terrible since Hagrid was overseeing it.

Harry and Ron left shortly after that, promising to see their large friend that evening. He told them that their detention was scheduled to begin at six, right after dinner, and asked that the pair of them pass on to Hermione and Malfoy the start time. Harry had grumbled about it but in the end agreed.

Since they still had a couple hours until dinner, Harry sighed and turned to head towards the castle. He knew Ron wasn't going to like his suggestion, hell, he didn't like it, but it needed to be done.

"We better work on some homework before dinner. Snape and Flitwick will be pissed if our homework isn't done tomorrow." Ron cursed under his breath for a full minute before finally agreeing.

"Wish they were all like Quirrell. He never gives homework and when he does, it's stuff we already learned in class." Harry didn't quite agree but nodded anyways.

In truth, Professor Quirrell kind of freaked him out. He wasn't mean or malicious like Snape, but he definitely watched Harry with a level of fascination that he wasn't comfortable with. He did his best to pay the man no mind but sometimes it was difficult when he could feel his eyes boring holes in the back of his head. Not to mention, Harry didn't mind most homework; he loved learning about magic and knew that he was going to miss it once he had to return to the Dursleys.

Once they were back in the castle, they made their way to Gryffindor Tower, so they could retrieve their bags and their assignments. Nobody paid them any mind and he was unsure if it was because they were all engrossed in their own activities or because none of them were speaking to them. Nobody had been happy about the point loss.

The pair started for the library, dreading the Potion's essay that was due the following day. Harry did well in his essays and such, it was more his practical work that left something to be desired. After they entered the library, Harry regretted deciding to come. Hermione Black and her gang of Slytherin firsties were all sitting at an enormous table with Neville and the twins. They appeared to be working on homework, though Hermione would lean over and correct one of the twins here and there. He remembered that she was advanced in her studies, so he guessed that if someone needed free help with their homework, she would be the one to ask. Harry tried to tell himself that that was the only reason the twins hung out with her but deep down, he knew that was a lie.

Harry groaned. He remembered telling Hagrid that he would inform Black and Malfoy of their detention time. He smacked Ron on the arm and gestured with his head that they needed to just get it out of the way. Ron groaned now, and Harry couldn't help but smirk at his reaction. They made their way over to the table and waited patiently until he had the attention of everyone since Hermione was the last one to realize that they were there. Harry cleared his throat.

"Our detention tonight is with Hagrid. He wants us out by his hut at six o'clock." Malfoy groaned now before leaning his head on his cousin's shoulder.

"We should write a letter home before we go, make sure they know our final wishes if we die." The rest of the table laughed but Ron got angry.

"What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?" Harry laid a hand on his arm before Malfoy sat up and turned his sneery gaze to the two of them. He spoke slowly as if Ron was stupid and wouldn't understand otherwise.

"Think about why we all got detention. Excuse me for thinking that I would be completely safe with a person that can make decisions like that." The sarcasm was heavy in his voice and even though he wanted to disagree with the Slytherin, he couldn't. Every day since they had discovered that Hagrid had a dragon, he had questioned the sanity of not only himself and Ron for not telling someone but Hagrid for keeping the thing.

"Hagrid is ten times the man that you are, Malfoy." Malfoy nodded as he smirked their way.

"You're right, he is ten times the man I am since he's the size of a bloody giant." Harry noticed that Neville looked distinctly irritated with them and the twins didn't look that thrilled either. He was drawn out of his observations when Hermione Black spoke for the first time.

"We're all working on Potions if you both want to join us. We wouldn't mind at all." It was said in the sweetest voice that Harry had ever heard but he knew better. Those two had snitched on them and Hagrid had misunderstood. Therefore, he sneered the Slytherin's way before responding.

"No, we don't want to join your bloody study group. I know that Neville and the twins think you walk on water, that you're just amazing, but you don't fool me. You're no different than your father. For someone who wants to be my friend, you sure know how to backstab someone, just like your father did to mine."

Harry could tell that his words wounded her. Her eyes watered but she didn't let any of the tears fall. Her gaze fell from himself and Ron to stare at her book, embarrassed to be showing so much emotion. None of the others seemed to realize it, but Harry saw the exact effect his words had on her. Malfoy wrapped an arm around her shoulders before turning his glare their way. However, it was the twins that stood and glared at them.

"You two need to leave. Hermione was kind enough to invite you to stay and learn when you've been nothing but terrible to her. She doesn't deserve this from either of you. If you can't be nice, get the fuck out of here." Ron started to sputter in indignation, but Harry decided that none of it was worth the fight. He pulled his friend away from the group until they were settled at a table far away from the group.

The truth was, Harry felt terrible for his words. He had only been that mean to Hermione once before, in Potion's class, and he had felt guilty then as well. He hated knowing that he had been mean enough to someone that he had almost made them cry. If they hadn't been in front of a good portion of their peers, he was quite sure that Black would have allowed her tears to spill. Weakness, however, was one of the things that snakes weren't allowed to show unless it was in front of someone that they trusted.

Harry didn't speak to Ron as they started their essays. All the redhead ever did was complain about doing schoolwork and after the encounter with the Slytherins, Harry found that he wasn't the most talkative. The pair worked in relative silence until dinner; Harry had finished his Potion's essay and most of his Charms essay while Ron was still only a handful of paragraphs into his Potion's assignment. Harry wouldn't be surprised if the boy ended up failing the class. He doubted that his parents would be pleased but Harry was determined to stay out of it. The last thing he wanted was to get in the middle of a family matter, especially when he knew so little of how a true family worked.

They adjourned to dinner, Harry starving since he hadn't eaten well at breakfast or lunch. He was still livid at the fact that he had detention because of two Slytherins but he was past letting it affect his appetite. Ron seemed to agree with him since when they took their seats, the redhead piled more food than Harry had eaten in a week at the Dursleys on his plate.

The pair ate quickly and quietly. Nobody seemed to be ignoring them on purpose, so Harry assumed that they were done being angry about the points' loss. The twins had told them that they had lost more points for their house than they had made, and the anger always passed quickly. It had been the only nice thing his house had said to them that day. Though after their encounter in the library, he doubted that they would warrant anymore.

Harry let his mind wander to whether the Slytherins were catching any shite for losing a hundred points. Nobody seemed angry at them, everyone had acted like they normally did. It made no sense, though, so Harry decided to brave Neville and ask. The boy didn't look none too pleased to be interrupted by Harry but was polite nonetheless.

"Yes?" Harry took a deep breath.

"Are Black and Malfoy in hot water with their house? Are they angry like you all are?" Neville snorted at his words before shaking his head.

"No, they aren't angry at them." Harry couldn't believe it. Were they that popular that nobody would say a single word to them in admonition?

"Why not?" Neville took a bite, chewed, swallowed, and wiped his mouth before he deigned to answer him.

"First of all, Hermione wins her house a hundred points every three to four days by herself. Slytherin house has no right to get angry at her. Second of all, they're royalty and you two have been telling everyone that you're all in detention because they snitched on you. After the feud that has sprung up, what Slytherin is going to be angry about a points loss when it landed the most famous Gryffindor since Godric himself in detention?"

Harry hadn't thought about it from that point of view. Maybe he and Ron shouldn't have spread to everyone that the Slytherin pair was the reason that they were being punished. Honestly, looking back, it had been quite childish. Harry sighed in realization. Even if Hermione and Malfoy had snitched, it wasn't their fault that Harry and Ron had been out after curfew, carting an even more illegal dragon between them to be smuggled off school grounds. It wasn't even Hagrid's fault because they had had the right to refuse to help him. The blame lay with Harry and Ron themselves; they had made the decision to help Hagrid and they had made the decision even after they knew it was likely that they would be ratted out. Harry and Ron had done this to themselves.

For some reason, this realization didn't make him feel any better. They had acted like spoiled children once they learned they had been caught and had been trying to ruin the reputations of Black and Malfoy since. Everyone had rolled their eyes at them but at the time, Harry hadn't understood why. Now, he did. While he wanted to tell Ron and clue him in, he knew that he couldn't without a huge argument on his hands and that was the last thing that he wanted. Therefore, he decided to be decent to Hermione and Malfoy in detention that night.

Dinner passed quickly, Harry eating his fill. Ron was still eating when the food disappeared, and everyone started to get up from their seats. The redhead looked affronted that his eating time had been cut short, but Harry could only laugh at his expression. The redhead had eaten four times as much as Harry and still acted as though he could eat more. It boggled his mind and made him wonder where he stored so much food.

Harry went to his feet while Ron did the same and started for the door to the Entrance Hall. It was detention time and they needed to be at Hagrid's in only ten minutes. Harry had watched Hermione and Malfoy leave five minutes before they had, probably so they could be early like they usually were for classes. Harry supposed that he couldn't blame them; it wouldn't do to be late to detention with someone that really wasn't your biggest fan.

Even though Hagrid had never come out and badmouthed the pair, he had made sure to say plenty about their fathers. Hagrid had told Harry that his mother and father had been best friends with Sirius Black and he had betrayed them in the end and that if he were to cultivate a friendship between himself and Hermione it would be a betrayal of their memory. Since that was the last thing that he wanted, Harry had vowed to stay as far away from the girl as possible. Harry couldn't help but wonder if this was coming from the Headmaster since it was right after Christmas break ended; he was scared that the Headmaster had seen what was really in the reflection of the Mirror of Erised. Not that it mattered; he felt the same way, so it was really nothing new.

As predicted, the two Slytherins were waiting for them when they got there. Ron shot them dirty glares, but Harry restrained himself, reminding himself of his epiphany at dinner. Both parties remained on their own sides of the clearing; Hermione was shivering with a thick cloak wrapped around her. Malfoy seemed to be completely warm and when he waved his wand at this cousin, she stopped shivering too. Harry longed to ask them what spell they used but since he had flung hateful words at them the last time they had spoken, he refrained.

The four of them waited together for a short period of time before Hagrid stepped out of his hut and gestured for them to follow him.

"We're going into the Forbidden Forest. Follow me."

Harry gulped.

-O-

Hermione picked at her meal, wishing it would speed up and slow down simultaneously. She had detention in just half an hour and it was the first of her life. Her father's letter rang in her ears, reminding her of his words.

*Flashback*

Hermione seated herself at the Slytherin table, so she could spoon up breakfast for herself and Draco. Her cousin shot her a dirty look, irritated that she was serving him, but she paid it no mind. He served her enough throughout the week that it wouldn't make a difference if she did it once. The post owls swooped down to the tables they needed to go to and Hermione caught sight of her father's owl amongst the crowd. Her heart dropped into her belly; what exactly had Severus told him?

When the owl landed before her, she pushed her plate towards the owl, indicating that it should take whatever it wanted from it. After detaching the letter from the owl's leg, she opened the letter and leaned towards Draco, so he could read it while she did. The pair of them had no secrets and even if he didn't read the letter, he would know exactly what it said.

 _Poppet and Draco,_

 _I hope this letter finds you well. Your godfather wrote to Lucius and I this morning and informed us as to what you were doing on your late night excursion last night. While I commend you on your rule-breaking, I really wish that you had chosen something else to break the rules for._

 _While I most assuredly want you both to have the full Hogwarts' experience, I also want you two to be smart. Hiding the fact that there is a dragon on the grounds in just foolhardy; the last thing I want is for someone to get hurt. While I know that Severus scared you, Hermione, know that I agree with his sentiment; if there is ever anymore talk of a dragon on the grounds, I expect the pair of you to turn whoever it is in as quickly as you can. Dragons aren't to be trifled with._

 _Draco, your father wishes me to tell you that he expects you to continue to look out for your cousin and if she is injured by a dragon, you will get the flailing of a lifetime. Personally, I don't believe him, but he was quite put out when we read the letter from Severus. Seriously, though, please look out for Hermione. She can be brash and reckless when it serves her; the last thing I need is bad news from the Headmaster. Watch over her as I would._

 _I love you both and wish you well in your studies._

 _Dad (Sirius)_

Hermione cringed at his words. He was disappointed, he just didn't want to come out and say it. Her heart clenched at the thought, but she took a deep breath and made herself rationalize it. She and Draco had both admitted that keeping the dragon a secret had been a mistake; her father and Uncle Luci were just reiterating it like Uncle Sev had. It wasn't a pleasant feeling knowing that you had fucked up but, in the end, it was what it was.

*End of Flashback*

Since the encounter in the library hadn't gone too terribly bad, Hermione had decided that she would extend an invitation to Harry and Weasley; it had been a huge mistake. While she normally expected bile to fall from Weasley's mouth, she didn't have the same expectation from Harry. It had been Harry that had lashed out about not only herself but her father and his traitor status.

Hermione had bore it well, refusing to let her tears fall in front of so many people. Draco had been the only one to realize that she was close to tears and the arm around her shoulders had been much appreciated. The rest of her friends had been appropriately outraged but at that point, Hermione hadn't wanted to hear anything about how she was right, and they were wrong.

Truthfully, her friends believed that she and Draco had turned Harry and Weasley in because of how mean and nasty they were to them. They had tried to tell them the truth but, in the end, none of them believed them. It ended up being easier to just let them believe what they wanted. Neville and the twins were the only ones that seemed to believe the truth as Hermione told it. None of the Slytherins would ever believe that they had put themselves on the line for the two ungrateful Gryffindors.

Not a single Slytherin had been angry with them; Hermione had expected to hear the worst about herself when everyone realized that their house had lost a hundred points because of herself and Draco. This hadn't been the case, however. Everyone seemed to realize that Hermione netted them the most amount of points and to piss her off by getting angry would only be detrimental to them in the end.

Her thoughts were ended by the bell bringing dinner to an end. It always irritated her that the school insisted on using the bells even on days when there was no classes. Not only was it irritating to students that had no subjects to study like herself and Draco, it was nerve-wracking for the twins and Neville. Not that it did any good since they were quick to hide any emotion that seemed to goad her into action.

Hermione and Draco headed to their detention, Hermione noticing that Ron took longer than usual to surrender his plate and move on. Maybe during his childhood, he had been starved and had to gain as much weight as possible. Even as she thought of this, it was clear that wasn't the cast of what happened. It was more along the lines of being greedy and wanting to stuff as much food in as humanly possible. It sickened Hermione, but she held her tongue; it would do no good to say anything at this juncture.

She and Draco were forced to wait for a few minutes before Harry and the Weasel appeared. They were there only moments before Hagrid appeared, bringing the detention to an official start.

The half-giant had just informed them that they were going to go into the Forbidden Forest and Hermione could feel her cousin tense up. They had been told horror stories about creatures in the Forbidden Forest and the last thing that he would be agreeable to was taking them in the Forest itself. Hermione tried to soothe her cousin but at the moment, there was nothing for it.

"You can't possibly think that we're going to follow you into the Forbidden Forest. Sorry, but we haven't been imperioused anytime recently." Hermione clutched at his arm when Hagrid spoke.

"This is my detention and you're serving it because you were caught out after curfew. You will do as I say, or you'll suffer more detentions. The Headmaster will back me on this." Hermione was sure that the man wasn't lying; the Headmaster would do whatever he could to further punish them. Therefore, she grasped her cousin's arm tightly and hoped that he understood the message to just let it be. Even though Draco was glaring at the half-giant, he remained quiet. Hagrid turned his attention back to the others before speaking.

"There is somethin' ou' there killin' unicorns. We're goin' ta see if we can fin' ou' wha' it is." Hermione felt her heart clench at his words. This detention didn't sound safe at all. It seemed that the Gryffindors were worried now too. Harry spoke tentatively.

"Are you sure this is safe, Hagrid?" The man nodded as they started for the edge of the forest.

"Yea, as long as yer wit' me or Fang, nothin' in the Forest will 'arm ya." Hermione didn't feel better after hearing his declaration. It was quite clear that Harry didn't either. Once they were inside the Forest a ways, Hagrid paused and turned to them once more.

"We'll spli' up so this search will go fasta. Ron, ya and Malfoy are going to come wit' me. Harry, ya an' Black are goin' to go wit' Fang. Just follow whereva' he takes ya." Hermione felt her heart race at the thoughts of being separated from the group. Draco saw the apprehension on her face and spoke again.

"Doesn't it seem dangerous to split up in a Forest that we're searching because something that is killing unicorns? I think we should all stay together." Hagrid's face hardened again before he spoke.

"Fang will keep 'em safe." Draco strode over to Hermione and pulled her into his arms. She tried to hide the fact that she was trembling in fear, but she knew that she had failed when he kissed the side of her head. Harry looked away, but Ron was gagging behind them. Draco whispered in her ear.

"If anything happens, you run. Don't wait around for Potter to save the day." Hermione nodded against him. Once he moved away from her, he turned to Harry and glared at him.

"If you let anything happen to her out here, I will kill you." Harry didn't seem to know what to say to his words, so he remained silent. Ron scoffed openly while Hagrid was speaking to Fang. Hermione moved closer to Harry and took a deep steadying breath. If this is what she had to do, she would do it to the best of her ability. Hagrid had one last bit of advice.

"If anyone runs inta problems, send sparks up inta the sky. The spell is periculum." Hermione nodded as she started to follow Fang. The boarhound was headed deeper into the Forest and she could only hope that he knew exactly where he was going.

Harry followed after her, the pair of them leaving Ron and Draco behind with Hagrid. Hermione clutched her wand in her hand tightly, held aloft at all times. She knew that she had lots of knowledge, more than enough spells to protect herself in there, but she had never gotten the chance to apply her knowledge. Her father and Uncle Luci had promised dueling practice this summer and now more than ever, she felt that it was a wonderful idea.

They walked for over thirty minutes; Hermione wasn't quite sure what Hagrid expected them to find, let alone what they were supposed to do if they found something. She doubted that sparks from their wand were going to keep them safe against whatever was killing unicorns. Harry had yet to say a word and while she wanted to take the time to get closer to him if possible, she knew that it was never going to happen. It was this reasoning that found her surprised when he did speak to her.

"Why would you keep the secret of the dragon all that time until you knew we were getting rid of it? It doesn't make any sense." Hermione knew that this was her chance to plead her innocence. She forced her voice to be steady.

"We didn't snitch on you. We promised ourselves that we wouldn't say anything as long as the dragon didn't hurt anyone. Then Draco saw Weasley in the Hospital Wing with a dragon bite; he had already decided that we were going to tell Professor Snape. Then he found the letter and we decided that we would follow you and make sure that the dragon was sent off. It was what we had to do since we didn't want to get anyone in trouble unless we had to. Dragons can kill you, their bites are highly poisonous. Hagrid should have known better than to have two students help him with it and then leave it on your shoulders to get it off the grounds. None of us would have been in trouble if he had taken the dragon up to the Astronomy Tower on his own." She could see that Harry was mulling over her words. After several minutes, he spoke again.

"Why would you go out of your way to not get us in trouble?" Hermione wanted to tell him the truth but was scared that he would reject her. However, it was never going to happen without taking a chance.

"I wasn't lying when I said I wanted to be your friend. Draco too. I don't want to give you reasons to hate me." Harry scoffed at her words before speaking.

"You know why we can't be friends. Your father single-handedly made sure that my parents would be murdered by his master. Dumbledore told me what really happened. No, I don't hate you like I should, but we will never be friends. I would never piss on the memory of my parents by becoming friends with you." Hermione felt her heart clench at his words. Rejectioned again and this time he wasn't angry when he said it. She was thankful that it was dark in the Forest because it hid the few tears that trailed down her cheeks. She was just getting ready to open her mouth and tell him that her father wasn't guilty, that it had been Peter Pettigrew when Fang started barking like mad.

Hermione glanced around to see the boarhound running in the direction that they had come from. Harry reached out and took her hand, pulling her after Fang. They made it only three steps before Hermione caught sight of the brilliant white coat of a unicorn laying still and unmoving on the ground. Hermione pulled Harry to a stop and gestured with her head to the unicorn. He started next to her when they realized that there was a figure standing just behind the unicorn. It dropped to it's knees and cut a slice into the neck of the unicorn. Hermione watched on in horror as the figure began to drink the blood of the unicorn.

Suddenly, Hermione was furious. She shook Harry's hand out of hers and raised her wand again. She wasn't sure what spell to use against someone that wanted to drink the blood of a unicorn but decided to go with the spell that Hagrid had bid them to use. Bright blue sparks shot out of her wand and hit the figure directly in the back. With a snarl, the figure raised its head from the bleeding unicorn and then rose to its feet. It started for the pair of them, wand raised.

An unknown spell shot from the wand, hurtling its way straight for Hermione. She was quick to use a shield but, in the end, it wasn't necessary since Harry tackled her to the ground before the spell could even get close. Hermione struggled to catch her breath, trying to ignore the sharp pain in her side. Harry rolled off her and rose in front of her, wand held up high. The figure continued to advance, and Hermione struggled to get to her feet, sure that her ribs were cracked at the very least.

The figure, out of nowhere, stopped advancing and turned to flee. Hermione didn't understand why until there was a thundering of hooves from behind them. She finally made it to her feet, dirt and leaves stuck in her curls and in her robes. Harry was still covering her, she wasn't sure if he had heard the hooves coming from behind them. Hermione was quick to turn and lift her wand, ready to protect their backs if need be.

Two centaurs appeared before her very eyes. Harry spun around to see what her gasp was about; Hermione was uncertain how he hadn't their approach. When she realized that it was centaurs, she was quick to lower her wand; it was well-known that centaurs didn't believe in harming children. She shot a smile a smile at them.

"Thank you so much for coming." They nodded at her words, so Hermione left Harry to deal with them. She hurried to the unicorn's side, determined to save the creature if she could. She knew a few basic healing spells but hoped that they would be enough to stop the bleeding that was now covering the ground beneath it.

Hermione could hear the centaurs conversing with Harry. He asked them if they knew who the person had been. Hermione really had no idea, but she was just as interested in knowing as Harry. When the Gryffindor shrugged his shoulders, she plainly heard one of the centaurs reveal the answer.

"Voldemort."

Hermione felt her heart stutter for a few moments. Was it possible? Could he be back already? She knew that someone who drinks the blood of a unicorn had no other choice to live but it came with a hefty price. The drinker would forever live a cursed life, a half-life as Madam Cambridge had told herself and Draco during their studies.

Rather than listen further, they were now discussing where Hagrid could possibly be, Hermione turned her attention to the unicorn. It was clearly coming around, she wondered if the figure had used magic to make it fall unconscious. She could feel the muscles of it's neck quivering in fear. Hermione bent to the head of the unicorn as she started to softly pet it.

"Sshhh, nothing else is going to happen to you tonight. Calm down, I'm just trying to help you." Hermione knew that unicorns had advanced healing, but she inspected the wound anyways. It was six inches long and was deep. She continued to pet the animal softly with her left hand while she laid the tip of her wand to the wound. She whispered the basic healing spell that she knew, one that would seal a wound, though not very prettily. If she didn't do it, nobody else would. The only other people out there at the time being was three other first years and Hagrid, who it was clear didn't practice magic.

The wound began to close, the blood that had been seeping from the wound being sealed back inside the body. Hermione could feel the eyes of the centaurs and Harry on her, but she paid them no mind. She was almost done when one of the centaurs decided to speak.

"You really shouldn't heal her with magic. They regenerate on their own quite fast. If you aren't deemed worthy, your magic could harm her in the end." Hermione had never heard this before, so she wasn't sure if she should believe it. Nodding her head at their words, she continued.

"She seems to be fine with my magic. She's laying here calm and letting me do what I want. If she didn't like it, she would get up and run off." It seemed as if this appeased the centaur and they continued to watch in silence.

Hermione was covered in the silvery blood by the time she was finished. After she went to her feet, the unicorn did the same. She expected the animal to run away as soon as she was able, so she was pleasantly surprised when the unicorn nuzzled Hermione's chest. Even though it hurt her ribs, she rubbed the unicorn's face before it stepped away and ran off into the forest.

When she turned to face Harry and the centaurs, Hermione found them staring at her in awe. She wasn't quite sure why but had no urge to ask. She was always stared at for one reason or another. Before they could say anything, a figure crashed through the trees, followed by two other smaller figures. Hermione instantly raised her wand since she wasn't sure who it was yet, it was dark after all. She realized after a few moments that it was Hagrid, Ronald, and Draco. Fang was following behind them, baying loudly.

Hermione didn't get to speak before Draco rushed her and pulled her into a tight hug. She whimpered in pain and pulled away, clutching her side where she was sure that her ribs were at least cracked. It was in this moment that Draco looked down at her and saw that she was covered in unicorn blood. His hands began running over her body, a manic look in his eyes, feeling for further injuries. Hagrid was now yelling but she wasn't sure if he was angry or just riding an adrenaline high.

"Wha' tha' bloody 'ell 'appened here?" Hermione didn't want to tell the story, so she let Harry tell everyone what happened. It took several minutes but when he was finished, Draco narrowed his eyes at you.

"Why do you hurt?" Hermione shrugged.

"I cast a shield, but I don't think Potter knew what it was. He tackled me to the ground, so the curse wouldn't hit me. He landed on me and I think some of my ribs are cracked." Draco chuckled softly at her words.

"You're always getting into trouble, Miney." She shrugged again but then watched with trepidation as Draco started for Harry. Once he was standing in front of him, he stuck his hand out and waited for Harry to take it. It was clear that the Gryffindor didn't have any idea what to do but, in the end, he took it. Draco shook his hand firmly as he spoke.

"Thank you for keeping her safe. If you ever have need of something, just let me know. I'll do my best to help you out." Harry still looked confused and surprised, but he nodded his head. The rest of them all watched in silence. Hermione could see Ron fuming, but he remained silent. Maybe he had learned a lesson after all. Hagrid began yelling at them all, telling them that they needed to head back to the castle.

Hermione let her cousin lead her back through the Forest, his hand firmly in her own. Since she had no idea if the figure that attacked the unicorn was still out there, she kept her wand in her hand. Draco did the same and it was only a few minutes into the trek that Harry and Ron seemed to come to the same conclusion. It seemed as though the trip went faster but, she was sure that it hadn't.

Once the castle came into view, Hermione didn't give Hagrid the chance to keep them there. She just continued to walk towards the castle, Draco right beside her. Hermione could hear the whispers of the Gryffindors, so she wasn't surprised when Hagrid yelled at them.

"Yer detention isn' ova yet. Get back here." Hermione was going to turn around and let the man have a piece of her mind, but Draco was quicker. He turned and stalked back over to the man and started yelling at him. She could tell that he wasn't worried about further detentions.

"This detention is over! You drag four first years into the Forbidden Forest at night and send two of them off on their own to find whatever is killing unicorns. In what world does that constitute as keeping students safe? The centaurs think that the figure was Voldemort, but hey, let's not worry about the fact that two students could have been killed on your watch. What do you think my cousin Sirius would have done to you if you had gotten his only daughter killed? What do you think my father would have done to you for getting the light of his life murdered?" Draco's chest was heaving, and he appeared to just be getting started. Hermione walked over to him before he could start again and laid a soft hand on his arm. He turned and realized that it was her.

"Don't worry about him, it isn't worth it. I just want to go get healed." Realization dawned on Hagrid's face and the features twisted with shame.

"I'm sorry, Miss Black, I forgo' that you needed healin'. Detention is ova." Hermione nodded at the half-giant, showing that she accepted his apology. Draco led her away from the other three and started to walk her through the shadows and towards the castle. She could hear Harry and Ron following them, but they remained quiet enough that she couldn't hear what they were talking about.

Once they were safely inside the castle, Hermione let Draco pull her towards the staircase that would lead them to the fourth floor where the Hospital Wing was located. There were still students wandering the corridors and Hermione knew that she must look a fright. She was covered in blood and had dirt, leaves, and other debris in her hair. Her robes were stained and ripped at the bottom. Harry only looked marginally better than she did. Hermione was pulled from her thoughts by meeting Professor McGonagall on the staircase from the third floor to the fourth.

"What has happened to you, Miss Black? Aren't you supposed to be in detention at the moment?" Draco glared at her, but Hermione decided to answer.

"Detention was cut short by the fact that Harry and I were attacked by whatever is in the Forest killing unicorns. We're headed to the Hospital Wing now." Concern clouded her eyes, surprising Hermione. The stern woman laid an arm around her shoulders and started to guide her up the stairs, obviously escorting them. Once they reached the Hospital Wing doors, Professor McGonagall produced her wand, waving it. A silvery cat leapt from the tip of her wand and rubbed on her legs. The animagus leaned down and whispered a message to it. Hermione had seen her father cast the patronus spell several times in her life. His large dog was much more intimidating than the little cat.

"I just sent for your Head of House and the Headmaster." Hermione fought rolling her eyes. As if the Headmaster was going to care that Hermione could have been killed. She wasn't even certain if he would care that Harry had been in danger. The older woman ushered them into the Hospital Wing and settled Hermione into a bed. She started to protest but was cut off by a single look from the animagus. Madam Pomfrey bustled out to see who had come to visit her and when her eyes landed on Hermione on the bed, her hand flew to her chest in surprise.

"My dear child, whatever happened to you?" There was a silky voice from the doorway that instantly made Hermione feel better.

"That is an answer that we are all interested in hearing." Hermione wanted to grin at her godfather, but she refrained. Nobody knew how close they were. She really didn't want to explain it, not that any of it would matter in the end. The Headmaster wasn't going to do anything about Hagrid being irresponsible and she wasn't sure that he would even believe the centaur's words about the figure being Voldemort. Draco seemed to sense that she was reluctant, so he explained.

"We were informed that our detention was with Hagrid tonight. When we got there, he told us that there was something in the Forbidden Forest that was attacking and killing unicorns. Our detention was to go with him into the Forest and split up, sending Hermione and Potter with his dog. I stepped in and told him that it wasn't safe, that it was Forbidden for a reason, but he told me that this was detention that I was serving, that if I wanted to back out I'd be serving more detentions and the Headmaster would agree with him." Draco stopped for a moment, so he could take a seat on the bed next to Hermione. She glanced at their godfather and she could see the fury burning in his gaze.

"Potter said that the dog just took off and left them there. They started to follow but then they caught sight of a unicorn on the ground with a figure bent over it, drinking its blood. Hermione shot sparks at the whoever it was, and they fired a curse at her. She was tackled to the ground by Potter, barely missing the spell. She had a shield in place, but I don't think Potter knows what one does. The figure ran off when the centaurs arrived. Potter asked them who did this, and they said Voldemort. Hermione healed the unicorn, that's why she's covered in blood." The whole room was silent when Draco stopped talking. It was Madam Pomfrey that spoke first.

"Why are you here in the Hospital Wing?" Hermione blushed slightly at the question. How could he have forgot to tell them that.

"When Harry tackled me to the ground, he landed on me. I think my ribs are cracked on one side. It hurts to breathe and move quickly." The Headmaster eyed her closely, but his voice was controlled when he spoke.

"You're not trying to say that Harry harmed you on purpose?" Hermione looked at him as if he was stupid.

"I'm not a liar, Headmaster. I would never say that he meant to hurt me when he shoved me out of the way of a spell." He looked somewhat appeased. Hermione realized that both professors were staring at the Headmaster in disbelief. It was Professor McGonagall that spoke first, fury evident in her voice.

"Are you going to do anything about Hagrid taking four first years into the Forest at night? If that was indeed Voldemort, all of them could have been killed." Hermione watched as the Headmaster held his hands up trying to placate his deputy. Hermione was drawn from the scene for a moment as Madam Pomfrey ran her wand over her, using a diagnostic spell to see what exactly was wrong with her. The conversation between the professors came to a halt when she spoke.

"You were right, Miss Black. One broken rib and two cracked ones. That boy must have landed hard on you." Draco snorted.

"That and she's the tiniest thing ever." Hermione stuck her tongue out at her cousin but he just grinned. Madam Pomfrey bustled off and returned a minute later holding a potion vial.

"It's going to taste terrible, but it will mend the bones. You'll be good as new come morning." Hermione took the vial and downed it, grimacing at the terrible taste.

"Thank you, Madam. Are we free to go?" She nodded and as she stood, her godfather spoke.

"You need to take those clothes off and burn them, Miss Black. Throw them in the fireplace. It would be dangerous to have unicorn blood on you in the quantity that you do. It could be siphoned off at any point and the last thing we need is for some student to accidentally drink it." Professor McGonagall was nodding her head sagely at his words. Hermione nodded her agreement as Draco stood and started to follow her out. Their godfather followed them before throwing a comment over his shoulder.

"I'm escorting them back to the Slytherin common room. Might I suggest that you go see if Potter and Weasley are both fine from their detention? Then we all need to meet in the Headmaster's office and discuss this further." Her uncle laid a hand on both hers and Draco's shoulders as he started to propel them towards the door.

It didn't take them long at all the make their way to the dungeons. Hermione received many odd looks from students, but she tried not to pay them any mind. When they were only a single corridor away from their common room, Uncle Sev pulled them into an alcove that they didn't even know existed. Once they were hidden in the shadows, he pulled them both into a hug.

"Thank Salazar that the two of you are alright. I can't believe the stupidity of that brainless oaf. I can't even imagine what he was thinking." Hermione snorted.

"I don't think he was thinking, that was the problem." Her uncle barked a laugh that reminded her of her father when he was in his animagus form.

"Very true, little one. Trust me, I'm going to make sure that he makes sure this will never happen again. Your father and Lucius are going to be furious when they find out." Hermione knew that was the truth. However, she didn't think that they were going to do anything about it yet. She had heard her father, Uncle Sev, and Uncle Luci talking in the library late one night over the holidays that if they ever needed to get Dumbledore out of the castle, if they ever needed to get him fired, it would be much easier if they could say that there had been more than one instance of them not being informed their children had been in danger. This situation fit the bill nicely. This just made it clear how much her father and Uncle Luci trusted Uncle Sev to keep them safe. Hermione grinned at him.

"I'm sure they will but we all know that they aren't going to do anything about it." Draco's eyes widened at her spilling that she had listened in. She had told him what she had heard, of course, but he never expected her to rat herself out to one of the adults. Her uncle raised an eyebrow at her.

"You're far more of a pest than I realized." Hermione laughed out loud now before hugging him again. He kissed the top of her head before speaking again.

"Are you sure that you're fine?" Hermione nodded against him, inhaling the scent of potions ingredients. He ran his hand over her hair before pulling away.

"To the common room then. I have to go make sure that this doesn't happen again." She and Draco both nodded as they stepped out of the alcove after making sure that the coast was clear. Her uncle started in the opposite direction before calling out after them.

"Don't forget about your robes, Miss Black." Hermione stifled a giggle as she allowed Draco to pull her towards the common room.

A shower and bed were in order.

-O-

Harry sat on the couch in the common room, thankful that it was deserted due to the arrival of their Head of House. She had looked extremely angry but thanked him for rising above his problems with Hermione Black to push her out of the way.

McGonagall had told him that she had stopped the Slytherin pair on their way to the Hospital Wing. Harry felt terrible for breaking Hermione's ribs but was pleased to hear that she wasn't angry or trying to say that he did it maliciously. Their Head of House also informed them that the pair had been completely honest in the nature of their detention and she had been disappointed that they hadn't stopped and told someone when they returned. After making sure that they would be fine for the rest of the night, she took her leave, citing that she had a meeting to get to.

The common room was still empty, so Harry just sat there for a few moments enjoying the silence. Ron was sitting next to him and for once he wasn't running off at the mouth. He replayed the scene with Hermione before Fang had left them; he had explained that he couldn't be her friend because it would be betraying his parent's memory. She had looked heartbroken. It was clear that she had been about to say something, but Fang had cut her off. Even though he wanted to know what she was about to say, it was safer that he didn't. Even though he felt bad for being mean to the girl, he still believed that Dumbledore wouldn't steer him wrong; he was the only person that had explained anything to him. Therefore, holding her at arm's length must continue. Just when Harry was on the verge of dozing, Ron spoke.

"I can't believe the snakes told on Hagrid like that. They were fine, what's it matter if they were scared? Malfoy did nothing but pace like a caged dog while we were off with Hagrid." Harry sighed and wiped a hand down his face, not really in the mood to have this conversation with his friend.

"I don't blame them for telling on Hagrid. It was dangerous, and we could have been killed. He threatened Malfoy with more detentions if he didn't go. We should have had the courage to stand up to Hagrid and tell him it was a terrible idea. He was probably pacing because he knew that his cousin, who he seems ridiculously close to, was off with no protection aside from a dog that bailed on us at the first sign of danger." Ron was quiet for a while, letting his words sink in.

Harry realized that he didn't think that the Slytherin pair snitched on them anymore. He did believe her words about that; if they had wanted to snitch on them all about the dragon, they would have done it that first night when they caught them bent over the dragon on Hagrid's table. He was pulled from his thoughts again by Ron speaking.

"I guess you're right. It was dangerous, and we should have said something." Harry nodded and went to his feet. Ron was going to talk this to death if he didn't go to bed.

"I'm exhausted. I'm going to call it a night." Ron went to his feet as well, yawning widely.

"Yeah, me too. It's been a long night." Harry nodded and headed for the stairs.

Maybe a good night's sleep would make him feel better about the hurt expression on Hermione's face when he told her they couldn't be friends. Guilt was no fun for anyone.

A/N- Holy shit, y'all, this monster is done! It took me six hours to write and I still wanted to write more. I decided to cut it off though, we all have other things to do besides read and write. Anyways, everyone reading, and reviewing are the bomb. Thank you. Let me know what you guys think, reviews make me smile.

Next chapter, Hermione discovers what's under the trap door.

Love,

Alicia


	20. Chapter 20

A/N- Thank you, everyone, for your amazing feedback from the last chapter. Most of you were happy with it which makes me smile. To everyone that dropped me a review that simply said, "good chapter", thank you. Even that is appreciated. To everyone else out there that are just reading, thanks for taking the time to read my story. This chapter is going to be shorter but important to the plot. Cheerio!

Side note: I've been having problems responding to reviews so if you don't get a response, I'm not ignoring you. Fanfiction hates me.

Disclaimer: Nothing in this story belongs to me except the way I've portrayed the plot and even then, the original story from part one belongs to Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle. It is she that has led me down this dark and winding path. I continue to make no money off my stories.

Chapter 20

March 14, 1992

Harry poked at his breakfast, trying to ignore what was wrong with him. He had been in a slump for a week now and it hadn't gone unnoticed. Ron and Pav had both questioned him multiple times and even though he knew why he was lying to them, why he was so out of sorts, he told them that it was nothing.

It had been a week earlier that Harry finally couldn't take the mystery that the three-headed dog presented. He had a theory, especially since Hagrid had told them on numerous occasions that he was very much into rare animals. Harry had begun to wonder if the dog belonged to him, it he knew what the dog was guarding. He and Ron had decided to go down and talk with Hagrid, trying to figure out if the half-giant would give them any information or not.

*Flashback*

Harry pulled Ron along with him as they skived off from Herbology and headed towards Hagrid's hut. Ron shot him a questioning glance but when he saw the determined look on Harry's face, he remained quiet and simply followed. Once they were at the door, Harry rapped on it sharply. The door swung open to reveal Hagrid with a tea pot in his hand. When he realized it was them, he stepped back and ushered them inside.

"Wha' ya two doin' here durin' class?" Harry shrugged slightly as the man gestured for them to take seats at the table.

"We wanted to come and talk to you." Hagrid nodded his shaggy head before setting the tea pot on the table.

"I owe ya both an apology. I shou' 'ave neva made ya go inta the Forbidden Forest. I'm not allowed ta host detentions anymore. 'Onestly, I'm lucky ta still have me job. Hermione Black ended up wit' broken ribs because she wa' injured in the Forest under my supervision." Even though Harry felt terrible that Hagrid had gotten in trouble, he couldn't help but agree with the Headmaster's decision. Even if it had been any other student than Hermione, he couldn't imagine the parents being too thrilled. Not wanting to make his friend feel worse, he nodded his head.

"We understand, Hagrid. We all make mistakes." Harry took a sip of the tea that his friend had just poured for him.

"We actually came out here because we wanted to ask you about you past pets. Did you ever have a three-headed dog?" His friend's eyes widened in shock, obviously surprised that Harry was asking. His eyes narrowed slightly.

"Wha' do ya want to know abou' Fluffy?" Harry burst out in laughter. Once he had himself under control, he met the gaze of Hagrid again. Ron had stayed silent thus far.

"You named that massive beast Fluffy?" Hagrid nodded.

"When 'e was a little puppy 'e was the fluffies' thin' ya ever saw. Lovable too." Harry shook his head in amusement.

"He doesn't look so lovable now. What is it that he's guarding? We saw that he was on a trapdoor." Hagrid's gaze hardened.

"Now that isn' none of yer business. Wha's under tha' door is between Perfessa Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel." Hagrid grimaced after the words left his lips and Harry cheered internally. It was clear that the man didn't mean to say those words, therefore, they were important. Harry was quick to reassure his friend.

"It's alright, Hagrid, we won't breathe a word." The half-giant looked grateful as he ushered them to stand.

"Ya two better get going. Ya don' want ta miss Defense." Harry nodded, and Ron followed suit. The pair left his hut and headed back up to the castle. There was one thing for sure; Harry was going to have to start researching just who Nicholas Flamel was.

*End of Flashback*

Since that day a week ago, Harry had researched in the library every single day. Sometimes Ron tried to help him but usually he was on his own. He wasn't sure why this information was so important to him but for some reason it was.

The bell rang, dismissing everyone from breakfast so they could head towards Transfiguration. Harry had his assignment finished but he wasn't sure how good he was going to be in class today. Ron started for the staircase that took them to their Head of House's class; just a corridor away, Ron and Pav, who Harry didn't even know was following them, pushed him into an alcove when nobody was looking. Harry was just about to get indignant when Ron spoke.

"What is going on, Harry? We know that something is up, there has been for a week." Harry raked a hand through his messy hair before finally meeting the eyes of his closest friends.

"That information that we got from Hagrid? I've been researching who Nicholas Flamel is for a week now and I can't find a single thing about him other than he's a famous alchemist. Definitely nothing that would have him hiding something in Hogwarts under a three-headed dog named Fluffy." Ron seemed to understand his frustration, but Pav reached out and gripped his forearm tightly. Her nails were digging into his skin and just as he started to hiss at the pain, she released him.

"Nicholas Flamel is on a chocolate frog card. After classes, we can run up and look at Ron's collection and see if it tells us anything." Harry wasn't all that optimistic, he had been searching the library for a week now, but he nodded his head. It was better than nothing. Ron clapped him on the shoulder as Pav threaded her arm through his much the same way that Hermione did with her cousin.

"Come on, mate, we'll figure it out. For now, though, we have to get to class or McGonagall will land us in detention again." Harry nodded and allowed them to pull him to class.

-O-

Hermione and Draco slipped into an alcove when they heard the trio decide to go to class. When she had seen them all slip into the alcove, she assumed that it would be because they didn't all have their homework done; never in a million years did she think that they had asked Hagrid what was beneath the three-headed dog. Now that she knew it had something to do with Nicholas Flamel, she intended to make sure that she discovered just what it was. Her father and uncles would be most interested if they decided to share the information.

Draco hurried her out of the alcove and towards class. Since she was seated next to him, it was quite easy to whisper to him until McGonagall showed up. Nobody was any wiser when she threw up silencing charms.

"Can you believe that they asked Hagrid what was under that dog? I bet the damn dog belongs to that idiot." Draco's tone was acerbic, and Hermione knew that he still harbored a grudge against the man for getting Hermione hurt. He took his vow to her father and his to protect her very seriously. Hermione couldn't help but agree with him, however. It was clear that the man didn't know when to keep his mouth shut since he had clearly told Harry and Weasley the clue about Flamel.

"I have a book in my dorm about famous alchemists, Uncle Sev got it for me at the beginning of the year. I think I remember reading about him. I'll have to make sure that my suspicions are correct." Draco nodded.

"After dinner, bring it down to the common room and we'll read it together. I want to know what's under there really bad." Hermione couldn't help but grin at her cousin. He had always been curious and hated being left out of the loop.

When Professor McGonagall arrived, she bid them to turn to the chapter on turning tea cozies into a hat. Hermione was bored, once again, and let her mind wander since her notes were already perfect. She couldn't help but see her Transfiguration professor in a new light after her godfather had allowed herself and Draco to view his memory of the meeting he had held with the animagus and the Headmaster regarding their detention with Hagrid.

*Flashback*

Uncle Sev pulled them into his office before closing the door behind them. After he gestured for them to take seats before his desk, he waved his wand at the door, warding, locking, and silencing it. He knew that if the wrong person came looking, they would suspect him of something but if it was just a student they would just assume that he wasn't in. After Hermione and Draco were in their seats, their godfather produced a pensieve.

"I wanted to show you this, so you know exactly where we stand regarding the Headmaster and Minerva. Your fathers have decided that they won't act yet, they're going to wait until they need Dumbledore out of the castle permanently. Who knows when that will be but until that happens, I expect the two of you to be diligent about your safety. I shall endeavor to make sure that the pair of you and Potter remains as safe as possible." Hermione and Draco both nodded, eager to watch the memory they were about to see. Neither were strangers to using a pensieve; they had watched numerous memories through the years, mostly memories of Sirius as he showed them how innocent he was. Their uncle poured the memory into the stone bowl and they were both quick to dip their head in together.

 _Severus was livid. Not only had his two godchildren been put in danger by being in the Forbidden Forest after dark, Hermione very well may have gone against Voldemort. Her ribs had been broken, granted, it was from Potter throwing her to the ground to keep her from being injured, but the fact remained that if they hadn't been in the bloody Forest, she would never have needed saving. Not that she needed saving; she had cast a shield to defect whatever curse the figure had shot at her. Potter was woefully ignorant to magic due to his upbringing and had no idea what it was._

 _He slammed the door open to the Headmaster's office to see that the Albus and Minerva were already there. Both were leaned over the desk and appeared to be breathing hard, though he hadn't heard what they had been saying. When they realized that he had entered, Minerva took the chair before his desk while Severus conjured his own. Albus looked incredibly incensed but took his seat as well._

" _I take it that you're here to complain as well, Severus?" Severus snorted at his words._

" _I would call that an understatement. Not only was my godson placed in danger, the princess of the wizarding world faced off with Voldemort and had to be saved by the Boy-Who-Lived. Might I mention that if something truly terrible had happened in that Forest, you would be out of this castle before you could say quidditch. Look at what happened to Dippet." Albus rubbed his eyes for a few moments before speaking more calmly._

" _I don't believe that it was Voldemort that they children faced. I think the centaurs wanted them to think so so they would stay out of their Forest." Severus snorted._

" _We all know that the centaurs don't have problems with children, it's the adults that they hate. It's adults that take their land and treat them like beasts. I wouldn't like men either if I were them. I don't think they're lying at all." Albus swung his gaze to his Potions Master._

" _Have you felt anything lately? Anything from your Mark?" Severus shook his head, unsure of how much he was supposed to say in front of Minerva._

" _No, but if the Dark Lord is so weak that he needs unicorn blood, he wouldn't be able to do anything with his Mark." Albus steepled his hands under his chin and was silent for a few moments._

" _That very well may be, Severus, but I won't be scaring the children and telling them that they indeed saw Voldemort, not until I know that it's a fact." Severus nodded, agreeing with this one statement. He didn't get to speak again, however, because Minerva exploded in true Gryffindor fashion. If it hadn't been in defense of the children, he would have chuckled in amusement._

" _You need to handle Hagrid, Albus. He put four first years in danger tonight and didn't even stop to think that Miss Black needed healing. It took her cousin to scream at him and lose his temper before the man remembered. He took them out after dark in a place that the school rules explicitly say is out of bounds. Whether they met Voldemort or not, he took them to help him find whatever is slaughtering unicorns. You can't possibly tell me that you agree with his choice of detention." Her chest was heaving again, and Severus hoped that she didn't end up having a heart attack before his eyes. The Headmaster began playing with the ends of his beard._

" _No, I don't agree with his choice of detention, but what do you expect me to do? He's half-giant and never finished Hogwarts. He would never find employment elsewhere." Severus had had enough of this._

" _If those two children write home and tell their fathers what happened to them and you merely tell Sirius Black and Lucius Malfoy that you did nothing about it because you felt sorry for Hagrid, you're going to be out on your arse with him. You need to figure this out or you won't be at Hogwarts any longer." Albus' eyes hardened at his words. Severus knew that he had him when his tone came out as a command._

" _You will not tell either parent, Severus. If the two brats say anything to their parents, then we'll say that the owl got lost. However, I doubt they will. I don't think that they want to have their parents fight their battles for them anymore than you ever did, Severus. You always took care of things yourself." Severus stood and made sure that everyone knew that he was dead serious._

" _If you want to call anyone brats, make sure it is your Gryffindors. I wouldn't suggest calling my godson and his cousin brats to anyone ever again. You may have my loyalty, but you will quickly lose it if you insult those I care about." The Headmaster's eye brows rose._

" _Since when do you care about Hermione Black? Her father is your arch nemesis." Severus sneered his way._

" _I care because she is a student under my protection. She is a Slytherin. She is also Draco's cousin. If anything were to happen to her, he would be devastated. That makes her very much my business. I don't even think that Black would complain about me keeping his daughter safe." Minerva stood and started to push Severus back from the desk, her hand lightly on his chest._

" _We all need to calm down. Albus, you have no right to call any student names like that in this school, no matter how much you don't like them. Hermione Black and Draco Malfoy are your students and you should treat them the same as you do young Harry." The Headmaster sneered._

" _Oh, and you're so much better, Minerva?" The animagus bristled at his words before standing up straighter and squaring her shoulders._

" _I wasn't any better, no, but I'm trying to be now. It isn't fair to put the sins of the father on the shoulders of a child." Now Dumbledore was scrubbing his face with both hands._

" _You're both correct though it has to be this way. Young Harry can't be allowed to get close to the girl. We can't take the chance that she isn't doing her father's bidding and luring him to her father, so he can finish the job." Severus snorted._

" _Black was never able to not be impulsive. If he wanted Potter so badly he would have blazed through the gates of Hogwarts and killed him already. His eyes were never on the end game." Severus took a deep breath and changed the subject. He could talk this subject to death and it wouldn't change a thing in the Headmaster's mind._

" _You need to figure something out for Hagrid." The old man nodded, looking older than Severus had ever remembered him looking._

" _I'm going to revoke his right to supervise and give detention. Will that satisfy the wolves, Severus?" The Potions Master nodded curtly._

" _I believe so. Now that that is settled, I find myself exhausted." Albus nodded and gestured that he was free to leave._

" _Have a good night, Severus." He didn't respond but nodded respectfully to his employer._

 _He swept out of the office without another word, hoping that Minerva continued to read him the riot act after he was gone._

Both Hermione and Draco pulled their heads from the bowl, silently considering the memory. After a few minutes, Hermione met her godfather's gaze.

"McGonagall is really taking my words to heart. Maybe one of these day she'll actually believe me when I tell her that my father is innocent." Her uncle bent and pressed a kiss to her head.

"Maybe, little one, but probably not. Even though she sees that Albus has faults, she still believes him to be right about things such as your father. I do believe that she is going to treat you and most of the snakes better now." Hermione grinned. Her losing her temper had done something good after all.

*End of Flashback*

Hermione was pulled out of her thoughts by Draco nudging her with his elbow. It was time for them to demonstrate their ability to perform the spell they had just learned about. Hermione wasted no time in turning the tea cozy into a stylish women's hat, earning her five points for Slytherin. Draco quickly followed suit, also earning points. The rest of the class began practicing and Hermione stood to move next to Millie, so she could help her. Draco went to Greg and Vince's side, so he could help them master it as well.

After most of the students had performed the spell to the standard that their professor wanted, the bell rang, and class was dismissed. Professor McGonagall was quick to leave, citing that they all needed to gather their belonging and head to Defense before they were late. Hermione wasn't sure what she was in such a hurry for, but it seemed important. Just as she had stuffed her belongings back into her satchel and stood to leave, Ron Weasley came over and sneered at her.

"For someone so smart, you only seem to want to help your friends. Don't you think that we're all deserving of your help?" Hermione couldn't believe his words. Draco stepped forward, but she spoke before he could say anything.

"Maybe if you didn't treat me like I was scum, I would help you. I tried to be friends with all of you and you all turned me away because you think you know who I am. The only Gryffindors that took my hand in friendship was the twins. Well, Neville, but he's been my friend since I was six. I help the twins all the time. Maybe if the lot of you weren't completely hateful arseholes, I would help you." Hermione knew that it was going to be bad. She should have just kept her mouth shut but she was tired of Ron Weasley and his hateful remarks.

"A traitor like you doesn't get to tell me that I'm a hateful arsehole. How do you think that I'm a hateful arsehole when your dad is the one that ended up getting Harry's parents murdered? That's the definition of hateful arsehole." Hermione tried to control her magic, she really did, but she couldn't help her temper sometimes. Her father had warned her time and time again that this would happen but when it did, it still managed to surprise her.

Ron's bag not only ripped, it exploded, his items and books going everywhere. The force of her magic hitting him threw not only him back against the wall but the rest of the class. Hermione felt bad about catching Daphne and Pansy in the middle of it but there was nothing that she could do about it now. The force of her magic was holding everyone to the wall, even though she could see that they were struggling to life their wands and subdue her. She wanted to embarrass him in much the same way he had embarrassed her but before she could, a hand in the middle of her shoulder blades stopped her.

"Don't do this, Mia. You'll regret it and then you'll be in detention. Right now, you haven't hurt anyone, and they can't do anything to you, especially when all the Slytherins tell the professors the things that he said to you. You know we have your back. Stop now before he pisses himself in fear." Hermione really wanted to continue with her plan of embarrassing him in the worst ways possible, but she knew that Draco was right. She did her absolute best to reign in her magic, the ridiculous output was hard to pull back into her. It took several minutes before the students stuck to the wall were able to move. Pansy and Daphne were quick to cross over and join their friends behind Hermione and Draco. Hermione stepped forward and met the eyes of every single Gryffindor aside from Neville.

"You're lucky Draco was here. I have a very even temper until I lose it. The way this works is simple. I understand that none of you want to be friends with me. I haven't continued to push it. If you leave me alone, I'll leave you alone, it really isn't that hard to understand. By the way, you heard Draco. You can go run and tell all the professors that you want but since the Slytherins are all going to back my story, it won't get you very far." Hermione specifically looked at Harry now.

"You need to reign in your dog before he ends up making you all suffer for his stupidity." Harry seemed to understand her words and the hidden threat in them. He gave her a solemn nod, not exactly what she had been expecting.

"I'll do my best to get everyone to leave you alone." She gave him a small smile before turning away from them.

"Thanks, Potter." She didn't wait for an answer before stalking out of the classroom. The rest of the Slytherins scurried after her, just a little bit fearful. Once they were just outside the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, she turned to Pansy and Daphne with a contrite look on her face.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean for the pair of you to get caught up in that. I try to keep from losing my temper for that reason. Magic will just explode out of me and do whatever it is that I am thinking at the moment." Everyone was watching her and listening to her words as if they were gospel. Both girls came forward and hugged her tight.

"We're not mad, in fact, we think what you did was brilliant. Maybe the lions will quit being such wankers now. This whole prank war is out of control." Hermione laughed lightly and nodded as she followed them into the classroom.

-O-

Harry had just finished dinner and was impatiently waiting for Ron and Pav to finish. He really wanted to get up to the common room and look at the chocolate frog card and see if he could learn anymore about Nicholas Flamel. However, since Ron was still shoveling his third plate of food into his mouth, it was likely to be a few minutes.

The Gryffindor was still shocked at the scene in the Transfiguration classroom that morning. He hadn't been aware that Ron was going to be a prick to Hermione, he had been doing better as of late. As soon as he heard the comment he had made to her about helping, he had wanted to scoff at his friend. She had tried to help both of them and they had both spurned her and been mean to her. He didn't blame her for not offering her help to them again.

Even though he shouldn't want to laugh about the girl he dreamt about almost every night insulting all his friends, he had wanted to. The twins and Neville had all told everyone that if they left the snakes alone, they would leave them alone. None of it ever sank in, though, and the prank war was still going strong. Harry could admit now that it was beyond ridiculous but there was nothing else that he could do about it at the moment.

Watching Hermione lose control had been a complete turn on. He could tell that she was embarrassed afterwards but he didn't care. His prick had been rock hard in his trousers and even though he was able to admit that he had an obsession for the girl, he was unsure why her show of power always got him so hot and bothered. He had asked Neville why she was so powerful, and he had explained that since she already had the magic of two incredibly strong families flowing through her veins due to her parents, her uncle had then adopted her by blood magic, adding his magic as well. Neville told him that she was trying to control the magic of three contributors, unlike the two that they managed.

Harry was interrupted from his ruminating by Ron shoving the plate away from him. Pav was already waiting and sighed in relief when Ron finished. The three of them stood and started for their common room. It took them a good ten minutes to get clear to the seventh floor from the Great Hall, but Harry didn't mind. It could have been worse. He would have hated to live in the dank and cold dungeons like the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs.

Once they were safely ensconced in Harry's dorm, Ron pulled out his chocolate frog cards and began to rifle through them. After a few seconds, he let out a triumphant shout and thrust it at Harry while he bound the remaining cards back together. Harry pulled the card closer to his face, so he could read it.

 _Nicolas Flamel_ _is the only known maker of the Philosopher's Stone, an object capable of turning metal into gold and granting immortality with its Elixir of Life._

Harry cursed when he realized that his was exactly what was hidden under Fluffy. He tried to think of why they would be wanting the Philosopher's Stone to be kept in Hogwarts, but he supposed that there were things he just wasn't going to figure out on his own. However, he remembered the centaur's words, telling him that Voldemort was the one feeding on the blood of the unicorns. Suddenly, he knew exactly who would be desperate to have the Stone and break into Gringotts to try to get it. His mind wandered to who could be helping him and the only person that he could think of was Snape. The man was a Death Eater, the twins had told him so. He would want to get it from where it was hidden to give to his master and bring him back. Maybe Hermione Black was in on it as well, Malfoy too. Both their fathers were Death Eaters and would want Voldemort to return. Harry's voice was steel when he spoke.

"We need to watch the third-floor corridor anytime that Dumbledore leaves the school. I think that Snape is trying to steal the Stone, so he can give it to Voldemort. Black and Malfoy might be in on it too, both their fathers are Death Eaters too." Ron instantly agreed.

"We have to. If You-Know-Who gets his hands on the Elixir, he would never die. We can't allow that to happen." Harry nodded though Parvati looked a little frightened.

"We'll remain quiet until Dumbledore leaves the school." All three friends nodded their agreement before Harry handed the card back to his friend.

-O-

Hermione had just gotten back to the common room, Draco hot on her heels, and made her way to her dorm room. After retrieving the book that Uncle Sev had given her at the beginning of the year, she went back down to find that Draco had gotten them a couch by the fire. She settled in next to him and they laid the book in both their laps. Hermione flipped through the pages to find the chapter on Nicholas Flamel.

Once they started to read, Hermione found what was hidden below the trapdoor rather quickly. She waited until Draco looked up at her, trepidation in his eyes.

"You know that we can't allow this to get into anyone's hands. Who could they possibly be hiding this from? Who would be stupid enough to break into Gringotts for it?" Hermione closed the book and allowed her mind to drift. She went over all the events that year that had seemed strange from finding the trap door, to the dragon, to Harry's broom being cursed by Quirrell. When she finally turned to Draco, she knew he wasn't going to like her theory.

"I think Quirrell is helping Voldemort get the Stone. He was openly cursing Harry's broom and I truly believe that was Voldemort feeding off the unicorn. Who else would need to? Aside from Quirrell's actions this year, I can't think of anyone else that has acted out of character." Draco considered her words for several minutes before nodding.

"I hate to say it, but I think you're right. This means that we have to watch Quirrell and make sure that he stays away from the third-floor corridor. I think we should tell Uncle Sev, so he can help us." Hermione nodded before standing and slipping her book into her robes. The pair left the common room and headed for their godfather's office. Since the light was on underneath the door, Hermione reached out and knocked. Once he called for them to enter, they came in and took a seat before him. She started when he lifted his brow at her, urging her to begin.

"We know that the Philosopher's Stone is hidden under the trapdoor and the three-headed dog. We also think that Professor Quirrell is trying to get the Stone, so he can give it to Voldemort. We're willing to help watch the professor, but we think we're going to need your help." Her uncle leaned back in his chair and steepled his hands under his chin.

"You two have far too much time on your hands if you were able to figure this out." Hermione snorted at his words.

"Are you going to tell the Headmaster?" Severus shook his head.

"No, it wouldn't do any good. Like you said, we'll just watch the professor. If he starts for the third-floor corridor while you two are watching, you get either me or Minerva. Scream and shout until she is forced to act. The last thing that we can allow is for the Dark Lord to get the Stone." Hermione nodded, and Draco did as well. They stood again before Hermione spoke.

"We should go. Our friends gave us strange looks when we left so they're going to question us when we get back." Uncle Sev stood as well and hugged her close for only a moment before shooing them on their way. Once they were gone, Hermione sighed. They still had to face their friend's inquisition.

The night was just going to get better.

-O-

Severus sat and pondered what his godchildren had told him. He couldn't believe that they had worked it out, he hadn't even been aware that they knew about the dog. He really wanted to question them about it, but he had told them that he didn't want to know everything that they got up to. They had come to him in the end and that was what mattered.

The worst part was that he knew they were right. In fact, he wondered if it hadn't been Quirrell out there with the unicorn, if he wasn't possessed somehow by the megalomaniac. He couldn't be sure but there was no way to prove it now. He was just going to have to watch the man as closely as he could. The children would help to the best of their ability and as long as they made sure to come get him, it would be alright in the end.

It had to be.

A/N- Another chapter down, y'all. I'm so happy that you all are continuing to like this story. I know it's a slow burn but I'm trying to build the plot line too. Anyways, thanks for reading guys! Leave me a message after the beep and let me know what you think. Reviews are love.

Next up, Easter break and discussions with parents.

Love,

Alicia


	21. Chapter 21

A/N- I finally got a day off, y'all and managed to get another chapter written. I'm still having problems answering some reviews, fanfiction tells me that it's an invalid message. Does anyone else ever have this problem or does the site just hate me specifically? Thank you, though, to everyone reviewing. You guys are the bomb. I'll try to get the next update up soon, but I have my daughter's thirteenth birthday party and ten teenaged girls that are going to be staying the night. Help me now. I'll quit whining now and get on with the chapter.

**Shout out to roon0 for being my 500th reviewer. As my daughter says, you're the shiznit.**

Disclaimer: Nothing about this story belongs to me. All hail our queen, J.K.R., for making this wonderful world of Harry Potter possible. I haven't made any money from my stories. If only.

Chapter 21

April 20, 1992

Sirius sighed happily. Hermione and Draco had arrived home last night for Easter break even though most students stayed at Hogwarts for the holiday. The break was only a week long and most children didn't feel like the trip was worth taking since two of those days would be spent travelling on the Express. His daughter and cousin, however, had wanted to come home since Sirius had passed on to Severus to tell them the happenings of their detention would only be discussed in person. Sirius still remembered reading the letter from Severus the night that his daughter had been injured.

*Flashback*

Sirius was already in his night clothes, sitting in the library before the fire. There was a tumbler of fire whiskey on the table next to him and a book sitting in his hands. His thoughts were elsewhere, however. The muggle that he had left in her bed earlier that night had cried and begged him not to go, not to leave her. Never in a million years did he think that she was a stage five clinger, but everyone made mistakes.

Sirius knew that he was pig. He was the very definition of a womanizer. He was always honest, always made sure that the women knew that there would be no relationship attached to sleeping with him, but he still felt terrible when the ones that grew attached cried. He may not want a relationship, but he wasn't heartless.

Truthfully, the hook-ups and one-night stands weren't really doing anything for him anymore. They had been occurring since his time in Hogwarts and the truth was, they just made him feel even more lonely. He hadn't had anyone but Lucius, Narcissa, Severus, and Andie for ten years now, no friends, no close confidants. He wanted to settle down and have something meaningful with a witch that didn't just want him for his money and title.

It just wasn't possible though. Not only was there Hermione to consider, there was the fact that he had been spying on the pureblood circles for years. He would turn against them quicker than a snitch when the time came but until that time came, he couldn't be seen with a witch that wasn't a pureblood. He had to face the facts that until the war was over, he was stuck being lonely.

The animagus was pulled from his ruminations by a tapping on the window. Sirius frowned. It was after ten o'clock, he had no idea who would be sending him a letter this late unless it was Severus. He recalled the letter he had received the night before; he had been disappointed in his daughter and cousin for not telling a teacher about something as dangerous as a dragon, but he didn't want to give her too hard a time since Severus had told him that she was already beating herself up over it more than any of them could have done to her. He went to his feet and let the familiar black owl fly in through the window. It was indeed Severus'. He was quick to remove the letter and wave the bird to the bowl of treats near the windowsill. Sirius took a seat in his armchair once again before spelling the letter open. What he read floored him.

 _Sirius and Lucius,_

 _I write with a sense of urgency. There is nothing to be done now but I feel that the pair of you deserve to know what has happened tonight even though the Headmaster has forbidden me to speak of it. Your children had detention over the dragon incident tonight. Dumbledore assigned them to serve it with Harry and the Weasley spawn, all under the supervision of Hagrid. Why this seemed like a grand idea I'll never know._

 _The brainless oaf informed them that they were going to go into the Forbidden Forest and find whatever is hunting and killing unicorns; not only is this stupidest idea for a detention for first years in the history of Hogwarts, he then informed them that they were going to split up and Hermione and Harry were going to go with his dog for protection._

 _Lucius, you would be proud. Draco told him that it wasn't safe and that it was a terrible idea, but he was informed that if he didn't participate he would get more detentions and that the Headmaster would back him. Draco threatened Harry that if anything happened to Hermione he would kill him._

 _I'm sure you can guess what happens next. Hermione and Harry came face to face with whatever was killing the unicorns; they found the figure bent over a body of a unicorn. The dog left the children high and dry and you know Hermione. She can never stand to see people getting hurt. She shot sparks at the figure, how she didn't end up in Gryffindor I'll never know. The figure stood and shot a spell at her, she erected her shield, but Harry had no idea what it was. Rather than allow the spell to hit her, he tackled her to the ground before the spell could land._

 _Apparently, the boy guarded her until centaurs arrived and drove the figure away. The centaurs are under the impression that it was Voldemort. I can think of nobody else that would drink the blood of a unicorn willingly; I fear they're right. Once Hagrid reappeared, he led the children back to the castle. When he told them that their detention wasn't over because Hermione and Draco were headed to the castle for Hermione to get healed, Draco screamed at him._

 _Once again, Lucius, I'd like to think that you would be proud, but you might be horrified at his total loss of control. He told him that they were going to the castle to get Hermione healed and wanted to know what the man would have done if Hermione would have been killed? He questioned him on what he thought the two of you would do if she had been seriously hurt. I admit, I wish I could have seen it._

 _The oaf apologized and told them that he forgot Hermione was injured. Merlin, we entrust our children to this man. Minerva found the pair on the way to the Hospital Wing and she called for me and Albus after escorting them there herself. After hearing the story, Albus only asked if Hermione was going to try to say that Harry had harmed her on purpose. Minerva was quite put out and I was able to witness myself her screaming at him after the children were safely in their common rooms._

 _Hermione was fine after a potion. Apparently, when Potter tackled her to the ground, he landed on her. She ended up with one broken rib and two cracked ones. Madam Pomfrey had her healed in a trice so no need to worry._

 _I'm going to pull the children aside before breakfast and let them know if you want them to send you a letter about it or if you want to just wait to discuss it in person over the Easter holidays. I worry about what could happen if the letter was intercepted, especially since they don't know any spells to protect their letters yet. Please advise me._

 _Severus_

Sirius was furious. Livid. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to react to something like this; his daughter and godson had been in the presence of Lord Voldemort and Albus fucking Dumbledore had done nothing about it, hadn't even seemed concerned. He picked up the table next to his chair and threw it against the wall, chest heaving as he willed himself to calm down. His magic was stirring inside him and last thing that he wanted was for it to lash out.

Deciding that he needed a distraction, he clenched the letter in his hand and headed for the floo. It most assuredly wasn't common practice for him to floo to Malfoy Manor this late, let alone in his pajamas, but the situation called for it. Candy appeared just as the floo sucked him away, ready to clean up his mess he was sure. He would never hear the end of it when he returned home.

Once he landed in the entrance hall of Malfoy Manor, Tinky appeared before him, wringing her hands like she was in trouble. Sirius tried to calm himself once more but knew that he hadn't succeeded when he heard his tone of voice.

"Inform your master and mistress that I'm here and need to speak with them. I'll wait for them in the green room." Tinky didn't even nod, she just popped away and left Sirius to find his own way to the green room in the dark. He didn't have to wait long; Lucius and Narcissa both appeared only minutes later, both in slippers and robes just like he was. They looked distinctly disheveled and this thought calmed him further. It was clear that he had interrupted their private time. Lucius strode forward, irritation shining on his pale skin, but Sirius didn't give him a chance to speak before he thrust the letter in his friend's hands. Narcissa was quick to lean over and read it along with him. It took several minutes but when Lucius finished he hissed so softly that Sirius almost didn't hear him.

"Bloody fucking incompetent fools. We let these people take care of our children." Sirius could see that Lucius was working himself up and that was the last thing that they needed. Whereas Sirius got angry and destroyed things, cooling down afterwards and able to think rationally, Lucius was the complete opposite. His blond friend was in complete control always and quietly seethed, his anger festering until he was able to wreak his revenge with nobody being the wiser. If there was anything that would bring his friend to this state quicker than anything, it was threatening his wife, his son, and his niece. Narcissa was quick to step in, laying a soft hand on her husband's chest.

"You need to calm down, Lucius. We already discussed and agreed that we weren't going to act like we knew, that way we could hold this against Dumbledore later if we need to. I know you're both angry, I suspect there is broken furniture and destroyed books at Black Moor, but you both trust Severus and he would never lie to you about the state of our children. If we were needed, he would have sent a patronus. Do not fret." Lucius glared at his wife and began pacing.

"How in the buggering hell can you say do not fret? Centaurs are other-worldly, they always have been. They're in tune with the Fates. If that was indeed the Dark Lord, they would know. Our niece and Sirius' godson faced him, a girl close enough to our hearts to be our daughter, fired a curse at him and he attacked her. I'm not angry about her injury; Severus assured us that she's healed and that it wasn't intentional; Potter should be commended for tackling her out of the way despite that she received an injury. I'm livid that our children were in the Forbidden Forest at night with only an idiot that never finished his magical schooling and a bloody dog. If it hadn't been for the centaurs, who knows what would have happened to Harry and Hermione." Narcissa discreetly called for Tinky and asked for a pot of tea. When she returned, she served them all and made sure to add a generous helping to both Sirius and Lucius' cups. Sirius was finally calm, and Lucius was on his way to being that way.

"Lucius, I know that's why you're angry. Trust me, I'm livid that my son and niece were in danger. However, it does no good to let our emotions run away with us to where we can't make informed decisions. Therefore, you both need to remain calm." Lucius blew a breath out of his nose and nodded.

"You're right, Cissy, I apologize." They sipped at the warm liquid and Sirius let it pool in his belly. Once his cup was almost gone, he turned to his cousin and friend.

"I think that we should tell Severus to tell the kids we'll discuss the situation when they get home for Easter. It would be folly to put something like this in a letter and have the Headmaster intercept it. He cannot suspect that we know anything." Lucius was nodding his head.

"I agree. It's a month until they're home. We'll take a day and discuss everything when they first get back. I'm sure that they'll both have plenty to report." Narcissa also nodded.

"Let's send Severus a letter now. If I know him as well as I do, he's sitting up and waiting for our reply, so he can act accordingly in the morning." Lucius reached into the side table drawer and pulled out everything he would need to send a reply. He and Narcissa watched him write it, call for an elf, and have them send it off to Hogwarts. Sirius leaned back in the chair in relief.

"I hate this. That sick fuck is responsible for my entire life going to shit. Yeah, I made my mistakes but he's the one who destroyed everything. The last thing that I want if for him to be near Hermione and Draco." Lucius nodded his agreement but Narcissa arched a brow at him.

"You say that, but we all know that Hermione and Draco have been working as hard as they can to learn anything they can that might help Harry in the end or protect him until then. This isn't going to be the only time they're in danger. We need to make sure that they're prepared. I definitely think that dueling should be on the agenda for the summer." Sirius hated to admit that his cousin was right, but the truth was that she was. Hermione would throw herself into danger repeatedly if it kept Harry alive; she knew what the boy meant to Sirius. Draco would surely follow her. Sirius sighed.

"I don't even want to think about it, Cissy."

*End of Flashback*

Hermione and Narcissa had just come in from their morning ride; Sirius hosted a great number of horses on the property of Black Moor and since both girls enjoyed riding, they tried to make it a weekly thing. They hadn't been able to over the Christmas holidays due to the abundance of snow fall on the ground. Come summer, they would resume their routine full-time. Draco and Lucius were playing chess against each other; his friend was trying to teach his son the finer points of subtlety. Sirius had to admit that the boy was already good; he was a Slytherin to the bone.

The five of them adjourned to the informal dining room just down the corridor for an early lunch. They were going to have their talk that day and Sirius wanted to make sure that they were all well-fed and fortified with tea before they broached difficult subjects. Hermione hadn't come out and said that she knew Sirius had been disappointed in her, but he knew that she knew. What she didn't know was that it likely hurt him more than it hurt her. He was always so proud of her that this one glaring instance was like a slap in the face.

The elves kept the lunch light; vegetable soup with roast beef sandwiches spread across the table. Hermione picked at her meal, much the same way that Cissy did, he imagined that that was where she had gotten it. Lucius, Draco, and he all cleared their plates and looked satisfied. Once the women stopped acting like they were eating, Sirius spoke.

"Let's adjourn to the library for tea and this conversation." Everyone nodded and rose, Lucius escorting his wife and Draco holding his arm out to Hermione. His daughter rolled her eyes at the tradition but held her tongue. He was sure that the last she wanted was a tongue lashing from Narcissa. Once they were all settled in the library, tea in front of them and Candy stoking the fire, Sirius opened the conversation.

"We wanted to wait to talk about this because if you had wrote us and the Headmaster intercepted it, he would have known that there was something going on with all of us. Sure, he's watchful now but if that were to happen, he would never stop hounding your every move at school. We must all be careful." Both children nodded sagely. Lucius took over next.

"Tell us about the dragon and how you got detention." Sirius listened carefully as his daughter and cousin told them the tale of following Harry and Weasley to make sure that they weren't going to look under the three-headed dog. Once they had followed them outside, they had seen the dragon through the window of the hut. Sirius wanted to shake his head in exasperation as they decided that they weren't going to tell anyone because they didn't want to get Harry in trouble. They detailed the bite they had seen on Ron's hand and then sneaking out to follow and make sure that the letter was legitimate, that it wasn't just a ruse to throw them off their scents. When they fell silent, Sirius hardened his gaze. He didn't yell, and he didn't throw things like Severus had; the man had already informed Sirius that his daughter had shrank away in fear of him.

"I've never been more disappointed in the two of you. Somebody could have been seriously hurt or killed. Dragons are not pets and shouldn't be anywhere around children. We ought to send you to bed without supper." Lucius hadn't even started.

"I was sure that the pair of you were smart, that you knew what could happen if you let things like that go on without handling them. You two doing nothing about a bloody dragon on the grounds is no different than Dumbledore doing nothing about the detention that you two could have been killed at." Hermione didn't shrink into her cousin's side like Severus had told them she had done. Instead, she sat up straighter and wiped her face of emotion. Sirius like to call it her mask; she only wore it when she felt like she couldn't show weakness, or someone was attacking her. He wasn't sure which was the case today, but he didn't like it. Narcissa met their eyes.

"What do you two have to say for yourselves?" Draco spoke first so Hermione just kept her spine ramrod straight and her shoulders back. Her cousin was wearing much the same impassive mask as she was.

"We didn't think about the dangers that the dragon would pose to students; we figured that Hagrid could take care of himself. We should have told Uncle Severus and we have promised him that we will if anything of the like ever occurs again." Lucius turned to his daughter.

"Hermione?" Her tone was neutral, but her eyes were shining.

"We were wrong and weren't thinking. It was my idea to not tell anyone, you shouldn't punish Draco. It was also my idea to follow them. He wanted to do the right thing." Draco turned angry eyes to his cousin and began hissing so quickly Sirius couldn't understand him. Hermione didn't meet his eyes, in fact, she stared ahead like she couldn't even hear him. She simply kept her eyes locked on Lucius. When his little cousin realized that she wasn't paying attention to him in the least, he took her hand in his and pleaded her with his eyes.

"It isn't true, Miney. Don't tell them that." Hermione finally turned impassive eyes to her cousin.

"Are you saying that it wasn't my idea?" Draco started to sputter at her words, trying to come up with the correct answer.

"Yes, it was your idea, but I went along with it. I could have easily told Uncle Sev without you." Sirius wanted to stop the scene in front of him but wanted to see how it ended. He wasn't sure if Lucius intended to punish Draco, but he wasn't going to punish her. He could see how sorry she was. Lucius spoke again.

"Of course, I can't punish Hermione, but I feel that an appropriate punishment for Draco would be being confined to his room for two days' time. The pair of you must think before you act, especially in these coming days." Sirius saw a calculating look on his friend's face and wondered just why it was there. When he turned back to face his daughter, she was waiting impassively for his punishment of her.

"You will not be punished, sweetness. I know you're sorry, I just wanted to implore how serious the situation was and how wrong it could have gone." Her eyes flashed but she remained silent. When she turned back to look at her uncle, betrayal flashed across her features. Lucius spoke again and this time, he was quite sure he knew what his friend was up to.

"I think we should also add that there will only be breakfast served to you, Draco. If you can't figure out wrong from right at age eleven, there is little help for you in years to come." Draco bore his punishment well. He gave a resolute nod to his father. Narcissa looked spitting mad but nothing compared to Hermione. Her magic was dancing in her eyes and her curls were swaying slightly in a wind that nobody could feel. Suddenly, her aunt and uncle were slammed into the couch behind them and Lucius' cup exploded in his hand, tea splashing down the front of him. He hissed in pain, but it was almost unable to be heard over his daughter hissing at her favored uncle.

"You will not punish him in my stead. We made a mistake, we're eleven and twelve for Merlin's sake. If you want us to make adult decisions, you can start treating us like adults right now. Holding a mistake against us and treating us like this isn't right and it isn't fair. We have been the perfect children up until this one mistake and suddenly, you're punishing your son as if he burned down the castle." Tears were pooling in her eyes, but she didn't release the magic holding them back until Draco pulled her into his side and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"I'll be fine, Miney. I swear it, as soon as I'm done, I'll come over and show you just how fine I am." She sagged against him and let him comfort her. Her cousin was who she needed now, not Sirius, even though he hated seeing her so upset. Sirius steepled his hands under his chin while he watched Lucius kneel in front of his daughter and take her hand in his.

"Hermione, Draco isn't going to be punished." Sirius watched with thinly veiled amusement as his cousin's head spun to meet his father's gaze. Hermione met her uncle's eyes and waited for him to continue.

"I only said that I was going to to get you to react. I hate seeing that mask on your face. I want to see your happiness, your anger, your tears, all your emotions when it's just us. I know you wear that mask at school. We love you and I never want to see it on your face again, not when it's just family." Hermione threw herself into her uncle's arms and hugged him tightly around the neck.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you or Aunt Cissy." Narcissa laughed softly behind her husband.

"Sweetie, I'm a Black and grew up with shows of power such as yours. I am perfectly fine, I assure you, as is Lucius." When she released Lucius, she wiped her eyes.

"I'm really sorry we disappointed you, we both are. Once we came up with a conclusion of what's underneath the trapdoor, we went straight to Uncle Sev." Sirius opened his arms now and she floated into them, hugging him close now.

"I know, poppet, you aren't in trouble. The pair of you made us proud enough of you during the detention to make up for it." His daughter remained perched on his lap while Lucius answered.

"I want to know how you came to find this three-headed dog and how you came to the conclusion of what was underneath it." Sirius sat back and listened as the two children told the story of a wizard's duel gone wrong. They all laughed at the story until they found themselves in a room with Fluffy. They enumerated the events that had happened and just how they had concluded that Professor Quirrell was trying to get the Philosopher's Stone for Voldemort. Sirius could see Lucius wracking his brain, probably trying to remember if there was a Quirrell in the service of the Dark Lord. When they finally fell silent, Sirius asked them in a serious tone.

"Is that everything? There's nothing else that's happened to you at school that we need to know about?" Both teens scrunched up their faces before finally shaking their heads in the negative. Draco vocalized it.

"We don't think so." Lucius took over.

"Very well. I understand that you two are going to help keep an eye on Quirrell; if he looks like he's heading for the third-floor corridor, immediately get Severus. Even Minerva at that point. The Dark Lord must not be allowed to rise; it is going to happen eventually but the later, the better. Potter needs to be more prepared to face him." Both their faces were earnest as they nodded their agreement. Narcissa grinned.

"Continue the current course of action if someone tries to tell you to go in the Forbidden Forest. I don't care if you get a hundred detentions for refusing, you don't go. You write home and your fathers will be there before you can say quidditch. I understand that you tried to say no, that you tried to make the man see reason, but next time demand to see Severus. You will not be in trouble." Both children were now grinning as they nodded. Hermione was nearly bouncing in her seat.

"Are we finished with our talk now?" All the adult nodded in the affirmative.

"Oh good, I wanted to tell you about this book I read from the Hogwarts' library." Sirius groaned.

Some things would never change.

-O-

Harry came down from his dorm in time to make it to Easter dinner on time with the rest of Gryffindor house. Almost all the students had stayed at school, only a handful travelling home to see their parents. Harry was more than content to stay home and enjoy a week off to catch up on all his homework. He didn't have near as much as Ron did, but he was still loaded from the last week of classes.

Most of the school had stayed at the castle. Harry, Ron, and Pav had gone down to watch all the students that were leaving vacate the castle by means of carriages. He had been surprised to see that Hermione and Malfoy were among their number. Both had been excited, laughing and shoving each other good-naturedly as they shrunk their trunks and stuffed them in the pockets.

Harry had gotten over the Slytherins snitching. Ron still believed that they did but he didn't. It just didn't make sense when you reasoned it out. He remained quiet about the matter; it wasn't worth the argument. Ron had gotten better towards Hermione since the day in Transfiguration when she had immobilized the whole of Gryffindor house. Harry didn't blame her; they had been terrible to her and he wouldn't have offered them help in her shoes.

Since it was time to head to the Easter meal, Harry found Ron, who was sitting on the couch next to Parvati. She was crying into her hands and Ron was hugging her close, trying to comfort her. Harry shot him a quizzical look.

"What's wrong?" He growled out his answer, obviously frustrated and angry.

"Some Ravenclaw third year told Pav that she wasn't pretty enough to ever find a proper husband, that she would bring shame to her family." Harry secretly wondered if Parvati had said something first but knew better than to ask. Instead, he rubbed circles on her back as he spoke softly.

"No believing that, Pav, you're beautiful. The girl was just jealous." Her sobs were now reaching embarrassing levels.

"It was a boy!" Ron shot him a "what did you do that for" look as he continued to rock their friend. Harry started to speak again but Ron held up his hand.

"Let me handle this, mate. I have practice with my mum and my sister." Harry couldn't help but feel insulted but knew that Ron hadn't meant to. It wasn't his fault that he didn't have practice in dealing with emotional females. Harry wandered off to walk next to Neville, leaving the pair alone. Neville watched, amused, as the redhead began petting the girl's hair.

"He's really good at that. He's a really good friend to her." Harry nodded as they left the common room.

"I know you haven't seen much of it, but Ron is a really good friend. He just has an unnatural hatred for Hermione Black and Draco Malfoy." Neville snorted as the wound their way through the corridors.

"That would be an understatement. Not that you're much better." Harry supposed that he deserved that comment but remained silent the rest of the way.

Once they were seated, the meal appeared on the tables. Ron and Pav slipped in at the last moment, taking seats on either side of him. Neither said anything, just dug straight into the food that Harry had piled on their plates before they got there. He laughed as Ron seemed to inhale the food as fast as he could, so he could fill the plate again before it all disappeared. Pav ate at a much more sedate pace, eating her fill but not making a pig out of herself.

When the plates finally disappeared, Harry was full and happy. This had been the best Easter he had ever had. Ron clapped him on the shoulder as they started back for the common room.

"Let's go play some wizard's chess and we'll start our homework tonight." Harry grinned and nodded.

It was going to be a good day.

A/N- This chapter wasn't nearly as long as the couple before, but I warned everyone that that was how this story was going to be. Thanks again to everyone taking time out of their day to read and review my story. Y'all are rock stars. Leave me a message after the beep and tell me what you think. I do so love to hear your thoughts.

Next chapter, Harry and Ron fight and Harry takes it out on Hermione.

Love,

Alicia


	22. Chapter 22

A/N- The love you all show me after each and every chapter is just astounding. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You guys are seriously so awesome. I hope that you all continue to enjoy. Enough for now, I'm going to get this new chapter out.

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing in this story. I tried to make a deal with the devil, so I could own the wonderful world that we all dabble in, but apparently there's a restraining order? I haven't made any money off my stories, I'm still a broke bitch.

Chapter 22

May 26, 1992

Harry rolled his shoulders trying to lessen the tension in the muscles. There was only two weeks left of school and the whole castle had gone study mad. He felt confident that he would pass all his classes but the same couldn't be said for Ron.

They had just left dinner and Ron was whining about having to return to the library to study. Several hours before dinner had been spent in the library with Harry trying to help his friend study to make sure that he passed his exams. The last thing that Ron would want is to have to repeat his first year, but he wasn't making the connection that he needed to study if he didn't want that to happen.

Ron was still grumbling as Harry led him back to the library. Since they had left dinner late due to Ron eating three plates of food, there were only a couple tables left clear in the back by the restricted section. They were further from the books that the pair needed but they were also afforded more privacy since nobody ever wanted to sit there. They took their seats at the one closest to the rest of the tables, Harry instantly digging into his bag and pulling all his study material out. Ron sighed loudly and did the same.

Harry pulled out Potions, the subject that he was the least confident about. He caught the sound of familiar laughter and looked up. Hermione Black was seated at her usual table with Malfoy, Neville, and the twins. He wasn't sure where the rest of her Slytherin followers were but honestly, he didn't care. While he was interested in Hermione and didn't mind Malfoy as much as he thought he would, he could honestly say that he didn't like the rest of the snakes. They were mean and hateful and while he could admit that the Gryffindors had started the rivalry between the two houses, the snakes now seemed to enjoy tormenting the lions.

He briefly considered going over there and asking if he could sit down and study with them. Hermione was brilliant, and Malfoy wasn't far behind her. While Harry knew that he wasn't stupid, he did well in all his classes, he wouldn't mind learning more. He had even broached the subject with Professor McGonagall; he wanted to be the best wizard that he could be and that meant learning more. Ron had told him that he was barmy, but Harry didn't care.

He had been sorely disappointed, however. His Head of House had told him that she would speak with the Headmaster and see if there was any way that he could receive extra instruction. Three days after his request, she had told him that the Headmaster had told him that he was learning magic at the perfect rate, that he didn't want to overload his magic by using it too often. It sounded like complete bullshite to Harry and judging by the look on McGonagall's face it was clear that she agreed with Harry's sentiment. When he had made a comment about Hermione and Malfoy having no problems with extending their magic too far, the animagus had gritted her teeth and told him that they had been doing it since they were toddlers, so they were used to it. Realizing that it was a lost cause, Harry had let it go and vowed to study on his own.

Harry shot the idea of joining them down; he knew that he needed to keep his distance from the girl, Dumbledore had been very specific in his talk with him. The man had even pulled him aside after their disastrous detention and told him that while saving Hermione Black was commendable, he needed to make sure that he didn't fall to her charms. Keeping Harry safe was the priority and the Headmaster was quite certain that befriending Hermione would jeopardize that. After remembering this, his mood soured. Ron was still complaining that they had to have exams and Harry couldn't take it anymore. He had listened to it for a week now and was done.

"Ron, you're just a tick away from failing all your classes. If you fail your exams, you'll have to repeat your first year, which means that not only will you no longer room with all of us, you'll have to take classes with kids a year younger than you. If you would just stop complaining and study, you would pass and not be made fun of for the rest of your school career." Ron fell silent for almost a minute, clearly surprised at his friend's outburst.

"I know exams are important, I'm sorry for complaining so much, I just can't help but think that our time would be better spent watching Snape. He might not wait for Dumbledore to leave the school. Hell, Black and Malfoy could be telling him when we're occupied so he can get down that trapdoor when he knows we're studying." Harry scrubbed his face with his hands before taking a deep breath to calm down before speaking.

"Ron, I'm pretty sure that Snape wouldn't sneak down the door in the middle of the day. He has duties in the school and if he went missing, it would be suspicious. I know I said that Black and Malfoy could be involved, but I don't think they are. Look at them over there. They're studying with our room mate and your brothers. They aren't even paying attention to us." Ron's face clouded but Harry didn't understand why. Ron slammed his books closed and gritted his teeth as he spoke.

"Let me guess, you're falling under her spell too. Dumbledore warned you about this, he told you not to fall for her. Her father is the reason your parents were murdered. Malfoy's father has raped and murdered countless people under the name of You-Know-Who. Why would children raised by rapists, murderers, and traitors be good people? What kind of good example would they have in their life? You may think that she's innocent because she's a pretty face with lots of money, but I'm not fooled. I know she's hiding something and I'm going to laugh the day that you finally discover that she's been playing with your emotions all along." Harry slammed his book shut now, fury painting his features.

"I'm not falling for her charms, I'm trying to look at this logically. They're twelve years old, how do you think they're going to help get past that dog? It doesn't make any sense. They probably don't even remember about Fluffy." Ron shouldered his bag and glared at him.

"Don't count on that. I may hate the little bitch but even I can admit that she's smart. She's also a snake so she's sneaky. You believe what you want, Harry, but I'm going to continue to watch the pair of them like a hawk. You too for that matter, your judgement can't be trusted." Without waiting for a response, his best mate stalked out of the library leaving a furious Harry behind.

Harry could hardly believe that his friend had said the things that he had, all because he had a different opinion than he did. He knew that studying at this point was useless, he would never be able to concentrate on potions or anything else for that matter. He shoved his books back in his bag and followed his friend out of the library. Deciding that there was no way that he could return to the common room and deal with Ron while he was still this angry, he decided to just stroll the castle corridors. He briefly considered going to visit Hagrid but since it was already after dinner, well past seven o'clock, he decided that he would wait and visit the following day since it was a Sunday.

Harry had no idea how long he walked the castle. He was quite sure that curfew was nearing, and he was only on the first floor. With a heavy sigh, he started for the staircase that would take him clear to the seventh floor. He wasn't paying attention so was not surprised when he bumped into someone on the stairs, knocking them to the floor. He was getting ready to offer his hand and apologize when he saw who it was.

Hermione Black.

-O-

Hermione wasn't sure that she could study anymore. Studying held little to no interest for her, especially since she and Draco were so far ahead in their studies. She still reviewed what would be on her exams but there was no way that she was going to study for things that she had learned years ago. Draco seemed to be of the same mind so after skimming their notes from that year, they moved onto the advanced charms assignment from Madam Cambridge.

The rest of the Slytherins had decided to take the night off from studying; exams were due to start in just a few days and they all claimed that they were burned out. Hermione could relate but she refused to stop just because they were. Draco agreed and accompanied her to the library, citing that he wanted to work on the assignment with her and then check out a book to read before bed.

Neville and the twins had joined them at their table in the library. They were all determined to do their best on their exams, so Hermione didn't grumble at all when they asked her for help. Neville still struggled with Potions and the twins were always needing help with Transfiguration. They couldn't help much with the practical application of both subjects since they were in the library, but she was more than happy to lend her knowledge in theory. She had even told them that if they needed to practice any of the practicals, they could all meet in an empty classroom the next day for them to get better.

Neville had instantly agreed, telling them that he needed help with Charms and Transfiguration. The twins also decided to come and practice; they hoped to better their skills o they could start making more complex prank items. Hermione still shook her head when she thought of them opening a joke shop. It was an insane idea, but she knew that they would be great at it.

A half hour before curfew, their study group disbanded and headed to their own common rooms. Hermione wanted to curl up in front of the fire and read one of the books that her father had sent with her when they returned from Easter holidays. He had told her that he had very much enjoyed it and hoped that she would to. It had appeared to be a text on Arithmancy, but she had only glanced at it momentarily before stuffing it in her trunk.

Hermione and Draco had traveled from the fourth floor to the second when she realized that she had left her student robes on the chair she had been sitting in. She screeched to a halt, hoping that she could retrieve it and get back to the dungeons in time to beat curfew. Draco gave her a confused look as she turned to head back the way they had come.

"What are you doing, Miney? You'll be late and get another detention. We just finally took over first place in points." She urged him to continue to the common room.

"I left my robes in my chair. I'm going to run and get them, then I'll be down. If I'm late, it'll only be me that's late and punished. There's no sense in you suffering too." He gave her a doubtful look but finally nodded.

"Alright, but hurry." Hermione flashed him a smile and started off again to go back to the library. While she wasn't running, she was most certainly hurrying faster than she usually did.

Hermione reached the library and hurried back to he usual table to find that her robes were still hanging there. She threw them on over her uniform but didn't close them. They would only be on for the time that it took her to return to her dormitory. With a quick wave to Madam Pince, she hurried out of the library and through the corridors. There was only ten minutes left before curfew and she was determined to make it. She was on the staircase that led to the first floor when she smacked into something solid and fell backwards onto her bum. Her nose was stinging so she reached up to make sure that it wasn't bleeding. After she realized that her face was injury-free, she looked up to see what she had run into.

Harry Potter.

For a moment, she thought that he was going to help her. His hand started to extend but he hurriedly pulled it back. Hermione struggled to her feet, wincing at the pain in her backside. After she was back on her feet, she gave him a small smile.

"I'm really sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going. I was trying to hurry and get to my common room before curfew." It made no sense to her since he had been almost pleasant since their detention together. His lip curled into a sneer and his voice was laced with hatred.

"Why should I believe you? Ron's right, you're just trying to lure me in, so I'll trust you. Let me tell you, Black, it will never happen. I will never be your friend so just leave me alone. Your father is a filthy traitor that deserves to suffer before he dies. With him as a role model, you'll be no better. Just a mini-Death Eater, learning everything she can from her murdering father. Why don't you ask him how many women he's raped, how many people he's killed? Ask your uncle, I'm sure he's proud of his loyalty to Voldemort. The sad part is that you could have been something great if you hadn't been raised by the lowest life forms our world can offer. One day, I promise you, your father and uncle will die slowly, regretting their every move. You'll be right there with them if you follow in their footsteps. Heed my warning, Black."

Hermione couldn't believe the words that had just come from his mouth. How could he think those things? Why would he say them? Why was he so sure that she was evil and going to kill people? She steeled herself against his words and tried to bring her impassive mask forward.

"You know nothing about my father and uncle, you've been told lies. My father is innocent, he never served Voldemort and he never will. He didn't turn your parents in, your father was his best mate. My father may have his faults but turning on his friends was never one of them." Harry looked at her as if he pitied her.

"I can't help but wonder if you actually believe the words coming out of your mouth because all I hear is bullshite. Run back to your common room and write him a letter, telling him I know the truth and I won't be falling for your lies any time soon." She thought she saw a flash of guilt in his eyes, but it was gone a second later. Hermione was trying to hold back the tears, determined to stay strong. One tear managed to escape it's confines and she was quick to brush it away.

"I can't wait for the day that you discover that you've been lied to, that Dumbledore has told you nothing but lies. My father loves you, he fought to get custody of you, so you didn't have to live with your awful relations. I just hope that by the time you learn the truth, it won't be too late. From now on, stay away from me. I've been nothing but pleasant and kind to you and you've done nothing but throw insults in my face. I get it, you don't want to be friends. Trust me, I no longer want to be your friend either. You may think that they only reason I tried to befriend you is to get to you and bring you to my father but really, it's because we should have been raised together, we would have been if not for the fucking Headmaster meddling in my father's affairs. We would have been as close as Draco and I are. We would have loved you. I know now that hope is dead. Thank you for clarifying it. If you'll excuse me, I must go."

Hermione didn't give him a chance to speak before hurrying past him on the stairs to make her way to the Slytherin common room. She knew that he heard the first sob escape her mouth, only at the end of the stairs. She didn't care; she kept going as fast as her feet could carry her.

Hermione didn't meet any professors or prefects in the corridors on her way to the common room. The large room was almost empty, surprising since it was a Saturday night. She assumed that it was because everyone was exhausted from studying all day, but she wasn't sure. All she knew was that she wanted to sleep next to her cousin and cry into his shoulder. Nobody got to see her cry except for Draco.

The Slytherin left her bag next to the door leading to her dorm and waved her wand over her clothes. Her uniform turned to pajamas and she turned to start towards the boy's dorm. The few students that were left awake paid her no mind; they were too engrossed in their studying. She tip-toed into Draco's dorm, a room she had only visited once before. Blaise appeared to be the only one still awake and when he realized she was in there, he raised an eyebrow at her before pointing to the bed where Draco slept. His curtains were closed so she assumed that he was asleep.

Hermione shot him a grateful smile before slowly pulling the curtains back to her cousin's bed. To her surprise, Draco was sitting up against the headboard, awake, and reading a book by wand light. He raised his eyebrow at her now before pulling back the covers and letting her crawl in. Hermione wasted no time in snuggling next to him. His arm came around her shoulders and hugged her to his chest, so she let go.

Her sobs were muffled against his chest, but she was still scared that Blaise could hear them. She hoped that her cousin cast a silencing charm. Both his arms wrapped around her and he stroked her hair, much the same way her father and uncles did. It was oddly comforting. She was unsure how long she stayed like that but when her back started to ache because of the angle she was leaning at, she sat up and attempted to wipe her eyes. Her cousin watched her silently, knowing that she would explain when she was ready. Once her face was close to normal again, she sighed.

"I don't want to be friends with Harry anymore. We ran into each other on the stairs and he said terrible things to me. I told him that he was stupid and that he would regret acting like this when he learned the truth, but he didn't care. I shouldn't want to give up on him, Draco, but I do. I don't want to keep trying to be friends with someone that is so brainwashed they can't see what's right in front of them. I just hope that he learns the truth before it's too late for my father." Draco pulled her against him again, his hand still carding through her curls.

"Your father wouldn't want you to put up with this. Just leave him alone. Quit being nice to him. Be civil when you must be. We'll still protect him if we need to but just forget that you should have grown up together. It's just going to make it harder to let go." Hermione nodded at his words.

"Can I sleep here tonight? I'll get up early and be gone before everyone leaves." Draco kissed the side of her head.

"Yeah, let me scoot over." He rearranged himself in his bed and Hermione laid down next to him. He was still seated, determined to continue reading.

"Will my light bother you?" Hermione shook her head, inhaling the scent that she associated with her cousin.

"No, read as long as you want. I'm tired and just want to sleep." She heard her cousin chuckle softly before he returned to his book. Hermione snuggled deeper into the pillow and tried to put Harry's words out of her mind. She hadn't had him in her life for this long, what was a few more years?

-O-

Harry felt like shite. He had seen the effect that his words had on Hermione. He had seen her brush a tear away, hoping that he hadn't seen it. He didn't really mean most of what he said; he had been angry because of Ron and had taken it all out on Hermione Black.

He decided to follow her example and hurry to Gryffindor Tower. It was after curfew now and he really didn't want to lose anymore points for his house. Slytherin had finally pulled ahead of them and the last thing that he wanted was to broaden the gap. Once he reached the common room, he realized that most of the students had already gone to bed. Ron was sitting by the fire, staring into the flames, but the rest of the students that were still awake and studying were the older students.

Harry really didn't want to deal with Ron at the moment but as soon as the red head noticed that he had entered, he went to his feet. He moved to stand before Harry and he looked contrite. Harry just waited though; if Ron had something to say that couldn't wait until tomorrow, he was going to have to open the conversation.

"I'm sorry, Harry, I shouldn't have said any of that stuff. I do think that Black and Malfoy are shady, I think they're hiding something, but it doesn't make sense to have two first years going after the Stone. Please forgive me." Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was getting a full apology from his best mate for starting an argument and then stalking off away from him. Even though the words between himself and Hermione weighed on his mind, he smiled at his friend.

"Yes, I forgive you. If you promise to stop whinging about studying. I don't want you to fail so you must study. You've got to put more effort into school, how will you get a job after school if you don't know how to do anything?" Ron nodded his head enthusiastically.

"I'll study with you until exams and I won't whine a single time. I know I need to focus more on school and I'm going to. I don't want to go to classes with firsties again." Harry clapped him on the shoulder and started for their dorm.

He dropped his bag to the floor at the foot of his bed and hurriedly changed into his pajamas. After a quick goodnight to Ron, he buried himself under the duvet and closed his curtains. Once he was alone, he let his thoughts wander.

He regretted saying those things to Hermione. He had let his anger do the talking and now she hated him. Harry shouldn't care that she hated him but for some reason he did. He had never considered that she would want to be friends because they should have been raised together. He couldn't even imagine being as close to someone as she seemed to be to Malfoy. Having someone care for you like they cared for each other was something that Harry had never experienced and to be honest, it scared the life out of him.

Harry decided that he would stay away from her like she had asked. It was the least that he could do for her since he had hurt her so terribly. He had heard her sobs as she ran away, hurrying to her common room. If the situation presented itself, he would apologize; he would eat a huge piece of humble pie and hope that she forgave him. This wasn't who he was, he didn't want to be like Dudley and his merry band of followers.

For now, he would keep his distance like she had asked him to. Harry wouldn't start any problems with her and he would do his best to keep the Gryffindors from starting shite with her too. He was sure that he could get Neville on board to help him. Maybe he would be able to apologize before the end of school.

Happy with his decision, Harry rolled over and let sleep pull him under.

-O-

Albus watched the two children interact from the alcove at the top of the stairs. He had been strolling from the library to his office but when he saw the pair run into each other, he had quickly hidden himself, so he could listen into their conversation without being seen.

While he hated that he was promoting Harry to hate Hermione Black and Draco Malfoy, Albus couldn't take the chance that they would lure Harry in and he would end up dead. He knew that Voldemort would come back, it was only a matter of time, and Harry would need to be alive, so he could defeat him. His words to the girl had been harsh but true all the same. Her father and uncle were responsible for atrocious acts against humanity and they didn't feel a smidgen of remorse.

The saddest part of the whole scene wasn't that Hermione had told Harry that he was being lied to, it was that she honestly believed that her father and uncle were innocent. It was clear that she didn't doubt their words a tiny bit. He almost felt sorry for her for being so naïve, but he tamped that down. She would end up doing her father's bidding by the time they resurrected Voldemort, that much he was sure of. The further Harry stayed away from the Slytherin pair, the better.

He grinned to himself as he made his way to his office. Since the boy had just solidified where he stood in the upcoming war, he was going to consider his request for extra studies. He hadn't been convinced that it would be a good idea when Minerva had brought the request to his attention but after he had thought about it, it would probably be a great idea. The boy would be facing the most evil wizard of their time and he would need to be much better prepared than he was. Maybe he would personally assign extra homework for the summer and start extra classes with the boy next term.

That's what he would do. He would ensure a victory for their side of the war yet.

-O-

Severus wanted to laugh at the portrait in his quarters. It was a picture of Jackson Avery, a past Slytherin from three hundred years ago, and its twin hung in the common room. Whenever there was trouble, or the students were doing something particularly naughty, he would inform Severus that his intervention was needed.

Jackson had just informed him that his goddaughter had sneaked into the boy's dorm in her pajamas looking quite upset.

Severus wasn't worried. He knew that if she was upset, she would be sneaking in the boy's dorm to go sleep with Draco. They slept together all the time at home, they had since they were small children. He knew that there were students that were determined that there was something inappropriate between the pair, but Severus knew that there wasn't. They had always acted only as siblings.

He wasn't worried. Draco would comfort her, and she would feel better, then sneak away in the morning before everyone woke up. He was slightly curious as to why she was upset; she was his charge after all. He knew that it had nothing to do with watching Quirrell. The pair had spent much of their time watching his movements and when they were unable to, Severus kept an annoyingly close eye on him. He hadn't acted as of yet, but he knew that it was only a matter of time. The man would make his move when they all least expected it. The children had promised him numerous times that they would fetch himself or Minerva if they witnessed the man make his way for the third-floor corridor.

Severus finished his glass of fire whiskey and decided to head for bed. Tomorrow would be a long day of patrolling the corridors and the library, making sure that the little monsters were studying and keeping the peace. He would corner his godchildren in the morning and figure out just what had upset her so.

A/N- Thank you again to everyone for reading and reviewing. You guys are awesome. I know this chapter makes Harry seem like a complete asshole, but Harry is going to start being nicer to her. The question is if she'll be receptive to it. Anyways, let me know what you think about it, reviews make me smile.

Next chapter, Quirrell makes his move and some of our students decide to stop him.

Love,

Alicia


	23. Chapter 23

A/N- You guys and your feedback are just amazing. To those of you out there offering suggestions, thank you. I appreciate it. Those of you out there that are telling me that I'm ruining Harry's character, that I'm ruining the story by making him weak, thank you for expressing your opinion. However, telling me the same thing every single review just gets old. This is my story and I'm going to write it the way I want. If you don't like my portrayal of Harry, I apologize. I have a hundred other stories on my favorites list that you can go read where his character isn't ruined. I love constructive criticism, for example, someone pointed out that Hermione has a close relationship with Sirius, Lucius, and Severus but only seems to shop with Narcissa, coming across as shallow. I never considered that and changed it up. Just badmouthing my story isn't going to get you anywhere but ignored.

On another separate note, fanfiction still hates me and won't let me respond to every other review. I'm not sure why or what I need to do to fix it. I've messaged the site but all they say is that they'll look at it. If you didn't get a response, I apologize. I'm not ignoring you, I promise! Anyways, this is longer than I had planned so I'm going to shut up and write now! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: In my wettest dreams I own Harry Potter and Co. Reality is much more disappointing. I own nothing and have made no money off my stories.

Chapter 23

June 5, 1992

Harry couldn't put his finger on it, but he knew that there was something that was niggling at the back of his mind, causing him to worry. He had gone through breakfast and lunch trying to ignore the feeling but now that dinner was underway, he could ignore it no longer. Ron and Pav didn't seem to feel the same way but then again, neither were very observant. Just when he turned his attention back to his meal, it dawned on him. His eyes flew to the High Table and realized that not only was the Headmaster gone, so was Professor Snape.

Thinking back, Dumbledore had been gone all day long.

Harry cursed under his breath, drawing the attention of Ron. His eyes flew to the Slytherin table and Harry could see that Hermione Black and Malfoy both looked worried as well. He wondered what they could possibly be worried about but didn't dwell on it long. He turned back to Ron and looked at him grimly.

"Look who's missing from the High Table." Ron's eyes flew to the dais of the Great Hall and groaned.

"Dumbledore is gone, and Snape isn't at dinner. He was here for lunch, he's probably decided to go down under the trap door to get the Stone." Harry's mind was whirring, trying to work out how best to go about stopping a full-fledged wizard that served a madman. Realizing that this wasn't the place for a conversation such as this, he grabbed Ron and Parvati by the wrists and pulled them to their feet, gesturing for them to follow him. The three of them left the Great Hall quickly, Pav looking more confused than either of them since she hadn't been included in their conversation. Once they were in an abandoned classroom a corridor away from the Great Hall, Harry shut the door and started speaking.

"The Headmaster is gone, and Snape isn't here, even though he was here for lunch. He's gone after the Stone and we need to figure out a plan to keep it safe." Parvati gave them another confused look.

"I think we should tell Professor McGonagall. She'd be more likely to stop Snape then we would." Ron nodded.

"I agree, mate. Yeah, we could go down there and fight him, but he'd likely just kill you. He serves You-Know-Who, killing doesn't mean a thing to him." Harry wasn't entirely sure that he agreed but nodded in the end.

"Alright, let's go wait at her office. When she's done with dinner, she'll find us there." Harry swung the door open and led the other two out of the classroom. He could have sworn that he heard a scuffing sound behind him but when he turned around, there was nobody there. He hurried his friends along through the corridors until they reached the seventh floor. It was purely luck that Professor McGonagall was unlocking her door as they turned the corner. Harry broke into a jog, so she couldn't get the door shut behind her before he spoke to her.

"Professor, wait, we need to talk to you. It's important." She narrowed her eyes at him but gestured for the three of them to follow her. Once the door was closed and silenced behind them, Harry took the seat in front of her desk while the other two stayed on their feet on either side of him.

"What's so important, Mr. Potter?" Harry took a deep breath and hoped that he could explain this without her thinking that they were barmy.

"We found the three-headed dog on the third-floor ages ago and we worked out that he's guarding the Philosopher's Stone. We've been waiting and watching because we know that Professor Snape is trying to steal it, so he can give it to Voldemort, so he can come back to life. It's the only thing that makes sense. Now the Headmaster is gone, and Snape has disappeared. You have to do something to make sure that he doesn't get it." Professor McGonagall didn't look impressed with his explanation. Her lips pursed together, and she folded her hands together in front of her.

"I have no idea how you know about the Stone, but I can assure you that it is safe. The Cerberus is only one safeguard, there are several. I can also assure you that Severus is not trying to steal it to give it to Voldemort. The three of you have let your imaginations get away with you." Harry couldn't believe that she wasn't going to help them. He sounded indignant when he spoke again.

"You're really not going to do anything about this? I have a bad feeling about this whole thing, Professor, you need to go check on the Stone." Their Head of House stood and laid her hands flat on her desk, so she could hunch over the furniture slightly.

"I am telling you right now, Mr. Potter, that the Stone is safe. You are not privy to all the information and you will desist in this line of inquiry. I expect you all to get to your common rooms and stay there. Exams have finished so you should be celebrating. Don't think I haven't heard about the party that the seventh years are planning." Harry couldn't believe it. She didn't believe them, and she was shooing them away with promises of a forbidden party. Knowing that it wouldn't do any good to continue, Harry stiffly rose from the chair and headed for the door.

"Thank you for your help, Professor." Her eyes flashed at his obvious jibe, but she remained silent as they filed out of her office. Once they were several doors down, Harry pulled them into another classroom and closed the door. His features were hard and his voice steel as he spoke.

"If she won't help us, we have to go after it ourselves." Parvati's features twisted in fear, but Ron looked determined.

"If we do that, we'll lose all our points and our house will hate us. We'll have detention clear into our second year if we do this." Harry could tell that she really didn't want a part of this. Therefore, he took pity on her and laid a hand on her shoulder.

"I don't think you should come, Pav. We need someone to stay behind and make excuses for us. Tell everyone that we told you that we were going to go flying. Something like that. We need time to get down there and make sure that Snape can't get the Stone." Her eyes softened a little but then her face blossomed in worry.

"What about the dog, how will you get past? What about the other protections that Professor McGonagall talked about?" Harry hugged her close for a minute before he spoke.

"I think I can use that spell that Malfoy told me to use against the troll. If it worked on a massive troll, it should work on a dog, right?" Both Pav and Ron nodded. It was Ron that put an arm around the girl's shoulders and comforted her. He really was better at it then Harry was.

"We'll be fine, Pav. We're already behind Snape. He probably has all the protections destroyed by now. Truly, we'll be back before you know it." Harry seriously doubted that that was the truth, but he didn't say anything. Once the girl was calm enough to go sit in the common room without everyone knowing that something was wrong, they sent her on her way.

Harry led the way to the third floor, Ron following closely behind. Harry couldn't help the butterflies in his gut; he was trying his hardest not to puke. Not only was he worried about facing whatever obstacles were under that trap door, he was scared to death that he was going to get expelled. Staying with the Dursleys year-round wasn't really something that he looked forward to. Once they were standing outside the door that housed Fluffy, Harry turned back to meet his friend's eye.

"You don't have to do this, Ron. You can turn back now like Pav." His best mate snorted at his words.

"You're my best mate, we're doing this together. Besides, you can't do everything by yourself." Harry chuckled softly before waving his wand at the door and opening it with a spell.

"Let's go."

-O-

Hermione had noticed all day that the Headmaster was not in residence. Her godfather had pulled them aside after lunch and told them the Dumbledore had sent for him, that he needed potion's expertise wherever it was that he had gone. He implored them both to watch the third floor and go get Minerva the second they suspected that Quirrell had gone down the trap door. When the man hadn't shown up for dinner, she knew.

Hermione knew that the Gryffindors suspected her godfather. She had caught them talking about it in the corridor one day. She had pretended that she hadn't heard since doing otherwise would have just ended in a fight. Therefore, when the three of them left the meal abruptly, she knew that she and Draco were going to have to follow so they didn't do anything stupid.

Sure enough, they were only a corridor away when they merely closed the door for privacy. She shouldn't complain, Hermione knew that. Silencing charms would have made it much more difficult for her to discover their plans. They were going to go to McGonagall and have her go after her godfather. Of course, they would be sorely disappointed when they discovered that her uncle was innocent.

Hermione and Draco had followed them, silencing charms placed on their feet, to the seventh floor and hid outside Professor McGonagall's office. She had thrown up a silencing charm, so they could do nothing more than wait. They didn't have to wait long before the three of them left her office, angry looks on their faces. Once they were in yet another classroom, Hermione discovered that the older woman had refused to believe them and sent them on their way. Where she knew that they had done the right thing first, they were now deciding to go after the Stone themselves. As much as Hermione wanted to call them foolish, she didn't see any other option. If McGonagall wouldn't listen, none of the professors would.

Hermione and Draco followed the boys down to the third floor and watched as they unlocked the door. They were trying to be quiet, so they couldn't discuss their plan until the boys were gone. Since there wasn't any barking or growling, she assumed that Quirrell had already handled the dog but that didn't mean that it would last. She turned to her cousin with steely resolve.

"I'm going to follow them down there and try to stay out of sight. I need you to go back to McGonagall and try to convince her that the Stone is being stolen as we speak." Draco's eyes hardened at her words and he gripped her shoulders tightly.

"I'll go down there with them, you shouldn't be putting yourself in danger like that for those two idiots." Hermione didn't often fight with her cousin over him protecting her; she had been raised to know that the men usually took control of situations and they always protected the females that they cared about. Just because she didn't often fight him didn't mean that she wouldn't. She squared her shoulders, crossed her arms over her chest, and glared at him.

"You wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for me and my loyalty to Harry. Besides, you're a male. Professor Cat is a pureblood. She's going to be more likely to listen to the scion of a house than a girl that's smart. We both know it's true. You can pull the 'my father will storm the castle' bit and she'll believe it." It was a stretch since she could say the same thing. Her last name would guarantee that somebody would listen. Draco knew it was a stretch too but said nothing to her defense. He nodded grudgingly before pulling her into a rough hug.

"You be careful and get out of there at the first sign of trouble, Miney. I'm not playing around. Don't let Potter get you in trouble down there. For the love of Merlin, don't let Weasel make any decisions, he's a fucking idiot." Hermione hugged her cousin fiercely before kissing him on the cheek.

"I love you, Drake." He tugged on one of her curls before smiling.  
"Love you, Miney. Now get down there." Hermione pulled away and nodded. She knew that her cousin watched as she opened the door in front of her with the standard unlocking spell.

When she opened the door, it was clear why there hadn't been any sounds from the dog. It was asleep, snoring loudly as one of it's heads lolled back and forth across the door. Hermione groaned to herself. Her father was a dog animagus and while he was always lovable and playful, she remembered encountering one such animal at Pansy's house that hadn't been. The dog had sniffed at Hermione for ages before biting her on the leg out of nowhere. It had drawn blood and her father had been furious. Without a single question or comment, he had cast a spell at the dog and left its body there while he apparated her home. The Parkinson family had never said a word about it afterwards.

Hermione was going to have to forcibly move the head of the dog on the door if she wanted to get through. She had been told that dogs could smell fear, so she hoped against hope that it stayed asleep. Edging forward carefully, she tried to stay as far away as possible from its teeth. She moved the massive head as gently as she could, the dog not waking. Once it was moved enough that she could pull the door up, she let go of the head and lifted the door. It was completely dark beneath her. However, she could hear Harry and the Weasel yelling at each other.

"Harry, I can't hardly breathe! I can't get out; these vines are squeezing the life out of me." She could hear them both struggling as she strained to hear their words. They sounded like they were far below her. Harry's voice came from the other side of the darkness.

"I know, it was squeezing me too. Stop struggling, it's devil's snare. I just can't remember how to counter it. It was clear back at the first of the year and it wasn't on our exam." Hermione rolled her eyes. Devil's snare? That was one of the great protections for the Philosopher's Stone? Knowing that if Harry didn't remember what to do, Weasley never would. With a sigh, Hermione produced her wand and cast her spell.

"Lumos solem." Light erupted from her wand and when she pointed it below her, she could see the plant physically pulling away from wherever the light touched. It released both boys, she could hear it when they dropped to the floor.

"How did we get out of that, harry?" She could imagine the Gryffindor shrugging his shoulders. They must have been deep enough in the plant that they hadn't seen the light from her spell. Just as she heard them walk away, Hermione sighed and decided to follow them. She grasped her wand tightly, knowing that if she dropped it on the fall, she would be stuck there until one of the professors arrived. Just as she was about to lower herself down, the harp music playing in the background stopped and the snoring came to an abrupt halt.

Hermione was now face to face with three heads of dog that were growling and baring their teeth.

Knowing she couldn't scream, she slid further to the edge of the door. Just as the closest head snapped his teeth and caught her arm, she threw herself over the edge and fell at least ten feet to the devil's snare below. She could feel the blood seeping through her uniform shirt but overall, she was fine. Her wand was still clutched tightly in her grip, so she was quick to cast the same spell over again. She didn't have to suffer the same squeezing that the boys did since the plant shrank from the light. It was at least a five-foot drop to the floor beneath her. She landed wrong and rolled her ankle; she was quick to stand and see if she could even walk on it.

Her ankle was already swelling and even though it was painful, she was able to bear weight on it. Since it obviously wasn't sprained, she continued on her way, following the boys. She cracked open the door they had gone through to see that the room was full of flying keys. There was a locked door on the other side and a broom in the middle of the room. Hermione understood right away that someone was going to have to fly through the keys and find the right one to unlock the door. It really was a clever protection, especially against someone like her that absolutely hated flying.

Hermione watched with trepidation as Harry mounted the broom and tried to figure out which key it was that he wanted. After several minutes of trying to differentiate between the keys he pushed off the ground and the chase began. Hermione had no idea how he managed it. As soon as his feet left the floor, the keys all started flying erratically, some even chasing after him. She edged through the door and stayed in the shadows, so she would be sure to get through the door while they did. The last thing that she wanted to do was chase the bloody key herself.

It was several minutes before Harry caught the key that he wanted. Once his feet touched the ground, the keys calmed and went back to fluttering aimlessly in the air. The key in his hand was still struggling but that wasn't a surprise. Whoever set this protection wouldn't want to make it too easy. He fit the key in the lock and the door swung open. Both boys went through confidently, not paying the least bit of attention to the fact that she was behind them. She slipped in behind them and hid in the shadows as they surveyed the largest chess set that Hermione had ever seen.

Hermione wasn't particularly gifted at chess. She could play but she always lost. Her father and Uncle Luci laughed at her all the time because it frustrated her to no end. Draco rarely played her anymore because she got so upset. Therefore, she was happy when Harry turned to Weasley.

"We have to play our way across." Hermione groaned to herself. If it was anything like wizard's chess, and she had a feeling that it was, it was going to be dangerous. Harry huffed and raked his hand through his hair while he thought.

"Where do you want me?" Hermione could hear the dread in his voice and she wasn't sure if it was because he was going to have to play or he feared Weasley playing. Weasley's voice was confident.

"I want you on that bishop. I'll be the knight. Don't worry, I won't make you play." The amusement in the boy's voice led Hermione to believe that Harry wasn't very good at chess. At least they had one thing in common.

Hermione watched from the shadows as the pair played their way across the board. This game was very much like wizard's chess, the pieces destroying the ones that they took. Hermione gained just a little bit of respect for the redheaded git after watching him play. She would love to see who would win if he played Draco or her Uncle Luci. Both were excellent at the game. Hermione couldn't see exactly what was happening on the board since she was in the dark, but she heard Harry speak and his voice was full of anguish.

"Don't do it, Ron, we'll figure out another way through." She watched them in the distance. Weasley's voice was determined.

"I have to do it, Harry, I have to sacrifice myself, so you'll be free to check the queen. Make sure that you get through the doors before the board resets. Once you stop Snape, come back and take me back up top." Hermione wasn't quite sure how he thought that Harry was going to get him back through the devil's snare and around the three-headed dog, but she kept quiet. Harry started to protest but was cut off by Ron's command.

"Knight to H3." Hermione watched as the knight moved in the position to be taken by the queen. A stone sword flashed, and the knight was destroyed, Ron on the ground unconscious.

"Ron!" He started to leave his square but thought twice about it. He remembered that they were playing a game and moved forward to put the queen in check.

Once the queen was defeated, Harry rushed from his square to check on Ron. She understood wanting to make sure the boy was alive; he had sacrificed himself to get Harry across the board. Like she said, a little bit of respect for the boy. After seeing that Harry looked relieved when he stood back up, she assumed that the boy was still alive.

Hermione followed close behind him as Harry went through the doors on the other side of the chamber. The door didn't close completely so she was able to keep it open long enough to slip in and hide in the shadows once more. She couldn't believe that the professors had thought that these were protections; first years were getting through them. Once the door shut behind her, she heard snorting in the distance.

Hermione followed a little closer behind Harry now since she wasn't sure if there was some sort of animal in this chamber that would hurt Harry if he was caught unawares. He gasped softly just a little bit ahead of her but from the sounds of his footsteps, he kept going and didn't stop. Hermione understood his gasp completely when she released that the snorting was a troll passed out cold on the floor. She wasn't sure how Quirrell had defeated it, but he had.

The next door didn't have any protections on it and opened easily. Hermione assumed that the challenge was more to get to the other side alive, not figure out a problem and solve it. She stole through the door after Harry to find a small chamber with a long stone table lined up along one wall. There were potion vials in a line on the table with a slip of parchment in the middle of them. Harry picked up the parchment and read whatever was written on it before talking to himself aloud.

"How in the bloody fuck am I going to get past this?" Hermione knew that she had no choice but to reveal herself now. It was clear that he was stumped, and it wouldn't do for him to drink one of the potions and die. Once Hermione stepped out of the shadows, flames appeared at both doors, blocking entry or exit. She cleared her throat and Harry whirled around, wand held aloft and pointed at her. She just stared at him, waiting for him to either cast or lower his wand. Finally, he lowered it but appeared angry.

"What the fuck are you doing here? You were in on this weren't you?" Hermione shook her head and came a little closer.

"No, we didn't want the Stone stolen either. It's not Professor Snape though, it's Professor Quirrell." Harry scoffed at her, but she could see that he was hooked. He wanted to know why she thought that. She decided to tell him.

"I've known Professor Snape my whole life. He's Draco's godfather, he would never do anything that would harm children. Professor Quirrell, however, was the one who cast the curse on your broom during that quidditch match and I'm certain that it was Quirrell who got Voldemort into the Forest. I'm quite sure that Professor Snape set up this challenge. Why would he try to protect the Stone if he was just going to steal it?" She could see that his mind was considering what she said but he didn't appear to be believing it. His wand came up and pointed at her again.

"Why have you been following us? Do you want the Stone for yourself?' Hermione couldn't help but be a little offended at his words. Her voice hardened.

"No, I don't want the bloody Stone for myself. I want it destroyed. Voldemort ruins lives. I followed to help you if you needed it. Who do you think cast the spell to get the devil's snare to release you?" Harry raised his eye brows in surprise. She could see that he wasn't happy about having to rely on her, but she could also tell that he was telling himself that he didn't have a choice. When he lowered his wand again and spoke, his voice was gruff.

"Well, come help me then. I'll never figure this out." Hermione stepped forward slowly to make sure that he wasn't going to use his wand on her after all. Once she was at his side, he handed her the slip of parchment. She read it quickly and then reread it three more times to be sure that she was right.

 _Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,_ _  
_ _Two of us will help you, whichever you would find,_ _  
_ _One among us seven will let you move ahead,_ _  
_ _Another will transport the drinker back instead,_ _  
_ _Two among our number hold only nettle wine,_ _  
_ _Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line._ _  
_ _Choose, unless you wish to stay here for evermore,_ _  
_ _To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:_ _  
_ _First, however slyly the poison tries to hide_ _  
_ _You will always find some on nettle wine's left side;_ _  
_ _Second, different are those who stand at either end,_ _  
_ _But if you would move onwards, neither is your friend;_ _  
_ _Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,_ _  
_ _Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;_ _  
_ _Fourth, the second left and the second on the right_ _  
_ _Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight_

Hermione surveyed the vials of potion before picking up the one that take Harry to the other side of the door and handed it to him. There was only enough potion there for one person, so she gave him a small smile before picking up the one that would take her back. She urged him closer to the door.

"That potion will take you through the flames. I can't come with you, so you'll have to get through everything else on your own. Mine will take me back through the doors and I'll make sure that your friend is alright. Hopefully, Professor McGonagall will be down here shortly. Draco was supposed to do whatever it took to get her to come down here." Harry gave her a strange look before he gulped loudly.

"Thanks, I think." She smiled his way before uncorking the vial and throwing the potion back. Without any hesitation, she walked back through the flames that guarded the exit. It felt like walking through ice, but she wasn't complaining. Much better than burning.

Hermione sighed and started to make her way back through the chamber to where Ron Weasley lay injured. She really didn't want him to wake up with only her there, so she hoped that Professor McGonagall came quickly.

-O-

Harry couldn't believe that Hermione Black had followed and helped him. He had wondered if it had been poison that she handed him but when he realized that he had no other choice but to trust her, he threw the potion back and found himself pleasantly surprised when she had indeed given him the correct potion.

Harry now found himself standing in a large chamber lit by numerous lanterns. A familiar professor stood before the Mirror of Erised, hands clasped behind him and scrutinizing it closely. What disturbed him the most was that the man had removed his turban and there was another face growing out the back of his head. Professor Quirrell was having a conversation with the other face, pondering how to get the Stone out of the Mirror. He tried to keep quiet, so they wouldn't notice him but one of the rocks on the floor fell off one of the steps when he tried to move into the shadows. Professor Quirrell turned to stare at him, his gaze harsher than Harry could ever remember seeing. It appeared that Hermione Black was right again.

"Harry Potter come over here and help me. I can see what I want, I can see the Stone, but I can't get it. You must be the key." Harry had no plans of going anywhere near that mirror, but a wand appeared in his professor's hand and whatever spell he cast forced him to float forward. Once he was standing before the mirror, Quirrell whispered silkily in his ear.

"Tell me what you see, young Potter." Harry remembered the words from Dumbledore over the Christmas holidays.

 _You see your heart's desire._

Before it had been his family gathered around him, Sirius Black and his daughter friends with his parents and Harry with his arms wrapped around her. Now, he wanted nothing more than to find the Stone and keep it from Voldemort. He took a deep breath and peered into the Mirror.

Harry could see himself in the Mirror, holding the Stone in his hand pushing it in his pocket. To his great surprise, he could feel the Stone being shoved in his real pocket. He wasn't sure what kind of magic this was, but he wasn't going to complain. Now he just had to get away from professor.

"I see myself shaking the Headmaster's hand, he's handing me the quidditch cup. My house is behind me cheering." Quirrell reached out and backhanded him. Harry went flying to the ground, blood dribbling out of his mouth.

"Lies, you tell me lies." Harry decided that he was going to ask questions of his own.

"Was that you drinking the unicorn blood?" Quirrell grinned an almost feral grin.

"It was. My master needs sustenance to survive." Harry struggled to his feet, never letting the man out of his sight. Quirrell advanced and when he spoke, he could tell that the words came from Voldemort in the back of his head.

"Help me, young Potter, give me the Stone and I can give you power. All the power you could ever want." Harry scoffed openly.

"I don't need power and I would never give you the Stone. You murdered my parents, you're the reason I'm an orphan. I will never help you." Quirrell rushed him, snarling, and gripped his shirt. Harry felt him press against him and he knew the second that the professor realized that the Stone was in his pocket. He instantly went to reach for it, but Harry struggled enough that the man dropped him.

Harry wiggled out from between Quirrell and the Mirror and tried to make a run for it when he was tackled from behind. His head smacked painfully off the stone floor and for a few moments, he saw stars. He felt the professor sit on his back and slam his head into the floor again, this time making Harry want to vomit. Quirrell reached down to roll him over, his hand touching the scar on his forehead. Rather than being rolled over, Harry heard screaming. Screaming like he had never heard before. He could hear Quirrell screaming that he was burning alive, but he could tell that it was Voldemort's voice.

The screams had disappeared by the time Harry's world went dark.

-O-

Minerva was rubbing her temples, confused as to why the Malfoy boy was in her office going on about the Stone. There was no possible way that anyone could get past their protections. Yet, not too long after Potter and his friends departed with the story that the Stone was being stolen, here was Draco Malfoy claiming the same thing.

"Listen, Professor, I know you don't believe me. I know that you think I'm crazy. I do know that whether the Stone is being stolen or not, Potter and Weasley went through that trap door. I also know that Hermione followed them to keep them safe. If you think these protections are so great that nobody can get past, then you have three students that are going to get hurt. I can tell you right now that if my cousin gets hurt down there while you did nothing, my cousin Sirius and my father are going to have your job. If you go check on them, you'll be safe. You have to go down there, Professor." Minerva wanted to scream. She knew the boy was right. Why in the hell did Albus have to leave and then make Severus follow him? She wearily rose to her feet and gestured for him to follow.

Once outside the door, her wand appeared, locking her office. After that, she waved it and sent off her patronus, the silvery cat carrying a message to both Albus and Severus, telling them that three students had gone through the trap door and they needed to get back to the castle as soon as possible. They reached the third-floor corridor and Draco gestured for her to open the door. She glared at him and gestured for him to stand back. With a wave of her wand, the door unlocked and swung open. To her absolute horror, not only was the Cerberus awake and barking at them, the trap door was indeed open. She turned back to the Slytherin boy and laid her hands on his shoulders.

"I have to get down there. I need you to wait right here and tell the Headmaster and Severus that I've gone down there alone. Can you do that?" Draco nodded his head seriously.

"Yes, ma'am." Minerva wasted no time.

She waved her wand, stunning and binding the Cerberus where it stood. Without a second glance back, she jumped through the trap door to the devil's snare below.

-O-

Severus was livid. Albus had pulled him away from the school and Severus knew that Quirrell was going to make his move once they were both gone. After hearing the message from Minerva, he knew he was right.

 _Return to Hogwarts immediately. Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, and Hermione Black have gone through the trap door and are determined that someone is trying to steal the Stone._

Severus knew he couldn't get angry at his goddaughter. He didn't know if Potter and Weasley had gone to Minerva, but it was likely that when the students went to her with the story she hadn't believed them. After the incident with the dragon, Hermione would never throw herself into danger like that for no good reason. He could only assume that they didn't think they would get any help if they didn't go through the door themselves.

He was worried sick; Severus didn't worry about Hermione when it came to the devil's snare or the logic puzzle. He knew that eventually she would catch the key even if she had to be terrified to do it. What scared him was the chess set. She was truly terrible at the game and hoped against hope that if they made it that far, one of the boys played. Otherwise they would all be doomed to death. The troll didn't worry him so much, though he assumed that it wouldn't be a problem if Quirrell had already gone through.

Albus was cursing next to him as they strode to the apparition point in the Ministry. Severus still had no idea what the Headmaster was doing there; he had called Severus to come and identity a certain potion that he had never seen before and perhaps tell him what it did. It had taken him all afternoon and most of the evening to differentiate the different ingredients and try to decide what the brewer had been aiming for. Once they reached the apparition point, Albus held out his arm. Severus took it, understanding immediately that the Headmaster meant to apparate through the wards, something that only a Headmaster could do. They appeared before the third-floor corridor to find Draco pacing before their eyes. Once he realized they were there, the boy rushed over, fear in his eyes.

"Uncle Sev, Hermione went down there. We heard the boys tell Professor Cat that you were going to steal the Stone and when she told them that you weren't, they left. They decided to go down themselves. Hermione didn't trust them to get through the protections that the professor told them about. She told me to go threaten the professor and get her to follow them down there since she was going in after them to make sure they didn't get themselves killed. Professor McGonagall went down by herself about ten minutes ago." Severus laid a hand on his godson's shoulder and waited for him to make eye contact with him. Draco understood immediately and lowered his shields in his mind.

 _Did Quirrell go down there?_

Draco gave the barest of nods, obviously fearful for his cousin's life. He gestured for him to go stand by the wall.

"Wait here for us. Under no circumstances are you to follow us. We will bring Hermione back out to you." His godson seemed to settle a little at his words. Severus didn't blame him for being worried. He himself wanted to tan the hide of his goddaughter but he couldn't in good conscience. They had done everything they could to get adult help and she only followed Potter and Weasley, the former of which their side of the upcoming war couldn't afford to lose.

Severus saw that Minerva had stunned and bound the Cerberus, making it easier to get to the trap door. He jumped through first, casting a cushioning charm on the ground. The devil's snare was gone, Minerva had blasted it away he was sure. He didn't blame her; the plant gave him the creeps. Albus followed him.

The pair went through the open door to find the door on the other side spelled open. He wondered if Minerva did such quick wand work because her lions were down there, or she feared the fact that Draco had surely threatened her with Sirius and Lucius. Regardless, the door was open, so the pair breezed through to find the chess chamber. Severus wanted to shout in triumph when he saw his goddaughter sitting on the ground next to an unconscious Weasley while Minerva ran a diagnostic on him. Severus didn't wait for Albus to speak.

"Miss Black how far did Mr. Potter get in the chamber?" She sniffed just a little before answering. He wondered if Minerva had yelled at her.

"I got him through the logic puzzle. After that, I have no idea since I had to turn around and come back." Severus cursed and turned to follow the Headmaster. The troll was just starting to stir so he sent a binding spell it's way. After going through the door, he disabled the spells that he had set to ensure that whoever came through drank a potion. He couldn't help but feel a sense of pride in Hermione. Of course, she would be the one to solve his riddle.

When they went through the door and entered the next chamber, Severus had to hold back a gasp. Potter was on the floor, face-down, with blood trickling from his head. Quirrell was laying next to him, skin melted off his body, obviously dead. Severus rushed to the boy and cast a diagnostic on him, hoping against hope that he was still alive. As the information flew by, he let out a sigh of relief.

"He's alive, he's just unconscious." After rolling him over, Dumbledore reached down and fished the Stone out of his pocket and put it in his own robes. He smiled at Severus before speaking.

"He kept the Stone safe from Voldemort. See the face on the back of Quirrell's head? He was possessed. I should have known better than to leave the school and the Stone unprotected. I never suspected Quirrell." Severus knew the man had to be lying. His two eleven-year-old godchildren had figured it out.

"Take Harry to the Hospital Wing, along with Weasley. I'll deal with this mess." He noticed that the man said nothing about Hermione but really, he wasn't surprised. He bent down and picked the boy up, surprised that he wasn't heavier than he was. Without wasting any time, he strode through the corridors until he was back in the chess chamber. Weasley was now awake and shooting glares at his niece. Hermione was on her feet quicker than a snitch, sprinting his way. He noticed that her arm was covered in blood.

"Is Harry alright?" Severus didn't want to scare her, but he didn't want to lie either.

"I think so but I'm not sure, Miss Black. He's unconscious. We need to get all of you to the Hospital Wing." Weasley was asking loudly after his friend but Severus didn't feel inclined to answer him. Call him petty but the little bastard was terrible to Hermione. Hermione was quick to follow him, favoring her arm. He gave her a sideways glance.

"What happened to your arm?" She sniffed a little again, probably readying herself to get yelled at.

"I had to save them from the devil's snare and it woke the dog up. It bit my arm before I could jump." He knew how scared she must have been; since she had been bitten as a child, she had feared most dogs aside from her father in his animagus form.

They traversed through the chambers, Weasley and Minerva following closely behind them. Once they reached the trap door, Severus cast a strong lumos charm that hung above them. He turned to Minerva and gestured for her to step forward.

"I'm going to levitate you up first. I'll do the children next and you can help get them through the door. Then you can levitate me last." She nodded her head, readying herself to float through the air.

Severus cast the charm with ease, lifting his colleague up and through the trap door. Once she was safely on the other side, he laid Harry down and cast the same spell on him. It was harder to control with an unconscious person and even though it took a few minutes extra, he got him safely to Minerva. He gestured for Hermione to move forward to go next when Weasley spoke.

"Why is she going next? I'm more injured." Severus turned a cold gaze to the red head.

"You are fine. If you had any manners whatsoever, you would realize that after the most wounded, it's women and children that are next evacuated. For the love of Merlin, you sound dumber every time you open your mouth." The red head didn't say anything else, so Severus levitated his goddaughter to the top of the chamber and through the trap door. Finally, he turned to Weasley and cast on him without warning. There was a startled gasp that he reveled in hearing but other than that, he was just as quickly to the top as Hermione had been. After they were all safely on the top side, Severus allowed Minerva to levitate himself to the trap door. He hated relying on her for something like that, but he really had no choice. Loss of control had never been something that he enjoyed.

After they were all out of the room, Draco rushed forward and pulled his cousin into his arms. He could hear him berating her but didn't let go of her for a second. When he pulled away, he inspected her arm through her torn shirt.

"What the bloody hell happened to your arm?" She snorted at his language.

"I had to save them from the devil's snare and it woke the Cerberus. It got one bite in before I could jump through the door." He began chastising her quietly. Severus could tell that he was telling her that she was never again to go into danger without him. He cleared his throat and picked Harry back up again.

"Let's get everyone to the Hospital Wing. There is no reason to stand out here in the corridor for no good reason at all when there are people that need healed." Draco didn't need told twice. His arm went around Hermione's waist and started to pull her towards the staircase. She shot him a look that said help me. Severus chuckled to himself.

Hermione had chose to go down there, she was on her own when it came to her cousin.

A/N- Holy balls, guys, this chapter took me ages to write. I'm not sure why either. I know that some of the things weren't canon, but they were made that way on purpose. The logic puzzle that Hermione solved is word for word from Philosopher's Stone. I had to keep that in there. Anyways, I hope that you enjoyed my portrayal! Leave me a message after the beep and tell me what you thought. Reviews are love.

Next chapter, the leaving feast.

Love,

Alicia


	24. Chapter 24

A/N- You guys are all so awesome. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for showing so much love for this story. I know that slow-burns aren't for everyone so those of you that have hung tough, you da bomb! Anyways, enough for now, I want to get this chapter out before I fall asleep.

**Shout out to ZoeyOlivia, my fellow mean girl, for being my 600th reviewer. Love you girl!**

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing in this story except the personal twist on the plot. The original idea belongs to Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle and the characters belong to J.K.R. All hail our queen. I haven't made a single dime off any of my stories.

Chapter 24

June 9, 1992

Hermione glanced around her dorm room, making sure all her personal items were packed away in her trunk. She would make the final check tomorrow, but she saw no reason to not be prepared ahead of time. The other girls hadn't started packing yet; they had all told her that they would start packing their things away after the Leaving Feast.

The Slytherin girl had learned from her godfather that Harry had woke up that morning. The Headmaster had been sequestered with the boy for well over an hour afterwards but there was nothing that she could about it. It didn't matter anymore how much Harry hated her, she had already given up on being friends with him. After a year of trying and failing to get him to see her in a positive light, she was done. Her mind wandered to four nights ago after they had arrived at the Hospital Wing.

*Flashback*

Hermione had just settled into one of the beds, Draco besides her, in the Hospital Wing when Professor McGonagall hurried past her to summon Madam Pomfrey. Ron was grumbling to himself about having to sit in the bed next to Hermione's. She rolled her eyes at him but kept quiet. Uncle Sev laid Harry down in the bed next to her. Hermione shot him a worried glance, but he could do nothing but brush against her mind softly in comfort. Madam Pomfrey bustled out of her office only to start barking orders.

"Severus put the curtains up between the students, Minerva, make sure that Albus is notified that Mr. Potter is in here. He told me that he always wanted to know if the boy was injured." Hermione wasn't surprised at the mediwitch's words; the Headmaster would want to make sure that Harry was alright no matter what kind of injury he was being seen for. Her uncle was quick to obey and after he had pulled the curtains separating them, he stepped away from the bed, so he could still see in Hermione's cubicle. He gestured for the mediwitch to come to Harry first.

"You should see Mr. Potter first; he's unconscious and has yet to wake." Hermione sat on the bed for over thirty minutes waiting for the woman to finish working on Harry. She couldn't hear anything that was being said but she watched her uncle's face and he didn't seem worried in the least. Right before Madam Pomfrey left Harry's cubicle, she heard the Headmaster enter the Hospital Wing.

"How is Mr. Potter, Poppy?" Hermione audibly snorted. Her godfather's lips tipped just the tiniest fraction when he heard her. Who cared about the other two students that had been injured. It was another ten minutes before the mediwitch made her way to Hermione's side. Ron, however, saw her enter Hermione's cubicle and started complaining.

"Why does she get to go first again? She has a little cut, she can wait." Her godfather pinched the bridge of her nose and looked like he was about to explode. Hermione smiled softly at Madam Pomfrey.

"You can help him first. I just have a dog bite and a hurt ankle, I'm not going to die. He was knocked unconscious." Madam Pomfrey rolled her eyes at Ron's words but gave Hermione a smile.

"Alright, dear, let me go make sure that he isn't about to expire." Hermione snickered under her breath before leaning into her cousin. The adrenaline was beginning to leave her system and she was suddenly exhausted. Draco wrapped his arm around her and pushed her head down on his shoulder.

"Miney, you can't ever do that to me again. I was so scared that something happened to you." She nodded against his shoulder.

"I'm sorry I worried you. I really didn't mean to. I will say, it's a good thing that those two were down there. If it had been just me I wouldn't have gotten past the chess set. However, if you had been down there, we would have been great." He snorted as he started fingering the ends of her curls.

"What did you have to get through down there?" Hermione closed her eyes as she spoke.

"When I first got through the trap door, I fell into devil's snare. Easy to bypass. A door led me through to a room that was full of flying keys with a broom on the ground. If you wanted to get through, you had to catch the key in the air after it was traveling at the speed of a snitch. After that, there was a life size wizard's chess set that Harry and Weasley played their way across. That's how he got knocked out, he sacrificed himself, so Harry could continue. In the next chamber was a troll but it was unconscious. I followed Harry through and there was a logic puzzle. I solved it for him but since there was only enough potion for one person to pass, I went back, and he went on. I have no idea what was beyond that chamber since I went back to Weasley." Draco was now rubbing small circles in her lower back, relaxing her even further.

"How did you get hurt?" She snorted again.

"The two idiots couldn't remember how to get past devil's snare. I cast a lumos spell at it, but the dog heads woke up. I tried to jump down before I got bitten but one of the heads still caught me. I rolled my ankle when I landed after freeing myself from the devil's snare." Draco chuckled softly.

"You don't have very good luck with dogs which is odd considering your father's animagus form." She laughed too though it was cut short when the mediwitch stepped around the curtain. Her godfather followed her in, clearly not about to not hear how her medical state was. Madam Pomfrey, however, turned to both Uncle Sev and Draco.

"Sorry, boys, you can't stay. She's going to have to remove her shirt." Draco instantly became indignant.

"She's my cousin, I'm not leaving her. I'll turn my back." The mediwitch crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Draco. Uncle Sev stepped forward and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Come, Draco, we can stand right outside the curtain. Miss Black will be just fine." Draco huffed angrily but followed their godfather out of the curtain. Once it was closed behind them, Madam Pomfrey gestured for her to take her shirt off. Hermione was quick to comply. The sooner she was healed, the sooner she could leave. The mediwitch clucked softly when she saw the wound; it was large, swollen, and red. The blood had long since quit flowing and was dried down her arm.

Madam Pomfrey siphoned off the dried blood and began to knit the skin back together. When she was finished, the wound was still raised and red. She turned her wand to her ankle next, clucking again when her spells revealed that it was indeed rolled. With a quick wave of her wand, the swelling disappeared, and the achiness was gone. The mediwitch left without a word so Hermione took that to mean that she could put her shirt back on. She was buttoning the last button when the curtain admitted Madam Pomfrey again, this time holding three potion vials in her hands. Seeing that she was dressed, she left the curtain open, so her godfather and cousin could enter again.

"I want you to drink all three of these. One is to stave off infection, one is for the scars, and one is for the pain. I don't think you'll need if after tonight, but the skin is pulled tight right now, not to mention there can be some lingering pain with your ankle. You'll thank me for it later." Hermione nodded and started to drink them down. Just as she handed the empty vials to the mediwitch, the curtains around their beds disappeared and the Headmaster was standing before them.

"I think we all need to have a discussion." Her godfather shot him a dirty look.

"These children have been injured and had a long night. I think this conversation should wait until we have had a good night's sleep." The Headmaster huffed and stared from her godfather to herself and Weasley. Finally, he stepped back.

"Very well. We'll do this after Harry wakes up." Hermione sighed in relief, she didn't think that she would be able to recount anything at this point. All she wanted to do was to go back to her dorm, fall into bed, and sleep for twelve hours. Draco helped her up off the bed and Uncle Sev laid a hand on both their shoulders, so he could steer them towards the door. She saw that Professor McGonagall did the same to Weasley. Once they were out of the Hospital Wing, Hermione sighed in relief.

"I'm so glad that neither of them died." Both her uncle and cousin snorted softly before her uncle spoke.

"Me too."

*End of Flashback*

Since Harry had woke that morning, she was just waiting for a summons from the Headmaster, demanding to know how and why she was even involved in the retrieval of the Philosopher's Stone. Uncle Sev had told both Draco and her the morning after that Quirrell had indeed met Harry in the chamber and they had fought over the Stone. He had been successful in keeping it from him, even though their professor had perished in the ordeal. She couldn't help but wonder how Harry was taking it.

She headed down the stairs to the common room to see that Draco was waiting for her. Since Draco was waiting, the rest of the boys were as well. The girls had gone on, however, citing that they wanted to get good seats at the table. Hermione had no worries about getting a good seat; if there was one good thing about being a Black and a cousin to a Malfoy, it was that everyone always wanted her to sit by them.

Hermione usually didn't take advantage of the situation; she hated the extra attention that her last name afforded her. Boys still asked to escort her to class, they still offered to carry her bag for her, and even though she always tried to be polite and not hurt anyone's feelings, it overwhelmed her. She tolerated Draco's protective behavior at best most days but when he scared off the boys that came onto her, she never minded.

Her cousin offered her his arm as they left the common room and started for the Leaving Feast. Greg, Vince, Blaise, and Theo all followed behind them, chatting happily, laughing, and making plans to get together over the summer. Hermione wasn't sure if Draco had made plans with them, but she didn't plan on making too many plans. Her father had promised to teach them dueling this summer and she was going to focus on that. Besides, she didn't really have much in common with the girls in her year. Daphne was the one she got along with the most but even she could get lost in gossip and fashion talk for hours on end with Pansy.

They entered the Great Hall and headed for the Slytherin table. Everyone was quick to move down and make room for them. Hermione ended up between Draco and Miles Bletchley, who made sure to smile shyly at her. The Headmaster stood and raised his arms, bringing attention of the Great Hall to himself.

-O-

Harry let out a sigh of relief as he took his usual seat at the Gryffindor table between Ron and Parvati. Ron nudged his shoulder with his own, grinning widely. This was the first time that he had seen his friends since he had gone down through the trapdoor. Everyone around him started questioning where he had been the last few days, but he ignored them. Professor Dumbledore had told him that he couldn't tell everyone what had happened to him; under no circumstances could the public learn about the Philosopher's Stone. Harry understood but that wasn't going to make answering questions any easier.

Harry and Professor Dumbledore had had a long talk that morning after he had woke up. It was illuminating and confusing, more confusing than he wanted to admit.

*Flashback*

Madam Pomfrey bustled away after casting all her diagnostic spells over him. She couldn't believe that he was completely healthy but after four nights under her care, was she really surprised? She had promised him a meal and was going to send off for a late breakfast. Harry settled back into the pillows and wondered how Ron and Parvati were doing. He was just wondering when he was going to get released when the Hospital Wing doors opened, and the Headmaster strolled through, serene expression on his face. He waved his wand and conjured a chair, so he could settle in it next to Harry's bedside.

"Madam Pomfrey has given you a clean bill of health, congratulations. I'm sure that you have questions." Harry nodded slowly and after a time, realized that the Headmaster was leaving the space open for him to ask. Finally, he gathered his thoughts and spoke.

"Is Professor Quirrell dead?" The Headmaster started to stroke his beard.

"Yes, he is." Harry felt a flash of guilt and bowed his head.

"Did I kill him? I don't remember killing him." Dumbledore shook his head

"No, Harry, you didn't kill Professor Quirrell. Voldemort did. There's a bit of a story involved if you have the time." Harry nodded his head, still confused as to how Voldemort killed his Defense professor.

"When Sirius Black gave away your parent's location, Voldemort came and killed your parents. When he reached your nursery, he turned his wand on you. Your mother begged for your life. He refused, and she cast herself in front of you, a sacrifice of pure love. Her sacrifice protected you.

In the case of Professor Quirrell, he was merged with Voldemort. He wasn't always in control of your professor. Since your mother's sacrifice protected you when you were young, it continues to protect you to this day, I explained that when I told you why you had to live with your aunt. Specifically, it protects you from Voldemort. When Professor Quirrell hit you in the face, nothing happened because he was in control. When you were fighting over the Stone, Voldemort was in control. That's why when he touched you, he started to burn alive. It wasn't your fault that he died; it was Voldemort's." It was completely confusing, but he supposed that if he considered it closely, it made sense. Harry nodded.

"Why does he want to kill me so much?" Professor Dumbledore shook his head slightly.

"I can't reveal that yet, Harry. The time isn't right. I hope that you can trust in me to tell you the truth at the right time." Harry wasn't happy about it but decided he probably didn't have any other choice. Therefore, he nodded his head. The Headmaster raised his eyebrows and pushed his glasses further up on his nose.

"Do you have any other questions?" Harry fired off immediately.

"Did I keep Voldemort from getting the Stone?" His Headmaster nodded softly.

"You did indeed. However, I have some questions on my own?" Harry nodded, knowing exactly where this was going. Hermione Black.

"Did you confide in Hermione Black or Draco Malfoy about the Philosopher's Stone?" Harry shook his head.

"No. Ron challenged Malfoy to a wizard's duel months ago. We almost got caught and all of us found Fluffy and the trap door. I had no idea that they even knew that there was anything under the trap door, let alone what it was." Harry watched as Dumbledore's eyes flashed briefly.

"Did she say anything to you before she sent you on through the puzzle chamber?" Harry shook his head in the negative.

"Nothing overly important, just that she didn't want Voldemort to return either." Dumbledore leaned clear over in his chair, so he could get closer to Harry.

"Why do you think that is?" Harry wasn't sure where his mentor was headed with this statement.

"I'm not sure." His voice lowered even further.

"What do you think the evilest wizard of our time would do to the person whose information led to him becoming little more than a spirit?" Harry couldn't help but feel that it was a stretch, but he supposed that he didn't have much of a right to tell the Headmaster that.

"He probably wouldn't be happy." The Headmaster smiled softly as he leaned back in his seat.

"Precisely. That's why they don't want their master to return." Harry nodded even though he wasn't sold.

"I'll keep that in mind, sir." Dumbledore smiled again and went to his feet.

"I'm happy that you're feeling better, Harry. I'll see you at the Feast." Harry watched as the elderly man left the Hospital Wing, shaking his head slightly at his ambiguity. Even though he didn't agree with the Headmaster's theory, he would accept it for the time being. He still planned on apologizing to Hermione Black, however. Nothing could keep him from doing that.

*End of Flashback*

The Headmaster's voice cut through the Great Hall, bringing the entire room to silence.

"Another year comes to an end. You will all be headed home on the Hogwarts Express tomorrow to see your families for the holidays. I would have to say that we've had a great year. All your minds are full of learning and you're well on your way to becoming full-fledged witches and wizards." Harry wished that he would just get on to the point, so he could eat. Sure, he had ate breakfast and lunch but hadn't ate a thing for the three days before that.

"I'm aware that the House Cup needs awarding. The house points stand as follows: Hufflepuff – 360 points, Ravenclaw – 395 points, Gryffindor – 450 points, and Slytherin at 525 points. However, there are some last-minute points that need awarding." He paused for effect and Harry took a moment to see how the professors were reacting. Professor McGonagall looked suspicious, Professors Sprout and Flitwick looked confused and Professor Snape looked extremely angry. The Headmaster began speaking again and suddenly, he knew exactly what the Headmaster was doing.

"Ten points to Miss Parvati Patil for loyalty shown to her friends during a questionable moment." Gryffindor house started applauding. When it died down, the Headmaster continued.

"Fifty points to Mr. Ronald Weasley for the best played game of chess this school has seen in many years." Again, the lions went crazy, the twins were hooting and hollering like mad.

"Twenty points to Miss Hermione Black for thinking logically at all times." This time Slytherin went wild and Harry could see that her face was red with embarrassment. He could hear Ron hissing angrily beside him, badmouthing Hermione. Harry was angry as well, more to the reasoning that she wasn't being awarded as equally as Ron. It was complete bullshite, but he wasn't going to be able to change the Headmaster's mind, especially now. Harry watched as his Head of House elbowed Professor Dumbledore with an angry look on her face. He shot her a hateful look before turning back to the crowd of students.

"Ten points to Mr. Draco Malfoy for obtaining help when it was most required." Again, the Slytherins went crazy but there was a bad taste in Harry's mouth. Dumbledore didn't let the Slytherins quiet before he spoke again.

"Sixty points to Mr. Harry Potter for showing bravery and nerve." The Gryffindors all cheered but the rest of the school was silent. Dumbledore didn't seem to notice.

"That leaves the points as Gryffindor with 570 points and Slytherin with 555 points. Therefore, Gryffindor wins the House Cup." Harry was getting pounded on the back by people getting up and rushing to his side congratulating him. Red banners fell from the ceiling, but Harry didn't feel right about it. When the Great Hall finally got quiet, Dumbledore spoke once more before sitting.

"Let us eat."

-O-

Hermione was stewing by herself, picking at the food from the Leaving Feast. She had come to Hogwarts knowing that the Headmaster would never be fair to her but the fact that he had been so blatant about it hurt. She wanted to deny it, but she couldn't, and she wouldn't even try. Besides, Uncle Sev and Draco would know she was lying in less than a moment. As if sensing her train of thought, her cousin wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed the side of her head.

"I know it sucks but we knew this was going to happen at some point." Hermione nodded and poked at her pasta.

"Still hurts though. He slapped us in the face publicly. I didn't think that it would matter to me, but I was wrong. It doesn't feel good at all." Draco rubbed circles between her shoulder blades.

"I know. Just think about when the truth comes out though, how we're going to eventually blast the truth to our whole world. Everyone is going to be looking at Dumbledore and not in a good way." Even though it made her feel like a terrible person, she brightened just a little. It would be nice to turn the tables on the old man.

Dinner passed quickly and by the time they were being dismissed to head to bed, Hermione was yawning and leaning into her cousin's side. He was laughing at something that Blaise said, his arm guiding her through the crowds of students. Pansy and Daphne were far ahead of them and they were snickering about something in whispers. Hermione felt an arm on her elbow, pulling on it gently. Draco felt the pressure against her and came to a stop. Hermione turned to see Harry standing there looking extremely uncertain. Draco didn't drop eye contact and Hermione looked from one to the other.

"You guys go on ahead, Hermione and I will be down there in just a few minutes." Hermione couldn't help but wonder how bad this was going to go. Harry didn't look angry like he did the night that he had spoken such harsh words to her, but she never could tell. Once they were alone, Harry rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"I have a couple of things that I want to say before we all go home for the summer. First, I want to thank you, Black, for helping me down under the trap door. I never would have got through it if it wasn't for you. Malfoy, I owe you a thank you for making McGonagall listen and come down after us. Who knows how long I would have laid down there unconscious if you hadn't." Draco stuck his hand out and offered to shake the boy's hand. Harry grasped it, surprised.

"Anytime, Potter." Harry started scuffing his shoe on the stone floor, his cheeks turning pink in embarrassment.

"I wanted to apologize, Black, for the things I said to you that night. I should never have said them. I don't think you're evil, but I also know that we can't be friends. I had just had an argument with Ron and I took it out on you. I regret the whole scene more than you know. I hope that you can forgive me." Hermione gave him a tight smile. She would give it to him that he was apologizing but that didn't change how she felt. He would be sorry until Ron got him going and he took it out on her again.

"Thanks, Potter. I forgive you. Don't worry, I won't keep trying to be your friend." Draco's fingers tightened around her arm, but she didn't meet his eyes. Harry didn't look like he was too pleased with her words.

"I'm really sorry, Black, I'm not trying to offend." She gave a quick nod, but Draco spoke next.

"It would be nice if we could all get along but it's insulting that you keep telling her that her father is a traitor, that he wants to kill you, that you can't be friends because of her family. I get that the Headmaster has told you things that you believe to be gospel but there are things that he doesn't know. When you're ready to listen to us and not instantly tell us that our family is full of rapists and murderers, come find us. We want to be friends with you, but we know that can never happen if you keep saying things like that. We haven't done anything to you and we deserve a chance. I understand you can't do that right now. When you can, find us." Hermione was happy that Draco had taken over for her. Harry gave a resolute nod, but she didn't think that anything her cousin had said had made a dent. Only time would tell.

After Harry walked off, hands shoved deep in his pockets, Hermione turned Draco towards the dungeons.

"Come on, Drake, let's go enjoy our last night in the castle."

-O-

Harry was a little disappointed in how his apology went. He had expected Hermione to accept his apology and be meek and mild about it like she usually was. She was, in a way, but her expression had been expressive enough.

Sure, he could tell that she still wanted to be friends, but she had well and truly decided to stop trying to be his friend. It was clear that both Hermione and Malfoy believed wholeheartedly that Sirius Black and Lucius Malfoy were innocent. As much as Harry wanted to not count them as enemies, he knew that he wouldn't be able to believe that Hermione's father and uncle were innocent.

Honestly, it was for the best. No, he didn't believe that the pair was going to intentionally lead him to his death, but he did think that the pair had been lied to and misled. If it had been a different situation, he would have gladly befriended them. Eventually, the truth would come out and they would see that Dumbledore was right about it. Yes, they would likely lash out, but Harry couldn't fault them for that. He had just apologized for lashing out.

Ron and Pav hadn't been happy that he had broke away from them. When he had told them that he had thanked the Slytherin pair, he had become almost apoplectic. Harry had rolled his eyes and made his way up to his dorm, cutting off their complaints. It wasn't like he was going to be befriending the pair anytime soon, so he saw no point in arguing.

Harry snuggled down deeper into the duvet and closed his eyes. Tomorrow he would be leaving Hogwarts and heading back to the Dursleys. The Dursleys. Complete hell on earth and he thought for a moment that he would rather live with a murderous Sirius Black than his muggle relations. He snorted to himself.

He would take Voldemort over his family any day of the week.

A/N- The end of the year is upon us! Lordy, it seems like this first year has taken forever but I guess it's only been fifteen chapters or so. Anyways, I hope you all liked it. Let me know what you think and if I managed to pull it off. Reviews are love.

Next up, dueling and a robbery at Malfoy Manor.

Love,

Alicia


	25. Chapter 25

A/N- For all the love you show me with every chapter I write, thank you from the bottom of my heart. You guys are awesome. I'm still having problems responding to reviews so don't think for a second that I've been ignoring you! Again, thank you.

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing in this story except for the personal plot twist. The rest has all been done before, there's nothing new under the sun, or so my mama tells me. I've made no money from any of my stories…maybe someday!

Chapter 25

July 17, 1992

Harry wasn't sure how he had forgotten how terrible it was at the Dursleys, but it was clear that he had. Doing all the chores, being fed only enough to keep him alive, being beaten to a pulp almost daily by Dudley and his gang. It made him miss Hogwarts even more than he thought possible.

To his surprise, before the students had left school for the Hogwarts Express, Professor McGonagall had pulled him aside. She had handed him a stack of parchment and several books, telling him that the Headmaster had rethought his decision and decided to assign extra work to Harry after all. He was instructed to finish them at his leisure and send them back, so she could send him more. He had already returned assignments twice now; Hedwig had been thrilled with the work.

He had a feeling that he was just jumpstarting the second-year assignments but that was better than nothing; he wanted to learn, and he wanted to do the best that he could. Voldemort was going to come back, the Headmaster was sure of it, and Harry had a feeling that the wizard wasn't going to just let it go that a child had defeated him. He was going to come after Harry again and he wanted to be as ready as he could be.

Life during the summer holidays was no different than life had been before school at Hogwarts. Sure, his aunt and uncle refused to speak of magic, if he brought up something about Hogwarts they grounded him or backhanded him. Harry had remembered his earlier life lessons quickly after returning.

His family reveled in having their slave return; Dudley ordered him around and when he didn't move fast enough, he would chase after him and pound him. His aunt would assign him a ridiculous number of chores and make him cook every meal. Harry didn't remember going hungry being as difficult as it was now that he had experienced eating his fill every single day. He supposed that he had no choice other than to survive. There were only six more weeks before he returned to school. He would survive.

Nights were the worst, especially when he was all out of assignments to work on. His mind would wander to his friends; he would wonder what Ron was doing with all his brothers and if he was getting his homework finished. He had stayed true to his word about not whinging anymore; Harry could only hope that his words would last into the new school year. Parvati had told him that her parents, herself, and her twin were going to make a trip back to India to see family; she seemed excited and even though Harry was ridiculously jealous, he was happy for her.

It was his darkest secret that he wondered what Hermione Black and Malfoy were up to. He knew that he wasn't supposed to think about her, he had promised himself that he wouldn't, but in the dark of the night, Harry just couldn't help it. Her words from that argument between the two of them haunted him. He couldn't imagine what life would have been like if he had been raised by a family that loved him and wanted what was best for him.

Whenever his mind drifted to her, the next morning he would berate himself for his weakness. If he had been raised by his godfather, he would have been dead. Harry had never told anyone, not even Ron, but he had looked up the outcome of the ICW trial all those years ago. He had discovered that the Headmaster had been correct. Sirius Black had attempted to get custody of him and the court had failed to award it to him. The exact transcript wasn't in the article of the Daily Prophet but the charges and outcomes regarding his custody had been there for the world to see. It was more than enough to solidify that the Headmaster was right regarding Lord Black, even though he felt he was way off base when it came to his daughter.

More than anything, he wanted to just forget about the girl and concentrate elsewhere. Harry still felt guilty for his treatment of her when she had never done anything to him to suggest that she wanted to trick or harm him. However, her cousin had made things more than clear when he told them that they were done listening to him badmouth their family. He supposed that he understood; if he had loved his family he would never stand for someone to speak badly about them.

Harry sighed as he rolled over in bed, trying to shut his mind down so he could sleep. It was going to be a long six weeks.

-O-

Sirius watched his cousin try to formulate a plan of attack against the dummy before him. True to his word, he and Lucius had started teaching the children how to duel as often as they could. They still took lessons with Madam Cambridge four days a week, Draco constantly had plans with his friends playing quidditch and doing who knew what else. Sirius had played host to several overnight stays for Draco's friends. Those were the only nights that he spent away from Hermione.

The animagus couldn't help but worry that his daughter was lonely. She showed no interest in any of the girls that were her age that she went to school with; he wasn't sure if it was because she wasn't interested or if the girls weren't. His daughter was very studious, and he had always known that many of her peers wouldn't understand her ambitions. She still spent a lot of time with Narcissa, shopping, riding, and doing girl things that Sirius didn't ask about. Hermione still spent days reading with Lucius and doing potions experiments with Severus. She wasn't bored by any means, but he worried about her well-being.

Draco had told him when they returned that Hermione hadn't made friends like he had. Sure, all the girls were nice to her and Hermione considered them all friends, but they never hung out outside of study group in the library and meal times. Draco told him that she didn't seem upset about it, had told him that nobody understood her, but Sirius couldn't help but worry. It seemed like all he did these days was worry.

Severus had informed them what had happened when Harry and the Weasley spawn had gone after the Stone; even though Sirius was proud of Hermione, more than he could express, he had been scared to death and livid that the Headmaster had hid a stone that would make the Elixir of Life inside a godforsaken school. It boggled the mind, thinking about what the Headmaster considered appropriate to be around children.

Sirius, Lucius, Narcissa, and Severus had sat down with their children at the beginning of the summer and discussed the events of the school year. Hermione had expressed disbelief at the fact that the Headmaster had never gotten with herself and Draco and tried to figure out how they had known about the Stone in the first place; Severus had volunteered that Harry had told the Headmaster that they had discovered the Cerberus together. Knowing that Hermione was no idiot, he must have assumed that she had made the connection and gone from there. Sirius wasn't so sure that was what had happened, but he decided that he wasn't going to worry about it.

Lucius had started to give Draco a hard time about letting Hermione go through the trap door, but his daughter had stood, hands on hips, and told her uncle that she had made him go to McGonagall. Honestly, it had been funny to watch since Hermione rarely put her uncle in his place. Cissy had stayed silent but hid a smile behind her hand, showing that she greatly enjoyed her niece's show of temper as well.

Their dueling training was going well, as well as could be expected. Draco was already excellent, he employed the spells he knew with ease and almost without thinking; Hermione was different. While she was good, she was an exceptionally strong witch after all, she seemed to hesitate too much. Not that she was scared to throw a spell, that wasn't it at all. She had confided in Sirius that she was never sure which spells to use that would net her the best outcome. In short, she over thought it.

Sirius knew his daughter well and knew that this was going to continue to be a problem for her. Therefore, he and Severus had devised an exercise that helped her in that respect. They threw spells at her and she literally had two seconds to throw a spell in return. She wasn't as quick as Draco, but she was getting there. He had high hopes that by the end of summer, she would be just as far along as her cousin. Sirius still struggled with the fact that she even had to learn dueling outside the classroom; he knew that she would need it eventually but that didn't mean that he had to like it.

The animagus watched as Draco stepped away from the dummy after disarming it. His daughter stepped up to take her turn, determined look on her face. It really rubbed her the wrong way that she wasn't already accomplished at dueling, she was used to being exceptional at everything she did. Lucius never stopped teasing her about it either which just made her scowl at him and give him the silent treatment while she tried even harder.

Severus had come to stay with him over the summer. He had his own manor in Aberdeenshire, the official Prince seat, but he rarely stayed there. The Slytherin told them that since he was the only one that lived there, it was exceedingly lonely, and the elves drove him mad. The children had stayed with him there several times when they were younger but since school had started, they kept their company at Black Moor and Malfoy Manor. Severus also kept the home that he grew up in as a second residence but refused to take the children to Cokeworth with him.

Sirius had never suspected that Severus was wealthy when they were growing up; he had never worn fine clothing and seemed to have second-hand supplies and books for school. It wasn't until after they had become friends that he learned that his mother had been disowned for marrying a muggle. Since his grandparents had nobody to leave their legacy to, they decided that a half-blood heir was better than no heir. His mother had already been dead by that time, at the hands of the muggle she had married when Severus was only eighteen years old. He still didn't act like he was wealthy, in fact, Sirius got the distinct impression that he hated the wealth he had, but he had no right to comment or judge, therefore he kept his thoughts to himself. Hermione had just disarmed her dummy and Sirius clapped for her, causing her to blush prettily.

"Well done, poppet, you're getting better the more you practice." Draco snickered softly at the glare his daughter sent his way. He chuckled softly at her irritation. He was just getting ready to have Draco start again when he heard Lucius calling through the house.

"Sirius? Where are you?" Sirius rolled his eyes. He knew for a fact that Candy would have told the blond exactly where they were. Therefore, he remained quiet just to further irritate the man. It was only moments later that he burst into the room, said irritation evident in his expression.

"We have a problem, Sirius." The animagus called a halt to his daughter and cousin, dismissing them to go shower. He knew that Draco had plans with Theo and Blaise and Hermione was going to go shopping with Narcissa since the woman thought that she needed to start on her school robes shopping. Sirius had rolled his eyes at his cousin; Cissy never thought that Hermione had enough clothes. He never complained though, he was always terrified that if he did he would have to take her.

Both children disappeared, and Sirius led his friend to his study. They usually spoke in the library but since the children were home, they took their personal business to his study. It wasn't accessible to anyone but the Lord Black unless he gave express permission. Since he had no idea what the problem Lucius spoke of was, it seemed like the best option. Once they were settled in chairs before the fire, Candy appeared and poured them drinks. Lucius downed his and held his tumbler out for a refill, only speaking once it was full once more.

"My wards were breached just a bit ago. I couldn't figure out how or where, I searched the house and grounds thoroughly. The elves did as well and found nothing. After I realized that I wasn't going to find the perpetrator, I decided to make sure that all our valuables were still in their proper place. Everything was where it should be except for one item." He took another healthy drink before Sirius spoke.

"What is missing and why does it have you drinking like this?" Lucius glared at him for a few moments before speaking.

"I couldn't find an old book, a diary to be exact, that the Dark Lord entrusted to me many years ago when I first took the Mark. I'm not sure what it is but it reeks of dark magic, you can't even touch it without it seeping inside you. It feels like it's staining your soul." Sirius' mind was whirring, trying to think of something that he had read in the family library that may have sounded like that. He was sure that there was something in the back of his mind, but his family library was huge, the same size as Hogwarts. It would take him forever to find something that described an item like that unless he specifically remembered which book he had read it in.

"Do you know why Voldemort had you keep it for him and didn't just keep it himself?" Lucius shook his head.

"No, when the Dark Lord tells you to do something, you do it and you don't question him." Sirius nodded.

"How did someone breach your wards?" Lucius raked a hand through his long hair, a rare show of emotion.

"I have no idea. We have ancient wards, they protect against just about everything out there. I have no idea how someone got through them, nobody has in a hundred years." Sirius was worried about the fact that someone had breached his wards; his daughter stayed half her summer there and if Lucius' wards were so easy to get through, his would be the same. The Black family wards were just as ancient. In fact, when he considered his own wards, always fueled by his magic and reinforced by the elves, he remembered adding one ward when he took over, insisting on adding it due to past events in his life. He looked up at his friend sharply.

"Do you have a ward against animaguses that try to cross in their animal form? Black Moor didn't have one when I took over the family and made sure I added one because of my history with Pettigrew." The look of fury on Lucius' face was enough to answer Sirius' question.

"That fucking rat breached my wards and took something that the Dark Lord wanted kept safe always. How did he even know it was there?" Sirius held his hands up, trying to slow his friend's train of thought.

"I'm not sure that it was Pettigrew, he hasn't been seen since that night in Hogsmeade. I'm saying that if you don't have wards specifically for an animagus, it could be any of Voldemort's followers that are an animagus. The Order knew that there were several. As for how, I have no idea." Lucius cursed loudly.

"He would know that I have it and where it was kept if the Dark Lord told him. He instructed me as to where he wanted it kept and it's clear that he is trying to return, Hermione and Draco's jaunt in the Forbidden Forest proves that." Sirius considered his words for several minutes before finally nodding.

"I think that you're right. If that diary somehow brings him back, that means that Harry will be in danger at Hogwarts. As much as I hate to say it, the Headmaster doesn't protect him like he should. If Voldemort were to regain his body and storm the castle, he could kill Harry before he has the skill set to beat him at anything. We need to hire the boy a tutor and convince him to stay out of Hogwarts." Lucius was nodding but looked skeptical.

"I don't see that happening. The children told us that his home life isn't good, that he showed up to school in hand-me-down rags and half-starved. He isn't going to agree to stay there year-round and most muggles don't like magic; it makes them nervous. I fear that his relatives would never let a tutor in the house." Sirius deflated; Lucius was right, of course. Petunia had hated magic when they were small, called Lily a freak and told her that she was an anomaly because she was magical. There was no way in hell that she would welcome magic into her house.

"There has to be something that we can do." Lucius looked thoughtful and Sirius left him to his thoughts. His friend did his best thinking when he was given the time to follow his thoughts in silence. It was several minutes later when he finally spoke.

"How about we send an elf to warn him, tell him to stay out of Hogwarts? Maybe he'll heed the warning and stay home. If he does, we can just send a tutor and let the Headmaster fight the battle. If he still returns to school, the elf can watch over him and try to protect him if need be." Sirius considered his words. It wasn't ideal by any means, but it was all they had at the moment.

"Which elf will we use? I'm scared that if anyone catches a glimpse of my elves, they'll be recognized. All the pureblood children have been coming here since they were small. Do you have any that aren't well known?" Lucius nodded.

"Dobby, we'll send Dobby. I'll make sure to tell him to stay out of sight unless it's necessary or unless he can convince Harry to leave school. It will have to work." Sirius nodded and rose when he saw Lucius rise.

"I need to head home and erect an animagus ward. I'll send Dobby to Potter tonight. Surely, it would be better to have him appear at night when it's less likely he'll be spotted by the muggles." Sirius nodded and shook his friend's hand.

"Thank you. I think we should keep this to ourselves; the children don't need to be worrying about this until we know for sure what the diary is or until we figure out if Voldemort has been resurrected." Lucius agreed and started out of the study. Sirius followed him to the floo and bid him a good night; they would be meeting the following evening for dinner with friends.

After Lucius left, Sirius settled in the library and considered this new development. Harry could be in danger and while he wasn't the happiest with Harry at the moment, he still didn't want anything to happen to him. Draco had forced Hermione to tell them what Harry had said to her that night outside the library; it had made his blood boil that his godson had made his daughter cry. However, the pair had also told him that he had apologized after the Leaving Feast and seemed sincere. Sirius supposed that while Harry was being a little git, it couldn't be easy having your mind fucked with on a daily basis.

Hermione had been terrified that he would be disappointed in her for giving up. She couldn't have been further from the truth and he made sure to tell her that he understood her reasons and didn't fault her for them. His daughter had thrown herself into his arms and thanked him, why he still wasn't sure, but he had kissed the top of her head and sent her on her way. He could only hope that the truth came out sooner rather than later, especially if Pettigrew really was the person who had breached the Malfoy wards.

Sirius threw back his drink and stood, intent of finding his daughter and spending some time with her before she went shopping since Draco was going to be with his friends. He missed seeing her all the time and planned to make the most out of the summer holidays with her. He pushed the last hour of conversation out of his mind, trusting Lucius to handle his end without problem.

-O-

Minerva stepped outside onto the porch of her highland home, breathing in the Scottish air deeply, letting it fill her lungs and clear her mind. She usually only stayed at her home for a couple weeks through the summer, choosing to stay at Hogwarts for the rest of the time. This year, however, she felt that she needed some space and time to think.

Albus had refused to let her give Hermione Black and Draco Malfoy advanced work; even though she didn't agree with him telling Harry Potter that he couldn't learn anything advanced, it had at least been consistent. Fair to both parties. Then, he had called her to his office the night of the Leaving Feast and told her that he had decided to go ahead and let her send extra lessons to the boy, so he could complete them at his leisure. While she agreed that he needed the extra tuition, it made her sick that the Headmaster was alright with it as long as it was Harry.

It was true, she hadn't been much better at the beginning of the year; she had disliked Hermione Black on principle, just because of who her father was and his past actions. The detention that had been cancelled still rang in her mind; the girl's words were like a whip lashing at her proverbial back, demanding attention and consideration.

Minerva most assuredly believed that Sirius Black was guilty; there was no way that James Potter would have trusted anyone else with their secret-kept location, they had been best friends since their first year after all. However, she could admit that the girl's words made her nervous. Would the Headmaster try to look in her mind with legilimency? Would he do something highly illegal just to figure out what was going on in her mind when the girl hadn't done anything wrong? Did he ransack her mind and not tell her since he knew that she wasn't skilled in that art?

Minerva hated to think it of her friend but after witnessing his suspect behavior regarding the Slytherin pair after the Philosopher's Stone incident, she started to wonder. As the Headmaster, Albus should have been worried about the safety of all his students and he hadn't cared a whit for Black or Malfoy; that much had been obvious, there was no way to hide that. After witnessing his behavior, Minerva had made the snap decision to return to her family home for the whole of the summer holidays.

The day after returning, Minerva had contacted an old friend of her father's, older than the hills now. She had inquired as to whether he could put her in contact with someone that would teach her occlumency. Though it had taken a few days, he had come through for her. Every day, she took lessons with Bradley Ossenbaum and he was teaching her how to protect her mind.

It had been highly embarrassing; the man had seen all her private moments since she was essentially terrible at the art. He had just laughed at her and told her that everyone was terrible at it at first. He did warn her that since she was a Gryffindor and ruled by her emotions, it would be more difficult to master. While this disheartened her a little, she was just more determined. Bradley told her that while she still had a long way to go, she was doing much better than he had expected. The kicker was that he had finally told her that since she was an animagus, the lessons weren't needed unless she wanted more control over her emotions. Minerva had felt a huge bout of thankfulness before deciding to continue the lessons anyways. It was her hope to have become accomplished enough in the skill to keep the Headmaster out of her mind when they returned to school and also keep her calmer when she was angry. The best part of the lessons was that she could now tell when someone was trying to enter her mind.

Severus had left school as well, leaving only Filius and Pomona in residence with the Headmaster. He usually left for a few weeks but had informed them after the Express carted away the students that he was going to be leaving for the whole of the holidays. It was odd to say the least, but she didn't blame him. He was still young and deserved to be happy. Given the brand on his arm, Minerva wasn't sure if he would find someone that would be so understanding but she knew that he was a good man, despite the image he portrayed to the students.

Severus and Albus thought that they were sly, hiding the fact that the Slytherin wasn't bigoted and hateful. Sure, he was snarky and sarcastic, but he had loved Lily Potter when they were children, everyone knew it. His school persona was an act and she had a feeling that it had to do with Voldemort returning; he had spied during the first war, she imagined that the Headmaster wanted him to spy for the next one too.

Even though she knew that someone needed to gather information from the other side, she wasn't sure that it was best if Severus did it. She didn't think that he would turn on them, but she worried about how he would withstand the legilimency skills of Voldemort. According to Bradley, they were legendary. Minerva shook her head, trying to clear away the thoughts. It did no good to worry about things that she had no control over.

Taking a seat in the chair in the sunshine, she closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind. After all, Minerva was determined to master occlumency by the time term resumed.

A/N- Another chapter is in the books, folks. Nothing too catastrophic happened, just a little insight as to what summer is like for our characters. There is only one more summer chapter and then it's on to second year! Hope you all enjoyed and big thanks to everyone out there that is reading and reviewing. Y'all rock. Let me know what you think, like or hate it, I appreciate the feedback.

Next chapter, trip to Diagon Alley.

Love,

Alicia


	26. Chapter 26

A/N- As always, you guys are just so awesome. Thank you so much for continuing to show such amazing support for me and this story. I know this chapter wasn't out as fast as usual but real life is kicking my ass. Enrollment, school shopping, tags and taxes, upcoming surgery on my daughter's foot. Just one thing after another. Anyways, I'll shut up and get started. Thanks again.

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing except the personal plot twist in this story. I haven't made any money off this story or any others. My bank balance tells no lies.

Chapter 26

August 15, 1992

Harry laid awake in his camp bed in Ron's room and just luxuriated in the fact that he wasn't being forced to get up early and make breakfast. He didn't have a list of chores a mile long and he wasn't being physically or verbally abused if he did something wrong. It was heaven on earth, almost as good as being at Hogwarts.

Harry's summer had been eventful. He hadn't even heard of a house elf when one suddenly appeared in his room at 4 Privet Drive. His aunt and uncle were having an important business dinner and he had been ordered to his room and told not to show his face under any circumstances. The little creature had been loud even though Harry had warned him several times to be quiet, that he would get him in trouble.

Even though he was irritated with the elf, he went by the name of Dobby, he had listened to what he had come to say. Dobby hadn't been able to say who he belonged to or anything else really, but he had seen fit to warn Harry that if he returned to Hogwarts he would be in danger. Harry, who really wanted to scoff at the creature's warning, had instead tried to reason with the elf, telling him that he had to return because life at the Dursleys was terrible.

Dobby had become distraught and started banging his head on the furniture and wailing. Harry had tried to reason with him, but it wasn't going to happen. The elf burst out of his bedroom and had started for the kitchen where his aunt, uncle, and their guests were talking quietly. Dobby had levitated a jello salad into the air and caught Harry's eyes. He tried to get him to agree to stay away from Hogwarts, but Harry hadn't made that promise. The result was jello salad being dropped on the wife of Uncle Vernon's boss' head.

Harry had been blamed of course, his aunt and uncle had refused to believe that it was a tiny elf that came to warn him about his school. This had resulted in several knocks from Uncle Vernon and being confined to his room with no food or water for several days. The room had been outfitted with bars on the windows and a little kitty door that they eventually started to feed him gruel through.

Since Harry was locked inside his room, so was Hedwig. He couldn't send for help like he would have dared if he had had a way to do so. He felt terrible for his owl since she was suffering the same fate as he. Harry had finally resigned himself to living the rest of his summer in his bedroom when the Weasleys had made a daring rescue after they hadn't heard from him in almost two weeks.

Ron, Fred, and George had arrived in the middle of the night in a flying car. After seeing the bars on the windows, they had quickly tied them to the back of their car and ripped them from the house; Uncle Vernon was going to be furious, but Harry didn't care. He wanted out of 4 Privet Drive at any cost.

George had come through the window and picked the lock to his room, allowing them to get through the house to the cupboard under the stairs where his trunk and broom were locked away. George made quick work of that lock as well and they were quick to gather his things and make their way back up the stairs. While George shoved his things through the window to Ron, Harry gathered the belongings still in his room and threw them in an old rucksack of Dudley's. All his school books and homework, his clothes, and his parents photo album were shoved in unceremoniously while George grabbed Hedwig's cage and shoved it through the window.

They had almost been scot free when Fred, who was behind the wheel, floated the car a little too close to the house and bounced the fender off the siding. Harry heard his uncle let out a loud holler from his room and he knew that they were going to have to hurry to make their escape. George had jumped through the window and Ron helped him into the car. Harry had made it to the sill when his uncle had burst through and lunged for him. Uncle Vernon had caught his ankle but with George and Ron both tugging him further into the car, his uncle had let go. Harry had watched, trying his hardest not to laugh, as the portly man lost his balance and fell out of the window into the bushes below.

Of course, Mrs. Weasley had been livid when she had discovered that they had all sneaked out and stolen the car to retrieve Harry. Her fury had softened when they informed her that Harry had been locked in his room with bars on his windows, a small kitty door as the only access to his room. Mr. Weasley had laughed at his son's antics, that is, until Mrs. Weasley had smacked him in the back of his head, reminding him that he was supposed to be scolding his children.

This had happened two weeks ago and since then, life had been wonderful. The Weasleys were a loud and chaotic family, not even one of them was capable of sitting quietly and reading. Mrs. Weasley was always in the kitchen cooking something. Her food was unlike any that Harry had ever tasted, even better than Hogwarts' meals. Mr. Weasley was fascinated by muggles and collected all sorts of muggle items in the shed behind their house. Percy stayed to himself, usually in his room but he was always polite to Harry when they spoke. The twins were insane, but they always were. Harry couldn't even count how many times they had blown something up in their room and rocked the whole house. Ron was Ron, the same as he was at Hogwarts, maybe a bit more respectful than he was at school. He attributed that to the fact that Mrs. Weasley wasn't scared to take a spoon to her children if she thought they were being disrespectful or rude.

Their sister Ginny was the only one that could be described as even remotely quiet, but Harry noticed that it was just around him. At first, he had thought that she hated him, but Ron had finally told him that she had had a crush on Harry Potter since she was six. To finally meet him and see him in person was her dream come true. While he thought that Ginny was nice, her devotion to his image was disconcerting. He didn't like that people liked him for surviving the killing curse. He wanted them to like him for who he was. Therefore, he just avoided her when he could to keep the uncomfortable encounters to a minimum.

Life at the Burrow was amazing. Their days were spent playing quidditch in the orchard and swimming in the pond. Harry still worked on his extra homework and sent it to Professor McGonagall, though it wasn't completed as quickly as he had done at Privet Drive. When Ron found out, he had told Harry that he was crazy for asking for extra work but when Harry hadn't relented, Ron had buckled down and finally started his own holiday homework. It had taken him a week but since there was no whinging, Harry was going to call it a win.

Harry was excited since today they were all going to be going to Diagon Alley to get their school supplies. Their letters and lists had arrived the day before and Mrs. Weasley had insisted that her husband take the day off work to help her get all their children and supplies to and from Diagon Alley. He had happily agreed, citing that he had a few things that he needed to get himself.

Harry had read his book list several times over, trying to figure out why there were so many defense books needed and they all seemed to be written by the same bloke. Judging by the titles, it seemed like they were just stories, not anything instructive. After reading this, he was even happier that he was doing extra lessons and could only hope that they would continue once he got to school. Mrs. Weasley pulled him from his thoughts, shouting up the stairs that breakfast was ready and that she wasn't saving any back for those of her children that did not come down. Harry grinned as Ron didn't even stir. Harry went to his feet and shook his best mate's shoulder.

"Ron, it's time for breakfast. Your mum says she won't save any back if we don't get down there now." Ron sat up quickly and scrubbed his eyes before going to his feet.

"Well, come on. What are we waiting for?"

Harry laughed out loud and followed his friend out of their room and down to the kitchen. Nothing came between Ron and his food.

-O-

Hermione had finished her breakfast and had gone back up to her room to retrieve her book and supplies list. Draco had stayed at Malfoy Manor with his parents the night before and they would be flooing over this morning, so they could all go shopping in Diagon Alley together. They had done it last year and Hermione was glad that they were going to be making a tradition of it.

Her summer had gone well; she and Draco had started dueling and while Draco was very good, well, as good as to be expected, she was terrible. Her father, Uncle Sev, and Uncle Luci had all told her that her problem was that she over-thought her reactions; as much as she hated to admit it, she knew they were right. For a month now, she had only been able to use a list of ten spells and only take one second to decide which of them to use. It had been harder than anything she had done so far except for occlumency. However, under their tutelage, she had gotten better. She still wasn't as good as Draco, but her father and uncles assured her that she dueled better than most fifth years. Now that they knew what to do, she and Draco had promised each other that they would continue practicing once they returned to Hogwarts.

The rest of her summer had been just like the summer before. She had done her assignments from Madam Cambridge, worked on potions with Uncle Sev, who was staying with them this summer. She had read books with Uncle Luci, went riding with Aunt Cissy, and gone on who knew how many picnics with her father. She had even consented to go to the Ministry with him one day to watch him work.

Draco had spent a lot of time with Theo and Blaise, having them over and playing quidditch and other things. They always tried to include her, but she wasn't interested in flying on brooms. She had gone swimming with them several times in the lake at Malfoy Manor. Pansy and Daphne had sent her numerous invitations to go shopping with them, but she had always turned them down. She had consented to study with Daphne a few times but that was as far as her social activities went.

Her father had expressed worry that she was lonely. Hermione had wanted to laugh but when she saw that he was being genuine, she refrained. She had told him that she wasn't interested in shopping, that she only went with Aunt Cissy because it made her aunt happy. She didn't want to go with other girls her age that cared about nothing else. Hermione would have been happy to go riding with them if they had been interested but neither girl liked horses, quoting them as large beasts that would surely kill them if they were to ride astride them.

Hermione had invited the two girls to go swimming with her at Malfoy Manor. Both had accepted and since Draco had invited Theo and Blaise as well, it should have been fine. However, it ended up being awkward and she wasn't sure why. After it was over, and everyone had returned home except for Hermione and Draco, he had told her that the girls were likely nervous about being seen in their swimming outfits by boys. Hermione wasn't sure if he was right, but she supposed that it made sense. Pureblood girls were brought up to be modest and never show too much skin. Hermione hadn't worried because her aunt would never allow her to wear anything that wasn't proper.

Hermione has assured her father that she wasn't lonely, that when Draco was spending time with his friends, she would search out himself or her uncles, even Aunt Cissy. She had told him that her goals in life were much different than those of her female friends which made it hard for them to have anything in common. He had accepted her answer and dropped it.

Hermione had dressed carefully that morning. She knew that her Aunt Cissy would expect her to look the part of a proper pureblood girl. Her robes were an icy blue color that matched her eyes perfectly. Her hair was styled into a messy bun that had her wand shoved through it. Even though she couldn't use magic in Diagon Alley, she didn't want to be without her only protection now that Voldemort was confirmed to have returned, at least on the spectral plane. Her father had approved of her dress but had suggested that she cast a cooling charm on her robes since it was the middle of August.

Hermione gathered her list and made her way back down to the library where her father was waiting for her and the Malfoys. The Malfoys were already there, chatting quietly while they waited for her to arrive. Once they all realized that she had entered, her father, uncle, and cousin all rose to their feet, Uncle Luci holding his hand out to help Aunt Cissy to her feet. Her father came forward and offered her his arm, something that Draco usually did. She wasn't going to complain, however. She didn't get to see her father much anymore since she had started school and she only had a couple more weeks with him before she started her second year.

They all made their way to the floo and one by one, flooed from Black Moor to the Leaky Cauldron. Uncle Luci was on the other side to help Hermione and her aunt out of the fireplace. Her father came through last and waved at Tom the barman before he offered her his arm again. The adults led them out onto the Alley and through the streets. Her father smiled down at her, the sunshine highlighting just how thick his eyelashes really were.

"Where do you want to go first, poppet?" She rolled her eyes, unbelieving that he even had to ask. Draco broke in before she could answer.

"Absolutely not, we are not going to Flourish and Blotts first. We'll never get the rest of our supplies." Hermione glared at her cousin since her aunt had instilled in her that it wasn't ladylike to stick her tongue out at him.

"I'll have you know that I wasn't going to say Flourish and Blotts. I was going to say Magical Menagerie, so I could get more food and treats for Tenebris. I'm almost out." Draco snorted until his mother smacked him in the back of the head.

"Proper young men don't snort, Draco, especially not at a girl." Draco rubbed his head while Uncle Luci and her father exchanged amused looks.

"She's my cousin, she doesn't count." Now Uncle Luci smacked him in the back of the head.

"She counts more than anyone because she's your cousin. We taught you better, as did Madam Cambridge." Hermione recalled all the etiquette lessons that they both had to endure and wondered how Draco could have forgotten. Aunt Cissy smiled at her husband.

"Magical Menagerie, here we come."

The five of them started down the Alley towards Magical Menagerie, all of them going inside so Draco could get treats for his owl and her father could have some sent to Black Moor. Usually Candy took care of it but occasionally, he would surprise the pushy little elf and help her out. Once Hermione had enough food and treats to last her kneazle until Christmas, they left the pet store and consulted their list of supplies that they needed. Uncle Luci peered at Draco's as he spoke.

"Let's go to Slug and Jigger's Apothecary next. Both your potion's kits must be empty after brewing with Severus all summer long." Nobody had any complaints, so they stopped in just three shops down and ordered all the ingredients that were listed that they needed.

While Hermione never put much stock in having a lot of money and never judged a person if they didn't have as much money as her family did, she had to admit that it was much easier to shop when you were wealthy. They didn't have to worry about counting out money or anything of the sort. Her father would simply sign the bottom of the sales slip, authorizing for the money to be taken from their overflowing vaults. It was a luxury awarded to only the wealthiest.

Hermione had visited the family vaults just once before she started her first year at Hogwarts. It had never interested her before so when her father had insisted that she come she had become confused. It had turned into a conversation that she had never expected to have. Hermione knew that her father saw women and had relations with them; she wasn't stupid and while she could be described as naïve, it was difficult for her to deny it when he reeked of perfume when he came home late at night. He usually waited until she spent the night at Malfoy Manor, but it didn't always work out like that.

Hermione didn't mind that he sought physical release. Aunt Cissy had had a long talk with her just months before about sex, her cycle, her growing and changing body and all the attention that she was sure to garner from the boys not only because of her name and fortune but also because she was an exquisite girl, beautiful inside and out. Hermione had been horribly embarrassed, but Aunt Cissy had made the whole situation easier by telling her that Uncle Luci was talking to Draco about it as well.

Hermione understood about sex and that men thought they needed it often. Aunt Cissy had urged her to save herself for her husband, that he would appreciate her gift to him. Hermione had argued that it wasn't fair for a woman to save herself but not a man. Aunt Cissy had agreed but reminded her just what she thought her cousin would do if he thought that she was having sex with someone. Her aunt had lamented that the double standard wasn't fair, but it was how their world worked.

Draco had told her that his father had given him the talk as well. He didn't go into details but had made sure to tell her that he had been instructed that if he ever had sex with a girl before marriage that he was clear that there was never going to be anything serious between them and that he would only be marrying someone that he loved. It had made Hermione sick at the time but since she had no plans to sleep with anyone anytime soon, it was pointless to complain.

Her father had insisted that she visit the vaults because as his heir it was mandatory that she know the extent of their wealth and meet with their accounts manager, the same goblin that had bound her to her father through blood magic so long ago. Hermione had finally gathered the courage to ask him why he wouldn't have any of his own children and he had been very frank when he told her that by the time he was free to have a relationship, he would be too old to take care of a small child. She had felt sorry for him until he had reassured her that she was more than enough for him to be happy for the rest of her life, that when she did finally get married, her second son would take the last name of Black and carry on the name.

The sheer size of her family's vault was mind-blowing; Hermione had never seen something so enormous in her life. When her father saw her dumbfounded expression, he had laughed at her as he explained that the Malfoy family vaults were bigger but just by a little. She had been even more surprised when she learned that Harry's vault was just a little smaller than their own.

After refilling their potion's kits, Aunt Cissy insisted that they stop at Twilfitt and Tattings before they stopped for lunch. Hermione groaned inwardly, as did Draco, but both had learned long ago to not complain, otherwise it took even longer. Agatha Tatting stepped away from the rest of the customers as soon as she saw them, insisting on measuring Hermione and Draco first. This was the kind of treatment that being wealthy that she hated. Draco didn't seem to mind but she wasn't surprised. Draco never liked waiting.

After Aunt Cissy had chosen the fabric for their uniforms and ordered several for each of them, they left the upscale clothing shop and started for a new restaurant that had opened in the Alley just the month before. They had ate there once before and had been impressed so they decided to give it another shot.

Once they stepped foot into the Wizard's Trap, a maître d' rushed forward to seat them at a table that Hermione could have sworn had a reserved sign on. They were handed menus, so she started to peruse her options. They served an array of different foods ranging from classic English dishes to fancy French ones, even a few American dishes that Hermione had never tried. Everyone chose carefully, hoping to enjoy their meal the second time around as well.

Hermione ended up choosing the coq au vin, her favorite French dish. Draco rolled his eyes at her but said nothing, probably for fear of angering his mother again. The meal passed quickly, everyone enjoying their food very much. Her father happily left a generous tip while Uncle Luci paid the bill. After lunch, Draco begged to his father to let him get a new broom, so he could try out for the quidditch team; her father was just as excited to go so Hermione and Aunt Cissy stayed outside on a bench while they waited for the boys to finish their shopping.

They discussed her upcoming year at school. Her aunt warned her that while the boys had been interested the year before, they were going to be even more so now. Hermione had started to grow breasts, just small little nubs at the moment, but noticeable through her robes. Her aunt had spent a small fortune buying her the finest lingerie that she could find in her fledgling size. When her father had discovered the purchases, Hermione knew her face had been burning with embarrassment. She couldn't remember being as happy as she was when the three boys appeared out of Quality Quidditch Supply, brand new broom in Draco's hand.

Draco was bragging about his new broom to Hermione, going on and on about how it was a Nimbus 2001 and he was going to fly fast enough to get on the team. While she did try to pay attention to him, her attention was riveted on Flourish and Blotts ahead. It was always her favorite stop and while everyone gave her a hard time about whiling away her day in the bookshop, she was well-aware that if they had visited there first, they would have had to drag her out kicking and screaming. Not really behavior she wanted to exhibit in front of her aunt.

As they neared the book shop, the crowd was larger than normal. Hermione remembered how many people had been in there last year when they had went shopping and the number was almost triple. When they reached the windows, it was clear why. Gilderoy Lockhart, the man who had wrote all the books they needed for their Defense class, was doing a book signing.

Hermione could admit that he was handsome. She had never read any of his books, so she had no idea if he was as brilliant as he was always claiming to be, his quotes were all over that rag Witch Weekly. She wasn't anywhere near as enamored as the rest of the witches in the store, all swooning and batting their eyes in his direction. Her uncle and father groaned when they saw just what they were going to have to brave inside.

Hermione didn't let them even get a chance at backing out. She took both their hands and dragged them inside, both protesting under their breath. Once they were all inside, Hermione rushed to get a basket, eager to find all her texts. Maybe she could talk her father into getting her the newest book on Arithmancy and Runes as well.

When she grabbed her basket, Hermione caught sight of the last person that she had anticipated seeing there. Harry Potter and the entire Weasley family. She knew that this situation had the potential to go very wrong, but she was going to do her best to make sure that that didn't happen. She hurried back to her family and pulled them in the opposite direction of the redheads. The mother seemed to be watching Lockhart closely, fanning herself when he looked in her direction. Her husband seemed to be oblivious next to her. Hermione frowned at the display. Even if Aunt Cissy had found the man handsome, she would never have demonstrated that she did, especially in front of Uncle Luci. She would have deemed it as disrespectful to her husband.

When Hermione glanced over at Draco, she realized that he was watching the same scene that she was. His lip was curled upwards in disgust, obviously unimpressed with the woman's display. She quickly averted her eye when her father reached out and handed her one of the books on her list. He must have seen the Weasleys were with Harry because there was a sharp intake of air. His hand fell to her shoulder as he whispered in her ear.

"There's Harry, sweetness, Merlin, look how he's grown. He's so much bigger than he was last year when I saw him." She laid her hand over his and squeezed his fingers.

"I know, Daddy. He's obviously staying with the Weasleys. It's too bad that you can't say anything to him." Before he could respond, Lockhart realized that Harry Potter was there buying his books.

Hermione watched with extreme distaste as the blond man pulled Harry over to his table of books and threw an arm around him, claiming that he was giving him all his books for free since he was going to be their new Defense professor. She was happy to see that there was a disgusted look on his face. After being forcibly held to the man's side for a series of photos, Sirius started towards the table. Hermione rushed after him, scared that he was going to get into a fight with the man. Her father was known for his volatile temper.

Uncle Luci, however, wasn't above acting like the Slytherin he was. He drew his wand and cast at her father's back, freezing him on the spot. Since he was so close to the table, however, he was still able to see Harry and the scene before him unfold. Her aunt and uncle approached together, Draco and Hermione staying only a few steps behind. Lockhart caught sight of Aunt Cissy and removed his arm from around Harry's shoulders, so he could come forward and catch her aunt's hand in his. He bent over it to press a kiss to her knuckles before he spoke.

"My biggest fan has come to get my autograph today. You, my dear, are as lovely as a spring day." There was clear disgust on her aunt's hand and she could hear Draco growling next to her. She laid a hand on his arm, calming him. Aunt Cissy jerked her hand out of his while Uncle Luci spoke, his voice low and dangerous. Most people assumed that Uncle Luci never got angry because he never yelled. The truth of the matter was that the angrier he got, the quieter his voice got.

"I would advise you to never touch my wife again, Lockhart. I don't believe in sharing." Hermione knew in this moment that Lockhart was a blithering idiot. Even people that didn't know her uncle were backing away.

"Nonsense, it's just being friendly. Perhaps she would like a signed photo of myself and Mr. Potter?" Lucius stepped further into the man's space which caused him to back away.

"I suggest that you release Mr. Potter. I've been watching this whole time and he doesn't look most pleased at being your next claim to fame." Lockhart was just now realizing that her uncle was serious. He quickly backed away from Harry as well. Since it was clear that the confrontation was over, Aunt Cissy reached behind her and waved her wand, releasing her father from his spell. Hermione heard him growl angrily but lost it in the shouting that was now taking place between Ronald Weasley and her cousin.

"Why would Death Eater scum like you and your family care about Harry? What do you want him for? You're trying to get him to trust you." Draco stepped forward, angry sneer on his face.

"You don't get to talk about my family like that. You are only bringing shame to your family, you ignorant lout." Arthur Weasley stepped forward and clamped down on his son's shoulder.

"Ronald, shut the hell up. You have no idea what you're doing." Ronald glared at his father but remained silent. The elder Weasley turned to Uncle Luci and looked like he was about to swallow something highly unpleasant.

"I apologize, Lucius, it won't happen again." Draco snorted next to her but remained silent as well. Her father was standing behind both of them, hands on both their shoulders, while Aunt Cissy was watching with the hardest expression Hermione had ever seen on her face. Lucius' voice was dripping with disdain.

"See that it doesn't. You might invest in an etiquette tutor. His manners are atrocious. If he continues to insult my niece, he won't like what happens. I have no problems allowing my son to defend her honor. The traditional way, of course. From what I hear of your son's school work, the duel wouldn't last long." Hermione cringed. Her uncle always sounded pompous when things like this happened; she knew for a fact that it was going to infuriate the Weasley family. While she didn't care about most of them, she could see the twins glaring at her uncle.

Rather than come back with a retort, Arthur lunged at Uncle Luci, his fist swinging and catching him off-guard. His fist hit her uncle in the nose, which exploded in blood that poured down his chin and stained his robes. It was clear that her uncle was going to try to spin this as badly as possible for Arthur Weasley, but it wasn't possible when the red-haired man started for him again. This time, Lucius wasn't caught unaware. He caught Weasley's fist and threw his own, knocking Weasley to the ground. It would have worked out great if it hadn't been for the fact that Arthur had grabbed the front of her uncle's robes and dragged him down with him.

Hermione lunged forward, worried that her uncle was seriously injured since they were now rolling on the ground. Aunt Cissy grabbed the back of her robes and held fast, refusing to let her go. Her father stepped forward and pulled his friend off Weasley, throwing him behind him so he could attempt to stem the blood still flowing from his nose. Hermione flew from her aunt's grasp, so she could hug her uncle close before instructing him to pinch his nose shut to stop the bleeding. Her father was now glaring at Weasley, but the red-haired man didn't seem to be quailing in the least.

"You don't fuck with my family and your family has done nothing but. The only honorable ones among you are your twins." Arthur stepped forward proudly, head held high, so he could make sure that everyone heard his words.

"It's rich that someone who serves You-Know-Who and turns his best friend over to him is lecturing me and my family about honor. The only reason you aren't rotting in prison is because you were lucky enough to have your brother die off, so you could adopt his child. Trust me, one day she'll realize that you're just lying to her and that you and your friend hiding behind you are nothing but murderers and rapists. Then where will you be?" Mrs. Weasley came forward and started pulling on her husband, doing her best to rally her children at the same time.

Hermione left her uncle to rush into her father's arms, uncaring that it wasn't seemly or ladylike in the least. He held her close and kissed the top of her head while Aunt Cissy started waving her wand at Uncle Luci, getting the blood to stop. People were no longer staring since the Weasleys had just departed. Hermione saw Harry cast a long glance behind him, almost like he wasn't sure what he had just seen. She met his gaze for just a moment before Ron grabbed ahold of his arm and pulled him out of the shop.

Aunt Cissy decided that they were all to head back home to Black Moor while she finished shopping for their books. Her father led her out of Flourish and Blotts as regally as he could; they were Blacks after all. Draco and Lucius followed, Lucius trying to remove the blood stains from his robes. Deciding that they didn't want to walk the Alley all the way back to the Leaky Cauldron, her father grabbed her, and Uncle Luci grabbed Draco. They apparated just outside the door, landing in the entrance hall of Black Moor.

-O-

Sirius couldn't believe that this had happened. Not only had he finally seen Harry clearly for the first time since he was a year old, Lockhart had used him to further his career. While he always hated admitting that Lucius was right, he would be the first to thank his friend for his actions today. The last thing that he wanted to do was frighten his godson and make him think that he was coming after him for unsavory reasons.

What surprised Sirius the most was the reaction of Arthur Weasley. The man had always been the most laid-back person he knew aside from Remus, so his reaction was just over the top. Of course, the fact that it was Lucius was probably the reason; the feud between their families was legendary.

Sirius would never doubt his daughter or cousin when they told him how horrid the Weasley boy was. It was clear that the boy hadn't been raised with manners; if he had, none of the knowledge had stuck. After remembering that the twins had apologized in the formal manner, it was clear that they had been taught; the boy just didn't employ the knowledge bestowed upon him. Sirius had been nasty when he was a child, that much was certain, but at that point in time, he hadn't cared about manners and making enemies.

Lucius had already been tended by Candy and shed his robes, so Dot could clean them. Hermione was seated next to him, clearly still worried that he was hurt. Sirius chuckled to himself; his daughter always worried even if it was clear that it wasn't necessary. Finally, Lucius shooed her away good-naturedly, so she came and sat down on his lap. Her head was laid on his shoulder when she finally spoke.

"One of these days, Harry will know the truth and it will be everyone else that he's angry at for lying to him. I know it sucks but just keep telling yourself that it won't be forever." Sirius smiled above her before he kissed her hairline.

"I know, sweetness. I'm being patient. You be patient as well." She chuckled softly before she spoke again.

"I don't care about being his friend anymore. I'll be nice to him and protect him if I need to, but I've given up on being his friend. It doesn't do to dwell on the impossible. I don't want to be friends with someone that can be nice one second and then say the worst things imaginable the next. I don't like feeling how he makes me feel." Sirius wasn't sure what to say to that. He was quite certain that his daughter had a small crush on his godson but had never voiced it. The last thing he wanted to do was embarrass her about something like that. He understood why his words had hurt his daughter so deeply. She had grown up hearing about how great of a person he would be, how much Sirius loved him, how powerful he was going to be when he was grown. He had always wondered if she hadn't been just a little bit jealous.

After that thought, Sirius held his daughter tighter, trying to show her that she was important to him. He was just getting ready to tell her so when the floo activated and Cissa entered the library. Her face was a thundercloud of fury and her back was ramrod straight. Sirius sighed.

This was going to be a long night for himself and Lucius.

-O-

Harry laid in bed that night, considering what had happened that day in Flourish and Blotts. The new Defense professor seemed like a total ponce. He wasn't sure that the man even knew how to hold his wand, let alone cast with it. He had been unimpressed at best.

Harry couldn't hide his surprise when Malfoy's father had stepped forward and told the idiot man to back off him. Most everyone talked about how evil the man was and there he was trying to protect Harry. Of course, he supposed that it could be that the man was just trying to gain favor but that wasn't how it had seemed at the time.

Sirius Black had taken his breath away and not in a good way. He had been surprised to see the man, even more surprised that he hadn't approached him, especially after how hard Hermione had tried to be his friend last year at school. The only time the man had spoken was when Mr. Weasley had attacked Lucius Malfoy. Harry supposed that the traitor had reacted as normal people would, protecting those they considered family. That was what Mr. Weasley had been doing though even Harry had to admit that while Malfoy hadn't made the problem better with his comment, Ron had started it by opening his fat trap.

Harry had seen first hand Hermione's care for her uncle; she had ran into his arms once Sirius Black had separated Mr. Weasley and Malfoy. He had been cold and hard to everyone else, even kept that expression on his face when his son had spoken, but with Hermione, he was all hugs, kisses on her head, and soft words. She had gone to her father next, who hugged her close and kissed her head as well. It was clear that the girl was adored.

Harry was jealous of that; he wanted a family that loved him like that. He hated that he only had the Dursleys, who treated him no better than a slave. He remembered Hermione's words to him the night that he had been completely horrid to her.

 _You would have been my brother and we would have loved you like we love Draco._

Harry shoved the thought from his mind; these were dangerous waters. Dumbledore had been clear when he told him the story of his parent's deaths and how Hermione Black was involved. He had to stay strong and not focus on the Slytherin girl. The last thing he needed now that he was finally getting extra lessons was a distraction, especially a distraction that he wasn't supposed to have.

Harry rolled over and tried not to pay attention to Mrs. Weasley screaming at her husband downstairs. Ron was already snoring so there was no hope of conversation. Deciding that he was going to put effort into falling asleep, he closed his eyes and focused on the future.

In just two weeks' time they would be heading back to Hogwarts. Life would be good once again.

A/N- Boom, another chapter down, y'all. Thanks for reading and reviewing, you guys are the bomb. I love the support you guys show me, it keeps me motivated! Anyways, leave me a message and tell me what you think. Reviews make me smile.

Next chapter, everyone returns to Hogwarts for their second year.

Love,

Alicia


	27. Chapter 27

A/N- Once again, you guys are just so awesome. I can't thank you enough for being so supportive and spreading the love. Your reviews keep me motivated, as do your kind words. I just want to bang out more chapters for you! Anyways, my daughter is getting ready to have surgery on her other foot now, on Friday in fact, and I hope to be able to keep writing since she'll be doped up for the first few days, but we shall see. If it takes me a few days, thanks for being patient. Enough for now, this chapter is just waiting to be written.

**Huge thanks to Lady Firemane for being my 700th reviewer. You're awesome, girl!**

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing and I'll never make any money off this story or any of my others. Everything about this story belongs to someone else. All hail our queen J.K.R.

Chapter 27

September 1, 1992

Hermione was bouncing with excitement. She really wasn't sure why since the school work wasn't a challenge and she really didn't have any close friends to look forward to spending time with. She supposed that it was just the thrill she got from the tradition of attending Hogwarts, something she had wanted to do since she was as small as she could remember.

Draco was watching her with amusement as they readied themselves to apparate onto Platform 9 ¾. They were waiting on her father to put his robes on; he had shed them at breakfast. Candy insisted that he dress appropriately when he left the house after smacking him several times with a rolled-up newspaper. The rest of them laughed at the display while her father scowled and hurried to get his robes.

Once he appeared with his robes on, her father took her arm and threaded it through his elbow. She grinned up at him while he waved his wand, lifting the apparition wards long enough for Uncle Luci and Aunt Cissy to apparate out. Her uncle took hold of Draco's arm and disappeared with a pop, her aunt following them. Her father waved his wand, replacing the ward and smiling down at her.

"I'm going to miss you, poppet." Hermione let go of his arm and hugged him close.

"I'm going to miss you too, daddy. Christmas seems like a long time away." Her father carded his fingers through her curls.

"It'll be here before you know it. Promise me that you'll be safe once you get to the castle. I know that Severus will look after you, but I don't want you taking unnecessary risks. We both know that Dumbledore won't care if you get hurt." Hermione nodded against his chest.

"I promise, daddy. I won't do anything stupid." Her father chuckled as he released her, pulling her hand back into his elbow.

"Let's go before Lucius and Cissy start thinking that we're not coming." Hermione chuckled.

"Alright, let's go." Her father twisted on the spot and they reappeared on the Platform. There were children and their parents bustling all over the platform, yelling at their friends and hauling their trunks onto the train. Hermione wasn't sure why the parents didn't just shrink the trunks for their children so they could stow them in their pockets but what did she know?

Hermione kept her eyes open for Harry and the Weasley family. Her father was deep in conversation with Thoros Nott, Uncle Luci joining them. Draco had disappeared to talk to Theo and Blaise and she had no idea where Aunt Cissy was. Hermione didn't mind; it freed up her attention to make sure that her would-be brother arrived safely. After several minutes of scanning the crowd, Hermione finally caught sight of the Weasley matriarch, but she didn't see Harry or Ronald anywhere. The train whistle blew, alerting Hermione to the fact that it was time to board the train and start their journey to Hogwarts.

Her father hugged her close, kissing the top of her head, before releasing her with a smile. He didn't say anything since they had exchanged their farewells before leaving Black Moor. Draco was shaking his father's hand, but he quickly moved on to comfort his mother and tell her that he would miss her. Hermione floated into her uncle's embrace, burying her face in his robes so she could memorize the smell of his expensive cologne. His fingers ran through her curls much the same way her fathers had before he kissed her forehead softly.

"Stay safe, Hermione, do well in class and don't let the others bully you. I know that you're different than the other girls your age but don't allow them to snub you." Hermione squeezed her uncle tightly.

"I won't, Uncle Luci. The girls are nice to me, don't worry about that. I'll make you proud." He gave her an adoring smile before gesturing for her to hug her aunt while Draco moved to shake her father's hand. Her aunt hugged her close, smoothing her hair where the others had run their fingers through it.

"Be good, Hermione, do well in class, and make us proud." She nodded against her aunt's chest, the silk of her robes soft against her cheek. She could hear her father and uncle charging her cousin with looking after her and keeping her safe. The whistle blew again, cutting the talk off short, which meant that Hermione and Draco were now due to board or miss the train entirely.

Draco grabbed her hand and held it in his, pulling her onto the train. As the Express started to pull away, Hermione stood at the window, waving at her family, knowing that she was going to miss them dearly while she was gone. Once they could no longer see Platform 9 ¾, she let Draco lead her through the train, so they could find a compartment.

Hermione really wasn't in the mood to sit with all their friends; they would be loud and boisterous, excited to see each other and to head back to Hogwarts. It was true, Hermione was excited as well, but she wasn't nearly as excited as her friends would be. However, when Draco pulled her into the compartment that housed all their first-year friends, she didn't argue about joining them. It made Draco happy since he was a far more social being then she was.

While the others caught up with everyone, Hermione dug into her pocket and pulled out one of the new books that her father had allowed her to order from Flourish and Blotts. It was over warding, a subject that she had taken interest in over the summer. They had learned basic warding with Madam Cambridge, but she was anxious to start trying the more difficult wards listed in the book she was now trying to read.

Her friends all groaned when they saw her retrieve a book. Hermione did her best to ignore them; it usually worked any other time they gave her a hard time about always reading or studying. Draco was quick to shush them, informing them that Hermione was the reason that their house had so many points last year and it was in their best interest to not keep her from her studying. Daphne was the only one that showed any interest after his statement, asking her quietly what her book was about. When she explained to the blond girl, Hermione could see that the girl was confused at her explanation but seemed genuinely interested.

The train ride passed with little to no fanfare. The witch that pushed the trolley came around several times, all her friends buying more sweets than they had sense. Hermione only shook her head in wonder as she watched her fellow snakes devour obscene amounts of sugar. Hermione herself had bought a single sugar quill, her favorite, but only for as long as it took her to eat only one. Greg and Vince were trying to hurry and finish their holiday homework, something that Hermione and Draco had finished within the first few days of returning home. She watched on in exasperation, knowing that their grades were going to be terrible since the job was so rushed.

It was nearing dark when Draco stood and suggested that all the boys leave and allow the girls to get into their school robes. They all took their own robes with them, citing that they would find another compartment to change in. Hermione was quick to change, simply sliding her school robes over her every day robes that she had worn to the Platform. Daphne followed her lead but Pansy, Millie, and Tracey all changed completely, folding their robes and placing them in their stowed away trunks.

The boys returned as well, their school robes in place over their usual robes. They took their seats again and everyone started complaining that they were starving, more than ready for the Welcoming Feast at Hogwarts. Hermione's mind once more returned to Harry and the Weasleys; had she just missed the pair in the crush of people? Had they boarded the train before she caught sight of them? She knew that she shouldn't worry but she just couldn't help herself. It was a habit formed many years ago and it was hard to break now that she refused to continue to try to be his friend.

The whistle blew again, and the train rolled to a stop, much the same way that it had the year before. Hermione stood with the others, tucking her book into her robes so she could read at dinner if she needed to. They filed off the train together, excited chatter all you could hear in the dark of the late summer night. Hagrid could be heard off in the distance, hollering to everyone as they approached.

"Al' righ', everone' head ta the carriages. Firs' years, come wit' me." Hermione knew that he couldn't help it, but his speech drove her half-mad. She had been brought up to enunciate her words clearly and she sometimes had a hard time understanding the half-giant.

Hermione let Draco thread her arm through his and pull her towards where the carriages were standing. As they neared them, Hermione remembered that the students always spoke of the horseless carriages pulling them to Hogwarts. It was in this moment that she realized they weren't horseless at all. Her other hand found Draco's forearm, clutching it tightly.

"They aren't horseless. They're pulled by thestrals." Understanding dawned on her cousin's face and he patted her hand softly. Theo scrunched up his face and looked confused.

"What are thestrals? The carriages look horseless to me." Hermione let go of her cousin, so she could stroke one on the neck. When it whickered softly, the others startled. Hermione smiled softly as the beast started to nuzzle her shoulder.

"Thestrals are kind of like horses but they look vastly different. You can't see a thestral unless you've seen someone die." Hermione knew that the question was coming so she wasn't surprised but that didn't mean that she wanted to answer it. It was Blaise that asked it of her.

"Who have you seen die?" Draco stepped forward, obviously aware that she really didn't want to talk about it. Hermione was quick to answer, however. She didn't want her cousin to fight with his friend over an innocently asked question.

"My mother. An organization called the Order of the Phoenix wanted information on my Uncle Lucius, so they decided to raid my mother and I's home when I was only two. They blasted in the door and it hit her in the head. They didn't mean to, but it killed her. At least, I don't think they meant to." They were all looking at her with pity in their eyes, something she realized that she didn't care for in the least. Pansy was the next to speak.

"That's how you ended up with your dad." Hermione nodded as she gave the thestral one last pat on the nose. Draco was there next to her instantly, helping her into the carriage. Once she was fully ensconced inside, Hermione heard him hissing at the others. It was completely unnecessary, but she appreciated it nonetheless.

"Nobody is to tease her about this or you'll answer to me." Theo was the one she heard respond, probably because his mother had died when he was young as well, though it was in childbirth.

"Mate, we would never tease her about something like this. Even though some of our parents aren't the nicest, none of us can imagine losing them." Draco entered next, taking the seat next to her. She gave him a knowing look, but he didn't meet her eyes. She wrapped his hand in hers and squeezed it, showing that she appreciated his words.

The journey to the castle was relatively short, only ten minutes or so since they were coming from Hogsmeade station. Hermione couldn't help but think that it was less exciting than the trip across the Black Lake. Conversation about quidditch and dread for their classes ensued but Hermione tuned them out. She watched the scenery out of the window even though she couldn't see much in the dark.

They pulled up to the castle and everyone filed out of the carriage, the boys helping the girls out with a hand down. Since Hermione had been the first in, she was the last out, only for Draco to hand her down from the step like a proper gentleman. Hermione stopped for a few moments to survey the castle in darkness of the night.

Her second year at Hogwarts had officially arrived.

-O-

Harry was beginning to panic. They had been running late to the Platform already due to something going wrong with the car that Mr. Weasley had tinkered with, giving it the ability to fly. Mrs. Weasley had insisted that she go through first since she had Ginny and it was her first year; she wanted to get the young girl a spot on the train, so she wouldn't have to worry about it. In the time that he had spent with the Weasleys, it was clear that Ginny was spoiled and got most anything that she wanted.

Harry and Ron had volunteered to come through the barrier to the Platform last since Percy was in a rush to get to the prefect's carriage and the twins were whinging about not getting a good compartment. The pair had decided to run through together, a bad decision on their part since when their trolleys hit the barrier, they bounced back and flipped both boys onto their arses.

There were several irritated looks shot their way from passing people; Harry had learned long ago to not them bother him. Ron, however, wasn't used to it and he also wasn't used to remaining calm. He had instantly started freaking out, telling Harry that they were never going to get through the barrier and that they needed to do something to get to school or risk getting expelled.

"Let's fly the car to Hogwarts, Mum and Dad can always apparate back home." Harry considered his friend's words.

"Ron, that sounds like a terrible idea. Your parents have to come back to the car to take it home, we should just wait for them there. They can send an owl to Professor Dumbledore and tell him what happened." Ron didn't look convinced, but he nodded anyways. Harry reloaded his trolley and started to push it towards the exit. Ron was following behind him, watching everything and everyone around him. It was clear that he had never been to the muggle world before aside from last year when they had come through the barrier to Platform 9 ¾. Harry called out for him to hurry up, citing that they didn't want to miss his parents.

Once outside, finding the car was easy enough. It was a baby blue Ford Anglia, a little beat up, but nothing too terrible. Since the doors were unlocked (Mr. Weasley obviously didn't know any better), the pair loaded all their belongings into the back seat since they weren't sure what the Weasley parents were going to do with them.

Harry and Ron stood out in the hot sunlight for over an hour, waiting for the elder Weasleys to return. Ron was growing agitated that they were still waiting, and Harry had to admit that he was getting worried. Did the Weasleys meet friends on the Platform and decided to go somewhere for lunch? Were they going to pick their car up after dark when less people would notice them flying off? Different scenarios played out in his mind, making him even more worried when the two-hour mark hit. Finally, Ron spoke again, anger evident in his voice.

"This was a stupid idea. Obviously, they had other plans and they aren't coming back anytime soon. I say we take the car before we're late for the start of term. You know it begins when the Feast starts." Harry was torn; should he give in to Ron and take the car, probably earning him a tongue lashing like he had never had before from the Weasleys or did he not take it and take the chance of not getting to school on time? His decision was made for him when Ron crawled into the driver's seat of the car and started it up.

"Get in Harry. We're going." Harry heaved a sigh; there was no putting Ron off when he got like this. He opened the door and crawled in, taking a seat in the passenger side. Neither one of them had ever driven the car, let alone flown it, so the take off was jerky. However, Harry had to give it to Ron; he mastered it quickly and got up to a good speed in the parking lot of King's Cross station. Once they were around back, Ron leaned over and hit the button that made them fly, the very button that Mr. Weasley had fixed just that morning.

The car rose in the air without problem. Harry was surprised to be honest but quickly became worried as they rose over the roof of King's Cross.

"Make it invisible, Ron, otherwise the muggles will see." Ron swore loudly as he reached over to hit another button. The car shimmered slightly, indicating that the car was now indeed invisible.

Ron took the car in the direction that the Express usually went, hoping that they would eventually see the train and be able to follow it. The train didn't travel at such speeds that they wouldn't be able to catch up to it. It was over an hour later that Harry pointed off in the distance, catching sight of the speeding red train in the distance.

"It's over there, Ron, we need to veer left." Ron obeyed, relief clear on his features that they had finally figured out which way they needed to go.

They followed the train for several hours. Harry was getting hungry and thirsty, not to mention he needed to use the loo. Ron was complaining of the same things but there was nothing that they could do without losing valuable time. It was nearing dark when they finally caught sight of Hogwarts in the distance. Rather than continue following the Hogwarts Express, Ron started in the direction of the castle. Harry was unsure where they were going to land the car and just how much trouble they were going to get into for doing so.

Darkness had fallen, and it was clear that they were very close to the castle when a loud clanking noise was heard, and the car started to drop at a rapid pace. Ron was hitting the first button he had pushed over and over, frantically trying to get the car to start flying again, but it was to no avail. Finally, the car gave out entirely and started to plummet to the ground.

Harry was quite sure that he was going to die on Hogwarts grounds. The ground was rushing up at them at an alarming pace and Ron was screaming. Harry could do nothing but focus on the heavy thud of his heart in his chest. He had finally closed his eyes, prepared for the smashing into the ground, when they landed hard on something and then slipped further down. When Harry opened his eyes, he realized that they were in a tree.

The tree, however, wasn't a typical tree that you would find anywhere else on the grounds. It was angry and was whipping its branches back and forth, doing its best to dislodge them. When they got stuck in the crotch of a rather large branch, a branch the size of a basketball came through the back window of the car and then out through the windshield, grabbing ahold of the car and flinging it out of its depths.

Harry slammed into the dash when the car landed, then the door when the car rolled over. It came to a stop once it was on its wheels again and Harry had never been more grateful. However, he hadn't been expecting the car's doors to open abruptly and throw them bodily from the car. Their trunks and Harry's owl cage followed after them, Harry thanking Merlin that he had sent Hedwig on the day before, so she could get some air under her wings. He landed with a thud, Ron on the opposite side, while the car started up again and drove off into the Forbidden Forest.

Harry sat there for a few moments, considering what had just happened to them. Truthfully, they were lucky that they weren't dead. That tree hadn't wanted them in its branches and it had fought back against them with a vengeance. They were surely going to be in deep trouble now. Despite the ache in his back and side, the throbbing in his head, Harry stood carefully and gathered his belongings while Ron did the same.

"Come on, Ron. Let's get up to the castle."

-O-

Severus was livid. He was standing in the Hospital Wing with Albus and Minerva, looking down upon an injured Boy-Who-Lived and the Weasley spawn. They had flown and wrecked a flying car on Hogwarts grounds after deciding that since they couldn't get through the barrier that they would take their transportation into their own hands.

In truth, the Weasley parents had been rabid with worry. When they hadn't found the two boys on the Platform, they had been sure that a Death Eater had taken them. They had immediately apparated to the castle, alerting Dumbledore and calling for a search. Everyone had flown into action, hoping to find the boys before the one hope for the light side of the war was dead.

Potter had informed them they hadn't been able to get through the barrier and had decided to go wait by the Weasley family car, so they could have them get ahold of the castle. They had told them that they had waited for over two hours before deciding to take the car themselves, citing that the Weasley couple must have had plans. Weasley admitted that taking the car had been his idea but Potter had not stopped him.

Severus supposed that he couldn't fault them for thinking that Arthur and Molly had had plans. They had admitted to not returning to their car after they couldn't find the boys. However, rather than flying a piece of shite car that worked only half the time, they should have continued to wait until someone returned. Then they wouldn't be in the position they were in now, injured and in trouble in the Hospital Wing.

"Do you have any idea how easily you could have been killed? Not only that, you damaged a decades old tree on the grounds. Hopefully Professor Sprout can mend it. I don't care that you would have been waiting in that dingy parking lot all day; you should have waited and not been so reckless. To think our bright and shining hope of the wizarding world doesn't even have the sense to keep his own hide safe." Albus shot him a dirty look, silencing him with his eyes.

"Harry, Ron, what you did tonight was very reckless and very dangerous. Severus is right, you could have been killed and you did injure the Whomping Willow. However, I understand that you did make the right decision first, you waited for over two hours and nobody returned. While this shouldn't be a proud moment, I understand why it happened." Severus couldn't believe what he was hearing. If that old bastard tried to award them points for such a stunt he was going to tender his resignation and tell him to find someone else to protect the idiot boy.

Severus wasn't used to being around such reckless behavior; he was the consummate Slytherin and the two children that he dealt with on a regular basis would never have been stupid enough to fly an enchanted car from London to Scotland just, so they wouldn't be late for classes. The pair of them both kept going on about the barrier not working for them and having no idea why. Albus seemed just as stumped. Severus was not, however.

Sirius and Lucius had told him of their idea to use Dobby to try to dissuade the boy from returning to the castle. House elves magic was a branch all on its own and since he doubted an everyday wizard couldn't confound the barrier, he assumed it was the elf's last-ditch effort to keep him home. While he knew that the attempt would never work, he had to give it to he elf that he had tried. Severus couldn't keep the bite out of his tone.

"I know you aren't going to award these boys points, Albus. That disgusting display at the end of the year didn't win you any friends. This would do irreparable damage to your reputation." The Headmaster's eyes flashed for several seconds before the anger was replaced with twinkling once more.

"No, Severus, I think that detention is in order. Two nights a piece with Professor McGonagall to be served starting tomorrow." Both boys looked incredulous, completely surprised that they were getting off so easily. Severus was still seething inside; if it had been Draco or Hermione, they would have been expelled. He knew that it would do no good to say anything, however. Once the Headmaster's mind was made up, it was made up.

With a single look, Albus indicated that he wanted Severus to follow him. He knew that the Headmaster was angry, and he was going to be scolded but he wasn't going to lie down and take it. The Weasley parents had already seen both boys and told Severus and Albus that they would support whatever punishment they decided on; they weren't looking to be lenient on the boys, why should they? Severus followed him through the corridors until they were ensconced in the Headmaster's office behind closed doors. Albus spun around quicker than he remembered ever seeing the man move, his eyes flashing once more.

"Don't you ever talk to me like that in front of students again, Severus, or I'll have your job." Severus took a step forward as he started to laugh.

"You can have my job. Find yourself someone else who will protect your precious Harry Potter like I do and then spy for you on the Dark Lord. Good luck with that." Severus didn't wait around to hear what the man had to say. He was only two steps from the door when the Headmaster spoke.

"I'm sorry, Severus, I never should have said that. Please stay and discuss this." Severus pinched the bridge of his nose before turning and facing Albus.

"You made no friends last year when you awarded 120 points to your old house and only 30 to Slytherin when they were all involved in saving the Stone. The whole school saw your blatant display of favoritism and it did you no favors. To do so again, coupled with the fact that the Malfoys and Sirius Black would love to have you booted out of here, would be the final nail in your coffin. Then who would guide the boy as he got older and strived to fulfill his destiny?" It made him sick to say such things but there was no other way. While he didn't approve of the methods, Harry Potter was still being protected by Albus Dumbledore and that still carried weight in most circles. With the Dark Lord trying to find a way to implant himself into a body again, it was imperative that the boy was kept safe. The Headmaster sighed and flopped back into his chair looking older than Severus could ever remember seeing him.

"You're right, of course, Severus. I know the trials that the boy will face as he gets older and awarding those points was a way to boost his confidence. I'll take your words into consideration next time." Severus knew that this was likely a lie, but he didn't voice it. He just nodded his head respectfully before speaking again.

"Both boys are alive and well and have been punished. Let us not speak any further of it." Albus nodded gratefully. The Slytherin spoke again, this time to make his excuses. He had a letter to write when he got back to his quarters, informing his friend just how reckless his godson had been.

"It's late and I have much to prepare for class in the morning. I shall take my leave." His one-time friend gave him a small smile.

"Of course, Severus. I'll see you at breakfast."

Severus stood and swept out of the office, robes billowing behind him.

A/N- There you are, folks, yet another chapter. It wasn't as long as most of my others but some of them won't be. Nothing catastrophic in this chapter, no interaction between our favorite pairing, but it was needed for the plot. Who could forget the flying car? Thanks to everyone reading and reviewing, you guys are rock starts. Ha-ha, anyways, let me know what you think of it, I do love hearing your thoughts. Reviews make me smile.

Next chapter, an encounter between Harry and Hermione and a birthday.

Love,

Alicia


	28. Chapter 28

A/N- I'm back, guys! To everyone out there that wished my daughter well with her surgery, thank you so much. It went well, and she is now home recovering. Hopefully, her skin graft will heal faster than the last time. Thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, followed, and favorited this story, you guys are just awesome. Enough for now, let's get this chapter written!

Disclaimer: I wish I owned Harry Potter and Co. but no such luck. I'm sure this idea has been done before by some of the thousands of fanfiction writers that came before me. I haven't made any money off my stories, if I had, I would have quit my job a long time ago.

Chapter 28

September 19, 1992

Hermione was seated in her usual seat by the window waiting on her cousin to meet up with her to head to breakfast. The girls had all been sleeping still when she had come down; none of them were early risers and took every second they could to sleep. The boys were better about getting up early, though she was convinced that that was only the case because Draco was the one rising early.

Today was Hermione's thirteenth birthday; her father, aunt and uncle had all sent their gifts to her the night before, so she wouldn't get embarrassed at the table that morning when the owls arrived, something that she appreciated more than she could say. She already had enough admirers, the last thing that she wanted was for them to discover when her birthday was, so she would never get a moment's peace on her special day. She was pulled from her thoughts by the stairs creaking slightly. Draco appeared in the doorway, immaculate and as handsome as ever. He rushed her, pulling her to her feet so he could spin her in a circle.

"Happy birthday, Miney! You're the big 1-3, you're getting so old!" Hermione couldn't help but to laugh at his antics. He rarely acted so carefree anymore. When he quit spinning her, she hugged him tight.

"Thanks, Drake. It doesn't seem like I'm thirteen; it seems like just yesterday that we were having tea parties." Draco glared at her and shushed her loudly.

"Shut it, Miney, nobody needs to know about those days." Hermione grinned at him but mimed locking her lips and throwing away the key. Once he was appeased, he offered her his arm.

"May I escort the birthday girl to breakfast?" She curtsied to him.

"Of course, fine sir. Lead on." Now Draco grinned before threading her hand through the crook of his elbow and pulling her towards the entrance to the common room.

They traversed the corridors quickly since there were hardly any people out and about yet. It was one perk of being up early that they both enjoyed. The pair entered the Great Hall to find that there were only a few Slytherins at their table, all deep into the texts before them, blindly spooning food into their mouths. Since they were all the same age, Hermione had a feeling that one of the classes was being given a test that day.

The pair took their usual seats and spooned themselves up breakfast. While Draco helped himself to a full English breakfast like he usually did, Hermione only took a small portion of eggs, a bowl of fruit, and a slice of toast. She had never been a big eater and when her father had consulted with a healer because of her small size and stature, the man had informed him that she was perfectly healthy, that she would just always naturally be smaller than others her age. Even though she was teased here and there about it, Hermione didn't let it bother her; Uncle Luci had told her that her mother had been the same way.

Students began to trickle into the Great Hall, all ready to start their day with breakfast. Hermione didn't usually people watch since she was always reading or studying but today she made an exception. Not that it lasted long since Neville, Fred, and George headed her way, only to plop down on either side of her. Fred threw his arm around her shoulders before kissing her cheek loudly, George following suit immediately after. Neville and Draco watched with thinly veiled amusement as she wiped her cheeks.

"A little birdie told us that today is your birthday. Since we weren't informed ahead of time, we weren't able to get you a gift, therefore, we gifted you with kisses from the most handsome men in school. Birds are going to be jealous of you now." Hermione couldn't help but to laugh at the ridiculousness of their statements. Sometimes she really couldn't understand how they were from the same family as Ronald Weasley.

"Thank you, but don't tell anyone. I don't want a huge deal made about it." Both twins looked horribly offended.

"You aren't going to have a party? What kind of birthday is that?" Draco answered before she could.

"That's right, now that they brought it up, Hermione's birthday party is going to be tonight in the Slytherin common room. The three of you are invited." Hermione groaned and buried her face in her arms while the four boys conversed over her head. When she finally picked her head back up, she glared at all of them.

"I hate you all." Both twins kissed her cheek again, laughing at her scowl.

"You love us, quit lying. Liars don't make friends." Before she could retort, the three of them stood again.

"We'll see you tonight, Hermione." Feeling as though she had just lost an argument that had never been started, she turned to her cousin.

"You know I hate parties." He had a mischievous look in his eye as he answered.

"I know, but they're good for you. Reminds you that there is more to life than learning and books. You're going to go and you're going to have fun. No reading, no pretending that you're sick, you're going to eat, drink, dance, and be happy." Hermione, while annoyed, couldn't help but to smile at Draco. He was only doing what he thought was best for her and in the grand scheme of things, what was one night of no studying?

Hermione gave him a nod in agreement before returning to her meal. Her friends had arrived and were feeding themselves in a rush even though the bell was getting ready to ring; she didn't feel bad for them. If they had gotten up earlier, they wouldn't have had to rush to get any food. Draco was watching their friends in amusement as well, his plate clean in front of him.

The bell rang signaling that it was time for them to head to their first class of the day. History of Magic was up first, one of the worst classes in Hogwarts. Hermione had always found the subject fascinating and loved learning it when it was taught by Madam Cambridge; when it was taught by Professor Binns, however, she couldn't help but to want to fall back asleep. It was no wonder that everyone dropped the class once they had their O.W.L.s.

Hermione took her customary seat next to Draco at the front of the room; it was all she could do to try to stay awake through the lectures. The rest of the class didn't even bother to try except for Harry. Even though he struggled to focus on what the lecture was over, he always tried and appeared to take a decent number of notes. It was better than Draco managed, she had to give him that. Draco always fell asleep against her shoulder and when he would start to drool she would nudge him roughly, causing him to snort himself awake. He would always glare at her but would always resume his position once he couldn't handle the lecture any more.

They were still covering the goblin wars; it had seemed like that was all they had learned the year before. Her father had told her that the first five years of History of Magic would be spent learning about conflicts through the ages; her Uncle Sev had told them that if they pursued N.E.W.T. level, they would start to cover the government and how it was formed, not to mention the first blood war. Even though the ghost bored her to tears, she planned on getting as many N.E.W.T.s as possible when the time came which meant that she would be suffering through seven years of monotonous lecture.

Class passed without anything catastrophic happening. Hermione had added nothing to her notes from when she had learned the same things from Madam Cambridge, but she was proud of herself for staying awake. It seemed that Harry was the only other person that could honestly make that claim. The bell rang, dismissing them to their next class, in this case, Potions.

Hermione wasn't excited for Potions either. While she loved Potions and had helped her uncle experiment over the summer, the course work wasn't going to be difficult for her; she had done it all years ago. Her uncle had been forbidden by the Headmaster to give them advanced work, so she was stuck with doing the bare minimum of thinking and doing the assigned work.

Draco escorted her to Potions and dropped her at her seat. Her uncle, during their very first class of the year, had ordered them all to pair up with someone of the opposite house. Hermione had hoped that Harry would consent to be her partner, but he had headed for Draco, refusing to meet her eye. She had sighed, hoping that Neville would agree to partner her. However, Pansy had beat her to it and they were seated together near the back of the room. None of the Gryffindors had wanted to be her partner so she had been the last one standing there with Weasley. It was the first time that she had ever dreaded Potion's class but certainly not the last.

Weasley wasn't nice to her in the least; in fact, he questioned everything she did and told her that she didn't know what she was doing, even though he had yet to receive a passing grade in the class. Her uncle graded by the work they put into the potion, not the ending outcome, especially when the potion was perfect. It would hardly have been fair for Weasley to receive an Outstanding when he had done nothing but complain and criticize.

After that first class, her uncle had held her back and apologized profusely for her ending up with Weasley; he knew the boy wasn't nice to her in the least, he had docked points numerous times in the past for being mean and hateful to her. She had assured him that it was fine, that she could deal with him for just one class. Besides, it wasn't like he was trying to harm her, he was just being his usual idiot self.

They were brewing the hair-raising potion that day since they had lectured over it just the day before. Weasley had told her that he knew they were going to fail it, but she had just rolled her eyes. She had mastered this spell when she was eight years old and had no intentions of failing it today. When he saw her rolling his eyes, he raised his hand in the air. The room went quiet as everyone realized that a Gryffindor had his hand up in Potion's class. Her uncle's voice was silky and soft when he called on him.

"What do you need, Mr. Weasley? You are supposed to be brewing a potion." His arm came down and a satisfied look spread across his face.

"I expressed the fear that we were going to fail this potion and Black rolled her eyes at me. She's going to fail us on purpose just so I won't pass the class." Hermione could see Harry bury his head in his hands and Draco's eyes were flashing. Her uncle clasped his hands together behind his back as he ambled his way over to their table.

"I assure you, Mr. Weasley, Miss Black could brew this potion in her sleep. She has yet to turn in a single potion that wasn't perfect. As to your grades, they would be better if you would shut your trap and attempt to help her. I suggest you do so now or you'll find yourself in detention with me tonight." Hermione caught the barest wink from her uncle before walking back the way he came.

Weasley kept his mouth shut the rest of the period. As always, Hermione did most of the work, but he had agreed to fetch ingredients for them. The potion was perfect and when they turned it in, Uncle Sev had made it a point to inspect the vial of liquid and declare it perfect. Hermione wanted to laugh at the expression on the redhead's face but had decided against it in the end.

The bell rang again, and they were dismissed to lunch. Hermione let Draco go ahead with his friends while she hung back to walk with Daphne. She suspected that there had been a slight falling out between the two girls since the blond had started walking more with Hermione than her other friend. Nobody had said anything as to what had happened between the two girls, but she supposed that if they wanted others to know they would surely tell them. That was all Hermione needed to know to keep out of it entirely.

After they reached the Great Hall, Hermione took a seat between Adrian Pucey and Daphne, the former trying to start a conversation with her about quidditch and the latter watching with laughter in her eyes. Hermione gently explained that she never watched much of the sport, but the boy wouldn't leave her be and let her read. He kept telling her that he couldn't believe that since her cousin was going to be trying out that very weekend for the Slytherin team. Hermione did her best to be polite but swore that she would never sit by the boy again.

The others ate their meals while she pushed hers away. She had been hungry when they entered but being hounded by Pucey had put her off her appetite. Deciding that she was going to have to be rude, she pulled out her book despite the constant chatter aimed her way. It only took a couple minutes for the boy to grow tired of being ignored and turn back to his own friends. When she finally looked up, Draco was silently laughing at her. Rather than be mature, she stuck her tongue out at him.

The bell rang again, signaling that lunch was over. Hermione sighed. That meant that it was time for Defense Against the Dark Arts and the bumbling idiot Professor Lockhart.

-O-

Harry started to gather his belongings after the bell rang to head to their first afternoon class. They had Defense next and he dreaded it. The professor from Flourish and Blotts was a complete ninny, he had no idea what he was doing. Harry also strongly suspected that his books were all a lie too.

Professor Lockhart constantly tried to get him to come up to the front of the room and help him act out scenes from his book. He had outright refused several times but that never stopped him from trying. The worst part was that while the other blokes in the class were just as sickened as he was, most of the girls had eyes only for him. They watched him with rapt attention and there were stars in their eyes when they turned in their homework.

Parvati and Lavender were the worst. Harry had caught his friend doodling the words Mrs. Parvati Lockhart in her planner, drawing little hearts around it. Lavender just stared awkwardly, making Harry feel bad that she didn't realize how stupid she looked. While the girls from Slytherin weren't nearly as obvious, they still watched him closely. Hermione Black was the one exception.

Hermione almost always pulled out a book from the depths of her bag and would read it instead of listening to the lecture. Since the quizzes and tests were always about Lockhart, Harry longed to do the same. He feared getting caught and in trouble, however, so he always tried his best to pay attention. Once, when Hermione had been closing her book at the end of the class, he had caught the title and wished that he could share the book with her. _The Art of Dueling and Defensive Magic_ sounded far more interesting than the acting abilities of an author that he suspected of lying.

While he usually tried to pay attention in class, today, Harry just couldn't. He had been walking back to the common room with Ron last night from the library when he could have sworn that he heard someone whispering right behind him. When he had turned, there had been nobody. Ron had questioned him and when Harry had told him that he could have sworn he had heard someone, the redhead had laughed and told him that he was just tired.

Harry supposed that it was probably true. He hadn't slept well the night before that, so he had blown it off. Before lunch, however, he knew that it had happened again. He found nobody behind him but when he mentioned it to Ron again, the redhead gaze him a worried look. Harry had dropped it instantly, not liking the look that he was getting but it hadn't left his mind. He was pulled from his reverie by Professor Lockhart yelling.

"I will now release the pixies, it is your job to catch them." The rest of the class looked terrified, but Harry wasn't sure why. The creatures inside the cage didn't seem to be big enough to do any real damage. With a wave of his wand, the door to the cage opened and twenty or so pixies flew out.

The tiny beasts instantly started to wreak havoc in the classroom. They grabbed hold of text books and began tearing them to pieces, they were scattering parchment that everyone had on their desks. One even took a quill and started chasing Seamus with it. The rest of the class was starting to bail, covering their heads and fleeing through the door. With a grand wave of his wand, Professor Lockhart shouted.

"Peskipiksi Pesternomi!" Harry wasn't sure what this spell was supposed to do but it was clear that it had failed. One of the pixies swooped through the air and snatched the man's wand right out of his hand and then hurtled it through a window. He turned to Harry, Hermione, and Malfoy, now the only three students still left in the room.

"You three are in charge of cleaning up." Harry couldn't believe it when the man ran from the room, hands over his head trying to protect his hair.

The pixies seemed to be enamored with Hermione's hair; she had several nesting in her curls. Harry couldn't blame them, he thought that her hair was quite beautiful as well. Malfoy was doing his best to try to knock them out of her hair without hitting her in the head. Harry didn't understand why since once they were caught in her curls they were calm and still. Suddenly, an idea came to him. He rushed over to the pair, wand in his hand ready to curse the first pixie that tried to dive bomb him.

"Once they're in her hair, they're calm. Can either of you transfigure something that looks and feels like her hair and hang in on the wall? Maybe they'll all be calm then." Draco met his cousin's eyes and turned back to Harry, brandishing his wand while he nodded. He waved it and murmured a spell, one that Harry had never heard before.

Along the far wall, a net made of something that resembled rope appeared. After it had settled, he stepped closer to it and began conjuring curly pieces of rope that hung from it, giving close to the same appearance as Hermione's hair. It took several minutes before the pixies started to land in the net, burrowing into it much like they had in Hermione's curls. Even the ones that had found refuge in her hair had flown away to be with the others. Malfoy turned to meet Harry's eyes.

"Good idea, Potter. Never would have thought of that myself." Harry could feel his cheeks starting to color and he willed them to stop. The last thing he wanted was for these two to see him blush. Hermione was angrily gathering her things, red spots high on her cheeks. Merciful Merlin, she was beautiful when she was angry.

"Blithering idiot. He's nothing but a joke, I don't know how this fact escaped the Headmaster's attention. I'm leaving those beasts right where they are and letting him deal with getting rid of them. I don't know how the Headmaster could possibly think that we're learning defense from this moron." Harry had never heard her talk so negatively about a professor before. He was even more surprised that she turned to him once her things were gathered.

"Thank you, Mr. Potter, for your help in subduing the pixies." Harry rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, but she didn't seem to notice. Instead, she took her cousin by the hand and started to pull him towards the door.

"Come on, Drake, we need to go tell Professor Snape what a complete idiot we have teaching this class. Maybe he can get through to the Headmaster." In just a matter of a minute, the pair was gone. Harry quickly gathered his things when he saw that the bell was getting ready to ring and he didn't want to be late for Transfiguration. Not to mention, it would be nice to tell his Head of House just what had transpired during their lesson.

The rest of the students had dispersed so Harry was able to hurry to the Transfiguration classroom. Most of the students were already there, hair still in disarray from the pixies. When Ron saw him, he leapt to his feet and started his way. Harry couldn't help but feel a tad bit annoyed. His friend hadn't even worried where he was when he had fled. Every man for himself it appeared.

"Harry, mate, where were you? I could have sworn that you were right behind me." Harry glared at him.

"No, I stayed and helped subdue whatever those little monsters were. The rest of you are supposed to be Gryffindors and you all ran away, scared and screaming." The shame on the faces of his Gryffindor classmates was instant. Ron was blushing red and rubbing the back of his neck while the others wouldn't meet his eyes. When the redhead finally spoke, it was with regret.

"You're right, mate. We should have stayed and helped. I never should have left you there. I'm really sorry. That wasn't being a very good friend, was it?" Harry felt his anger deflate. They were only twelve, after all. Who was he to demand that they put their safety and health on the line because their professor was a moron? He sighed and clapped Ron on the shoulder.

"It's alright, mate. I shouldn't have gotten so angry." It was at this point that Professor McGonagall entered, her robes billowing out behind her. Her eyes scanned the room, landing on the seats belonging to the Slytherin pair that had been headed to speak with their Head of House.

"Anyone have any ideas where Mr. Malfoy and Miss Black are?" Harry raised his hand and Ron narrowed his eyes at him. Their professor called on him and urged him to explain.

"They went to go speak with Professor Snape." He further explained what had happened in Defense Against the Dark Arts, including the things that Hermione had said about their professor and where they were headed and why. Professor McGonagall looked furious but remained silent on the matter, only saying that if the pair showed up later they could get their assignment with a signature from Professor Snape.

The lesson progressed regardless of their last class. They were turning birds into goblets, something that Harry mastered on the third try. He was quite proud of himself and turned to help Ron and Parvati once he was sure that he could do it again and it wasn't just an accident. Both his friends had accomplished the spell by the end of class, missing out on homework for the first time since start of term.

After class was dismissed, Harry let Ron usher him to the Great Hall for dinner. They were having shepherds' pie for dinner, one of Harry's all-time favorites. Ron was discussing quidditch tryouts that weekend with Dean and Seamus; they were all planning on trying out for various positions. Parvati was discussing hair charms with Lavender, a topic that Harry was more than happy to leave them to.

It was almost the end of dinner when Harry excused himself just a little early, citing that he needed to use the loo to Ron. In reality, he just needed away from the noise. His mind was still on the voices that he had sworn that he had heard. Something was bothering him about it, but he wasn't sure what. He had just turned the corner to head to the staircase when he ran into something soft and small.

Hermione Black was once again on her arse on the floor after running into him. Her eyes were squinted in pain, but it faded almost instantly. He wasn't sure if the pain had faded or she just didn't want to show weakness. Completely unlike the last time this had happened, he held his hand out to help her up. She took it slowly, almost as if she didn't trust that he wanted to help her. He supposed that he couldn't blame her.

"I apologize, Miss Black. My mind was elsewhere, and I should have been paying attention to where I was going." She gave him a small smile as he pulled her to her feet.

"It's alright, I was hiding from the twins and Neville." He raised his eyebrows at that but refused to ask. He wasn't supposed to care.

"I see. Well, I'll let you get on with it then. I wish you the best of luck." She chuckled softly before turning. However, at this moment, the twins and Neville rounded the corner and raced up next to her. She sighed, and her shoulders hunched over.

"What would it take to get you three to just leave me alone?" The twins both laughed and threw an arm around her shoulders.

"Hermione, you are the only girl we know that doesn't want to celebrate her birthday. You're thirteen today, it's time to party. Draco already told us where your commons is and we're to fetch you and deliver you. Be a good girl and come without a fight." Her wand appeared in her hand quicker than a snitch, stinging hexes catching both boys in their backside.

"I am not a slab of meat to fetch and deliver. I am a person who hates parties and doesn't much care to celebrate my birthday with a bunch of people who only like me because I'm Hermione Black." Even though both twins were rubbing their bums, their gaze turned softer, softer than Harry had ever seen. Fred (or was it George?) tugged on one of her curls.

"That's not why we want to celebrate with you. Come for us, not those snakes that only like you for your money." Hermione sighed and finally nodded, the twins whooping in triumph. Neville was watching, clearly amused. All three boys waved to Harry as they led the tiny witch away from him towards the stairs that led to the dungeons.

Harry contemplated what he had just witnessed. Hermione's birthday was today and there was a party for her that she didn't want to attend. He remembered attending Ginny's party at the beginning of August. She had been terrible, demanding her gifts and cake like she was entitled to both. Harry knew that nobody was entitled to such things, so it had been very off-putting. To see a girl that didn't like parties was refreshing. He had yet to see anything like it. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him.

It was Hermione's birthday today. He was thankful that he had been nice to her and hadn't ruined her day.

-O-

Severus was waiting impatiently for Minerva to arrive. He was currently in the Headmaster's office, livid that his godchildren had been subjected to dangerous beasts such as pixies. While it was true that they wouldn't die from pixie bites, it was a fact that the side effects from such bites could be life altering. The saliva found in the little blighter's mouths were known for causing paralysis.

Albus was seated behind his desk, scanning some parchment that he held in his hand. Severus wasn't sure if he was actually reading it or just pretending so he wouldn't have to talk but it didn't matter; once Minerva arrived, he was going to hear from the both of them.

Minerva had sat next to him at dinner and informed him that she had heard from Potter about the incident in Defense class; she had been unaware of the issue concerning pixie bites. He had informed her that his students were immediately sent to the Infirmary to be checked out by Madam Pomfrey, the reason that they had not shown up for her class. Before dinner, he had insisted the rest of his students get checked out as well. Minerva had promised him that after this meeting she would send all her second years to get checked by the mediwitch as well.

At this moment, Minerva strolled in, her face calm and serene for once. There was something different about her, he had noticed that at the start of the year; however, he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. She had been much less volatile, more controlled, less emotional. It was almost as if she had learned…he paused his thoughts. Was it possible that she had learned occlumency? She couldn't have her mind penetrated since she was an animagus but her actions since the beginning of term pointed to occlumency. He would have to subtly ask her about it later. For now, they had a matter to discuss.

"You need to find a new Defense professor immediately. Not only is Lockhart a blithering idiot, as Miss Black so eloquently called him, he has put our students in danger. He released a cage full of Cornish pixies in the classroom and left children to round them up. It was left to Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy, and Miss Black to do so when the little beasts stole his wand." The Headmaster just looked at him, confused. It was Minerva that spoke next, obviously seeing the game that the Headmaster was playing.

"Don't play stupid, Albus, it doesn't become you. I know you must be aware of the paralyzing effect of pixie saliva. I wasn't so I haven't ordered my students to get examined, but Severus did and saw fit to inform me. This is unacceptable. Pixies have never been covered in Defense, only Care of Magical Creatures. You have to do something." Albus steepled his hands under his chin and considered their words.

"I can't get rid of him now. I will talk to him, tell him that putting our students in danger is unacceptable. I'm sure that he will agree." Severus pinched the bridge of his nose and counted to himself to remain calm.

"He's a useless teacher. He lectures about himself and has the students acting out scenes from his books. How is that teaching our students defense? If the Dark Lord returned today, I assure you, your precious Potter would die a gruesome death because he was nowhere near prepared." The Headmaster's eyes flashed but said nothing. Severus continued.

"Miss Black and Mr. Malfoy bring their own defense books and read in his class. Not only does he not notice, they ace every single one of his tests and they aren't even paying attention." Albus finally spoke.

"They are advanced students. Of course, they don't find his class a challenge." Severus hardened his gaze.

"If you had allowed us to give them advanced assignments, we wouldn't be having this conversation." Dumbledore's voice was steel when he spoke.

"We can't give advanced assignments, we've had this discussion." Minerva's face contorted in fury, but she reverted to the cool calm after a few moments.

"Yet, you have given Mr. Potter several rounds of advanced assignments." Severus couldn't believe what he was hearing. Even more favoritism and it made him sick. Suddenly, he couldn't be in there any longer.

"I agree that Mr. Potter needs extra tuition for what he is going to face but the fact that you refuse to do so for students that are bored out of their minds is complete bullshite. I know that you think you're helping the dark side by teaching those children but therein remains the crux of the matter. They are children. They aren't evil, and they haven't done anything wrong except learn. You're a prejudiced old bastard and I won't stand here and listen to it any longer. Get a handle on Lockhart or I'll go to the Board of Governors and have him removed myself." Severus didn't wait to hear what the Headmaster had to say. He swept out of his office, robes billowing behind him.

-O-

Albus knew that Severus wasn't bluffing. He would most assuredly go to the Board if he didn't do anything about Lockhart. He was aware that the man wasn't the brightest star in the sky but surely, he was exaggerating just a little.

Minerva had just left, and it was clear that she was just as livid as Severus. He knew that it wasn't right to play favorites between students, but it had to be done. He couldn't enable Black and Malfoy just to send them on their merry way to help their master return. While he wasn't sure that Voldemort was their master yet, he would be eventually. He could, however, enable Harry to help him battle Voldemort and win.

With a sigh, Albus made his decision. He would speak with Gilderoy in the morning and warn him to not be so fucking stupid in the future. The pixies had been a mistake. He would inform him that there were parents that were going to go to the Board of Governors if he didn't start teaching them skills that they would need. He could only hope that this appeased Severus. The last thing he needed was his Potion's Master to run to Lucius Malfoy and tell him of Lockhart's folly.

He would meet with Severus in the morning and tell him his plans and implore him to keep his mouth shut. While he knew that he had the Slytherin by the balls, he was also loathe to admit that Severus had him by his as well. There was no way that he could afford to lose Severus in this upcoming war; his role as spy was crucial. He would have to dance to the man's tune just this once.

After all, it was for the greater good.

A/N- Lordy, this chapter just didn't want me to write it. I struggled with it so much. If it's terrible, I apologize! Anyways, let me know what you think, I love your feedback.

Next up, the Chamber of Secrets is opened, and a fist fight ensues.

Love,

Alicia


	29. Chapter 29

A/N- Once again, the support you guys show me is humbling. Thank you so much, you have no idea how much I appreciate it. Shout out to everyone out there following, favoriting, reading, and reviewing, you guys keep me writing as much as I do. Lunch breaks used for eating are overrated, right? Anyways, you guys are awesome, and I hope you like this chapter.

Disclaimer: Nothing about this story belongs to me. The idea behind part one of this story belongs to Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle, I simply expanded on her idea. The characters belong to J.K.R. Someday I'll come up with my own original stories and make millions.

Chapter 29

October 31, 1992

Hermione shivered as she walked through the corridor next to Draco on their way to Defense Against the Dark Arts. It was Halloween and the weather outside was unseasonably cold. The cold air seeped through the castle walls and she struggled to keep warm. Draco would chuckle softly at the end of each of their classes before whipping out his wand and casting a warming charm on her. It usually lasted around a couple hours before it needed to be reapplied.

School had been in session for two months now. Hermione hadn't learned a single thing aside from the fact that children could be cruel. She usually didn't have any problems with ignoring the taunts but lately she was becoming more affected. She wasn't sure why this was; in fact, knowing that she was letting the words of people that didn't matter to her bother her made her so angry she could cry.

Draco had noticed her sensitivity and had mentioned it to Uncle Sev. Her uncle had pulled her aside after class just a week before to make sure that she was alright. Once he realized how mortified she was, he had hugged her close and laughed deep in his chest. Her beloved uncle had further embarrassed her by telling her that her sensitivity would pass, that it was merely her hormones fluctuating. She had wanted to know more of what to expect but was far too self-conscious to ask Uncle Sev. He had sensed her thoughts and urged her to either go to Madam Pomfrey or write to her Aunt Cissy.

Hermione knew that she would never be able to discuss it with a stranger, for that's what Madam Pomfrey was, so she had taken his advice and written a confidential letter to her aunt. Her reply came the next day, promising to keep the contents of her letter a complete secret. Her aunt had warned her that she would likely be a little more emotional, irrationally angry about the strangest things, and would possibly bloat. Frankly, it didn't sound like anything that Hermione wanted any part of, but she supposed that there was no way around it. She was a young lady and would someday be a woman.

Even though her arm was threaded through her cousin's arm, he wasn't paying attention to her. He was chattering back and forth with Theo and Blaise about quidditch practice the night before. True to his word, Draco had tried out for the house team over a month before and was awarded the position of seeker. Personally, Hermione thought that he was much more skilled at playing chaser but since seeker was the only position up for grabs, he tried out anyways. It was a brilliant try out and he was still very good at the position; however, Hermione just wasn't sure that he was good enough at playing seeker to beat Harry.

Since quidditch practices had started, Hermione would admit to feeling a little lonelier than usual. Draco usually studied with her at night in the library, helping her tutor their friends. Now, four nights a week he had quidditch practice, not to mention that quidditch was all he ever talked about with his friends. Before, him having friends had never bothered her; now, she was feeling somewhat abandoned.

Hermione knew that it wasn't right of her to feel that way; she wanted her cousin to be happy and enjoy his time at school. She was also aware that he wasn't as educationally inclined as she was. The Slytherin just wished that he had a little more time for her in his new schedule. She had confided her feelings into a letter to her father, telling him how none of the children her age were interested in the same things that she was and now Draco had very little time for her. Her father had urged her to speak with Draco, but she had quickly decided against that. The last thing she wanted to do was make him feel guilty for doing what made him happy.

The pair entered Defense and took their usual seats. Lockhart was still as useless as ever; Hermione couldn't even be sure how he still had a job. This whole week he had them copying text from the Defense book from last year. It was completely absurd, but it was clear that nothing would get done about it. Her uncle had told both herself and Draco that he and Professor McGonagall had told the Headmaster just how dangerous pixies could be. Hermione had shivered since she had had the little beasts nesting in her hair.

It had been leaked that when Professor McGonagall had finally told her second-year class to go to the Hospital Wing, so they could be searched for bites, several were discovered on Seamus Finnegan. He hadn't been left paralyzed but he had had to spend two days in the Wing taking purging potions and who knew what else. Her uncle had been livid and had confronted Lockhart himself. Apparently, the famous man had been so startled at her uncle's words that he had literally pissed himself. While Hermione knew that her Uncle Severus could be an intimidating man, she felt like pissing yourself was a rather extreme reaction. Since that day, he had all his classes copying text from various books throughout the school.

Draco finally halted his conversation with his friends when Lockhart showed up, his robes a soft lavender color, and ordered them to begin copying text once more. While Hermione detested this class, she admitted that it was nice to have a class where she could finish the rest of her pointless homework. Since she wasn't supposed to know the copying spell, she could use it when Lockhart wasn't watching and finish the assignment twice as fast. It probably wasn't the most ethical thing to do but Hermione felt no guilt whatsoever. Why should she waste her time on an assignment that would teach her nothing?

Once their professor turned his back to study himself in one of the many mirrors, Hermione quickly copied the text, Draco following suit. Since Draco started doodling out plays for quidditch on a spare bit of parchment, Hermione pulled out one of her Astronomy books. She tried to read it but learned quickly that she wasn't really in the frame of mind. She was unsure why she was too anxious to read but figured that there was nothing to do for it but put the book away and try again later.

Hermione decided to people watch instead. Her fellow Slytherins were all scratching away quietly. Where she hated copying text from the book from last year, they all liked it. There was never homework and never any assignments to turn in; for children that really didn't care about learning, it was a dream come true. The Gryffindors appeared bored out of their minds, most of them passing notes to each other rather than coping script. It appeared that Dean and Seamus were playing tic tac toe while the girls all gossiped. Harry was the only one that was doing his best to complete the work. Hermione was the first to admit surprise when the Gryffindor boy raised his hand and cleared his throat, so the professor would see him. Lockhart smiled brightly at Harry as he spoke.

"Yes, Mr. Potter, is there something I can do for you?" It was clear that Harry was nervous about what he was going to say this intrigued Hermione more.

"Well, er, professor, don't you think we should learn something new? We learned all this last year." The other Gryffindors started hissing at their classmate but he refused to back down. Lockhart gave him a winning smile before he answered his question.

"This is simply review, Harry my boy. We'll get to the really exciting things after we review the text from last year." Hermione seriously doubted his words, but they seemed to appease the Gryffindor. He didn't look happy, but he didn't enquire further.

Hermione let her thoughts drift to the dueling practice she and Draco had had two weeks days prior. He was still better than she was but not by much anymore. She was progressing quickly, getting quicker reflexes all the time. She no longer hesitated and tried to figure out which spell would be best to throw; she had long since learned that any spell is better than no spell. Draco did all he could to help her; he had even told her that if she was more fit that she would likely have better endurance. She wasn't sure if he was right or not, but she refused to let anything pass her by that could possibly help her.

It was for this reason that Hermione had started running in the mornings. She hadn't told Draco about it, she didn't want him laughing at her for looking silly in the work out clothes that Aunt Cissy had sent her. She wasn't sure if they were appropriate to be seen in since they were rather tight and stretchy, but it was better for everyone involved if she kept her new hobby to herself.

At first, running had almost killed her. The first few days she had thrown up each time she ran. She was now able to make it one lap around the Black Lake without wanting to die; she figured that she would gradually up the distance the longer she ran. In true Hermione Black fashion, she had consulted the library for information on how running would benefit her. Not only would it up her endurance, it would help keep her fit and trim. While she never considered herself heavy, it was nice to know that this would help keep that from happening. She wasn't a vain witch, but every girl wanted to think that they were pretty in some way. It was pounded in their heads from birth.

Hermione was pulled from her thoughts by the bell ringing. She placed her book and notes in her bag carefully before following them with her ink and quill. Draco shoved his belongings in his bag as well, barely remembering that he was supposed to be escorting her. When he turned back to see what was keeping her, she waved him on. He grinned at her and followed his friends out of the classroom.

Hermione had a free period next which she usually spent in the library doing her extra work from Madam Cambridge. She wandered the corridors slowly, taking her time to get to the library since she only had one more assignment until she could owl off her work. She heard a mewl behind her, only to see Tenebris hopping behind her, intent on following her. A smile broke out on her face as she bent to scoop him into her arms. She scratched his head as she entered the library and took her usual seat.

Tenebris curled up on the table next to her book. Hermione shook her head fondly as she left to get one of the books that she needed for her Advanced Charms assignment. Once she had retrieved it, she settled back in at the table and started researching the substantative charm. It was an interesting read, the chapter being quite long. After she had finished the required reading, Hermione put her quill to parchment and began her essay.

It didn't take her long to finish the assigned essay; Tenebris had moved from the table to her lap, something that Hermione was thankful for since she had forgot to reapply the warming charm after Defense. She had just decided that she should gather her things and start for the Great Hall when a shadow fell over her. She glanced up to see Ginny Weasley, Ronald's younger sister.

Ginny hadn't been outright mean to her since she had started; in fact, she had seemed just a little shy. However, Hermione wasn't oblivious to the dark looks that the girl had sent her way. She wasn't sure if it was due to the altercation in Diagon Alley between Arthur Weasley and her Uncle Luci, but Hermione had decided to just keep her distance.

"My twin brothers think you're pretty nice." Hermione narrowed her eyes in confusion, completely unsure of how best to respond.

"I think they're pretty nice too." The girl's face contorted into one of anger.

"Ron thinks you're a traitorous slag that's going to turn over Harry to your father, so he can kill him and hand him over to Voldemort." Hermione took a deep breath and tried her best to stay calm. The last thing she wanted was another enemy in this school.

"I'm sorry he feels that way. All I ever wanted was to be friends with everyone. I've learned that none of your house want to be friends and I've left them all alone." Ginny snorted.

"You haven't left my brothers and Neville alone." Hermione wasn't sure what she was supposed to say. This was turning out to be the oddest conversation she had had to date.

"They seek me out just as much as I seek them. It's mutual. I mean that I'm no longer trying to befriend those that don't want to be friends." Hermione had thought that apparent but decided to be nice rather than scathing like Draco would have been. Ginny leaned down, hands on the table next to her bag, fury dancing in her eyes. It was the strangest sight since the girl was barely eleven years old.

"Stay away from my family and stay away from Harry. He doesn't want to be your friend; your father is the one who got his parents murdered. He would be better off if you were dead, we all would be. Do us all a favor and leave everyone but your nasty little snakes alone." Hermione felt tears prick her eyes at the redhead's vitriolic words but held them back ruthlessly. A bout of hormones was the last thing she needed right now. Instead, Hermione kept eye contact with the girl and went to her feet, slinging her bag over her shoulder and her kneazle in her arms.

"I will do as I please and you are in no position to do anything about it. Go complain to the Headmaster or your Head of House, I don't care. I've done nothing wrong and that means that they can't punish me. In fact, I beg you to go tell them. That way I can sit back and watch with a smile on my face while you get in trouble for harassing an innocent student." Ginny glared at her.

"Innocent is quite the stretch. Don't worry, your secrets won't stay that way forever. I'll make sure that Harry learns the truth about you. Then he won't watch you when you aren't looking." Hermione didn't get to respond because the redhead whirled where she stood and stalked off.

Hermione wasn't sure what to think about Ginny's words. Harry watched her? She couldn't for the life of her figure out why. She got the impression that he no longer thought that she was going to hand him over to her father even though he hadn't come out and said it. Why else would he watch her? She thought about asking Draco but quickly decided against it. The last thing that she wanted to do was alert her cousin to a boy watching her.

She wasn't quite sure why, but her belly felt fluttery inside when she thought about Harry watching her. Hermione could admit that he was very handsome despite his small size. He would be quite dashing once he was grown with his raven hair and emerald eyes, all the girls said so, even those in Slytherin. She remembered how her aunt had described her very first crush and it sounded remarkably alike to how Hermione was feeling right now.

She put a halt to those thoughts; it wouldn't do for her to get caught up in a fantasy about Harry Potter when he couldn't even bring himself to be friends with her. Hermione had no idea why Ginny thought that he watched her, but it wasn't because he thought that she was pretty or because he was interested in her. It was probably because he thought she was going to slip him poison or some other fool idea. Surely, that was it.

Hermione tarried no longer, flouncing out of the library, Tenebris in hand, and headed for the Great Hall for the Halloween Feast. A few corridors from the cavernous room, her kneazle leapt from her arms and took off down the corridor, after what appeared to be a mouse. She chuckled softly at her pet and entered, heading for the Slytherin table. Draco was already there, seated next to Theo with Pansy on his other side.

Pansy had become even more enamored with Draco since he had joined the quidditch team though she never laid it on in front of Hermione. Draco had confided in her that the dark-haired girl would do everything she could to sit next to him in class and in the Great Hall, ask him the dumbest questions about their school work just so she could get his attention. Since she wasn't hanging off her cousin, Hermione left it alone, citing that Draco could take care of himself.

Draco didn't notice her enter so she took the seat across from him between Greg and Vince. Pansy refused to meet her eyes, but Hermione didn't care. If sitting next to the girl made Draco happy, who was she to complain? Both boys looked pleased that she sat between them, something that wasn't lost on Draco. He glared at his friends before turning his gaze to Hermione. She could feel him watching her, but she didn't acknowledge it, instead spooning roast chicken and potatoes onto her plate.

"How was studying, Mia?" She gave a small shrug as she smiled at him.

"It went well. I finished the assignments for Madam Cambridge and want to owl it away after dinner. Are yours done?" A dull flush spread across his cheeks but Hermione pretended that she didn't notice. She didn't want to embarrass her cousin.

"No, not yet." Hermione nodded.

"Alright, I'll wait to send mine off then. Let me know when you finish them." Draco flushed further.

"No, go ahead and send them off. Mine will take awhile to finish." Hermione gaped openly at him, knowing exactly what he meant.

"You haven't even started them, have you?" Draco gave a short shake of his head, confirming her thoughts. For some reason, this irritated her more than him ignoring her for quidditch. Instead, she heaved a sigh.

"Very well. I'll stick a note in with mine and tell her that you got caught up with quidditch practice and that you'll send it at your earliest convenience." Draco nodded but said nothing.

Hermione ate in silence after that, listening to the conversations around her. Pansy and Daphne were discussing the latest gossip, Millie and Tracey were trying to figure out how to do their Transfiguration assignment. All the boys were discussing the latest professional quidditch match between Puddlemere United and the Ballycastle Bats, but Draco was quieter than usual.

Instead of participating, Hermione let her eyes drift over the hall. Despite telling herself that she was certainly not checking on Harry. Even as she told herself that, her eyes scanned the lion's table, finding not only Harry, but Ron and Parvati missing. As much as she wanted to worry, she realized that it wouldn't do any good. Harry had made clear that he didn't want her in his life and she needed to accept that. She had accepted it until Ginny's words. Even though her mind was awash with thoughts of Harry, she was still determined to refrain from trying to befriend him. That time had passed.

Hermione really didn't eat much considering it was the Halloween Feast. She had never been a huge eater, nowhere near Draco, but she usually managed to eat a little more than usual for special occasions. Ginny's words kept replaying in her mind, over and over, telling her how she was a traitorous slag. Hermione knew that it wasn't the truth but that didn't mean that it didn't bother her. She didn't like that people assumed she used her body to get things; her father, aunt, and uncle had raised her better than that. Her eyes landed on Ginny, laughing gayly with her first-year friends; Hermione watched her closely for a few minutes before Draco turned around to see what she was looking at.

"Is there something wrong, Mia?" Hermione instantly dropped her eyes and took a nibble of her treacle tart.

"No, nothing wrong." He watched her suspiciously before turning back to Theo and Pansy. Hermione raised her eyes again just in time to catch sight of Ginny leaving the Great Hall by herself. She told herself that the whole confrontation in the library was in the past, that she wasn't going to let it bother her. Suddenly, she didn't want to be there in the Great Hall any longer. She wanted to go send off her assignments to Madam Cambridge and then she wanted to go visit her Uncle Sev. Maybe he could pull her out of the funk that she was in. Hermione stood up and stepped out of the bench seat.

"I'm off. I'll see you all in the common room later." Draco hurriedly wiped his mouth and stood as well.

"I'll come with you." Hermione couldn't help but snap at him.

"Don't bother." He eyed her for a moment before he continued to gather his things. Hermione already regretted her tone. It wasn't his fault she was emotional, bitchy, and lonely. Maybe she needed to just suck it up and talk fashion with Daphne and Pansy; it would probably make her feel less lonely. Everyone around them was silent, not quite sure what to make of the situation. No doubt the scene from Transfiguration class last year was flashing through their minds. They were all aware of what happened when Hermione lost her temper.

Hermione waited for her cousin even though she didn't want to. It would have been exceedingly rude to just leave him after he had already stated that he was going to go with her. Since she was a little way ahead of him, he couldn't offer her his arm; therefore, she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to stave off the chill of the castle. Draco hurried to her side, wand in his hand, and she felt a spell hit her. She was instantly warm all over, so she released her hold on herself. He offered her his arm now and Hermione took it while giving him a small smile. They continued their way up the seven flights of stairs in silence. Once they entered the Owlery, Draco stepped forward and coaxed his owl down, so she could use it.

Hermione attached her stack of parchment to Nuntius and patted his head before stroking the soft feathers down his back. Draco's bird was extremely irritable but had never given Hermione a lick of trouble with delivering post, though Draco whinged almost daily about having scars from his bird. He accused her all the time of turning his familiar against him, but she would just laugh and tell him that he was just wanting to blame her for the fact that his bird liked her better. After sending the bird on his way with the instructions to go straight to Madam Cambridge, Hermione turned and started for the exit to the Owlery. Draco caught her arm and pulled her to a stop.

"What are your plans for the evening?" Hermione smiled at him before pulling him to walk with her.

"I know you have plans so I think I'm going to go see Uncle Sev. It's been a few days since I last saw him." His eyebrows turned downward as he considered her words.

"When did you see Uncle Sev? Why didn't you have me go with you?" For some reason the tone of his voice irritated her. Why was he questioning her when he was the one that was never around? Was she not allowed to do anything unless he was there? Her tone was icy when she answered.

"Why does it matter? I would have asked you, but you were in a quidditch strategy session with the team even though you had practice the night before. You're not the only one who can do things without the other." Hermione instantly regretted her words. This was not the way to go if she wanted him to not feel guilty for being outgoing and popular. His eyes hardened at her words.

"I was just asking, Hermione. Am I not allowed to wonder what my best friend has been doing?" Hermione gestured for him to ask away.

"If you're so interested, ask away. Just odd that you haven't thought to ask before now." Draco stepped forward, probably to take her hands in his but she wasn't in the mood to be coddled. She folded her hands in front of her and kept her eyes on his. He realized that she wasn't going to let him calm her down or comfort her, so his features softened.

"I'm always interested in what you've been doing, Miney. You're my best friend." Hermione let her gaze soften just a little. She was still irritated, but it was clear that he wasn't lying. He could lie with the best of them, but she knew him so well that she always knew the truth.

"I've been doing my school work, spending time with Uncle Sev, practicing dueling in one of the empty classrooms, and I started running." Hermione braced herself for his words, knowing that he was going to tease her. Rather than tease her, his voice was a little harsh.

"When you did you start running?" Hermione was instantly incensed at his tone again.

"A week or so. What does it matter?" Draco raked his hand through his hair in agitation.

"Why haven't you told me? I would have went with you." This was the last straw for Hermione She chuckled darkly.

"Aside from the fact that I didn't want you to make fun of me, when would you have liked for me to tell you?" Her cousin could tell that she was upset again.

"You see me every single day. You couldn't have dropped that into the conversation?" Hermione finally couldn't stand it anymore. She reached out and shoved him in the chest, shoving him away from her. She knew that she was acting irrationally but she didn't care in that moment. She was hurt and lonely and feeling ignored. She had done her best to hide it, but it was spilling out in the worst way possible.

"I haven't spent an evening with you in almost two weeks. When we're together, you're either talking to your friends or in class. Every time we could have a conversation, you've got plans with your friends or quidditch practice. I haven't complained a single time. You don't get to demand answers from me and then get angry because you didn't get told something." He was shocked at her words and tried to come forward again. Instead, Hermione shoved him back again, tears threatening. Maybe she would go to Madam Pomfrey after all; she had read that there was a potion that stabilized hormones. She would be far too embarrassed to ask her uncle for such a potion.

This didn't deter her cousin, however. Draco stepped forward again and this time Hermione let him. She had already broken her promise to herself and made him feel bad for having friends and a life. His hands cupped her cheeks and she was surprised to find that they were wet with tears. His voice was soft when he spoke to her.

"I'm so sorry, Miney. I wasn't meaning to ignore you. I didn't even realize that I was. You're the most important person in the world to me." For some reason, his words made her cry harder. He finally released her cheeks and wrapped his arms around her, burying her face in his chest. She inhaled the familiar scent of his robes, he wore the same cologne as Uncle Luci, and it was comforting. Her arms snaked around his waist and held him tightly.

"I'm so sorry I shoved you, I'm going to go see Madam Pomfrey in the morning. I didn't mean to get so angry." His hand was going up and down her spine, shushing her softly in her ear.

"I'm not mad. Not at all. What are you going to go see Pomfrey for?" Hermione made sure that her face was completely hidden in his robes before she squeaked out of an answer.

"My hormones are out of balance, that's what Uncle Sev says. It will be until…there's a potion to make it all better." His hands stilled for a moment and she could hear the wheels turning in his mind.

"Why would your hormones be out of balance?" Hermione sighed, really hating that she actually had to say it.

"I'm going to start my cycle soon. Your mum said to expect this." Hermione didn't have to look to see that her cousin was blushing. When he spoke, his voice was a little higher than normal.

"I understand. Let's never bring up this problem again, for both our sakes." Hermione nodded emphatically before he continued.

"You might as well tell me everything. What had you upset when you were looking at the Gryffindor table? Weasel giving you problems again?" Hermione chuckled lowly before she pulled away and wiped her face.

"Ginny was just a hateful wench to me in the library. I was just watching her." Draco took her hand and held it tightly.

"What did she say?" Hermione shook her head, determined to not dwell on the scene in the library.

"Nothing important or worth repeating. Just chalk it up to the fact that she doesn't like me anymore than Ron does." Draco chuckled as he wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Let's go see Uncle Sev together. I haven't seen him in ages except for in class." Hermione gave him a smile and let him pull her through the corridors.

"I really am sorry. I wasn't trying to be a spoiled brat. I've been keeping quiet, so this wouldn't happen, so you wouldn't feel terrible for having other friends aside from me." Draco kissed her temple as he steered her to the stairs.

"When the truth comes out, how many of those Slytherins do you think are going to remain our friends? I shouldn't have completely neglected you." That thought sobered Hermione even more. She had thought about it, of course, how could she not? She hadn't dwelled on it, however, since she knew how much Draco really did value his friendship with the rest of the snakes. She didn't answer; it was meant as a rhetorical question anyways.

The pair traversed the corridors quickly, both intent on visiting their godfather. Hermione personally hoped for his own special recipe of hot chocolate; it was her all-time favorite, even better than the cocoa that Candy served them at Black Moor. They were conversing quietly about how far her dueling had come since they had last practiced together when they ran into a crowd in the middle of the corridor on the second floor. Draco had no problems shoving people aside, so they could get to the front.

Harry, Ron, and Parvati were standing next to Mrs. Norris, Filch's cat, who was still and unmoving in a puddle of water on the floor. Hermione would have assumed that the cat had died if not for the whispers and stares from the children around them. Hermione finally realized that they were staring at something other than the cat. Looking around, she saw what they were looking at and she nudged Draco.

 _The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir beware._

Hermione felt her stomach drop to her feet. She had never heard of the Chamber of Secrets, something completely strange for her. Draco was looking just as confused. Her breath hitched slightly, causing her cousin to pull her to him just a little tighter. Suddenly, there were footsteps approaching and then a wail. Filch had broken through the crowd of students and spotted his beloved cat on the ground, still and silent. He turned to Harry and pointed a bony finger his way.

"This is your fault." Hermione felt like this was a little unfair but kept quiet. The last thing she needed was a detention with the caretaker. Filch started towards the Gryffindor, fury evident on his features. Hermione stepped forward, wand in hand, to make sure that the old man didn't attack Harry. It was unnecessary, however, since the Headmaster's voice brought Filch to a halt.

"Argus! Stay where you are." Filch halted for a moment before turning back his cat and scooping her into his arms. Dumbledore stepped forward and gave Mrs. Norris a quick examination.

"Mrs. Norris is not dead, she is merely petrified." Hermione's mind immediately went into overdrive. What could petrify a cat and leave no marks? What was the Chamber of Secrets? Somebody further back in the crowd called out.

"What's the Chamber of Secrets?" Dumbledore acted like he didn't even hear as he turned to converse quietly with Uncle Sev, who had just walked up. Her godfather's face was not impressed with whatever the Headmaster was telling him. Since there was little supervision of the crowd, Hermione was unsurprised when Weasley started taunting them.

"Well, if this is what happens to enemies of the heir, I could think of a few people I'd like to offer up. Black would be number one, the traitor's daughter. Maybe we'll be lucky and whatever did this will finish you off." Hermione couldn't believe that he had said those words. Sure, he was still a prat but since Diagon Alley, he hadn't said anything specific to her or Draco. The crowd around them fell silent and Hermione knew that it was going to be bad when she felt her cousin tense up beside her.

Without a single moment's hesitation, Draco released her and stalked past the other students. Ron was looking rather proud of himself as he watched the fury on Draco's face fully blossom. Even Hermione wasn't expecting her cousin to rear back his fist and slam it into Ron's face. The force of the blow knocked Ron to the ground, but he was up in just a few moments. Dumbledore had yet to notice that there was a brawl going on just feet from him, but Hermione could see that Uncle Sev was watching dispassionately. Harry was watching also, a look of horror on his face. She was unsure if it was because Draco and his best mate were now fighting like muggles or if it was because of what Ron had said. Either way, he was staying out of the fight completely. Ron swung wildly and caught Draco in the chin, but it wasn't hard enough to do anything but turn his head to the side.

Draco now tackled Ron to the ground, landing on top of him and hitting him again. The Headmaster finally took notice since the whispers were only getting louder. It was Dumbledore that brandished his wand and waved it at Draco. Not knowing what he was casting, Hermione rushed forward and pulled her own wand on the Headmaster, her gaze hard. She knew that if it came down to it, she would lose fantastically to the old man, but she wasn't going to let him cast a spell on her cousin without a fight.

"You cast on him, I'll make sure that you regret it for the rest of your life." Hermione could see the cold fury on the Headmaster's face, but he stayed his wand. Her godfather stepped forward and pulled Draco off the ground and away from Weasley. Once the Headmaster lowered his wand, Hermione did as well, rushing to her cousin's side to make sure that he was alright. Draco slung an arm around her, holding her tightly to him once more. She touched his face lightly while he winced and tried to pull away. The Headmaster's voice was cold as ice when he spoke.

"You ever pull your wand on me again, Miss Black, you'll be expelled faster than you can say Hogwarts. That's fifty points from Slytherin and three detentions spent with Mr. Filch." Hermione kept her gaze on the Headmaster and didn't acknowledge his words. Once Dumbledore had stopped glaring at her, he turned to Draco.

"What is the meaning of attacking Mr. Weasley?" Draco didn't have to answer. Hannah Abbott, a Hufflepuff girl that had been coming to their birthday parties since they were six, spoke up.

"Ron said that he hoped Hermione was next, that it would kill her instead of petrify her." Realizing that he had the attention of the whole school on him, Dumbledore did something that he had never done before.

"I'm very disappointed in both of you. Mr. Malfoy, that will be fifty points from Slytherin and three detentions with Professor McGonagall. Mr. Weasley, that will be fifty points from Gryffindor and three days detention with Professor Snape." Hermione couldn't believe that he had punished Weasley the same as he had Draco. Her godfather had told them that he had strongly chastised the Headmaster about his blatant favoritism. Draco didn't outwardly show his surprise, but she could tell that he was just as flabbergasted as she was.

"Everyone to your common rooms. Don't let this worry you, we're taking care of it." Hermione wasn't sure how they were going to take care of it when they had no idea who had done it, but she supposed that there was nothing she could do now but follow his instructions. As the crowd dispersed, Draco pulled her towards the stairs that led to the dungeons. She touched his chin softly and tried to examine it as they walked. She hated that he had gotten hurt, but she knew that it had to be done. Pureblood customs didn't allow for insults such as what Weasley had thrown at them.

"I'm fine, Miney, quit worrying." She released his chin but frowned at him.

"Don't tell me to quit worrying, you could have been hurt. You should have just hexed him." Her cousin chuckled darkly as he bent to whisper in her ear.

"I thought about it but decided that a muggle beating would be far more embarrassing for him." Hermione couldn't hold back a giggle. Their friends fell around them, flanking them as they headed to the common room. Hermione leaned her head on her cousin's shoulder and spoke wistfully.

"Guess we won't go see Uncle Sev now." Draco squeezed her waist softly.

"No, but you can lay down on the couch with your head in my lap and I'll read any book you want to you." It was something that he had done for her in the past when she had been upset. It hadn't happened since summer when she had been upset about her lack of skills in dueling. Hermione reached up and kissed her cousin's cheek.

"I'd like that. Do you think we'll get in trouble from our family for getting detention?" Even though Hermione didn't regret making sure that the Headmaster didn't hex her cousin, she couldn't help but worry if she would get in trouble at home for pulling her wand on a professor. He squeezed her again.

"No, they'll be proud of you. Let's not worry about it until tomorrow. We'll owl them together." Hermione wrapped an arm around his waist and nodded against her shoulder. They had just reached the Slytherin common room.

"Alright. I'm happy I get to spend some time with you. I missed you." He shooed her away towards her dorm.

"I missed you too. Now go get dressed in your pajamas so I can start reading." Hermione grinned up at him for a moment before scampering off towards her room.

-O-

Harry couldn't believe the events of his second Halloween at Hogwarts. The first had been action-filled enough; helping Malfoy save Hermione from a troll was an incident that he would likely never forget.

He, Ron, and Parvati had been invited to Sir Nick's Deathday Party. He had been excited at first, eager to see just how ghosts celebrated. After arriving, it was clear that it was a ghost-only event. All the ghosts that had come were polite enough, there was no denying that they were all pleased to meet the famous Harry Potter. What had turned his stomach about the whole ordeal, literally, was the food.

The food was strung out on three different tables, covering three of the four walls of the room. They were covered in trays and trays of food, all rotten and rancid. The smell was horrid, and the ghosts were floating through the tables, commenting on how they could taste the flavors. It was completely disgusting but Harry had done his best to keep his horror to himself, not wanting to offend Sir Nick and his many friends.

After they had finally been able to beg off the party, the three of them had decided to head to the Halloween Feast and see if they could at least get some pudding. It was at this point that Harry heard the familiar voice speaking softly in his ear.

 _Kill._

Harry had worried that whoever was talking to him was going to kill someone. The voice that usually spoke softly and faded away was clear, strong, and he could hear it retreating. Without a second thought, Harry had chased after it, determined to make sure that nobody got hurt. Ron and Parvati had followed him, yelling at him to slow down and explain. It had been a complete surprise when they had ran into Mrs. Norris on the floor, seemingly dead.

The Headmaster had pulled Harry aside after he had dismissed the rest of the school to their common rooms and questioned him as to what he had seen. Since he didn't think that hearing voices was a good thing no matter what world he was living it, he had simply told the Headmaster that he was on his way to the Feast after leaving the Deathday party and had stumbled on Mrs. Norris and the message written in blood. He really wanted to ask where the blood had come from but refrained since he was a little afraid of the answer. The Headmaster had told him that he believed him before sending him on his way, telling him not to tarry on his way to the common room.

Now, Harry was laying in his bed after a massive row with Ron. The redhead was angry at him for not having his back when Malfoy had attacked him; maybe Harry should have pulled the blond off his best mate, but Harry couldn't help but think that Ron had gotten what he deserved.

Since he and Hermione had exchanged words in that argument towards the end of last year, she had been true to her word and stayed away from him. She still sat next to him in some of their classes, but she didn't go out of her way to be nice to him. He had made clear that he wanted her to leave him alone and she had respected his wishes. Ron was just being a bully by continuing to torment her.

Harry had thought that his friend had gotten over being a prat to Hermione Black. He still complained about her in the privacy of their common room, he still whinged on and on about how she was a know-it-all teacher's pet, but he had kept his mouth shut in front of other people since the altercation in Diagon Alley. Harry knew that his parents had threatened him within an inch of his life if he insulted the Malfoy family again. He wasn't sure if the Headmaster would owl Mrs. Weasley about this last episode but if he did, Ron was going to be in more trouble that Harry could even imagine.

Harry had simply told Ron that he deserved the detentions and the fifty points lost; needless to say, it hadn't gone over well. Most of the students in Gryffindor agreed with him. Since Hermione was never involved in the pranks that went on between the houses, most of the students left her out of their extreme animosity, although Harry was convinced it was because of her show of power that day in the Transfiguration classroom last year. Honestly, it was the smart choice.

Lavender and Parvati were siding with Ron, saying that the whole situation was ridiculous. Harry couldn't help but be sickened at their attitude. No, he didn't want to be friends with the girl, but he didn't want her dead either. He dreamed of her enough as it was. The only thing keeping Harry from bailing on Ron as a friend was that he really was a good friend. He was great to all his friends, rarely whined anymore about doing schoolwork, had even stopped commenting on Harry's extra assignments from McGonagall. He was the first one to help a friend, regardless of the favor. Harry had tried telling him that he was going to end up losing friends if he kept up this atrocious behavior; he had scoffed at him and told him that it would never happen.

Harry knew that the twins were livid, as was Neville. All three had ganged up on Ron and railed at him for his horrid behavior. Ginny, in a show of temper, had started yelling at all of them for turning on their own house for the daughter of a Death Eater. Harry had never heard her talk like that but since she rarely talked around him period he supposed that he couldn't judge. Either way, it seemed to come out of nowhere. While Ron seemed to appreciate her show of support, he was just as surprised as Neville and the twins.

Harry had gone to bed shortly after the row with Ron. His friend had muttered a good night to him, so he doubted that the red head was going to hold a grudge, but Harry didn't want to deal with the drama any longer that night. Now that he was in bed, he found that couldn't fall asleep. He kept playing the shocked look on Hermione's face over and over in his mind. He really wanted to be able to not worry about the girl, but it just wasn't possible, just like he couldn't help but think that she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

Harry rolled over and buried his face in his pillow. He should probably be worrying about the voice he had heard but he wasn't able to put anything else on his plate that night. He had told himself that he would try to research it in the library the following day. Ron had looked at him like he was crazy when he had told him, so he figured there had to be an explanation. He decided to try to clear his mind of all thoughts and let sleep take him under.

If he couldn't succeed, not only would tonight be a long night, tomorrow was going to be a long day.

-O-

Severus took a healthy swig of his fire whiskey as he sat before the fire. He had just a meeting with the Headmaster and Minerva, neither of which were too pleased with the night's events. They had explained to him about the last time that the Chamber of Secrets had been opened. He had never realized that that was the event that led to the brainless oaf Hagrid being expelled from school.

Neither Albus or Minerva had any idea who could have opened it this time; this worried him slightly since his godchildren were in residence and were known to traverse the corridors at night coming from the library. The last thing he wanted was for them to be petrified or worse.

Severus had already sent off a letter to both Sirius and Lucius about the events of the evening. He knew that neither man would be angry with their children; family was the first concern for both men. Draco had been defending Hermione and their family honor while Hermione had been watching Draco's back. Severus didn't think that the Headmaster was going to hurt Draco, but Hermione had grown up being wary of the old man. He didn't blame her in the least, especially since they had spent the whole summer drilling into her head that she over thought things.

Sure, the Headmaster would have obliterated her if he had cast against her, but Severus believed wholeheartedly that eventually, that wouldn't be the case. Hermione was ridiculously powerful, so much so that he feared she was going to outclass not only himself, but Sirius and Lucius in the next few years. Already, she was stronger in her magic that her aunt. While Draco wasn't near as powerful as Hermione, Severus suspected that he would outclass all of them as well. Perhaps it was starting their education so early, strengthening their cores from a tender age. He couldn't be sure without testing them and that was one thing he refused to do. They were his godchildren, not test subjects.

The Slytherin was waiting quietly for a response to his letter. He wasn't sure if he would get one since it had been late when he sent it. Severus had vowed to wait up for an hour and if he hadn't received a letter by then, he would retire. He knew that Hermione and Draco would be worrying if they were in trouble. Albus had made quite clear that he wasn't going to tell either parent about the events of the evening; if it got back to Sirius and Lucius, then he could simply say that they had been punished and that was that. He really was trying to be magnanimous about the whole situation.

What floored him the most was that the man had taken points from Gryffindor and assigned detentions. He must have realized that the whole school was watching, and he would lose even more respect if he showed more favoritism towards his alma mater. While Severus wasn't all that thrilled about the hundred points lost from Slytherin, he didn't blame Hermione and Draco. They had done exactly as they should have and he refused to rebuke them for it, no matter how much the Headmaster demanded that he do so. Severus was pulled out of his own thoughts by a tapping on the window. As he stood, he set his whiskey on the table. After relieving the owl of his letter, Severus settled down in his chair once more to read it.

 _Severus,_

 _This whole situation sounds like a disaster in the making. Neither one of us had heard of the Chamber of Secrets so it must have been buried deeply after the muggleborn girl had been killed. We can only hope that this is either a clever joke or that the Headmaster can get a handle on this before someone gets hurt. Please keep us informed. The last thing we want is for Hermione or Draco to get injured or killed._

 _Please reassure the children that we aren't angry, and they aren't in trouble. The Weasley boy is going to get what's coming to him. It's obviously not doing any good to threaten his family; we aren't sure what we're going to do but we'll think of something. As much as I hate to do it, we're considering bribing one of the other Slytherins to catch him alone and teach him a lesson muggle style, much the same way Draco did. Hurting his family is having no effect, maybe hurting him is the only way for him to learn. We haven't decided, though, so we'll let you know when we do._

 _Is Hermione alright after Weasley said that? Is Draco injured? We wish we could have seen Hermione pulling her wand on the Headmaster; we're betting that he was caught between completely fury and shitting himself at the fact a second year dared to pull her wand on him. Three detentions aren't so bad, and they'll have the hundred points caught back up in a week. The same can't be said about Weasley._

 _We'll close for now. The Wizengamot is calling to order earlier than usual in the morning and we need to get some sleep if we are to stay awake tomorrow. Let us know if you need anything and tell the children we love them._

 _Regards,_

 _Sirius and Lucius_

Severus sighed in relief. He could tell the children they weren't in trouble and that their parents weren't angry. It didn't weight heavily on his mind, but he knew it would weigh heavily on theirs, Hermione the most. Nobody could deny that she was tender-hearted and would be hurt if she had disappointed her family again. He threw back the remainder of his fire whiskey and rose to his feet to make his way to his bed room.

It had been a long day and he had a feeling that tomorrow was going to be even longer.

A/N- Lordy, a monster of a chapter, y'all. This one I banged out in four hours, believe it or not. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the Halloween Feast and opening of the Chamber. Leave me a message after the beep and let me tell me what you think. Reviews are love.

Next chapter, Harry puts two and two together after a quidditch match.

Love,

Alicia


	30. Chapter 30

A/N- Here we are again, friends, with another chapter. I can't believe I'm cranking chapters out this quickly. I'm going to try to continue but don't get angry if it slows just a little. My kiddos go back to school in a week and life is going to get crazier! Anyways, thanks to everyone out there that is reading and reviewing…you guys are the bomb. Your love for this story makes me smile.

**Special shout out to thoupetty for being my 800th reviewer. You're a rock star!**

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing except the personal plot twist. I tried to sell my soul to own the wonderful world of Harry Potter, but the devil was not receptive. We'll just leave it at that. I'm a broke bitch so obviously I haven't made any money off any of my stories.

Chapter 30

November 16, 1992

Harry should have been used to his nerves before a match; he should have known that he always felt better if he ate a little bit before going out to the pitch. However, this time was different. He had played Slytherin last year and won but this year was different. He was playing against Malfoy and rumor had it that he was extremely good.

While Harry was the first to admit that he would love some real competition, he was nervous about what Hermione would think of him if he creamed her cousin. It was clear that Malfoy was very important to her and even though he couldn't say it aloud, he didn't want her to hate him. It was his guilty hope, that someday after the war he would be able to be her friend, that she wouldn't turn out to be as evil as her father.

The rest of the Gryffindors didn't know about his inner turmoil though. They were all excited about the match, kept pounding him on the back and telling him that he would be great against Malfoy, that he would bring pride to their house once more. Harry hated the pressure; why couldn't they just play for fun and not put so much emphasis on who won? He shook his head angrily. He would never have thought something like that if it wasn't Malfoy that he was playing against. He had to stop letting Hermione Black affect his thoughts so much to where he changed his whole outlook.

Harry managed to put away half his English breakfast. Ron was next to him, inhaling his third helping while he told everyone around him that his best mate was going to be the hero of Gryffindor after the match. Harry really hated it when his friend did this; the last thing that he wanted was for more people to stare at him. He tried to ignore the irritation he felt at his friends' words. Ron was just trying to be supportive and a good mate and was going about it in the best way that he thought possible.

Parvati and Lavender were seated on his other side, both picking at their breakfast while they gossiped about the victory party later that day. Harry thought that it was a little presumptuous to assume that it would be a victory party but remained silent on the matter. Any other time their show of support would have made him smile. It was just today, this match, that had his stomach in knots and it wasn't fair to take that out on his friends.

Further down the table, the twins could be heard taking in bets on what the score would be at the end of the game. Percy was scolding them, telling them that it wasn't right that they were taking money for bets on a school game. Other students were laughing at the altercation, most of them reassuring Percy that they didn't mind and that he needed to loosen up. That didn't go over well since Percy started deducting points shortly after that.

When Harry pushed his plate away, there was still a few minutes before they would all be released to head to the pitch. Rather than dwell on his nerves, he watched the Slytherin table. Hermione was the first person he found, and she was fussing over her cousin, urging him to drink more juice. Malfoy didn't look too pleased with her worry and mothering, but he bore it well. He didn't lash out or tell her to stop, just rolled his eyes at her which made her smack him in the back of the head.

Harry fought the urge to laugh at that. He wondered what it would be like to have someone fuss over him like that, worried about him because it was his first quidditch match of the year. His mind couldn't help but to flash to Hermione's words to him that dreadful night last year.

 _If you had grown up with us, we would have loved you like we love Draco._

Just thinking of those words physically hurt him. His stomach clenched, and it was hard to draw in a full breath. He quickly made his mind focus on something else since the last thing he wanted was to make a fool of himself on the pitch because he couldn't get a grip on himself. Instead, he focused on how attentive Malfoy was to Hermione. There had been awhile there that they had barely spoke, that while he still escorted her to every class and meal, they didn't talk. Hermione had looked miserable though nobody ever seemed to notice. Harry really wanted to know what had happened but since he figured they would laugh in his face if he asked, he had let it go.

The bell rang above them, signaling that it was time for them to adjourn to the pitch. Ron was talking animatedly next to him while Parvati was whining about how cold it was going to be outside. He watched as Draco waved his wand over Hermione's clothing and he suspected that it was a warming charm. He had learned about them in his extra assignments but hadn't had a chance to practice them. She laid her hands on his chest, smiled up at him briefly, before she went to her tip toes, kiss his cheek, and appeared to wish him luck.

Harry heaved a deep breath and raised his chin. This match was going to be the most difficult of his quidditch career to date.

-O-

Hermione wanted to feel excited, she really did. She was happy that Draco was excited, she was thrilled that he was getting to fulfill his dream of playing quidditch. She, however, couldn't help but be worried about either Draco or Harry getting hurt, especially since they were playing against each other.

This whole match could end up being a complete disaster. She would be devastated if either one of them got hurt and there was a distinct possibility of that happening. Draco would never agree to just sit back and let Harry win and she doubted that Harry would do the same; therefore, she knew that it was going to be an all-out battle and she knew that one of them was going to get their feelings hurt. Not that they would ever admit it.

Hermione felt like a terrible cousin because she really didn't think that Draco could win against Harry. Granted, she didn't know the first thing about quidditch, but it was clear in just watching their practices throughout the years and since they had started school that Draco was much more gifted at chasing. It was true, Draco had been the best seeker to try out for the team, but his talents weren't in catching a tiny golden ball, it was in throwing the quaffle and scoring.

Hermione had made sure to tell Draco that if he didn't win that he wouldn't lose face in their house. He had rolled his eyes at her before taking her hands in his, squeezing them softly. He had told her that he knew that Harry was a better seeker than he was, that seeking wasn't his talent, but that didn't mean that he was going to just let him win either. Since Hermione had never expected him to, his words weren't a huge surprise. Therefore, she just sighed and nodded, wishing him luck with a kiss on the cheek.

Draco and the rest of the team had left the Great Hall to cheers, wishing them luck and telling them that they were going to crush the lions. Hermione followed Greg and Daphne out onto the pitch, thanking Merlin that Draco had cast a warming charm on her robes and cloak. The wind was frigid, and it was going to be a miserable match for those that couldn't use the charm. Theo, Blaise, and Pansy were walking ahead of them, Vince, Millie, and Tracey following behind them, all of them headed to the stands that surrounded the pitch.

Hermione settled in next to Daphne and Greg, both talking quietly to each other about how excited they were to watch Draco play against Potter. Hermione remained silent, not wanting everyone to realize just how much she didn't know about quidditch. Sure, she had been to matches throughout her whole childhood, but they had never interested her like they did the rest of the wizarding children that she knew. She supposed that she truly was an anomaly like everyone said.

Uncle Sev was already seated in the stands set aside for the staff, the Headmaster sitting regally next to Professor McGonagall. Professor Cat was looking quite pleased with herself, and Hermione couldn't help but hope that Draco won the match just to wipe the smug grin off her face. In general, the woman had been one hundred percent better to Hermione and Draco, honestly, the Slytherins as a whole, but that didn't mean that she wasn't obnoxious when it came to quidditch.

Madam Hooch strode out onto the pitch, her wand in one hand and a whistle in the other. She waited in the middle of the pitch as the Gryffindor team emerged first, flying in a circle around the pitch so the crowd could cheer for them. Once they had landed on the ground off to the side of Madam Hooch, the Slytherin team appeared, flying in a similar pattern as the lions. There were far less cheers for the snakes, but Hermione didn't let that bother her; it didn't seem to bother the rest of her house either. After they were on the opposite side of Madam Hooch, the familiar voice of Lee Jordan was heard above them all.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the first quidditch match of the season. Slytherin versus Gryffindor is the most popular match of the season and this one is promising to shape into a good one." The crowd went wild, but Jordan continued.

"Let's hear it for the Slytherin team, Flint as acting captain and chaser, Montague and Warrington as chasers, Derrick and Bole in the roles as beaters, Bletchley for his performance as keeper, and Draco Malfoy as the new seeker." The Slytherin stands were cheering, all on their feet and whooping happily. Jordan waited a minute before he continued.

"The Gryffindor team needs some love too, let's hear it for Wood as captain and keeper, Weasley and Weasley as beaters, Bell, Spinnet, and Johnson for the performances as chasers, and Harry Potter as their seeker." The rest of the school went to their feet, cheering loudly for the lions. It saddened Hermione that the rest of the school was so against the Slytherins, especially when they were evenly matched for nastiness.

Madam Hooch released the snitch, followed by the bludgers. After waiting a full minute for the balls to disperse, she put her whistle in her mouth and threw the quaffle into the air, leaving it up to the chasers to see who took possession first. As it was, Warrington emerged victorious, a nasty grin on his face as the females of Gryffindor did their best to take it from him.

The match was fast and furious, something that didn't surprise Hermione in the least. If there was one thing that both teams took seriously, it was winning. Harry and Draco were both flying through the air, scanning the sky for the snitch but neither one seemed to have spotted it yet. Wood was blocking half their attempts to score, quite the feat if Hermione could say so. The Slytherin chasers were very good, even she could tell that.

The score was already 60-0 in favor of Slytherin. Jordan was cheering for Gryffindor, blatantly favoring the lions while he commentated. Hermione could see Professor McGonagall chastising him, but the dark-skinned boy seemed to not take notice. After several more goals made by Flint, Johnson managed to take possession of the quaffle, instantly scoring several goals against Bletchley.

The crowd around them was groaning; it had been rumored that Bletchley was only still on the team because nobody else had tried out for the position. Hermione wasn't sure why; Blaise always seemed to favor the position when he played at Malfoy Manor and Black Moor over the summer. It only took another thirty minutes for the lions to catch up in points.

It was at this point that Hermione became scared to death. One of the bludgers kept returning to Harry, no matter where the Weasley twins hit it. It was clear that the bludger had been tampered with, though by who, Hermione had no idea. Fred and George were now flying at Harry's side, doing all they could to keep the ball from hitting Harry while he was unaware. Hermione saw the exact moment that Professor McGonagall realized that her star seeker was the target of a bludger that couldn't be dissuaded. She clutched the Headmaster's arm and pointed to the sky, fear on her features as Harry started rolling and twisting in the air.

The Headmaster did nothing, however, something that Hermione somewhat understood even though she didn't agree with. He had given Ronald detention the same as herself and Draco because he couldn't afford to look like he was showing favoritism. This was much the same; he couldn't stop the game for Harry when he wasn't injured. She didn't like the decision, but she could see why it was happening.

Hermione watched as Harry waved the twins away, and even though they looked unsure of the decision, they listened. Some of the Slytherin chasers were laughing at Harry trying to stay ahead of the bludger; truthfully, it made Hermione want to hex them off their brooms. Were they unaware what would happen to Harry if he was hit by the bludger or did they simply not care?

The bludger was temporarily forgotten when Draco spotted the snitch; Harry realized right away what was happening and even though the bludger was still following him at an alarming speed, he sped off after Draco. Even though Draco had the better broom, it didn't take Harry long to catch up to him. Both were bouncing off each other as they spun and twisted through the sky, both trying to catch the shimmering golden ball in their hands. Hermione was scared to death that the bludger that was intent on harming Harry would hit her cousin as well, hurting him badly enough that he couldn't finish the match.

Everyone gathered in the stands all around the pitch was on their feet, cheering for either Harry or Draco. Hermione could see that Draco was holding his own against Harry, but she had a feeling that if the Gryffindor hadn't been battling a bludger as well that he would have already caught the snitch. The chasers were still scoring, Slytherin this time since the Gryffindor chasers had become distracted at the fact that their seeker was being chased by a bludger. The score had ratcheted up, now in favor of Slytherin at 200-60.

The single defining moment of the match came when Harry and Draco both reached for the snitch, their fingers stretching as far as they could, so they could grab the ball first. The bludger, rather than following them, took a new approach and came from the side, crashing into the handle of not only Harry's broom, but Draco's as well. While it didn't break the handles as she had originally thought, it threw both off their brooms, forward and into each other. Both landed in a crash on the ground, a series of groans that Hermione could hear from the stands.

The snitch was in Harry's hand, though he was still laying on the ground next to Draco trying to catch his breath. She wasn't even sure if Draco realized that his opponent had caught the snitch. Hermione went to her feet instantly, rushing down the stands towards the pitch. Out of nowhere, the bludger reappeared high in the air and barreled toward the ground at an alarming speed. Hermione drew her wand, determined to destroy the bludger but didn't get the chance to. Only ten feet from hitting Harry, Draco raised his wand and spell shot out of the end, colliding with the bludger and blasting it into hundreds of tiny pieces.

The stadium was silent as they watched the Malfoy heir save the life of Harry Potter; nobody was quite sure what to say or how to act. Hermione, however, didn't care at all about how it would be perceived. She rushed forward and dropped to the ground between the two boys, checking them over as quickly as she could while Madam Pomfrey hurried to her side. Draco was in pain, he was saying something about his shoulder feeling like it was out of socket. Harry was laying there still and silent, a grimace of pain present on his features.

When Madam Pomfrey dropped to the ground, Draco waved her to check over Harry first. The Headmaster, Uncle Sev, and Professor Cat were the next to arrive, though they spent most of their time keeping the students back. Professors Flitwick and Sprout appeared next, ordering all the students to head back to the castle for lunch in the Great Hall. Hermione refused to budge, however. While they could have sent her away from Harry, there was no way in blue hell that they were separating her from Draco. She listened carefully as the mediwitch spoke, though she appeared like she was focused fully on her cousin.

"Mr. Potter needs to be brought to the Hospital Wing immediately. His spleen is lacerated from the landing and it it's left untreated, the internal bleeding will become too much after enough time has passed. It must be healed." Hermione hoped against hope that the mediwitch could save the boy that was supposed to be her brother. Hopefully it would be as simple as drinking a potion and some rest. Madam Pomfrey moved to Draco and Hermione allowed her to get closer. After waving her wand over her cousin, the mediwitch sighed in relief.

"Mr. Malfoy has a dislocated shoulder and a broken bone in his hand. He'll need go to the Hospital Wing as well." Draco gave Hermione a smile and squeezed her hand, knowing exactly how worried she was.

"I'm fine, Mia. Who won?" Uncle Sev looked like he had swallowed lemons when Professor McGonagall crowed happily.

"Gryffindor won, 210-200. Mr. Potter caught the snitch." Her godfather turned on the woman, fury clear on his features.

"That's right, Minerva, rub it in that your team won while my seeker lays there injured after saving the life of yours. Well done, indeed." The woman had the decency to look abashed at his words, but the Headmaster spoke.

"Now, now, enough of that. The match doesn't matter right now. What matters is making sure that Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy find their way to the Hospital Wing and get themselves healed." Hermione, for the first time in her life, agreed wholeheartedly with the Headmaster. Uncle Sev stepped forward and helped Draco to his feet, and Hermione bit back a laugh at the sight of his disheveled hair and robes. Knowing that it would bother him to be seen this way, Hermione reached up and smoothed his hair and robes, making sure to be careful around his shoulder. He shot her a grateful look while their Head of House rolled his eyes.

Hermione went to her cousin's side, wrapping an arm around his waist so she could help him make his way to the Hospital Wing. He tried to shoo her away and tell her that it wasn't needed but it was to no avail. Hermione wouldn't be dissuaded. She grinned as he finally gave in and allowed her to help him across the school grounds.

-O-

Harry really didn't feel well. His stomach hurt, and his body ached from the collision with the ground and Malfoy. As happy as he was that he had won, he was grateful that Malfoy had kept the bludger from hitting him while he was incapacitated. Since he had internal injuries, Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey were levitating him across the grounds and towards the castle. It was embarrassing to say the least but there was no way that he could have made it himself. The pain was too great.

Harry caught sight of Malfoy and Hermione walking a good distance away from him. Hermione was wrapped around her cousin, helping guide him towards the castle, while Professor Snape was conversing quietly with them. The Headmaster was leading their party, spelling open the doors so the others wouldn't have to worry about opening them.

Thankfully, the corridors were empty; everyone had gone to the Great Hall, that much was clear. Harry wasn't surprised since the other professors had insisted that the students head to lunch. Since there were no distractions, it didn't take them long to make it to the Hospital Wing on the fourth floor. Once they were ensconced in beds several feet away from each other, Harry heard the Headmaster speak.

"Miss Black, you need to go to the Great Hall and eat lunch. Mr. Malfoy will be in perfectly capable hands." Harry could see the stubborn set of her jaw as she stepped closer to Malfoy, laying her hand on his arm.

"I'm fine here, sir. Thank you." The Headmaster looked none too pleased but seemed to realize that it wasn't going to a battle that he won without a lot of arguing that truly seemed pointless. Honestly, Harry didn't see why it was a big deal that she stayed with Malfoy. Malfoy had stayed with her while she had been healed after going after the Stone, Ron had told him so.

Madam Pomfrey bustled around him first since he was the more seriously injured. As she was readying the potions that he needed to drink, Harry realized that the other professors had disappeared. Harry thought that they must have surely been sent away so the mediwitch could heal them. Realizing that this was his moment, Harry cleared his throat, halting the soft chatter between the two cousins.

"I want to thank you, Malfoy, for saving me from that bludger. I'm not sure what was wrong with it or who cursed it, but it likely would have killed me. I'd shake your hand if I could get up off this bed." Malfoy didn't answer for a few moments, but his voice was strained when he did.

"It was nothing, Potter, I'm sure you would have done the same for me." Harry wasn't sure why he was being so formal, but he supposed that it must be because of the still thinking the worst of their family. The pair went back to their whispering softly and Harry let his mind wander.

He could have died on the pitch. It was clear that something or someone had set that bludger on him. Since Quirrell wasn't there to curse him, he couldn't help but wonder if it was Professor Snape. The man made quite clear that he didn't like Harry; he was unsure as the man's allegiance. Ron had told him over and over that he had been a Death Eater, that he had once served Voldemort. It was equally clear that Dumbledore trusted the man. It was a conundrum that Harry really didn't want to contemplate.

Madam Pomfrey returned with three potions in hand, handing them to him in a certain order. The first to repair the damage to his spleen, the second to vanish the leaky blood from his abdomen, and the third for pain. After he had swallowed all three vile concoctions down, the mediwitch had informed him that he would be staying the rest of the day and night there, so she could make sure that the bleeding had indeed stopped. Harry sighed heavily after she had left to go check out Malfoy. The last thing that he wanted to do was stay there and garner more attention from his peers.

Harry listened as Madam Pomfrey treated Malfoy and told him that he was free to go. He didn't get a chance to listen to them leave because there was a soft pop next to him. Harry's eyes bugged out slightly when he realized that it was Dobby and he looked guilty and apologetic all at the same time.

"Dobby is so sorrys, Harry Potter. All he wanted was for Harry Potter to be safes." Harry instantly knew exactly what had happened to the bludger.

"You cursed that bludger to kill me." Dobby looked truly distressed and jumped onto the bed.

"Never kill, only hurts or maim. Dobby is trying to protect Harry Potter. Dobby tells him he shouldn't be returnings to school." Harry say up angrily despite the pain in his midsection.

"You closed the barrier onto Platform 9 ¾, didn't you?" Dobby started to tug on his large bat-like ears.

"Dobby is only wanting Harry Potter to stay homes so he will be safes. His master would never wants Harry Potter to be hurts." The elf looked like he had just admitted to something. Harry narrowed his eyes as he grabbed the small elf by the tea towel it wore.

"Who's your master, Dobby?" Rather than answer, the elf snapped its fingers and disappeared. Harry let out a groan of frustration as he gingerly laid back down on the bed.

Dobby had tried to keep him from coming to school. He had tried to injure Harry, so he would likely have to be sent home. This coupled with the fact that the Chamber of Secrets had been opened didn't set well with him. Who was the elf's master and just what were his true intentions for Harry? Did he want Harry safe or was it a ruse to make him feel safe and protected so he would be easier to get rid of? Harry shook his head as he contemplated the elf's words. Things had just gotten far more complicated.

-O-

Hermione had heard every single word that Dobby had said to Harry. She was livid that one of Draco's family elves had been sent to interfere in Harry's life for seemingly no reason at all. Draco looked livid next to her; neither one of them appreciated being in the dark and it was clear that something was going on that they weren't privy to. Hermione wanted to immediately write her father and rage at him for keeping things from her; how was she supposed to properly make sure that Harry was safe and protected unless she was aware of everything that was going on? If her father didn't want her to know everything, he shouldn't have intimated that he wanted her to tell Harry the truth all those years ago. Draco snatched her hand and pulled her out of the Hospital Wing before he spoke.

"We're not writing our fathers yet. We're going to go see Severus." Hermione huffed angrily but realized that it was probably for the best. She could rail at her father later.

Draco pulled her through the corridors, neither one of them even considering that they could catch the tail end of lunch in the Great Hall. He led her through the dungeons until they were in front of their godfather's office, the light clearly on underneath the door. Draco reached forward and rapped on the door. After only moments, the door swung open to reveal their godfather, quill in hand. He was obviously in the middle of writing a letter, probably to Lucius to tell him about Draco's injury.

"I didn't think that Madam Pomfrey would have released you yet. I was going to send this letter to your father and then return to see you. He's going to be proud of you, Draco." Uncle Sev took his seat behind his desk and resumed writing his letter. When he realized that neither she nor Draco had spoken, he looked up and cocked an eyebrow at them. Hermione waved her wand at the door, silencing and warding it.

"I want to know what you, Father, Uncle Luci, and Aunt Cissy are hiding from us." Her godfather didn't like her tone, that much was clear, but he didn't let his anger show. He set the quill down and crossed his arms over his chest. His tone was even as he spoke.

"Why do you think we're hiding anything from you?" Hermione didn't even bother schooling her tone. Draco remained silent, but she could feel his tense presence next to her.

"Dobby appeared to Harry in the Hospital Wing after they thought we had left. Turns out that his master sent him to Harry to keep him from school. Dobby is who set the bludger on Harry, he's also the one who blocked the barrier at King's Cross. Nobody has mentioned a word of this to us so it's clear that it's a big secret. What, we can be trusted to chase after him when he goes after the Philosopher's Stone but not when it comes to whatever this is? Contrary to what others may think, we aren't stupid." Her uncle stood quickly, leaning forward onto his hands as they rested on the desk.

"You will watch your tone, young lady, and you will speak to me with respect. Just because you think you need to be told everything doesn't mean that you are entitled to know. There are things that you don't need to know, that you don't need to worry yourself over. The adults are handling it and you will respect the decision for us to do so." Hermione was so angry that she couldn't stop her eyes from pricking with tears. She hated being chastised, she hated disappointing her family, but she hated being kept in the dark as well. When a tear escaped her eye, she angrily swiped it away before stepping back behind Draco. Her next words were harsh, but she was hurt that they hadn't trusted herself and Draco.

"If that's the case, then the adults should have worried about befriending Harry Potter and they should have made sure that they could save him when he went after the Philosopher's Stone. They should have been the ones that listened to him do nothing but talk about how they were a traitor because of lies he had been told. The adults should have been the ones to cry in their cousin's bed because he was so horrible to them. That's fine, the adults can handle it from here on out." Even though she was sure to get in trouble for it later, she waved her wand and released the spells on the door. Without a single backward glance, Hermione left the same way she had come, tears still tracking down her cheeks.

-O-

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose as he watched his goddaughter stalk from his office, tears down her cheeks and anger in her eyes. He hated to see her so upset; she was the light of his life and his true source of happiness. Sure, Lily had held that position for many years but once Regulus had made him his daughter's goddaughter, it had all changed.

Even though he truly believed that she and Draco didn't need to be told everything, it was clear that she had a point. A lot had been put on her shoulders, Draco's as well, and it hadn't been easy for her. Potter had been cruel to her several times and he knew for a fact that she had cried herself to sleep in Draco's bed more than once. He would daresay that she had suffered more than any of the adults in relation to keeping Potter safe. Severus looked up to see that Draco was glaring at him. He couldn't help snapping at his godson.

"You might as well say what you want. Then we can lump the clear disrespect of your cousin and yourself into one instance." Draco didn't say anything for several seconds and Severus wasn't entirely sure that he was going to. Finally, the blond spoke.

"No, Hermione wasn't the most respectful. She should have been. However, she's hurt. Potter has been terrible to her and you all just keep telling her to stick with it, to do her best. She's been told every detail about her parent's deaths, the betrayal of Peter Pettigrew, the murder of an innocent auror, the following trial with the ICW. Her father doesn't tell her to leave well enough alone when it comes to befriending Potter because he secretly wants her to try even though it's hurting Hermione. She's soft-hearted and it's easy to hurt her. Then, when we discover that something has been kept from us, you get angry with her because she feels betrayed. She has cried herself to sleep in my bed more than once because of words from Potter and Weasley. Then she finds out that this isn't even appreciated because you've all been keeping things from her anyways. I bet you ten to one that she's the angriest that she can't keep Potter safe if she doesn't know what she's up against. I think that if you weren't going to share everything with us, the four of you shouldn't have shared anything with us. At least then, we could have hated him properly and she wouldn't be running through the corridors with tears down her face. If she's done, I'm done. She's the only reason I even helped Potter; it sure hasn't been because he's my best mate."

Severus wasn't sure what he was supposed to say. He truly believed that the children shouldn't be told everything, but he also knew that they had been told everything up until that point. It wasn't fair to keep things from them now, especially since it was clear that they felt betrayed and mistrusted. He pinched the bridge of his nose again. Just as he was getting ready to speak, Draco bowed slightly his way.

"Thank you for your time, Professor. I'll just go make sure that my cousin has found the common room alright." Severus couldn't help but feel the sting at his words. Draco disappeared through the door and Severus heaved a sigh as he took his seat again.

If he put himself in their shoes, he would have been livid too. As much as he hated it, Severus had to admit that he needed them to keep an eye on Potter. Albus couldn't be trusted and he himself wasn't a miracle worker. He couldn't watch the boy at every moment. He scrubbed his eyes with the palm of his hand. Severus hadn't even gotten to ask if Draco was healed from the match. It really had been above and beyond that he had saved the boy from the rogue bludger. Lucius would have to take the idiot elf to task, there was nothing else for it. Not only had he put Potter's life in danger, he had also endangered Draco and that wasn't something that Severus could overlook. Where Hermione was the light of his life, Draco was just as important to him in a more hardened sort of way.

With a sigh, he pulled the parchment to him again, starting on a fresh letter that would hopefully fix the problems that had come to light.

-O-

Sirius, Lucius and Cissy were all seated in the library at Malfoy Manor, doing their level best to wait patiently for news about the quidditch match. They knew that Harry and Draco were facing off against each other and that it could end disastrously. They were all hoping that it didn't and were waiting for word from Severus as to the outcome. Just as he was about to pour himself another glass of whiskey, a tapping on the window brought him to attention. Lucius rose and relieved the owl of its burden, waving the black owl towards the treats. He hurriedly ripped the parchment open and began to read aloud.

" _Lucius and Sirius,_

 _The match was a disaster, as was expected. The two boys put on a jolly good show, unsurprisingly. However, a bludger had apparently been cursed and wouldn't leave Harry alone. He and Draco battled for the snitch and in the end, the bludger caught the handle of both their brooms, sending them flying. Harry ended up with the snitch and Gryffindor won. However, the bludger wasn't to be dissuaded. Draco ended up blasting it from the sky as it tried to pummel Harry while he was laying injured on the pitch._

 _Both boys are well. Draco suffered a dislocated shoulder and broken bone in his hand; Potter has a lacerated spleen that was causing internal bleeding. Both have been treated and are on the mend. However, other problems have arisen._

 _Dobby appeared to Harry in the Hospital Wing and told him that he was responsible for the barrier at King's Cross and the bludger, that he was attempting to get Harry to stay away from Hogwarts. Of course, the idiot elf didn't make sure that they were alone, and your children heard everything._

 _Both came to see me after Draco was released. Hermione is livid, told me that she deserved to know the truth when she's the one who has suffered at the hands of Potter and Weasley. She wasn't the most respectful and when I told her to mind her tone, she started crying and told me that if they couldn't be trusted, then the adults in charge could handle watching after Potter and befriending him. She stormed out of my office before I could tell her that we didn't mistrust them at all._

 _Draco gave me a long-winded speech how they shouldn't have been told anything at all if they weren't going to be trusted with everything. While I don't think they need to know everything, I can understand their feelings. Put in their position, I would feel betrayed as well._

 _I haven't told them anything and won't until you advise me as to your wishes. While they are my godchildren, you are the parents and you must do what's best for them. Just know that Draco told me they should have been allowed to properly hate Potter rather than being taught to try to befriend him. I await your wishes._

 _Respectfully,_

 _Severus"_

Sirius raked a hand through his hair. This wasn't what he had planned when he and Lucius had spoke over the summer after the diary had been stolen. It still hadn't resurfaced but Sirius had a sneaking suspicion that it had something to do with the Chamber of Secrets. He couldn't prove it, and neither could Severus, however. Cissy reached out and took the letter, so she could read it herself. Sirius met Lucius' eyes as he spoke.

"Have we made a mistake? Should we have told them?" His blond friend leaned his head back on the sofa as he contemplated Sirius' words.

"I don't think they need to know everything, but I don't see a way around it. Severus can't watch the boy every second of the day and last year was proof enough that even when he was being watched that wasn't a guarantee that he would be safe. I don't like it, not in the least, but I don't see any way around telling them. From what Severus says, they already feel betrayed. That was never my intent." Sirius was of the same mind, so he nodded his head.

"Should we tell Severus to tell them or should we send a letter to them?" Lucius started tapping his fingers on his chin, the tell-tale sign that he was thinking deeply. At least he answered.

"I think that we should send a letter through the floo to Severus and let them read it. Then he can answer any questions." Sirius nodded before turning to Cissy.

"Your thoughts, Cissy?" His cousin sniffled slightly but nodded her head.

"I hate that any of this is necessary, but I think we have to tell them. If I were in their shoes, I'd feel betrayed as well." Sirius nodded as Lucius reached for parchment, ink and a quill.

"Let's get this letter written so we can send it through tonight." Sirius nodded and leaned forward, intent on helping his friend.

This letter was either going to make or break them.

A/N- There you are, guys, another chapter. We're moving right along in this story, that much is for sure. I hope you're all continuing to enjoy it. Thanks again for reading and reviewing, it keeps me going. Let me know what you think, I do love hearing your opinions.

Next up, another victim of the Chamber of Secrets is discovered.

Love,

Alicia


	31. Chapter 31

A/N-I'm back, y'all. I hope this brings a smile to your face. I just wanted to let everyone know that I appreciate all the reading a reviewing you're doing, it makes me smile every time my email dings. A side point is that my kids start school on Monday so I hope to keep my updating schedule up, but I can't guarantee it. Be patient! Anyways, thanks again and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing. The characters belong to our queen and I'm sure that the plot has been done a hundred times before. My mama always said there ain't nothing new under the sun. By the way, still poor here in my little corner of the world so I still haven't made any money from my stories.

Chapter 31

November 30, 1992

Hermione was seated in the common room waiting for Draco to appear. She had finished running not twenty minutes before; she was now able to make almost three loops around the lake now. Draco had laughed at her for taking his advice to the extreme, citing that no proper witch would dream of running but the fact remained that she was already gaining in endurance and if she continued, she would surpass him in just a few months. She couldn't help but feel smug at the thought of lasting longer in a duel than her cousin, especially since he was still better than her at the actual art of dueling.

Hermione was just getting ready to pull out her potions book when she heard footsteps on the stairs leading to the boy's dorms. Just moments later, Draco appeared and held out his arm for her. Without a single hesitation, Hermione rose and floated under his arm, wrapping her arm lightly around his waist. He pressed a quick kiss to her temple as he led her through the portrait hole and out into the corridor. Usually Draco had the other boys following him but today he was completely alone.

Her cousin had spent far more time with her since their argument in the Owlery. He was still in practice three to four times a week but always managed to make time for her and his studies. The boys complained, she had heard them once while they were on their way to Charms. Hermione had told Draco that she wouldn't be angry if he resumed his previous schedule since his friends obviously missed him, but he wouldn't hear anything of it. He had told her that she would always be more important than Theo and Blaise and if they couldn't understand that, they didn't deserve to be their friends.

Hermione felt guilty, of course. How could she not? When she had finally lost grip of her temper regarding her cousin's time (or lack thereof) spent with her, she had regretted it almost immediately. The last thing that she had wanted was to make him feel guilty. She only wanted him to spend time with her if he wanted to. However, since the occurrence (as she had come to call it), he had told her time and time again that he had missed her and hadn't even realized it until he realized that they rarely talked. Rather than argue with him, it wouldn't have done them any good in the end, she had smiled at him and told him that she missed him as well.

The pair took their usual seats at the Slytherin table; Aunt Cissy hadn't been lying when she told Hermione that she would become more popular this year. Other boys were asking her almost daily for the honor to escort her to her classes. While she always told them yes, Draco insisted on being present as their chaperone. He didn't quite meet the requirements as chaperone, but she supposed that he would never allow her to become disgraced. Hermione couldn't help but worry about what would happen when she did date. While her aunt had drilled in her head the proper practices regarding courting, Hermione wasn't quite sure she could see herself following the ridiculous rules.

Draco spooned up her usual breakfast, a small pile of eggs, toast, and a bowl of fruit. Even though Hermione wasn't all that hungry, she knew that she needed to eat since she had ran that morning. The last thing that she wanted to do was lose weight. Draco had assured her that she would lose a little bit with running but if she kept eating at her usual pace she should be fine. While she wanted to be healthy and up her endurance, the last thing she wanted was to lose weight and become weaker.

Breakfast passed with little incidence. Their friends joined them just as Hermione finished her meal. Draco was drawn into a conversation about the upcoming match against Hufflepuff. Hermione engaged Daphne in a quiet conversation about their Charms exam coming up at the end of the week. The blond girl was nervous and even though Hermione couldn't possibly fathom why, she did her best to reassure her friend.

Neville and the twins dropped by their table for a few moments, telling them what classes they had for the day and sharing what little gossip they had. Since the twins were quite popular, they had the most information to offer. While Hermione hated gossip and what it could do to a person, she knew that it was important to pay attention to it since gossip affected a great number of things.

Once their Gryffindor visitors were gone, Hermione rose and started for her first class, Draco right next to her. History of Magic was never all that entertaining; in fact, everyone complained that it was ridiculously dull. Once they were ensconced in their seats, Hermione let her mind drift. It could be a dangerous practice but since things had just been worked out, she didn't feel so bad.

*Flashback*

Hermione watched as her uncle's owl swooped through the air, landing in front of Draco. He took the letter from the owl before shoving his mostly empty plate of breakfast towards the bird. With a single look from her cousin, Hermione realized that it was from their parents. Obviously, their godfather had told them how angry they had been. Hermione was the first to admit that she hadn't handled the confrontation well at all but that didn't diminish her feelings in the least. In fact, the longer she considered it, the more betrayed she felt. In the end, she simply wished that she hadn't allowed her temper to flare as it had and make a fool of herself. Draco was quick to open the letter, leaning towards her so they could read the letter together.

 _Draco and Hermione,_

 _We hope this letter finds you well and in good spirits. Severus told us that you were both angry and feeling rather betrayed. While this was never our intention, we figured that we should do all we can to rectify the situation._

 _The reason we didn't tell you these things was because your childhoods have already been ruined by not only Voldemort, but by ourselves and Dumbledore as well. The last thing that we wanted to do was to bring you down further, crushing any chance at the carefree childlike nature that is natural to children your age. This being said, when we put ourselves in your shoes, we admit that we would likely feel the same as you are. We aren't happy with the decision to tell you but the two of you have earned it._

 _Do the two of you recall the day that you were dueling at Black Moor and Lucius was calling for me throughout the house? You were both dismissed from dueling to shower and I met with Lucius in the study. He informed me that the wards at Malfoy Manor had been breached and a diary that the Dark Lord had left under his care had been stolen. We determined that the only way a person could have breached the wards was as an animagus; since Pettigrew is one of several animaguses that were in the Dark Lord's employ, we assumed that one of them had stolen the artefact._

 _Neither one of us know exactly what the diary is, though we both know that it is dark in nature. Neither of you have ever been near it and would have no idea what we mean when we say that it feels like it's staining your very soul when you touch it. Fearing that this would be used against the Boy-Who-Lived, we decided to send Dobby to warn young Harry._

 _Dobby took it further than needed, however. We told him to try to keep Harry from returning to Hogwarts since we were sure that it would be used against him. Rather than convince him rationally, he used magic at his home and the Ministry sent Harry a reminder to not use underage magic outside of school. Dobby was also responsible for closing the barrier between King's Cross Station and Platform 9 ¾; we didn't know it at the time and would never have allowed it to happen if we had._

 _It seems that Dobby is also to blame for the bludger from the Gryffindor/Slytherin game; his thought process was that if he could injure Harry, he would be sent home. While completely daft, Dobby has never been the smartest elf employed at Malfoy Manor. We should have realized this earlier andd one what we could to stop these occurrences from happening. Trust me, he has been pulled from anything involving Mr. Potter. It's clear the boy is intent on staying at school and we can only hope that between the two of you and Severus that you can keep him safe._

 _Once again, we apologize for making you think that we don't trust you. Don't abandon Harry now just because you are angry. After the truth is out, he will be an excellent friend to the both of you, I promise it. I can only hope that by the time that has happened that you both aren't thoroughly disgusted with him. Above all, we want all of us to be family as we would have been if Harry had been raised like Hermione was._

 _For now, we have nothing else to share. We promise to send word if we discover anything else. For now, though, if you have any questions, we implore you to seek out Severus. He knows everything, and he is aware that we were going to tell the two of you the truth. He will answer all questions to the best of his ability. Please accept this as our earnest apology._

 _We love you both til the end,_

 _Uncle Sirius and Uncle Lucius_

Hermione finished the letter before her cousin; once the words were burned in her memory, she leaned away from her cousin's shoulder and considered the words written. It seemed as if they had two choices.

First, the pair of them could accept the apology of their adult figures and move on, trusting them to tell them all pertinent information from then on. Hermione wasn't sure how much they could count on since they had already proven themselves able to keep things from them. Despite this thought, the idea of mistrusting her father at all times wasn't something that she wanted to do; she loved her father and Uncle Luci more than life itself. The thought of throwing that away because they had tried to protect them from something seemed a little ridiculous.

On the other hand, however, it was clear that they were willing to hide things from them if they thought that it would protect them. Hermione understood that they wanted to protect them to a degree. Her problem came with the fact that her father had never once discouraged her from befriending Harry, despite knowing that the Headmaster was going to twist his mind. She had never wanted to think that her father had wanted her to be abused by Harry, but the fact remained that she had been. Her father had seemed to understand when she had told him that she was done but he hadn't discouraged her a single time before. In fact, he had encouraged her to keep trying.

Whereas Hermione seemed torn, Draco was sure of his thoughts. There were no emotions flickering across his features as she was sure there were across hers. She knew that she had the innate Slytherin tendencies, she had always struggled with hiding emotions; according to her Uncle Sev, that was why she had had such a hard time with occlumency. He had constantly teased her about her Gryffindor tendencies for months. Her cousin turned her way with hard eyes, his features frozen on his face.

"They're full of complete shite. They're telling us what they want us to hear, the things that will make us believe them. If you believe them, you're stupid. I won't believe them until they prove to me that I can trust them again." Hermione felt slightly affronted at his words until she remembered that he was insulting her family as much as his own. If anyone had a right to judge her father and Uncle Luci, it was Draco.

It was several days later that Hermione convinced her cousin to give their family a chance and speak to her Uncle Sev about the situation. She assumed that he had been expecting them days earlier, but this was just one more thing that kept him off-balance. Hermione was rather pleased with the outcome of their conversation.

"I have promised to tell the both of you the truth, though not in front of anyone else. We've all admitted that it's important that the two of you be aware of everything no matter how trivial, especially since it's likely the pair of you that will turn Potter to our side in the end." Hermione wasn't sure how her uncle could think that but decided to remain silent in the end; the last thing she wanted to do was give another reason why they shouldn't be told important things. Especially since she had learned from her uncle that the rest of the school knew nothing of her cousin's living conditions aside from the Weasleys.

*End of Flashback*

Hermione managed to miss her whole History of Magic class. When the bell rang, she was quick to look over and make sure that her cousin had copied down the assignment. It was a huge relief when she saw that he had.

The pair stood and exited the classroom, making their way to Charms. The rest of the students in their year followed them, doing their best to keep up. Hermione wasn't sure why since most of the students would normally not want to be associated with herself and Draco. Once they were safely ensconced in Professor Flitwick's classroom, Hermione was quick to begin ignoring her classmates.

The half-goblin was lecturing over the engorgement charm. It was something that Hermione had personally learned quite a few years earlier but out of respect for her teacher, she gave him her rapt attention. Glancing out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Draco was doing the same.

After the lecture, the professor split them into groups, so they could practice. Unfortunately for Hermione, she was put in the same group as Harry, Seamus, and the Weasel while Draco was put with Pansy, Daphne, and Greg. She reluctantly moved from her seat to sit with the Gryffindors. Once she was seated next to the Irishman, she studied her book in hopes that they wouldn't speak to her. Harry's voice startled her out of her reverie.

"Have you done this before, Black?" Hermione's eyes caught his, surprised as they were. Harry was almost grinning, but she refrained from showing her surprise.

"Yes, I learned it ages ago. Have you?" Harry shook his head as he pulled his wand from his robes.

"Nope, I've never done it before. Read plenty about it but never performed it." Hermione tried to stifle her grin but barely succeeded. She gestured for him to go ahead and attempt the spell. When he realized that she wasn't going to attempt the spell first, Harry pointed it at the book on the desk in front of them. He whispered the spell and she could tell that he was pleasantly surprised when the book began to grow.

After Harry watched it reach epic proportions, he waved his wand and cast the counter. With a triumphant look, he cast his eyes to Hermione, completely ignoring Weasley and Finnegan. Hermione had never been one to back down from a challenge; she waved her wand and the book grew once more. Weasley was glaring at her as the book reached an even bigger size than Harry's had. Once it was he size of small tree, she cancelled the spell and cast the counter. She turned to Weasley, and though he didn't look confident, he waved his wand anyways.

The spell didn't work but Harry was quick to instruct him. Hermione left him to it, pulling her assignment out from Potions. The other two boys seemed to enjoy that she didn't force her tuition on them, even though they had cast aspersions on her character before for not helping them. If she was being honest with herself, it was one of the most relaxed lessons she had ever shared with the lions.

After class had dismissed, they headed to lunch. Draco was deep in a conversation with Theo about the upcoming match so even though he was still escorting her, he wasn't truly paying attention. They took their usual seats at the Slytherin table and nothing out of the ordinary happened. The bell rang forty-five minutes later, dismissing them to their next class.

Hermione and Draco led the way to Potions; it remained one of Hermione's favorite classes. After they were all seated, and her godfather appeared at the front of the class, she was quick to get to copy down the facts on valerian root that she hadn't copied down years before. Since it was a popular ingredient, there was no time to brew anything with valerian, making their class even easier. Her uncle dismissed class with a sneer on his face at the whispers around the classroom exuding happiness at no homework. After they left the Potion's classroom, Draco was quick to escort her to Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Their farce of a professor assigned them more pages to copy from their last year's text. Hermione could only sigh as she cast the geminio spell, copying the text so she wouldn't have to further waste her time. She noticed that Draco was doing the same as she was. The other students looked irritated as hell but since there was nothing they could do about it, they remained silent.

Professor Lockhart dismissed their class without assigning any homework. While Hermione appreciated that there were no assignments to work on, it sickened her as well. They were supposed to be learning and it wasn't happening since their professor was a complete joke. The Headmaster owed them a better professor, but it was clear that it wasn't going to happen. Therefore, Hermione could only appreciate the fact that she didn't waste any of her time on homework for his class.

Draco waited for her to gather things before he offered her his arm once more. Hermione appreciated it more than she could say; it was only proper that she let young men who asked to escort her. However, if her cousin beat them to it, it would be rude to accept their invitation. While Hermione wasn't averse to attention from males, she wanted them to like her for herself, not her last name and fortune.

Hermione sighed as they started for the Great Hall; dinner sounded amazing and there was plenty of time to be spent in the library afterwards.

-O-

Harry was irritated; they had just been dismissed from Defense Against the Dark Arts and it had been a complete waste of time. Professor Lockhart was so stuck on himself that he didn't take the time to teach them anything. They were learning absolutely nothing, and Harry hated it. If it hadn't been for the lessons from McGonagall, he would have been completely clueless as to what Defense even was.

He, Ron, and Parvati traversed the corridors from the Defense classroom to the Great Hall. They took their usual seats at the lion's table and started spooning food onto their plates. His mind wandered as he ate the turkey and stuffing. Charms class had been nice; working with Hermione, as short as it had been, had been nice. These were dangerous thoughts since he wasn't going to be her friend, but it was still nice to work with the girl and have it not end in a fight. He had been most surprised that Ron had kept his mouth shut. Although, that was probably only possible because Hermione had made no effort to show off or try to help him.

Harry wished more than anything that they could all be friends. Life had really fucked him over when Sirius Black had turned her parent's over to Voldemort. He did his best to not think about what life would have been like if his parents had lived. His imagination made it too painful.

Once they were finished with dinner, Harry waved Ron and Parvati on. He wanted to go to the library and get one of the books that Professor McGonagall had recommended for learning Defense. After their completely pointless lesson that afternoon, Harry was more than happy to do so. Ron had just shaken his head at him, still disbelieving that he wanted to do extra lessons. He had to give it to his friend; he no longer complained about the extra work that Harry did or the fact that he had to do his homework, but Ron never expressed any wish to learn the extra lessons either.

Harry entered the library with confidence. Since he had been doing extra lessons, he had learned where most of the sections were and had gained experience in using the wizarding cataloguing system. He no longer had to ask Madam Pince for help in finding the books that he needed.

Harry saw Hermione sitting at her usual library table, Neville being the only one sitting with her. There was a Slytherin quidditch practice that evening which explained why the rest of the snakes were gone. It seemed like most of the house gathered to watch their practices, though Harry wasn't sure why. Hermione went here and there, quick to offer her cousin support but it was only once a week or so. The rest of the evening was spent in the library though he wasn't sure what she worked on. It was more than clear that she was ahead in all her classes; maybe they were assignments sent to her from her personal tutor. He still remembered Ron tearing her parchment in half in Transfiguration class the year before.

It was clear that she was helping Neville with something, probably Potions. The Gryffindor wasn't the best at the subject and while he still passed the class, he still managed to melt cauldrons and blow up his potions. He considered stopping for a few moments to exchange pleasantries but decided not to. The more contact he had with her the harder it would be to remain indifferent to her. He quickly found the book he needed and then also grabbed another book that looked promising. There were no problems checking the books out and left only twenty minutes after he entered.

Harry meandered through the corridors on his way back up to the Tower. His mind was wandering but to nothing too important. He was contemplating if he wanted to start his Transfiguration homework when he returned to the common room when he stopped cold. Colin Creevey was laying on the ground in front of him.

Harry dropped to his knees and felt for a pulse. There was nothing under his fingers and the small boy's skin was ice cold. Harry wasn't sure if he was dead or if he was just petrified like Mrs. Norris. Since there was nobody around, Harry wasn't sure what to do. Should he leave Colin there and get help or stay with him until someone else found them?

The decision was made for him when Professor Sprout rounded the corner and saw them. She hurried to their side and dropped down next to them, her hands reaching out to feel for a pulse the same as Harry's had. He watched with trepidation as the woman whipped out her wand and gave it a wave, a silver mole appearing. She whispered a message to it and it slunk away. She turned back to Harry and laid a heavy hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, lad, I just sent for Poppy and the Headmaster." Harry nodded but remained quiet. It was several minutes later that there were echoing footsteps coming from down the corridor. Harry looked up to see not only the Headmaster and mediwitch but his Head of House as well. The woman was obviously distressed as she snapped at him.

"What are you doing out by yourself, Mr. Potter?" Harry stepped away from Colin while the Headmaster bent and pried the camera out of Colin's hand.

"I had gone to the library to get the book you recommended for Defense and found him on my way back to the Tower." He held up the book as evidence when something occurred to him. Were they trying to blame this on him like Filch had? He felt the blood drain from his face as he began to stammer.

"I didn't do this, Professor, I swear. I would never hurt Colin." The Headmaster stood and laid a hand on his shoulder, calming Harry instantly.

"We know, Harry, Professor McGonagall was just trying to ascertain why you were alone in the corridor." Harry wasn't quite sure that's what she was implying but he nodded his head. Maybe he was just being paranoid. Dumbledore squeezed his shoulder now.

"Harry, we need to take young Mr. Creevey to the Hospital Wing. Can we trust you to keep this quiet until we can make an announcement to the school? Of course, I would never ask you to hide something from Mr. Weasley and Miss Patil but please don't say anything to anyone else." Harry decided that if he was going to promise to remain silent about this attack, he was going to get something else out of it.

"Is this happening because the Chamber of Secrets has been opened? How is Colin an enemy of the heir?" It looked as though Professors Sprout and McGonagall wanted to hear his answer as much as he did. The Headmaster sighed deeply before he answered.

"I'm really not certain if this is a result of the Chamber being opened. The castle has been searched hundreds of times over for the Chamber to no avail. As for Mr. Creevey being an enemy of the heir, it's hard to say. I feel as though we need more information before we can make an accurate guess as to exactly what is happening." Harry knew that he was being fobbed off, but he nodded his head. They really did need to get Colin to the Hospital Wing and he knew that if he pressed he would just end up in detention.

"Thank you, sir. I'll head back to the common room and don't worry. I'll keep this to myself except for Ron and Parvati." Dumbledore favored him with an indulgent smile before he nodded.

"Thank you, Harry. Off with you now."

Harry wasted no time in starting through the corridors again. He was only one flight of stairs away from the seventh floor when the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. The now-familiar voice whispered past him, sending Harry on high alert.

 _Kill._

Harry wasted no more time. He sprinted towards the stairs and took them two at a time. Once he was on the seventh floor, he hurried to the end of the main corridor, so he could stand before the Fat Lady and shout the password. Once he was safely ensconced in his common room, his heart slowed, and he let out a sigh of relief.

Maybe he should consider telling someone about hearing voices. It was true, he would probably get a few looks that told him he was barmy but if someone could help him, it would be great. Ron had told him that he should just stay quiet, that he didn't need any negative publicity or attention. However, he wasn't sure he could handle hearing voices for the rest of his life.

He had much to consider.

-O-

Albus ran his hands through his beard, considering the evenings events. Harry had stumbled on Colin Creevey, clearly petrified in the same manner as Mrs. Norris. Minerva wanted to question him further to know if he had seen anything but Albus had refused her. If he had seen something, he would have volunteered it immediately.

The Headmaster knew that Harry was innocent. He had seen his loyalty to his friends and while it was clear that the boy was annoyed by young Colin constantly taking his picture, he knew that he wasn't malicious enough to actually hurt the boy.

The Chamber of Secrets being opened was a worry. It was one thing when it was just the cat that had been petrified; now that a student had been harmed, the situation became more precarious. The students would have to be warned and that meant bad publicity. The last thing that he needed was for the wizarding public to think that their children weren't safe.

The one saving grace was that young Colin was a muggleborn. His parents wouldn't have to be notified since they couldn't visit and while it was sad, the public wouldn't be too worried about the fact that a muggleborn was injured at school. For once, the situation was working in his favor though. The less chance of him being removed for students not being safe meant Harry was that much safer.

Albus was going to have to keep his eyes open until he solved this Chamber of Secrets problem.

A/N- Another short chapter but our first victim of the basilisk is now in the Hospital Wing. I hope y'all enjoyed the chapter. Thanks again for reading and reviewing. Leave me a message after the beep and let me know what you think. Reviews are love.

Next chapter, the dueling club meets.

Love,

Alicia


	32. Chapter 32

A/N- I just love you guys. Your support of this story is just overwhelming, I can't thank you enough. I've still been having problems with answering reviews so if you didn't get a response, once again, I apologize. For those that are offering constructive criticism, thank you. I love suggestions and ways to make the story better. Anyways, I'll leave you all to reading, we all know that way more fun that listening to me ramble on and on about nothing.

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing. The characters belong to J.K.R. and the original idea for part one belongs to Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle. I have made zero money from this story or any of my others.

Chapter 32

December 3, 1992

Hermione sighed as she pushed her lunch around her plate. Her morning had consisted of Charms and Transfiguration and even though neither were a challenge for her, both professors had assigned an abnormally large amount of homework. While the work wouldn't be all that difficult, it was the time that it took to complete.

Pansy and Daphne were seated next to her, chattering quietly about the style of robes that they were planning to wear for Christmas. Whatever had come between them earlier in the year had long since passed; they were thick as thieves once more. As far as she knew, neither girl had divulged just what they had been arguing over. Theo and Blaise were talking loudly of quidditch with Vince and Greg and Draco was attempting to finish his Potions assignment before they were due in class in just ten minutes. It seemed that quidditch practice was putting him further behind than usual.

After Potions was a free period, which Hermione knew that most all the students would be using to do their homework since Professor Lockhart had finally gotten off his lazy arse and organized a dueling club for the students. While she was determined to not go, after all the man was a complete idiot, how was he going to teach them, Draco had insisted that she accompany him for no other reason than they needed some entertainment. Hermione usually didn't like watching people fail but when her godfather had taken them aside and told them that the silly ponce had asked him to do a demonstration with him, she had agreed. Her godfather was going to trounce the empty-headed buffoon.

The bell rang, pulling her from her thoughts. The rest of the table groaned; even though Potions was taught by their Head of House, nobody really enjoyed the subject aside from herself and Draco. Daphne was decent at the subject but had no real love for it. Theo and Blaise were passable, but Pansy, Millie, Greg, and Vince were terrible at it. Tracey only did as well as the person she copied her assignments from, so it varied from class period to class period.

Draco escorted her to class, her arm tucked securely into the crook of his elbow. Hermione hadn't strayed far from him that day; just yesterday after breakfast, Thorfinn Rowle had attempted to get her to agree to a betrothal contract; Hermione could only shake her head at how stupid he clearly was. Hermione herself could never agree to a betrothal contract when she was only thirteen. Her father was the only one that could, and she had informed him that that was never going to happen. Draco had been appalled at the man's actions but had behaved with decorum. Now, he was just escorting her everywhere; he had even mortified her and walked with her to visit the loo after breakfast.

All their friends followed them once Hermione and Draco started for the door. Sometimes Hermione couldn't help but wonder if any of their friends had a mind of their own. They were constantly following Hermione and Draco and doing whatever they did. While Hermione usually didn't mind, it also didn't give her much hope for when their parents started pressuring them to join them under the Dark Lord's rule.

Hermione knew that when the truth came out about the true loyalty of her father and Uncle Luci, they were going to lose their friends. They could hardly tell Hermione or Draco no, let alone their own parents. While it didn't bother her too terribly bad, the Slytherin knew that it was going to be difficult for Draco. Theo and Blaise had been his friends for years; letting go was going to be hard.

They entered the Potions classroom and Draco dropped her off at her seat at the front of the room. Since they had lectured over the shrinking solution yesterday in class, they would be brewing it today. Since it was a partner project, Hermione was once again stuck with Weasley. Draco brushed her hair behind her shoulder as the lions entered. Harry grinned their way before taking a seat at the table he shared with Draco. Weasley glared at her before sneering at her cousin.

"I swear, Malfoy, the way you touch her is just creepy. It's unnatural to be that close to your female cousin." Hermione felt the familiar lick of shame that always washed through her when he made comments like that. His words always made her feel dirty and like she had something to hide. Draco was always the opposite, though. He watched Weasley as he took his seat and then bent to kiss Hermione on the top of her head.

"It's no more unnatural then you watching after your sister. If she had boys after her at every turn, would you not do the right thing and escort her where she needed to go?" Weasley sneered at her cousin. While Hermione wanted to jump in and teach the idiot boy a lesson, she didn't want to make Draco look like he couldn't take care of himself. In Slytherin house, that was a sign of weakness and he would get eaten alive.

"I know that Ginny can take care of herself. I wouldn't have to escort her anywhere because she would have already handled the problem. Are you admitting that Black can't take care of herself?" Harry stepped forward and clapped a hand down on his friend's shoulder.

"Ron, this is stupid. Why do you care how affectionate Malfoy is with his cousin? Just drop it, Snape is going to be here soon and you're just going to lose us points." A voice sounded behind them and Hermione couldn't help but wonder just how long her godfather had been standing there.

"Too late, though your attempt at shutting up Mr. Weasley is admirable. That will be ten points from Gryffindor for arguing over things that don't concern you in the least. Everyone in their seats so we can begin."

Hermione felt Draco disappear from behind her and she turned to face forward. Her godfather started his customary lecture they got every time they brewed. Hermione tuned it out since she had been hearing it since she was six. After they were bid to gather their supplies and start brewing, she turned to Weasley with a small smile. It wouldn't do to antagonize him for no good reason.

"I'll start banking the heat on the cauldron if you'll get the ingredients." He stared at her like she was stupid or just spoke Russian. After a few moments, she realized that he wasn't going to comply, so she rolled her eyes and heaved a sigh before getting to her feet and gathering the ingredients herself. It seemed that Harry was sent after ingredients too since they were in the supply cupboard at the same time. He gave her a sheepish grin even though she acted like he wasn't there.

"I'm sorry about Ron." She shrugged her shoulders as she placed the last ingredient within the circle of her arms.

"It's not your place to apologize. It's his. Don't feel like you have to on his behalf." He gave her a jerky nod, but she smiled just a little at him as she left the cupboard and returned to her table.

Hermione did all the brewing that day in Potions. If she hadn't previously brewed the potion, she would have been livid at his obvious display of insubordination. She wasn't going to tattle on him since she wasn't seven anymore, but she hoped that her uncle had realized that he had contributed absolutely nothing to their lesson for the day.

Luck was on her side that day since her uncle had indeed seen the inaction of the Gryffindor. When she had handed their potion in, he had berated Weasley in front of the whole class and insinuated that he hadn't helped brew it because he was too inept. He lost a further twenty points and earned himself a detention as well. Since it was to be served with her godfather, there was a good possibility that he would be rendering down the disgusting potions ingredients that nobody wanted to deal with.

Draco arrived at her side when class was dismissed; he offered her his arm once more and she took it graciously. Weasley glared at the pair of them but she pointedly ignored him. Since they had a free period, she urged her cousin to head to the library, so they could catch up their homework for the day. He insisted on the pair of them going to the dueling club and she wasn't going to go if they still had assignments hanging over their heads.

The group laughed quietly at Weasley making a fool of himself in class as they traversed the corridors. Hermione didn't contribute since she didn't want to contribute further to gossip. Pansy was ruthless when she spread rumors and the last thing Hermione wanted was to be named for saying something that she really didn't agree with. Once they reached the fourth floor and entered the enormous library, she knew that she had been right.

The library was packed full of students of all years, crowding into the tables so they could do their best to get their homework done. Hermione couldn't understand why the lure of a dueling club was so great but since they had yet to have any decent instruction in the subject of Defense, she supposed that she couldn't blame them. The twins were seated at their usual table, having a free period after Transfiguration, and were waving to the lot of them. Hermione shot them a smile, silently thanking them for saving her favorite table.

Pansy, Millie, and Tracey begged off, telling them that they needed to retrieve assignments from their dorm. Since they were going to have to take the time to walk all the way back down to the common room, they decided that they would just do their homework later. Greg, Vince, Theo, Blaise, and Daphne all took their usual seats at the table, Hermione sliding in between Fred and Neville. They had just all pulled their assignments from their bags when Hermione realized that Harry and Weasley had appeared at the door of the library. She had a sinking feeling when she realized that Fred and George were waving them over. Fred threw an arm around her shoulder before kissing her loudly on the side of her head.

"Don't worry, Miss Mina, we won't let them be mean to you. There aren't any tables left and let's face it, Ron needs all the time he can get to do his homework." None of the Slytherins looked particularly thrilled but since Hermione nodded her head reluctantly, they remained silent. They would bear their presence if the leaders of their group had no problems with it.

Truthfully, Hermione wanted to complain. She wanted to tell them that they could fuck off, that they shouldn't have messed around after class when they knew that the library was going to be full. However, Harry needed to learn as much as he could and that was their only saving grace. Draco reached out and rubbed her hand on top of the table, showing his support silently. She knew that he would throw the Weasel a beating the second he was disrespectful if she wanted him to.

Hermione watched as Weasley threw a tantrum to his best mate. Harry tried to placate him and gestured several times towards their table. As much as she wanted to believe that he wasn't wanting to join them, it was clear that he did. She wasn't sure how to feel about that; in one hand she wanted to assist him, so he would be a stronger wizard. It was the least that he deserved. On the other hand, however, Hermione wanted to just ignore him since she didn't trust his good will to last any longer than as long as he needed her to be nice.

Ron stalked out of the library, letting the door slam behind him. Hermione cringed at the noise; apparently the red head didn't care that it was a library and there were people studying. He had to be the most thoughtless person she knew, though she was sure that there were people out there that would disagree. Harry, though, approached their table warily, almost as if he was sure that they would turn him away. Hermione made sure to keep her eyes averted, not wanting to encourage or discourage him either way. If he was going to sit with them, it was going to be because the twins had invited him.

Neville reached out and gave her a side hug as Harry sat at the end of the table. None of the Slytherins said anything but the twins kept up enough chatter for all of them. Hermione knew that they were trying to make the whole scene less uncomfortable, which she appreciated. Neville was also laughing and joking with the whole table; eventually the rest of the Slytherins loosened up when they realized that Harry wasn't going to attack them and started talking like they usually did as they accomplished their homework.

Hermione wasn't one to show off; the last thing she wanted to do was to make Harry think that she was insufferable and liked making people feel inferior. While she didn't want to try to befriend him anymore, she wanted him to feel comfortable in coming to her and Draco if he needed help in the future which was a distinct possibility. That would never happen if she did everything in her power to avoid him and make their encounters uncomfortable. In the end, it wasn't Harry that made things uncomfortable; it was Theo.

"Since when are the snakes good enough to study with, Potter? Hermione asked you at the beginning of first year to study with us and you turned us down rather rudely. Now here you sit. I think we have a right to know the reason behind your change of heart." Even though Hermione secretly agreed with her Slytherin friend, this wasn't the way to go about it. Harry would explode, become irrational, and make mistakes that he later couldn't take back. Harry set his quill down and met the gaze of Theo, emerald green meeting chocolate brown.

"It was never a problem with Slytherins, it was a problem with Black's father turning mine into Voldemort. It was a betrayal that led to the death of my parents. Put yourself in my shoes, how would you feel?" Hermione couldn't bear to raise her eyes to meet those of the Gryffindor. Therefore, she let Fred throw an arm around her shoulders again as he remained quiet to hear the answer. Theo didn't disappoint.

"I see how you would think that this would be the fault of Lord Black, but did you ever stop and think that it was your father's fault? This would have all been avoided if he had refrained from marrying his mudblood whore. The Dark Lord was never against having mudblood mistresses. You would have been illegitimate, but your family would have lived if your father had taken a proper wife." Hermione wanted to barf at his words, but she couldn't. To do so would give away that her father didn't believe in the pureblood dogma and that would put an end to his spying days on the purebloods. In the end, however, Hermione didn't have to worry about it since Draco was a step ahead of her.

"Enough. There will be none of that talk, it's just disrespectful to the dead. Whether or not Potter's father should have taken his mother as a mistress is a matter of opinion that I'm sure none of us could ever agree on. For the sake of keeping peace in the school and letting the house rivalry go, let's agree to put this conversation behind us and move forward in this tentative peace between us." Hermione shot her cousin a soft smile. His words were wise, and while everyone would assume that it meant that he agreed with Theo's words, it wouldn't be true. Likely, he would find a way to take Potter aside later and tell him his true feelings on the matter. Hermione knew that no matter what his personal feelings towards the Gryffindor were, he would still do everything in his power to make sure that they succeeded in their mission.

It seemed that the lions agreed with Draco's words. They nodded and turned back to their schoolwork. Hermione made sure at the earliest chance to reach over Fred and punch Theo square in the shoulder, not pulling the punch at all. He had howled indignantly and glared at her but remained silent in the end. All the lions at the table had smiled indulgently before turning their attention back to their homework.

After Harry finally dismissed himself for favor of the Great Hall, the rest of them broke away from the library to find their own ways to the Great Hall. Hermione found herself with her cousin, Theo, and Blaise. Apparently, Vince and Greg had started out early for the Great Hall, citing their insane hunger as the reason why. Daphne had wandered off with a girl from Ravenclaw, and since it looked like a girl that was friends with her sister Astoria, she couldn't blame the girl. It was Draco that finally broke the silence.

"You're a fucking idiot, Theo. We had Potter in the perfect position to pull him close, to learn his plans, and you drove him away by insulting his mother. Are you fucking stupid? If you insulted my dead mother, I would have killed you, not toddled on along to dinner." Theo sneered at his friends.

"The fact that he just toddled away means he's little more than a coward." Hermione couldn't stop herself and afterwards, she would probably agree that it had been for the best.

"If you think Potter is a coward, I urge you to go face him yourself. He is not a coward and the only way to keep tabs on him is to keep him close, not drive him away by insulting his family. When my father and Uncle Lucius realize that the boy wants nothing to do with them, I'll be sure to tell them that it was your stupidity that drove him away. They'll see you dead for your betrayal." In a flash, Theo had slammed Hermione into the wall behind her and held his wand to her throat. Draco was yelling at his friend, but the only person Theo had eyes for was Hermione. She grinned maliciously at her would-be friend as they both ignored Draco.

"Do it. Curse me, I fucking dare you. We both know that you're no match for my power and you will never be able to compete in terms of attention from the Dark Lord. I dare you to curse me. My father and uncle would love nothing more than to kill you with their hands. The Dark Lord would probably give them a reward for doing it since you're so fucking stupid that you can't even accomplish simple strategy." She saw a flash of fear in the young boys' eyes and rather than ignore it, she laughed in his face.

"I may play nice and act like I want nothing to do with Slytherin politics; never forget that I am far more favorably placed than yourself, Theodore. Just one word to my father and you'll be dead; don't for a second think that you're safe just because my father has been nice to yours for all these years. His daughter will always come first." Hermione might have worried about her words if all her friends hadn't seen her father's temper before in response to a threat against her.

It had been several years ago when Lavender Brown's father had accompanied her to one of their birthday parties. She was quite sure that the Gryffindor girl hadn't told anyone that she had been intimately involved with Hermione's family. Once the man had seen that Hermione was garnering all the male attention in the room, he had become angry that his daughter was going to receive Hermione's leftovers. He had taken the issue to her father, insulting not only Hermione but her mother as well. She knew that her father hadn't been a huge fan of her mother, but he would never stand for the disrespect. He had called Uncle Luci over and the pair had faced off in a duel against Brown's father. While they didn't kill the man, they had certainly left him with a limp for life.

Theo's eyes widened at the obvious threat, the rest of their group falling silent in the corridor. Draco didn't step up next to her and she knew that it was because he was allowing her to stretch her wings and show her strength. So far throughout both their school years, she hadn't stood up for herself but the once last year. The rest of their year fell back, clearly remembering four years ago and the result of the duel between her father, uncle, and Martin Brown. Daphne stepped forward and laid a soft hand on her arm, but Hermione shrugged it off. Draco reached out and pulled her back softly, clearly not wanting her to get hurt in the argument. Theo didn't take a step forward but instead turned angry eyes to Draco.

"You're going to let her treat your best mate like this? You're going to let her disgrace me like this?" Draco snorted his way, amusement dancing in his gaze.

"If you think for a second that you're more important to me than Hermione, you're crazy. Not only is she my cousin, she's my best friend. You drive her away, you drive me away. I will never choose you over Hermione." Hermione felt her heart clench just a little at his words. Theo was his best friend, after all. This wasn't what she had wanted. Hearing Draco's words, however, made it all real for Theo and he backed down immediately.

"I'm sorry, I apologize. I meant no offense, Miss Black. Please forgive the stain and dishonor on my family due to my actions." Hermione knew that it was folly to forgive him; he would only betray them once he realized the truth about Potter but there was nothing she could do now but accept it. She gave a resolute nod before she backed down slowly, casting a side-long glance in her cousin's direction.

"We'll end this for now. Don't let me catch you making the situation more difficult than it need be." Theo gave a quick shaky nod before he turned and headed in the opposite direction of herself. She sighed as she watched Draco turn to face her.

This was going to be a long night.

-O-

Harry sat in the Great Hall around the stage provided, waiting anxiously for Professor Lockhart to show up. He had seen the missive on the board in the common room just as everyone else; however, he didn't think that anyone else was nearly as excited as he was. He had been waiting for the man start teaching them real defense. This was going to be the first hint of real lessons all year. He wished that he could have been learning even more when he realized that their teacher was going to be as useless as tits on a boar hog. The Defense Professor's voice rang through the Great Hall since it was uncharacteristically silent.

"Welcome, welcome. Can everyone see me? Can everyone hear me?' He didn't seem to wait for an answer before he clapped his hands together in the most ridiculous suede gloves Harry had ever seen in his life.

"We've all gathered here tonight not only because you all wish to see your handsome defense professor in action, but because you want to learn my techniques for yourselves. Helping me demonstrate tonight is Professor Snape. Don't worry, you'll still have your potions professor when we're through here tonight." Harry glanced at the darkly-clad man on the opposite end of the dais. His eyes were glittering in amusement, an emotion he had never seen on the dour man's features before. One corner of his lips was turned up in the slightest smile; in this moment, Harry knew that this wasn't going to end well for Professor Lockhart. Professor Snape stepped closer to the blond ponce and drew his wand, letting it hang from his fingers at his side.

"Alright, students, I'll show you the spell that brought about the death of the werewolf in _Wanderings with Werewolves_." He started to flourish his wand in a way that Harry had never seen before. Professor Snape didn't both to raise his wand as a spell was sent his way. It went way to the left, causing some fourth year Hufflepuffs to duck and dodge the purple flash of light. Snape's face could have been made of stone.

"Don't you think it would be more beneficial to teach them how to disarm their enemy, Lockhart?" The man's face was a slight pink color, so he was quick to nod.

"Excellent idea, Severus. I'll just show them how to cast it correctly." Snape didn't even act like he heard his words. Lockhart raised his wand again and cast with the same ridiculous flourish. The spell went wide again and struck one of the tables in the corner and it started to smoke. Professor Snape seemed to grow tired of how pointless this demonstration was. His wand came up with just a little flick.

"Expelliarmus." The red spell left his wand and slammed into Lockhart's chest, throwing him backwards several feet while his cherrywood wand landed in Snape's hand. The Slytherins all applauded their Head and House and even though Harry couldn't stand the man, he joined in. The rest of his house cast him dirty looks, but he didn't care. He wished that Snape would teach Defense, so he would be ready when he had to face Voldemort again.

"That, children, is the correct way to perform the disarming spell. A short upward flick and confident casting." Lockhart was pulling himself to his feet, his hair mussed from landing on the ground.

"Excellent casting, Severus, of course I let you hit me, so you could demonstrate how the spell was supposed to look." Snape rolled his eyes at the blond before turning back to all the students.

"I want a pair of you up here to demonstrate. Potter, Malfoy, do your houses proud." It was probably the first time that Snape had said his name without contempt dripping from his voice. Harry stepped forward, his blood pumping at an alarming rate. He knew that he was going to lose; Malfoy had been receiving extra lessons for who knew how many years. Still, he wanted to try and if he failed, he'd use it as motivation to master the spell.

The Gryffindor took the spot that Lockhart had been standing on while Malfoy took Snape's. The potion's professor was bent at the waist and whispering something in the snake's ear, but Harry wasn't worried. If it looked as though he wasn't going be able to cast the spell, he would dodge. Harry had always been quick on his feet and was even more so since playing quidditch.

The pair faced each other for what seemed like ages before Harry finally decided to start the duel. His wand copied the movements of Professor Snape's, flicking out a red spell from the tip of his wand. It was aimed perfectly and would have hit Malfoy in the abdomen if he hadn't been quick on his feet as well. The Slytherin sidestepped just in time, the spell sailing past him to send Pansy Parkinson's wand flying through the air to him.

The room was silent as Harry looked at the wand in his hand in wonder. He had actually cast the spell correctly, he couldn't quite believe it. Finally, he could say that he was learning something from Defense Against the Dark Arts, it was just too bad that it had to come from the potion's master. After he had stared at the wand in his hand for a few moments, Harry stepped closer to Malfoy, Pansy's wand held out in front of him, so he could return it to her.

When he was only a few feet from Malfoy, Harry heard someone from behind the Slytherin call out a spell that he didn't remember reading about or hearing before. A cobra flew through the air and landed on the dais in front of Harry, poised to strike and hissing angrily. Malfoy took a step closer to the edge, trying to get away from the snake. Harry looked up to see that Theo Nott was grinning at the exchange, clearly enjoying the fact that Harry didn't know what to do with it and that Malfoy was backing away from it.

Malfoy stepped even further away from the huge snake; this only seemed to lock the snake's attention on him, however. It slithered closer to the blond, the hissing a dead giveaway that the reptile was angry. Harry stepped forward now, determined to help Malfoy. Professor Snape started to walk forward, wand in front of him.

"Back away, Potter, I'll handle it." As the professor drew closer the attention of the snake left Malfoy and turned on the sour man. It struck when he was just a couple feet away. The snake's head caught Professor Snape on the arm, sinking its teeth into his flesh through the fabric of his robes. Hermione cried out and started pushing to her Head of House's side, wand held aloft so she could try to help the man. Harry couldn't allow her to be bitten either, so he stepped closer still.

"Releasssse him now. You will not attack anyone elsssse." The snake released Snape's arm immediately and turned to Harry. It started to slither closer and closer, hissing the entire way.

"You are brother sssnake. I mussst attack, the man meansss me harm." Harry shook his head.

"No, I won't allow him to hurt you. You mussst not attack." Harry never got to hear his response because a flash of light sailed through the air and hit the snake, vanishing it instantly. Harry looked up to see Hermione and Malfoy both with their wands held aloft, both with determined looks on their faces. Malfoy jumped down from the dais and ran to his godfather's side, worry clear on his features. Harry and the rest of the students could do nothing but watch as Hermione pulled his sleeve up to reveal to fang marks on the meaty part of his forearm.

"Come, Professor, you need the Hospital Wing and an anti-venin. Please don't tarry, cobras are very poisonous." Lockhart was finally starting to move again but Professor Snape wasn't about to be chivvied away from the scene. His voice was still strong, and his anger was clear.

"Who cast that serpensortia?" The room was silent until finally Theo Nott stepped forward, his face flaming with embarrassment and head hanging in shame.

"It was me, sir." Snape gave him a curt nod.

"That will be fifty points from Slytherin for throwing a spell that wasn't supposed to be used, not to mention while Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Potter were dueling. You will serve three detentions with me, so you will learn just how dangerous poisonous snakes can be." Nott nodded his head, not arguing with his punishment at all. Harry was just a little surprised. Snape turned to the rest of the students once more.

"That's all for tonight. The rest of you are dismissed. Make sure you don't tarry and return to your common rooms forthwith." Harry jumped off the dais to see that everyone around him backed away with fear in their eyes. He wasn't sure what to say since he wasn't sure what he had done so instead ignored their actions. He found Ron and Pav waiting for him closer to the door.

Once the pair saw Harry, they took off at a fast pace. Harry did all he could to keep up, surprised that they were travelling so quickly. They still had an hour until curfew so there was no reason for them to hurry like this. Finally, on the sixth floor near the Arithmancy classroom, Ron found an empty classroom and ushered the three of them inside. Once the door was locked behind them, he spun around and glared at Harry.

"Why in the bloody hell did you never tell us? Don't you think your best friends had a right to know what they were going to be associating with?" Pav was nodding her head sagely, arms crossed over her budding chest. Harry shook his head slightly, trying to understand what his friends were talking about.

"What are you two talking about? I haven't hidden anything from you." Ron glared even harder and Pav rolled her eyes. Ron's voice was hard as steel when he answered.

"You're a parselmouth and you used it to save a Death Eater. Everyone is going to think that you're a dark wizard." Harry knew that Ron was miffed that he had sat with the twins at the Slytherin table in the library that afternoon. He really hadn't wanted to but once the twins had invited him in front of everyone, it had seemed like bad manners to just snub them and sit on his own. Could this be something to do with Ron being angry?

"I don't even know what a parselmouth is, Ron." Pav's mouth dropped in disbelief.

"You mean, you don't know?" Harry blew a frustrated breath out of his mouth before answering.

"No, I have no fucking idea what the two of you are talking about right now." Ron raked a hand through his hair, but his eyes were softer now. It was clear that he wasn't as angry as he had been.

"You're a parselmouth, Harry. It means that you speak snake language. I don't know what you said to that snake, but it released Snape. You saved a Death Eater's life with a skill that only dark wizards are rumored to have." Harry wasn't quite sure what to say to that.

"You mean I spoke a different language?" Ron and Pav both nodded. Harry raked a hand through his hair now, clearly trying to piece everything together.

"What was I supposed to do, let it kill a professor? I just told it to release him." Ron shrugged his shoulders.

"One less Death Eater in the world. That's not the problem though. Everyone knows that dark wizards can sometimes talk to snakes. Everyone is going to think that you're a dark wizard, Harry." Harry let his words sink in and it was hard to stave off the feeling of dread.

"You both know I'm not though, right?" Both his friends nodded, Pav hugging him close. Harry couldn't help but stiffen; he had never been comfortable with physical touch or affection. He supposed that it had to do with his aunt, uncle, and cousin getting physical with him when he was a small child. Ron laid a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"We know you're not dark, mate. Don't worry, we'll make sure that everyone knows you aren't dark too. Pav and I will have your back, I promise." Since Ron had been mad as hell at him just two hours ago, he felt like this was a dream come true. Harry grinned at his friend and awkwardly patted Parvati on the back.

"Thanks, guys. You really are the best of friends." Both his friends grinned back at him before Pav gripped his hand and pulled him towards the door, gesturing for Ron to follow them.

"Come on, guys, its getting late and curfew will be here soon." Harry allowed her to pull him through the door and down the corridor, hoping that the common room wouldn't be full of people that though he was guilty of being a dark wizard.

Only time would tell.

-O-

Hermione couldn't believe what she had just witnessed. Not the fact that Theo had conjured a snake, so it would attack Harry and frighten Draco, not the fact that said snake had bitten her uncle. The fact that Harry was a parselmouth left her trying to make sense of everything.

It was a fact that nobody had been born a parselmouth since the Dark Lord. Uncle Sev had told them all years ago that he had the talent, telling everyone that it was his birthright. Salazar Slytherin had also been a famous parselmouth, one that the whole world had feared. Harry being a parselmouth threw her whole perspective out of whack since she was one hundred percent sure that he was not a dark wizard.

They were currently sitting in the Hospital Wing keeping Uncle Sev company. She had Draco had left for a little while when the Headmaster had shown up but had returned directly afterwards. Her uncle didn't look particularly pleased with being told that he was going to have to stay the night, but she had bullied him into agreeing to stay. The last thing she wanted was for her godfather to drop dead from the poison all because he was too stubborn to stay for a single night.

She was sitting on the bed next to her godfather, snuggled into his side with his good arm wrapped around her shoulders. Draco was sitting in the chair next to the bed, watching them with an amused look on his face. Her uncle's head was tilted back, and his eyes were closed. It was clear that he was tired, but Hermione didn't want to leave him there quite yet. Rather than sit there in silence, Hermione decided to discuss the situation at hand. After a wave of her wand to make sure that the proper silencing charms were in place, she spoke.

"How did none of realize that he was a parselmouth?" Draco was rubbing his chin and her uncle opened his eyes to watch her. When he answered her, he sounded tired.

"I told you both what I learned about the Chamber of Secrets. How we didn't know isn't important. What is important is what people are going to think about the boy when they learn that the Chamber belonged to Slytherin, a well-known parselmouth." Hermione nodded slowly, piecing together her uncle's words.

"Everyone is going to think Harry is the heir and that he's the one who has opened the Chamber." Her godfather nodded his head, his lank hair falling around his face like a curtain.

"Indeed. It has the potential of causing a great deal of hardship for us. If parents discover this information, they could petition the Board of Governors to expel Potter claiming the school isn't safe with the Chamber open. It's a precarious situation that we will have to monitor closely." Hermione threaded her fingers through her uncles.

"Does that mean that you won't be able to use this situation against Dumbledore to get him thrown out of the castle if we need to?" Uncle Sev shrugged his shoulders.

"It could still work but it's something that we would have to discuss in depth." He pressed a kiss to Hermione's forehead before removing his arm from around her.

"I thank you both for staying with me but it's past curfew. You need to head for the common room. If you are stopped by anyone, tell them to come find me for the reason you weren't in by curfew. No dallying either." Hermione kissed her uncle's cheek as she grinned.

"Yes, Uncle Sev. Straight to the common room, but only if you promise to get some rest." Uncle Sev snorted lightly but nodded. Draco leaned over to bestow a quick hug on his godfather before taking Hermione's hand and pulling her towards the door of the Hospital Wing.

"Goodnight, Uncle Sev. Love you." Draco echoed her words beside her and her uncle nodded tiredly.

"I love you both as well. Go now."

Hermione let her cousin pull her into the corridor and began thinking through the situation on the way to the common room. The whole situation could go terribly wrong, so they would have to be careful. Harry getting expelled was the one thing that must be avoided at all costs.

Hermione was determined to make sure that that never happened.

A/N- Lordy, this chapter seemed like it took me days to write but I know that it didn't. I hope you all enjoyed it. Thanks again for supporting me in writing this fic, I really appreciate it. Leave me a message after the beep and let me know what you think. Reviews make me smile.

Next chapter, more victims are discovered, and plans are laid to discover the heir of Slytherin.

Love,

Alicia


	33. Chapter 33

A/N- For reals, y'all, thank you. You guys have shown me so much support and it's so appreciated, you have no idea. Just…thank you. On with the show, as they say in show business.

Disclaimer: Nothing about this story belongs to me. The characters belong to our beloved queen and the original plot line was gifted to me by a loyal reader. The personal twist, while belonging to me, has surely been done before by numerous fanfiction authors that came before me. I haven't made any money from any of my stories including this one.

Chapter 33

December 21, 1992

Hermione pushed the food around her plate while she waited for Draco to finish eating. She was a little in the dumps since receiving the letter from her father and Uncle Luci the night before; how was she supposed to enjoy the holidays away from home?

Her father's eagle owl had interrupted her hot chocolate before the fire the night before bearing a letter from her family. Since it was addressed to Draco as well as herself, she had called him over. As Hermione read through the letter, she couldn't help but feel a little resentful of her family.

They were begging herself and Draco to stay at Hogwarts and keep an eye on Harry since they had been forced to recall Dobby from his job. They had never thought that he would take the job of protecting Harry to such extremes. While they had been reassured that the elf hadn't been physically punished (something Hermione would never stand for), he had been stuck in the Malfoy kitchen and his end there would likely never come. It was depressing but Hermione understood. He could have hurt or killed Harry and Draco with that bludger and his judgement was far too unreliable to send him out to protect the Boy-Who-Lived again.

Hermione couldn't help but feel as though her father was caring more for Harry in the moment than he was her. Sure, if they had been friends, she could have understood that he wanted her to spend the holiday with him, so he wouldn't be alone. This, however, felt like she was being asked to stay so she could do her job. While she understood their view point of it, it still hurt.

Draco didn't seem to be bothered about staying behind. That didn't mean that he didn't realize that she was. She had spent the rest of the night with her head in his lap while he read to her. Just before she had adjourned to her dorm, her cousin had pulled her into a hug and reassured her in her ear that they would still have a good Christmas even though they were going to be cooped up in Hogwarts.

Uncle Sev didn't seem to be surprised when they signed up to stay at school for the holidays. No other Slytherins had signed up to stay behind and while Hermione wasn't upset about that, she couldn't help but wonder how lonely it would get for Draco. He was far more social than she was, and he enjoyed spending time with their friends. He urged her not to worry about him, but she couldn't help it. She had always been a worry wart, as her father affectionately called her.

The bell rang throughout the Great Hall, telling all the students that they were dismissed from breakfast and needed to head to their first class of the day. Since Potions was first, Hermione allowed her cousin to pull her through the corridors until they were deep within the dungeons. Once they had entered the classroom, Hermione was escorted to her seat and left to ready herself while Draco took his own seat.

The Gryffindors entered not too long after and found their seats quickly; they all knew just what would happen if they were caught unprepared in Potions class. Weasley took his usual seat next to her but didn't pay her any mind. Apparently, he had decided that the best policy in dealing with her was acting as if she didn't exist. Not that she minded. It made life easier for her in the long run. He ignored her and let her do all the work in class and then got assigned detention and she received praise in front of the whole class.

Uncle Sev arrived and quickly assigned them reading and an essay. After she had copied the assignment down in her homework planner, she put her quill to parchment as she listened for little tidbits of information that she hadn't already copied down years ago when he had last lectured her on bat spleens. It wasn't the most illuminating lecture since she had heard it years before, but she paid rapt attention nonetheless. Her godfather would be less than pleased if he caught her not paying attention.

The class passed quickly, Hermione managing to add a single piece of information to her notes. The bell rang so she was quick to gather her belongings and stick them back into her bag. Draco appeared at her side as she stood, offering his arm to her. She threaded her arm through his and allowed him to pull her out of their godfather's classroom and through the corridors. Transfiguration was next, so it took them several minutes to make their way through the castle to the appropriate classroom.

They took their seats in Transfiguration, side by side at the front of the class. Hermione knew that Draco hated sitting at the front, but he sat there with her to please her. They removed their things from their bags and readied themselves for class. Just like always, the Gryffindors appeared only minutes after the Slytherins did. Hermione noticed that Harry took a seat closer to the front and although Weasley shot him a confused look, he followed him. It wasn't long after they had settled that Professor McGonagall had appeared, her tartan robes pressed and immaculate.

The animagus started lecturing on transfiguring different items into rabbit slippers. Hermione sighed to herself and tried her best to pay attention, but it was difficult since the lesson was something she had learned so long ago. Draco seemed to be having the same inattention problem she was. The rest of the class, however, was paying rapt attention since they all knew that Professor McGonagall's class wasn't one they wanted to get caught not paying attention in.

Professor Cat had just finished her lecture and asked if anyone had any questions. There were usually a couple but today, nobody raised their hands. Hermione just wanted her to hurry and split them up, so she could perform the spell and start on her homework for Madam Cambridge that was supposed to be sent off in the next couple days. Just as she was about to pair them off, Faye Dunbar, the shyest of the Gryffindor girls, raised her hand. Hermione groaned inwardly and tried to keep the impatient look off her face.

"Yes, Miss Dunbar?" The girl turned a light shade of pink while the rest of the class turned their attention to her. Her voice was soft when she finally asked.

"Can you tell us about the Chamber of Secrets? We can't find any information on it in the library." A pin could have dropped and they all would have heard it. It seemed that everyone was on the edges of their seats and fixated on the animagus at the front of the class. Professor McGonagall stared at the girl for almost a full minute before she came to a decision. Her hands clasped in front of her and Hermione could see that her fingers were knotted together so tightly that they were white. Her voice was strained, and it was clear that she didn't want to answer the question.

"I should have known that a lion would be the one to eventually ask the question that you're all wondering about." She began to pace the length of her classroom as she spoke.

"Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago by the witches and wizards our houses are named after: Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, Salazar Slytherin, and Godric Gryffindor. They built the school and got along for several years before they got into an argument that led to Salazar splitting from the rest of the school." Dean Thomas called out his question.

"What did they argue over?" Their professor sighed.

"The three founders wanted to let anyone that was magical in the school while Salazar thought that it was an abomination to let in those of muggle descent. Since he was overridden, he left the school. However, there was rumored to a Chamber, the Chamber of Secrets, that only direct descendants of Salazar Slytherin could open. Inside was believed to be a great monster that would aide him in cleansing the school and getting rid of the muggleborn students for good." Silence reigned for several minutes; Hermione knew that there were going to be questions. If she hadn't already known the answers to the questions the shy Gryffindor had asked, she would have been bombarding their professor with questions. Finally, it was Harry that spoke.

"So, someone has opened this chamber that Salazar Slytherin left behind and released his monster. Does anyone know what the monster is?" Professor McGonagall shook her head sadly.

"No, nobody has ever admitted to breaching the Chamber and therefore, nobody has any idea what the monster could be. To be honest, the Chamber of Secrets was never found so it's not even a fact that it exists, only myth and legend." Hermione knew that the woman was outright lying now. Her uncle had told her and Draco that it had been opened fifty years before and that a muggleborn witch had died. She remained silent on the matter, however, since she didn't want to get Uncle Sev in trouble. Everyone looked a little less scared at her words though, so she guessed that hiding the truth was well done. It wouldn't do to have the student population going mad with fear.

"Now let us begin."

Hermione was quick to cast her spell once she was paired with Pansy. The other girl struggled with it but after trying five times, mastered it. They were both awarded five points and allowed to take their seats again. Where she had been itching to work on her homework from her tutor, now Hermione was contemplative, staring off into space as she considered her professor's words.

At the time that Uncle Sev had told them the story behind the Chamber, she hadn't given in-depth thought as to what was doing the actual petrifying, only that it was happening because of the Chamber being opened. Now, she couldn't help but wonder just what could move through the school completely unseen and leave petrified people in its wake. She wasn't sure if the Headmaster was researching what the monster could be, but Hermione didn't want to leave the information until a student ended up dead. She vowed to start researching during her free period that afternoon.

It wasn't long after her promise to herself that Professor Cat dismissed class. Draco gathered his things while she did the same, the two of them leaving together to make their way to lunch. All their friends followed them, talking quietly since it was clear that they didn't want Hermione to hear what they were talking about. Draco cast her a sidelong glance, telling her that he knew that their housemates were avoiding her reaction as well.

The day after the dueling club had met and her godfather had handed Lockhart his arse, the whispers had started. Harry's standing in the light was called into question since he not only spoke parseltongue, but he had done it to save the life of a known Death Eater. Hermione had lost her temper and her magic had flared, her show of power astounding to those that weren't involved. She had berated them for gossiping and starting rumors, that their house was better than that, and her friends had cowered in fear. It had taken Draco and her uncle to calm her down and bring her back to her usual state of calm.

Even though the rest of the school talked shamelessly about Harry behind his back, the Slytherins had learned their lesson. They didn't even bring up the boy's name in her presence. After the story had spread to the rest of the Slytherins, they had all stopped talking about the young Gryffindor in front of her. She was a little surprised that even the seventh years had refrained from gossiping.

They entered the Great Hall and found their seats. Draco was quick to spoon up the beef stew served for lunch into her bowl and sliding it in front of her. While he spooned himself up a bowl, she cut off a hunk of bread for them both and laid one on the plate next to his bowl. He flashed a smile her way and immediately dug into his food; it was clear that breakfast hadn't lasted him as long as it had lasted her. Hermione ate at a much more sedate pace, relishing the warmth and delicious taste of the beef stew.

Conversation flowed around her with ease, everyone either gossiping about students other than Harry or talking about their classes and homework. Hermione still wanted to chuckle when she considered the fact that her house had bent so easily to her will. If she had been more power-hungry, she would have been able to have a lot more fun with the situation. However, she wasn't that person so that wasn't an option.

Lunch ended much the same way that breakfast had, the bell ringing and everyone hurrying off to their next class. Next for Hermione was History of Magic, the class she struggled with most. If only they could have an interesting teacher, one made the subject come alive like Madam Cambridge did, she wouldn't have to do her level best to stay away through the class. Professor Binns just wasn't conducive to learning, that much was certifiable fact.

Draco once again led her through the corridors until they reached the classroom needed. They entered and took their seats in the middle of the classroom. Hermione usually insisted on sitting at the front but since this class was a complete and total bore, she strayed to the middle of the class, so she could pursue other school work if she so chose with little to no fear of being discovered.

It was no surprise when the ghost professor started teaching them of yet another goblin battle. Hermione couldn't help but roll her eyes and wonder if the goblins put as much stock in learning these battles at wizards did. Her father's account manager, Furybolt, was always pleasant and never seemed to hold anything against them. Whether it was because he didn't dwell on the past or because he was paid rather handsomely by her father was unclear. Maybe that was something that she could question him on the next time she visited the bank with her father…maybe over the summer holidays since it was clear that she wasn't going to return home for Christmas.

Hermione copied down the assignment just before the bell rang. Draco smirked her way, knowing full well that she hadn't paid full attention to the class. He escorted her from the classroom and grinned fully at her as they started for the library. His voice was soft when he spoke.

"It's getting harder and harder to pay attention in class. Just once, I want to do an assignment that we haven't done before, one that we aren't owling off to a private tutor." Hermione couldn't help but agree with him but instead of answering, she laid her head on his shoulder as they made their way into the library.

After taking seats at their usual table, Hermione was surprised to find that they were alone. It wasn't often that this happened though in this instance, she was glad. She didn't want questions asked as to why she was looking at books about all manners of creatures when she wasn't old enough to study Care of Magical Creatures. Truthfully, life would be so much better if they could get passes into the Restricted Section of the library; after all, it couldn't be any worse than the libraries at Black Moor and Malfoy Manor. Hermione had studied all sorts of subjects that were covered in the two libraries: all her core subjects at Hogwarts but also Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Care of Magical Creatures, Muggle Studies, Warding, Spell Theory and Creation, Occlumency, and just recently, healing. To have a pass to the Restricted Section would make the time she wasted on attending classes and doing classwork worthwhile.

Once they were settled, Hermione found her way to the Care of Magical Creatures section and picked several books from the shelves that would surely help her start her search. She retook her seat and opened the first book. Draco reached out and lifted the cover only to cast her a questioning glance. She gave him a small smile before speaking in a low voice, so she could be sure that nobody heard her.

"I can't help but wonder what the Slytherin monster is and how it's getting around unseen. I decided to do a little research. There's no way in blue hell that I'm leaving it up to Dumbledore to solve." He held her eyes for several seconds before nodding her way.

"You're right, that would be a sure way to disaster. Just be careful, Miney, I don't want you to get hurt." She snuggled into his side for a few moments before pulling away with a smile on her face.

"I won't. I have no intentions of hunting the monster down, just passing what it is to Uncle Sev if I can figure it out. From there, it's the Headmaster's problem." He pressed a quick kiss to the side of her head before nodding and turning back to the homework that he was working on, so they could send it off to Madam Cambridge.

Hermione found nothing of consequence in the first few books, but she didn't let it discourage her. Soon, the bell was ringing again to signal dinner and she was quick to re-shelve the books that weren't helpful. The two that she hadn't gotten to read yet were stuffed into her bag after filling out the appropriate paperwork to check them out. After she was finished, Draco held his arm out like he always did and started to escort her to dinner. Hermione frowned a little as she spoke.

"I know you have to get tired of escorting me everywhere, Drake. You can escort Pansy or whoever any time you want." He snorted next to her before patting her hand.

"I'm sure that I'll escort Pansy plenty in the coming years. Not to mention Daphne. This doesn't mean that I'll throw you over for her. You're my family and my best friend, there is no way that I would every just leave you with no escort because Pansy wanted my attention." Hermione frowned at his words.

"You don't want her attention?" He looked at her as if she was completely stupid.

"Pansy annoys the fuck out of me. However, I see her wanting to give herself up to me at the first convenience. I'm a guy and I'm not about to turn that down. Father just made sure to tell me that I'm to always be safe and never promise anything more than a good time." Hermione was sickened by his words but in her heart of hearts, she knew that he was right. Pansy had made clear that Draco was what she wanted, and it was likely that she would do anything in her power to get it. Still, she shoved him away from her with a scowl on her face.

"How is that alright for boys but not girls? What would you do if I slept with Theo?" Draco growled next to her, forcing her hand through his arm again. Once it was in place, she pinched the skin of his inner arm, causing him to hiss in pain.

"I would kill him where he stood and make sure that everyone was watching so they would know what happened to someone that messed with my cousin." Hermione was now shrieking.

"How can you say that when you plan to treat Pansy in the same manner?" Draco reached up and tugged her errant curl, enough to make her wince and meet his gaze. His tone was serious but not angry.

"I can say that because Pansy's father is pushing her to do these things. He doesn't care that she's going to lose value to other wizards because there's a chance she'll snag me. My fortune means more to him than his daughter's virtue and she's stupid enough to either not see it or to not care. I'm leaning towards the latter. You, on the other hand, are not being pushed to sleep with people. Your family wants you to save yourself for someone that you love, not just throwing the gift of your virginity to someone that only wants your money. When the time comes, and you want to sleep with someone that you truly care for and that cares for you in return, I won't say a thing. I won't even care if you're married. I just don't want you to be stupid about it." Hermione felt tears prick her eyes at his words and she suddenly felt terrible for pinching him like she had. She wrapped herself around him, hugging him close as she hid her stray tears in his robes.

"I'm sorry. I know you're right, I know that you would never take advantage of anyone if they really didn't know what they were doing. I just hate the double standard that our world demonstrates. It's perfectly acceptable for men to sleep around but not women. I don't think that I would like to be compared to a dozen other women, knowing that nothing I shared with the man I loved was special for the both of us. I wouldn't want to be one of a crowd. Maybe that isn't how I'd feel since I'm only thirteen but it's complete arsed bullshite that what's good for the goose isn't good for the gander." Draco rubbed a hand up and down her spine, soothing her more than she cared to admit.

"I know, Miney, but it's different for men. I'm only twelve so I'm not about to speculate but even the two of us are very different in how we feel about things. Truthfully, none of it matters right now. You aren't about to go sleep with anyone and I'm not anywhere near ready to sleep with anyone either. For now, just trust me when I say that I'm not going to ditch you for Pansy, not now and not ever." Hermione knew when she was beat, and Draco made sense. They were still too young to even worry about the subject they were discussing so there was no point in making it an argument now. She nodded her head against his chest before pulling away and giving him a smile.

"Alright, we won't worry about this today or any day soon." He kissed her forehead before releasing her and threading her hand through his arm again. With a grin, he started for the staircase that would lead him to the Great Hall.

"Our dinner awaits, my lady." Hermione giggled as she let him lead her towards the Great Hall.

-O-

Harry poked at his dinner, pushing it around his plate since he had already ate his fill. That didn't take him long these days; the quicker he ate, the quicker he could escape the Great Hall and the whispers that echoed through the cavernous room.

Nobody could stop talking about the fact that he was a parselmouth. After Ron and Pav had warned him what people would think of him, he shouldn't have been surprised but he was the first to admit that he was. He thought that he had had more friends than he did, that there were more people loyal to him. That didn't seem to be the case, however, since the only ones that didn't seem to be talking about him were Ron, Pav, the twins, and Neville. The fact that his own house was speaking ill of him made him want to get sick. So much for loyalty to your family.

Ron was shoveling food into his mouth at an alarming rate next to him. Parvati watched with a mixture of disgust and fondness on her face. Harry could only shake his head at the sight; his friend was undoubtedly disgusting but since he was his friend, he dealt with it. Parvati seemed to be of a like mind judging by the look on her face.

McGonagall's words were still playing over and over in his mind; he didn't think that he would ever forget her words about Slytherin's monster. It made him wonder just who in the school was descended from Salazar Slytherin; surely, it had to be one of the Slytherins. As much as he hoped that he was wrong, he couldn't help but wonder if it was Malfoy. He was from a family full of Slytherins for generations, he embodied the very qualities that the snakes found admirable. He was quite clearly the leader of their group, the other followed no matter what he told them to do. It fit the image that he was sure that Slytherin would have held for his heir.

Ron had told him that he suspected Hermione as the heir, but he just couldn't picture it. Sure, she was Slytherin, but she was constantly demonstrating traits from other houses as well. She was loyal to a fault, clearly Hufflepuff. Her intelligence was unmatched, Harry could admit that. Obviously Ravenclaw. She had thrown herself into danger to follow him under the school to protect the Philosopher's Stone, the Gryffindor trait standing out in his mind. It was insanely clear that she was ambitious, otherwise she would never have made Slytherin house hers to call home. For these reasons, he doubted that she was the heir. That and the fact that she seemed to genuinely be a nice person to everyone that was nice to her in turn.

The rest of their house started to float away from the table, obviously ready to get their evening started. For Harry, it meant homework with Ron and Pav in the common room. He hadn't been in the library for an extended period since he had sat with the Slytherins. While it wasn't a terrible experience, aside from Nott insulting his mother, he had been uncomfortable, and it wasn't something that he really wanted to do again; therefore, he checked out his books and then made his way to the common room, the one place that he was certain he wouldn't be asked to study with people that could possibly want him dead. By now, he no longer included Hermione in this category, but it was clear in the actions of the rest of her house that he was not welcome and the only reason he hadn't been run off the last time was because Hermione had allowed it.

Since Ron had felt the urge to stuff another full plate of food down his throat, Harry, Ron, and Parvati were among the last to leave the Great Hall. Once they were on their way, they started discussing just what subjects they were going to work on in the common room. Harry let his thoughts drift to staying at Hogwarts for Christmas while Pav waxed on about the assignment from History of Magic.

He was thrilled to be staying at Hogwarts for Christmas; it was much better than returning home to the Dursleys where he would be treated like a common slave. Ron had magnanimously volunteered to stay with him, and even though Harry had assured him that it wasn't necessary, he was still thankful that he had a friend that was willing to give up his holiday at home to spend time with him. Even though there hadn't been an invitation to Christmas, Molly Weasley had written him and told him that he would most certainly be welcome for summer holidays again. That in and of itself was more than he had dreamed of.

Harry was pulled from his thoughts by a scream from Parvati. Her hands were covering her mouth and eyes wide; Ron was staring dumbly at the scene before them. After seeing their reactions, Harry was quick to turn his eye to what lay ahead of him. Sir Nick was floating aimlessly through the air, face up, but wasn't responding to anything. Justin Finch-Fletchley was laying face up on the ground, his hands held out like he was trying to block something from hitting him. He was still, and his eyes were unseeing; it was unsettling to say the least.

Harry threw himself to the ground and checked for a pulse as he ordered Parvati to go find a professor. She disappeared around the bend of the corridor while Harry tried to ascertain if Justin was dead or merely petrified. Since both had a common factor of having no pulse it was truly hard to say. Ron remained speechless off in the distance, clearly not sure what he was supposed to say or do.

His hapless best mate was saved from reaction by Professor McGonagall appearing around the corner and Parvati trailing after her. Once she had bent at the knees to feel for a pulse at Justin's neck, her wand appeared, and a small silvery cat appeared. She seemed to converse with it quietly before it ran off and left them all standing there as if nothing had happened. After she watched it disappear, she turned her attention back to them.

"I want to know exactly what happened." Harry nodded nervously before launching into his story. He remembered well that it hadn't been received very well when he had found Colin Creevey.

"We were on our way back from the Great Hall and found Justin like this, with Sir Nick floating face-up nearby. I sent Pav after a professor and I checked Justin's neck for a pulse. I didn't find one but couldn't decide if he was dead or petrified like the others." She met his gaze for several moments, almost as if trying to gauge his sincerity, but turned away in the end. Professor Snape and the Headmaster were approaching at a brisk pace.

"Return to your common room. I will tell the Headmaster everything you told me and if he needs to see you further, he will alert you. Speak of this to no one." Harry was quick to nod his understanding. He stood from Justin's side and ushered Ron and Pav down the corridor. They had only made it three floors up when Ron pulled them into an alcove that Harry had never seen before. His voice was low and sounded like a hiss as he spoke.

"I know this heir business is either Malfoy or Black. There's nobody else that it could be." Harry hated to defend the girl in front of Ron, but he felt that it was necessary.

"Black can't be the heir. Her father was a Gryffindor. No heir of Slytherin's would end up in Gryffindor." He snorted at Harry.

"Her real father was a Slytherin and so was her mother. She could be the heir to Slytherin just as easily as Malfoy could." Harry had forgotten that point and could only nod his agreement. It was possible though it still didn't seem likely. Ron was clearly in planning mode since his eyes were gleaming the same way they did when they played chess. In that moment, Harry was sure that his friend was going to get them in big trouble.

"The pair of them are staying behind for the holidays. They're the only Slytherins on the list so I think that we should use your cloak and sneak into their common room and spy on them. One of them, fuck, both of them, could admit to being the heir and we could go tell Dumbledore. We could finally be rid of them forever." Harry didn't want to tell his friend that he didn't hate the pair with the same level of hatred that he did; it really wouldn't accomplish anything. In fact, it would do his friend a world of good to see that after spying on the pair that they weren't planning anything sinister. Harry turned to Parvati.

"I'm in, what about you?" Parvati gave them a peeved look.

"I hadn't had the chance to tell you. Padma complained that I wasn't going to come home to my parents, told them it's a family holiday and such. They're making me come home for Christmas, so it'll just be the two of you spying. I want to hear about every second though, I want to hear about how you discovered that they were guilty." Harry had to fight the urge to roll his eyes but refrained in the end. However, he couldn't help just one comment.

"What are you guys going to do if they aren't the heirs of Slytherin? Then you're just going to sound stupid and nobody will ever take us seriously again." Ron turned disbelieving eyes to his friend.

"Trust me, one of them is guilty. The truth will come out eventually. No worries, though, if we don't get proof, we won't say a word to anyone that we suspected them unless asked." Harry sighed deeply, knowing that this was the best that he could ask for. Knowing that he was going to have to help plan, he raked his hand through his hair before he spoke.

"I think we should shoot for Christmas then. Maybe they'll contact their parents from the floo access in their common room." Ron nodded enthusiastically.

"That's a great idea. We'll follow them down after Christmas dinner. Since it's just the two of them I doubt they'll leave the common room again after that." Parvati was nodding now even though she wasn't going to be there. Harry held his hands up to stop their excited chatter.

"Let's get back to the common room and talk further. This isn't the time, especially after McGonagall told us to get back to the common room." Both his friends nodded amiably, setting off through the corridors towards the seventh floor.

Harry wasn't sure what he was supposed to do or how he was supposed to act with this idea. He thought that it was complete rubbish but the other two weren't going to believe him unless they were clearly proven wrong. As they clambered through the portrait hole that led to their common room, Harry made the resolution to do all he could to make sure that Ron believed that the pair was innocent. The first order in proving that would be to follow them and prove to him that they weren't discussing killing off all the muggleborns in the castle.

It was his plan and he was going to make it work.

A/N- There you are, guys, another chapter finished. This one felt like it took forever but I guess it really didn't. I hope it met all y'alls expectations. Thanks to everyone out there for reading and reviewing, you guys are the bomb. Let me know what you guys thought, I like to hear your opinions. Reviews are love

Next up, Christmas and some spying time.

Love,

Alicia


	34. Chapter 34

A/N- You guys are just so awesome, I can't even tell you how much I appreciate the reviews you leave and the love you send my way. It keeps me going and keeps me writing no matter how much writers block I get and how discouraged I get. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I hope you all enjoy this story and it lives up to your expectations. Anyways, enough from me, I'll let you get to reading!

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing. It's all been done before and I haven't made any money from this story or any other. If I had, I would have quit my job and taken up writing full time.

Chapter 34

December 25, 1992

Hermione lazily rolled to her side to cast a tempus charm. Her dorm was freezing cold but since she had cast a warming charm on her bedding the night before, she was nice and toasty under the duvet. When the time appeared on her curtain, she sat up in bed, smile wide across her features, the warmth of her bed forgotten. It was after eight on Christmas morning.

Draco was probably ready to kill her. He had told her that he was setting an alarm for six, implored her to do the same, so they could open their gifts early. She had completely forgotten, however, and he wasn't able to get through the girl dormitory door. The Slytherin hurried and shoved her feet in her slippers before rushing to the door and flinging it open. Draco was perched on the sofa closest to the fire, arms crossed over his chest, and scowl on his face. She had to fight the urge to giggle at the picture he made but figured that it wouldn't do to anger him further. She stepped out into the common room and put a sheepish smile on her face.

"I'm really sorry, I forgot to set my alarm." He glared at her for a few moments before he responded.

"You better have got me a really good present to make up for making me wait over two hours on you. I should have just opened presents without you." Hermione plopped down on the couch next to him, so she could lean over and press and noisy, wet kiss to his cheek. He grimaced and wiped his cheek and this time she couldn't keep the laughter in. It just made him glare harder.

"You're going to love my present and you know you would never open presents without me. I'm really sorry." Draco seemed to relent in his glaring and his face softened just a little.

"I forgive you this once. Next time, I'm going to brave the hex that Uncle Sev put on your doors and pour water over your head." Hermione laughed again but nodded her head.

"Fair enough. Are you ready to open presents now?" His eyes lit up now and he stood, pulling her after him so they could settle on the floor in front of the fire.

The pair of them had sent the presents for their family with Nuntius two days ago; when he returned, he was loaded down with gifts from their parents. Uncle Sev had left his presents with them the night before, offering them the choice of when they wanted him to spend time with them. Both had decided that they would rather spend the evening with him which freed him up to spend time with their parents that morning. It wasn't perfect but at least they were going to get to spend some time with one of their family members.

Hermione was still peeved that they were having to stay behind at all. As far as she could tell, Harry was in the most danger because of Dobby, not some diary that had once belonged to the Dark Lord. Uncle Luci had already recalled Dobby back to the Manor so there was that problem solved. She heaved a sigh. Even though she would rather be with her family, riding her horse with Aunt Cissy and spending time with her father and Uncle Luci, she understood why they had asked them to stay behind. Harry's protection was paramount and if something happened to him because she had gone home, she would have felt terrible.

Draco was already ripping into his gifts. Hermione delved into hers at a much more sedate pace. Aunt Cissy had spent a ridiculous amount of money on more clothes and lingerie; she wasn't sure how the woman could think that she needed an additional ten bra and knickers sets but she didn't complain. They were a size bigger than what she had gone to school with, something that pleased Hermione greatly. She had been trying to hold out until the end of the school year to go get a bigger size, but it wasn't necessary now.

Uncle Luci had gotten her tickets to go to a horse show in France over the summer. Not just any horse show, but a special show where the horses were bred with magic and could perform remarkable feats that normal horses couldn't. He had bought her aunt a ticket too and she was sure that the woman would turn it into a girl's weekend. Not that she was complaining. She never complained about massages and pedicures.

Uncle Sev had gotten her very own subscription to Potion's Quarterly, probably because he always got tired of her stealing his. Along with it came a subscription for Transfiguration Today and Charms Monthly. She couldn't help but squeal in delight, hugging the subscription papers to her chest. Draco rolled his eyes at her before smiling good-naturedly at her.

Her father's gift was by the far the simplest and it was her favorite so far. He had put together a photo album that mainly featured her mother and father. Photos of Regulus playing quidditch, trying to learn how to dance, marrying her mother. The pictures of her mother were just as wonderful; brewing potions in the lab at Malfoy Manor, sitting under Hermione's favorite tree in the garden and reading a book, dressed formally for a ball. Towards the end, there were photos of the pair of them holding her as an infant, not even hours old. The smiles on their faces were broad and even though they both looked exhausted, happiness was shining in their eyes.

Tears pricked at her eyes, but she held them back ruthlessly. Draco seemed to realize that something was wrong, leaning over to throw an arm around her shoulders. He took album from her and flipped through it, studying every single picture inside. She leaned her head on his shoulder and watched him, smiling a little when he burst out laughing at the photo of her father with a black eye, one that he had received after getting in a fight with his brother. When he was finished, he handed it back to her and squeezed her shoulders before he spoke.

"Well, now my present is going to suck compared to that. How am I supposed to compete with that?" Hermione couldn't help but to laugh, thankful that her cousin always knew what to say to make her feel better. She picked up the letter that came with the album and the pair of them read it together.

 _Poppet,_

 _I should have done this for you years ago, but I have only my cowardice to blame. I didn't want to dredge up bad memories regarding my brother. We didn't part on the best of terms and it's something that I regret every single day._

 _The photos of Regulus came from me, but your aunt and uncle provided the ones or Erise and when you were born. I offered to put their name on the gift but they both refused. I'm sorry this took me so long to make for you and I hope that it brightens your day when you're feeling lonely at school. I think this summer we should sit down together and make an album for you to take to school next year, one that has pictures of all of us and your years growing up. We can start a new tradition and add to it every summer, so it's always updated. I know your aunt and uncles would love knowing that you take a part of them to school with you every year._

 _I love you, sweetness._

 _Daddy_

Hermione sniffed again, touched by his words and the idea of making an album together. She bet that she could even convince Uncle Luci and Uncle Sev to sit down and help them. It would probably take her full-power puppy-dog eyes but she didn't mind breaking them out for special occasions. It would be nice to make more than one copy, so they could all have one to look at. Draco, who knew her better than anyone, snorted.

"You're going to make me help with this, aren't you?" She burst into laughter before tickling his ribs.

"I'm going to break out the big guns and make everyone help with this. It would be nice if we all had an album." Draco groaned and rolled his eyes.

"Miney, you know that it isn't manly for a bloke to have a photo album that he carries around with him. Besides, if I get nostalgic, I can just come steal yours." She pinched his side now. He hissed in pain and twisted away from her before glaring at her again.

"Don't you ever get tired about worrying what other people think?" He sighed and picked up the album again, running his fingers over the cover.

"Of course, I do, Miney. I hate it. You know as well as I do that I have to do it anyways. For one, it doesn't fit the image of a Malfoy and for two, it would look like weakness to the others. It shows emotion and there is always going to be someone that finds emotions such as love a weakness. My father would be pissed if I showed that kind of weakness." Hermione leaned over and hugged him from the side, locking her hands together around his ribs. His arms came around her too.

"I know, I just hate that so much is expected of you. You show emotion for me; how do people not see that as a weakness?" Draco sighed, and she knew that it was probably in exasperation.

"You're family, it's expected of me to protect you and keep you safe. You're also Hermione Black, only daughter and heir to the Black fortune and legacy. Nobody is stupid enough to think protecting you is a weakness." As much as she hated his words, she knew they were true. She released the hug and sat back, smiling at him.

"Fine, you don't have to have an album but you're still going to help. We'll be at home and there won't be anyone to know that the lot of you are doing something so effeminate as putting together a photo album." He grinned now before handing her her next gift.

"Enough of this talk. Open my gift and tell me how wonderful I am." Hermione grinned at him and ripped through the paper. Inside was a simple book bag, green and silver in color, with her name stitched on the front. He bumped her shoulder with his and she could see a faint blush on his cheeks when he spoke.

"I had to order it special. It has an undetectable extension charm on it, so you can put the whole Hogwarts library in there and it'll still look like it's almost empty. Plus, I added a featherlight charm of my own so no matter how much you put in there, it won't ever feel heavy." Hermione threw her arms around her cousin and kissed him on the cheek before sitting back and inspecting the bag closer.

"It's brilliant, Drake, thank you so much. I love it." He grinned at her again and she wished that he did that more often. He was always schooling his face and minding his expressions; to see him grin in such a free way made her happy.

"You're welcome. I love my gift too, I'm going to rub it in Theo and Blaise's face that I already have tickets to the World Cup." She smiled at him, thrilled that he liked her gift.

"I bought you four tickets, you can just rub it in even more and take them with you." Draco laughed.

Hermione opened the rest of her gifts, small tokens from her friends there at Hogwarts. The twins had gone in together and bought her one of the new books on potions that she had been eyeing for a few weeks. Neville had given her a gift certificate to Flourish and Blotts, Pansy a book on makeup charms, Daphne a trinket made of crystal in the shape of a ballet dancer. All in all, she had several new books to read and couldn't wait to start them, especially the one from the twins.

After their gifts were all opened and put away, Hermione climbed in the shower while Draco was doing the same. Since it was Christmas, rather than serving breakfast, a huge Christmas dinner would be served in early afternoon. As the only Slytherins in house, Hermione would have loved to get a start on the books she had gotten but Draco had put his foot down. They were going to go outside and have a snow ball fight before they ate. Her belly was rumbling so she supposed that it would distract her to go outside and take in a bit of fresh air.

The Slytherin made sure to dress warmly; she cast a warming charm on her trousers and boots, hoping that it would be enough to keep her feet warm. No matter how warm the rest of her stayed, her feet always managed to get cold. She put on one of her new blouses and the cloak that her aunt had bought her because the shade matched her eyes perfectly. She left her hair down since she was going to put a hat on.

Draco was waiting for her by the door to the common room. When he saw her, he grinned at her before pulling his wand out and waving it over her whole body. She cast him a questioning glance and he was quick to tell her that it was an impervious charm to keep them dry. He then led her out of the common room and through the corridors until they reached the main doors to the castle.

It seemed as though they weren't the only ones to have the idea of a snow ball fight. There was only fifteen students or so that had stayed at the castle over the holiday and most of them were already outside playing in the snow. All the Weasleys had stayed and she wasn't sure why. Neville had said something about visiting one of their sons, but she hadn't paid much attention. The Weasley's holiday plans were not something that she wondered about. As far as she knew, the redheads and Harry were the only ones staying in the castle from Gryffindor. The other seven students were split between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw

They were all splitting into teams, it seemed, making a formal game out of something that she really didn't want to play. She had come out to appease Draco and since she had missed her morning run in favor of present-opening, she figured that a little exercise was better than none. However, this didn't mean that she wanted to play with a dozen other students. One of the older Ravenclaw students was trying his best to make the teams fair.

"Malfoy and Black can be on Percy's team -." He didn't get to finish the statement since Ron spoke.

"I won't be on the same team as Malfoy and Black." Hermione felt her cheeks color slightly at his words. Draco put a hand on her arm, clearly warning her to stay calm. Ragby (she thought that was the Ravenclaw's name?) sighed and raked a hand through his hair. Fred stepped forward and with a grin, started telling everyone what teams they were going to be on.

"We'll have two captains, me and Ron since he's the one with the problem. I'll take Georgie as my first team mate." Ron smirked at his brother.

"I want Harry." Fred nodded.

"Black and Malfoy are with me." The choosing continued, Hermione ending up on a team with Draco, the twins, Ragby, Summers, and Mitchell. Ron's team consisted of himself, Harry, Ginny, Percy, Campbell, Abbott, and Winters. They appeared to be pretty evenly matched. Fred spoke again, and she had to admit that she was surprised that he was inquiring about rules.

"Is this a good old-fashioned snow ball fight or is there magic allowed?" Hermione didn't really care either way, so she left it to everyone else to decide. After several minutes of listening to them discuss it, it was finally decided that they could use magic if they wanted but it wasn't required. Hermione rolled her eyes. Who knew that a snow ball fight had become such a big deal?

They were given five minutes to make as many snowballs as they could manage. Hermione wasn't very good at it so she didn't get near as many made as Draco or the twins had. The three of them were laughing and talking quietly about something but she couldn't hear what they were saying. After their five minutes, Fred hollered for everyone to begin.

Hermione wasn't very good at making snow balls, let alone throwing them. She did her best, though, and was even successful at hitting some of the other team's players. However, she was hit far more times than she cared to admit and was thankful that Draco had thought ahead to cast the impervious charm on her clothing. It seemed that everyone was using magic to make their snowballs fly faster than they would have normally. It did sting a bit more than it would have if they had been thrown naturally but she supposed that it didn't matter.

They all played for over an hour before Fred called for them all to stop and make more snowballs. Hermione wanted to bow out and just watch but after a look from Draco, she knew that she wouldn't. He was having a blast and if he thought that she wasn't having a good time, he would stop playing and escort her back inside. It was Christmas and he deserved to have fun. One day of playing in the snow was worth that.

Hermione did notice that the other students hadn't been smart enough to charm their clothing. The rest of her team mates were soaking wet and shivering though they were all determined to carry on with the game. Deciding that since it was Christmas, she would be nice to the others. She pulled George aside first, drying his clothes with a wave of his wand. After he was dry, she cast warming charms on all his clothing and then followed it with an impervious. Once she was finished, he pulled her into an exuberant hug, spinning her around through the air and kissed her sloppily on the cheek. She was starting Fred when she saw Draco doing the same on Ragby. It took several minutes but once they were done, her team mates were much happier.

The game commenced again. Hermione was half-heartedly participating, watching Harry out of the corner of her eyes. His cheeks were rosy from the cold and his clothes were soaked. Even though he had to be freezing, he appeared to be having the time of his life. He was full of laughter and smiles, high-fiving Ronald when his snowball hit George in the face.

Hermione had just about been ready to tell everyone that Christmas dinner would be starting in just ten minutes time when something rock hard and freezing cold hit her right below her left eye. Even though she hated to show weakness, she couldn't help the small cry of pain as she dropped for her knees in the snow. Her hand covered the area and she could already feel it swelling. Draco was at her side instantly, trying to pull her hand away from her face so he could see it. The twins stood behind him, serious looks on their faces and the rest of the players halted the game.

"Mia, tell me what's wrong. You have to let me see it." She couldn't keep her eye from watering, but she made sure that her expression revealed nothing. The Slytherin let Draco pull her hand away from her face and there were gasps around them.

"I got hit in the face." Draco had a look of rage on his face and he began to feel around on the ground. After several seconds of wondering what he was doing, his hands closed around a snowball. It was rock hard, clearly frozen.

"Somebody froze the snowball and then used to magic to make it go faster. Who the fuck did this to her?" Everyone turned to Ron, even the twins, but he held his hands up and was frantically shaking his head.

"It wasn't me, check my pile. None of them are hard and I haven't had my wand out since we started the second time." As much as Hermione would love to blame him for it, she knew that he wasn't lying. He hadn't had his wand out since they started the second time, though everyone else had. That only left one other person that would have resorted to this and she refused to say anything because she was going to look barmy. Turning water, or snow for that matter, into ice was a charm more advanced than a normal first year would know. Hermione looked over to Ginny and saw a small smirk of satisfaction. Hermione acted like she hadn't seen anything.

"It doesn't matter now. What's done is done. Let's just go back to the castle; I'm starving, and dinner is about to start." Draco helped her to her feet and examined her face more closely. His hands were gentle, but she still winced in pain as his fingers brushed the area under her eye.

"It's already starting to bruise. You have a little cut where it hit you and your eye may close. I suppose we should get you to Madam Pomfrey first." Hermione knew that there were people still listening, so she made sure to keep her tone respectful.

"She isn't there, remember? She told us at dinner last night that she was going to her son's for the day and that she would return tonight. She told us that the Headmaster would fill in for her until she returned." Draco growled as he laced her arm through his and started to pull her towards the castle.

"The Headmaster isn't touching you, let alone casting a spell on you. I guess we'll have to wait for Uncle Severus to come back and heal you." Hermione nodded, knowing full well that it could be hours before he returned. The last thing that she wanted to do was spend the rest of the day sporting a shiner.

They entered the castle, the rest of the students behind them. Since there wasn't time to take their cloaks back to their common rooms, Hermione and Draco took theirs off and placed them on the Ravenclaw house table just a few feet from where they would all be eating at the Hufflepuff table. The rest of the students followed their example before taking their seats. The professors watched them silently until they were all seated. Hermione found herself with Draco on her left and George on her right and facing Harry. The food had just appeared, the table digging into the food with gusto when Professor Cat gasped.

"Miss Black, what happened to your face?" She set her fork down and met her professor's gaze.

"We were having a snowball fight, and someone froze their snowball and hit me in the face." After a few moments of silence, Hermione turned her attention to her food again.

"I insist that you allow Professor Dumbledore to heal that, it looks to be very painful." Hermione wanted to snap at the woman and tell her that it was very painful, what had been her first clue, but she refrained.

"No thank you, Professor. I wouldn't want to take the Headmaster's time. I'll just wait until Professor Snape returns to the school and have him heal me." The table had fallen silent and Hermione could feel Draco squeezing her leg under the table. Professor Cat didn't look too pleased. However, she probably guessed as to the reason why she didn't want the Headmaster to heal her.

"Are you sure that you wouldn't like me to try to heal you? It's far from my area of expertise but I would attempt it if you would like." Hermione gave her a genuine smile. She was trying to be nice, she seemed to genuinely care that she was injured, and was willing to do what she could to make it easier on Hermione.

"Thank you, Professor, but I'll just wait for Professor Snape. I've seen him heal Draco enough times through the years that I know he's very good at it." The professor didn't look too sure of letting this decision slide but in the end decided to let it stand. She gave Hermione a small smile.

"Very well, Miss Black. If you should change your mind, I'll be in my office for the remainder of the afternoon." Hermione gave her a quick nod and turned back to her plate.

The meal passed without incident. The food was delicious, evidenced by everyone putting away a ridiculous amount of it. Hermione didn't eat seconds, but she did manage to eat almost everything on her plate, a rarity when Draco was the one who served her. He was always worried that she never ate enough and thought that piling her plate high would make her want to eat it.

Weasley put away four plates of food before pudding was served, Harry ate three. The twins were next to her and were staring at their brother with disgust. He wasn't employing any manners whatsoever and didn't seem to care that half the table was sickened at his display. Finally, Fred aimed a swift kick at his youngest brother, catching him in the shin by the sounds of it.

"Oww! What was that for?" George just shook his head at how thick his brother was.

"We know Mum taught you manners. Use them for Merlin's sake. Watching you eat is disgusting. You are not a hog at trough." Hermione wanted to giggle at their words but decided not to. Ron was glaring at his brothers.

"It isn't that bad, besides, I'm a growing boy. I'm starving." Fred kicked him again.

"Mum would be horrified if she was watching you right now. Chew with your mouth closed and use your bloody napkin." Ron was getting ready to retort, yet again with a full mouth, but was kept from speaking by the Gryffindor Head of House.

"Language, Mr. Weasley and he's correct, Ronald. Manners should always be used when eating. Nobody wants half-chewed food spewed at them when you decide to speak." Harry was clearly trying to hide his smile behind his hand. When Ronald saw him, he shoved his shoulder into his friends, but this just caused Harry to outright laugh now. After a few moments, the whole table joined in. It was the strangest thing, but it hadn't ended in a fight and Hermione hadn't been blamed. It was a good end to a great meal.

Once the pudding disappeared from the table, Hermione rose to her feet, Draco following suit. They gathered their cloaks and started for the dungeons after giving the twins a quick farewell. They made their way through the corridors until they reached their common room. Once inside, Hermione was quick to retreat to her dorm room and replace her cloak in her wardrobe. She removed her boots and put them in the bottom of her wardrobe as well, sliding into her slippers. They still had a few hours before dinner would be served, and after that Uncle Sev was going to spend time with them.

Draco was already on the couch in front of the fire, sprawled out on his back with his hands behind his head like a pillow. He was still in the same clothes as before, but he had kicked his boots off and shoved them to the side of the couch. Hermione sat down next to his head and it was only moments before Draco scooted closer and put his head in her lap. She couldn't help but be surprised. It had been ages since he had laid like this with her. Almost as if it happened every day, she began to play with his hair, baby soft and fine. His eyes slid closed but Hermione knew that he wasn't asleep.

"Tell me who threw that rock at you." Hermione sighed as she leaned her head back against the couch.

"I know it sounds crazy, but I think it was Ginny. Yeah, the spell is advanced but nobody else had any reason to do that. She's already proven that she doesn't like me. I knew that if I said anything then they all would have been pissed and it would have ruined Christmas." Draco opened an eye, so he could glare at her.

"What about your Christmas? Now you have to sit around all day with a black eye the size of a dragon." Hermione snorted at his exaggeration.

"It's fine, Drake. I can't prove that it was her so there's no reason to make a big deal out of it. Uncle Sev will be here tonight and he'll fix me up." Draco reached up and tugged one of her curls. Before they could say anything else, Nuntius was at the charmed window, tapping it quietly with something clearly clutched in his foot. Draco rose and let his familiar in, taking the letter from him and waving him towards the bowl of treats at the window sill. He resumed his position and broke the seal on the parchment.

"It's a letter from the family. I'll read it since you probably can't bloody see with your eye like that." Hermione rolled her eyes but nodded her agreement.

 _Draco and Hermione,_

 _We hope this letter finds you both well and enjoying your Christmas. We know that neither of you really wanted to stay over the holidays and we don't blame you. This is the only time that we have to see you as well. It's a long ten months to not see you at all._

 _We don't want you to feel like we didn't want you here; in fact, it's killing us that you aren't here to share in the Christmas cheer with us. We had to pass our own gifts out since Hermione wasn't here to do it. We didn't get to here you two bickering about who gave the better gift. We know that it's hard for you to stay but we appreciate it all the same._

 _We all loved our gifts, thank you very much. The three of us can only hope that you enjoyed your gifts as well. We really have nothing of import to share; this letter was more to let you know that we were thinking of you both and missing your presence. We'll close for now and can't wait for summer to come._

 _We love you both._

 _Sirius, Lucius, and Narcissa_

Hermione sniffed and watched as Draco folded the parchment back the way it had been before he opened it. He glanced up at Hermione and when he saw that she was upset, tugged one of her curls again.

"We're the only ones here. We should just sleep out here tonight. Make a pallet on the floor and stay up reading to each other, Uncle Sev won't care. We may not have the rest of our family right now, but we still have each other." Hermione bent down and kissed her cousin on the forehead before settling back comfortably against the couch.

"That's a great idea. For now, though, I want a nap. My head hurts and maybe sleep will help." Draco nodded against her legs.

"That's a great idea."

-O-

Harry watched from the table in the Great Hall as Hermione pushed food around her plate in an attempt to make it look like she was eating. Her eye looked positively horrid now. It was purple underneath her eye and clear down her cheek, her eye was swollen shut, and the cut was oozy. It was clear that she had tried to clean it up, but it was probably too tender to do a very good job of it.

Seeing her like this was a stark contrast to how she had looked before her injury. She had looked beautiful in her icy blue cloak and feminine trousers. Her boots had gone to her knees, ensuring that her feet would remain dry and warm, her hair had been heavy down her back with snowflakes catching in the ebony curls. He could tell that she really didn't want to play but she was a good sport about it even after Ron had been a prat and refused to play on her team. Harry really had no idea who had thrown that snowball at her, but he supposed that if she was letting it drop, then he should as well.

He and Ron had decided that tonight was going to be the night that they spied on the Slytherin pair to disprove Ron's theory about one of them being the heir to Slytherin. Harry had brought his dad's cloak with him and they were going to follow the pair back to their common room underneath it after dinner. It had the potential to bite them in arse but if it would shut Ron up, it was worth it. They would just have to wait until the pair went to bed before they sneaked out.

Ron was still wolfing down food, how Harry wasn't sure. It looked as if he hadn't just put away five plates of food just a few hours before. However, he nudged Ron in the leg and gestured for him to get up and leave with him. They were going to have to lay in wait and then follow after them; they risked being seen otherwise. With a sigh of displeasure, Ron set his fork down and took one last drink of pumpkin juice before he stood and followed Harry out of the Great Hall.

When he was sure that nobody was watching them, Harry pulled his invisibility cloak out and threw it over them. They shimmered out of sight and settled against the wall to wait for the Slytherin pair. They didn't have to wait long, not even five minutes before they appeared. They were laughing quietly about something as they strolled past them.

Harry and Ron were quick to follow, trying to be as quiet as possible. Since the only common room that Harry had entered was Gryffindor, he was more than a little surprised when the entrance to Slytherin was a long expanse of wall. He couldn't hear the password but after they uttered it, the wall seemed to vibrate slightly before it became a door. Malfoy held the door open for Hermione, allowing her to enter before him. Harry and Ron were quick to slip in after the blond before the door shut behind him.

The room was so different from Gryffindors that it wasn't even funny. Where the lion's den was warm and full of bright colors, squashy couches and chairs with a million pillows, Slytherin was the opposite. It was on the cool side, and while it had several couches and chairs, they were black and leather, screaming of class and wealth. The room wasn't green but very muted colors that made Harry feel like he had just stepped into a magazine.

Malfoy released his cousin and walked over to the fireplace, lighting it with ease. The room seemed to warm immediately, and he couldn't help but wonder if it was charmed differently than the one in the Tower. Both disappeared to opposite ends of the room and went through doors; Harry could only assume that they were the doors to their dormitories. He and Ron settled against the wall closest to the fire, hoping that they would still be able to hear their conversations over the crackling of the fire.

Malfoy reappeared first; clearly, he had been changing clothes. He was now in a pair of sleep pants in navy blue with Puddlemere United's logo down the leg. A plain white tee shirt completed his ensemble since his feet were bare. In his arms were all the blankets off not only his bed but probably those of his friends. He threw them on the floor before the fire and started laying them out like he was going to sleep on them. It was several minutes later that Hermione emerged, blankets in her arms as well. When she dropped the on the ground next to Draco, Harry felt his heart stop.

Hermione Black was wearing next to no clothing, at least compared to what she wore during the day. Her feet were bare, and she had on the tiniest pair of shorts he had ever seen coupled with a tank top and no bra. The tank top hugged her body and had the word "witch" across her breasts in rhinestones. Harry never would have guessed that her breasts were already as big as they were since she kept them appropriately covered in public. Even though she was extremely petite and tiny, her legs seemed impossibly long and pale. In short, even though she was only a thirteen-year-old witch, Harry now couldn't deny that his cock had jumped to life in his trousers. A hairbrush was clutched in her hand and while Malfoy spread the blankets out like he had his, she attempted to brush a knot out of the hair at the back of her head. She cursed lightly as she sat on pallet. Malfoy sighed and held his hand out.

"Give it here or you'll end up with no hair left. Mother was so mad at you the last time you ripped that hunk of hair out of your head because you couldn't get the knot out." Malfoy settled behind her started to brush her curls, gently detangling the knot that she had been caught on. Her eyes were closed and looked as though she was enjoying his attention. Harry couldn't believe that they were witnessing Malfoy helping his cousin brush her hair. Her voice was soft when she broke the silence.

"When do you think Uncle Sev will be here? My face really hurts." Malfoy finished with her hair and turned her to look more closely at her face. His fingers reached out and tested the skin around her eye.

"I don't know but I know that cut looks disgusting. You're lucky that snowball didn't hit you in the eye and blind you." She nodded her head and laid down, her hands folding underneath her head like a pillow.

"I know. It didn't though so there's no sense in dwelling on it." Malfoy laid down next to her, mirroring her actions.

"You still should have told Professor Cat who did it. No, there was no proof but if you're sure that the Weasel didn't do it, that leaves nobody else who would want to hurt you. As clueless as Potter is about life in general, I don't think he would be malicious enough to hurt you on the sly. If he was going to hurt you, he would have done it openly and then admitted to it afterwards." Harry couldn't help but feel irritated with that statement. Hermione sighed.

"I would have just landed in detention for false accusations. That was a spell that most first years don't know. Let's face it, Ginny is a Weasley. She's on Dumbledore's favorites list because her parents were part of the Order and they take every single word he says as gospel. Merlin, he was found guilty of cursing me when I was two years old. You would think that people would stop idolizing him. It's ridiculous." Harry wasn't sure what to think about the things she was saying. She thought that Ginny had thrown the rock at her? Ginny, while spoiled rotten, was a sweet girl that didn't seem to have a mean bone in her body. Why would she want to hurt Hermione? He recalled Dumbledore telling him that he had cursed Hermione by accident but not that he had been found guilty of it by a court. He supposed that in the end it didn't matter but he could see why the girl didn't want the Headmaster to heal her.

Their conversation was cut off by the door opening and Professor Snape striding through the door, two vials in one hand and a box in the other. Both Hermione and Malfoy sat up quickly and grinned at the surly man, only to be even more surprised when he ginned back at them. The professor toed off shoes before he sat on the pallet next to them, so he could gently turn Hermione's face back and forth.

"I'm glad you waited for me to heal this. Minerva only told me that you had been injured in a snowball fight. What happened?" While Hermione told him the story, the Potions Master pulled every strand of hair out of the wound and away from her eyes.

"Why do you think Ginny Weasley did this?" Hermione sighed.

"She found me in the library one day and basically threatened me. She said that she sees Harry watching me and that he deserves better than the daughter of the man who betrayed his parents. After I was hurt, I looked up at her and she was smirking. Like I told Draco, I have no proof, so it would have been pointless to name her." Harry felt terror race through his veins at her words. He had been caught staring at the girl, which meant that it was obvious to anyone who was paying attention. He needed to be more careful or his secret obsession wouldn't be secret anymore. Professor Snape pulled his wand from his frock coat and pointed it at her face. She didn't so much as flinch at the sight. He started to cast on her, his eyes not leaving the spot on her face that he was healing.

"Keep this to yourself. It wouldn't do for you to accuse the girl without proof." His wand trailed over the wounded area, the swelling disappearing and the bruise reverting back to the pale perfection her skin usually was. After her face was restored, Professor Snape reached into one of his pockets and pulled a tub of cream out. He scooped some out onto his fingers and began dabbing it on the cut. Harry watched it close before his eyes. When he was finished, he handed the two vials to her, urging her to drink them down.

"The first is for infection since it went untreated for so long. The second is for the pain. While you appear to be healed completely, the area will still be sore and tender, like the bruise is still there. If you need more potion for the pain, come find me." She nodded at him and grinned before she hugged him close. She whispered something in his ear, but Harry couldn't quite make out her words. Ron was next to him, vibrating with rage. Harry put a hand on his friend's shoulder to calm him down; the last thing they needed was for the pair of them to be discovered because Ron had lost his temper. Snape sat back, his back against the couch and legs stretched out in front of him. He pulled the box to himself and opened it.

"I figured that the two of you would want some of Candy's treacle tart. I know it's your favorite. I also brought along some of my hot chocolate." Hermione squealed her happiness and reached into the box to find the hot chocolate.

"Yours in the best in the world but I will deny I ever said that if you dare tell Candy or Dot. It would hurt their feelings." Snape chuckled, and Harry watched as Hermione handed cups to Malfoy and himself. After she had taken a long drink, she settled against the couch next to him.

"We decided to sleep out here in front of the fire. Will the elves report it to the Headmaster?" Snape shook his head as he set his cup on the couch behind him.

"No, they'll report it to me. I'm not worried, you two have been sleeping together since Draco was born." Malfoy's cheeks tinged pink, but Hermione just shrugged her shoulders.

"Sleeping with Drake makes me feel safer." Snape reached out and ran a hand down the length of her curls but didn't say anything else.

"How long can you stay with us?" Snape tugged one of her curls.

"As long as you like. What would you like to do?" Hermione set her cup down and bolted into what Harry assumed was her room, only to reappear seconds later with a huge book in her hands.

"The twins got me the new potions book that we were talking about last week. Will you read it to us?" Their professor chuckled at her eagerness but nodded nonetheless. He shrugged out of his robes and settled back against the couch with the book in one hand. Hermione laid down next to him and put her head in his lap while Malfoy settled at their feet. He poked Hermione in the foot.

"Calm down or you're never going to sleep tonight." She nudged his side with her foot before sticking her tongue out at him.

"I'll sleep just fine, you wait and see." Professor Snape shushed them both and began reading.

Harry wasn't sure how long the man read for, he had long since lost his sense of time passing, but it had to have been at least a couple hours. They were only halfway through the book when the man finally stopped reading. Harry sighed in relief; potions was his least favorite subject, mostly because of the man who taught it, but he didn't think that listening to someone read you a book on potions was an ideal way to spend an evening. Malfoy was still awake and looked over at his uncle when he had stopped reading.

"Hermione is asleep. What are your thoughts on the Weasley girl being the one to throw that ball of ice at her?" Malfoy sat up and watched his professor card his fingers through the girl's hair.

"I know she did threaten Hermione awhile back but I'm not sure the girl could pull it off. It's way too advanced for a first year, a normal one anyways. I've learned though that Miney is rarely wrong. I really don't know what to think about it." Snape raked his hand through his hair.

"Those are my thoughts exactly. The girl isn't stupid by any means but not exceptional either. I suppose we'll just have to watch things and hope that neither of you get hurt again. How has your dueling practice been going?" Draco scowled at dour man.

"I hope you're all happy. Since Sirius and Father told her she could only use ten different spells and had only a split second to choose, she's gotten better. I'm still better at it then she is but only just. Her running has also given her an edge. Her endurance is much better." Snape looked surprised.

"She's running?" Malfoy snorted, an inelegant sound from someone so refined.

"Yeah, I made a comment in passing about it and she started running every morning. I didn't know about it for the first two weeks; that was when we weren't really talking much." Harry recalled that time period but didn't think that they would discuss it further.

"Have you been running with her?" Malfoy shrugged.

"Here and there but not religiously like she does. If I want to be able to say that I can keep beating her at dueling, I'm going to have to start going more often." Snape burst out in laughter before quieting when Hermione stirred. Malfoy met the gaze of the potions master.

"Has anyone come any closer to figuring out who the heir of Slytherin is? It's hard to try to be safe when it could literally be anyone in this school. You know how Hermione is; I'm scared to death that she's going to research it and when she discovers the answer, confront the person."

"You'll do just fine, Draco. I'm proud of you for how good of care you take of her. I know that she's the most powerful witch to grace these halls in quite some time but she's still able to get hurt, as proven today. Not to mention she's the most tender-hearted witch I've ever met. You've done well. To answer your question, however, it's no. Nobody has any idea who the heir could be." Malfoy snorted again.

"You can say that again. It drives me mad some days, the things that she lets bother her." Snape chuckled.

"You love it so don't even try denying it, Draco." Malfoy stood and help shift his cousin fully onto the floor, so Snape could stand. The man bent and pressed a kiss to Hermione's forehead before covering her up with one of the many duvets.

"I love that girl more than anything. She drives me mad every single day, but I wouldn't change her for anything. Thanks for coming to heal her so quickly, Uncle Sev. She had been complaining of a headache since it happened." Snape pulled the blond in for a quick hug. Malfoy returned it but was quick to step back out of his embrace.

"I'd do anything for the pair of you, you know that. If you have need of me, you know where to find me. For now, I must go. I still have three stacks of essays to mark before the students return." The potions master turned and left, leaving Malfoy to settle back on the pallet next to Hermione. He picked up the book that the man had abandoned and continued to read in the silence of the room.

Harry couldn't believe the things that he had heard tonight. It was probably a good thing that Ron had fallen asleep long ago, somewhere during the first chapter of the book they had been listening to. Not only were they not the heirs of Slytherin, they were worried about who was. Hermione ran in the mornings and they were dueling already. He couldn't help but be a little jealous. He wanted to be dueling already.

What he could do, however, was also run. It was an excellent idea and it was a proven fact that running increased stamina and endurance, two important facets of many things in life. Maybe that would be his New Year's Resolution, to start running every night. While he would rather have ran in the mornings, the last thing he wanted to do was run into Hermione Black and make her think that he was stalking her, especially after Ginny telling her that he watched her.

Malfoy read for another hour and it was the longest hour ever. Not only was he ready to go to bed himself but he needed the loo desperately. After what seemed like ages, Malfoy set the book aside and crawled into the pallet next to his cousin. She was still sleeping peacefully, and Harry didn't think that he would ever forget the sight of her so open and happy. After the blond had fallen asleep, he waited another thirty minutes to make sure that the sound of the door opening, and closing wouldn't wake him up.

Finally, Harry shook Ron awake and nudged him towards the door. Harry could see the look of disgust on his face when he realized that they were sleeping on the floor together. Harry didn't think that it was inappropriate; it was clear that they had no romantic feelings for each other and they weren't all over each other. It was just two cousins falling asleep together, something that Harry used to wish for with Dudley when he had been small.

They stole out of the common room as quietly as they could. They were well on their way to their own common room when Harry made the decision to keep much of what he had seen to himself. It wasn't anyone's business how close the potions professor was to two of his Slytherins. It was clear that the relationship wasn't inappropriate, so it wasn't anyone's place to judge. As far as Harry was concerned, they had gotten the answer to the reason for spying on them in the first place.

Hermione Black and Draco Malfoy weren't the heirs of Slytherin and neither one of them had opened the Chamber of Secrets.

A/N- Holy balls, this chapter is long! It took me ages to write, I'll have you all know. I kept going back and forth between sharing more at the end or less. Hope this conversation doesn't come back and bite me in the ass, ha-ha. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Leave me thoughts and tell me what you think. Reviews make me smile.

Next chapter, an appearance from the diary.

Love,

Alicia


	35. Chapter 35

A/N-I'm back, y'all, and I couldn't be more excited. Thank you so much for the love and support you guys have shown me. This story wouldn't be possibly without you. My daughter is getting better, for those that have asked, and is down to having her dressings changed only once a day. She dreams of the day she's out of the boot completely. I hate to say it, but you guys probably won't get another chapter until Tuesday at the earliest. It's Labor Day weekend here in the states and not only do I work all weekend, I have plans with the family. Thanks for understanding and knowing that I'll get a chapter to you as soon as possible. Enough of that, though, let's keep going!

**I forgot to send a shout out last chapter to Cecily Mitchell for being my 900th reviewer. You're awesome!**

Disclaimer: Still don't own anything to do with this story. The characters belong to our queen, J.K.R. and the plot has been done a thousand times before, probably by better writers than me, lol. I haven't made a single dime off this story or any other. I'm still a broke bitch.

Chapter 35

January 21, 1993

Harry finally pushed his plate away from him, his second helping of breakfast gone completely. He was uncomfortably full but knew that this would be the result. French toast was rarely served at Hogwarts and it was his all-time favorite. Before Hogwarts, he had never tried it. Therefore, when it was served, only once a month or so, he ate as much of it as he could. It was probably piggish of him, but he didn't care; it was French toast, after all.

Ron was still eating which was no big surprise. While he claimed that waffles were far better, he still managed to put away three helpings of not only French toast but sausage, eggs, kippers, and a rasher of bacon. Parvati just shook her head at him in disbelief; it was clear she didn't know where he put it all either.

The bell rang shortly after, dismissing them to class. Harry let his mind wander on their way to Herbology. Of course, his thoughts were never far from Hermione Black. He had sworn that he would keep the things he saw and heard after Ron fell asleep that night in the Slytherin common room to himself and he didn't regret it. It was clear that neither of the pair was the heir of Slytherin. When Harry had told Ron that they were searching for the heir as hard as they were, he had been disbelieving.

This, of course, led to an enormous row. Harry had told Ron that he wouldn't lie about something like that and Ron had responded with the insulting "you would if she was snogging you". Even though the thought made his prick twitch in his pants, he sighed and banished the thoughts before telling Ron that he was just searching for a reason to think the worst of the Slytherins. Then he had told Harry that he must have misheard their words, that they really meant that they knew who the heir was.

Harry had exploded, his anger getting the best of him in the worst of ways. Ron's mouth had glued shut and no matter what spell any of the students cast, it remained closed. It finally took them going to Professor McGonagall and explaining that an argument had led to a bout of accidental magic to get it remedied. After Ron saw just how Harry was going to react to his accusations, he was quick to abandon them. Harry knew that he still thought the pair was guilty, but he no longer voiced his concerns in front of him.

Harry took his seat in Herbology next to Hermione; it was the only class that he sat beside her in and that was only because Professor Sprout insisted on promoting house-unity. Whereas he had hated sitting next to her last year, this year he found he didn't much mind. She was always helpful if he asked her a question and she never bothered him unless he spoke to her first. While this hurt sometimes, Harry had to remind himself that he had been the one to tell her that he had no urge to be friends with her.

Harry had noticed a marked absence of friendship between the girl seated next to him and Theodore Nott. While Hermione never seemed aware of the glares sent her way, Theo made no effort to hide them. Harry wasn't sure what had happened but the falling out seemed to occur after the encounter in the library where Theo had insulted his mother. He wasn't sure if that had anything to do with the argument, but he had a sneaking suspicion that it did. Not that it really mattered because neither party would ever confide in him over the incident.

Professor Sprout entered the greenhouse and immediately called the class to attention. Her face was bright as she started her lecture over lavender. They had already covered lavender and it's uses in potions, so this was like a review lesson for Harry. He noticed that Hermione had her notes in front of her and even though she didn't write a single thing over the whole of class, she still gave her full attention to Professor Sprout.

He couldn't help but wonder about the relationship between herself and Professor Snape. It was clear that they knew each other well and that they cared for each other. The man had acted softer than he could have thought possible with the girl; she had fallen asleep with her head in his lap for Merlin's sake. He knew that the snarky professor was Malfoy's godfather, hell, the whole school knew that. Harry supposed that he had gotten to know Hermione as well since the pair had grown up together. He didn't dare tell Ron about the extent of their relationship because he would make it out to be something dirty and tawdry when it clearly wasn't.

Harry still chuckled to himself at the thought of Malfoy and Hermione sharing a bed since they were little. It was clear to everyone in school that the blond was attentive to his cousin, that he protected her at every turn. He supposed that sleeping in bed with her shouldn't have been something that had surprised him, but it had. He had watched the pair after they fell asleep; they had stayed to their own sides of the pallet and hadn't touched each other at all that he had seen. It was clearly just companionship and for some reason, Harry was glad.

The Gryffindor was brought back to Herbology class by Professor Sprout assigning them an essay over lavender and it's many uses. Harry jotted it down on his notes and started to gather his things. Hermione was doing the same next to him. She finished first and rose to her feet before flouncing away to Malfoy without a single look back at him. This made him wonder what exactly was going on with her; he could have sworn that he had caught a brief look of resentment in her gaze at the beginning of class. He had no idea if that's what it really was or if he was seeing things, but he couldn't think of anything that he done to her recently to make her resent him.

Ron was at Harry's side, urging him to hurry so they wouldn't be late to History of Magic. Harry had always loved history in muggle school but since their professor was now a ghost and had no idea how to teach to where people loved the subject, it was so hard to stay awake. He had taken to checking out books in the library to read about the subject matter, so he could get a better understanding of what was being taught. His extra lessons given to him by McGonagall also helped him to realize that while he hated Professor Binns, he loved History of Magic.

The pair slid into their seats and pulled their supplies out of their bags. Harry was ready to take notes by the time that Professor Binns floated up through the floor and stopped in front of the chalkboard. Harry was still uncertain how the professor was a ghost but could still manage to get things written on the board. He could only imagine that it was a spell cast by Dumbledore or McGonagall to copy everything the professor said. Ingenious, really, but he would have much preferred to have an actual professor.

Professor Binns started their lesson on the International Warlock Convention of 1289. It wasn't interesting to say the least, but Harry still took diligent notes and did his best to get interested. Ron sat next to him, quill posed in his hand to take notes but wasn't actually taking any. He had a dazed look in his eye and was staring at the wall behind the chalkboard. Harry could only shake his head. While Ron had quit complaining about studying and doing homework, he was still terrible at taking notes and paying attention in class. Harry hoped that he would get better about it as their classes got harder but so far there was no luck.

After the lecture, Professor Binns assigned them another essay over what he had lectured on. The bell rang, dismissing them to lunch, so Harry was quick to shove all his belongings in his bag. He really wasn't hungry after eating all that French toast but knew that if he didn't eat anything he would be starving at the end of his next class.

After traversing the corridors to the Great Hall, they took their usual seats at the Gryffindor table. Ron and Pav instantly started to serve themselves the French onion soup and sandwiches. Harry followed suit at a much slower pace but decided to people watch instead. The Slytherin table was always the most interesting to watch, especially when Neville or the twins were over there. He still couldn't believe the easy acceptance they received over there; Harry wasn't sure if it was because they were nice to the snakes or if it was because they were pureblood and in Neville's case, had grown up with them. Either way, he supposed that it didn't matter.

As he ate his soup and sandwich, he watched a sixth year Slytherin approach Hermione. She turned to face him, wary look on her face. It was clear that she was nervous about facing the boy. Malfoy was watching carefully; Harry saw him speak before Hermione could. Hermione nodded her head and the boy went back to his seat. Harry wasn't entirely sure what just happened, but Neville chuckled next to him. Harry turned to face him only to realize that the boy was laughing at him.

"What's so funny?" Neville held his hands up to show that he wasn't trying to anger him.

"You, watching them. I can't figure out if you want to be their friends and think it's morally wrong or if you're planning something sinister. I'm leaning towards the former." Harry snorted at his friend.

"Not even close. I don't want to be friends with them, otherwise I would have accepted their friendship at the beginning of last year. I was just wondering what was going on over there." Neville gave him a look that clearly said he didn't believe him, but he didn't call him out on it.

"Vaisey just asked if he could escort her to class. Draco told him that if she agreed he would be accompanying them as a proper chaperone." Harry turned an incredulous gaze to him.

"How can you possibly know that?" Neville laughed now.

"It happens all the time. Hermione is a very sought-after witch. Not only is she beautiful, she's incredibly intelligent, her father is a Lord of an Ancient and Noble House, she has close ties to the Malfoy family, and she's richer than anyone in the school except for Malfoy. I guarantee you that all the pureblood boys from most of the houses have been ordered to try to get on her good side so there might someday be a betrothal contract. None of them stand a chance if she isn't on board since Lord Black has said from day one that he won't contract her out to anyone unless it's for love." Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"You're telling me that they don't care if they like her, they're going to try to marry her just because of who her father is and how much money she stands to inherit?" Neville nodded.

"My own gran told me to see how open Hermione would be to us someday becoming married. Of course, I've never told Hermione that, but I guarantee you she already knows. I don't feel for her that way, she's more like a sister to me. My gran will understand. My parents married for love and she won't force me into something that wouldn't make me happy." Harry was unsure just how much to believe of what Neville was telling him. Would he lie to him about something like this?

"It's the pureblood way, Harry. I can see you don't believe me and that's fine. I know that Ron is your best mate and he's a pureblood and while I consider Ron my friend, I also know that he doesn't observe any of the teachings his parents gave him. Even the twins, after they pranked Hermione, observed tradition and apologized to her publicly and in a formal manner. The Weasleys were taught these things but they don't put much stock into them. I'm not saying that they're right or wrong since we were obviously raised differently but they are the exception, not the rule." Harry remembered the twins apologizing and figured that Neville wasn't lying about that. Ron didn't put much stock in rules at school, so he could only imagine that he wouldn't want to observe rules about etiquette. Neville continued.

"This will continue to happen to Hermione until she finally agrees on seeing someone and her father draws up a betrothal contract. Until then, she's up for grabs and anyone with half a brain is going to try to snatch her up." It appeared that that was all Neville was going to say on the subject since he turned back to his meal and left Harry to his thoughts.

He decided that the swooping feeling in his belly at the thought of every boy in school wanting Hermione wasn't something that he wanted to dwell on, he turned his attention to the other tables. The Hufflepuffs were all laughing about something, one of the boys was standing at the end of the table and appeared to be singing. Harry wondered if it was a dare since everyone seemed to be laughing hysterically. Predictably, the Ravenclaws were all studying, books open in front of them while they blindly fed themselves. Harry wondered why they were so determined to study all the time. Yes, he valued his education, he wanted to learn as much as he could, but he also knew that if he did nothing but study he would burn out. Quickly.

The bell rang again, and Ron groaned next to him. He had been conversing with Parvati, Dean, and Seamus, about what Harry had no idea. He shoved his plate and bowl away, so he could stand and grab his bag. They were headed for Charms next, a class that Harry thoroughly enjoyed. Hagrid had told him that his mother had been especially gifted in Charms and Potions and he wondered if he had inherited a bit of her talent. Charms never seemed to trouble him.

After walking the corridors, Harry and Ron took their seats in Charms. He was excited for class to start so they could start the practical part of the ascendio charm. They had lectured on it just two days before and he was eager to see if he could propel someone up into the air. It was going to be a partner project and he just hoped that he didn't hurt someone by getting them halfway up in the air and then losing concentration and dropping them.

Professor Flitwick entered the classroom, his robes billowing just a tiny bit on his diminutive form. It would never be as intimidating as it was on Professor Snape. He tapped the board at the front of the class with his wand and names appeared on it, clearing splitting them into pairs. Harry scanned the board for his name and found that he was paired with Nott. Harry groaned inwardly. Of all the people he would get paired with, it had to be the one Slytherin that had badmouthed his mother.

Harry grabbed his wand and moved over to where Nott was seated next to Parkinson. He saw that Hermione was next to them and she was paired with Goyle and even though he was one of the thickest students in class, she was smiling. Nott smirked at him before going to his feet and moving just a little bit away from Hermione and Goyle. Harry decided to try to act like he liked the boy and spoke.

"Have you ever done this spell before?" Nott shook his head.

"No, I wasn't lucky enough like Malfoy and Black to get private tutors from the time they could talk. I'm just as stupid as everyone else in this class." Harry narrowed his eyes in confusion.

"You knew how to cast that spell during the dueling club; I'd never heard of it before. You aren't stupid." Nott rolled his eyes at him.

"There are things about me and the rest of the Slytherins that you can never understand because you didn't grow up in the pureblood environment that we did. I don't need your Gryffindor sentimentalities. Just cast the fucking spell so we can go back to not speaking to each other." Even though Harry had no idea what the boy was referring to, he nodded his head. Going back to normal sounded amazing to him. With a wave of his wand, he cast the spell.

"Ascendio."

Nott started to rise in the air, his arms and legs flailing about. Harry was grinning, he knew that. Once Nott was six feet or so in the air, Harry slowly cast the counter curse to make sure that he came down slowly and didn't get hurt. Professor Flitwick approached them and clapped Harry on the shoulder.

"Nicely done, my boy. Only Miss Black and Mr. Malfoy have accomplished that so far. They always are my best students though." Harry nodded, happy to have achieved something that the smartest kids in school had. Their professor turned to Nott and nodded his head, a sign that he wanted him to try. Nott raised his wand and waved it, sending Harry in the air a couple feet before he lost concentration and Harry fell to the ground. Professor Flitwick started to correct Nott on the proper wand movement and pronunciation and in just a few more moments, he was trying again. This time, Nott had been as successful as Harry had.

Professor Flitwick awarded them both five points apiece and then wandered off to go help another struggling pair. Harry didn't bother to stick around and have another conversation with the Slytherin, instead, he grabbed his wand and started back to his own desk where Ron and Daphne Greengrass were working. Daphne had already mastered the spell and she was trying to help Ron, but he wasn't taking it well. Finally, Professor Flitwick appeared and took over instructing the redhead. He was one of the last to master it, but he had indeed made Daphne float in the air by the end of class.

The bell rang, dismissing them from Charms so Harry threw his bag over his shoulder and followed Ron into the corridor, Pav following closely behind him. His best mate was still grumbling about being the last one to master the spell, but Harry tuned him out. It did no good to tell his friend that if he paid more attention than he would do better in class. Frankly, it wasn't worth the argument that would surely ensue.

Defense Against the Dark Arts was next and Harry dreaded it. Ever since the failed dueling club, Lockhart wanted to bring him up in front of the class and have him show everyone his parselmouth abilities. Harry had always been called a freak and made to feel like he wasn't normal so being showcased this way didn't do much for his confidence. He noticed that Hermione's mouth always tightened and thinned when the man asked it of him but had so far said nothing to intervene.

They all took their seats and Harry hoped that they wouldn't be doing anything too demanding of brain power today. It was the last class of the day and he wasn't in the mood to deal with the silly ponce that taught the class. He and Ron took seats next to each other while Pav sat next to Lavender. They were giggling about something behind him, so he turned to see Hermione take her usual seat next to Malfoy. They removed their belongings from their bag and while he was sure that nobody else noticed, they both took out other assignments. Professor Lockhart entered through a side door in lurid pink robes, making him look absolutely ridiculous.

"Alright, class, remove your text from last year and copy chapter 30. Since this is the last chapter of the book, we'll begin working on the disarming spell next class." As much as Harry wanted to get excited about finally learning something, he didn't hold his breath. The idiot had shown the whole school how completely inept he was at the dueling club. He clearly couldn't cast the disarming spell to save his own life.

Harry began to copy the chapter but looked up to see what Hermione was doing. She produced her wand and waved it at her parchment, the entire chapter appearing on the blank sheaf. She then pulled her other assignment closer and began working on it; he wasn't sure what it was but by the level on concentration she was putting into it, it probably wasn't anything that they had to do for classes here. He wished that he knew that spell, so he wouldn't have to waste his time like this.

The realization hit him, however, that Lockhart never asked for their parchments, he always just assumed that they did it. Deciding that he was going to take a chance, Harry put his parchment away and pulled the extra assignment for Defense from McGonagall out and started the reading. It was over the different levels of shields and how they were used. It was during this reading that Harry remembered the Forbidden Forest and Hermione casting something like they were describing when Quirrell had shot a spell at her. Harry hadn't really saved her after all, just injured her when he landed on her. However, he couldn't say anything now since he wasn't supposed to tell anyone about his lessons aside from Ron and Parvati.

Class dismissed, and Harry was quick to gather his things. Ron shot him a glare as he shoved everything into his bag.

"You give me grief for not taking notes and such in class and then you don't even do the assignment." Harry shrugged his shoulders.

"We already know this stuff and I was working on the Defense lesson from McGonagall. I'm sure she wouldn't complain even if Lockhart had asked for our assignment. This is just his way to hide that he's a complete idiot." Ron nodded his head, clearly in agreement. He clapped Harry on the shoulder.

"Let's get to dinner, mate. I'm starving." Harry couldn't help bursting out in laughter. Some things would never change.

-O-

Hermione pushed her food around her plate, not really hungry but not wanting to have Draco nag at her to eat more. The day had been tiring, mostly because she was forcing herself to pay attention to things that held no interest for her. Sprout had assigned the same essay to them as her godfather had just two weeks before, Binns waxed on about his Confederation even though most of his class was asleep, and Lockhart had them copying their text from last year. It was a complete and utter joke and she was so tired of it. If it weren't for making sure that Harry stay safe, she would have asked if she could have just been homeschooled by Madam Cambridge.

They usually went to the library after dinner but tonight she had no urge to do so. She just wanted to curl up in front of the fire in the common room and read something for pleasure, not because she had to learn something. She had been in a funk since Christmas and it didn't seem like it was getting any better.

Hermione knew that she was becoming resentful about Harry needing her there. She understood that he needed protection and that nobody wanted him to get hurt or die because he was the key to beating Voldemort when he returned, but she didn't think that it was too much to ask to let her come home for Christmas either. Dumbledore was there at the castle, as was McGonagall, and they surely wouldn't allow anything to hurt Harry or his idiot weasel friend.

While Hermione didn't doubt that her father loved her completely, she was also aware that he had only adopted her because he wanted to stay out of Azkaban and raise Harry. It didn't diminish his love for her, but it hurt sometimes when she realized that he hadn't taken her in because he wanted to but because he had had to. Draco was the only person she had confided her feelings in and he told her that she was wrong, but she knew that deep down she wasn't. Her father asking her to stay for the holidays just compounded that feeling.

However, she acted as though nothing was wrong. Hermione knew in her heart of hearts that her father loved her and if he knew how she was feeling he would feel terrible. She didn't want him to feel guilty or be unhappy because of how she was feeling. All she wanted was for once to feel as though she was his priority rather than Harry Potter or something to do with him. As if Draco sensed where her thoughts were taking her, he nudged her softly.

"Let's skip the library tonight and just read by the fire." Hermione grinned at him, amazed at how he always knew just what she needed.

"I'd like that." Draco turned to pass the information down the line so none of their friends would show up looking for them and get angry.

Hermione stood and grabbed her bag while Draco did the same. Some of their friends followed them but most stayed at the table to work on their pudding. Daphne and Blaise followed them out of the Great Hall and through the corridors that led them towards the dungeons. It was in the last corridor that Hermione remembered she needed a book from the library that was on hold for her. She came to a halt and shot Draco a look.

"I forgot that there's a book on hold for me at the library. If I don't get it today, I'll get skipped and have to wait who knows how long to get it again." Draco nodded and released her.

"Just hurry back, you want a good seat by the fire." Hermione grinned at him and hurried in the direction of the library. She took the staircases quickly and reached the library only five minutes later. Madam Pince was quick to hand over the book and gave her a surprised look when she didn't head for her usual table by the entrance to the restricted section. Hermione smiled at the older woman.

"We're going to take a break tonight. We'll be back tomorrow." The woman gave her a soft smile then a nod, gesturing for her to leave. Hermione complied and started through the corridors once more.

When she reached the second floor, she passed the bathroom that Filch's cat had been discovered by only to discover that the bathroom had flooded, and the water was leaking out into the corridor. Deciding that she wanted just a peek, she stepped into the bathroom that she refused to use. All the toilets were spewing water and the sinks were all on full blast with the drains plugged with who knew what. The water was threatening to rise up over her shoes, but she stepped further in anyways. There was a keening sound in the back that Hermione knew was Moaning Myrtle.

"Excuse me, Myrtle, what happened? Why are you so upset?" The ghost flew over and glared at the Slytherin. Hermione would have laughed if she hadn't cared how upset the ghost obviously was.

"Why do you care? You've never come to see me or talk with me. Nobody cares about ugly, moping, whiny, moaning Myrtle." She burst into tears again and Hermione fought the urge to roll her eyes. It was clear that the ghost was looking for sympathy, but Hermione struggled with people that felt sorry for themselves. That was why she was so irritated with herself for being so touchy about the Christmas thing.

"I'm sure that people care about you, Myrtle, we're just busy with classes and such. All my free time is spent in the library, that's why I've never been in here before." Complete lie but the ghost didn't know that. After realizing how this conversation was going, she regretted even asking the ghost. Myrtle sniffed before staring at Hermione for a few moments and speaking.

"I was sitting in the u-bend, thinking about death, and there was a girl in here trying to flush a book down the toilet. She kept chanting something about a stupid diary. When it wouldn't go down, she hurtled the book through my head and then left." Hermione felt her heart stop. Could it be the diary that Uncle Luci had had stolen from him? Could it really be in Hogwarts? Could an animagus Death Eater be in the school at this moment without anyone realizing it? Her thoughts refused to slow. Finally, she forced herself to take a deep breath and try to remain calm.

"Where is the diary now, Myrtle? I want to make sure there's nothing in it that could hurt you." The ghost burst into tears again and Hermione had to grit her teeth not to lash out at the stupid apparition.

"A boy came in and found it. He took it with him. He asked me what happened and since he was nice I told him. After he found the diary, he told me that he hoped I wasn't hurt and that he would come visit me again. I don't know who it was." Hermione cursed inwardly. This was not a good development and it needed to be shared with Uncle Sev immediately. She plastered a smile on her face and nodded to the ghost.

"Thank you, Myrtle, I'll see if I can find it on my own to check it for spells. I really do hope that you're alright." The ghost didn't reply, just managed to sniffle a few more times.

Hermione didn't wait for a reply. She took off through the corridors at a pace just short of a run. It wouldn't do to get caught running in the corridors and land herself in detention. Dinner was still in session so there weren't many students in the corridors and those that she did past were headed upstairs, probably towards the library. Hermione couldn't judge; that was usually her destination after dinner.

She offered the password to get into the common room quickly, only to find that it was empty. She groaned inwardly yet again. Deciding that Draco was most likely in his dorm room, probably changing, she hurried to his door. After a quick knock, she waltzed in, much to the surprise of not only her cousin but Blaise as well. Thank Merlin they were both dressed. Draco could tell that something was wrong, however, and was at her side in a moment.

"What's wrong?" Hermione tried to calm herself, so she wouldn't alert Blaise to anything that was going on.

"We need to talk about family business. Come with me." Draco gave her a sharp nod before turning to Blaise and offering him a small wave. Nobody would question family business, it usually wasn't done in the pureblood world.

Hermione led her cousin back into the common room and towards the door. Even though he was in his pajamas, he didn't complain. It was likely that nobody outside of their house would be in the dungeons at this time anyways. She pulled him down a few corridors until they were at their godfather's quarters. After a quick knock, the door was swung open angrily to reveal their uncle in his own pajamas, obviously calling it an early night. Hermione pulled Draco into the sitting room when her uncle stepped back. Once the door was closed and the wards fell into place, Hermione started pacing. Her uncle and cousin sat on the couch before the fire and waited for her to start.

"I went to the library to get a book on hold and on my way back, I passed Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. It was flooded, the water was spilling into the corridor. I don't know what possessed me to go inside but all the toilets were overflowing, and the sinks were all blasting water out of them. Myrtle was bawling her eyes out. I finally got her to tell me that a girl had been in there, trying to flush a book, chanting something about a stupid diary. When she couldn't get it to flush, she threw it further into the room and left. Then a boy came in and picked it up after being nice to Myrtle. I think it might be the book that was stolen from Malfoy Manor." Draco had his hands buried in his hair, his eyes unfocused as he processed what she said. Her godfather was on his feet, pacing before the fire, hands clasped behind him. He stopped at looked her in the eye.

"Does anyone else know this?" She shook her head.

"No, when I learned it wasn't there anymore, I left and went to the common room, retrieved Draco from his room and then came here. I didn't even speak to anyone until I told Draco we had family business to discuss." Her uncle kissed the top of her head distractedly.

"Good cover, nobody will question your odd behavior and the reason for it." He continued his pacing.

"The ghost had no idea who had taken it?" Hermione shook her head.

"If she did, she didn't tell me. Maybe you could get more out of her since you're a professor." Her uncle shrugged his shoulders.

"Perhaps but I bet not. I need to write your fathers and inform them of this development. That diary being here isn't a good thing, it reeked of dark magic. We have no idea what it was or what it could do to a person. You both need to be as safe as possible, no traveling the corridors alone. Always have someone with you, even if it's Weasley. Keep an eye on Potter because I can almost guarantee you that if an object belonging to the Dark Lord is here in Hogwarts, it's going to want Potter's blood on principle." Hermione suddenly felt terrible for being angry about being stuck at Hogwarts for Christmas. Clearly, there was true danger there for Harry and she had been incredibly selfish. Vowing to let it all go, she nodded as did Draco.

"We promise, we'll do everything we can to make sure we aren't alone in the corridors. We need to let the other students know somehow." Uncle Sev nodded and gestured for them to stand.

"I hate to kick you out but I'm going to go speak with the Headmaster. See if I can get him to see sense." Hermione nodded.

"Are the ones that have been petrified ever going to get better?" Her godfather nodded.

"The restorative draught is being brewed at this very moment. It's very complicated and has a long brew time so there really is nothing that we can do about it until it's done." Hermione gave him a brittle smile.

"Alright. Good luck with the Headmaster."

Hermione let herself and Draco be ushered through the door, so her uncle could change again. They started down the corridor, Draco's arm wrapped around her waist.

"You still want to read by the fire?" She sighed.

"Yes, I just hope that Uncle Sev can convince the old fool." Draco squeezed her side softly.

"I know, Miney, me too."

-O-

Harry lay in bed, his curtains drawn around his bed, with his wand lit while he examined the odd-looking diary. On the inside cover, it said it was the property of Tom Marvolo Riddle, but there was nothing on the pages. He wasn't sure who would save a diary for what looked to be decades when there was nothing written in it.

The diary made him feel funny, that was the only reason he had picked it up and taken it with him in the first place. Something inside it called to him, beckoned him closer, begged him to touch it. Once it was in his hand, he felt dirty and like something dark was crawling all over and through him. It was disconcerting to say the least and he didn't understand why it made him feel that way. Therefore, after flipping through every single page, he thrust it under his pillow and left it there.

Maybe he would figure out its secrets another day.

-O-

Sirius was laughing at his cousin's story about the horrid Mrs. Goyle busting through a dress at Twilfitt and Tattings. Lucius was chuckling next to him and Cissy looked positively horrified. If there was anything that would make his cousin horrified, it was making a spectacle out of yourself in public. Sirius was sure that the woman hadn't meant to try on a dress that was far too small for her, who would, but the result was still funny. After the day he had had, he needed a good laugh.

The Wizengamot was just as boring as it always was. Sirius struggled every single day to not fall asleep, telling himself that this charade was what it took to keep the purebloods believing his story. His mind was distracted with thoughts of his daughter. He knew that she was angry at them for having them stay at Hogwarts for Christmas and he didn't blame her. He was sure that it felt like he was choosing Harry's safety over her but that wasn't the truth. Even with Severus at the school, it was likely that he wouldn't be able to protect the boy if anything happened. Harry at least had a modicum of trust for the Slytherin pair and absolutely none in his friend.

Draco didn't seem to mind staying behind, but he had always been less feeling than Hermione had. He didn't let things bother him the way she did. He wished that Hermione could be just a little like her cousin sometimes, so she wouldn't hurt so much but in truth, her being tender-hearted was part of her charm. He loved her for it even though he wished it was different from time to time.

Nothing had changed in their correspondence, she replied to him just as often as she once had. Hermione didn't keep anything from him and was quick to tell him that the boys showering attention on her were getting out of control. Sirius wished more than anything that there was something that he could do short of making a betrothal contract but there wasn't. Until she decided for herself, she and Draco would have to fend the boys off themselves while they were in school. Come summer holidays, he would be the first to send boys running if they bothered her.

Sirius and Lucius both had been less than thrilled to hear about the altercation between Harry and Theo Nott when he had finally got up the nerve to sit with them. Even though they decided that they wouldn't do anything to the boy personally, they had contacted his father and made sure that he was aware of what his son had done and how it was going to hinder learning anything from the Boy-Who-Lived. It didn't take a genius to realize that Thoros Nott was livid. Sirius was just about the excuse himself and go home when Severus' owl tapped on the window of the library. Sirius sighed as Lucius got up to retrieve it. Owls this late at night were usually full of nothing but bad news. Once the owl was eating treats, Lucius returned to his seat, opened the letter, and began to read.

 _Sirius, Lucius, and Cissy,_

 _I wish I had good news for you, but I don't. Tonight, the bathroom housing Moaning Myrtle flooded, and Hermione stepped inside to see what was happening. The ghost told her that a girl had been in, trying to flush a book down the toilet and chanting something about a stupid diary. When it wouldn't flush, she threw it across the room and left. However, a boy came in after her and picked it up and took it with him._

 _You now see why I'm concerned._

 _I think this was the diary stolen out from under you, Lucius. How it got to Hogwarts, I have no idea but nothing else makes any sense. What worries me the most is that if something dark in nature belonging to the Dark Lord has come to Hogwarts, it is going to want to end Potter. Some dark magic is sentient and from what you've told me of the feel of that diary, it almost must be._

 _I've warned the children to go nowhere alone and to look after each other. They've promised me they would stay safe but implored me to go to the Headmaster, so they could warn the other students since nobody even knows that there continues to be victims of whatever the monster is that is terrorizing the castle. I just left a meeting with him and I'm sure you can guess that it didn't go well._

 _Albus told me that since the restorative draught is being brewed as we speak, there is no need to tell the students about the monster or the other victims, that it will just cause undue panic since nothing more than petrifying has happened. I can tell he truly believes his words; I can't imagine why he hasn't been trying to search for whatever this monster is and then seeking to eradicate it from the castle. However, until it gets out that he's hiding these petrifications, there is nothing that either you three or I can do about it._

 _The children have agreed to watch after young Potter and try to keep him safe if I am unable. Truthfully, we all should be ashamed of ourselves asking children to do the work of adults. The more time that passes, the guiltier I feel about involving them. We need to consider pulling them out of the situation at hand. I know it can't happen until the end of the year, but we must discuss it then. I know none of you like the idea any better than I do._

 _I must close for now, it's late and I have an early class in the morning._

 _Severus_

Lucius cursed loudly, surprising Sirius enough to drop his tumbler of whiskey. He was on his feet in a second, pacing, completely out of character for his friend. Cissy watched, a worried look on her face, while Sirius considered what words would calm his friend down the fastest. It wasn't often that he was the voice of reason. However, Lucius spoke first.

"I can't believe that fucking diary found it's way to Hogwarts. I kept that thing warded behind wards that the Dark Lord taught me, Draco and Hermione would never have been able to get anywhere near it. Now, they're in school with whoever the idiot is who has it, in who knows how much danger. Bloody, buggering, fucking hell." Sirius couldn't agree more. He remembered the feel of the wards that kept the diary safe and had never been stupid enough to try to break through them. Cissy had her fingers knotted nervously in her lap.

"What can we do?" Sirius didn't think there was anything that they could do but didn't say it. Lucius, however, had no such qualms.

"There is nothing we can do at this time. The second that anyone gets a whiff of Dumbledore hiding those children being petrified, we strike. The Board of Governors will surely suspend him after this." Sirius nodded, liking that they at least had the bare bones of a plan. He hated feeling inept and unable to do anything to help. He bent to pick up the tumbler that he had dropped.

"Until then, we send letters to the kids and tell them to be careful above anything else. At this point, I don't care if they get expelled; it would probably be safer." Lucius nodded. Narcissa spoke one last time.

"Are we going to talk about the last part of Severus' letter?" Lucius shook his head and Sirius agreed.

"We'll discuss it with them at the end of the schoolyear. We can't take back what they already know and they're both going to want to do to protect Harry now that they know what's in the school. Severus telling them to stay out of it won't do anything, they'll just do what they want anyways. They're the most stubborn children we know." Sirius barked a laugh.

"True enough. For now, I'm going to call it a night and see if I can come up with a way that the diary could have made it to Hogwarts. We should all think on it." His cousin and his friend both nodded as Sirius stood.

"I'll see you both tomorrow. I'll owl Hermione and you owl Draco so they're getting it from both ends." The pair nodded again, and Sirius took his leave, striding towards the entrance hall where the main floo was located.

His night had just gotten far worse and he had no idea how to make it better.

A/N- Lordy, another chapter finished. This one just wrote itself, in just three hours too. I couldn't believe it. Anyways, I hope that you enjoyed it. There aren't many chapters of their second year left so hang on tight because it's going to be a wild ride! Leave me a message after the beep and let me know what you think. Reviews are love.

Next chapter, Hermione discovers what Slytherin's monster is and gets petrified.

Love,

Alicia


	36. Chapter 36

A/N-You guys are just so good to me, showing me all your love in your reviews. I know I said I wouldn't give you the next chapter until Tuesday but since it's been a long ass weekend and I'm going to want to sleep some tomorrow, I decided to give it to you early despite how tired I am. I really hope it meets y'alls expectations. Big thanks to everyone out there that are reading and reviewing, you guys are seriously the bomb.

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing. The original story line stemming from Part One belongs to Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle and the characters belong to our queen. I make no money off these stories; my bank account tells no lies.

Chapter 36

February 24, 1993

Hermione's eyes hurt. She had been in the library since breakfast had ended, determined to discover what the monster was that was plaguing the school. Uncle Sev had told them that the Headmaster wasn't even trying to figure it out, he was just hoping that they could make it through until the end of the year without any more becoming petrified. She didn't even want to think about how irresponsible that was but she wasn't the Headmaster so there wasn't much that she could do about it.

It was now after dinner. Draco had left her in the library with Madam Pince since she flat-out refused to leave. Harry was in the library with her, though at a table across the cavernous room. She wasn't sure why he had voluntarily missed a meal but noticed that he was working on something. Maybe he had just got caught up in whatever assignment he was doing; she was guilty of that herself more times than she could count. Draco had promised her that he would be back to retrieve her an hour before curfew and that she had better be ready to go when he did. She had scowled at him for being high-handed, but she couldn't complain. He was trying to do what was best for her.

She had searched through all the books on creatures that the library had on its shelves and had gotten nowhere. They all spoke of crups, unicorns, and creatures of the like. Not a single dark animal was found, not acromantulas, manticores, or lethifolds. It was frustrating since she had a feeling that Salazar Slytherin would most certainly have used a dark creature. She chewed her quill as she considered her options. The silence in the library was almost deafening as her mind worked through the possibilities.

After several minutes of contemplating the consequences if she were to get caught, Hermione stood and looked around her. There were only a few students in the library and they were all buried in their work. Madam Pince was deep in what appeared to be a wizarding romance novel behind her large desk, also not paying attention. Remembering a spell that she had read about in one of the obscure books in Black Moor's library, she cast the spell.

"Senectus mae."

Hermione felt herself grow taller, her hair longer, her breasts bigger. Her clothing was uncomfortably tight, but she didn't let that bother her. She was now closer to sixteen and would have no problem getting past the age line that kept her from the restricted section. Hermione stepped past the wards triumphantly and hurried to the Creatures section. She quickly grabbed two books off the shelve that had the words dark creatures in their titles. She could feel the spell wearing off, it didn't last long, only long enough to get a person past lines such as this. After making sure that nobody was watching the entrance, she stepped out of the restricted section and took her seat once more, shrinking the whole way.

Since nobody seemed the wiser, Hermione hurried to open the first book titled _Dark Creatures of the World and Where to Find Them_. Inside, there was an index of animals ranging from hydras to acromantulas to dragons to lethifolds. Hermione started to devour the book, doing her best to work through the information as quickly as she could. It was imperative that they discovered what the monster was before Harry or anyone else was hurt.

It took her over an hour to discover the information she needed. Her finger followed the words along the page, making sure she kept her place and understood the words correctly. She whispered them to herself, the fact that she could hear them made the situation more real.

"Of the many fearsome beasts and monsters that roam our land, there is none more curious or more deadly than the Basilisk, known also as the King of Serpents. This snake, which may reach gigantic size, and live many hundreds of years, is born from a chicken's egg, hatched beneath a toad. Its methods of killing are most wondrous, for aside from its deadly and venomous fangs, the Basilisk has a murderous stare, and all who are fixed with the beam of its eye shall suffer instant death. Spiders flee before the Basilisk, for it is their mortal enemy, and the Basilisk flees only from the crowing of the rooster, which is fatal to it."

Hermione knew instantly that she had found her answer. If a basilisk's eye was meant to kill with its stare, it stood to reason that if someone looked at it's eye indirectly, they would become petrified. She thought back to everyone that had been a victim so far. Mrs. Norris had seen it through the water on the ground outside Myrtle's bathroom. Colin had seen it through the lens of his camera. Justin had seen it through Sir Nick and since Sir Nick was a ghost, he couldn't die. It all made perfect sense.

However, basilisks were the largest snakes in the world, measuring hundreds of feet, depending on the age of the serpent. Since it was from Salazar's time, it stood to say that it was probably massive. How was it getting through the school unseen? How had nobody seen it before they were petrified? Suddenly, it hit Hermione.

The pipes.

Every victim had been found near a bathroom, somewhere where the snake could come up through a toilet or who knew where. It made no sense to her when she really thought about it, but the pipes were the only thing that did make sense. But she wasn't going to discount other methods. Therefore, she scribbled the word "pipes" into the margin of the page and ripped it from the book. Not bothering to take the chance of getting caught putting them back, she slipped the books into her bag and would have Uncle Sev return them for her later.

The crumpled piece of paper was still clenched in her left hand as she threw her bag over her shoulder, wand in her right hand. She was doing everything her uncle had begged her not to, leaving the library by herself, but it was imperative that she got the information to her godfather. Draco was going to yell and scream at her later, but she could take it. However, she never got the chance since just outside the doors of the library, she ran into Lavender Brown.

Hermione had never cared for Lavender, not even when she had been coming to her house for birthdays since they were six. There had been an altercation between her father, Uncle Luci, and Martin Brown; at the time, Hermione hadn't understood it, but she was still aware that the man walked with a limp today because of her family. The blond girl usually stayed quiet when the rest of her house was being mean to her, but it seemed that that had ended today.

"In the library learning more curses to ruin people with, Black? You're going to end up just like your father and uncle, bound to a mad man and licking his boots. It serves you right." Hermione had no idea where this attack had come from until she remembered seeing an owl swoop down and land in front of the girl that morning at breakfast. After reading it, Lavender had burst into tears and ran off. While she wasn't sure what was in the letter, she knew that the girl must be retaliating. Therefore, she tried to stay calm and not take offense to the insult to her family.

"Lavender, I don't know what your problem is, but you know that your father must have done something that my father didn't approve of. They don't just randomly attack people, I'm sure that it would have been made public knowledge if that was the truth." Lavender's face screwed up into a grimace and she looked like she was about to burst into tears.

"My father had to have his leg amputated yesterday because of the curse your family hit him with. I hope every single last one of you suffers before you die, I hope that you all are humiliated before it happens too." Hermione couldn't stand for that. She had pride and honor in her family and name and there was no way that she was going to let Lavender fucking Brown wish things such as suffering and death on her family.

A wave of power washed over the blond girl, knocking her on her arse. She scrambled away from Hermione but that didn't stop her from casting, even with her wand lowered. Her magic was on the verge of out of control. She tried to remember her father's words, telling her that it was important to use anchors when she lost her temper. She had always used Draco but when she pictured him in her mind now, he was stripped naked in humiliation, being tortured by wizards she didn't recognize. Her magic flared again and this time, Lavender was flat on her back, holding her chest, and gasping for air.

Hermione could distantly hear someone yelling at her, but she didn't really care. All that mattered was making sure that her family was safe and that the little twit in front of her was never able to make sure her wish came true. Suddenly, she was pulled from her haze of fury by a hand yanking her back. She lost her focus and she could hear Lavender gasping for breath. She turned to see that Harry was behind her, hand wrapped around her elbow, awe and something she couldn't decipher in his eyes. She turned back to Lavender and bent close, her voice soft but discernible to those around her.

"If you ever, and I mean ever, talk about my family like that again, if you ever wish them humiliation, pain, and suffering again, I will kill you. Nothing is more important than my family. If you're smart, you'll stay away from me and mine." She stood up just in time to hear another voice calling to her from down the corridor. Hermione put her impassive mask on her face and turned to face whoever was yelling at her. It was the sixth-year prefect, muggleborn Penelope Clearwater.

"What is the meaning of this, Black?" Hermione had no intentions of answering her questions. She was muggleborn and wouldn't understand how purebloods were raised. Therefore, she raised an eyebrow at her.

"I'm not answering your questions. Take me to either Professor Snape or Professor McGonagall. They'll understand why I did what I did." The prefect started to sputter before she turned to Lavender to order her to go see the Hospital Wing. Hermione took this moment to turn to Harry and give him a slight nod. She didn't want to be a murderer and the truth of the matter was that she had come close to becoming just that. Harry was the only reason she hadn't.

"Thank you for stopping me." He gave her a bewildered look, but she didn't stay to decipher it. Instead, she turned to follow Clearwater, who was clearly fuming.

"I'm taking you to Professor Flitwick. He can deal out your punishment. Don't think for a second that I'm not going to tell him that you almost killed that girl. No matter what she did, murder isn't the answer." Hermione felt a lick of shame shoot through her. She was about to be expelled and then there would only be Draco to keep Harry safe with that diary in the castle. She had failed not only Harry but her family as well.

Her head lowered, tears clouding her eyes, but she held them back ruthlessly. They traversed the corridors quickly, but Hermione wasn't paying attention to where she was going. Out of nowhere, there was a gasp and a thud. Hermione suddenly remembered that she was traveling the corridors with a muggleborn and there was a murderous snake loose in the castle that wanted to eradicate muggleborns. Penelope was on the ground next to her, her eyes wide and staring, her mouth open in a gasp.

Hermione knew that this wasn't going to end well for her. If she looked up, she would die because the eye would mean death. If she ran, the snake would surely attack, sinking its teeth in her and killing her slowly with its highly poisonous venom. She was unsure as to what the best choice would be.

However, the choice was taken from her when the snake came forward and the image of the most enormous snake she's ever imagined came into view in the water on the ground at her feet. In the moment that she realized they were outside of Myrtle's bathroom, Hermione felt her body seize, she dropped to the ground, and she knew no more.

-O-

Harry couldn't believe what he had just witnessed outside the library. Hermione Black hadn't even lifted her wand and she had almost killed Lavender. He wasn't sure what had been said but from the sounds of it, she had insulted the Slytherin's family. After last year in Transfiguration, Harry thought she would have learned.

He knew that he couldn't let her kill the blond girl. Even though he didn't know her, he knew her well enough to know that she would have felt terrible about it and she would have landed in Azkaban. She was too bright, beautiful, and caring to land in a place like that. Ron had told him horror stories about it when he had explained why his godfather had adopted Hermione to escape there.

Harry watched her disappear around the bend of the corridor with Clearwater and he had to take a moment to adjust his pants. His cock was rock hard in his pants, just like it was every time she had a show of power. He couldn't help but wonder if there was something wrong with him; he shouldn't get off on watching her threaten and hurt people.

Ron was supposed to be meeting him at the library but after seeing what he just did, he figured that he would just meet him along the way since he was likely still in the Great Hall pigging out. He had made it down to the second floor when he heard shouts. Harry recognized Ron's voice so started to run even though if he was caught he would get a detention. After rounding the bend of a corner, he came to full stop at what he saw.

Hermione and Penelope Clearwater were on the ground, neither one moving and both stiff as boards. Malfoy was at Hermione's side, one hand clutching the hand she held her wand in and the other smoothing her hair back from her face. He was muttering under his breath, but Harry couldn't distinguish the words. Ron was laughing, sneering at the scene.

"Hopefully she's dead and not like Mrs. Norris." Harry couldn't believe those words came out of his mouth. It was worse than when they had discovered the cat petrified and the horrific message on the wall. He couldn't help but think that this was Ron's revenge for them thinking that Ginny had thrown that ice ball at Hermione on Christmas.

Harry could see the blind fury on Malfoy's face. He flew to his feet faster than he could even imagine, his wand appearing in his hand and shooting spell after spell at Ron. Harry watched as his friend's skin turned green, boils appeared on his face and then burst, his mouth closed to where he couldn't scream, and his fingers started to grow webbing between them. Harry rushed forward and grabbed Malfoy's arm in the same way that he had Hermione's. Even though the rage didn't leave his features, he turned to face Harry.

"Don't. Detention isn't going to help her." Malfoy's chest was heaving but, in the end, he nodded and lowered his wand. He dropped back to the floor next to Hermione and started running his fingers through her curls once more. Harry thought about going after a professor but didn't trust Ron to keep his mouth shut or Malfoy not to kill him. Thankfully, Professor McGonagall rounded the corner and gasped when she saw them, hurrying over to drop down next to Clearwater.

"What happened?" Malfoy's voice was thick as he answered.

"I was going to get Hermione from the library and found them like this. It must be whatever hurt Filch's cat." Harry wasn't sure if he believed what Malfoy said but he remained silent. Malfoy continued.

"Weasley said that she should be dead, and I cursed him several times." His voice was matter-of-fact, devoid of emotion. Harry thought it would be best if Ron stayed quiet, so he volunteered his knowledge.

"Black was confronted by Lavender just outside the library. From what I gathered, she insulted her family and told them they should be humiliated, and to suffer before they all died. Black didn't even lift her wand, she threw her across the corridor and when Lavender kept going, I think there was pressure on her chest. She was gasping for air. I grabbed Black by the arm and she stopped. She told Clearwater that she wanted to be brought to you or Professor Snape and then she thanked me. They left only minutes before me." He wasn't about to volunteer that he hadn't followed right behind because he needed to duck into an alcove and adjust his cock. Professor McGonagall produced her wand and waved it, the same silvery cat appearing before them. While she gave it a message, Malfoy turned to Harry.

"You keep your house away from Hermione and me. I don't think I could keep myself from hurting them seriously if they fuck with me now." Harry nodded. He certainly intended on telling his housemates to steer clear. He knew that both Hermione and Malfoy were powerful and far more knowledgeable than himself and his peers. Before he could comment further, Professor Snape and the Headmaster appeared. Knowing what he knew about the relationship between the potions master and Hermione, he was surprised when he didn't show more emotion.

Professor Snape dropped to his knees beside her, reaching out to feel for a pulse. His other hand wrapped around Draco's shoulders, offering steady and silent support. Snape whispered something in his ear, but Harry couldn't hear what he said. The Headmaster started speaking but Harry wanted to tune him out. He was getting tired of keeping these petrifications secret.

"We must get them to the Hospital Wing quickly. Clearly, they are petrified but the rest of the school doesn't need to see them like this." Harry couldn't believe that the Headmaster was going to stay quiet again. Especially when one of the victims was Hermione Black; Neville had told him how much power Lord Black and Lord Malfoy had in their world. Would he contact their families? The Headmaster waved his wand, levitating Clearwater while McGonagall lifted Hermione and they started for the staircase. Dumbledore turned around to the Gryffindor pair and called out to them.

"Don't tell anyone what you saw tonight." Malfoy's head snapped up, but Snape urged him to his feet and he followed them. Harry turned to Ron and just shook his head.

"One of these days, one of them is going to kill you and they're going to get away with it because of who they are. You've got to stop. How would you feel if that was Ginny on the ground? You saw that Black is like Malfoy's sister." Ron shrugged his shoulders sheepishly.

"I rarely get to hold something over him, that's all. They're both so smart and rich that everyone thinks they're better than me. It just gets old." Harry sighed deeply before clapping his friend on the back.

"I have a feeling that you're going to be the last of their worries right now. Let's go see if Percy will fix you up." Ron nodded.

They headed through the corridors and Harry couldn't quite believe how his Saturday night had gone to complete shite in a matter of an hour.

-O-

Draco was seated on the bed next to his cousin and Severus could do nothing but watch them. His goddaughter was petrified, and his godson appeared to be in shock. They had been training for difficult situations, but Severus couldn't hold this against his godson. Hermione was his sister in every way, his best friend, and she had almost died. After they laid her in the bed, Dumbledore had tried to take her bag, but Draco had jumped to his feet and snatched it from the Headmaster's hand, yelling at him not to touch Hermione's things. The Headmaster hadn't been pleased but Minerva had stepped forward and laid a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder. He had calmed instantly and had been snuggled up to his cousin since.

Since nobody knew of the true relationship between Hermione and himself, Severus could only act as her Head of House, not her beloved uncle that had taught her potions and occlumency since she was six years old. Not like he knew her inside and out since she hadn't mastered the art of keeping him from her mind from nearly four years. She was his family just as much as Draco was and it was eating him alive that he couldn't show any emotion to reveal that.

He could only imagine how Sirius and Lucius were going to take it.

The Headmaster was talking quietly to Poppy and Minerva and they seemed to be arguing about something. Severus was determined to make the Headmaster reveal the other children if it was the last thing he did. Therefore, he took hold of Draco's arm and pulled him to a sitting position.

"We must go. You're going to sleep in my quarters tonight." He could see that Draco was going to protest, demand to stay with Hermione until she was well again. Severus cut him off.

"You can't stay with her all the time. You must sleep, and you must attend classes. Hermione would never want you to fall behind on your assignments to Madam Cambridge and she would be mortified if you failed to get a perfect score in class. You can visit as often as you want as long as you do what's best for yourself." Draco slid his impassive mask on and gave a shaky nod. He stood after pressing a kiss to his cousin's forehead and brushing his hand through her curls.

"I love you, Miney. I'll be back before breakfast." Severus gave him an approving nod, unaware that he still called Hermione by her childhood nickname. He put his hands on his godson's shoulders and walked him to the Headmaster and stopped.

"Headmaster, we need to have a word. I'm going to take Draco to my quarters and he'll stay the night there. If you deem this inappropriate, owl his father, he'll tell you it's alright. After discovering his cousin like that, he could use some Dreamless Sleep." Poppy jumped to gather a vial, but Severus just shook his head.

"I'll give him one from my private stores, Poppy. I'll be up directly, Albus." The look in the Headmaster's eyes told him that he knew exactly what he wanted to discuss but he left it at that.

Severus led Draco from the fourth floor down to the dungeons, meeting only a few people in the corridor since it was so close to curfew. Once they were safely ensconced in his quarters, Severus let his own impassive mask drop. He pulled his godson into a hug and allowed several tears to fall. Draco's hair hid them, and he refused to show weakness, especially when Draco started sobbing.

"Why her, Uncle Sev? She's a pureblood, she wasn't supposed to get hurt." The tears didn't last long but Draco remained hidden in his chest for several minutes. When he finally stepped back, he was embarrassed but Severus acted like nothing was out of the norm. Draco relaxed immediately.

"She was attacked because she was with a muggleborn. When I warned the pair of you to never be alone, I didn't think to specify that." Draco wiped a hand across his nose and Severus was suddenly reminded that his godson was only twelve. This was a lot to put on a twelve-year-old.

"It wasn't your fault, Uncle Sev. It's the Headmaster's for keeping everything quiet, it's for whoever stole that fucking diary from Malfoy Manor, and it's Slytherin's for having a monster hidden in the school in the first place." Severus nodded; though he felt responsible, he couldn't find fault in Draco's words. He pulled his wand from his sleeve and waved them over Draco, transfiguring his clothes to pajamas like what he wore at home. He found him a pillow and blanket and gestured for him to get settled on the couch. Once his nephew was all tucked in, surprisingly he had allowed Severus to do so, he crouched down and spoke as he handed the boy a vial.

"It's Dreamless Sleep. Take it all. I'm going to go meet with the Headmaster and get him to tell the school about how idiotic it is to keep this from everyone. I have no idea when I'll return but it will be by morning. When you get up, send a letter to both your father and Sirius telling them of Hermione's fate. I'm going to send one tonight but we need to have you send one, so it'll be truthful when everyone finds out because you owled home." Draco nodded and tipped the vial, drinking every drop. His eyes grew heavy and once they were closed, Severus kissed his forehead, something he hadn't done in years to Draco, and left him asleep in his quarters.

It didn't take him long to reach the Headmaster's office; the griffin leapt out of the way, so he knew that he was expected. Once he reached the door, he didn't bother knocking, especially since it was clear that they wouldn't have heard him. Minerva was standing at the desk, yelling at the Headmaster, and Albus was seated, looking serenely on as his Deputy called him a buggering, dog-fucking, whore monger. Severus couldn't help but stumble; he had never heard such language from Minerva.

Once they were aware of his presence, Minerva calmed instantly. It was odd to see, especially since she had gone out of her way to be calmer and more reserved. He had suspected occlumency but there was no need since she was an animagus. He let that mystery go for the time being in favor of taking the bull by the horns.

"We have to inform the Governors and the parents, Albus. There is no way around it now. When it was just the muggleborns, it was possible to keep it quiet. Their friends believed their professors and their parents can't do anything since they're muggles. While a complete breach of trust, it's fact that as Headmaster, it was your decision to keep it from them. However, Hermione Black changes things." Albus shook his head, his fingers still stroking his beard.

"No, Severus, it changes nothing. I refuse to terrify the students. The muggleborns are the only ones at risk and while I don't like it, the last thing we need is for the school to close. If that happens, where will young Harry go? Back to his muggles where he learns no magic? You know what he's going to face again, he has to be ready." Severus wanted to shout now; he understood why the Deputy was calling him names. He pinched the bridge of his nose instead.

"I'm telling you right now, Albus, this is going to get out whether you want it to or not. You might have Potter and Weasley under your spell, so they won't say anything, but Draco Malfoy has no illusions of you. His family has warned him about you since day one, since you cast that spell and hit little two-year-old Hermione. He is going to owl his father and his cousin the second he wakes up and realizes that what he saw tonight wasn't a nightmare but in fact, reality." Minerva spat at them both, but he could tell that it wasn't aimed at him.

"As he should. Purebloods are taught from the cradle to care for family, to make family your priority. As a pureblood, I value the same things. He should owl his family and tell them what is happening here." Severus knew that she stepped over the line when fury flashed in Albus' eyes. He was on his feet, wand extended, but no curse on his lips. Minerva flew to the wall and was held there, still and unmoving. A sudden blast broke her free and before Severus realized it, her wand was pointed at the Headmaster and they were both panting. The desk between them was charred and still flaming near the floor. Minerva's voice was cold as ice.

"If you ever cast on me again, Albus, not only will I wipe the floor with you, I'll make sure that every secret I've hidden for you in the last forty years is made public. Obviously, I can't change your mind if you don't want to tell the parents. I'm bound in my role as Deputy to support you in all decisions. However, when you go down for this, I'm going to make damn sure that everyone knows I was against it from the start." She didn't wait for a response; she didn't need to. Albus was speechless as she turned on her heel and left the office. The Headmaster sunk back into his chair and wiped a hand down his face.

"I shouldn't have done that. I know that I should tell everyone but if the school is closed, Harry won't be learning. We can't afford for that to happen. A few students getting petrified for half a year is worth him getting the education he needs to defeat Voldemort once he has returned." As much as he wanted to say that he didn't understand his reasoning, he couldn't. It was imperative that Harry learn how to defeat the Dark Lord and he wouldn't learn anything at the home of his muggle relatives. Still, if Albus had let the boy go to Sirius in the beginning, this wouldn't have been a problem. In the end, though, that didn't matter. The safety of all the students didn't outweigh the education of one student no matter how special he was.

"Regardless, Albus, you have to tell them. Draco is going to tell his parents and it's going to explode in your face." Albus shook his head.

"I can't do that. Leaving them all here is for the greater good." Severus shook his head and went to his feet.

"Very well, Albus, be it on your head." He left in a swirl of robes before the man could say another word.

He supposed that he should probably feel bad, but he didn't. After all, he had a letter to write.

-O-

Sirius was just about to crawl into bed when Candy appeared in his bedchamber, her ears raised high and her eyes wide.

"Master, Mister Malfoys be heres wanting to sees you. He says its importants." Sirius raked a hand through his hair. Of all nights to need to see him; he had just left the first muggle girl he had seen in three months crying in her bed because he refused to stay with her. He was going to have to stop seeing them. It was just getting too hard to deal with.

Sirius slid his feet into his slippers and hurried downstairs. Rather than find his old friend in the library, Lucius and Narcissa were both at the foot of the stairs in their pajamas. Sensing that there was something wrong, he hurried down the long set of stairs until they were face to face.

"What's wrong? What's happened?" Lucius held open a letter that he had just received. Candy appeared at his side, letter in her hand as well.

"This just comes for yous, Master." His cousin and friend had somber looks on their faces as he ripped into the letter that was clearly in Severus' script.

 _Sirius,_

 _I hate to be the bearer of bad news, I hope you know that. I wish this wasn't necessary at all but alas, it is._

 _Tonight, Hermione got angry at Martin Brown's daughter and almost killed her. Harry stopped it from happening, but she was discovered by a muggleborn prefect and was going to be escorted to either myself or Minerva. Draco found the pair of them petrified in the corridor just outside the bathroom that Filch's cat was discovered by._

 _Hermione is alive, but she is most certainly petrified. Draco isn't handling it well and I don't blame him. Keeping my cover was more difficult than anything else I've ever done. He is currently sleeping in my quarters because I dosed him with Dreamless Sleep. I have instructed him to write the both of you when he wakes so you can then start whatever process you need to to get the Board involved so the parents can be notified as well as the school._

 _I tried to get Albus to agree to telling you, but he wouldn't hear of it. He pulled his wand on Minerva because she demanded that he inform you and it didn't end well for him. His desk is probably still smoldering. I'm leaving this in your capable hands and want you to know that I will place wards around her in the Hospital Wing so only certain people can get through to her without my presence. I will protect her this time; I'm so sorry that I've let you down in that regard._

 _If you have further instructions or wishes, let me know._

 _Severus_

Sirius couldn't keep the magic in, probably just like his daughter had been earlier that night. Hermione was his anchor but when he pictured her now, she was silent and still with no pulse. His magic burst outward, shattering every piece of glass in the room, spraying not only himself but Lucius and Narcissa as well. Lucius stepped back, clearly unsure as to how to deal with this situation but Narcissa knew exactly what to do.

His tiny cousin pushed through the force of his magic, her eyes squinted and her hair almost straight out behind her and slammed into his chest, hugging him close. Sirius wasn't sure how to react, his cousin wasn't the hugging type unless it was Draco or Hermione. Her eyes were watering and he was unsure if it was due to the force of his magic or because she was just as upset as he was.

"Sirius, you have to stop. You'll tear the house down and you can't do that. Hermione is going to be fine, Severus is going to keep her safe and she will be awoken. You and Lucius are going to get Dumbledore and throw him out on his arse. You've got to stop." Sirius could hear her and was doing his best to will his magic to listen. He hated when this happened, he could only recall a time or two in his lifetime that he had had a reaction this strong. Even the death of James and Lily hadn't gotten this reaction.

The magic sucked back inside him and when the room was silent again, he was heaving, his chest hurting from the exertion. Narcissa didn't release him until his hands found her shoulders and gently pushed her away. He was still panting when he spoke.

"Thank you. I hate it when I lose control like that." She laughed weakly as she went back to her husband's side.

"Don't worry, I do too." After a few more minutes, Sirius had recovered though he felt exhausted now.

"I apologize for that outburst. I shall endeavor to control my magic in the future." Lucius finally let out a chuckle.

"I swear, man, between you and your daughter, you could take the Dark Lord down with just threatening the other." Sirius finally laughed before he turned a serious gaze to his friend.

"Tomorrow, we make this happen. If Dumbledore isn't going to protect the students, he's out. I'll help you in any way I can with the Board." Lucius gave him a nod.

"It might come to that. Tomorrow, we'll visit them together." Sirius felt a dark grin spread across his features. He saw Lucius shiver and it was clear the man was reminded that while Sirius didn't believe in his family's previous beliefs, he was still very much a Black.

"Dumbledore better watch his arse because we're coming for it."

A/N- Wow, I really pictured this chapter being longer, but I suppose this will do. I hope you all approve! I've been dying to write this chapter since the middle of first year, I'll admit it. Thanks again to everyone reading and reviewing, you guys are rock stars. Let me know what you think, reviews make me smile.

*Excerpt from the library book is taken directly from Chamber of Secrets.

Next chapter, a trip to Hagrid's ends badly.

Love,

Alicia


	37. Chapter 37

A/N- Your love for my story is humbling, thank you so much. I appreciate it more than you know. It was pointed out to me by a reviewer that somewhere along the way I said that Snape was a pureblood. I don't recall it but that doesn't mean that I didn't. I am most capable of making a mistake. In this story, Snape is not a pureblood, but a half-blood, like canon. To those that got confused from my mix-up, I apologize. Thank you to zargOn for pointing that out.

** Huge thank you to StarDxst for being my 1000th reviewer. You're awesome! **

Disclaimer: As always, I don't own a thing. This story has been done before, I'm almost positive. The characters belong to J.K.R. I have made no money from this story or any of my others evidenced by the fact that I'm a broke bitch.

Chapter 37

March 30, 1993

Severus knew what was coming even though nobody else in the room did. Well, he supposed that Minerva had guessed but the others seemed blissfully ignorant. There were seventeen men in their seats in the room that was used specifically for Board meetings at Hogwarts. Lucius was standing tall behind the podium in the middle of the room, his seat with the rest empty.

Albus was sitting behind a desk all by himself while he, Minerva, Pomona, and Filius sat behind him. Minerva shot him a questioning look, but he pointedly ignored it. There was no way in hell that he was going to admit to knowing what was about to happen beforehand and keeping it from Albus. Even though the Deputy Headmistress was on the outs with the Headmaster, that didn't mean that she could be trusted with his secrets.

Not that it was much of a secret. The day after Hermione had been petrified, Draco had sent a letter to both his father and Sirius, informing them of his cousin's condition. After visiting Hermione in the Hospital Wing before classes, he had then told the entire Slytherin table just what had happened to Hermione. Since Hermione was viewed quite literally as their princess, most of the students were outraged.

Letters went out to parents before lunch was through. If there was any hope of containing the secret, it was far too late at that point. The rest of the school had gradually discovered the truth throughout the day and by curfew that night, the rest of the students were questioning their professors as to what really had happened to their friends that had been missing.

Severus was thrilled. He had warned Albus exactly what was going to happen, but he had sat back and done nothing. When Sirius sent a howler to the castle, it arrived during dinner that evening. It had been priceless to watch, and Severus doubted that he would forget a second of that meal.

*Flashback*

The Great Hall was rather subdued; Severus knew that it was because the word had spread about Hermione. It wouldn't be long before the students put two and two together and started asking after their friends that had been missing for quite a while. He doubted that it would even take until the following morning.

Draco was seated in his usual spot, but he was just pushing his food around his plate. It was easy to see that his friends were trying to cheer him up, trying to include him in the conversation but his godson clearly wanted no part in it. When Pansy scooted close to him and laid her head on his shoulder while wrapping her arms around his arm, he had exploded.

"Get the fuck off me, Pansy! I don't give a shite about your hair or the dress you wore for Christmas. My cousin is laying in the Hospital Wing, petrified, and all you want to do is hang on me. You know Hermione would hex you blue if she saw you acting like a cheap tart!" Pansy burst into tears and Draco's chest was heaving. Severus knew that he was going to have to handle the situation, otherwise his godson was going to end up in detention for a month. He wiped his mouth and stood, leaving the High Table to go wrap an arm around Draco's shoulders. He turned his eyes to Pansy and did his best to try to be nice.

"Miss Parkinson, calm yourself. Draco is upset about his cousin, surely you can see that. I'm not condoning his behavior at all, but you must realize that he doesn't feel like socializing. What punishment would you like me to give him?" It wasn't normal practice to have other students decide someone's punishment, but in this situation, he felt like it was the only way. Draco tried to wrench away from him, but his hand clamped down hard on his shoulder and kept him in place. Pansy's eyes went wide and she started to stutter.

"Ohh, n-no, Prof-ffessor, I d-don't w-want him pun-punished." It would have been comical if they had been in a much more private setting. Draco instantly relaxed in his grip. Severus gave Pansy a brief incline of his head before an owl swooped down and dropped a red envelope in front of Albus. Since Severus was there with all the students in the Great Hall, he was well-aware of how loud Sirius sounded at the High Table. Albus' face was slightly stricken but was able to quickly hide it.

"HOW DARE YOU THINK YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH KEEPING MY DAUGHTER'S CONDITION FROM ME? WERE YOU REALLY STUPID ENOUGH TO THINK THAT MY COUSIN WOULDN'T INFORM ME ABOUT HERMIONE BEING ATTACKED? THIS IS NEGLIGENCE AND CHILD ENDANGERMENT; AFTER THE CHARGE YOU ALREADY HAVE AGAINST YOU FOR HARMING HERMIONE WHEN SHE WAS SMALL, WHAT DO YOU THINK THE AUTHORITIES WOULD THINK OF THIS?! WATCH YOUR BACK, DUMBLEDORE, YOUR JOB ISN'T SAFE."

Severus could have heard a pin drop it was so quiet in the Great Hall. Everyone was staring at the Headmaster except for Draco. His godson had his hand clapped over his mouth, his shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter. Severus tightened his grip on Draco, urging him to keep his mouth shut. The last thing they needed was the added complication of Draco laughing hysterically at the Headmaster.

Albus' face went ashen but kept a serene little smile on his face before incinerating the howler. When he turned his attention back to the students before him, he called out.

"No need to worry, children, all will be well. Return to your meal."

*End of Flashback*

All twenty- three of them turned to watch as the door opened, and Lord Sirius Black stepped through. Severus knew him well enough to know that Sirius was left at home; he was goofy, temperamental, and loved to turn into Padfoot, so he could make Hermione squeal happily. Lord Black was in the house, the very proper and proud pureblood lord. In a nutshell, the Black family name and legacy was his armor today and he was going to do everything he could to take Albus down, not only for Hermione but the other muggleborns who nobody there to do battle for them. Lucius gestured for Sirius to take a seat across the room from Albus. Once he was seated, the blond began.

"Ladies, and gentlemen, we're gathered here today to either prove or disprove the notion that Albus Dumbledore has willingly and knowingly taken the safety of every child within these hallowed halls and compromised it. As Head of the Governors, I shall lead this meeting." Lucius gave his politician's smirk before continuing. Severus could practically feel the glares coming his way from the other three Heads of House.

"Before we begin, I'm going to dissolve the oaths that all four Heads of House have taken to follow and support the Headmaster's decisions, the same goes for the Deputy Headmistress'. We won't be using veritiserum here today but remember to be truthful; the lives of our world's children are entrusted to you five and the parents count on you to keep their children safe." Severus wanted to snort; his old friend was laying it on thick. He shouldn't be surprised, Lucius had always had a bit of flair for the dramatic. Hermione always laughed at him when she realized he was doing it.

Severus' heart clenched at the thought of Hermione laying in the bed in the Hospital Wing all by herself. Her eyes were open and unmoving, her hands clenched in what he assumed was fear. He had visited her as often as he was able, usually with Draco, but it wasn't enough. He felt truly terrible for Sirius; the man had been denied access to not only the castle, but to his daughter as well. Lucius' voice pulled him from his thoughts of his goddaughter.

"Lord Black, please explain your claim." Sirius stood again and smoothed his robes. His voice was even and commanding, causing the others to take instant notice.

"My claim is that Albus Dumbledore has put the health and safety of every child in this school in danger. The Chamber of Secrets has been opened and Slytherin's monster released. As far as everyone else knew, only the caretaker's cat was petrified. My daughter was petrified on her way to we assume to be Minerva McGonagall's office with another student over a month ago and was petrified as well. After my cousin, Draco Malfoy, scion to House Malfoy, had rested from the shock of the evening, he owled not only myself but Lord Malfoy. Since then, we've discovered that two other students and a house ghost were petrified before my daughter and the prefect escorting her. It was hidden by Albus Dumbledore, though why I can't imagine." There were murmurs through the crowd of seventeen wizards and none of them looked too pleased. Severus knew that several of them had students in his own house. Lucius gave him a curt nod before turning to Albus.

"We will hear your side of the matter." Albus stood and smoothed his robes much the same way that Sirius had. However, he looked ridiculous since he was dressed in bright yellow robes.

"I didn't alert anyone to the Chamber of Secrets being opened because I didn't want to cause widespread panic. The students have never heard of the legend and the last thing I wanted to do was frighten them. As for not notifying the parents of those petrified, every single one of them is muggleborn. It would have only caused their parents undue worry and frustration because they wouldn't be able to visit their children since they're muggles. As for not informing Lord Black, he was aware the next morning. It seemed redundant to send another letter." Severus couldn't believe the outright blatant lie falling from the Headmaster's lips. He knew that he was going to get questioned and even though he hated what he had to do, he was counting on Minerva to finish the old bastard off. Lucius nodded his head slightly before turning to the Heads of House.

"Professor Flitwick, it's so nice to see you. My son and niece have only good things to say about your class." The half-goblin preened under Lucius' praise.

"What can you tell us about this situation?" Filius shook his head slightly.

"Not much. We were instructed by the Headmaster to not mention the other missing students to the rest of the student body, so we could keep panic from spreading. We were told the names of all students, but I wasn't personally updated on their condition until my sixth-year prefect was petrified at the same time as Miss Black. Before that, the victims had been from Hufflepuff and Gryffindor." Lucius gestured for him to take his seat again for a hand gesture.

"Thank you. Professor Sprout, I would like to say that your gardens are looking quite lovely on the grounds." Pomona blushed; Severus wanted to barf.

"Please tell us what you know about the situation." She met his gaze, her cheeks still rosy.

"The same as Filius, really, except I was given weekly updates on Mr. Finch-Fletchley's condition." Lucius gave her a small smile before gesturing for her to sit as he had Filius. Severus knew that he was next; even though he had discussed his answers and how to give them with both Lucius and Sirius, he still felt terrible about it. It felt like he was betraying Hermione, even though he knew that she was going to understand.

"Professor Snape, my old friend. Draco has told me how much he enjoys having his godfather at school in case he has problems. I'd like to thank you for watching after him after Hermione was discovered, the two are closer than siblings." Severus couldn't help but think that he was laying it on a bit thick but refrained from speaking.

"What can you tell us about the situation that led us to the situation we're in today?" Severus rose to his feet and clasped his hands behind his back, his face impassive. He was occluding for all he was worth.

"We were all told that the children had been petrified and that if we were to spread the knowledge, it would become a mass panic. That is the last thing that anyone needed. I urged the Headmaster to write the parents of the children but when he pointed out that the parents wouldn't be able to visit, I agreed. It would just cause worry and distress that the parents couldn't do anything about. I never inquired further since none of my students were personally involved. After Hermione Black was petrified, Draco told me that he was going to write not only his father but Lord Black. I told the Headmaster in a meeting afterwards and he decided that it would be pointless to send the same information as young Mr. Malfoy was going to do so." Severus could see Minerva clench her hands into fists next to him. Lucius only asked one question of him.

"Did you urge the Headmaster to owl Lord Black anyways?" Severus made sure that his tone was even.

"Absolutely not. I'm not the Headmaster or the Deputy, I would never dream of telling either one of them how to do their jobs. Minerva did, however." There was a hiss next to him and he knew that the witch would be fuming by the time they were done. He was going to have to make sure she didn't hex him. Even though he considered himself to be a highly-trained wizard, Minerva was certainly very formidable and had decades of experience on him. Lucius gave him a respectful nod before turning to Minerva. Severus took this as his sign to take his seat.

"Professor McGonagall, how wonderful to see you. My son and my niece love your subject; they would never ask but I know they would rather have more advanced work." Severus wanted to laugh at the clenching of her jaw. Lucius knew full well that she had tried to give them advanced work and it had been Dumbledore that had stopped her.

"Please tell us about the situation at hand." She glanced over and caught Severus' eye; it was clearly questioning, and he was surprised that she was trusting him enough to ask what to do. He gave the most infinitesimal nod before turning his eye forward again. Minerva cleared her throat slightly before starting.

"After the original message on the wall telling us that they Chamber of Secrets had been opened, there were two other students petrified. Colin Creevey from my own house and Justin Finch-Fletchley of Hufflepuff. We were instructed to keep their whereabouts and condition a secret, mentioning it to nobody if they were to ask. Throughout this time, I urged the Headmaster to notify their parents numerous times but he always told me that it would be cruel to do since the parents couldn't visit anyways. Since I am honor-bound to support the Headmaster in all he does, there was little I could do aside from voice my opinion." She stopped and paused before she glanced at Severus again. It was so quick that he wasn't sure if anyone else saw it. However, the question in her eyes was clear.

 _Do I tell them you sided with me?_

Severus shook his head slightly as he glanced to his lap, hoping that the action would hide his nod.

"I came across Miss Black and Miss Clearwater in their petrified state after they had been coming to see me, according to witnesses, and Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Weasley, and Mr. Potter were at their sides. The Headmaster asked them to stay quiet about the matter, but I don't think that Mr. Malfoy was comprehending much of anything at that point. After Severus delivered Mr. Malfoy to his quarters so he could give him Dreamless Sleep, we met in Albus' office. Once there, I argued quite vehemently with the Headmaster, telling him that it would be folly to keep the secret any longer. It could have been believable if they were just the muggleborn parents he didn't notify but the fact of who Miss Black is would just be stupid. He refused. We argued more, both of us said and did some things that we regret, but the argument ended in him deciding to keep information to himself and put the rest of the students in danger. We all know what happened the last time that the Chamber was opened." Minerva remained standing and Severus wanted to cheer inwardly. She couldn't have done any better if he had coached her himself. However, her words sparked a question from Lucius.

"As far as we all know, the Chamber of Secrets is just a myth. How do you know about the Chamber and what happened when it was opened before?" Severus wanted to grin at his oldest friend. He was playing his part perfectly.

"I started Hogwarts in 1947, four years after the Chamber was opened the first time. Armando Dippet was the Headmaster and Albus held my position at the time. I was told by the older students in Gryffindor, those that remembered it being opened. They remembered that a young girl named Myrtle Warren, a ghost you all know as Moaning Myrtle, was murdered by the beast rumored to be housed in the Chamber." The governors were all sitting straighter than they had been and looked quite angry. Lucius held up a hand to stay the questions.

"How did the Chamber close? Was there ever anyone implicated in this matter?" Even Severus didn't know the answer to the question, so he assumed that this was a question that Lucius didn't know the answer to either.

"I'm not sure, I never learned that bit of information. It hasn't come up since it's been opened this last time." Lucius bowed slightly, gesturing for Minerva to take her seat. Once she was sitting again, he turned to Albus.

"Who was implicated in the opening of the Chamber of Secrets the first time?" Dumbledore wiped a hand down his face, his first sign of distress since the meeting had begun.

"Rubeus Hagrid. He was expelled and there were no more problems from the Chamber of Secrets." Lucius was more livid than Severus had ever seen him. His voice was soft and menacing and it was clear that he was out for blood to everyone present.

"You're telling me that you knew that Slytherin's monster had killed before but you kept the information hidden from not only the children and their parents but the Board of Governors as well? My niece could have died, and my son is at her side ninety-five percent of the time. Greengrass, Pucey, Bletchley, Nott, and Parkinson all sit on this board and they all have children in school. Your actions have been a blatant act of ignoring the danger that our children were put in and a breach in the trust that we as parents put in you as Headmaster." Albus looked older than Severus could ever remember seeing him. He didn't get to think for long, however, because Lucius turned to the Board and spoke, his voice still soft.

"We'll vote now. All in favor of suspending Albus Dumbledore from his position of Headmaster until further notice and placing Minerva McGonagall as interim Headmistress, please raise your hands now." Severus wasn't surprised when every single governor raised his hand. Lucius turned to Albus, his face could have been carved from stone.

"You have an hour to gather your belongings and leave the premises. As the Head of the Board, I move to allow Lord Black to visit his daughter whenever he deems fit. I also must insist that letters to all parents go out, explaining the situation, assuring them that the culprit from before is going to be arrested before the day is out. Thank you, Headmistress, for being honest." It was clear that Minerva didn't know what to say since she was the reason that her mentor had just been suspended. Lucius wasn't finished though.

"I also must insist that Minerva appoint an interim Deputy to help serve her in her new duties. I'm sure that either of the three people before us will do just fine." Lucius seemed to be waiting for her to do so. She cleared her throat again.

"I appoint Severus. We'll begin right away." Severus knew what that meant. She wanted to know what the fuck was going on and just what she was getting herself into. Lucius turned back to the Board.

"We're all dismissed. Lord Black go visit your daughter. I'll be along to visit her myself shortly." Sirius nodded gratefully, though nobody else could see the blind emotion on his face. He turned on his heel and left quickly, the rest of the governors following him. Lucius smirked his way, knowing exactly what Minerva was wanting. Once the room was empty, Minerva waved her wand, silencing and warding the room. Her eyes were dancing with rage and her voice was hard as stone.

"What the fucking buggering hell was that? Albus has been suspended and now I'm stuck with a job I don't want!" Severus raked a hand through his hair, trying to figure out how best to go about explaining. After several seconds, he blew a breath out of his cheeks and met her eyes.

"We both know that Albus not telling anyone was going to bite him in the arse. Today, it has. I warned him that Draco was going to write home and tell both Lucius and Black. He had to know that he was going to tell anyone that would listen. Now, think about what I did during the last war and what Albus believes is going to happen still." Minerva looked thoughtful.

"You spied for the Order and he believes that Voldemort will return." Severus nodded stiffly.

"If the Dark Lord returns, who will Albus send to spy again? Me. How do you think the Dark Lord is going to take me not getting rid of Dumbledore when I had the perfect chance?" Minerva looked confused.

"He's going to be angry." Severus half nodded but ended in a shrug.

"Possibly. Or he'll believe me when I tell him that I kept him at Hogwarts, so I could always be aware of his plans? That I could keep spying on the man the Dark Lord fears most." It finally made sense to the woman before him and she smirked.

"You devious bastard." Severus snorted.

"Slytherin, it's our forte." He rolled his shoulders.

"I wanted you to be the one to tell the truth to ensure that you would inherit control of the school. An Order member that understands what is needed and someone that cares deeply for the student's safety. For that to happen, you had to be the one to turn on Albus, not lie for him. They would never have trusted you." Minerva narrowed her eyes at him.

"Albus had no idea of your plans?" Severus shook his head.

"He was being a fucking idiot. I had to do something to protect Potter and the school. Once he's far enough from the situation, he'll realize what I did and know it was for the best." Minerva nodded reluctantly.

"I suppose I'll get with you later tonight and we can start trying to figure this whole charade out together." Severus nodded, ready to be done with the conversation so he could go visit his niece and friends.

"Until then, Minerva. I fear Lucius will need my support." She waved him away with a smile.

"Go, tell them I'm sorry." Severus cast her a glance that she caught. She rolled her eyes at him.

"I don't want to be their bloody friends, Severus, in fact, I think Sirius Black is the biggest disappointment from my house in decades. However, I know all too well what it's like to lose a child and it doesn't feel good." Severus gave her a jerky nod, hoping against hope that they would be able to steer clear of tears.

"I'll relay the message." Without a second glance, he turned and stalked away, robes billowing behind him.

-O-

Draco was laying in the bed next to Hermione, reading aloud from one of the magazines that Uncle Sev had gotten her for Christmas. It was almost dinner time and he didn't want to leave; not having Hermione with him for the last month was like having a hole in his chest. He remembered that last day with her all too well; he had been impatient with her because she had been in the library all day and refused to leave. He had finally done exactly what his godfather had told him not to and left her alone. All because he didn't want to help her research what the monster belonging to his house's namesake was.

Draco stopped his train of thought instantly. Hermione had been researching what Slytherin's monster could be. He hadn't ever got the chance to find out if she had learned anything. He cursed himself again; if only he had stayed with her and helped her then she wouldn't be laying in a bed like a slab of rock. His mind wandered again, this time to a plan of action. He was going to figure out what Slytherin's monster is, maybe if they knew what it was, they could reverse the effects more quickly. It wasn't likely, but it was possible. Draco had to believe that it was possible.

He was going to start right after dinner and he was going to get the twins and Neville to go with him. Draco wouldn't tell them just what he was doing but he was going to tell them that it could possibly help Hermione. They would stay with him for sure. All three of them were devastated after learning that she was in the Hospital Wing and they were livid at learning that Dumbledore had kept the other petrifications to himself. The curtain jostled and was moved aside. Draco had his wand in his hand quicker than a snitch, pointing it at whoever was entering without permission. His godfather had erected wards that only allowed people he approved of to visit. His father and Sirius stepped in and looked pleased at his actions. Lucius came forward and in a rare show of affection, hugged Draco for a few moments before releasing him.

"Son, I'm happy to see that you're well and keeping your cousin company as well as you can." Draco swiped his eyes angrily, but he knew that his father and cousin had seen the few tears leak from his eyes. They pretended not to notice, and Draco was grateful. Sirius sat down next to Hermione on her other side while Draco crossed his legs, so his father could sit next to her hip.

"I should be the one laying there, it was my fault this happened. Uncle Severus told us not to go anywhere by ourselves and I got irritated with her because she spent all day in the library researching. I left her there to go to dinner and when I was on my way to pick her up, she was laying in the middle of the corridor with no pulse, looking dead. Then Weasley was gloating, saying she should have died. I used my wand on him, the only reason I stopped was Potter." Sirius reached out and grasped his hand in his, squeezing it until Draco met his eyes.

"This isn't your fault, Draco. You should be able to walk through the corridors of a school and not have to worry about being petrified. You didn't leave Hermione alone, you left her in the library with a member of the staff. This is the fault of whoever opened the Chamber and Dumbledore." Draco let his head hang but nodded anyways.

"I know that, but it still feels like this is my fault." His father laid a hand on his knee but they all remained silent.

Draco couldn't be sure how much time passed in silence, but it was only broken by the arrival of his godfather. He conjured a chair and took a seat. The silence continued for another ten minutes while Sirius petted Hermione's hair away from her face and stroked her cheek. He looked tormented. Draco knew that Hermione had been doubting her father's love as of late; she hadn't voiced it, but he knew her better than anyone else in the world. What he saw in front of him was a man devastated because his daughter was injured. Severus cleared his throat and spoke.

"Dumbledore is out. Minerva understands why she had to be the one to send Albus packing. I rather think she's excited to work with me." His father snorted as he smirked his way.

"Funny, that wasn't the impression I got. I floo-called the aurors. I'm not sure if Hagrid is the one responsible for opening the Chamber this time but I will see him arrested. Draco's safety and that of the rest of the schools is worth one man being incarcerated for a few months until we know for sure. It's harsh but it is what it is. Dumbledore should never have hired him here with something like this hanging over his head. It was only a matter of time." Draco smiled, the first real one in a month's time.

"The old man is out? Merlin, I wish Hermione could be awake to see this. He didn't even act like he wanted to heal her on Christmas; not that she would have let him, but it would have been nice to get a genuine offer. I'm sure that having Dumbledore as a Headmaster is good for publicity but when it comes down to it, he's terrible. We'd be better off with Filch." His father patted his knee again.

"We're doing everything we can to make sure that he doesn't come back. We know he's important to the Order, but he doesn't have to run the school to be head of the Order." He paused for a moment.

"Would you like us to stay and eat with you, Draco? It would help lend credence to the story that is sure to be circulating already." However, Draco wasn't really hearing his father. Something had occurred to him that hadn't in the entire month since his cousin had been a resident there. He turned to his Uncle Sev, panic in his eyes.

"Is it possible to legilimize a person if they're petrified? Can they just not move or does their brain shut down also? Miney doesn't employ her shields all the time like we do, she only uses them when she goes before someone that could look into her thoughts. Could Dumbledore have read her mind while she lay here helpless?" Suddenly, Sirius stood and grabbed the tray off the table next to Hermione and threw it against the wall. Uncle Sev was instantly on his feet, his arms wrapped around Sirius from behind, holding him tight to his chest, while the Gryffindor broke down into sobs.

"She's my daughter, I vowed to protect her when I adopted her. I promised to love her. She's laying here defenseless and DumbleBOOR has kept me from her this whole time while he tries to rape her mind. He tried it once before, why wouldn't he again?" He was thrashing around and suddenly Draco felt better about his show of emotion. Hermione was the single-most important person in his life, she always would be he suspected, and to consider that she wasn't safe did things to him inside that he didn't like. His godfather's voice was harsh as he hissed in his best friend's ear.

"I have wards up around her, remember? Yes, her thoughts can be read but nobody has entered this cubicle except for myself, Draco, Poppy once a day, and the friends that visit with Draco. Albus hasn't been here once. She's safe, I promise. The second my wards are breached, I'll be down here faster than you can say quidditch. I love her too." Sirius calmed, and Draco was surprised to see that even his father looked affected. His eyes were shiny, and their gaze never left Hermione's face. He reached out and brushed a lock of hair from her forehead and smoothing it back. Sirius settled back into his chair while his Uncle Sev took his seat again. Draco wasn't sure what to say so he couldn't stifle the laugh that erupted from him when his cousin spoke.

"How about those Cannons?" The rest of the room seemed to find it as funny as he did.

-O-

Harry was seated on his bed, tucked away in his dormitory. The diary was open before him and he was feeling a little lightheaded. He had finally gotten tired of trying spell after spell to get the diary to work. Rather than use his wand, he had decided to write an entry himself. The entry had been simple: _Hi, my name is Harry Potter._ What had surprised him more than anything else had in several years was that the diary had answered back.

He had questioned the book about the Chamber of Secrets and if he knew who had opened it; the diary had assured him that it did. Rather than just tell him, it had sucked him into a memory (he thought?) that showed him what he wanted to know. To his complete surprise and horror, he was shown a memory of the last time that the Chamber was opened. Harry chuckled under his breath at how young the Headmaster looked fifty years before.

Harry had watched the confrontation between a young Tom Riddle and Hagrid, arguing over the monster in the castle. Hagrid swore that his pet spider wasn't the monster but when young Tom had attacked the spider, it fled and was never found again. He wasn't sure what happened after that scene, but he knew that he needed to figure it out. Word had spread throughout the school that Dumbledore had been suspended by the Board of Governors, so he supposed that the only thing left for him to do was go out to Hagrid's hut himself and ask after the real story.

Ron was seated next to him, clearly trying to figure out just what his best mate wanted from him. Ron had had nothing good to say about Dumbledore being cast from the school. While it was true that he didn't feel like it was the best idea either, he wasn't going to dwell on it either. The Headmaster should never have hidden all the people being petrified; the only reason it wasn't currently a secret was because Hermione hadn't been a muggleborn but a pureblood princess. When he thought about it, he couldn't say that be blamed the school for being angry that he had put all the other students in danger for Merlin only knew what reason.

Harry hated that Hermione wasn't awake and doing her schoolwork in classes anymore; Malfoy did his work and made sure he took perfect notes for her, but it wasn't the same. He knew that she was tucked away in the Hospital Wing and there was never anyone watching her after curfew. He couldn't count how many times he had almost used his dad's cloak to sneak away and go visit her, just to make sure that she was alright there by herself. He knew that Malfoy visited her several times a day, but he didn't like not seeing her. His day had been held together by exchanging one-liners with her and watching her from afar. This wasn't a way he liked to feel, and he was doing his best to ignore the implications. Suddenly, he turned to Ron.

"I can't not know. We need to go visit Hagrid and ask him. I don't think he would ever want somebody to die but I know what I saw. I need to be sure." Ron sighed and raked a hand through his shaggy red hair.

"It's getting late, mate, are you sure you want to go tonight?" Harry nodded before standing and digging through his trunk to find his father's invisibility cloak. Once it was in his grasp, Harry turned to ask Ron his opinion.

"Should we just go, or do you think we should ask Parvati?" Ron snorted.

"Merlin love the girl but she's not going to want to sneak out and possibly get in trouble. The sooner we go, the sooner we can get back." That had been Harry's assessment, but he didn't want to be guilty of being a dick to her since he wasn't the most emotional person in the world.

Harry threw the cloak over himself and held it up so Ron could climb underneath as well. Once his best mate was situated under there with him, they started down the stairs to the common room and then out the portrait hole door. It was a little difficult to work out what movements they needed to make together and just how much leeway they had before the cloak threatened to slip off them. In truth, it took well over twenty minutes for them to sneak clear out to the hut that Hagrid lived in. Once they were finally in front of his door, Harry threw the cloak off him and knocked. He could hear Hagrid moving around inside and it was only a second later that he threw the door open.

"Who's 'der?" His eyes landed on Harry and Ron and was quick to step backward, allowing them to pass by him into his cottage. Once they were fully ensconced inside, Harry threw the cloak off completely and whirled to face his first friend.

"Hagrid, we just found this diary and it showed us what happened fifty years ago. It said you opened the Chamber of Secrets, that you killed that girl in the bathroom." Hagrid's eyes grew even bigger. He had just opened his mouth to speak when there was a knock at the door. Hagrid quickly gestured for them to throw the cloak back over themselves and move to the corner. Once they were successfully hidden, Hagrid opened the door.

"Why, Minista, it's nice ta see ya dis fine evenin'. Wha can I help ya wit' tonight?" The Minister was flanked by four other men and none of them looked very nice. They pushed into his hut and Harry could tell that they weren't messing around.

"Rubeus Hagrid, Dumbledore was suspended this afternoon and once we discovered that you were implicated in the first time the Chamber of Secrets was opened, we were ordered to remand you to Azkaban prison. There's no need to gather your things, you won't be allowed them anyways." Hagrid seemed to be struck dumb and it took several seconds and all the aurors stepping forward to snap his friend out of it. He glanced toward Harry and Ron and cleared his throat as he rolled his shoulders, clearly readying himself for the horrors to come.

"Fer dose tha want ta know tha truth, all yous needin' ta be doin' is ta follow the spiders." Harry wasn't sure what that meant in the least but since the monster was supposedly a large spider, he supposed that it made sense to go after the beast. However, finding said spiders was going to be a problem.

Hagrid didn't fight the aurors; if anything, he went willingly. Harry hated to see him go and hated to believe that his friend was capable of doing something that could kill someone else but there was nothing else he could do about it now. It was clear that Hagrid was gone, and he wasn't coming back. The only help he was going to receive was a cryptic phrase that told him to follow the spiders. Ron looked quite pale when he checked on him; Harry had forgotten that Ron was deathly afraid of spiders. After it had been silent for several minutes, Harry sighed.

"Well that got us nowhere. Let's get back to the castle. I suppose we keep our eyes open for spiders, so we can follow them." It sounded completely stupid when he listened to himself say it so he didn't bother to cringe when Ron did. His best mate smoothed his hair and nodded.

"Let's go, mate. There are a thousand other places in the castle I would rather be than here with no Hagrid." Harry grinned.

He couldn't agree more.

-O-

Albus knew he had been foolish, that much was fact. He had hunkered down in his family home, the place he had grown up over a century ago. It was true he hadn't been there in many, many years but he had assumed that his house elves had taken better care of the place.

Severus had saved the day, that much was sure. Albus should have realized that his trusted spy was right, that the Malfoy boy would tell instantly. He should have taken steps to assure that that would never happen. However, he had been so blinded by keeping Harry safe that he hadn't been able to see the forest for the trees.

Severus really had pulled this one out of the bag. Having Minerva take the task of bringing him down, securing his place as a spy, ensuring the safety of all the students at the same time, it was clear that he had underestimated the Slytherin. Truthfully, he was glad that he had. If he hadn't, who knows where they would have ended up.

The aurors would surely go after Rubeus. As much as Albus hated to do it, he knew that his groundskeeper was going to have to suffer just a bit before the Chamber struck again; this would clear him of all charges. He couldn't command the monster of the Chamber if he was in wizarding prison. While he didn't like making the decision to throw Hagrid to the wolves, it ultimately had to be done to prove his innocence.

What bothered Albus was that he had absolutely no idea who the heir could be. It was true, for a few weeks' time, he had considered the idea that Hermione Black or Draco Malfoy would hold this title; they fit all the requirements. Both children were thorns in his side and they likely weren't going to stop being one either.

Now, his problem was trying to find a way to get back into the good graces of the Governors. He needed something major to happen, so they would beg him to return but he had no idea how to go about getting this reaction. The governors, hell, pretty much the entire school, was livid about him keeping things from them. Why couldn't they see that it was for the greater good, that it was necessary?

Albus watched as his oldest family elf disappeared from his sight; it was clear that he was going to have to play the waiting game, making sure that the heir of Slytherin felt comfortable enough to move forward with his plans. He would owl Minerva later with an apology and tell her what she needed to be watching for. This was going to be a cake walk in the end. It had to be.

Albus was going to end up on top and he was going to do everything in his power to make sure it happened.

A/N- Boom, another chapter down, y'all. The chapter so many of you have been waiting for for weeks, I really hope that it meets your expectations. I did so enjoy writing this chapter even if it was a little more emotional than I'm used to. Anyways, thanks for your support, guys, you're seriously the best. Leave me a message after the beep and let me know what you think. Reviews are love.

Next chapter, our beloved characters follow those spiders. Ugh, I hate spiders.

Love,

Alicia


	38. Chapter 38

A/N- The love you guys show my story is just amazing. You have no idea how much I appreciate it, truly. Thank you to everyone out there that is reading, reviewing, following, and favoriting, it means so much to me. I hope you all enjoy this chapter as well. Fair warning to everyone, I'm going to head to Texas for Rednecks with Paychecks this coming Thursday through Sunday. Not sure I'll have time to upload chapters or write for that matter. I hope to get one more chapter up before I leave so you're not left so long with no chapter. We'll see if I get that done. Anyways, enough of that for now, on with the show.

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing…everything has been done before and I'm sure that there are those out there that have done it better than me. I've made no money from this story or any other.

Chapter 38

April 27, 1993

Draco scrubbed a hand down his face, frustrated beyond measure. He had been trying to research what Slytherin's monster could be for a month to no avail. If anything, the only thing he had gained from the endeavor was a permanent headache. He gathered his books into his bag, determined to push past the headache that had developed days ago.

After his books were in his bag, Draco stood and headed out of the library, not caring a whit about the fact that he was alone in the corridors. He was headed to the Hospital Wing; not really a place that warranted much company considering the wards that his godfather had put up. He sat with Hermione every single day, regardless of quidditch practice or assignments. He felt completely lost without her, something he had never had to experience before. If there was one thing this experience had taught him, it was that he valued his cousin's presence more than he had ever realized.

Draco strode through the wards left by his godfather and cousin Sirius; they had told him that only certain people were allowed through so there would be no chance of her getting further injured. He was glad, the last thing he wanted was for something else to happen to his best friend. It was bad enough that she had been petrified after he left her in the library on her own. The Slytherin took his usual seat on the bed next to Hermione so he could stroke her hair and talk quietly to her.

He told her of his day, how his research was coming along. It really wasn't anything she hadn't heard for two months now. Draco wondered just how long he was going to have to wait to get his cousin back. He had asked Uncle Severus, but he had been unsure. From what he had been told, it was still going to be awhile. After all the school work Hermione was missing, it was a good thing that she was so far ahead. She would have been having kittens otherwise.

Draco spent almost two hours in the Hospital Wing, doing his homework and spending time with his cousin even though she couldn't move or speak. Briefly, he wondered if she could hear what was going on or if she was in somewhat of a coma; truthfully, it was hard telling. He supposed that he was just going to have to ask her when she woke up. He had to believe that she was going to wake up because frankly, the other option scared the living fuck out of him.

Madam Pomfrey showed up just as he was putting the finishing touches on his essay for Professor Cat; he had outright refused to do any work from Madam Cambridge until Hermione was better. They had always worked together, and he refused to work ahead of her now when they were already working on the curriculum of the fifth and sixth year. She smiled at him indulgently, reminding him that curfew was in half an hour. Draco gathered his things and quickly headed out of the Hospital Wing and towards the dungeons.

Once he was on the first floor, close to the staircase that led down into the dungeons, he rounded a corner and found Potter and Weasley hissing back and forth to each other. Potter seemed determined while Weasley looked terrified. Draco wanted to laugh at first but decided that it would probably be more fun to hide and see what he could learn about Weasley's fears. After all, he had wished Hermione dead more than once.

It wasn't hard to sneak up on them; in fact, it was far easier than it should have been. No Slytherin in the history of magic would have allowed themselves to be that vulnerable, especially in a place that housed people that weren't all that fond of them. While Potter had enemies in the school because of his "killing" the Dark Lord, Weasley was hated all the way around by everyone in Slytherin house because he was a complete moron. Slytherin house did it's best to not suffer fools. As he was in the alcove right behind them, Draco could hear every word they were saying. Potter was looking quite indignant.

"Ron, you can't tell me that you aren't going to go with me to help me prove that Hagrid is innocent. I know that he's innocent, he told us that if we wanted answers we were going to have to follow the spiders. You can clearly see the line of them and they're heading outside." Weasley shuddered.

"I would do anything to help Hagrid, but I hate spiders, I hate them more than anything. They're disgusting. Please don't ask me to go after a bunch of insects that scare the life out of me." Potter sighed and raked his hand through his hair. His voice was resigned, and Draco couldn't help but wonder just how much following a hundred little spiders was going to do for the half-giant.

"Fine, I'll go with you but you're getting near the little beasts. I'm there for moral support only." Potter grinned and clapped his friend on the shoulder.

"Thanks, Ron, now let's hurry and get outside. The last thing we want to do is let them get away." Draco shook his head in exasperation. The one night that he was thoroughly exhausted, he was going to end up having to follow idiot one and idiot two outside into who knew where. Since it was the end of April, the air was no longer frigid, but the wind still had a bite to it. Therefore, once their backs were turned, Draco conjured a heavy wool cloak to help him brace against the wind.

Draco followed behind them at a much slower pace then they were travelling at. It wouldn't do for them to realize that he was following them. Both Gryffindors were still bickering about going outside after curfew and then about freezing their tales off. It was certainly an occasion where Draco thanked Merlin that he knew how to conjure, otherwise he would have been in a terrible mood.

The wind was just as cold as he remembered it from quidditch practice just before dinner. The sky was pitch black, the moon wasn't visible at all. Even from this distance, he could hear the wind whistling through the trees of the Forbidden Forest. Since he was allowing Potter and his pet weasel to lead this expedition, he had to move at their pace, which unfortunately, was excruciatingly slow.

After what seemed like an hour of traversing slowly across the grounds, it was clear that they were headed to the Forbidden Forest. He wasn't sure how he felt about visiting somewhere that was clearly known to be dangerous; however, he couldn't exactly just leave the two idiots ahead of him to their fate. Draco was far better equipped to fight the beasts in the Forest than they were. He had no way to send his godfather a message to warn him that not only were they out after curfew, they were so far out of bounds that it wasn't even funny. Weasley was whining again and Draco wanted to hex him from behind, if only it would shut him the fuck up.

"We can't go in the Forbidden Forest, mate, who knows what's out there. Hagrid isn't worth dying for." Draco couldn't believe that he agreed with the moron.

"You remember what we found in there the last time. Voldemort stuck on the back of our professor's head. Nothing good can come of going in there." Potter was either the very embodiment of a Gryffindor or he really was a fucking idiot.

"We can't leave Hagrid to rot in Azkaban, you told me yourself that criminals that have been there even short times can go completely mad. We can't let that happen to Hagrid." Weasley raked his hand through his hair and gave a reluctant nod.

"Fine, mate, but if I die out there because something huge and hairy eats me, I'm coming back to haunt you." Potter laughed lightly and started leading the way again.

Draco knew that on a night as dark as this one, it would be ridiculously easy to lose your way in the even darker forest. Therefore, he decided to make use of a glitter spell that he and Hermione learned when they were children and their fathers had played hide and go seek with them. Once cast, the path would light up with sparkling glitter. It would be easy enough to hold the spell until they reached their destination; then they would only have to follow the glitter when they decided to go back to the castle. However, this meant that he was going to have to reveal his presence to them no matter what. They would know that the other hadn't cast the spell.

-O-

Harry would be the first to admit that he was scared to death. The last time he had been in the Forbidden Forest, it hadn't ended well. His professor had had Voldemort stuck on the back of his head and had been drinking the blood of a unicorn. It really wasn't something that he wanted to replay but there was no way that he could leave Hagrid to his fate in Azkaban.

This past week hadn't gone well for Harry; not only had Hermione been missing from classes for two months now, Hagrid had been gone for the last month. His first friend who loved to invite him over for tea was sitting a dark and dank cell with dementors sucking every happy memory out of him each time they passed. It wasn't fair, and it wasn't right and he was going to do his best to rectify the situation.

To make matters worse, Harry had returned to his dorm the week before to find it destroyed. His belongings had been strewn across the room and his truck emptied. It was clear that the person who had done it had been looking for something and it didn't take Harry long to figure out just which of his belongings were missing.

Tom Riddle's diary.

It had been stashed in his pillow case under the pillow and it was the only belonging of his that wasn't there. It was also clear that the person who had trashed his dorm was a Gryffindor. Myrtle had told him that whoever threw the diary out had been a girl. For the life of him, however, he couldn't imagine any girl he knew going to these lengths to get a book back just because it wrote back to you.

Since that first night that he had discovered how to communicate with the diary, he hadn't wrote in it since. The diary had told him that Hagrid was guilty, and Harry just refused to believe that. Therefore, out of protest, he hadn't written in the diary again. This didn't mean that the book didn't call to him because it did. It woke him up at night, making him feel as if he would never be complete if he didn't hold the diary close and keep it with him always. When he touched it, however, he got such a sense of wrongness that he refused to hold it for long.

It was pitch black in the Forest though it was a bit warmer. The trees were so thick that the wind couldn't get through them to whip around their robes. It was almost pleasant temperature-wise. The darkness unnerved him. He had never liked the dark, though he couldn't say that he feared it. His wand, as well as Ron's, was lit to full power as they followed the trail of spiders on the forest floor.

He couldn't say just how long they walked through the dense forest. He knew that he was getting tired but if he was serious about clearing Hagrid's name, he was going to have to push through. As they got further into the woods, the spiders became thicker on the ground next to them and it worried Harry. They really had no idea what they were getting into and he was sure that the forest wasn't named Forbidden for no good reason.

Rustling in the trees all around them alerted him to the fact that they may have walked into a dangerous situation. The wind was rustling the tops of the trees and there were howls in the distance. He wasn't sure what could be in the woods that howled but he assumed that he didn't want to know. Ron was whimpering next to him, clearly terrified at whatever was lurking in the night.

The spiders led them into a cave, a cave large enough to fit a car through. Harry hadn't even been aware that there were caves in the Forbidden Forest although he guessed that the Headmaster wasn't going to just volunteer that information to underage students. Their wands were still lit, casting shadows all around them. He could see something skittering on the walls of the cave but he wasn't close enough to discern what exactly it was. Ron was close behind him, still making soft noises in his throat. When they finally reached the back of the cave, the combined light between Harry and Ron both illuminated the small space. What they saw had Ron cowering in fear.

An enormous spider was at the very back, sitting on what appeared to be a nest of bones. There were smaller spiders all over the walls, webs hanging from the ceiling of the cave. Harry felt his heart stutter in fear but Hagrid had sent them there. He had to know something that Harry didn't; he wouldn't have sent them if it wasn't safe. The largest spider spoke, his voice low and gravelly.

"How dare you, human, wander into my lair?" Harry was proud that he didn't let his fear show in his voice.

"Hagrid sent us. He's been arrested and taken to the wizard prison. Others are saying that you're the monster Salazar Slytherin released in the school." He could hear the disdain in the spider's voice. He wondered how such a beast could speak; he hadn't heart of any other animals that could speak.

"I never harmed a single human while I resided in the castle. Hagrid found me and raised me in the castle. I was discovered by a man I had seen before; he spoke to snakes. As for the monster in the castle, it was born there, raised there as well. We spiders do not speak of it and we flee before it. Make no mistake, Hagrid is innocent." Harry wasn't sure what he was supposed to do with this information. It didn't seem as important to discover what the monster was, rather who had unleashed it.

"If you aren't the monster and Hagrid didn't unleash it, can you tell me who did?" The spider began to laugh, and the other spiders began to advance.

"It won't matter who released the monster into the castle. My sons and daughters don't attack Hagrid on my command. I can't deny them when such fresh meat wanders so freely into our home." Harry couldn't be hearing what he thought he was hearing. Hagrid wouldn't send them into a cave where they would come to harm. However, the trip through the Forbidden Forest the year before flashed in his mind.

"Farewell, friends of Hagrid." Ron's voice, heard for the first time since they arrived, was small. The spiders from the walls were starting to descend and Harry had no idea what to do next.

"Do you know any spells that work on acromantulas?" Harry shook his head, moving into position of back to back with his best mate. Just as the spiders had landed and had started to rush them, a large flash of flame erupted from the entrance.

The spiders all screamed an inhuman sound and scurried to the far side of the cave, doing their best to get away from the scorching heat. Harry could smell burnt hair and realized that it was probably his and Ron's. He still couldn't tell who was casting the flame, but he wasn't going to complain about who it was. There was no way that they would have gotten through all the spiders. After a few more moments, the flames disappeared, and their savior was revealed.

Draco Malfoy.

Harry didn't give two fucks that it was the Malfoy heir who had saved their skin. The spiders were rallying quickly, hurrying towards Harry and Ron again. Malfoy yelled at them, uncaring about anything but getting them out of there. His face was fierce as he gestured for them to hurry up. He wasted no time in running to the blond, dragging Ron along behind him. Malfoy covered them until they were clear, then cast again into the cave. Harry was unsure if any of the spiders survived and frankly, he didn't care. He was sure that Hagrid would forgive them for roasting his pets when he told them that they were going to turn him and Ron into their next meal.

They followed the cave until they were in the night air again. Harry wasn't sure how he had missed it before but there was a glowing trail of glitter through the forest, clearly the path they had taken from the castle. Now was not the time to discuss it, however, since they could still hear the spiders scurrying after them. There was still howling coming from the further in the forest and after the experience they were currently having, Harry wanted no part of it.

"Follow the path I marked!" Harry didn't have to be told twice. He and Ron took off at a sprint, their wands in their hands and at the ready. Malfoy was following them, covering them from the rear. There were now a dozen spiders on the forest floor, following them as quickly as their eight legs could carry them. Out of nowhere, they were flanked from the side by half a dozen spiders. Harry could see the blind fear on Ron's face and he couldn't help but feel sorry for his best friend. Spiders were his greatest fear and he was being chased by huge ones through a dark forest at night. Harry figured that he would owe his best friend when and if they made it back to the castle safely.

Harry cast the incendio spell at the spiders coming at them from the side. He was able to hit most of them, sending them flying backwards from the force of the flames. As soon as they were no longer visible, he sent more flames towards the spiders still chasing them. For a split second, he cast a look over his shoulder to see that Malfoy's flame was three times the size of his and he was fighting off more than two dozen spiders.

Where the trip to the cave had taken what seemed like hours, the trip back to the castle was fast and furious. Harry had no problems admitting the leaving the glowing trail in the darkness of the forest was brilliant. As they got further through the forest, the spiders were falling back, both from the flames and exhaustion. This didn't slow the three of them; they were still running full speed through the forest, doing their best to get back to the castle safely. Harry had never been more grateful that he had started running every other day after quidditch practice. Ron was panting heavily next to him.

Malfoy was obviously the most fit of them all; he was breathing hard but nowhere near as hard as Harry or Ron. When they finally cleared the forest, none of them slowed; they continued to run as fast as they could to the castle doors. Once they had wrenched the doors open and fallen inside, panting, Malfoy turned to them both.

"What the bloody fuck were you two thinking? You could have been killed! Fuck, I could have been killed! Hermione is going to kill me when she wakes up and hears." Ron couldn't just be grateful for Malfoy saving his arse and had to make the situation worse.

"Hopefully your precious Hermione won't wake up at all." Harry really couldn't figure out why Ron had to make every situation with Slytherins worse than they were. They owed Malfoy their lives and he continued to heckle the boy. Harry knew that Malfoy had served detention for hexing Ron after they had found Hermione, even though he wasn't quite sure that it had been deserved. Ron had been a complete wanker to Malfoy and Harry couldn't say that he would have reacted any differently if someone he cared deeply for had been found petrified. Harry was quick to interject.

"We can't thank you enough, Malfoy, you really saved our arses back there." Malfoy nodded his way and started to stand from where he was leaning against the door.

"What the hell were you doing out there? That was complete insanity. I hope you had a good reason." Harry was just getting ready to answer him when Ron spoke again.

"It's none of your bloody business, Malfoy. We wouldn't have been out there if your traitor cousin and daddy dearest hadn't suspended Dumbledore and sent Hagrid to Azkaban." Harry could see that Malfoy was livid now. He stepped forward menacingly, but Ron didn't know what was good for him. He stepped forward as well.

"My family wouldn't have had to step in and suspend the great and esteemed Headmaster if he had been doing his bloody job, not letting a great bloody beast roam the castle to continue petrifying muggleborns along the way. One could even say that he wanted Slytherin's monster to attack muggleborns because he's a blood supremacist." Even Harry bristled slightly at that. His eyes narrowed and his voice chilled.

"Take that back. Dumbledore should have told everyone, but he didn't keep it quiet because he wanted muggleborns to be attacked." Malfoy crossed his arm over his chest sneered at him.

"How can you possibly say that, Potter? What reason could he possibly have for endangering students? Hermione was only petrified because she was with a muggleborn. You're friends with Thomas, he's a muggleborn. Hermione's fate could have been yours or Weasley's." Harry knew that there were other factors in place that he didn't know about; he knew that Dumbledore wouldn't put people in danger unless it was for a very good reason. Ron and his big, fat mouth had to strike again.

"Black was petrified because she deserved it. She almost killed Lav and she deserves to die. That's why your cousin was petrified…fate." Harry didn't blame Malfoy for lunging at Ron and socking him right in the face.

The pair were wailing on each other, rolling around on the ground and cursing loudly. Harry knew that it was just a matter of time before a professor or prefect heard them. He tried to pull Malfoy off his best mate, but he was like a man possessed. Harry finally wrapped his arms around his shoulders and pulled as hard as he could, landing square on his arse with Malfoy on top of him. Ron's face was already starting to bruise on his cheekbone and he had blood smeared on his chin. Harry rolled Malfoy off him and saw that he had a split lip. Harry couldn't help but yell at them both.

"You both are fucking ridiculous! Grow the fuck up." He didn't get to lecture them any further before Professor Flitwick and Profess Snape caught sight of them during their rounds. They rushed over and Harry could see the fury in the potion master's gaze. His voice was cold as ice when he spoke.

"Explain yourself, Mr. Malfoy." Harry could tell that he was going to get in the worst trouble just because he had personally let down his godfather. As irritated as he was with Malfoy for the things he had said about Dumbledore, he couldn't let him take most of the blame when it was their own faults that he had been out of the castle in the first place.

"I'm sorry, sir, I don't know what came over me." Harry had to give him credit; he didn't look down or turn red with embarrassment. He me his godfather's gaze and clasped his hands behind his back. Snape was sneering his way now.

"You would dare defy me and be out after curfew, fighting no less?" Harry didn't give Malfoy the chance to speak again.

"Excuse me, sir, Ron and I sneaked outside and went to the Forbidden Forest. Malfoy followed us and saved us from the acromantulas. If he hadn't been there, we would have died. As for the fighting, it was a dispute over family." Harry knew that Ron was going to kill him, but he didn't care. The Slytherin had saved their lives and he wasn't going to let him get in trouble over it if he could help it. Malfoy rolled his eyes, probably at his show of honesty, but remained silent. Snape turned to his godson.

"Is this true, Mr. Malfoy?" Malfoy didn't say anything, just stared stoically straight ahead of him. However, Snape took his silence as an admission of guilt. Professor Flitwick seemed to realize that his colleague was going to handle this situation and remained silent.

"Mr. Malfoy, that will be fifty points from Slytherin for your reckless behavior of going to the Forbidden Forest and three days detention for fighting. Get to the dungeons and don't let me catch you out of your dorm before breakfast tomorrow, not even to visit Miss Black." Malfoy bowed his head slightly to his Head of House and hurried along to the dungeons. Harry almost felt bad for him for having to deal with Snape being angry at him. Now, the potions master turned to him and Ron.

"Why were you two going into the Forbidden Forest?" Harry knew that he wasn't going to get away with not answering like Malfoy had. He opted for honestly since he wasn't good at lying and he could never think of a lie fast enough.

"Hagrid told us that we would find information on the monster belonging to Slytherin if we followed the spiders. We did, and they took us to the acromantulas in the forest. We just want to clear Hagrid's name." Harry hadn't expected the man to explode like he did but explode he most assuredly did.

"You went to the Forbidden Forest to follow the spiders on Hagrid's instructions? Do you not recall your first year, Mr. Potter? Your little foray into the Forest ended up catching something feeding on a unicorn." Harry lowered his head and did his best to look contrite.

"We're sorry, sir, we didn't realize where the spiders would take us. Malfoy really did save our lives." Ron snorted softly beside him while Harry awaited their punishment.

"That will be seventy-five points apiece from Gryffindor for your little foray into the Forest and Mr. Weasley will serve three days detention for fighting. Do I make myself clear?" Harry was a little affronted that he had asked if he was clear when he hadn't to Malfoy but decided to not say anything. No sense in pouring gasoline on a fire. They both nodded quickly.

"Make your way to your Tower poste haste. I will know if you deviate from your destination." Harry was quick to start in the direction of the staircase. Once they were three floors away from the professors, Ron hissed at Harry.

"I can't believe you told him that shite. We would have only gotten in trouble for being out after curfew and fighting. Now we lost a hundred and fifty points for going to the Forest." Harry shrugged his shoulders dismissively.

"I know but it wasn't fair to let Malfoy get in trouble when it was our fault he was out there and your fault that you were fighting. You must stop provoking him, one day he's going to snap and really hurt you. He didn't have to save our lives, you know." Ron huffed angrily next to him.

"Yeah, I know but that doesn't mean that I have to like it." Harry could only shake his head at the immaturity his friend displayed sometimes. Even though he was his best mate, it got old. However, it did no good to talk to Ron about these things unless he was willing to listen.

"Come on, lets get to bed before he takes away more points for taking longer than necessary to reach the Tower." Ron grumbled in response but picked up the pace. Harry sighed.

Tomorrow was going to be a shite day when everyone realized that they were a hundred and fifty points down from where they had ended the day.

-O-

Severus couldn't believe the level of idiocy young children displayed most days. Who in their right fucking mind would trek out into the Forbidden Forest on that brainless oaf Hagrid's orders? Did they all three have a death wish? They must because there was no other explanation that he could come up with.

He knew that Draco would be waiting for him in his office; he had slipped into his godson's mind and made sure to tell him that he wanted to speak with him. However, he had to finish the set of rounds with Filius before he could do that. The last floor before calling it a night went rather quickly, Filius only catching one student out of bed after trying to get into the library after hours.

Severus strode through the corridors towards the dungeons, trying to figure out how he wanted to handle the confrontation with Draco. He had no right to get angry with him, he was only doing what they had asked of him after all, but he wanted to question him as to why he didn't just come for help. He still couldn't fathom the idea of going into the Forbidden Forest for no other reason than to follow the idiot duo that had started the whole disaster.

He didn't bother to knock on the door to his office. Severus merely let himself inside to find his godson seated in front of his desk, dozing. When he heard the door open, he was quick to jump to his feet and look attentive. Severus gave him a small smile so he would relax. He wasn't going to yell at him for doing what he had been told to do.

"Sit down, Draco. I'm not going to yell at you." He snorted softly.

"Well that's good since Hermione is going to do enough of it for everyone." Severus laughed openly.

"You are quite right, she most certainly is. I understand that you followed them to keep them safe. Why didn't you just let them go and come get me?" Draco raked a hand through his hair, a sure sign that he was nervous.

"I didn't know that they were going to the Forest, I don't think they did either. Once it was clear that we were being led into the Forest, it would have taken me ages to double back and find you. I wasn't sure if something would have ate them by the time you got out there and managed to find them." Severus supposed that he could see his point, however, that didn't make him feel any better about the situation. He sighed again, this time because he was frustrated.

"I won't lie, I was worried more than angry. The last thing I want is for something to happen to you, especially when Hermione lies petrified in the Hospital Wing. I don't know what I'd do if something were to happen to both of you. However, we asked you both to protect Potter and tonight you did just that. I can't say that I like it but I understand. However, next time, please come get me. You really could have died, acromantula are not something to play around with. How did you even manage to escape?" Draco heaved a deep breath.

"They went straight into the acromantula nest, the heart of it. They spoke and learned that the spider wasn't the monster, then it set it's young on them. I lit them on fire and covered our tracks as we ran through the forest. Potter actually helped, he took out about a dozen that were flanking us. We didn't stop running until we were inside the castle again." Severus could only shake his head at the pure, unadulterated luck the trio had had.

"You were fighting why?" Draco snorted now.

"Weasley said that hopefully Hermione wouldn't wake up and then told me that she was petrified because she attacked Lavender Brown. I couldn't stand for that obvious lie and made sure to cast doubt on their precious Dumbledore. Potter just got angry, though, defensive. I don't think he'll ever wise up until the old man leads him straight to slaughter." Severus secretly agreed but didn't voice it. Instead, he stood and gestured for Draco to do the same.

"Get to your bed. We won't speak of this any further and your detentions will be scheduled sometime tomorrow. If Potter had kept his mouth shut there would have only been a points loss for the fighting. He was trying to be noble, however, so I guess he gets points for intent." He paused for dramatic purposes.

"Remember what I said, Draco. Unless you have a damned good reason, come get me next time they're fucking stupid." Draco gave him a nod and hurried out of his office.

Severus stood and locked his office before making his way to his quarters. It had been a long night and there was a bottle of fire whiskey calling his name. Even though he was only thirty-three years old, it was days like this that made him feel much older than his years.

His family and the charges he had sworn to protect were going to be the death of him.

A/N- Boom, another one bites the dust! I didn't think that this chapter would ever come together, I kept getting distracted with other things. Hate it when that happens! Anyways, thanks again to all that are reading and reviewing, I love you all. Leave me a message after the beep and tell me what you think. Reviews make me smile.

Next chapter, Harry and Draco both make an important discovery.

Love,

Alicia


	39. Chapter 39

A/N- You guys are just so awesome. Your support is overwhelming and the fact that you bestow it upon my story is just mind-blowing. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I hope that you all enjoy this chapter and keep me in your happy thoughts. I've had a couple assholes send me PMs and frankly, I'm over it. Therefore, make me smile guys! Anyways, enough of all this…let me know what you think!

**Shout out to Roon0 for being my 1100th reviewer. You da bomb!**

Disclaimer: Once upon a time, I dreamed I owned Harry Potter and Co. It was a wonderful dream, but then harsh reality sunk in and I remembered that I don't own shit. I haven't made any money from this story or any other; if I had, I would have quit my job long ago.

Chapter 39

May 16, 1993

Draco sighed; once again, he was in the library trying to figure out just what the monster Slytherin set loose on the castle was. He was getting increasingly more irritated with not only himself but the lack of adults trying to help him. It seemed that they were more focused on just who was setting the monster loose, not how to prevent attacks.

Uncle Sev had finally given him a date on when they were going to be able to unpetrify Hermione. As if three months wasn't long enough for her to lay in that state in the Hospital Wing, he was going to have to wait another three weeks. In short, she would be awake just in time for the end of the year and to return home. Whereas it wasn't going to hurt Hermione academically, it was going to put the rest of the muggleborns that had been petrified extremely far behind. He hoped that they offered the students extra tutoring through the summer, so they wouldn't be behind the rest of their school career.

It was still early but the Slytherin slammed his book shut anyways. He couldn't stomach anymore of the library tonight. He had pored through every single book in the library that wasn't located in the restricted section that covered magical creatures and had found absolutely nothing. For once in his life, the Hogwarts library had failed him. He wondered if Hermione had run into the same problem while she was searching or if she had actually found a reference book that gave her the answers she sought.

Draco wanted to smack himself in the face. How could he have been so stupid? Hermione was seen leaving the library the night she had been petrified, leaving without Draco. She would never have done something like that, against her godfather's wishes, without an extremely good reason. Had she found the answer and went running off to tell Uncle Sev? Had she been waylaid by Brown along the way with her complaints about her family?

Draco couldn't believe that he hadn't considered looking in Hermione's bag when she had first been petrified. Since he could find no books whatsoever on the subject, it stood to reason that Hermione had books in her bag that could possibly have the answers in them. Where she found them, he couldn't say, but there was at least a chance that she had found the answer and it was stowed in the bag where all her books were kept.

The problem was that he couldn't remember if he had left the bag in the Hospital Wing or taken it back to common room with him. He remembered wrenching it away from the Headmaster when he tried to take it but he honestly couldn't say that he had remembered to take it back to the common room once Uncle Sev put his wards up. He needed to get to the Hospital Wing and see for himself if her bag was there with her.

His cousin and father had just been in to see her the night before, his mother the night before that. They all visited at least twice a week and it was heart wrenching to watch. Sirius was wracked with guilt and would spend the whole time whispering softly in Hermione's ear, begging her forgiveness for putting her in the situation to get harmed in the first place. His father wasn't much better, though he managed to keep that forlorn tone out of his voice. They had both been thrilled the night before to hear that it would only be three more weeks before she would be ready to be awoken.

Draco travelled the corridors as quickly as he dared; the last thing he needed was more detention. After his last run-in with Weasley, he had vowed to take a more Slytherin approach to getting his revenge. His peers had understood and hadn't been angry in the least at the points loss, though the same couldn't be said for the Gryffindors. After Neville and the twins had sat down with Draco to eat breakfast a few days later and the real truth had come out, they had been livid and just why they were in trouble. Draco didn't blame them; not only was it disgraceful behavior in general to be caught up in, the fact that it reflected poorly on the Weasley family would be embarrassing as well.

His father and Sirius hadn't been angry, per se, just disappointed that he hadn't handled the situation in a more Slytherin manner. There were sneakier ways of giving the Weasel his comeuppance without brawling in the corridors after curfew. He hadn't received a lecture, but it was clear that his father first and foremost wanted him to think and act more like a Slytherin. The last thing they needed now was negative publicity, especially when they were the ones who had pushed for Dumbledore to be tossed out on his ear. It made sense to Draco and he simply wished he had considered it before they had been caught in the corridor.

The Slytherin slowed as he reached the corridor of the Hospital Wing. He had his own bag thrown over his shoulder and he hoped that nobody realized that he was earlier than usual. While he didn't think that it would matter in the long run, the less attention he drew to himself the better. This was blown out of the water the second he stepped inside. Madam Pomfrey was checking on Colin Creevey and she gave him a small smile.

"Mr. Malfoy, how nice to see you. You're early tonight." He didn't smile back but gave her a respectful nod. She had always been kind to not only himself but Hermione as well. She didn't let house affiliations keep her from doing her job.

"Yes, ma'am. I couldn't concentrate anymore so I thought I'd come by early tonight." The smile was still on her face as she gestured for him to go ahead and sit with his cousin. Where the other students that had been petrified were laying there with no curtains around them to protect their privacy, Hermione was hidden behind not only curtains but wards. Severus and Sirius both had laid wards that wouldn't allow certain people in to see her, or most students for that matter. If anyone wanted to come see her, Draco had to accompany them. He wasn't sure if his friends realized that or not, but he did. However, they had only come by a few times since she had been petrified so it really wasn't much of a problem.

Draco stepped through the curtains and felt the familiar wash of the wards embrace him. He hadn't needed a security blanket in years but he could admit that feeling the familiar magic of his family around his best friend gave him comfort and peace of mind. Once inside the curtains, he drew them closed and turned his gaze to the floor.

He about jumped in joy when he saw the familiar green and silver bag with her name stitched across the front sitting there on the floor. His Christmas present to her had been used before its owner had been petrified. For the most part, the wear was minimal, only the straps showing signs of use. She kept it clean which made him proud. He remembered when he had given it to her and how much she had loved it.

Hating that he was getting ready to invade her privacy, he pulled the bag to him and unzipped it slowly. Once it was open, he peered inside to see that she had so many books stuffed in there that it would be near impossible to search through them all before curfew. As a general rule, he hated to use magic on books but in this instance, he was going to forgive himself and hope that Hermione would as well.

"Accio books on creatures."

Only two books flew from the depths of her bag, both of them titled about dark creatures in the wizarding world. Draco wanted to laugh out loud. His little wench of a cousin had sneaked into the restricted section and stolen books from the library, probably so she could have Uncle Sev return them from her. It had to have happened that last night in the library, otherwise she would have told him about it. Clever little minx! He climbed onto the bed next to her and opened the first one, the one that had come flying out first. He bent and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"You're bloody brilliant, Miney, I should have known that you had solved the creature problem months ago."

It took him an hour of skimming the book to find what he was looking for. Draco had learned about manticores, dragons, lethifolds, hydras, and the like but none of them stood out until he reached the beast called a basilisk. It was an enormous snake that was hatched from an egg sat upon by a toad. Spiders fled before it and their only fear was the crowing of a rooster. It was highly venomous and had a murderous stare, though it had been proven that if the person only saw a reflection of the eye, they would become petrified.

Draco let out a whoop and stood quickly, shoving the books into his own bag. After they were secure inside, he turned and brushed hair back from Hermione's forehead and kissed her cheek again.

"You're the bloody best, Miney. I wish I could stay but I must go tell Uncle Sev. Maybe they can find a way to get rid of the basilisk." Hermione's eyes didn't move, and she didn't speak. Draco sighed; he couldn't even express how much he missed having her boss him around and nag him to do his school work. Without another thought, he left the privacy of the curtain and headed for the entrance of the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey smiled his way again.

"I know it's hard, Mr. Malfoy, but she'll be awake before you know it. Hang in there." He grinned at the mediwitch, though not because of her kind words. She seemed to realize that he wasn't going to say anything else and turned her attention back to a fourth year Hufflepuff that looked ill.

Draco wasn't sure where he would find Uncle Severus but decided that his office was the first logical choice. He knew that he had rounds most nights, but it usually wasn't until much later, after the prefects had patrolled after curfew. Therefore, it was a good chance that he would be there marking essays. It didn't take him long to get from the fourth floor to the dungeons, especially at the accelerated speed he was travelling at. As he rounded the final corner, he saw the light on underneath his uncle's door and rapped on it harshly. He didn't even bother to wait for his godfather to beckon him inside, Draco just flung the door open and rushed inside. His godfather gave him a bewildered look but allowed him to shut the door and then lock and silence it. When he turned back around, his uncle had an eyebrow raised in his direction.

"Thank Merlin, you're here. I came as quickly as I could. Miney figured out what the monster is, she's had the books in her bag this whole time. I think she figured out what it was the night that she was petrified, that's why she was trying to leave the library by herself; she was coming to you." Draco saw the incredulous look on his godfather's face and thrust the two books into his lap, the book with the answer in it opened to the page on basilisks.

His godfather read the page several times over and then met his eyes excitedly. He flipped open the book that was on the bottom and found the chapter on basilisks, only to chuckle softly.

"That clever little minx. She ripped the page out of this book on basilisks. Who knows where she dropped it but she's right, she's one hundred percent right. This explains so much. I have no idea how to go about killing a basilisk but at least we know what we're up against. That means that there has to be someone in the school that can speak parseltongue aside from Potter. A female parseltongue, which are even more rare. I can't think of a single person that would fit the criteria." Draco shook his head.

"I can't either, it's not a common gift. That's why the school lost their minds that Potter could speak it." Uncle Sev rubbed his chin for a few moments.

"This complicates matters. Not only is the diary belonging to the Dark Lord somewhere in the school, there is now a basilisk on the loose. I was so sure that the two had to be related but I suppose not. No matter. Well done, Draco. I must go and inform the Headmistress that the monster has been named. If there is anything that we can do to eradicate the beast from the school, it has to start with her." Draco nodded and rose to his feet again. He felt so much lighter than he had in months, not only was the end of Hermione's petrification in sight, they had finally discovered the identity of Slytherin's monster.

"Make sure you remember to write Father and Sirius. They'll want to know." Uncle Sev gave him a sharp nod and he put a lid on his ink and stood.

Draco watched his godfather stride through the corridor on his way back up to the second floor. With a relieved sigh, he started for the common room. Maybe he would be able to get a good night's sleep for the first time in months.

-O-

It was almost curfew and Harry wasn't entirely sure why he was doing what he was about to do. It just felt right, and he had been fighting the urge to visit Hermione Black for months. He had finally lost Ron and Pav, they had been arguing over some assignment that was due the next day. He had told them that he had forgotten a book in the library and that he would catch back up with them as quickly as he could. They hadn't stopped arguing but had waved him on.

There didn't appear to be anybody in the Hospital Wing. He was sure that Madam Pomfrey was around somewhere, but she wasn't in the main part of the Hospital Wing. Those who had been petrified were out in the open which Harry found to be a little messed up. Were they not allowed a bit of privacy in their frozen state? He would have wanted some for himself. However, there was one bed that had curtains around it and he instantly knew that Hermione was inside. There was no way that Malfoy or Snape would allow just anyone in to gawk at her in such a vulnerable state.

Harry slipped into the curtains before anyone was any wiser. He found Hermione Black in the same position that he had seen her in the night she had been petrified. Academically, he knew that she wasn't going to move, it was the very definition of being petrified but to see it was a completely different story. She was still in the same clothes she had been in from that night and for the life of him he couldn't figure out why they hadn't changed her clothes. He supposed that they must be casting cleansing spells on not only her clothes but her hair and body as well. He wasn't sure if a person could still sweat while they were petrified but either way, it made sense to him.

He saw the chair perched next to the bed and wondered just who had sat in it. There had been whispers through the school that her father, aunt, and uncle had visited her, that they continued to visit her several times a week. Harry assumed that Snape would go see her; what he recalled from Christmas showed that they were close. He couldn't picture Malfoy in the chair, however, he pictured him curled on the bed next to her much the same way he had been curled up next to her the night she had been petrified. He would never forget the sight of Malfoy hunkered by her side in the corridor, whispering who knew what in her ear while he smoothed back her hair.

Harry sat there for several minutes but it didn't feel right. He didn't feel right climbing in the bed with her either, so he opted to stand. Her wand was still clutched in her outstretched hand while the other was still at her side. Tentatively, he reached out and fingered her curls much the same way he had seen Malfoy and Snape do. Her lock of hair was soft and shiny and sprung back when he released it. He could see why they played with her curls.

Harry played with her hair for several minutes, finally getting it out of his system since he had wanted to feel those ringlets since he had first seen her on the train to Hogwarts last year. His fingers finally left them alone to brush against her lips, feeling how soft and plump they were. Harry didn't allow his fingers to linger there, feeling a little dirty for touching her that way while she couldn't curse him or tell him no. Rather than sit back down, he reached down and wrapped his hands around her tiny one resting at her side.

"I'm not sure why I'm here, Hermione. I've been fighting the urge to come for months; it's been three months since you were petrified. I know we aren't friends and really, I know that we can't be. That doesn't mean that I don't worry about you. I don't want anyone to get hurt and while I feel as though I should have been able to stop this from happening to everyone, I feel the worst for you because I had seen you just minutes before this happened to you." He took another breath, unsure as to what he was supposed to be saying and why he was even there.

"I wish that things were different between us. I wish that your father hadn't betrayed my family and I wish that we could have grown up as close as you and Malfoy. I wish that I had a family that loved me like you do. You don't know how lucky you are. Voldemort isn't going to come for you and kill you. Your father is his servant and you're a pureblood. He's going to place you on a pedestal and hold you high for everyone to see, proud that you serve him. Neville has told me that you're wizarding royalty. I would have never believed it by the way you act but I don't think that Neville would lie to me. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I wish things were different." Harry was glad that there wasn't anyone around because he sounded like an idiot.

Her hand was soft and warm in his, her fingers much daintier than his own large ones. His fingers felt something sharp and when he tried to pull his hand back, he felt it slice through the skin of his fingers. He hissed as he pulled his hand back completely and stuck his finger in his mouth for a minute. When he pulled it out, he clearly had a paper cut. Curiosity piqued, he reached back down underneath her hand and felt a slip of parchment in her grasp. As gently as he could, he worked it out of her grip. Once it was out, he uncrumpled it and held it under the light so he could read it.

"Of the many fearsome beasts and monsters that roam our land, there is none more curious or more deadly than the Basilisk, known also as the King of Serpents. This snake, which may reach gigantic size, and live many hundreds of years, is born from a chicken's egg, hatched beneath a toad. Its methods of killing are most wondrous, for aside from its deadly and venomous fangs, the Basilisk has a murderous stare, and all who are fixed with the beam of its eye shall suffer instant death. Spiders flee before the Basilisk, for it is their mortal enemy, and the Basilisk flees only from the crowing of the rooster, which is fatal to it."

Harry suddenly understood. A basilisk was the monster Slytherin released in the school and Hermione had figured it out. It was why he heard voices at random times; the basilisk was speaking parseltongue. She had even written in how she thought they were getting around. The pipes. He supposed that it made sense. He wasn't sure what to do with the information but he knew that he had been given a gift beyond measure. Maybe he could keep other students from getting hurt by speaking to the snake and telling it to stop attacking muggleborns. His heart was suddenly racing, excited to get back to the common room so he could tell Ron. He was as tired of seeing people petrified as he was.

At the very last second, he bent in half and pressed a kiss to Hermione's forehead, much the same way that he had seen Malfoy and Snape do. Harry had to admit that it felt nice, protective and caring. With one last tug on her curls, he spoke.

"You're the smartest witch I've ever met, Hermione. I hope that we end up on the same side of this war. Thank you." Without another look back, he feared he wouldn't leave if he did, he stole out of her cubicle and out of the Hospital Wing, headed back to the Tower. He needed to get to Ron and they needed to come up with a plan so he could speak to the snake.

He was determined that nobody else was going to get hurt this year.

-O-

Hermione was in pain. Her muscles were screaming, stiff and unmoving. There wasn't much that she was aware of in the state that she was in but she could feel the all-encompassing pain from being stiff and the gut-gnawing hunger. She had never been a big eater but this hunger was from deep in her bones and she couldn't figure out why she was hungry. It couldn't have been that long since she had ate, she had only skipped two meals.

She knew that she couldn't move and her mind reasoned that she had been petrified. Being trapped inside her mind, Hermione was well-aware that she had come face to face with a basilisk. The parchment proving what the beast was was still clenched tightly in her hand. She wished that she had been able to throw it so someone would find it. Maybe she could have prevented others from suffering her fate.

Since she was trapped in her own mind and sensations, she wasn't aware of anyone that came to see her or words that they spoke to her. Hermione could tell when someone was with her because she would get a warm feeling all over and didn't feel alone. The presences, though she couldn't identify them exactly, felt familiar. Of all of them, she was quite certain that she had identified Draco's; it was there the most. It held her close and she felt safe when he was there. She missed him more than anything.

Hermione was sure that her family had come to visit; surely, they wouldn't have just forgotten about her once she had been petrified. All the presences made her smile inwardly and reminded her of home. Until the last one, the one that had been there for such a short time and then left. She couldn't remember ever feeling it before and though it was new and a little scary to encounter in her vulnerable state, she found she wasn't afraid.

As quickly as the presence came, it left.

Hermione settled further into her mind, hoping against hope that sooner rather than later she would be released from her frozen prison. Her muscles needed to stretch and she wanted a huge meal. More than anything, she wanted to see Draco, Uncle Sev, her father, Uncle Luci and Aunt Cissy. She wanted her family.

She supposed that she would just have to make due with their visits until they deemed fit to wake her. There was nothing else she could do but wait.

-O-

Severus strode down the stairs that led to the second floor, eager to find his way before Minerva. For someone that had staunchly swore she didn't want the job of Headmistress, she was doing a bloody fine job of doing it. He just hoped that she could help him figure out a way to eradicate the great bloody snake from their school.

The griffin didn't ask for a password, though he supposed that 'tabby cat' really wasn't all that embarrassing to say. It leapt out of his way and allowed him entrance. He knocked for just a moment on the door to her office but opened it without a word. She was inside sitting at the desk and attempting go over paperwork. She glanced up at him and he was sure that his expression threw her. Her eyes narrowed and she laid the parchment down.

"What is it, Severus?" He laid the book before her, open to the page that detailed basilisks. Her eyes widened when she realized what he was showing her. Her fingers buried themselves in her hair, pulling wisps out of her severe bun.

"How long have you been trying to figure this out, Severus? This is something that we can work with." He took a seat in the chair in front of her desk.

"Draco just brought this to me. He found this book in Miss Black's bag. The brilliant girl discovered the monster before any of us. How she got the book, I'll never know but it doesn't matter. Now that we know what it is, we can get the Governors to hire someone that will help eradicate the great beast. No, we won't have the heir but their monster will be gone." Minerva laid the book down before her and looked contemplative. Severus hoped that she wasn't going to pull an Albus and ignore the information. After several minutes, she met his gaze.

"I think that we're going to have to call Albus back, the Governors will surely agree. There is nobody aside from young Potter that can speak parseltongue aside from Albus. If there is any hope in commanding the beast long enough to kill it, it is going to have to be done by someone that speaks the language. We can't ask young Potter to take that risk, he's only twelve." Severus cursed inwardly because he knew that she was right. He wanted Albus out but they were stuck between a rock and a hard place. They needed to get the snake out of the school and the only person alive that they had the identity of that could speak the language was Albus Dumbledore and the twelve-year-old Boy-Who-Lived. He raked a hand through his lank hair but nodded.

"You're right, of course. I don't like it, that old goat takes far too many risks with the lives of children, but I don't think we have any other choice. You write the Governors in a professional capacity and I'll send a letter to Lucius. He won't be happy but if it means killing the monster that harmed his beloved niece, he'll be on board." He hoped.

Minerva was nodding, already pulling parchment in front of her. Severus stood and bid her a quick farewell. He needed to make sure that he got to Lucius first and prepared him. Therefore, he didn't bother to write a letter. Once he reached his quarters, he grabbed a handful of floo powder, called out Malfoy Manor, and stepped into the flames. As soon as he stepped out into the entrance hall, Snitch appeared.

"Masters and Mistress in the library." Severus nodded, not needing instruction on how to get there. He wasted no time in finding not only Lucius and Narcissa, but Sirius as well, sipping drinks in the library and laughing softly at whatever subject they had been discussing. All three went to their feet when they realized he was there. Sirius had a fearful look on his face.

"Is everything alright? Hermione is still okay?" Severus nodded impatiently though he couldn't blame the man for worrying. He took a seat and leaned forward, his elbows propped on his knees.

"Your children are too smart for their own good. The night Hermione was petrified, she discovered what Slytherin's monster was. Draco finally put it together and checked her bag. It's a basilisk. I just went to Minerva and told her that we needed to get the Governors on board in eradicating the great bloody snake from the school when she pointed out a problem. Only a parselmouth will be able to communicate with the beast. Aside from young Harry, that leaves only one known parselmouth." Sirius cursed out loud and slammed his tumbler down on the table next to him.

"Albus fucking Dumbledore." Severus nodded.

"I see no other option but to bring him on board. We can't put the other students at risk now that we have a way to get rid of the monster. Minerva is writing Lucius as we speak, the letter will be arriving shortly I'm sure. I wanted to warn you all what was going to be in that letter. I don't like it any better than you do but it's our chance to keep the school safe." Lucius watched Sirius closely, Narcissa following suit. It was clear that they were going to do whatever he wanted them to do. Severus, however, wasn't worried. Sirius wanted revenge on the old man but not at the cost of children's lives, especially when his own was already a victim. Finally, he looked up and met all their gazes.

"I don't like it, in fact, I fucking hate it, but I can't allow this to happen to any other parents out there. It wouldn't be right. Get the old bastard back and get rid of the fucking snake." Severus snorted when another thought occurred to him.

"I still think it's going to be harder than we all thought. Before we can find the basilisk, we have to find the Chamber of Secrets." Sirius groaned as Lucius closed his eyes briefly.

"We'll send out letters to the parents from the Board, explaining the situation and how we're handling it. There will be an imposed curfew and students will always have to be escorted by a teacher. We will get this solved, I promise you." Severus nodded and rose to his feet.

"Very well. I must go before I'm missed. I leave this in your capable hands. Send word if you need anything of me." His family nodded before they started planning. Severus didn't bother to hang around; he really did need to get back.

It was going to be a long rest of the school year, that much was certain.

-O-

Albus was seated before the fire in his favorite armchair in his family home. Nobody had lived there for decades, himself and Aberforth having not been home since they were young men. The Dumbledore family elves kept it up, however, so it wasn't crumbling and there was always food in the larder.

He was still trying to figure out what he was going to do to get back into the castle. It was true that he had been foolish and Severus and Minerva had saved his arse but that didn't mean that he didn't want his position back. He needed to be there to watch over young Harry. Nobody else could possibly know just how important he was to their cause.

An owl flew through the open window and landed next to him on the table by his armchair. After a moment, Albus took the parchment clutched in its claws and opened it quickly. Once he started to read it, his eyes widened. Once he was through, he read it three more times through. A smile spread across his face and he knew that this was what he had been waiting for. Another chance, a way to look after Harry. He turned to see that Dumpling was watching him carefully.

"Dumpling, please gather my things and have them ready within the hour." The elf bowed low and hurried off to start his task.

Albus was going back to Hogwarts.

A/N- Lordy, another chapter down, y'all. I literally banged this out in three hours. Pretty proud of myself, ha-ha. Anyways, a huge thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing, you guys are seriously awesome. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and it met your expectations. Let me know what you think, I do so love to hear what you have to say. Reviews are love.

Next chapter, our Savior braves the Chamber of Secrets and the basilisk within.

Love,

Alicia


	40. Chapter 40

A/N- I am back from vacay, y'all! Thank you all for being so patient, it means so much to me. Saint Jo, Texas treated me well. If y'all are redneck and looking for a good time, give it a try. Enough about that though. You have all given me so much love I find it hard to believe sometimes, ha-ha. A huge thank you to those of you that have read and reviewed, it makes me smile when I read what you think. Also, to those of you out there that have asked about my daughter and her foot since surgery, thank you. It's doing great, though a long way from healing. Who knew that skin grafts took so effing long to heal? Her pain in mostly gone though, so that's a good thing! Enough from me now, I know you all want this chapter badly (:

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing in this story. The original story line belongs to Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle and the characters belong to our queen. I haven't made any money off this story or any other. I freaking wish.

Chapter 40

June 1, 1993

It was the last class of the day and Severus was exhausted. He had been escorting students to and from classes for over two weeks along with his usual marking and helping search for the Chamber of Secrets.

Albus had returned that very night after Lucius had sent him a letter, beseeching him to return and help hunt the basilisk. Every day since then he had spent his days searching the school far and wide for the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. This had been done dozens of times before throughout the last century and it had never been discovered. He had confided in Draco while they visited Hermione together that he really had no idea where to look and they were all at a loss as to how to find it.

His godson had had no insight to give; now that he had passed his knowledge onto his godfather, he turned his attention back to his cousin. He still visited Hermione twice a day, every day. It was taking its toll on him, especially when they were so close to reanimating her. His schoolwork hadn't slipped at all but he still hadn't turned in a single assignment to Madam Cambridge, saying that he wasn't going to move on without Hermione there with him. It was frustrating but he supposed that he understood it. They had been raised together, closer than siblings, and they couldn't expect him to act like nothing was wrong.

He was taking all the students from the dungeons up to the Great Hall for dinner. The other professors would be bringing their own students, and they usually met up right at the entrance if nothing catastrophic happened. There had been a few students that had been pulled from school and Severus couldn't say that he blamed the parents. Basilisks were deadly and the danger was very real. To act otherwise would have been beyond foolish.

Severus was escorting all the children from the Slytherin common room, all the children from the Hufflepuff common room, and the students from his second year Slytherin and Gryffindor potions class. They rounded the final bend of the corridor, only to collide with three other groups of students and Minerva, Filius, and Septima. The blood on the wall just proved that the heir to Slytherin was still very active and had no intentions of going down without a fight.

 _Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever._

There were whispers all through the crowd of students and Minerva and Septima couldn't hide the fear in their expressions. Filius was wringing his hands, clearly unsure of what to do next. Just as he was getting ready to speak, Gilderoy led his students into the crowd, Albus not far behind him. It was clear that they weren't expecting to see a message on the wall on their way to dinner either. Finally, Albus took the situation into his own hands.

"Silence!"

The whole corridor fell silent and all that could be heard was breathing. The old man could be quite commanding when he wanted to be.

"Your teachers will escort you all to your common rooms. You will dine there and remain there until one of your professors comes and tells you that you are free to leave." He turned to all the professors that were present.

"Severus, escort your Slytherins. Minerva, the lions. Filius, your Ravenclaws, and Septima, the Hufflepuffs. I will send a message to the other groups of students to make sure that they return the students to their common rooms rather than the Great Hall." Severus instantly moved to the far side of the corridor that would take them back down to the dungeons. His Slytherin students moved to follow him, eager to be in their common rooms where they would be safe. He waited several minutes for the snakes from the other classes to make their way to his group. Once he thought they were all gathered, he started for the dungeons once more.

Since all the students were properly motivated, it didn't take long for them to get to reach their common room. Septima wasn't far behind him with the group of Hufflepuffs and where he came to a stop, they kept on going. She was hurrying them along as quickly as they could go but they didn't need much motivation either. He was too busy to pay much attention to his students past the point of getting them all safely in the common room. Once the door was closed behind them, he turned on his heel and returned to the corridor where the message was written on the wall.

When he arrived, everyone but Septima was there, the other students having been combined and delivered to their common rooms. Albus was trying to calm down the professors and take control of the situation.

"Were there any absences is your classes in the last couple of hours? This would help us to figure out who the monster has taken." Poppy had been summoned and she rattled off the list of the students in the Hospital Wing. Once she was finished, Pomona spoke.

"Ginny Weasley wasn't in my Herbology class. I assumed that she had gone to the Hospital Wing." Albus wiped a hand down his face.

"Alright, at least we know who the 'her' in the message is. I've been searching for the Chamber of the Secrets for over two weeks, does anyone else have any ideas as to its location?" Severus really didn't, he had exhausted every single idea he had had since the Headmaster had returned. Minerva had been alongside them every step of the way and was fresh out of ideas as well. Surprisingly, it was Gilderoy Lockhart that spoke next.

"I've known where the entrance to the Chamber is since the first message on the wall. Nobody thought to ask me?" Severus couldn't hold back the eye roll. Of course, this idiot didn't have a clue as to where the entrance was, he just wanted to have the chance at another book deal. Albus, though, was desperate.

"Very well. I must go send owls to the Governors, make sure that they're aware of the situation. I also need to notify Arthur and Molly Weasley, they need to know that their daughter is in danger. I ask that Minerva and Severus accompany me at this time. We'll reconvene in thirty minutes time and allow Gilderoy to gather whatever supplies he needs to lead this expedition." Severus wanted to scream at the Headmaster for believing that Lockhart, of all people, was going to lead an expedition into the Chamber of Secrets. However, that was going to be a conversation for the privacy of Albus' office. The rest of the professors wandered off to the Great Hall, he assumed so they could get a small bite to eat before going wherever it was that Lockhart was going to lead them. Severus stalked after the Headmaster, appalled at how everyone was just taking orders so easily. Once they were ensconced in the Headmaster's office, Albus took his seat and pulled parchment in front of him. Severus couldn't hold it in any longer.

"I can't believe that you're actually believing that Gilderoy Lockhart, complete idiotic ponce that he is, is going to lead you to the Chamber of Secrets." Albus lifted his head even thought he continued to write his letters.

"I don't think he's going to lead us anywhere. I think this is all just for the attention, however, I have nothing else to give until we locate the entrance. I can't turn away any ideas, no matter how foolish." Severus sank into the chair, knowing that Albus was right no matter how much he hated it. Minerva sat next to him.

"The Weasleys are going to show up here and I think that I should be the one to field them. They were both in my house and I'm their children's Head of House. Molly is a fiery woman and it would be best if a woman of the same caliber met her. She'll be fraught with worry and I know what it's like to lose a child. I'll be able to keep her the calmest." Albus nodded absentmindedly. Severus was curious as to her words but didn't dare ask. Questions like that likely ended in tears and he hadn't dealt with a female's tears aside from Hermione's in over a decade. This meant that Severus was most likely going to be the one to accompany Albus and Gilderoy down into the Chamber if the idiot was lucky enough to find the entrance.

After Albus had sent the letters off, he stood and gestured for them both to follow him. They once again found themselves under the message on the wall. The other professors were just starting to arrive and Severus was itching to get started. As much as he didn't like the Weasley girl, he knew she had hurt Hermione after all, he didn't want her to die. Even on his worst day, he wasn't that vindictive. Albus raised his hands and caught the attention of everyone still in the corridor.

"We're waiting on Gilderoy. Once he arrives, Severus and I shall follow him into the Chamber. Minerva is going to stay behind to intercept the Weasleys and keep them calm. I want the rest of you to patrol the corridors for students out walking about, looking for a bit of action. If we need help, I will contact you via patronus." Pomona and Filius, who were standing closest to them, were quick to head off together, clearly thinking that the buddy system was the best defense against a murderous basilisk. He hoped that there were no students stupid enough to leave their common rooms.

He was just getting ready to lean against the wall and get comfortable while they waited when Septima came running down the corridor. She had a note in her hand and was calling his name. Once she was close enough for him to take the note, he grasped it while Septima panted next to him.

"I found this on the Headmaster's griffin. I went looking for Albus to tell him that I have my doubts about Gilderoy. I can't read it but it must be important." Severus was quick to tear it open.

 _Uncle Severus,_

 _I tried to come to you, I swear it. I caught sight of Potter and Weasley sneaking away from their group, whispering about how the Weasley girl was gone. I think they know where the entrance is. I came as quickly as I could but the griffin wouldn't let me in. I'm following them to make sure they don't die. They were saying something about the entrance being in a girl's bathroom, that someone had already died there. Since I'm throwing my lot in with theirs, I hope you know what the bloody hell they're talking about. If I don't make it, tell Miney that I love her and will watch out for her always._

 _Draco_

Severus cursed and crumpled the letter from his foolish godson. He had tried to come to Severus that much was true, but he had also followed Idiot One and Idiot Two with little thought for himself.

"Bloody, buggering, fucking hell! These fucking kids are going to be the death of me!" The rest of the professors turned his way. He paid them no mind but met Albus' eyes.

"Draco tried to come to me while we were in your office. He followed Potter and Weasley and they know where the entrance in. They said it's in a girl's bathroom where a girl died already. It's been right here this whole time and we've missed it. We aren't waiting for Gilderoy any longer, we need to get through the entrance and make sure those fools don't get themselves killed." Albus appeared to be furious but refrained from speaking.

Severus followed the Headmaster into the loo right behind them. It all made perfect sense when he considered it. There was plenty of plumbing in the bathroom, perfect for the snake to travel the school. It was constantly flooding after all. Most of the petrifications had taken place in this very spot. Myrtle Warren had been killed by Slytherin's monster in this very bathroom. Honestly, they should have figured it out sooner. Albus didn't even bother to look around, he just beckoned Moaning Myrtle from her place high by the window.

"Myrtle tell me. Did three boys come through here and enter the Chamber of Secrets?" She nodded sagely as she pointed to the sinks.

"The boy who took the diary spoke a hissy language at the sink and it opened up. They asked me how I died and I told them the sound came from there. They said something about going after a weasel. They had a man with them. After they were gone, the blond boy came and jumped down the hole just before it closed back up." Severus cursed. The two idiots must have gone to Lockhart and then made him go with them. Then Draco had stupidly followed. He was going to cast so many stinging hexes at that boy's arse once he was safe again.

Albus turned and inspected the sinks, quickly yelling out that he had found the one marked with a snake. He hissed at it, Severus assumed commanding it to open, but nothing happened. Albus cursed now and tried again. Still, nothing. He sighed and lowered his head for a moment before turning to Severus.

"They're already down there, the Chamber must be spelled to not let anyone in while it's master is in house. It must think that Harry is Slytherin." Severus couldn't believe that the man was just going to give up. He reached out and shoved the old man back out of the way before he yelled as loudly as he could.

"Bombarda!"

-O-

Harry couldn't believe the complete waste of space that Lockhart was. They had sneaked away and hidden in an alcove as McGonagall led the rest of their house back to the Tower. They had heard their Defense professor tell everyone that he knew where the entrance was. Since Dumbledore seemed to believe him, Harry thought this this time he might be for real.

He had questioned Myrtle the day before when he had sneaked away from his group. She had told him that she had died there in the bathroom when he recalled that Tom Riddle had said a mudblood had already died. Once it was confirmed that it came from that bathroom, it wasn't difficult to find the entrance. Harry hadn't told anyone mostly because he knew that nobody would believe him. Instead, he had been keeping watch on the entrance to make sure that the snake stayed in the Chamber. It must have sneaked out and taken Ginny while he was in potions class.

Ron was the only person he had told about the entrance. When they learned that Ginny was the girl lying in the Chamber, he had insisted that they go tell Lockhart where the entrance really was so all the professors could go find her before she was killed. However, that was blown out of the water when the professor had pulled his wand on them and told them that all his stories were fake and not even one belonged to himself. It sickened Harry to think about how many people had been obliviated by the conniving man.

It wasn't going to happen this time, however. Harry and Ron had quickly drawn their wands and when they had shot curses at their professor, rather than cast a shield like Harry knew he should have, he had cried out and ducked, hiding his head in his arms. He had quickly disarmed the Defense professor and ordered him to go along with them.

The original plan had been to have found Dumbledore, Snape, or McGonagall and tell them where the entrance was. However, when they had returned from Lockhart's office with him in tow, the corridor had been empty. Lockhart had told him that they were going to be quite a while, probably thinking that it would save him from having to go down into the Chamber, but Harry couldn't have that. Ginny wasn't going to die down there if he had anything to do about it.

He and Ron, towing Lockhart along without a wand, had stood before the sink with a snake on the faucet. Harry turned to meet Ron's eyes one last time, make sure that he really wanted to go along for this adventure. There was no Hermione Black to go with them and keep them alive. He gave a resolute nod, of course he did, it was his sister, and Harry hissed out the phrase he hoped would open the Chamber of Secrets.

"'Open"'.

The hissing sounded odd coming from his lips but he could understand it perfectly fine. The sinks started to shift in and around each other, opening a large hold in the floor that appeared to be a tube. Myrtle was floating near his shoulder and she tried to peer down the hole but eventually gave it up.

"I remember the hole closing up quickly after the other boy jumped down. If you die, Harry, you can share my toilet." Harry wasn't sure if he should take that as a good thing but since the ghost giggled, he gave a shaky smile her way and thanked her. Deciding that he wasn't going to be the first one to go down, he shoved Lockhart to the hole and held his wand on him.

"You're going first. You're the professor after all." Lockhart started to sputter and argue but Harry was in no mood. The longer they took, the more likely it was that Ginny would die, if she hadn't already. Therefore, he gestured for the man to turn around and face the hole. Once he was turned fully away, Harry reached out and kicked him into the hole. Harry felt a little bad as the man screamed the whole way down. There was an ooomf at the bottom and he could hear Lockhart talking to himself at the bottom of the slide. Deciding that he would go next, he sat on the edge of the floor and looked to Ron.

"You heard Myrtle, don't waste any time following." Ron gave him a serious nod and Harry shoved off, sliding down who knew how many floors rather quickly. Once he reached the end, he was quick to roll and jump to his feet so the professor wouldn't get the drop on him. Ron followed just moments later and once he was upright, they wasted no time in picking their way through the bones of dead animals and the discarded skin of the snake over the decades. It was the sound behind them that alerted Harry to the fact that they weren't alone.

Draco Malfoy was picking himself up off the ground and brushing at his robes, wand held tightly aloft in his hand. Even though Harry didn't want to include him in this since it was clear that he didn't like Weasleys, he was a little relieved that he was here. Ron was his best mate, nothing would ever change that, but Malfoy was smart and knew more spells than most of the students in Hogwarts. Ron, however, exploded.

"What the bloody fuck are you doing following us?" Malfoy shot him a disdainful look.

"Hopefully nothing. However, the last time you two decided to go off on your own, a bloody nest of acromantulas almost killed you both." Harry felt a flare of irritation at the reminder but decided to let it go. He really didn't think that Malfoy meant them harm, not the way that Ron did, but that didn't mean that Ron was going to let it go. Malfoy kept walking, unafraid of whatever was in the cavern underneath the school. He reached Harry's side and looked at him square in the eye.

"You know what the beast is, don't you? A bloody basilisk." Harry nodded.

"That's why I'm the only one that can stop it. I can talk to snakes." This seemed to be the perfect moment that Lockhart was looking for.

He lunged to the side and caught Ron with his elbow in the side, jerking his wand from his hand as he gasped for breath. Harry raised his wand but Draco already had his up. His face was impassive as he was considering cursing their professor. However, Lockhart didn't seem to realize this and started monologuing.

"This will be my best book yet, boys. I was too late to save the girl from the giant basilisk and rather than kill the snake, I chose to save three boys who followed me down into the serpent's lair. They were so distraught at seeing the girl's body that they were a gibbering mess." Just as Lockhart pointed the wand at Ron and cast a spell, Malfoy cast as well. He couldn't hear the spell but the second that it hit Lockhart, his spell was sent up into the rocks above them.

As Lockhart dropped, the rock ceiling above them started to shudder and groan. There wasn't time for them to do anything when the rocks started to fall. Harry felt something sharp hit him in the chest, throwing him back on his arse. Malfoy was on the ground next to him, hands over his head to protect it from falling rocks. Deciding that he had the right idea, Harry followed suit. It took several minutes for the rocks to stop falling around them and when Harry uncovered his head, a wall of rocks separated him and Malfoy from Ron and Lockhart. Harry jumped to his feet and ran to the wall, hollering over the top.

"Ron, can you hear me? Are you alright?" There was coughing coming from the other side.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Lockhart's out cold though." Malfoy snorted next to him.

"Of course, he is, I stunned him." Harry rubbed his temples a few times before he hollered over to Ron again.

"I have to go after Ginny. See if you can shift some of this rock around and find us a way out." Ron's voice was still scratchy.

"I can't, a rock fell on my wand. It's snapped in half. There's no way I can lift these boulders by hand." Harry cursed softly and thought for a moment. Before he could answer, Malfoy yelled across the rock wall to him.

"Do the best you can. Lockhart will be out for an hour or so but since neither of you have a wand, you should be fine. Potter and I will go save your sister. When we come back through, we'll start using our wands from this side." He could hear Ron grumbling on the other side but he finally shouted a fine over. Malfoy looked to Harry, determination on his face.

"Let's get this over with. I better not die; my cousin will kill me." Harry chuckled at his words but wisely remained silent. Once they had picked their way through the rest of the bones and shed skin, they met another door guarded by six steel snakes. They pushed and pulled but nothing budged it. Finally, Harry pulled Malfoy back and gestured for him to wait. He had to concentrate with no snakes in sight but in the end, he managed parseltongue.

"'Open."'

The snakes on the door starting slithering across the steel and the door sprung open. The room revealed to them was enormous, a stone pathway led him to a large open expanse of stone. After that, there was what appeared to be a pool of water that was fed by a waterfall. There were statues that lined the pathway, similar to something he imagined in a dark wizard's castle. Off in the distance, right next to the pool of water, was a slight figure laying on the floor. It was unrecognizable from this distance except for the brilliant red color of her hair.

"Ginny!" Harry didn't stand around and wait for the basilisk. If he could get Ginny out without dealing with it, all the better. Malfoy cursed behind him but followed him. Once they were in the open, Harry threw himself down to kneel by Ginny's body. His hand reached out and felt for a pulse. It was there, but it was weak. He turned to Malfoy.

"She's alive but I don't think she has long. We have to hurry." Malfoy, however, wasn't paying attention to Ginny at all. His eyes were on the diary laying beside Ginny, the same diary that had been stolen from Harry over a month ago. There was a voice behind both of them, startling them both to pull their wands up in a fighting stance.

"She won't wake." Harry dropped his wand and turned his attention to Ginny again. Malfoy, however, kept his wand up.

"Who are you and how did you get down here?" The boy that made no noises as he walked smiled at the pair of them.

"I am Tom Riddle. Ginny has had my diary and has been writing to me since before school even started. We've become quite good friends." Harry remembered how the diary wanted him to pick it up and hold it. He remembered that it had tried to help him. Malfoy, however, had a wild look on his face. He obviously knew something that he wasn't telling Harry. He didn't have time to worry about it now, though, he needed to get Ginny out of the Chamber before the basilisk arrived.

"Help me, Tom, we need to get Ginny out of here before the basilisk arrives." Tom smiled a charismatic smile.

"It won't come until it's called." Malfoy rushed forward and kicked Harry's wand into the pool of water just as Tom lunged for it. Harry cursed and went to his feet.

"What the fucking hell is going on here? Why are you doing this, Tom?" The boy glared at Malfoy but turned back to Harry so he could laugh.

"I knew that I had to meet you. Making young Ginny sacrifice herself was a sure way to make sure that happened." Harry was confused.

"Why would you want to meet me? I don't understand what Ginny has to do with any of this." Tom's voice was getting more menacing and Malfoy stepped closer to Harry, his wand still held aloft.

"I had to meet the boy who vanquished the most powerful wizard in the world when he was a mere baby. I had to know how you did it." Harry was growing exasperated. Malfoy, however, shook his head.

"Don't answer him, Potter." Harry saw that Malfoy was very much on edge.

"That was Lord Voldemort, he was after your time." Tom started laughing, full belly-laughter coming from his handsome lips. When he gained control of himself, he waved his hand in the air and the words I AM LORD VOLDEMORT appeared. They then moved around to spell out Tom Marvolo Riddle. Suddenly, Harry understood.

"You see, young Harry, I am Lord Voldemort. The sixteen-year-old memory preserved in a diary found by young Ginny. Who do you think poured her heart and soul into writing me, telling me how much she loved the Boy-Who-Lived and how much she hated Hermione Black for garnering your attention. She was more than happy to fall under my spell and open the Chamber of Secrets after writing the message on the wall. She released the basilisk, set it on the mudbloods in school, and then had no memory of it happening afterwards. Then, she realized that the diary was making her lose hours at a time and she suspected that she was behind the attacks. She threw the diary away and who found it but the very person I wanted to speak to. It was easy to lead you to that idiot Hagrid and blame the whole mess on him. Did you really think that half-giant who was as stupid as they came could be the heir of Salazar Slytherin?" Harry couldn't believe that he hadn't seen this coming. Of course, Voldemort was the heir. It made sense when he considered it. However, that understanding wasn't going to do anything for him now. Tom continued.

"Little Ginny has poured enough of herself into the diary that as she grows weaker, I grow stronger. Soon young Ginny will be dead and I will have returned, more powerful than before." Harry didn't get a chance to continue the conversation because Tom Riddle stepped forward and held his hand out above the water. His parseltongue was much more practiced than Harry's but he could understand it just the same.

"'Come, my pet, and attack young Potter."' The basilisk appeared from behind the waterfall and started to bear down on him.

It was in this moment that he realized he was in way over his head.

-O-

The sinks exploded before Severus' eyes. Albus looked scandalized as the tube appearing behind the sinks appeared.

"Severus, you just destroyed school property, you just destroyed the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets." Severus didn't give two fucks. He turned his cold gaze to the Headmaster.

"My godson is down there and could by dying. You should be similarly worried for young Potter." This seemed to remind Albus just what was at stake. Severus didn't bother waiting for the man; he sat on the edge of the tube and slid down. The room was lit by torches and the floor was covered in bones of various animals and the largest snake skin he had ever seen in his life. Lockhart was lying on the ground, his robes askew and Weasley was trying to shift a rock wall by hand. Albus landed next to him and seemed to take in the same scenery he was. He sneered at Weasley.

"Where is Draco and Potter?" His voice was weak as he answered, clearly terrified.

"Lockhart attacked me and took my wand. He was going to obliviate me and take credit for finding the basilisk. Malfoy stunned him but it caused the spell aimed at me to hit the rocks above us. It caved in between us. They're on the other side and said that they were going to go rescue Ginny. I've been trying to shift the rock by hand since my wand was snapped." Severus cursed loudly. Draco was on the side with the bloody basilisk. He was going to beat that boy senseless; maybe, he would just let Hermione have him. Albus was now calm.

"Very well, Mr. Weasley, let us shift it with our wands. Stand back." Weasley was quick to move out of the way and Severus had to admit that he was impressed with how far he had gotten in moving the boulders.

Severus and Albus made quick work of the rocks that had fallen before them. Severus made sure to bind Lockhart so when he woke he wouldn't be able to try to flee. Once all the rocks were out of the way, they were met with another door that was made up of six snakes. Albus stepped forward and tried to open it with parseltongue again. When it didn't budge, Severus stepped forward again. This time, however, his bombarda spell did nothing. The door was spelled, probably by Salazar himself, and they could go no further without having it opened from the other side. Severus was seething inside, furious that he was in this position but knowing that he couldn't truly be angry. They had asked Draco and Hermione to try to protect Potter and it was proving to be a job that nobody would want. He had tried to come get Severus and tell him but he hadn't been able to reach him so instead he had left a note. It was so frustrating that everything was so fucked up when Draco had done everything that had been asked of him. Albus laid a hand on his shoulder.

"We have to wait. Even together we don't match the power of Salazar Slytherin." Severus nodded, his head hanging and his hair a curtain around his face. Albus spoke again, though not to him.

"Fawkes." The phoenix appeared and landed on the Headmaster's shoulder.

"Go to Harry. Take him the sorting hat. If I know him, he'll pull off the save of the century." Severus wanted to punch the Headmaster is his fucking mouth. He whirled on the man, the rage clear on his face.

"How in the fuck is the sorting hat going to save Potter now against a fucking basilisk?" Albus smiled one of his serene smiles.

"He's a Gryffindor. What do you think he'll pull from the hat?"

-O-

Draco couldn't believe what the fuck he was seeing. A phoenix had just appeared in front of Potter and dropped what appeared to be the sorting hat in front of him. After his gift was on the ground, the beautiful bird attacked the basilisk, his sharp claws tearing out it's eyes. Next to him, Tom Riddle was seething in anger.

"Don't worry, Potter, just because the basilisk can't see you doesn't mean he still can't hear you!" Harry took off a run, somewhere through the tunnels under the school. He then turned to Draco and spoke pleasantly.

"You must be Lucius' boy. You were but a babe when I was vanquished." Draco wasn't sure how he was supposed to answer that. However, it was clear that Riddle was gaining strength since he felt someone trying to gain entrance to his mind. Every single occlumency shield he had built over the years was slammed into place and the boy before him laughed.

"You're definitely related to Lucius, paranoid bastard. It's nice to see that some things haven't changed." Draco refused to let his shields down for a second.

"Does your father know you're here, with Potter?" Draco refused to answer, mostly because he wasn't sure what they wanted the Dark Lord to know. Again, the boy laughed.

"It's alright, I understand all too well. Most people fear talking in front of me. Don't worry, your blood is precious to me, I wouldn't dream of spilling it." Draco knew that was a fucking lie; his father and Severus had told them numerous times exactly what service to the Dark Lord consisted of. He was saved from answering by Harry reappearing and climbing the rocks that led to the waterfall. Tom continued his talk.

"You'll be part of my new world, you'll take your father's place one day. I'll make sure that your lovely cousin Hermione finds a husband befitting her station. Her father will be raised above all even though he isn't the one who handed me the Potters. His blood is precious and shall be celebrated." Draco lifted his wand and cast. He shot spell after spell at Tom Riddle but he wasn't quite alive enough for anything to hit him. They sailed through his image and he chuckled at Draco's rage.

"You won't go near Hermione or I'll kill you." The chuckle turned to a laugh now.

"Maybe I'll let you have her. I know how the purebloods intermarry to keep their blood pure. Serve me well and she shall be your reward." Draco calmed. While he had no urge to marry Hermione, if the worst-case scenario came true, he would marry her to keep her safe. If he was forced to serve the Dark Lord, he would do his best to keep his cousin safe. They would never have children and never be physical; most pureblood marriages weren't loyal to each other anyways. Draco shook his head; Tom Riddle was getting into his head and he couldn't let that happen.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Harry grab the sorting that had been clutched in his hand. He put it on his head and there was a shining length of steel that fell out of it. Suddenly, Potter had a sword in his hand was trying to fight the basilisk off. Draco could see that he needed help distracting the beast so he could get a clear shot. He stood and started shooting every spell he could think of at the giant snake. Riddle was laughing behind him as he watched them struggle.

A spell hit Draco from behind, causing him to struggle to breathe. It was clear that Ginny was almost dead since Tom had summoned Harry's wand from the pool of water. He wasn't sure what spell had hit him but it felt as if there was a house sitting on his chest. Just as he turned back to help Harry, the basilisk turned the wrong way and gave Harry an opening. The sword, held strong in Harry's hand, plunged up through the basilisk's mouth and through his brain.

With a great flop, the basilisk fell on its side in the water, clearly dead. Harry wasted no time in jumping down and making his way over to where Draco was struggling to breathe next to Ginny. He had a basilisk fang sticking out of his arm and Draco knew that he didn't have long. Tom was now laughing.

"You may have beaten the basilisk but Ginny is almost gone. This whole scenario will be but a memory." Harry lifted his good arm and threw the sword to Draco. Understanding immediately, Draco stood and caught it, despite the pain in his chest, and thrust the blade through the diary on the ground.

Tom started screaming and light began to pour from his fingertips and his feet. Draco pulled the sword out and thrust it through the diary again. This time the image of Tom Riddle exploded into a million little balls of light. Harry dropped to his knees next to Ginny as she slowly started to come to. Draco found that it was getting harder to breathe but needed to stay awake long enough to get out of the fucking Chamber of Secrets. The phoenix landed on Harry's knee and tilted his head so his pearly tears could land in Harry's wound. The puncture wound started to sizzle and smoke before finally closing. Harry grinned at the phoenix.

"Thanks, Fawkes." Ginny was sitting up and started crying.

"Harry, I'm so sorry, I couldn't stop myself from doing any of it. I didn't mean to hurt anyone." Draco wanted to barf at her tears; she had known exactly what she was doing when she had thrown that ice ball at Hermione, she had known exactly what she was doing when she had been mean to Hermione in the library that day. Therefore, he couldn't keep the contempt out of his voice when he spoke.

"This is really sweet and touching but I'm about to barf. Let's get the fuck out of here before I pass out." Concern crossed Harry's features and he stood to help Draco to his feet; he hadn't even been aware that he had fallen again.

"What did he do to you?" Draco shook his head. It was growing increasingly difficult to breathe and he wasn't about to waste precious air by telling potter what happened.

Draco still had the sword clutched in his hand as they started for the door that led them there. Harry had picked up the diary and the sorting hat, thrusting the latter into Ginny's hands. She followed closely behind, still sniffling. Draco refused to lean on Potter but he allowed him to guide him by a hand on his elbow. When they reached the door with the snakes, Harry hissed at it again, sending it back open.

Draco saw not only Weasley and Lockhart but his godfather and the Headmaster. He had never been more thrilled to see them before in his life. Uncle Sev rushed forward and wrapped an arm around Draco's waist, pulling him close so he could help bear his weight. Once they were all clear of the door, Dumbledore reached down and plucked the sword from his hands.

"Surprising that the Sword of Gryffindor allowed the touch of a Slytherin." Draco couldn't give two fucks less at that point. He was struggling to get every breath in. Uncle Sev made him lay down in the bones and produced his wand. He cast over him, a diagnostic spell he was sure, only to hear him curse softly. A few moments later, there was a warmth that spread through his body and it felt as if the house had been lifted from his chest. He sucked in a deep breath, then another, and then another one for good measure. After he felt as though he wasn't going to pass out, he turned to his godfather.

"Thank you." Uncle Sev looked livid.

"I haven't seen that spell since the Dark Lord was alive. I think we need to have a very long conversation." Draco nodded and allowed his godfather to help him stand. He gestured for him to check over Potter.

"He got a basilisk fang in the arm. The phoenix healed him but make sure it took." Dumbledore was quick to check the wound and announced that as far as he could tell he was perfectly fine. Ginny was still crying in the background but nobody was paying her any mind except for her brother. Draco looked at his godfather.

"I just want to go see Hermione. It's been days since I've been allowed to." He rolled his eyes but nodded. Draco, even though he was feeling better, allowed his godfather to lead him through the rubble on the floor and towards the tube leading them out. He heaved a sigh of relief.

Draco had faced down Tom Riddle and had survived.

-O-

Severus insisted on making Draco stay the night in the Hospital Wing. Lucius, Narcissa, and Sirius were with him now, fawning over him and making sure that he was alright despite the boy's words telling them that he was. Potter had already been released, the Weasley girl as well. Dumbledore had just left to go deal with the Weasley parents and Severus could admit that he wasn't the least bit jealous of that job. Once everyone else was gone, Severus took the seat left for him and waved his wand around the space to silence it. Once the rest of them felt the spell wash over them, they spoke freely. Draco opened the conversation since it was clear that they weren't going to be invited to speak of what had happened with the Headmaster.

"The Weasley girl had the diary the whole time. The Dark Lord was controlling her with it, he made her open the Chamber of Secrets. Then Potter found it when she threw it away. You were right, it was seriously dark magic. He was alive, his sixteen-year-old self. If the Weasley girl had died, he would have been fully alive again, he told us so." He continued.

"He was still strong, he tried to legilimize me. He promised me Hermione as my bride if I served him well. He was toying with my mind while Potter was fighting the basilisk. Once I realized what was happening, I started shooting spells at the basilisk to help distract it so Harry could kill it. He was getting stronger by the minute. I had kicked Potters wand into the water so he couldn't get it since he was a complete fool and dropped it. He summoned it and cast that spell at me. Once Potter killed the basilisk, he threw me the sword and I stabbed the diary with it. After the second time, he disappeared and the Weasley girl woke up." Lucius looked contemplative.

"How did the Weasley girl get the diary?" Draco shook his head.

"She said she didn't remember but Riddle said that she had been writing in it since before school started. Whoever took it from the Manor took it directly to the Weasleys." Narcissa was clutching her son's hand and had a soft waterfall of tears down her cheeks. Lucius was rubbing small circles into her back, trying to calm her. Sirius was left trying to lighten the mood.

"This means that you're an honorary Gryffindor, otherwise you wouldn't have been able to wield the Sword of Gryffindor. It only presents itself to true Gryffindors. In my book, that means you're pretty badarse." Lucius chuckled as Draco glared at his cousin. Severus was still trying to realize that his family was safe and nothing too terrible had gone wrong. Draco seemed to realize it too.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Sev, I couldn't let them go off by themselves. I tried to find you and tell you but if I had waited for you, they would have been gone. Lockhart probably would have obliviated them both and Lord Voldemort would have returned. I know you were worried but I really am sorry." Severus sighed and raked a hand through his hair. Draco was right, of course. He didn't like to think about it but it was the truth. He blew a breath out and tried to follow in Sirius' footsteps.

"I need a fucking raise if I'm going to have to deal with this shite year after year." All of them laughed now, the sound lightening his heart already.

There was still much to discuss and they weren't anywhere near finished with the subject but for now, everything was fine. All was well that ended well. They could sort the rest out tomorrow.

A/N- Holy balls, guys, this chapter was crazy! I wanted to keep going but decided to just get a chapter out for the next day. Bonus chapter (: Anyways, I hope it made y'all happy and it was worth the wait. Thanks again to everyone out there showing this story love. Leave me a message after the beep, reviews make me smile.

Next chapter, the aftermath.

Love,

Alicia


	41. Chapter 41

A/N- You guys are just so awesome, thank you so much for the reviews, follows, and favorites. They mean the world. I know that everyone wanted this to be the chapter that Hermione woke up in but I'm cruel. This one isn't as long though so the other one should hopefully be out in a few days. Thanks again, guys. Enough for now.

Disclaimer: In my wettest dreams I own Harry Potter and Co. However, since I'm awake right now, I can't claim they're mine. I haven't made a dime off this story or any others, my bank account only has six dollars in it.

Chapter 41

June 2, 1992

Harry was still exhausted when he trudged his way down to breakfast. Unlike Draco, he had been released to go to his dorm the night before but that didn't mean that he got to go bed at a decent time. Ron had told everyone about the foray into the Chamber of Secrets to save Ginny and they had all wanted to hear the story numerous times. McGonagall had finally come up around midnight and shooed them all to bed.

He could hear the whispers at all four house tables when he entered the Great Hall. The worst part, however, was the stares and the pointing. He felt as if he was an exhibit at the zoo, not that many of the people in this room knew what the fuck a zoo was. Ginny was sitting at the Gryffindor table giggling softly with her friends, shooting him furtive smiles.

Harry groaned inwardly; he knew what those looks meant and he wanted no part of them. Ron had told him that Ginny had been in love with the Boy-Who-Lived since she was six but to see it clear on her face turned his stomach. She was a sweet girl but he just wasn't interested in girls like that, not yet anyways. However, in the farthest recesses of his mind, he couldn't help but remind himself that Ginny would never be like Hermione Black.

Harry supposed that what he felt for Hermione was a crush, by definition anyways. He wasn't sure if it was truly since there was no way that it could be allowed to happen. Her father had caused his family to be murdered; that wasn't a good basis for a relationship to begin on. He was sure that everyone would agree with him that the relationship just wouldn't work out.

Harry took his usual seat at the Gryffindor table and began to spoon himself up breakfast. There had been a school owl waiting for him when he had woke up, a note from the Headmaster asking him to meet with him after breakfast. He wasn't sure why this needed to happen since he had already told the Headmaster what had happened the night before. He knew that the Weasleys had wanted to speak with him, probably to thank him if Ron was to be believed, but he hadn't seen them last night. He assumed that the meeting was for this to occur.

Ron took a seat next to him and seemed to be eating up the attention they were getting for going down into the Chamber. Harry didn't understand how he could want to be the center of attention but he supposed that it was better Ron than him. Malfoy was still missing from breakfast, probably being forced to eat in the Hospital Wing. Harry still couldn't believe that the boy had come down into the Chamber with them. Not only had he not turned on Harry and tried to get him killed, he had done his best to help distract the basilisk so Harry could kill it. He had known that Malfoy wasn't as bad as everyone had told him he was but Harry hadn't expected that level of helpfulness.

Harry felt that Hermione and Hagrid were owed a certain amount of due, though he really wasn't sure if he should mention it in front of everyone. He already caught enough shit from Ron about being nice to Hermione as it was. If Dumbledore knew he had visited her in the Hospital Wing, it was likely that he would catch another lecture. He knew that the Headmaster meant well but he really didn't want to hear the same old speech again. As for Hagrid, everyone already knew that they had sneaked out to see the acromantula but it had been the first concrete sign that the spiders weren't what was kept inside the castle.

Harry put away a full English breakfast while Ron chattered away next to him to everyone in the vicinity. Neville was the only one that didn't seem all that interested in what he had to say; Harry wasn't sure why but he found that he enjoyed having one person around him that wasn't enamored with a story of intrigue and danger.

Once breakfast was over, Harry and Ron excused themselves from their friends so they could attend whatever was happening in the Headmaster's office. Ron seemed excited for this to happen; he probably thought that it was going to be more attention. If so, Harry wanted no part of it. However, since the Headmaster himself had ordered them there he was going to attend, if begrudgingly. Ron couldn't stop talking about what had happened and suddenly, a few corridors from the griffin that guarded Dumbledore's office, he lost his temper.

"Ron, just shut up! I was there, I know exactly what happened last night. Frankly, I don't want to keep re-living it, repeatedly. For Merlin's sake, save the story for the girls you want to impress, not me." Ron looked at him sheepishly.

"Sorry, mate, I just never get to be a part of anything awesome like this." Harry sighed and raked a hand through his hair.

"I know, but I don't want to hear about it anymore. Tell everyone you want, just leave me out of it." Ron nodded and remained silent for the rest of the trek to the Headmaster's office. Once they were standing before the griffin, it slid open without them having to give it the password. They took the stairs together, surprised that they could hear other voices from behind the door. They didn't have to knock at that door either, it just swung open when they were on the last stair. Harry was surprised at everyone that he saw in the Headmaster's office.

-O-

Draco was irritated that he even had to be at this sham of a meeting; his time would be much better spent with Hermione in the Hospital Wing. It appeared that Potter and Weasley were the last ones to get the memo that there was a meeting at all. He was sandwiched between his father and godfather while they glared at the Weasleys that were sitting across from them. The Weasley parents didn't look very happy to be there either. Professor Cat was also there, though she was seated next to Dumbledore.

Once Potter and Weasley showed up, he heard his father surreptitiously call for what sounded like an elf. Draco had no idea which one or for what reason but he supposed that he would find out shortly. Potter and Weasley were ushered in by Professor McGonagall and they found seats next to the weasel parents. Before the Headmaster called the meeting to order, Draco shot his father a questioning glance. He ignored him, of course, but it was just proof that there was something else happening. The Headmaster's voice was pleasant when he spoke.

"We're all meeting today because the Board of Governors needs an explanation as to why three children found their way into the Chamber of Secrets. I'm sure that the parents of everyone involved would like that answer as well." Draco wanted to scrub his hands down his face but knew that he couldn't. He had been taught from a young age to show no emotion in high-pressure situations.

"Mr. Potter, can you tell us how you knew where the Chamber of Secrets was located?" Potter raked a hand through his hair and leaned forward.

"I found a diary in the girl's bathroom and figured out how to write in it. When I did, it wrote back and showed me that a girl had been killed by the monster. I put two and two together and asked Moaning Myrtle how she died. She explained and told me that she had heard a boy speaking in hisses near the sinks. I went and looked at them and saw snakes on the faucet of one of them. I knew then that I had found the entrance." Professor McGonagall looked flabbergasted. Her voice was disbelieving.

"Why in the name of Merlin would you not tell anyone?" Harry just kind of shrugged at her words.

"I wasn't aware that everyone was looking for it. I was more worried about catching the heir of Slytherin, the one who was setting the monster on the muggleborns. Not to mention, I knew that I was the only one that would have a chance at stopping the basilisk since I speak parseltongue." Draco had to admit curiosity to that. Harry had told him that he knew what the monster was but he didn't have a clue how he knew. Professor Dumbledore caught on it as well.

"How did you know what the monster was? I'm sure that you were unaware that I speak parseltongue as well, though nowhere near to the ability of a natural parselmouth." Draco wanted to roll his eyes; it seemed like the Headmaster was tooting his own horn. Potter looked distinctly uncomfortable.

"Um, well, I…IwentandvisitedBlackintheHospitalWing." Draco couldn't be sure what he said but it sounded like Black was mentioned. Dumbledore just waited patiently for Harry to say it again. After a deep breath, Potter tried again.

"I went and visited Hermione Black in the Hospital Wing and found a crumpled-up piece of parchment in her hand. It looked like it was from a book and was talking about basilisks. She had inked in the word 'pipes', which is what clued me into the opening being in a bathroom." Draco could have cursed himself. How many times had he visited Hermione in the Hospital Wing and held her hand? How many times had he poured his heart out to her about how he couldn't figure out what the monster was? The answer had been in her hand the whole time, more proof that she had discovered the answer the night that she had been petrified. His father sat up even straighter in his chair, his godfather following suit, while Dumbledore just glared. The Headmaster couldn't keep the bite out of his tone.

"Why were you visiting Hermione Black in the Hospital Wing?" Potter looked uncomfortable and Draco could tell by the way that Dumbledore was staring at him that he was trying to read his thoughts. Draco knew that he had to do something, what the Headmaster was doing wasn't right.

"I know what you're doing, Headmaster, and it isn't legal. Hermione knew too and I believe she warned you last year about it." Dumbledore turned his gaze to Draco and his eyes burned with hatred. His father and Uncle Sev seemed to realize exactly what he was referring to and shifted closer to him. Lucius' voice was cold as ice.

"I recognized what you were doing as well, Headmaster. Let me warn you that if I thought the boy could give testimony that he knew what was happening, I would have you out on your arse before you could say Hogwarts. Keep your eyes to yourself or suffer the consequences." Potter seemed confused, as did the Weasleys. McGonagall looked as if she suspected but was going to remain silent in this power struggle. Molly Weasley, a frumpy, plump woman with thinning, vibrant red hair, had an indignant look on her face and her voice was close to shrieking when she spoke.

"Don't threaten the Headmaster, he didn't do anything wrong. He saved our children and you should show him gratitude." It was Draco that snorted now, saving his father from the effort.

"Actually, Potter and I saved your daughter and then we walked out to the chamber where the Headmaster was waiting. Fawkes, the phoenix, saved Potter from death, and Professor Snape saved me. The Headmaster did nothing." Her eyes narrowed at him and Draco wanted to continue but his father laid a hand on his shoulder, signaling for him to say nothing more. His voice was amused when he replied.

"Mrs. Weasley, you're here for answers as well. Don't assume you know what happened in the Chamber of Secrets. I've already heard Draco's side of the story and I assure you, the Headmaster did nothing. He was content to wait in the bathroom from what Severus told me. It was Severus that blasted through the sinks and made it possible for them to find your son." It was clear that both the Weasleys were fuming mad, evidenced by the tell-tale red coloring on their necks and ears. Lucius continued.

"It's been given as evidence that Potter learned of the Slytherin monster from my niece. Draco, how did you learn? Potter told the Headmaster last night that you tried to tell him before you met the basilisk." Draco hadn't been expecting this question but didn't mind answering.

"Once Hermione was petrified, I was determined to discover what had petrified her. I researched, pure and simple." The Headmaster swung his gaze to Draco.

"There are no books in the library that detail basilisks, only the restricted section. Did you cross the age line?" Draco shook his head.

"No, I sent a letter to my mother and asked her to send me books from our library. I found the answer there. It took me forever to find them because they were in Hermione's school bag. Apparently, she had taken them from me at some point." Draco couldn't let her get in trouble for being in the restricted section; he still wasn't sure if she was going to be punished for her treatment of Brown. He kept eye contact with Draco and he made sure that every single barrier he had erected in his mind was strong.

"How did you know that Messrs. Weasley and Potter were going after Miss Weasley in the Chamber?" Draco scoffed.

"Weasley has a big mouth and neither one of them can sneak very good. It was easy to hear their plans. I tried to go to Professor Snape and tell him but he was locked away in this office. There was no way that I could let them enter that Chamber on their own so I followed them. Turns out it's a good thing I did." Draco didn't break eye contact and the Headmaster was the first to look away.

"Tell us about Professor Lockhart." Draco decided to let Potter field this one.

"We heard him tell the professors that he knew where the entrance was. We followed him to his office to tell him that the monster was a basilisk but he was packing his things. He confessed to us that his books were all lies, stories that belonged to other people that he had just obliviated. He raised his wand to us but I disarmed him. We decided to make him go with us. Once we were under the school, he elbowed Ron in the side and stole his wand. Just as he was getting ready to cast the obliviate curse on him, Malfoy cast a spell at him, sending the obliviate spell into the rocks above us. That's when the Chamber caved in and we were all separated." His father knew that Draco was wondering so he volunteered the information.

"Gilderoy Lockhart was remanded to Azkaban prison last night to await trial for casting memory charms on numerous people and attempting to assault children." Draco gave a satisfied smirk. Served the poncey git right. Dumbledore didn't like having the show stolen from him so he was quick to begin again.

"Arthur, Molly, Ginny turned out to be the culprit behind opening the Chamber and releasing the basilisk through way of a cursed diary belonging to Lord Voldemort. He possessed her the entire time that she wrote in it. The image of Voldemort told Harry that she had had it since before school started. Do you have any idea how or when she got it? From where?" Both parents were shaking their heads, disbelief in their eyes. Draco knew that they had to have been told about her involvement the night before but doubted that they had been informed as to how long she had had the diary in her possession. Dumbledore gave them a sad smile before continuing.

"I suppose it doesn't matter at this juncture. It's destroyed now and that's what matters." Lucius nodded, probably to make the Weasleys feel better.

"How was it destroyed? Draco was too tired to speak of it last night and there have been no details given since." Lies, all lies, but Draco wasn't about to say anything. Potter's voice was stronger now.

"I had been fighting the basilisk, trying to kill it. Malfoy started shooting spells at it, I think he was trying to distract it. I had the Sword of Gryffindor but I couldn't get a clear shot. Finally, one of his spells hit it. I took the opening to stab the beast with the Sword. Once it was dead, I turned and saw Voldemort standing over Malfoy and he was clutching his chest, clearly in pain. My wand was in Voldemort's hand. I realized that he was almost human again and Ginny was almost dead. I had a basilisk fang in my arm and knew that I wouldn't be able to get there in time so I threw the Sword of Gryffindor to Draco. He caught it and stabbed the diary. It started spewing this black ooze and he stabbed it again. Voldemort disappeared and Ginny woke up." Arthur Weasley looked confused.

"If Mr. Malfoy is a Slytherin, how was he able to handle the Sword of Gryffindor? It makes no sense." Dumbledore favored his past student with a smile.

"At the time, his inner Gryffindor was forefront in his mind." Draco visibly gagged and Potter laughed at him. Once he had himself under control, Harry asked a question that he had clearly been wondering about.

"What spell was Malfoy hit with? I didn't think that we were going to get out of the Chamber with him alive." Uncle Sev eyed Potter and spoke imperiously.

"He almost didn't. It was a specialty curse used during the first war; it slowly crushed the organs of the person afflicted. Just a few more minutes and Mr. Malfoy would have had mush for lungs." Potter visibly gulped and Draco thanked Merlin above once more that his godfather had come down into the Chamber with the Headmaster. His father, however, just looked angry.

"I want to know why it was even necessary for my son and two other young children to go into the Chamber of Secrets when the Headmaster was brought back for that very reason?" Arthur sneered his way.

"What, Malfoy, get upset when your son is injured? I suppose it makes no never mind that you used that curse on who knows how many innocent people before your master disappeared." Draco felt his temper flare but did his best to look at the Weasleys impassively. It was difficult, more difficult than just about anything else he had ever done. He decided that Hermione would have been proud. His father, however, smirked at the red head.

"Is that really the best you can do, Weasley? Insult me and then make insinuations about my past affiliations? Come now, you can do better." The Weasleys were both getting red in the face and Draco could tell that Potter didn't know what to think about it. Arthur was just getting ready to speak again when Ronald finally spoke for the first time.

"He doesn't need to say anything else because it's the truth. You were a bloody Death Eater as was Professor Snape and Sirius Black. Malfoy and Black are going to follow in their daddy's footsteps and try to bring their master back to the top. It's all just a matter of time." Draco couldn't help but to snort loudly this time.

"Is that really the best YOU can do, Weasley? You've been spewing that bile since last year. Come up with new material." Contrary to popular belief, Draco knew exactly what his father had been, the things he had done. Before he had left for Hogwarts last year, his father had taken him aside on one of the few nights he hadn't been spending with Hermione and told him everything. He knew that his father had willingly served the Dark Lord, he knew that he had been loyal up until Sirius had told him that Hermione wouldn't be in his life if he continued down that path. He had murdered, tortured, and pillaged; the only thing that he was innocent of was rape and that was because it was the one thing he had outright refused to do. While he wasn't proud of his father's actions, he was proud that he had turned his back on it and never regretted his decision. After all, Draco knew one hundred percent that Hermione was worth it. Seeing that the situation was about to devolve into something he didn't want, Dumbledore held up his hands.

"Enough, gentlemen. To answer your question, Lord Malfoy, we weren't aware that the heir was even still in-house. You had Hagrid arrested, after all. Minerva and Severus can both attest to the fact that I searched the school over several times in an attempt to find the Chamber of Secrets. Once we received the note from young Mr. Malfoy telling us where they were going, we followed and tried our best to get to them in the Chamber itself. As much as I hate that it was necessary, it's quite clear that if they had waited any longer to go down, Miss Weasley would have died and Lord Voldemort would have returned." Molly Weasley choked back a sob and Potter looked uncomfortable yet again. Her arms pulled him and Ronald in close so she could choke them in an embrace that looked like a vice. Draco smirked their way and they glared at him. Lucius had just one more question.

"How much longer until my niece and the other victims of the basilisk can be awoken?" Uncle Sev examined his nails as he spoke, looking as if he couldn't give two shites. It was a good thing that Draco knew differently.

"Eleven more days for the potion to mature. It will be administered on the thirteenth, the same day as the Leaving Feast. It was the best we could do." Ronald spoke again.

"All you're worried about is your bloody niece. Trust me, she's enough of a swot to not have less than perfect grades even though she's been a slab of stone since February." Draco couldn't help himself. He went to his feet and his wand was pointed at the redhead. His eyes were hard and his voice stone.

"I think you owe my cousin a huge thank you, Weasley. After all, it was her hard work and research that told Potter what the beast was and what to expect. If we had gone in blind, your sister would have been dead. None of us have made disparaging comments about the fact that your sister is responsible for this whole situation because she couldn't help but want to cry to her diary about how terrible her life was." His father stood and laid a hand on his shoulder, clearly trying to calm him down. Nobody else said anything but judging by the pale expressions on the redheads' faces, it was clear they hadn't made that mental leap. Draco let his father pull him back into his chair.

"This concludes our meeting. Be warned, Dumbledore, the Board will be watching you and we expect excellence." Dumbledore's eyes were chips of ice but he nodded his head respectfully. Draco took this as his cue to leave but was cut off by a soft pop. Dobby appeared in the middle of the room, wringing his hands and looking quite nervous. On his head was a hat, something that Draco had never seen before in his life. The implications were severe.

"Mr. Harry Potter, sirs, I's been sets free and I's wants to serve you. Please let Dobby bond with Master Harry." Draco suddenly understood. Since his time spent near Potter, Dobby had lamented his service to the Malfoys, his mother had wrote and told him so. His father would only have elves that served their family happily; he said they were more loyal. By setting him free, he was also allowing Potter to secure the elf to himself, an added bit of protection for when he wasn't at school. It was ingenious really. The Malfoy family wouldn't miss the loss of one elf's service. Harry tried to sputter.

"What? What, I… how do…I don't understand." Dumbledore turned sharp eyes to his father but his father gave no indication of knowing what was going on. Dobby started again.

"Dobby has been gived clothes. He's free and he wants to serve Master Harry, please say yes." Harry just shook his head side to side, clearly confused.

"I don't know the first thing about having an elf, I only know what they are because of Ron." Draco decided to throw the boy a bone.

"Weasley wouldn't have the first idea about elves. We have numerous elves and they are wonderful little creatures. They will serve you and take care of your needs. They will protect you and obey you even if it results in their death. They serve you but they become your responsibility. It's a symbiotic relationship, one that both wizard and elf reap the benefits of." He still looked confused so Draco rolled his eyes.

"Elves have to be bonded to a wizard or witch, a family line, or an institution or they die. Their life force is tied to the bond. If you don't let him bond to you, his magic will wither away to nothing and he will eventually die." Potter looked stricken as it finally sank in what the elf was asking of him. He turned his gaze to Dumbledore and the Headmaster seemed contemplative.

"It is your choice, Mr. Potter. I'm sure that Mr. Malfoy has elves bonded to him so it would be no different." Draco snorted, an inelegant sound that sounded funny in the environment they were in.

"I have my personal elf, Snitch. He's served me since I was an infant, he raised me. In turn, I protect him and my magic feeds his bond. However, we have almost a hundred elves that are bound to the Malfoy family line and they pull their magic from the ancient blood wards around our home. It would be no different from this elf pulling from your magic." Potter couldn't keep the look of distaste off his face.

"It seems barbaric, enslaving other beings to our magic." Draco rolled his eyes again.

"It's only enslaving if that's how you treat it. Hermione has two elves bound to her, Sipsy and Dot. She treats them both like royalty and they argue with her constantly. They just happen to do her laundry, clean her room, and take care of anything she asks of them. Much like a parent would." Ronald snorted now.

"She needs elves to be her parents because her father is too busy being a traitor." Draco rolled his eyes at the redhead.

"Seriously, you need better material. I'm simply explaining that elves are only enslaved to us if we do so. That's entirely up to you." Potter nodded, finally understanding. He looked back to Dobby and nodded.

"Alright, you can bond with me. You'll have to stay out of sight if you go home with me, my relatives don't like magic." Dobby was vibrating with happiness and was bouncing up and down on his heels, nodding his head in agreement. Without warning, he reached out and touched his hand to Potter's chest, the resulting glow burning bright enough for everyone in the room to shield their eyes. When the light had faded, Draco turned to see a look of complete contentment on Dobby's face. Potter cocked his head to the side and asked the one question Draco had hoped that he wouldn't.

"Who were your masters that set you free?" Draco held his breath but he needn't have worried.

"Dobby is not remembering who his masters were." He released a breath that he didn't know he was holding. His father had obliviated the elf, thank Merlin. The last thing they needed was for Potter to be suspicious and not take Dobby. He really would afford him protection while he was away from school. Dumbledore seemed to realize that the meeting was well and truly over.

"Thank you all for coming and enjoy the rest of your day." Draco had no problem getting up and leaving quickly. After all, Hermione was waiting for him in the Hospital Wing.

-O-

Albus couldn't believe the level of sniping between the Weasleys and Malfoys, it truly was ridiculous. The pettiness of the parents had been passed on to their children, starting a whole new generation of rivalries.

Albus was back, Headmaster, and on top of the world again. He had done his best to find the Chamber but it had been pointless. Harry had stepped up and done what needed to be done anyways. He considered it practice and training for the things that he was going to have to face later in life. It was harsh but true.

The elf bothered him; who would set a house elf free and obliviate him? He had originally suspected Lucius Malfoy of putting the elf with the boy to spy on him but once the bond was in place, it would have been impossible. He also couldn't see the man letting go of an elf when the Malfoy family saw elves as a status symbol. He had feared Sirius Black second but when young Malfoy hadn't acted like he knew the elf at all, he doubted it was true. He supposed that it didn't matter now, especially since the elf was now bound to Harry. It would only serve Harry and keep him safe when Albus couldn't. A genius idea, really.

He sat back in his chair and contemplated the end of the school year. There really wasn't anything left to do aside from end of school exams and waking up the petrified students. Then it would be a few months of rest and relaxation, something he found he desired after the events of this year.

One thing he vowed to himself, he wouldn't be as naïve and stupid next year.

A/N- A shorter chapter, but one I thought needed to be had. Mostly so the Weasleys could see that Draco had a hand in saving their daughter. They probably wouldn't have believed it otherwise. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you think, reviews make me smile.

Next chapter, Hermione wakes up and the Leaving Feast.

Love,

Alicia


	42. Chapter 42

A/N- You guys are just so awesome, thank you so much for the love you show me every single chapter. It keeps me writing, guys! Here's the chapter everyone has been waiting for, Hermione returns! Promise not to kill me at the end though…

**Shout out to Komorebi for being my 1200th reviewer. You da bomb!**

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing about this story as it's all been done before. This is merely J.K.R.'s sandbox and I'm just playing around in it. I haven't made any money from this story or any others…maybe someday I'll make millions off my stories but that day is not today.

Chapter 42

June 13, 1993

It was too good to be true, that's all there was to it. Whereas before, her muscles had been stiff and unmoving, they were loosening and becoming more fluid. Her eyes blinked for the first time in she didn't even know. Her wand was still clenched in her hand but it was slowly lowering to her side. She could hear gasps off to the side of her, gasps that sounded very much like Draco and her father.

Hermione closed her mouth and tried to swallow; her throat felt like it was raw from being so dry, she couldn't even gather enough saliva to wet her tongue. Blinking her eyes felt like sandpaper, her free hand went to rub them. There was a soft clucking at her head and it took her several seconds to realize that it was Madam Pomfrey.

"Hold on, Miss Black, let me put eye drops in your eyes. It'll help with the dryness." Hermione nodded her head softly and allowed the woman's gentle hands to hold her eyes open and flood them with a fluid that slightly stung. After she blinked the fluid away, her eyes felt as if they were brand new.

"Water." Her voice was hoarse and raspy, clearly from disuse. Her throat felt like it was going to crack open it was so dry. Madam Pomfrey was at her side again, holding a vial to her lips.

"Drink this, Miss Black. It will help with your throat." It took her several minutes to get the potion down but the mediwitch was right; her throat felt a thousand times better. The woman held out one last potion vial.

"Last one, dear. This is going to help your stiff muscles. You're going to need to take them for a few days." Hermione was able to get this one down much faster since her throat was no longer raw. Once it was gone, the stiffness and soreness lessened considerably. The mediwitch stepped back and her father and Draco leaned over the top of her, smiles wide on their faces.

"Are you ready to sit up? We'll help you." Hermione tried to smile back at them as she nodded her head. Madam Pomfrey was in the background, cautioning them.

"Slowly, boys. The potions help but she's still going to be very sore. No sudden movements." Draco reached out and took both her hands while her father moved behind her. Draco pulled her to a sitting position and her father sat down behind her to make sure that she didn't fall backwards. Once she was completely upright, Draco moved closer so he could wrap his arms around her. He was much gentler than he usually was but considering how much her muscles were still protesting, she was thankful.

"Miney, I missed you so much. You have no idea how terrible life was without you." She leaned back against her father and she felt him drop a kiss on the top of her head. She grasped his hand in hers, holding it tight.

"I'm sorry. I tried to get away from the basilisk but I couldn't look up or I would have died and knew that if I ran it would bite me. I really didn't have too many options." Her father wrapped an arm around her from behind and held her tightly.

"Sweetness, you were perfect. You did the right thing, I promise." The curtain around her bed twitched and her Uncle Luci, Aunt Cissy, and Uncle Sev stepped in. Her eyes brightened at the sight of them; it felt like forever since she had seen them. Uncle Luci stepped forward first and wrapped her in his arms, holding her close and whispering to her how worried he had been. Aunt Cissy was next, hugging her tightly and smoothing her hair. After she stepped back, Uncle Sev came forward and hugged her as well, kissing the side of her head before pulling away. Hermione had to stretch out and touch her toes, her back was killing her it was so stiff. Her family watched her in understanding and when her back felt better, she turned her attention to them again.

"How long was I petrified?" Draco reached out and took hold of her hand. None of them really wanted to answer her but it was Uncle Sev that finally answered.

"You were petrified on February 24th and today is June 13th. The potion just finished brewing two hours ago." Hermione felt all the color drain from her face.

"I've been laying here for almost four months? I've missed everything, I'm going to fail all my exams." Draco laughed out loud as he shook his head.

"Only you, Miney. Today is the Leaving Feast. Exams were cancelled and it isn't like you didn't know everything already." Hermione shoved him weakly before she settled against his side. She wrapped her arms around his waist and just hugged him close. She had missed him.

"It doesn't matter if I already know everything. Besides, you must tell me everything. Did you figure out what the monster was? Did someone stop the basilisk?" Draco chuckled before he kissed the side of her head. The rest of the adults laughed while Sirius re-situated himself since she was leaning on Draco. He looked to the adults in the room.

"You guys should tell the first part." Her father and Uncle Luci sighed as they began.

"After you were found by Draco, the Headmaster tried to cover up the fact that you had been petrified. I told him that it wasn't going to work because Draco was going to inform not only his father but yours as well. He didn't believe me and was surprised when he received a howler from your father the next day. He banned your father from entering the castle so the Board of Governors stepped in. Dumbledore was suspended and Minerva was appointed in his place." Draco looked a little nervous as he picked up the story.

"I had decided to start researching to see if I could discover what Slytherin's monster was since you weren't able to. I hadn't figured it out yet and hadn't realized that you had. I found Potter and Weasley leaving the castle one night, following a trail of spiders into the Forbidden Forest. I couldn't just let them go out there by themselves at night so I followed them. They were saying that Hagrid told them to follow the spiders since he was the person who everyone suspected had opened the Chamber the first time fifty years ago." He heaved a sigh before he lowered his eyes and continued.

"The two idiots followed the spiders into an acromantula nest. All they learned was that the monster in the school wasn't a spider and that Hagrid was innocent. Then the spiders all decided that Potter and Weasley would make a great meal. When I realized that they were about to get attacked and eaten, I jumped in and started setting the bastards on fire. We literally ran for our lives through the Forbidden Forest, me shooting fire at the ones behind us and Potter doing the same to the ones that were trying to flank us." Hermione couldn't believe what he was telling her. How could they have been so stupid?! She didn't get to yell at him because he hurried on.

"When we reached the castle, we were discovered because Weasley and I were fighting. Potter told Uncle Sev the truth, that they were out in the Forest and that's why we were fighting. I lost fifty points for Slytherin that night." Hermione started whacking him over and over in the arm, eventually moving to aim for his head. He ducked and cursed but didn't once move.

"Are you really that stupid? How could you just follow them, don't you remember the run-in I had with Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest last year? Merciful Merlin, how did I ever think you were smart?" Draco was still defending himself and the adults were all laughing behind their hands. He finally reached out and snatched her hands in his to stop her. Even though he pulled her back into his side, she still glared at him.

"It wasn't my finest hour, alright? However, none of us died and we didn't run into the Dark Lord. We're going to consider it a win." Hermione couldn't help grumbling under her breath as they continued.

"Eventually, I realized that you had to have found out what the monster was even though I couldn't find a single book in the library to tell me what it was. Then I realized I should look through your bag. Apparently, at some point, you got books from the restricted section and stuffed them into your bag. After I figured out that it was a basilisk, I went and told Uncle Sev." Her Uncle Luci picked the story up now.

"When Severus realized that the monster was a basilisk, he went to Minerva and they contacted the Board of Governors, which in this case was me. Since we knew that we needed someone that spoke parseltongue, we had to get Dumbledore back in the school even though nobody really wanted him back. However, we had to do what we had to do to make the school safe again. He was there for around two weeks and didn't find a thing. Around this time, Potter apparently visited you and found a piece of parchment crumpled in your hand, detailing what a basilisk was. He assumed that that was what Slytherin's monster was. He said that he had been hearing voices all year and only at the end did he realize that he had been hearing the basilisk from within the walls." Draco continued again, holding her closer.

"Just shy of two weeks ago, we all found a message on the wall outside of Myrtle's bathroom. It said, 'Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever'. Dumbledore told everyone that they needed to go back to their common rooms. When I realized that Potter and Weasley were scheming, I moved closer and realized that they knew where the entrance to the Chamber was already. Moaning Myrtle was the girl that died when the Chamber was opened the first time and she said that the hissing sound had originated from over by the sinks in her bathroom." He paused for a breath and Hermione knew that she wasn't going to like what she heard next.

"They discovered that Ginny Weasley was the girl that was missing and they decided to go down after her and save her. I tried to tell Uncle Sev but he was locked away in Dumbledore's office. I left him a note and followed Potter and Weasley. They had coerced Lockhart into going with them. Potter opened the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets with parseltongue and I followed them down a slide that went deep beneath the school. Once we were down there, Lockhart stole Weasleys wand and tried to obliviate him. I don't think it would have made much difference but I couldn't let that happen. I stunned him but his spell went up into rock ceiling and it caved in, blocking Potter and I off from Weasley and Lockhart." Hermione threaded her fingers through his and urged him on with a nod of her head. He raked a hand through his hair, a rare show of nervousness.

"Weasley's wand was broken so he agreed to try moving the rock by hand. Potter and I continued so we could keep Weaselette from dying. We found her almost dead in the main part of the Chamber; her pulse was barely there and her skin was cold as ice. The diary from home was next to her and I learned that Potter found it after Weaselette tried to get rid of it. She had been writing in it since before school started and it was stealing her life force. The image of Tom Riddle was there. He wanted to know how Harry had beaten him and we learned that Tom Riddle was actually Voldemort.

He set the basilisk on Harry and Dumbledore's phoenix appeared before us. It blinded the basilisk and dropped the sorting hat down for Harry. He ran away, leading it away from myself and the female Weasley. The image of Tom Riddle started messing with my head, he knew who I was because I look so much like Father. He told me that if I served him well I would be allowed to marry you when he said that he would find you a proper husband. It was fucking scary and I had no idea what to do." Aunt Cissy, who had been silent until now, spoke.

"Language, Draco." He snorted softly but continued.

"Potter ended up pulling Gryffindor's Sword out of the sorting hat and killed the basilisk. Weaselette was almost dead, the proof that Riddle could pick up Potter's wand. I was shooting spells at the basilisk trying to distract it so Harry could kill it. Riddle cursed me with a curse that made me feel like I had a house sitting on my chest; it was horrible and I hope I never have to live through it again. When Potter realized that I was in trouble, he threw me Gryffindor's Sword and I stabbed the diary twice. Tom Riddle exploded into a million tiny little pieces and we were able to make our way back through the Chamber. Weaselette woke up and began to cry, said she hadn't meant to open the Chamber or set the basilisk on all the muggleborns." Uncle Sev picked up where he left off.

"When I got Draco's note, the Headmaster and I went after them. I blasted apart the sink that led down into the Chamber. We found Weasley and Lockhart and moved the cave in. We couldn't pass the other door into the Chamber, however, and were forced to wait until they came to us. I healed Draco then and there and it's a good thing. He wouldn't have lasted much longer. Once we were all topside again, we made Draco spend the night next to you, recovering from the curse the Dark Lord had cast on him."

Hermione couldn't help it; she burst into tears.

Draco held her close and let her cry into his chest. Her father rubbed soothing circles on her back and kissing the back of her head every so often. She felt stupid for crying, she was supposed to be tough after all, but her cousin, her best friend in the whole world, had almost died. He had been cursed by Tom Riddle, by Voldemort, and if their godfather hadn't been there he would have died. She did her best to get herself under control but it was several minutes before her tears subsided. Hermione hugged her cousin tightly and spoke into his chest. It was muffled but she knew that he understood her.

"You almost died. You could have died while I was petrified and I wouldn't have been able to say goodbye, I wouldn't have gotten to see you ever again. Why didn't Harry tell someone, why did he have to go after the great bloody snake by himself?" Draco carded his fingers through his hair but before he could speak, Aunt Cissy did.

"Thank you, Hermione, that's exactly what I said. He just told me to stop babying him." She couldn't help the snort of amusement. She reached out and pinched his side. He jumped and yelped in pain but didn't pull away.

"You should be nicer to your mother. I'm still waiting for an answer. It better be a bloody good reason or I'm going to curse him." Her father chuckled behind her as he answered her question.

"He thought that he would have the best chance at stopping it since he speaks parseltongue. He didn't know that Dumbledore does as well." Hermione knew that her eyes were flashing.

"I'm going to curse him. What a bloody idiot! If he had gotten you killed I'm pretty sure I would have killed him." Draco chuckled at her words.

"When you curse him, I want to watch. Serves the bugger right." The whole room laughed now and Hermione tried to get herself under control. Her motor control was just a little off, probably from not moving for four months.

Hermione pushed off her cousin and laid back into her father. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight, kissing the side of her head yet again. Since nobody else was saying anything, Hermione closed her eyes and spoke.

"Am I still going to get in trouble for cursing Lavender Brown? I was being delivered to a professor because I cursed her in front of the library." Uncle Sev shook his head.

"Nobody has said anything about it. However, you must know that what you were doing to that girl would have killed her. Hermione, you don't want to become a murderer, they will put you in Azkaban no matter the reason." Hermione let her eyes fall to her lap and she nodded her head.

"I know, it was stupid and I let my temper get away from me. As soon as Harry stopped me, I regretted it. Draco is my anchor and when I pictured him, all I could see was him being tortured and dying." Her father, the one most likely to understand her plight, nodded.

"I understand exactly what you mean, poppet. I know how hard it is. I'm just saying that you can't lose control like that, I couldn't bear to lose you to the dementors." She nodded and raised her head.

"What will my punishment be?" Her father looked contemplative behind her. Her uncles and aunt were trying to hide their smirks; she suspected that they had already discussed what her punishment would be.

"You're grounded from the library and reading in general for a week. That means no school work and no reading for pleasure. You're a very difficult child to punish, Hermione." Her mouth dropped open and her eyes widened. A week with no reading? How was she going to survive that? Then she remembered that she had almost killed someone and decided that even though it was a horrid punishment, she deserved it.

"Alright. That sounds fair." Her father kissed the back of her head again.

"Good, it starts tomorrow once you're home. Just think though, you can still work on your dueling and running since it's been four months since you last practiced." Hermione chuckled softly. She hadn't thought of that and it did indeed sound like a good plan. Uncle Luci and Aunt Cissy both stood, smiles on their faces.

"We have to go, Hermione. We were only allowed to come and be with you while you woke up. You still have to attend the Leaving Feast. We'll see you both on the platform tomorrow when the Express arrives." Hermione nodded and happily accepted the hugs from her family. Her father stood behind her and hugged her again as well.

"I'll see you tomorrow, sweetness. Have a good time at the Feast." She smiled and nodded. Once only her godfather and cousin remained, Uncle Sev tugged on one of her curls and gave her a soft smile.

"I'm happy you're back with us, love. Draco isn't near as fun to talk to." The side of his mouth twitched upward and Draco scowled at him. He bent over and kissed her head again before he spoke.

"I took the liberty of having the elves bring you another set of uniforms. Go take a shower in the one just off the Hospital Wing. Draco and I will wait for you and escort you down to the Great Hall in case you have any residual muscle weakness." She beamed at him. A shower sounded wonderful; it made her wonder if she had been bathed at all in the four months she had resided in the Hospital Wing.

It didn't take her long to shower off; she really wanted to take her time and let the hot water work out the kinks in her muscles. Hermione decided that she would take another shower that night after the Leaving Feast and she would take her time then. She took care with her uniform and made sure that her hair was dried and looked decent. It wouldn't do for her to be out of commission for four months and then suddenly appear looking like complete shite.

After she was dressed and looked proper, Hermione exited the shower and found her cousin and godfather waiting patiently for her. Both smiled when they saw her and Hermione couldn't help but smile back. Draco offered her his arm and she gladly took it. While her motor control was improving with every passing minute, she still found that there was a little muscle weakness. Their Head of House walked in front of them, escorting them properly. On their way out, Hermione noticed that all the other students that had been petrified had already left; she wasn't sure when that had happened but who was she to complain?

As they traversed the corridors, Hermione felt herself getting more nervous about facing everyone. She was the only pureblood to be petrified, the only Slytherin as well. Her friends were sure to welcome her back enthusiastically and while Hermione appreciated the sentiment, she hated being the center of attention. She could only hope that Draco would stay with her and tell people to back off if it became too much.

Just in front of the Great Hall door, the three of them stopped and Draco squeezed her arm. She gave him a smile and a nod, showing that she was ready. Her godfather nodded as well and he threw the doors open wide. The whole Great Hall came to a halt, everyone falling silent when they realized who was entering. Hermione gulped as Draco led her forward towards the Slytherin table. She managed to catch sight of Neville and the twins waving at her from the lion's table.

Hermione had never been happier to take her seat at the Slytherin table in all her life.

-O-

Harry was dreading the end of the school year. The last thing he wanted to do was board the train and go back to the Dursleys so he could spend the summer slaving away for them. He wished more than anything that he didn't have to return there, that he could go somewhere else for the summer. He would even stay at Hogwarts and study.

The Feast was getting ready to start and while he dreaded the end of the year, he was excited for the Feast. Ron had finally stopped telling everyone the story about the Chamber of Secrets so the attention that went with it was starting to die away as well. He knew that the victims of the basilisk were going to be woke up today and he was more than a little excited to see Hermione Black alive and moving once more. Not that he would ever admit it to anyone, especially since Ginny had noticed ages ago that he always watched her.

Therefore, he did his absolute best to keep his attention off her when she entered the Great Hall on Malfoy's arm, Professor Snape striding ahead of them. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that she didn't look very happy with the attention she was receiving. Her friends were all smiling at her and the girls were hugging her. She bore it well but looked ecstatic when the Headmaster stood and started to speak.

"Another year has come and gone. It's been a learning experience for us all. I want to welcome back all those students that have been petrified. Everyone has missed you." There was a smattering of applause but the loudest was at the Slytherin table. Malfoy was laughing at his cousin and Hermione's face was scarlet. Before the Headmaster could continue, the doors to the Great Hall flew open again and this time, Hagrid lumbered inside. He started for the High Table but stopped when he reached where Harry was seated at the Gryffindor table.

"I want ta thank ya, Harry, and Ron, fer believin' in me and doin' yer best ta prove me innocence. It means more than ya kno'." Harry grinned at him widely. He stood and wrapped his arms around Hagrid as far as they would go.

"It's not Hogwarts without you, Hagrid. We're glad you're back." Hagrid hugged him back and the Great Hall exploded in applause. After Harry pulled away from his friend, he began clapping for him as well. Hagrid turned a scarlet color much the same as Hermione had. He started for the High Table again, this time the applause dying off when he took his usual seat. The Headmaster smiled out at all the students and continued.

"Hagrid has returned where he belongs. May we never lose him again. Now, I believe I have some last-minute points to award and deduct and then we'll announce the quidditch and house cup winners." He paused and Harry couldn't help but worry if this was going to be like last year.

"The quidditch house cup is awarded to Gryffindor." The Gryffindor table went wild, cheering and hollering. The house cup trophy was handed to McGonagall and she rose to walk over to the Gryffindor table and hand it to Oliver Wood, the team captain. They let the cheering go on for a few minutes before Dumbledore hushed them.

"For arguing with another student in the corridors, Gryffindor will lose twenty points." Harry had no idea what this was for since the student hadn't been named. It appeared everyone else was just as confused, including the professors.

"For cursing another student and almost killing them, Slytherin will lose one hundred and fifty points." The whole of the Great Hall went silent and Harry instantly knew what the Headmaster was talking about. He couldn't help a glance at Hermione. Her face was ashen and she had her impassive mask on her features. Malfoy wrapped an arm around her shoulders and was whispering in her ear. She nodded silently but refused to drop her eyes in shame. Harry didn't get to contemplate it further because the Headmaster continued.

"For helping a friend in need and knowing that family is everything, Ronald Weasley will be awarded one hundred points." The Gryffindor table went wild, the twins and Percy clapping Ron on the shoulders and back.

"For doing something distasteful because it was the right thing to do, Draco Malfoy will be awarded one hundred points." Harry couldn't hide the grin on his face. At last, he had been awarded equally to Ron. Hermione was smiling at her cousin, hugging him close, but he could still see the tightness around her eyes.

"For going above and beyond to save the school from a great hazard, Harry Potter will be awarded two hundred points. This puts Gryffindor in the lead against Slytherin, 450-350. Gryffindor wins the house cup." Harry was happy that they won but he couldn't help but realize that the difference between the two teams was exactly how many points that Slytherin had lost between Hermione and Malfoy. It seemed that she realized it too because her eyes had fallen to her lap while everyone cheered. Her friends seemed to be trying to cheer her up, unknowing of why she was upset.

Dumbledore bid them to begin eating, the food appearing before them all. Dobby had promised him that he would make the treacle tart special for him and put it directly in front of him when it was time for pudding. Harry ate happily, enjoying his last good meal before returning home. Sure, Dobby would be going with him but he was still going to have to remain hidden so the Dursleys didn't see him. It did mean, however, that Harry would no longer have to starve.

The Feast lasted for ages, everyone laughing and joking while they said their goodbyes. The day they left was always filled with everyone trying to cram their belongings in their trunks before leaving on the Express at eleven. They would have the ride back to King's Cross but there was always so many people to bid farewell to that it was best to get some of them out of the way at the Feast.

When the Feast was finally over, Harry was ready to get back to the common room so he could start packing. Dobby had begged him to do it but Harry hadn't been comfortable with letting him. They were still getting to know each other and Harry knew that he was slow to trust, especially after the elf had almost killed him. Even though he swore to himself that he wouldn't seek Hermione out, he found that he couldn't not thank her for cluing him into what he would be facing in the Chamber of Secrets. He told Ron that he would meet him in the common room and then silently followed the Slytherin pair. He was surprised when they broke off from the main crowd and hid away in a corner. Professor Snape was there waiting for them. Harry knew it was wrong but couldn't help sneaking close enough to listen in. Hermione's voice was wavering and it was clear that she was close to tears.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Sev, I never meant to lose the cup for you, for us. I know you're disappointed in me but I swear it'll never happen again." He watched as Professor Snape pulled Hermione into his arms and kiss the top of her head.

"I'm not angry, I'm not even disappointed. While you deserved to be punished, Albus did that on purpose so the lions would win. You couldn't have missed the fact that Gryffindor won by a hundred points, the exact amount we lost. I suppose that we should be lucky enough that he didn't see fit to name you, even though I doubt your house mates would have minded. They understand about family honor. You just took it a little far." She snorted, an inelegant sound that he wouldn't have pictured coming from her.

"I took it way too far. I just wish that I could take it back so Slytherin wouldn't have to suffer." He tugged one of her curls with a smile.

"Slytherin has been getting a raw deal for decades, this year would have been no different. Enough now, head to the common room so you can get your things packed." Hermione hugged Professor Snape and then turned around so she and Malfoy could head back to the main corridor that led to the dungeons. Snape disappeared, to where he had no idea, but he was gone nonetheless.

Harry let them get several corridors away from where they spoke to Professor Snape and finally called out to them. Both stopped and turned and when Hermione saw that it was him, her eyes flashed. He was unsure what that was about but figured that he was about to find out.

"I just wanted to say that I'm glad you're awake again. I also owe you a thank you for the parchment in your hand, telling me what the Slytherin monster was. I probably would have died without that." Hermione launched herself at him, smacking him everywhere that she could reach. Harry tried to defend himself, tried to fend her off, but she was quick and had a surprisingly hard hit.

"What the bloody fuck?! What is your problem?" With every word she spoke, she punctuated it with a smack to his arms or chest.

"You almost got Draco killed twice, bloody idiot! What were you thinking, going down into the Chamber by yourself without telling a teacher? Were you wanting it to kill you with its murderous stare?" Malfoy looked highly amused but Harry wasn't. If it had been any other day, he probably wouldn't have said what he did. As soon as he did, he regretted it.

"You almost killed Lavender. What's the bloody difference? At least I didn't do it on purpose." Where her eyes had been expressive and her hair sparking at the ends, making her look lovelier than he had ever seen her, now her face was blank and she backed away from him quickly. In truth, it looked like he had slapped her right across the face. Malfoy pulled her back and Harry could tell that he was no longer amused. Her voice was flat when she finally spoke.

"You're right. I did almost kill Lavender. I suppose the only difference is that I was punished for it and you were rewarded. Not a surprise really." She turned her attention to her cousin.

"I'm ready to go to the common room now, Drake." Malfoy was glaring at him and Harry couldn't leave it like that. He hadn't meant to throw that in her face, it had been anger at her being angry at him. Rightfully angry to be honest.

"Wait, Black, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I could tell when I stopped you that you didn't want to kill her. To answer your question, I didn't want to get anyone killed, I didn't want to get anyone hurt. I wasn't thinking, I was just telling myself that nobody could stop the snake but me." While her face remained impassive, she nodded in his direction, accepting his apology.

"I'm sorry too, I should have kept my anger to myself. It won't happen again." He wanted her to curse at him, to hit him again. It would be better than her feeling nothing when she thought of him. Knowing that he wasn't going to get any further with her tonight, he nodded his acceptance of her apology and turned to head back to his common room.

Harry couldn't work out why her coldness bothered him so much. Sure, he thought that she was beautiful, that she was brilliant, but that didn't mean that her feelings towards him should matter. Yet, the look on her face cut him deep, the sight of her visibly recoiling from his words had made him instantly regret his reaction. He supposed that there was nothing for it now, he was just going to have to let it pass. Hopefully, she would forget his words by next year. Harry cursed to himself again.

He wasn't supposed to care.

A/N- Another one bites the dust, y'all. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, I had fun writing this one. Anyways, let me know what you guys think, I do enjoy hearing your opinions. Leave me a message after the beep, reviews are love.

Next chapter, family moments and an Azkaban breakout.

Love,

Alicia


	43. Chapter 43

A/N- You guys are amazing! Thank you so much for the follows, favorites, and reviews, they all made me smile. Chapter 45 will be the beginning of third year for those of you that have been chomping at the bit for it to start. Don't worry, I'm excited for it too! Anyways, enough for now, just know that I appreciate all of you.

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing about this story. Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle gave me the idea for Part One of this story and the rest belongs to our queen. I merely play with her characters and her world. I haven't made any money from this story or any other, evidenced by the fact that I'm a broke bitch.

Chapter 43

July 1, 1993

Hermione was breathless after her ride with her aunt. Her horse, Bluebell, had been full of energy and Hermione had taken her for a run over the whole of the grounds of Black Moor. This wasn't something new for the two of them but it was the first time that Hermione had had time to do so that summer.

Her summer plans had been crazy so far. While her grounding had indeed occurred when she returned home, she hadn't let it deter her from learning. Instead, Hermione had focused on her dueling skills since she was a bit rusty from her four-month sleep. She had started running again and while she didn't feel like she had missed any time at all, it was fact that her body had. It had been like starting over from square one and it had been complete hell. However, since Draco had stopped doing everything that Hermione had done when she had gotten petrified, he was just as bad when he had started running with her again. After almost a month at home, the pair were finally back in shape and could run the perimeter of the grounds and not want to throw their guts up.

Dueling had been difficult to pick up again. It had taken almost two weeks for her to completely lose the stiffness in her muscles and joints, even with the help of the potions that her godfather had given her. She felt terrible for the muggleborn students that had had to go home without those extra potions. They would have suffered far worse than she did. This didn't mean that her father and uncles had taken it easy on her either; if anything, they had pushed her harder and told her that she wouldn't always be in peak condition and she would have to improvise. While she understood their point, it was still painful and there were nights that she was in so much pain that she had to have Draco rub her muscles just so she could sleep.

Hermione had also been working in the potions lab with her godfather. He was working on an experimental potion that he was trying to create that would help cure werewolves. He wouldn't tell her why, just told her that the world would be safer with fewer slavering beasts. While she could understand his point, she knew that all werewolves couldn't be bad. There had to be some decent ones out there somewhere. Her father had told her of his best friend in Hogwarts, Remus Lupin, and how he had been a decent person up until he had turned on him without letting him explain a thing. Surely there were more like him.

Draco helped them sometimes in the lab but he always had social engagements with his friends. Where Theo had always come around before, he showed his face less and less around Black Moor. Hermione knew that it was because of the conversation that she had had with him, threatening him for his outrageous treatment of Harry when he had gathered the nerve to sit with them in the library. He still went to Malfoy Manor and even though he saw Hermione there just as much as he would have at her family home, it was somehow different. Truthfully, Hermione wasn't bothered by it. She knew that Draco didn't trust him completely and that wasn't likely to change.

Vince, Greg, and Blaise still came over whenever Draco got bored with dueling practice and they all played quidditch on the pitch at the back of their property. Hermione would go watch them sometimes, always with a book in her hand, and they always tried to show off for her. Draco would just shake his head at their behavior since he knew that she wasn't interested in any of them.

Her Aunt Cissy had started planning a birthday party for the pair of them. Rather than throwing two parties for them, they had begged her to have only one party at the beginning of August, that way they could still celebrate their birthdays and see their friends but they wouldn't be subjected to the down side of attending two parties. If there was one thing that Aunt Cissy went all out for, it was a party.

Hermione and her Aunt Cissy had just returned the week before from the horse show that her Uncle Luci had bought them tickets for. As she had predicted, it had turned into a week-long trip that had become a girl's week; it had been full of shopping, spa days, and taking in shows. While Hermione had enjoyed herself, she had never been happier to be home.

Hermione and Draco had also been sat down by her father, both her uncles and her aunt when they had returned home. They had implored to both herself and Draco that they no longer had to protect Harry, that they weren't to put themselves in danger for him any longer. Apparently, they had realized that after Hermione being petrified, it wasn't fair to ask them to put themselves in danger for a boy that clearly had no sense of self-preservation. While Hermione had promised to be smarter about protecting Harry, she couldn't just turn that protective instinct off; she had been raised with it and it would be hard to lose. Since she had said she wouldn't stop but would be smarter, Draco had of course said the same thing. The adults weren't the happiest but they were aware that there was nothing they could do about the situation when they were away at school.

Hermione still couldn't get Harry's words after the Leaving Feast out of her mind. He had been right, she didn't have a right to get angry with him for almost killing Draco when she had done the same to Lavender. However, hers had been done in the heat of the moment while his had been done on purpose, he had meant to go into the Chamber of Secrets on his own and without a teacher. It didn't change the fact, however, and Hermione couldn't help that he spoke the truth.

That didn't mean that it hadn't been like a slap to the face. After she had reached the Slytherin common room, she had wanted to cry again but had staunchly refused. Draco had hugged her close and told her that it wasn't the same thing but she knew that he was just trying to make her feel better. It was the same thing and Harry had every right to throw it in her face after she had assaulted him. She had decided to just let it go if he spoke to her again. Holding the truth against him would have been hypocritical since she was constantly angry that he believed lies regarding her family.

Bluebell nickered at the sight of her stall in the stable. The rest of the horses neighed their greeting to her and Hermione had to smile. She had just finished rubbing down Bluebell and she had earned her grain today. After putting her in her stall, Hermione saw her aunt putting her mare Star away as well. Together, the pair smiled at their horses and started for Black Moor.

Everyone was supposed to meeting them there since they were finally going to work on their family album project. Hermione had guilted both her uncles into helping with the project and Draco really hadn't had a choice in the matter. He had rolled his eyes when Hermione told him that he was going to help but hadn't voiced any real objections. Since his father was helping with little grumbling, she supposed that he was going to be able to help without looking too wimpy as well.

Once they were inside, Hermione headed up the stairs to her room. Since there would be less than manly projects going on today, Draco had made sure to make no plans whatsoever with any of their friends. Just to be a brat, Hermione had briefly considered inviting Pansy and Daphne over but in the end decided that that was just too cruel to do to her cousin. She had chuckled to herself over it though, much to Draco's surprise.

She quickly showered off, washing the scent of horse and stables off her. She knew that her aunt was downstairs in one of the spare rooms doing the same thing. She was busy fighting a tangle in her curls when Draco opened her door and waltzed in. He flopped down on her bed and sighed.

"I can't believe you're making us do this, Miney. It's not distinguished at all. If everyone found out, I'd never live it down." Hermione stood and walked to her bed so she could bend down over her cousin and kiss him on the cheek.

"I won't ever tell a soul, I swear. Now help me get this tangle out." He stuck his tongue out at her.

"I should make you suffer since you're making me do this." She huffed at him and glared. He rolled his eyes at her and held his hand out for her brush. She couldn't hold back her grin as she slapped it into his hand. After plopping down in front of him, he went to work on her curls. Hermione could never understand how he untangled them so easily and she struggled with it.

Several minutes later, Draco had unknotted her hair and she thanked him sweetly. He stuck his tongue out at her again before following her down the stairs into the library. Her father, aunt, and both uncles were already present, sipping on wine it appeared. There were numerous boxes of photos in the middle of them and there was a large album on the table next to them. Hermione clapped her hands together and almost squealed in excitement. Of all the adults present, Aunt Cissy was the only one that looked remotely happy about the situation they found themselves in. Hermione frowned and put her hands on her hips.

"Why is everyone frowning? This is supposed to be fun." Uncle Luci gave her an indulgent smile.

"Lovey, this isn't something that we would do for fun; we're doing this for you. Give us a bit to get into the project." Hermione felt terrible. Were they not wanting to help with this at all? The last thing she wanted to do was force them despite what she had told Draco. She had genuinely thought that it was something they would enjoy doing as a family but that wasn't the case. Her face fell and she flopped down next to her aunt on the couch.

"You guys don't have to help. I thought you secretly wanted to help and just had to complain because it wasn't manly." Uncle Sev looked like he wanted to bolt at the second her words left her mouth but to his credit, he didn't. Her father smiled her way.

"Poppet, they want to do this with you. Don't get all sullen teenager on us now." She stuck her tongue out at him but was serious when she spoke.

"Truly, I don't want to force you to help. Aunt Cissy and I can do this on our own." Her father shook his head.

"I'm definitely in. I started drinking wine for a reason." Hermione couldn't keep her chuckle in. Both her uncles looked pained but stayed where they were. Even Draco looked resigned. Uncle Sev spoke softly.

"I'm doing this for you, love. If you ever tell a soul, I'll grind you up and use your body parts as potion ingredients." Hermione laughed and threw herself into his arms and hugged him around the neck.

"You're the best, Uncle Sev, I won't tell anyone." He rolled his eyes but hugged her back. Uncle Luci rolled his eyes now.

"You know I'm going to do this because you have me wrapped around your finger. We're not going to dwell on it, we're just going to do it. As for Draco, if the rest of us have to do this, he does too." Draco looked offended at the fact that everyone else got the choice but he didn't look too unhappy.

The six of them dug into the boxes of photos, going through the earlier ones first. There were so many that Hermione didn't even remember seeing. Her father and her two uncles were featured in many of the ones teaching them how to fly, there were photos of their first etiquette lessons with Aunt Cissy, photos of them learning potions with Uncle Sev. Hermione laughed at the ones where she was on top of Draco and they were tickling each other and he laughed at the ones where he had thrown mud in her hair on the grounds of Malfoy Manor.

Her all-time favorite photo was the one of her and Draco together at around age six. They were seated in the window seat of her room, reading a book together. She was in robes the color of a sapphire and her curls were long down her back. Draco looked like a miniature Lucius with his hair longer in the back and all-black robes. It was ridiculously adorable and she insisted that it had a page all to itself.

The best thing about the album was that it enlarged as you went. The more photos you added, the bigger it got. Hermione loved the concept and liked the idea that she could take all her fondest memories to school with her. There were photos of Aunt Cissy and Uncle Luci together, photos from their many trips to France or Italy. Birthday photos, photos of her Uncle Sev dancing with Hermione at her eighth birthday, her father running around her in his Padfoot form. They all found their way into her album.

By the time they were finished, everyone was laughing and having a great time. The adults were still drinking their wine, which she assumed played a part in their laughter, but even Draco appeared to be having a good time. When they finally cleared away the photos, Hermione gave them all a smug look.

"Who wants an album for themselves?" Aunt Cissy instantly raised her hand while Uncle Sev glared at her for a moment before giving her a nod. Draco shook his head vehemently but she just glared at him.

"You really don't want one, even to keep at home? You can look through mine if you get the urge at school." He rolled his eyes.

"You don't think I can borrow Mother's?" Hermione sighed and conceded. Just as she turned away from him, he sighed.

"Make me one too." Hermione grinned at him, thrilled that he wanted one as well.

She had just made copies of the album, one for her father included, when an owl pecked at the window. Her father stood and let it in, waving it towards the bowl of owl treats. He ripped open the envelope and groaned.

"We have to go, Lucius. Emergency Wizengamot meeting. It says something about a breakout in Azkaban." Hermione wasn't sure how that was even possible but couldn't help but let a little worry make its way into her expression. Her father saw it and bent to kiss the top of her head.

"Don't worry, sweetness, we're going to handle this. There is nothing for you to worry about. You're safe here and at the Manor." Her frown deepened.

"Do you think whoever it is would come after you?" It was clear that he wanted to be honest but didn't want to scare her further.

"It's all a possibility but it's not likely, poppet. I don't want you to worry about it though. I'm going to be safe always, same as Lucius. We're going to go see what's going on and we'll return later." Hermione nodded and gave him a smile. Uncle Luci followed him to the floo and they disappeared in a flash of green flames. Hermione sighed before turning back to Draco.

"Let's go practice dueling some more. I'm determined to beat you before we go back to school." Draco barked out a laugh and jumped to his feet.

"Never going to happen, Miney." She shot a stinging hex at his backside as he rushed ahead of her. He yelped and she laughed, Aunt Cissy chuckling as she followed to watch.

-O-

Sirius scrubbed a hand down his face. The Wizengamot meeting had been a complete shit show, especially since most of the members weren't all that worried about Augustus Rookwood escaping Azkaban prison. Of course, this was because half the members were marked Death Eaters, supporters at the very least, but that was beside the point.

Nobody had been able to speak freely while in session since the Minister was present but afterwards, those that followed the Dark Lord had gathered together and spoke. It seemed that while it wasn't a proven fact, some claimed that Rookwood had been an animagus back in the day. Nobody was certain what his form was or if that was even how he had escaped, but it seemed plausible to both Sirius and Lucius.

It was a proven fact that most animaguses couldn't transform without their wands. Sirius could, mostly because he had learned at an extremely young age to become an animagus. Minerva was capable, as had James been able to. Peter had never mastered the ability. Sirius wasn't sure if Rookwood was capable but it seemed plausible. What worried him was what the guards had reported before he had escaped.

It seemed that the week before Rookwood had escaped, he had clearly been heard muttering, while asleep and awake, about going to Hogwarts to find Harry and kill him. The guards hadn't been worried at the time since the wizard prison was supposed to be inescapable but now that he had accomplished it, they were worried for their savior. Sirius didn't blame them; he was worried more than anyone else in the world.

Sirius knew that neither he nor Lucius had anything to worry about from Rookwood; if he did seek out Lucius, he would vouch for Sirius and all would be well. Lucius still carried a lot of clout within the Dark Lord's circles and he would easily be believed, especially since everyone knew how good of friends the two men were these days. The fact Severus was also friends with him was just another added protection; besides, his blood was working for him. Everyone knew that Blacks were dark by nature and even though Sirius had staunchly followed the light, he was no different. He had always been darker than all his friends and he tended to see the darker side to just about anything. He hated the cop out of it being in his DNA but facts were facts.

Now, Sirius dreaded finding his daughter to tell her that it wasn't himself or their family that she needed to worry about, but the boy that should have been her brother, the boy that had mean and terrible to her from the start. Sure, he had been better since the beginning of her second year but there was no erasing the fact that he had hurt her more than once. Hermione had always been especially tender-hearted and it would take moving mountains for her to trust him again. Sirius didn't blame her; he had taught her from the very start to never stay friends with people that didn't wish you well. It had panned out well for her until Harry.

Sirius found himself in a quandary when it came to his godson and his daughter. She wanted to help protect him and keep him safe until he was able to do it himself but that didn't mean that she wanted to be his friend any longer. She had made quite clear last summer that she was done trying to be his friend and she would do what needed to be done and nothing more. He had applauded her at the time but now that he considered what was going to happen when Harry finally realized the truth, he was torn.

On one hand, he loved his daughter more than life itself. He would literally die for her. While he knew that he loved her and that she loved him too, she was also aware that she had only been adopted to save him from going to prison so he could care for Harry. While she hadn't understood that when she was younger, he knew that she did now. She hadn't brought it up to him yet but he knew without a doubt that some day soon she would. Even more recently, since her petrification in fact, he realized that as a parent, he had failed. Rather than protect his daughter, he had asked her to put herself in danger to protect his godson, something that was completely horrible when he thought about it now. Now, she was so used to doing so that she had outright refused to stop doing it.

On the other hand, his love for his godson was absolute. Truthfully, he wasn't sure how his godson was able to be so terrible to his daughter when she was such a wonderful person, when she had gone out of her way to be so nice to him. It hurt him to know that Harry had been mean to Hermione, especially when she had done nothing but do as Sirius asked her to. When Harry finally learned the truth and wanted to a part of his life, he really wasn't sure how Hermione would take it. Loyalty was everything to her and she would surely view him taking Harry in after everything he had said and done to her as a betrayal. While he hoped that he would be surprised, he really wasn't holding his breath on it. After all, Hermione was a teenaged girl and they were known to be volatile at times.

However, until the truth did come out, it was all a moot point. Harry and Hermione weren't friends, in fact, he was quite sure that something had occurred between them at the end of the year, something that he wasn't made aware of. She refused to speak of him unless she was asked directly about him and Draco wasn't much better. Neither one said anything but that meant nothing. The two cousins were thick as thieves and likely would be for the rest of their lives. He was under no illusion that Draco wasn't her absolute favorite person in the world. It was quite clear that Draco reciprocated her feelings.

Sirius and Lucius strode through Black Moor, doing his best to find Hermione and Draco. Since Draco had been so embarrassed about doing the photo album, he had begged off any plans with his friends which meant that he was guaranteed to be with Hermione no matter what she was doing. It warmed his heart to see the two of them as close as they were; he had known that Draco had been lost while she had been petrified. He finally gave up on searching and called on his personal elf.

"Candy." The small elf appeared before him, a smirk on her face. Lucius rolled his eyes at the sight. He still swore that Sirius allowed his elves more liberty than they needed.

"Candy, please tell me where my daughter and young cousin are. I don't have the time it takes to search for them." Candy snickered into her hand and for a moment it looked as though she was going to refuse his request. She had been known to do that when he was being especially lazy.

"Young miss and Master Dracos is in the gym together, practicing with theys wands." Sirius nodded at the elf.

"Thank you, Candy. We'll make our way there momentarily." The elf nodded and disappeared with a snap of her fingers. Lucius chuckled.

"I didn't think the little beast was going to tell you. I was going to laugh too." Sirius glared at him as they continued towards the dueling area.

"Shut it, you bastard. My elf minds when she knows I need her to." Lucius laughed openly at him now.

"Not true. You needed a hangover potion just a month ago and she refused to fetch it for you. You whined about it for a bloody week." Sirius couldn't help but grumble under his breath as they finally entered the gym. Hermione and Draco were both facing each other, Narcissa watching from the sidelines and cheering Hermione on.

"Come on, Hermione, finish him off!" Sirius got to watch his daughter crow in happiness when she finally cast the disarming spell on her cousin and watched his wand fly through to the air to land in her outstretched hand. She was doing a little victory dance while Draco glared at her.

"You were cheating, that last move wasn't legal. I want a rematch." Sirius and Lucius were both laughing now since it had been Draco winning for months. Lucius spoke before Sirius had regained his breath.

"Now, Draco, don't be a poor loser. Your cousin has been losing to you since last summer and she has borne it well. Give her her dues in this case and admit that she beat you fair and square." Hermione laughed as she rushed forward to hug her uncle.

"Actually, Uncle Luci, I did cheat. However, life isn't fair and I decided that I would be no sort of Slytherin if I wasn't at least capable of cheating if I had to." Sirius couldn't help but laugh harder now, Lucius joining him. Finally, his friend calmed himself and spoke.

"She has a point, Draco. She still gets the win, especially since she always plays fair and never wins. Don't be a sore loser." Draco huffed and nodded before holding out his hand. Hermione laughed once more and slapped his wand back into his hand.

"Sorry, Drake, I just wanted to feel what winning was like just once." He pulled her into a hug before he tugged on her curl hard. She yelped in indignation as she shoved him away.

"Don't get used to it, you know I'm always going to be better than you." Hermione reached out and pinched his side. Now Draco yelped and started for his cousin again. Rather than watch them go after each other, a past time that afforded him much entertainment in years past, he held up his hands.

"We wanted to update everyone on the breakout." Everyone fell silent and paid them full attention. Sirius hated to put this on the children, Hermione particularly, but there was nothing else that he could do. They needed to be notified so they would stay as safe as Hogwarts as possible.

"Augustus Rookwood is the Death Eater that escaped. While nobody can prove it, its possible that escaped in an animagus form. Nobody could think of any other way it would be possible. If he is an animagus, nobody knows what his form is. Basically, it means that there is nothing certain about how he escaped or what form he would be in." Sirius sighed and raked a hand through his unruly curls.

"He was also heard in the week leading up to his escape by the guards talking about going to Hogwarts and killing Harry. We aren't sure that it's even possible considering the precautions they're putting in place but I'm a strong believer that anything is possible with enough determination." Hermione's eyes narrowed.

"What precautions?" Sirius sighed but it was Lucius that answered.

"The Ministry is insisted on placing dementors at the school entrances so they can keep Rookwood out. They're hoping to keep their savior safe but we're not sure that it's going to work. If he was able to escape past the dementors, he could just do it again." Hermione had a stricken look on her face and Draco wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.

"We're not going to let them near Harry, Miney, Rookwood either. We're going to keep him safe." Sirius sighed. As much as he appreciated their sentiment, he didn't want either one of them getting hurt trying to protect Harry. As much as he loved Harry, both Hermione and Draco were parts of his family and he loved them both dearly.

"You're going to do no such thing. I don't want either of you trying to protect Harry this year. It's too dangerous and the last thing I want is for the two of you to get hurt." Hermione turned her glare to him.

"Then teach us the patronus charm, I've read all about it. It can save you against dementors. We could even help protect Harry if he got caught up with them." While Sirius didn't want to think about his daughter and little cousin going up against dementors, he had to admit that it would almost be foolish to not prepare them to meet a dementor just in case.

"I don't want you to do anything with dementors, they're horrible beings and will not hesitate to suck out your souls. Especially you, Hermione, since you have true horrors in your life. Even though you don't remember it, you did watch your mother be murdered." Hermione's eyes teared up, much as they always did when her mother's death was brought up. Lucius' expression went blank and Narcissa sniffed in the background. After she had control of herself, Hermione looked more determined than ever.

"That just means that I have more of a reason to learn how to defend myself against them. I have to keep them away from me." Sirius raked a hand through his hair and sighed. The patronus charm was ridiculously advanced and only extremely strong wizards that weren't dark of nature could cast them. In fact, Severus was the only one he knew of that was Marked that could actually cast one. Lucius had only managed one in the last year and that was with private tuition with Sirius himself. However, he knew that he was going to capitulate when he considered what the other option was and there was no way in hell that having his daughter's soul sucked out was an option.

"Fine, we'll work on teaching you the patronus charm but I can't guarantee that it will be possible. There aren't many people that can accomplish it. Narcissa still can't and Lucius has only been capable for a year or so. If you can't do it, don't get discouraged, especially since you're only third years." Hermione beamed at him and threw herself into his arms. Sirius was never one to turn down a hug from his daughter so he kissed the top of her head and smiled.

"We'll start your training tomorrow. I think someone was going to inform Dumbledore of the new development so he could tell Harry. I hope that it's enough to keep him safe until school starts." Hermione nodded into his chest but didn't release him. When she did, finally, she beamed up at him with a smile.

"I'm so excited to learn how to do the patronus charm. It's going to be great, you'll see." Draco laughed in the background and she scowled in his direction.

"Shut it or I'll tell Pansy you want to snog her." Draco sneered in her direction.

"I do not, take it back. I can't hardly stand her." Hermione laughed and floated from his arms to her cousin's.

"Thank Merlin for small favors. I'll keep my mouth shut as long as you promise to never marry the girl." Draco hugged her tight and lifted her in the air.

"I promise." Sirius and Lucius laughed at their children.

This was why they looked forward to the summers after all.

-O-

Harry was ready for school to start. He was so sick of being at the Dursleys that it wasn't even funny. Not that he found it funny; in fact, he found it quite the opposite.

Even though it was horrid being a slave to the Dursleys, life had been better if only for Dobby's presence. While the elf couldn't help him with his daily tasks, he was able to sneak back to Hogwarts and get him extra food. The elf has assured him that Dumbledore had told him at the end of the year that it would be permitted. Harry wasn't sure what to think of this; it was clear that the Headmaster knew that Harry's relatives starved him otherwise he wouldn't have told Dobby that taking food from Hogwarts was permissible.

Harry wasn't quite sure what to think of this. He didn't think that the Headmaster of a school would be alright with a student being starved by their guardians. However, he wasn't sure how the magical world worked in comparison to the muggle one. There were things that were important in the magical world that wasn't in the muggle and vice versa. Therefore, he didn't make a big deal out of the fact that Dumbledore was basically alright with him being mistreated.

Even though Harry felt a little sick at the fact that Dumbledore was alright with this, he knew that it wasn't his fault. There were probably limitations as to what the Headmaster of a magical school could do in the muggle world; Harry could see terrible things happening if the Headmaster wanted to steal the child away from their muggle parents. It wouldn't be right and leaving them with no power whatsoever would be understandable in that instance.

Even though Harry was still treated as little more than a servant, life was better. Dobby got him extra food when the Dursleys felt that he deserved punishment, which was every night incidentally, and Harry was no worse for the wear. He had only been beaten twice since he had returned home, once when he let dinner burn and the other when he spoke in front of company. Both seemed ridiculous to Harry but the Dursleys felt that it was a capital offence. There had been only bruises both times an no welts or open wounds to deal with like there usually was.

Ron had written several times since the end of the year and told him that his family had won some sort of raffle and would be travelling to visit their brother Bill in Egypt. While Harry was horribly jealous, he was also thrilled that Ron would get to go somewhere exciting for his summer holidays. The Weasleys didn't have much money so this was a once in a lifetime chance for them. Ron had reported that he was having a grand time exploring mummies' tombs and such.

Harry couldn't help but let his thoughts drift at night to Hermione Black. He never could get her face out of his mind when he had fired off at her that she was no better because she had almost killed Lavender. Even though he could admit that he was right, he still felt terrible for throwing that in her face like that. It had been cruel, especially since she had only been hitting him because she had been petrified and worried to death that her cousin could have been killed. After witnessing hers and Malfoy's Christmas together, he couldn't blame her for worrying and being anxious. He could only hope that she would forgive and forget in the upcoming school year.

Harry still dreamt of her at night. He couldn't help but to wrap his fist around his ever-growing cock and wank off to the sight of her from so long ago in only her knickers. Her small breasts that were blossoming as they spoke teased him in his dreams and even though he did his best to ignore the thoughts of her, the fact remained that the thoughts just wouldn't leave him. It was heaven and hell at the same time.

Harry lay in his bed and thought about the upcoming year. They were going to be in their third year, almost halfway through their Hogwarts career. He really wished he knew that Hermione would choose the right side in the end. If he knew that she would end up on the light side he would be the first one lined up to ask her out despite the warnings about her father. He was past thinking that he could ignore her just because of her father's betrayal.

However, there was no way that he could have anything to do with her if she wasn't willing to renounce her father in every way. He wouldn't have anything to do with his parents' killer, if only inadvertently. He had just decided to roll over and wank himself off so he could sleep when there was a tapping on the window. Since Hedwig was in her cage, he couldn't imagine who was writing him since Ron had just sent him a letter back with Hedwig that morning. He stood and went to the window so he could retrieve the letter from the unknown owl. Once it was in his hand, he ripped it open to read.

 _Harry,_

 _I know that I've never sent you a letter at home but I felt the occasion called for it. There was an emergency Wizengamot meeting today and it was discovered that a Death Eater escaped from the wizarding prison, Azkaban. They aren't sure how it happened but the one thing that everyone agreed on was that he would likely come for you._

 _Since Augustus Rookwood is wizarding world criminal, there is no way that the muggle world will be notified. They think he may be able to turn himself into an animal so be wary of any animal that you see that you don't recognize. I know that magic outside of school is prohibited but if it's an emergency, don't hesitate. If this happens and you're forced to use magic, send your owl to me as soon as possible and I'll do what I can to take care of the situation._

 _Yours,_

 _Albus Dumbledore_

Harry wasn't quite sure what to think after reading the letter from the Headmaster. An escaped prisoner out to get him? Why would that even be? Was it what Ron would call a Death Eater? He hated that none of his questions were being answered but he hoped that once he returned to his true home, to Hogwarts, that all his questions would be answered. It was only fair, however, that if he was at the center of things that he know exactly what was going on with the situation. He couldn't help but worry that this wouldn't be the case.

With a sigh, Harry rolled over and forgot about wanking his willy. There were obviously more important things in life than thinking about girls and a need for revenge. Dobby, after popping in one last time to make sure that he didn't need anything, popped away and left Harry to the darkness.

It was going to be a long night.

A/N- And she's done, folks, thank God. It seemed like this chapter took ages! Anyways, I hope that you all enjoyed it and stick with me yet another chapter. Leave me your thoughts after this chapter and let me know what you think. Reviews make me smile.

Next chapter, Harry blows up his aunt and a birthday party. Yay.

Love,

Alicia


	44. Chapter 44

A/N- Hello all, sorry it's been awhile since I last updated. I really have no good reason except that I got caught up in a story that you should all read. I'm still not done with the second of the series but I was feeling guilty for leaving you all hanging. The stories are on fanficauthors. Net by Bobmin, Sunset over Britain and Sunrise over Britain. Holy hell, y'all hang on for the ride. You won't be able to stop reading. Puts my story to shame! Anyways, enough for now, I'll get started so you guys can get reading.

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing since everything about this story belongs to someone else. J.K.R. and others deserve the credit that goes to this story. I haven't made any money off the stories either.

Chapter 44

August 1, 1993

Hermione let out a whoop of joy at the silvery animal that had poured from her wand. The fox sniffed the ground delicately before scampering across the ground, tail bushy and held high. Draco was grinning fit to burst at her and her father was cheering her on. Even Uncle Sev had a grin on his face. Uncle Luci and Aunt Cissy were the only ones to miss it.

She and Draco had been practicing the patronus charm for an entire month now. It had been frustrating that she couldn't accomplish it the first few times like every other spell she tried but after seeing the little fox leap from the end of her wand, it was well worth the wait. Draco hadn't produced an animal yet but it wouldn't be long for him either. His silver mist was getting stronger by the day.

Her father and Uncle Sev had been coaching them relentlessly. Uncle Luci had only recently produced his own patronus so he didn't have much to do with helping teach them this particular charm. Aunt Cissy had no idea how to do so but she enjoyed watching them practice. Her father's patronus was the same as his animagus form, a large black dog. It looked exactly like a grim but Hermione knew better. There was nothing about her father that was dark and foreboding. Well, nothing much.

Uncle Sev's patronus was a doe and Hermione was the first to admit that it was beautiful. She had asked to see it repeatedly, loving how it looked so dainty. Draco had finally pointed out to her that every time he cast it, their uncle looked sad so eventually she quit asking. The last thing she wanted was to make her godfather sad. Uncle Luci was proud to show off his patronus knowing that it took the form that fit him best. His stallion was large and held his head high, pride emanating from its silvery body. Hermione loved it as well and rather than look sad when she asked him to cast it over and over, he was thrilled.

Draco hugged her after her little fox disappeared. She could tell that even though he was disappointed that he had yet to produce one, he was proud of her that she had finally managed it. Her father and godfather were clearly proud of her and to be truthful, Hermione was proud of herself. She had worked long and hard to see the little fox appear before her and now that she had accomplished it, she couldn't wait to see Draco's spectral animal.

"Amazing job, poppet! You did wonderfully and in such a short time too." Hermione snorted as she allowed her father to hug her close.

"That seemed like it took ages to master. Short time my foot." Uncle Sev chuckled at her words.

"Most wizards can't accomplish that when they're fully grown. You accomplished it in a month at the age of thirteen. That's pretty amazing if you ask me. Draco isn't far behind you either." Hermione felt her cheeks color slightly.

"I suppose you're right." Her father pressed a kiss to the top of her head before swatting her backside lightly.

"You've accomplished it. Now get upstairs and get cleaned up. Your party starts in an hour and your aunt will have both our hides if you aren't looking absolutely perfect for it." Hermione groaned at his words but nodded her head anyways. Draco laughed at her so she stuck her tongue out at him.

"What are you laughing at? You have to look just as perfect as I do. It's your party too." Draco scowled at her words but didn't say anything. Instead he laughed at her as they headed for the stairs that would take them to their rooms.

"You have to hang out with all the girls and talk about fashion. I get to talk about quidditch." Hermione cast a stinging hex that caught her cousin in the backside. He yelped and rubbed his bum while he glared at her.

"What the bloody hell was that for?" Hermione smirked at him.

"That's what happens to braggarts." Draco continued to glare but she didn't have to endure it long since he reached his room. After he disappeared behind the closed door, Hermione entered her own room. Her party clothes were laying out on the bed, Aunt Cissy had picked them out for her earlier. She wasted no time in stripping off her clothing and making her way into her enormous bathroom.

After jumping into the shower, Hermione was quick to wash off and make sure that her legs were soft and smooth. She had just recently learned the charm to remove her leg hair and she had to admit that they felt better after using it. Her aunt had told her that it was a sign that she was a young woman but she didn't like to think about that. Her aunt had gone out of her way that summer to explain certain things to Hermione; not about her cycle and such, Hermione had already experienced that.

Aunt Cissy had told her all the things that she would need to know when she got old enough to be courted. It was no secret that Hermione was a princess in the pureblood world, that not only was she beautiful, she was brilliant to boot. Aunt Cissy assured her that every eligible young man would want to have their chance with her. Even though it was the last thing she wanted to talk about, she had humored her aunt. They went over courting rituals and the way young women were supposed to act. It all seemed rather over done and fake to Hermione but there wasn't much she could do about it.

It was true, the boys did stop and take notice of her more now. Her breasts had grown bigger, this was evidenced in the fact that she needed new lingerie again. When she had been fitted for her summer wardrobe, Agatha Tatting had told her that her waist measurement was slimming while her hips were starting to flare slightly. Hermione wasn't sure what all this meant but her Aunt Cissy had assured her that it just meant that she was growing into a woman's body. It would be several years yet before she was done growing but the boys were going to stop and take notice until then. Hermione had groaned at the time; the last thing she wanted was more attention.

In truth, there were no pureblood boys that interested her. Her father had assured her that he didn't care if she ended up with a pureblood or a muggleborn. While she thought that her aunt and uncle might care just a little, if she fell in love with a muggle, they would eventually accept it. She had no plans to fall in love with a muggle, especially since she had never met one before, but it was nice to know that if it ever happened she wouldn't lose her family because of it. The same couldn't be said for the female friends she had within the pureblood circle.

The only boy she had caught herself thinking was handsome was Harry. She wasn't sure if that constituted as a crush since she didn't want to be friends with him at all but the fact remained that he was the only boy that occupied her thoughts at any time aside from Draco. While she loved Neville and the twins, none of them plagued her thoughts or caused her to worry for them. Draco would probably have a fit if he knew but she didn't plan on him ever knowing, especially since Harry wanted nothing to do with her anyways. No sense in starting an argument when the reason was likely to never happen.

Hermione toweled off and dried her hair with her wand. She wrapped up in her robe and went back out into her robe to sit in front of her vanity. Once her hair was dried, she called for her personal elf Sipsy. The elf had taken care of her since her father had picked her up from St. Mungo's when she was only two years old and it was likely that she would take care of Hermione and her children throughout the rest of her life. Sipsy adored her and Hermione could admit that the feeling was mutual.

Sipsy appeared and styled Hermione's hair. Rather than wear it down like she always did, Sipsy did it in an elegant updo that she had learned when Hermione first started appearing in front of others. After her hair was done and had the appropriate charms cast on it to keep it in place, the diminutive elf did her makeup next. Not makeup in a muggle sense but cast charms on her face that made her appear just a little more grown up. Her father would have never let her be seen with the same makeup as a full-grown woman. Aunt Cissy had instructed the elf a couple years ago on what was appropriate and what wasn't.

Once her makeup was completed, Sipsy held up her dress robes and Hermione slipped them on. They were a beautiful icy blue color that matched her eyes perfectly. Aunt Cissy seemed to pick out a lot of clothes for her in this color since she was a huge fan of showcasing the fact that Hermione was also a Malfoy. She was proud of her Black heritage, Aunt Cissy was as well, but Hermione liked that she still carried one of her mother's traits with her all the time. Nobody could deny that she was a Black through and through.

Just as Sipsy appeared out of her massive closet holding her shoes in hand, Draco knocked for a moment and then breezed through her door. He looked very debonair in his all black robes with his hair slicked back. While her aunt approved of his hair this way, Hermione hated it. It looked too fake and she didn't like that he looked unapproachable.

"I hate your hair like that, Drake. Why do you keep doing it?" He rolled his eyes at her.

"You keep saying that but you never tell me why." Hermione felt a faint blush on her cheeks.

"It just makes you look unapproachable, like I couldn't come up and give you a hug whenever I wanted to. It's like you look like nobody can touch you." He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her.

"You can always hug me, no matter how I look. My hair has nothing to do with that. Besides, Daphne told me that my hair looks quite dashing like this." Hermione grinned at him.

"Do you have a crush on Daphne now instead of Pansy?" His cheeks colored slightly.

"No, I never said that." Hermione pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before turning to look at herself in the mirror.

"I would feel much better about your liking Daphne than if you liked Pansy." He looked dumbfounded.

"Really?" Hermione nodded as she turned to make sure that the robes were laying right in the back.

"I really like Daphne and even though she likes fashion and those kind of things as well, she isn't afraid to be smart too. Pansy is just out to marry you while I think Daphne would turn you down if she really didn't like you." Draco gave her a contemplative look.

"Well, we're only going to be in third year so it won't matter. I just think she's pretty is all." Hermione smirked his way, knowing that this was just a cop-out.

"It's fine, Drake, I was just saying." He rolled his eyes at her inspection and held out his arm for her.

"You look stunning, Miney. Let's head down there, Dot said that we already had guests arriving." Hermione got a startled look on her face before she turned and took his arm.

They left her room and descended the stairs looking like a proper couple. Her father, Uncle Sev, and Uncle Luci and Aunt Cissy were at the door, greeting the guests that arrived. Since they were now young teens, they could have parties by themselves, but it was still closely chaperoned by the parents of the children. Therefore, the adults greeted the adults while Draco and Hermione were responsible for greeting their friends.

Hermione lost track of how many people she had welcomed into her home. Since their party had been held at Malfoy Manor the year before, it was held at Black Moor this year. All their Slytherin friends were there, as well as most of the upper years as well. Purebloods from the other houses at school had been invited and Hermione had to say that most of them had come. It would have been considered rude to ignore an invitation from the Black and Malfoy families. Neville was one of the last to arrive, looking quite dashing in his dress robes. His grandmother was exchanging greetings with her aunt and he flashed them a smile. After he greeted them properly, he held out an envelope.

"It's from Fred and George. They sent this to me and asked me to give it to you." Hermione frowned. She had to admit that she was surprised to not see them there since she had been sure to send them an invite but she figured that something had come up. Without a second thought, Hermione ripped the envelope open and read the note within silently before handing it to Draco.

 _Hermione and Draco,_

 _We really wanted to come to your party but we just weren't able. Our mother told us that you were too proper for us and that we would never fit in at one of your parties. We assured her that we got along with you and most of the Slytherins as well but she refused to let us come. We're really sorry we couldn't make it and we hope that you don't hold it against us. We really think that she didn't want to have to listen to Ronnikins whine that he wasn't invited but we have no proof._

 _I hope you don't mind us having Neville give this to you rather than send it to you directly. We were afraid that our mum wouldn't let us send it to you if she had known that's who it was going to. Once again, we're sorry and hope you like the enclosed presents._

 _Fred and George_

Hermione frowned at what the letter meant. Ron Weasley had ruined the chances of the twins coming to their party. While she knew that life wasn't fair in the least, it still made her feel bad that they weren't allowed to come because their little brother would whine that he wasn't invited. Little did he know that if he hadn't been such a prat to her at the beginning of first year, she would have invited him too. Draco wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed the side of her head.

"Leave it to the redheaded prat to ruin everyone else's plans. It's complete and utter tripe that they aren't allowed to come because of him. Everyone else thinks it's wonderful to be invited." Hermione rolled her eyes at them.

"Don't be so stuck-up. Just because they received an invitation doesn't mean that it's the best thing to ever happen to them." Draco snorted but didn't anything else. After all their guests disappeared into the parlor, Hermione sent her father and the rest of her family a smile before following them in.

It was going to be an interesting party, that much was for sure.

-O-

Harry hated his Aunt Marge. He had hated her for as long as he could remember. She always let her dogs attack him and chase him whenever they pleased. His aunt and uncle never said anything and Dudley always pointed and laughed at him. The last thing he wanted to do was deal with her when she came to visit.

However, there was nothing that he could do about it. As his uncle's sister, she came to visit three times a year. Christmas and spring break, he was able to pass on but during the summer there was no escaping her and her devil dogs. He was certain that nobody thought that bull dogs were cute and adorable but her. Even Uncle Vernon only tolerated them.

She had just arrived a few hours earlier, two of her dogs in tow. Harry had been sent to his room so he wouldn't annoy her and he couldn't have been happier. He would much rather study his hidden magical texts than deal with his horrible Aunt Marge. Dobby was always there as well and while he was most assuredly an excitable fellow, he was better company than the rest of his family.

Harry could say that this summer had been better than one's past. He wasn't starving, he had gained weight. His Aunt Petunia had accused him of stealing food but since he was locked in his room every single night, there was no way that they could prove that he was stealing food from them. In fact, the extra food he had been eating had come from Hogwarts. Dobby made the trip three times a day and always had cheer to spread when he returned.

Hagrid sent his well-wishes, as did Professor McGonagall. He also brought Harry his extra school work assignments and the books that he needed to complete them. It wasn't the perfect set up but he supposed that it worked. It was better than not getting to do them at all. He had had a brief meeting with Professor McGonagall at the end of the year and she had determined that he was halfway through his third year when it came to his studies. He hoped to be at the fourth-year level by the end of the summer. Eventually, he hoped to be caught up to Hermione Black and Malfoy.

Just as he finished his latest Transfiguration assignment, he heard his aunt calling him down to help serve dinner. Harry sighed and laid aside his charms work. He couldn't wait until he returned to Hogwarts so he could practice the practical side of his assignments. He tromped down the stairs and made his way to the kitchen to see that the rest of the family was seated at the table. The food was waiting on the stove for him to serve it to them like he was their fucking servant.

Knowing what they wanted without even asking, Harry served the main dish first. He made his way around the table and served a portion to all of them, overly large ones to everyone aside from his Aunt Petunia. He figured that she must eat as little as possible so she could weigh so little since the rest of her family weighed so much. Harry knew that the other kids made fun of Dudley for being fat but Harry didn't feel bad for him. Not only did Dudley get his revenge, all the kids in school feared him.

Harry remained silent as he served the meal to his family followed by dessert. No mention was made of saving Harry any of the meal that he had cooked but that was par for the course. He was only allowed a small amount when Aunt Marge wasn't around; when she was visiting, he was allowed none. Therefore, he served them without any words and without complaint. No matter what he said, it would get him nowhere, he had learned that by the age of six. It was during dessert, he had served them triple fudge cake, that everything went to complete shite.

"It's just as well you sent him to a school for criminals. He isn't worth much more. Not that you can blame him, it falls to bad breeding for that. I mean no offence, Petunia, but if there's something wrong with the bitch, there's something wrong with the pup. Bad blood will out, I always say." Harry threw the towel down that he had been drying the dishes with. He stalked back into dining room to see Aunt Marge smirking at him.

"You have a problem with my opinion of you, boy?" Harry glared at her and even though he could see that his aunt and uncle were glaring at him, urging him to keep his mouth shut, he couldn't.

"I couldn't give a shite less about what you think of me. My mother had good blood, the best blood. My father too. You wouldn't know since you're just a muggle. My world thinks they're heroes." Confusion crossed her features but only for a second.

"You can believe what you want, boy, that doesn't mean you're right. The facts are that my brother and his wife took you in after your parents were complete failures at life and killed themselves in a drunk driving accident. They took you in out of the kindness of their heart while they should have let you rot in an orphanage. It's no more than you deserve." Harry whipped his wand out and pointed it in her face. While the rest of his family tensed up and looked fearful, Aunt Marge just laughed in his face.

"What are you going to do with that, spank me with it?" Harry whispered the swelling spell and he smirked at her when she realized exactly what was wrong.

"What the fuck did you just do to me?" Harry was laughing at her now, completely uncaring that he was going to get in trouble for not only using underage magic but casting it in front of a muggle.

"You see, your brother lied to you. I'm not a criminal, I'm a wizard. I go to a school for wizards where I learn magic. My parents were murdered by the most evil wizard in ages when they tried to protect me from him. My parents were better people than you could ever dream of being, that much is fact. Trust me, I wish your brother had let me go to the orphanage. At least there I would have been around people that were kind." Aunt Marge's eyes bulged out as the buttons on her blouse were straining.

"That isn't true, Vernon, tell me it isn't true." Uncle Vernon looked livid but saw no way out of telling the truth since she was swelling before his eyes.

"It's true, Marge, he's a freak and can do magic. Don't worry, we're going to get help." This wasn't possible, however, since Aunt Marge had swollen to the size of a cow by now. Since she was filling with air, she seemed to float as well. She had just popped out of the balcony window when his Aunt Petunia scowled at him.

"You just had to make things worse, didn't you, you little cretin?" Harry grinned her way.

"Absolutely. That bitch can die for all I care." Even though it was a harsh and horrible thing to say, Harry found that he couldn't dispute the truth of it. He didn't care if Aunt Marge died, probably if the rest of his family died either. He knew that he was about to be expelled from Hogwarts since he had performed underage magic in front of a muggle so there was no time to waste.

Harry rushed up the stairs and yelled for Dobby. When the elf appeared before him, he ordered him to gather all his belongings and pack them away in his trunk. This took only a few minutes for the elf since he was able to use elf magic to do so. Harry was in the process of pulling his trunk down the stairs when his Uncle Vernon appeared at the bottom, his face purple with rage.

"You bring her back, bring her back or I'll beat you so badly you won't be able to return to school at the end of the month." Harry brought his wand up and shoved it into the fleshy jowls of his uncle. His expression was hard as he faced down his abuser.

"I won't bring her back, in fact, I hope she floats away for forever. She deserves all she's gotten." His uncle was starting to sputter but Harry pressed the wand into his throat harder.

"I'm leaving and there's nothing you can do to stop me." His uncle backed away, his hands up in the air. Harry passed him but not before he was caught in the back of the head with one last cuff of his uncle's fist. Harry couldn't keep back the release of accidental magic. After he felt the magic leave his body, he turned to see what had happened and was stunned to see his uncle on the floor behind him. He didn't even stop to make sure that he was still breathing before he continued down the stairs and out of the house.

Harry couldn't have said how long he walked before he finally sat down on the sidewalk just outside of a local park. There were howls all around him but there were no dogs in sight except for a feral looking yellow lab. While Harry couldn't say that he feared the beast, it unnerved him and when it pushed off away from where he was waiting, he couldn't have been happier.

Harry reached his wand hand out and rubbed his scar; while it wasn't aching, it didn't feel good. He was sure that the headache he now had was directly from the altercation with his family. It would have served him right, especially since he was probably expelled from school now. To his great surprise, a massive bus in the shade of bright purple sped towards him and came to a screeching halt in front of him. The doors opened and Harry could see that a mutant of some sort was driving. A young man stepped out and gestured for him to climb aboard.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus. We travel anywhere you need us to and in a timely manner." Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. He warily climbed aboard, his eyes never leaving the conductor. Once he was on board and seated, the pimply young man turned his way.

"You're Harry Potter, you are. We'll drop you off wherever you be needing to go." Harry nodded and even though he hated capitalizing on his name, he was grateful.

"I'd like to go to the Leaky Cauldron. That's in London." Stan, the man who had introduced himself to Harry laughed.

"Harry Potter wants to go to the Leaky Cauldron. That's in London." The driver laughed wholeheartedly.

"Leaky Cauldron, here we come."

Harry wasn't prepared for the burst of speed from the Knight Bus. They were speeding through traffic, even though Harry wasn't sure how it worked since they were in muggle London. It took several minutes for Harry to realize that they muggles couldn't see them and that he was perfectly safe to converse with the other passengers. He turned to the old woman next to him and tried to make conversation.

"It's a lovely night, don't you think so?" The old woman sneered his way and glared.

"It's the furthest thing from a lovely night because you can't keep your trap shut. Move on and leave the rest of us alone." Since he realized that the woman was actually meaning him, he nodded and turned away from her.

The ride continued in silence, though it was only ten minutes or so long. When the Knight Bus came to as stop, Harry stood and began to grapple at his trunk. Once he had manhandled it to the front, he stepped off the bus to find that there was a hunched over man waiting on him.

"Harry Potter, bless my soul, staying in my pub." Harry had no idea who the man was but figured that he owned the Leaky Cauldron. He only recalled seeing him in passing last year and the year before as they passed through the Cauldron. He nodded his head and tried to placate the bar keep.

"I may be a hero but I don't require special treatment. I just want a room to stay in until school starts, that is, unless I'm expelled from school." The hunched-over man, who identified himself as Tom, nodded.

"After I figure out where I'm staying, I'll be around to pay you for my stay." The barkeep nodded at him but Harry got the sense that he would never accept payment. It was so frustrating since he didn't want to make any assumptions on someone else's account.

Harry traversed the stairs and found his room on the top floor. Once he was safely inside, Dobby appeared before him and started to put his belongings away. Harry sighed and flopped down on the bed.

"What the fuck am I going to do, Dobby? Surely by now I've been expelled." There was a knock at the door that surprised the hell out of him. After he rose to answer it, he was surprised to find the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge. He grinned at Harry and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Harry, my boy, nice to finally meet you. How has your summer been thus far?" Harry gave him an incredulous look before answering.

"Horrid, sir. Muggles hate magic and it makes no sense to send those that live in the magic world back their magic-hating relatives." The Minister nodded but didn't seem too caught up in the idea.

"Very good, Harry, very good. I'm going to send someone to fix the spell where you blew up your aunt. I'm sure you're very sorry but this can't stand. You must repent and see the wrong turned right. Therefore, you'll have to stay here until the Weasleys have returned and you feel a bit guilty." Harry wanted to snort at his words but just barely refrained. After all, he couldn't disrespect the Minster of Magic.

Once Harry had properly sent his elf off to the kitchen, he turned his attention to his surroundings. They were quite nice, if a little plain. Harry didn't care though since it meant that he was away from his family. Dobby appeared next to him and smiled.

"It's much better than before, Harry Potter sir." Harry nodded and grinned.

"Too right you are, Dobby, too right you are."

A/N- That's it, folks, I hope that this has kept ya happy and met your expectations. Let me know what ya think, your thoughts make me smile. Sorry again for making you guys wait so long. Make sure you check those stories out. Anyways, leave me a message after the beep. Reviews are love.

Next chapter, returning to Hogwarts.

Love,

Alicia


	45. Chapter 45

A/N- You guys humble me with me with the love you show for my story. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. This chapter marks the first of third year, the year you've all been waiting for. I'm so excited to write this year, you have no idea. You think it's torture for you guys to have to wait to read it, it's torture for me to have to wait to write it. Anyways, hope you all enjoy.

**Shout out to alicenne15 for being my 1300th reviewer. Thanks a bunch!**

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing about this story except my personal twist on the story line. Even then, I'm quite sure it's been done before. One of these days, I'll publish my own original story. Hopefully. I haven't made any money off this story or any others.

Chapter 45

September 1, 1993

Hermione was torn. She was saddened to be leaving her father and her aunt and uncle but she was also thrilled to be returning to Hogwarts. Last year had been a complete wash with being petrified and this year was going to be better, this year she was going to do all her schoolwork no matter how boring it was and she wouldn't complain a bit since she knew all too well what it felt like to not do it. It was true that if had been material she didn't know already, it would have been completely horrid rather than just terrible.

They were standing on Platform 9 ¾ and saying their goodbyes. Draco was being pulled into Aunt Cissy's arms and fawned over, an exasperated look on his face. Uncle Luci was smirking at his son and the sour look on his face while her father openly laughed. Draco turned to glare at him so Hermione made sure to hide the small smile she couldn't hold back behind her hand. After Aunt Cissy had embarrassed Draco enough and let him move on to his father, Hermione stepped forward into the embrace of her aunt's arms.

"Promise me you'll be good this year, Hermione. Tell me that you're going to be safe and leave protecting the Potter boy to Severus." Hermione chuckled at her but hugged her back fiercely.

"I promise to be good and I promise to be as safe as I can be. I'm going to continue protecting Harry though. I can't just stop." Draco sighed next to her before rolling his eyes.

"Don't worry, mother, we'll both stay as safe as possible. I swear, Miney, you should know by now that she'll keep you here for ages if you don't promise her." Hermione chuckled softly while her aunt glared at her son. She stepped back from Aunt Cissy and moved to her uncle. He smiled softly at her before he drew her into his arms. She buried her face in his chest and let him run his fingers through her curls. Her hands wouldn't quite meet behind his back but she hugged him as tightly as she could.

"Promise you'll do well, Princess, that you'll be good and stay out of as much trouble as you can. I realize Potter is a trouble magnet but be smart about it and make sure you get Severus." Hermione laughed at her uncle for his mothering.

"I promise, Uncle Luci, I won't take any unnecessary risks. Uncle Sev will be there, you know he'll be the first to snitch on us if we do something stupid." He laughed and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"Yes, he will, don't forget that if you have any problems whatsoever, you're to go to him. Try to stay away from the Headmaster. He won't be so stupid to get kicked out of the school again." Hermione went on her tip toes and pressed a kiss to her uncle's cheek.

"I know, Uncle Luci, you're getting as bad as an old hen with your worrying. All will be well. We'll be back for Christmas before you know it." He chuckled as he tugged on one of her curls.

"You haven't seen old hen, Princess." She laughed outright before releasing him and moving onto her father. His eyes, however, were trained on a man that was boarding the train. Hermione couldn't see his face but she was surprised. She had never seen an adult ride the Hogwarts Express before. The look on her father's face was one that she couldn't decipher; there was sadness in his eyes but his body language screamed that he was uncomfortable. The other adults followed his gaze and she saw her Uncle Luci tense up. Hermione laid a hand on her father's arm and watched him carefully.

"Are you alright, daddy? You don't look well." Her father watched the man until he had boarded the train before he turned to meet her worried gaze. His hands reached out and cupped her cheeks, making sure that she met his gaze.

"That man was Remus Lupin. If he's boarding the train, he's going to Hogwarts. I'm not sure why but I want you to promise me that you'll be careful around him. I haven't spoken to him since you were two years old when he bid me to never speak to him again for my role in James and Lily's deaths. I don't think that he would hurt you, he just wasn't that kind of person, I do think that he would try to weasel information on me out of you just to try to use against me later. Promise me that you'll be careful around him." Hermione felt her heart clench for her father's pain.

Her father had always spoken fondly of Remus, had told her that they had been the best of friends, as close as brothers. Hermione had always suspected that there had been more between them, that perhaps they had been lovers, but she had never gathered the courage to ask. The fact remained, however, that her father had been deeply hurt by Remus not only for not giving him a chance to explain, but for believing the absolute worst of him. Hermione reached out and tugged her father's long hair until he was bent down far enough to lean his forehead against hers.

"I'll be fine, don't worry about me. I promise to be careful but I want you to take care of yourself. I know what you do while I'm gone to school, Candy tells me everything. Says it's my job to know as the future mistress of our house. Quit drinking so much. It isn't healthy and I don't want to have to bury my father before I even graduate from Hogwarts." It seemed as though her words had come from nowhere but she hadn't seen an opportunity before now. She was still a Slytherin and if her father was going to extract a promise from her, she was going to get one in return. Her father's eyes widened slightly before narrowing.

"You sneaky little snake. I will promise to take better care of myself but you better make good on your promise. I have people that will tell me things too." Hermione released his hair and laughed.

"Daddy, Draco doesn't count. You wouldn't believe him anyways because you would think he was lying for me." Her cousin burst out in laughter and her aunt and uncle's eyes were dancing with mirth. Her father tugged one of her curls as well.

"Alright, you Slytherin, enough duping your old man for being a trusting Gryffindor. Now give me a hug so you don't miss the train." Hermione laughed and wrapped her arms around her father as far as they would go. She inhaled his scent deeply, trying to store it in her mind for the three and a half months that she would be away at school. She went to her tip toes again and kissed his cheek when he released her.

"I love you, daddy. I'll see you at Christmas." He smiled her way and kissed her temple.

"Love you too, sweetness. Get on the train, Draco looks like he's going to have a hippogriff if he has to wait another second." Hermione laughed at Draco rolling his eyes, but he held his hand out to her. She took it and allowed him to pull her away their family, right up to the train.

Draco allowed her to board first, handing her up the stairs like a proper gentleman. Once they were both on board, he offered her his arm and escorted her to their usual compartment. The rest of their friends were already seated inside, laughing at each other and eating sweets. Hermione exchanged pleasantries with the lot of them before pulling a book out of her robes and settling in next to her cousin to read.

The thing was, she felt herself growing further apart from the rest of her friends. Sure, they still talked at school and she did enjoy studying with Daphne but aside from that, they had nothing in common. Pansy was already a socialite in training, she had been bragging about it to her and Daphne the few times that they had met up over the summer. Hermione had congratulated her but didn't think it was near the big deal that Pansy did. Hermione had been started two years before by her Aunt Cissy, the woman had demanded that Hermione know how to act when she became the mistress of the house, especially since her father was staunchly against settling down. She hadn't told anyone because she just didn't deem it that important.

Daphne made over her, congratulated her several times but Hermione could see that she was holding back her amusement at her friend. Draco squeezed her elbow on the sly when he heard Pansy bragging; he knew Hermione was almost finished with the proper training a young lady of good breeding received. He just knew that it didn't mean that much to Hermione since she really didn't see herself as better than anyone else. While it was true that she would use her position if she needed to, it didn't mean that she thought she was better than anyone else, though she supposed that many would agree. It was simply a tool for her.

Hermione had agreed to stay over one night at Daphne's over the summer for her birthday. Pansy, Tracey, and Millie were also invited and while it was nice to get out of the house for a little while, she mostly just wondered when it was going to be time for her to go home. She had accepted long ago that she would likely never fit in with her peers and she was alright with it.

Draco had been the opposite; his summer had been filled with plans with all his friends. He still made time for Hermione, still stayed with her almost every night, but after their lessons he disappeared with his friends to go fly, play quidditch, or just cause trouble. Theo still kept his distance while at Black Moor but Hermione understood that. She never encroached on Draco's time with his friends if Theo was there. She really didn't want it to come down to having to choose between Hermione and Theo.

Hermione read for hours. She finished the book she had started the night before and then started a second one on advanced runes and warding. Since they were going to be third years, they were able to take elective classes now. Hermione and Draco had disagreed just a tiny bit on what to take and it had resulted in them having a different schedule for the first time ever. Since they were both so advanced in Ancient Runes and Arithmancy, they had both agreed that the classes were a must. They both wanted to take Care of Magical Creatures and Divination but Hermione also wanted to take Muggle Studies and Magical Theory. Draco had been incredulous when she told him about Muggle Studies but when she had pulled her wand on him, he had quickly dropped the subject.

Since she was determined to take every elective the school offered, Hermione had been pulled in for a special meeting with Uncle Sev over the summer. The Ministry had agreed to let her use a time turner, not only because of her perfect grades and exam scores but because she was Hermione Black. She had hated that her name had gotten her something that most others wouldn't be allowed but since it was helping her learn all she could for the upcoming war, she considered it a fair trade.

Hermione had been instructed to tell no one. Of course, her godfather knew that she would tell Draco, had even told her later at home that he had expected it. As long as Draco kept his mouth shut, nobody would be the wiser and she could continue with her insane schedule. She simply hoped that she would get to learn something new this year, even if it was only in Divination. It was the only subject that Madam Cambridge refused to teach.

The train lurched, still at least an hour from Hogwarts, stuttered on the tracks several times before coming to a stop. Hermione put her book down after marking the page, leaning over Draco to look out the window and see what was happening. Draco stood and opened the door to the compartment and then stepped out into the corridor. Hermione followed him but the rest of their friends seemed unworried about their unscheduled stop. Suddenly, Hermione felt a chill brush past her, sending goose bumps over her body.

Draco turned when he saw his breath puffing out before him, looking the opposite direction. Hermione was still watching the other students step out into the corridor, some laughing and some sporting worried looks. The glass in the windows started to frost over and Hermione had a bad feeling about what was about to happen. She reached out and grabbed hold of Draco's wrist, her wand sliding from its holster on her arm and into her hand. Draco did the same, his arm wrapping around her waist instinctively.

Hermione was the first one to see them. They were floating above the ground, she could almost see through them they were so hazy. Their hoods were pulled up over their heads and while she thought that she could just barely make out a mouth, she couldn't be sure. However, she knew exactly what they were and what they needed to do. Hermione pushed Draco away from her and she knew that her eyes were wild.

"Go, lock everyone in their compartments. They're dementors!" Draco tried to protest but Hermione didn't let him. She rushed the compartment next to her and shoved the little first year into the compartment. Hermione just caught sight of her smashing into the window before she slammed the door closed and locked it with a permanent locking charm. She caught sight of Draco doing the same but in the other direction.

Once the dementors were spotted, children began hurrying into their compartments on their own. Hermione was doing her best to shoot locking charms at the doors without getting any closer but once the dementors were only three compartments away, she could feel the utter despair wash over her. She felt like she was never going to be cheerful again and that she would never want to be. Hermione turned to catch sight of her cousin, still hurrying children into the compartments until he came face to face with his own dementors, obviously having entered the train at the front. Hermione saw him wave his wand and she knew what she needed to do. Despite feeling as though happiness had fled her forever, she raised her wand and gave it a wave.

"Expecto patronum!" Hermione yelled the charm, knowing that it was going to have to be stronger that her usual charm since there were several dementors in front of her. She held the image of her family sitting together and putting together their photo album at the front of her mind and let her magic do the rest.

Her fox leapt from the end of her wand, bigger and brighter than she remembered seeing it. The dementors stayed where they were but they didn't disappear and she wasn't sure that she could cast the spell any stronger than she already had. She could see faces watching out of the windows of the compartments and she prayed that none of them were able to open the doors. She heard Draco groan and hit the floor and forgetting that she had her own battle with dementors, she turned and ran to her cousin.

Draco was on one knee, still holding his dragon patronus but it was fading. Hermione wasn't sure what had happened to him but she knew that she had to help her cousin, the one person that she would do absolutely anything for. Letting her fox fade, she ran to her cousin's side just as his dragon faded away to nothing. Her wand extended over his head and she yelled again, this time her fox brighter than she had ever seen.

Her fox was usually a playful animal, her guardian was always the first to chase Draco and Padfoot, eager to play with them and show his affection. This time, however, when the silvery fox emerged, there was rage on it's face and it attacked with a vengeance. This time, the dementors fell back and away, floating off the train at the entrance. Her energy was waning though. No matter how strong her magic was, she was still a thirteen-year-old girl whose magic wasn't even at half the power it would be by the time she was done maturing., not to mention that the patronus charm was such an advanced spell that most wizards and witches couldn't cast it. Aunt Cissy couldn't. Once the dementors in front of her were gone, she allowed her fox to flicker and fade away until there was nothing left.

However, this did nothing for the dementors behind her. They were getting closer now that her guardian had faded away to nothing. Hermione felt the same despair overtake her again. She dropped to her knees behind Draco and did her best to raise her wand. Draco's arm slipped around her again but it didn't help this time. The dementors had gotten just a few feet from them when Hermione heard someone else yell out.

"Expecto patronum!" A huge wolf appeared before them and started to attack the dementors in front of her. Since the patronus was behind them, the dementors had to float over them to exit the train. It didn't matter that Draco had ahold of her or that she knew that her cousin would never abandon her, complete and utter unhappiness settled in her heart and in her soul. She slumped to the ground, Draco behind her, slumped as well.

Once the dementors had passed, Hermione felt a little better but she still stayed where she lay on the ground. Her chest was heaving from the energy she had exerted and the sheer amount of power that she let flow from her body. Draco was still next to her and reached out to grasp her hand in his, letting her know that he was still there beside her. His voice was breathy when he spoke.

"Thanks, Miney. Love you." She squeezed his hand and rolled her head over to gaze at him.

"Love you too, Drake." Doors were opening up and down the corridor and children were sticking their heads out to see if the crisis was over. Hermione struggled to sit up, helping Draco once she was upright. She glanced in the direction that the wolf had come from and saw that Remus Lupin was bearing down on them, fury dancing across his features. Once he was close enough to see her, he stopped in his tracks. It was clear that he recognized her by her signature ebony curls, the very ones that she had inherited from her father. The fact that her true father and her adopted father could have been twins just cemented the information. After a moment's pause, he continued his way to their side.

"What are your names?" Hermione grimaced slightly at the fact his voice was cold as ice and there was only a steely look in his eyes.

"I'm Hermione Black and this is Draco Malfoy. Thank you, sir, for helping us." He sneered in her direction and Hermione was startled that he was so terrible in the wake of her politeness.

"You have to be the most foolish children I've ever seen. Are you aware of what would have happened if you had been caught by those dementors? You're aware that they would have sucked your soul right out of your mouth and left you a shell of a person. Explain yourselves." Hermione felt tears prick her eyes but she ruthlessly tamped them back. She would not show weakness to this man who had hurt her father so much so very long ago. If he was going to be an arse, she supposed that there was nothing that she could do about it.

"Since we are fully capable of being able to cast a corporeal patronus, it would make perfect sense to assume that we are aware of what dementors are and what they do. Since we are trained against these beings, it was our duty to protect the other students. How would the Headmaster have felt if he had to tell any of their parents that their souls were gone?" It was clear that the werewolf hadn't been expecting her cheek. He paused for a moment before he pulled the little first year that Hermione had shoved into the window into the corridor and pointed to the blood running down her face.

"How is giving this young girl a head injury protecting her? These injuries have to be reported as well, to the school and the parents." Hermione snorted and felt Draco lay a hand between her shoulder blades. It was a warning but she was past the point of caring. This man hated her on sight because of her father. Not even for a good reason since he hadn't even let her father explain.

"That's rich, the Headmaster contacting the parents when their child is injured. I was petrified for over four months last year and the Headmaster didn't see fit to inform my father, Draco had to. He didn't inform the other parents either." Hermione turned her attention to the little girl he held in his hands.

"I'm really sorry that I pushed you into the window. I never meant to hurt you and I can only hope that you'll forgive me. I just wanted to keep you safe." The girl nodded her head shakily, her eyes watery.

"Do those things really suck out your souls?" Hermione nodded.

"They're called dementors, they guard the wizard prison Azkaban." The little girl burst into tears and Hermione watched as Lupin knelt before the little girl and handed her a piece of chocolate.

"There, there, no tears. They're gone now and they won't be returning. We're going to get this train rolling again and we'll be at Hogwarts momentarily." The little girl nodded before she hugged Lupin tightly. After she released him and had went back into her compartment, Lupin turned cold eyes to Hermione and Draco.

"That will be ten points from Slytherin for harming another child and a detention with me tomorrow night for your cheek. Your professors deserve respect." Hermione was just about to retort something not respectful when Draco pinched the back of her arm. She hissed in pain but remained silent, his message clear. When it was clear that she wasn't going to say anything else, Lupin gave her a fake smile.

"Please find your way off the floor and into your compartments so we can get this train going." Hermione glared at the professor and watched his turn his back and walk back to the other end of the train, going inside a compartment at the very end. In fact, she sighed unhappily. It was the compartment that Harry always sat in, the very one that he had turned down her hand of friendship the very first time. Draco stood and held his hand out to her, helping her up off the floor. He helped her brush off her robes and straighten her curls before he met her gaze and spoke.

"A great fucking start to our third year at Hogwarts. Another teacher that hates us, already ten points down, and you're already going to be serving a detention with the professor that hates you more than anything except for your father. A great fucking start indeed." Hermione met his eyes grimly.

A great fucking start didn't even begin to cover it. Just wait until Uncle Sev found out.

-O-

Harry was still recovering from his run-in with whatever those black things had been that had opened their compartment door. He wasn't sure what had happened, just that he had found himself on the floor and had heard a woman screaming. He had a feeling that it was the sound of his mother trying to protect him before she died but he wouldn't be able to know for sure. What he did know was that the man who had been sleeping in their compartment had flown up out of his seat and yelled a spell, a wolf leaping from his wand and chasing away the black things.

Harry had crawled his way up into the seat, only for the man to return a few minutes later. He looked angry and agitated but he supposed that he couldn't blame him. He wondered if there were more of those floating things on the train and had made anyone else collapse. Ron and Pav were both wide-eyed and silent when he took his seat once more. After reaching into his robes, he pulled out an enormous bar of chocolate and broke it into three different pieces, handing one to each of them.

"Eat it, it'll help I promise." Harry nibbled on a corner and was surprised when he did feel better. Warmth returned to his limbs and he didn't feel that settled feeling of despair in his chest. He gathered his courage and asked the man his questions.

"What were those things?" The man slid his wand back up his sleeve.

"Those were dementors, they guard Azkaban. I'm sure they're looking for Augustus Rookwood, the prisoner who escaped in July." Harry's eyes widened. Ron's family had told him of the breakout but he had just assumed that the Death Eater had been caught again. He narrowed his eyes at the man for a moment.

"Why would he be going to Hogwarts? That makes no sense." The man reached out and offered his hand. Harry shook it without qualms and looked the man in the eyes.

"My name is Remus Lupin. I was best friends with your dad and Sirius Black when we were in school. We don't have time to reminisce now but everyone believes that Rookwood is headed to Hogwarts to kill you, Harry. You're the reason for Voldemort's downfall and getting revenge would be high on his list." Harry gulped audibly. Not exactly what he wanted to hear.

"Why would those dementors attack school children?" Lupin raked a hand through his hair.

"Dementors feed off your memories, both good and bad. I'm sure that the air of excitement in the air at seeing old friends and going back to school was just too much for them to resist." Harry nodded his head before he turned to Ron and Pav.

"Did anyone else hear a woman screaming?" Pav gave him a worried look before laying a hand on his arm. Harry tensed slightly; he still didn't like to be touched.

"Nobody was screaming, Harry." He didn't say anything about the screaming, he didn't want everyone to think that he was barmy. Instead, he turned back to Lupin.

"You were friends with my parents and Black?" Lupin nodded again, this time looking out the window.

"We were all best friends, the three of us and Peter. Then the war happened and life went to shite." He turned a sheepish eye to Harry.

"Sorry. We'll discuss it all later, I promise. I'll tell you all the stories you could ever want to hear about your parents. Now isn't the time, not when Hogwarts is there in the distance." Harry smiled at the man, already liking him immensely.

"Alright." He paused for a second before continuing.

"I'm assuming you're the new Defense professor since Lockhart went to Azkaban?" Lupin barked out a laugh.

"You would be correct. You're stuck with me all year." Harry grinned widely at the thought.

"Wicked." Lupin grinned at him too.

Maybe this wouldn't be a bad year after all.

-O-

Severus was livid. Dementors had attacked the Express while it was full of children. His godson and goddaughter could have been kissed, leaving behind shells of their bodies for their family. For him. He only half-listened to Albus as he gave the opening speech for the Welcome Feast. However, the end of his speech caught his attention and he was burning with fury once again.

"Due to the breakout of an Azkaban prisoner, Hogwarts will be playing host to the dementors. Make no mistake, if you are seen trying to sneak into or out of Hogwarts, they will attack. I have no say in this, the Ministry is forcing my hand. I beg of all of you to stay within the grounds for your own safety." Severus couldn't believe that Albus had agreed to this. How, in good conscience, could he tell the Ministry that staking dementors at the entrances of the school would be a good idea? After he sat down, Severus cast a silencing charm around himself and the Headmaster and possibly Lupin. Severus still couldn't believe that he had invited the werewolf to come and teach, the very werewolf that had almost killed him when he was only sixteen years old.

"I know you had to agree to this, Albus. You can't seriously think that the dementors are a good idea. You're quite mad if you do." It turned out that Lupin could hear after all since he turned kind eyes to the Headmaster.

"As much as I hate to do it, I agree with Severus. I watched a swarm of them, fifty or so, board the Hogwarts Express." Severus stumbled on his words for a moment. Before he could ask his question, Minerva chimed in.

"This is madness, Albus. We can't put our students at risk like that." Albus held his hand up and forestall any further discussion.

"I had to agree, the Ministry was leaning quite heavily on me. Not to mention, if Rookwood is really after Harry as the guards say, then they're added protection for him. He must survive." Severus couldn't believe the Headmaster's words. He sneered his way, uncaring if the students saw him or not.

"Aside from the fact that Rookwood slipped past the dementors once already, I don't see how the dementors provide anything other than a danger." Minerva was nodding sagely on the other side of Albus. Albus' eyes flashed but the anger disappeared as quickly as it came.

"There is nothing I can do, Severus. I wish there was. All we can do is implore to the children to stay within the grounds. The Ministry is backing this and there is nothing else we can do about it." Minerva glared at him.

"When one of our idiot students is kissed, it will be on your head, Albus." He gave her a solemn nod.

"I know, Minerva." Severus couldn't hold back the question any longer.

"If there were fifty dementors on board that train, how did nobody get kissed? There is no way you're powerful enough to drive away fifty dementors. Not many could." Severus had a sneaking suspicion he knew exactly what happened when he saw the werewolf's eyes flash in anger. His voice was dripping in disdain.

"Black's daughter and the Malfoy brat started shoving kids into the compartments and locking them in. They can both cast a patronus. The Malfoy boy tired first, he was against fifteen or so. When his dragon started to fade, Black dropped her spell against twenty or so and turned to help him. Once the ones he was fighting had fled, the ones she had turned her back on came for them. She had banished some of them the first time but there were still quite a few left. Once her patronus flickered out, I sent mine after them. It's a good thing I did too because they were both laying on the floor by the time I got there. They would have been kissed for sure, the little fools." Severus couldn't believe what he was hearing. He hadn't expected the man to seek out Hermione but he had expected more than cold disdain for a mere child. Even Minerva liked the girl now that she had been set straight.

"Did you send them to the Infirmary when you arrived here? Did you give them chocolate?" Remus scoffed.

"No, I gave my chocolate to the little first year girl that Black shoved so hard into her compartment that she cut her head open on the window. She burst into tears." Severus was trying to keep his temper in check.

"Is there anything else we need to know about the train ride and the dementors?" Lupin shook his head.

"Your house is already ten points in the negative. I deducted them from Black for harming another student. She is also serving detention with me tomorrow night for her cheek." Severus let out a growl that would rival any werewolf. Minerva and Albus both turned to watch the proceedings closely.

"You're telling me that my godson fought fifteen dementors and saved children from having their souls sucked out and you did nothing but order him up off the floor? You didn't send him to the Infirmary, you didn't offer him chocolate, the standard treatment of being exposed to dementors? You also berated the daughter of Lord Black and gave her detention for driving off how many dementors at the tender age of thirteen?" Lupin looked affronted before his gaze turned sheepish.

"Why do you care, Severus? You hated Sirius and I doubt that's changed just because his world views have." Severus wanted to laugh in the man's face but knew that it wasn't possible. Instead, he leaned closer so he could sound more menacing. There was no way in blue hell that Lupin was going to be a prick to his goddaughter and get away with it.

"Just remember that Hermione Black is the niece of Lucius Malfoy. Last year, the Headmaster was removed from this school because the pair of them got together and complained to the Board of Governors. Trust me, it would be even easier to do to you since you're considered a dangerous creature. If I were you, I would watch how I treat those two very closely. Minerva and Albus have no love for the girl but they treat her well. She isn't a troublemaker and you'll find no fault with either of their marks." Minerva nodded happily.

"You'll love them, Remus, they're both very accomplished. I know for a fact that they have a private tutor and she has done a wonderful job." Lupin's eyebrows raised into his hair line.

"That much was obvious in the fact that they could cast a patronus at thirteen. We shall see, I've already had to deal with her mouth once. She clearly belongs to Sirius." Severus couldn't help but shine with pride at his statement. Hermione was a perfect lady most of the time, thanks to Narcissa of course, but nobody walked all over her. Not for long anyways. It was how they had raised her, himself, Sirius and Lucius. Narcissa had just told them that as long as she could act properly when needed, she would keep quiet. Quite the endorsement from the Lady Malfoy. Instead of beaming openly, he snorted.

"You think you have it bad, I've been dealing with her her whole life. That girl has been mouthy since she was in nappies." Just a little bit of information to let Lupin know that he had a history with the girl. His eyebrows raised in surprise.

"You and Sirius hate each other. Why would you know her?" Severus arched one brow at him.

"She looks to Narcissa and Lucius as second parents to her. Who do you think their daughter they weren't able to have is? She and Draco were raised together, you should keep that in mind when it comes to Draco as well. Black will protect him as he does his daughter." Lupin snorted now.

"At least he protects someone." Severus had to fight the urge to hex the man. He considered Sirius one of his closest friends now, family, and this man had hurt him. He was quite sure they had been lovers but had never felt the urge to ask. Sirius was a slag now, had been in the past also, but he had always thought there was more between the two than met the eye. Instead, his voice was cold when he spoke.

"He protects those two children with everything he has, especially his daughter. I don't like the man but I know that it has been hard for him. He never expected to have a daughter, any children from what I understand, but he's done the best he can. Even if I don't like the man, I can say that his daughter, though strong-willed and quite vindictive when she needs to be, is a wonderful girl that is brilliant and treats others with respect. You would do well to judge her for herself and not her father. That's your last warning, Lupin. Black and Lucius will stop at nothing if you hurt their baby girl." Lupin's eyes flashed amber, the wolf inside probably didn't enjoy being threatened, but that didn't matter. As long as he treated Hermione and Draco well, he wouldn't care. Lupin nodded quickly and changed the subject.

"I owe you many thanks, Severus, for agreeing to brew my wolfsbane." He gave a single nod in answer, choosing to focus on his meal now. Minerva just couldn't leave well enough alone.

"I have to say, Remus, you would have been impressed with Hermione's behavior last year. Mr. Malfoy got into a fight with Mr. Weasley and Albus pulled his wand and pointed it at them. Her wand was out and, in her hand, pointing at Albus in less than a second. She lost points and got detention but she didn't care. She's as loyal as any Gryffindor." Severus snorted and decided to lighten the mood.

"Now, now, Minerva, you can't act as though your lions are the only loyal ones. Snakes are quite loyal too, only to those that matter to them." He could tell that the old tabby cat wanted to stick her tongue out at him but decided on arching a brow.

"As you say, Severus."

The rest of the meal passed smoothly. Once he had finished his meal, he surreptitiously called his elf to his side.

"Castor." The elf appeared, wearing his customary tea towel with the Prince family crest. He bowed before Severus.

"Master?" He spoke quietly.

"I want you to bring me the two largest chocolate bars that Honeydukes has to offer." The elf nodded happily and disappeared. He couldn't have been gone more than three minutes before he appeared again, this time holding out chocolate.

"Heres you go, Master." He nodded at the elf.

"Thank you, Castor. You may go." The elf snapped his fingers and was gone. He rose from his seat and started to make his way from the High Table to his Slytherins' table. Once he was stopped behind his godchildren, he set the chocolate down in front of them. They both turned to look at him with large eyes. Severus couldn't help but notice that they both looked exhausted. Exerting the amount of power to fight off that many dementors at such a young age was quite the feat.

"I heard about the train. You will both eat every bite of this chocolate bar, no arguments. Your fathers would have my hide if I didn't. Fifty points to the both of you for not only displaying extraordinary magic at the tender age of thirteen, but for making sure that your fellow students were safe as well." Slytherin students started applauding them and Hermione smiled softly while she started to unwrap her chocolate. When she turned her attention to him again, she was smiling softly at him.

"You know I can't eat all this, Professor. How about half of it?" He smirked at her, just enough that she could see but nobody else could.

"Alright, poppet. I'm proud of you both. Don't stop in to see me, straight to bed with you." Both nodded happily and Severus strode out of the Great Hall. Lupin looked furious but Minerva was beaming. Maybe someday soon she could be persuaded to believe the truth after all.

Now that that was taken care of, Severus had a letter to two fathers to write.

-O-

Harry watched the commotion at the Slytherin table with interest. Snape was always the first one to assign Slytherin points but it was usually only five at a time unless it was something truly amazing. The whispers up and down the table said he had given Hermione and Malfoy fifty a piece. Neville saw where his attention was aimed and grinned.

"I couldn't believe it either. I mean, Hermione and Draco are amazing at magic, don't get me wrong, but doing what they did was beyond compare." Harry frowned in confusion.

"I don't know what you're talking about. What happened?" Ron leaned over to listen too. Neville shook his head as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"You knew there were dementors on the train, right?" Harry nodded.

"Yeah, one tried to come into our compartment. Professor Lupin chased it away with a silver wolf." Neville nodded.

"There were almost fifty dementors on the train. Hermione and Draco cast the patronus charm and chased most of them away. Professor Lupin saved them in the end but he couldn't have fought off fifty of them, not even as an adult wizard. Dumbledore is probably the only person who could." Harry still didn't understand what his friend was trying to say but Ron did.

"So, they were just showing off again and got the snakes a hundred points. Why am I not surprised?" Neville glared at the redhead but when he saw that Harry was confused, he grinned again.

"Dementors are really foul and not many people can cast the patronus spell, the spell that creates the silver animals. They drive them away. That spell is ridiculously difficult and most people can't even cast it until they've reached their full power, something that happens around their seventeenth birthday. Yet, Hermione and Draco both cast them at age thirteen and they both drove away over thirty dementors. It's insane. Not to mention, they were running the corridors and shoving students into compartments and locking them in so the dementors couldn't get to them. They saved lives." His gaze turned darker.

"Then our new professor came and drove the remaining ones away from Hermione and Draco and then punished Hermione because she pushed a little girl too hard and she hit the window in the compartment. He told them both that they were foolish for doing what they did." Harry frowned.

"How did he punish them?" Neville snorted.

"I guarantee you that's why Snape just gave them points. He took ten from Slytherin for hurting the little girl and then gave her detention because she smarted back at him. Hermione will take so much up until a point but once she's at that point, she's done. You don't stand a chance against her. Look at first year in Transfiguration. She had finally had enough." Harry laughed openly now. He would never forget that day.

"Well, if they really saved everyone from those horrid dementors, they deserve the points. I won't begrudge them that. Jealous that they're already ahead but let's be honest. We have the Weasley twins and they have Hermione Black." The twins, who were shamelessly listening in, howled in indignation.

"Not nice, Potter, we're good lads." He snorted again.

"Sure, you are."

Conversation faded next to him and everyone started talking around him. He was lost in the thought about what Neville had told him. Obviously, it was clear that a strongly magical child could cast the patronus charm. Dumbledore kept telling him how bloody powerful he was, telling him that he needed to learn as much as he could. Even though Remus had been kind of an arse about it, he wanted to ask the man if he would teach him how to cast one. Maybe he could figure out why he had been so terrible to Hermione.

However, when he considered it, it was probably for the same reason that Harry had hated her at first too. Her father was responsible for the deaths of his family and while he realized now that it wasn't her fault, he doubted he would ever be able to look past it. It was clear that she loved her father and Harry would never be able to have him in his life knowing what he did. He would still question Professor Lupin but if he was best friends with his father and Black, it was most assuredly over Black being a traitor. Harry shrugged mentally.

Maybe he would get to learn something that he could use this time. Not that he would never use what he was learning in his lessons but the dementors affected him more than anyone, that much was clear. If he could cast that spell and drive them away, it would be dead useful. Harry decided to ponder it a while longer before he approached their new professor. He wanted to try to get a handle on their relationship first.

Harry smiled to himself. Maybe this year would turn out to be a good one after all.

A/N- There she is, kids, another chapter down. The year you've all been waiting for has arrived. Just have to wait until the end of third year. Anyways, thanks for the love you constantly show my story, I appreciate it so much. Leave me a message after the beep and tell me what you think. Reviews are love.

Next chapter, our favorite characters face a boggart.

Love,

Alicia


	46. Chapter 46

A/N- Alright, y'all, I'm back! It's only been a couple days so I don't feel too bad. I made a mistake last chapter and while this chapter is going to be exciting, they won't face the boggarts yet. I looked at the wrong page of my rough outline. I apologize to everyone out there that was so excited! I do believe the boggart lesson is chapter 48. Hope you guys can hang tough until then.

I also want to put a short note in here about people that want to leave me insulting reviews. I won't name the person here but I haven't removed the review, if you want to read it, go for it. I want to remind everyone that while I love hearing about spelling errors, tense errors, plot holes, and even your opinions, don't leave me a review telling me that I'm a pedophile and that because I hinted at Remus and Sirius being lovers that they're pederasts. Don't be fucking assholes, people. If you think my story sucks, great. Tell me so and I'll send you a message telling you that I understand, my story isn't for everyone. This individual received a not-so-nice response where I basically told them that they were fucking stupid and needed to do some research. For those of you out there, a pederast is a man who has a sexual relationship with a boy. Not two men or two boys having a sexual relationship. I've also stated that I googled average ages that teens went through puberty and when they started masturbating. Several people have backed up what I read. I hope this clears the matter up in anyone else's mind that was wondering and didn't want to ask.

I'm going to get off my soap box now since most of you are so wonderful. You guys are seriously the bomb and I can't tell you how much I love the support you show my story.

Disclaimer: Blah, blah, blah, same as every other chapter. I don't own this story or the characters and I haven't made any money off this story or any of my others.

Chapter 46

September 8, 1993

Harry waited for Ron to finish his breakfast with a fond expression on his face. He really didn't have any manners and he wasn't sure how since he knew that Molly chastised him constantly to remember his lessons and eat properly. Harry couldn't help but find this funny since he always had foul things to say about the Slytherins being taught useless things such as etiquette but it was clear that he had been taught them too. He just never used them.

Parvati was deep in a conversation with Lavender about who only knew what. The girl had spread all over the school about how the end of year points loss for Slytherin was because of Hermione cursing her. Harry had tried to tell her that it was bad taste to say anything this long after it had happened but the rest of the school had run with it. Lavender and Parvati were on cloud nine and Harry was pissed that he even had a part in their story. He didn't want Hermione to think that he had any part of the story getting spread.

Where Hermione had been extremely well-liked before the incident with Lavender, now she was one of the most avoided. Nobody dared to say anything to her face, or to Malfoy's for that matter, but he knew that she heard the whispers. Neville and the twins were still her staunch supporters, as were most of her house, but the rest of the purebloods at Hogwarts were scared that she would take her anger too far. It was horrible to see the impassive mask slide over her features when she realized that she was a topic of conversation. Harry loved to see her fire and the life in her eyes.

Ron was just reveling in the newfound hatred for Hermione. Harry kept quiet about it because there wasn't much that he could do about it. He couldn't deny what Hermione had done and while he knew that she was sorry she had done it, the fact remained that this would have happened last year if she hadn't been petrified. He just hoped that things ran their course quickly and people forgot about her actions sooner rather than later.

Ron finally pushed away from the table and belched loudly. Lavender and Pav turned and grimaced his way, clearly disgusted at his lack of manners. Ron paid them no mind and gathered his bag so they could make their way to their first class. Charms class was first, one of Harry's favorites. Professor Flitwick was pleased with how far ahead Harry had gotten through the summer, he was now halfway through his fourth year in almost all his core subjects. He had spent the first three days with free time practicing every spell he had learned over the course of the summer. Ron still thought that he was insane but that was alright. Harry was determined to be prepared for whatever was coming in the future.

They entered Charms together and took their usual seats. Thus far, classes had been good and Harry had enjoyed the extra classes that he was able to take. Ron had bitched and moaned about it but he had agreed to take Ancient Runes with Harry. He wasn't going to complain that his friend took the class with him but he didn't want to hear how much the boy hated it for the rest of the year. Care of Magical Creatures and Divination were also on his schedule and with just three more classes, his schedule was full. In fact, he had Care of Magical Creatures with Hagrid after lunch for the first time and he couldn't wait.

The rest of the students entered and took their seats as they waited for Professor Flitwick. Like always, they were with the Slytherins so Harry got to see Hermione. He hadn't had a chance to speak with her yet this year but he was going to try to do so today. He wanted to apologize again for his callous comment at the end of last year. He could never tell Ron that but it was the truth. He hadn't liked how she had shuttered her eyes and slid her mask over her features while looking at him. It was cold and impersonal and he didn't like how it made him feel.

Hermione was sitting with Malfoy who seemed more attentive than normal. Since they sat at tables, he had his arm propped up on the chair Hermione was sitting on and he was listlessly twirling one of her curls in his fingers. She clearly refused to look down at her text while she could hear the whispers so instead she kept her eyes trained forward. Harry felt terrible for her but had a feeling that she would never want him to feel sorry for her.

Professor Flitwick flounced in the room and welcomed them back enthusiastically. He jumped right into the lesson, going over the review from last chapter since there were a few children that had been petrified. Of course, Hermione had been one of those students and Harry had a feeling that even though she had missed four months of school, she really hadn't missed a thing.

Once they were dismissed from Charms, Harry started towards the North Tower where Divination was being held. Harry wasn't sure who would all be taking the class with him and Ron so he was surprised to see that Hermione and Malfoy had been leading the way. Ron scowled when he saw them but Harry wasn't surprised. Both seemed like people that would take as many classes as they could.

They were forced to take their seats around small tables for two and sit on something that resembled a bean bag. There was incense burning at one end of the room and there were odd looking curtains hanging over the windows, throwing strange shadows around the room. It didn't take long for everyone to take their seats, Hermione and Malfoy together clear on the other side of the room while Pav and Lavender took the table next to him and Ron.

Professor Trelawney entered the tower wearing silk scarfs and bangles up both arms. She looked quite ridiculous but Harry had a feeling she wouldn't be receptive to someone telling her so. She went over the syllabus to their course, speaking in a mystical voice. Harry could tell that Lavender and Parvati were enthralled with her words even though he thought it sounded like the whole subject was a hoax. He glanced over to see what Hermione thought and he almost burst out in laughter at the absolutely horrified look on her face. It was clear that she wasn't impressed with Professor Trelawney or her course aims.

After Professor Trelawney dismissed their class, Harry felt Ron clamp onto his elbow and pull him to the door first. They climbed down the stairs first, Ron whispering to him that they had to be first so they wouldn't have to wait for ages to eat lunch. There were several students coming down after them so Harry decided that it would be rude to go ahead without Parvati. Even though she hadn't been included in their adventures last year, she was still their friend.

Hermione was following Malfoy down the stairs. He refused to let her go first since she was wearing a skirt and anyone that looked up would get a full view of her knickers. Harry had watched her roll her eyes at her cousin but had done as he wished. Seamus was following Hermione and Dean after him. Parvati was just now at the top of the ladder so Harry watched her descend.

Hermione couldn't have been more than five or six feet from the ground when she let out a soft cry in pain. Malfoy had just reached the ground and his gaze flew upwards. Seamus had stepped on one of her hands and by the looks of it, he had ground his heel into her flesh. Harry started forward but stopped when Ron stepped in front of him. It appeared that Seamus either didn't hear her whimper of pain or clearly didn't care. Malfoy was already climbing the ladder and Harry had a feeling it was going to be bad. However, Hermione's voice was only shaking a tiny bit when she spoke.

"Can you please move your foot, Finnegan?" Harry saw Seamus shift his weight to put more weight on her hand before he looked down and got an apologetic look on his face.

"Oh, sorry Black. I didn't see it." Harry knew that was a bullshite lie and planned on having words with the Irishmen later. He moved his foot and Harry could already see a bruise blooming on the top of her hand. Malfoy wrapped an arm around her waist and whispered something in her ear and she wrapped an arm around his neck so he could help her down the ladder with only one hand. Harry moved under them to take Hermione's bag from her.

Harry caught a sight of her knickers as he stepped under them, red lace covering the curve of her bum. He lowered his eyes almost immediately, not wanting to take advantage of the position that Hermione was in. However, he felt his cock harden in his pants and was grateful for the robes that covered him. Her bag was in his hand and he was standing back when Malfoy finally had her on the ground. Hermione cradled her hand to her chest, her eyes bright with unshed tears. It was clear that she was holding them back to be strong in front of the others. Seamus jumped down behind them, a smirk on his face. Malfoy stepped up and grabbed his shirt front, shoving him against the wall.

"You think it's funny, crushing my cousin's hand on purpose? Maybe I should show you what I do to fucking pricks who hurt my cousin." Fear flitted across Seamus' eyes but he smirked again.

"It wasn't on purpose, mate. Like I told her, I didn't realize I had stepped on it." Malfoy pulled his wand and held it up to Seamus' face. Harry knew that he should intervene but he didn't. Seamus deserved whatever he had coming for hurting her on purpose. Hermione, however, had other ideas. She stepped forward and laid a soft hand on her cousin's arm.

"Please, Drake, don't. He isn't worth it. I don't want you to get detention for fighting again. We'll just go tell Professor Snape and let him handle it." Malfoy glanced back and stared at her for several seconds before he sheathed his wand and shoved Seamus to the side away from them. He wrapped an arm around Hermione's shoulders and kissed the side of her head.

"Only if you promise to go to the Hospital Wing and let Madam Pomfrey look at your hand." Hermione still had her hand cradled but she nodded. Truthfully, with the bruise that had already started to form, it wouldn't surprise Harry if she had a broken bone. He had had enough of them to recognize the symptoms. Malfoy turned her towards Harry and held his hand out for her bag. Harry handed it over immediately, without a word, hoping that his eyes conveyed how sorry he was. She gave him a small smile before she was led away. Once they were out of sight, Harry turned around and raged at Seamus.

"What the fuck were you thinking? I know you did that on purpose." Seamus chuckled.

"Of course, I did. She almost killed Lavender, she deserved a little payback. Nobody can disprove that I didn't do it on purpose. Let 'em run to Snape, I really don't care." Harry gave him an incredulous look.

"Don't you think the fact that she was petrified for four months to be punishment enough? She lost points for her house, she was still punished. All of that aside, do you really want the Malfoy and Black families after you for hurting her? Not to mention the feud that will surely start again between our two houses again?" Seamus just shrugged his shoulders.

"No, she needed to pay in pain for what she did. She hurt Lav, I hurt her. Not nearly as badly as she hurt Lav so she should count herself lucky." Harry wasn't sure why he was letting this bother him as much as it was. Therefore, he did the best he could to stop the retaliation without making it a huge deal.

"She's even then, no more retaliation against Hermione Black. We're already a hundred points behind them in points because of what they did on the train. We can't afford for you arseholes to lose us anymore. It's already hard as fuck to win against them because she wins them so many points." Seamus grinned and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Not with you killing basilisks, mate." Harry felt his cheeks redden so he was quick to leave his friends in the corridor. Ron was the only one to follow him. It took them almost ten minutes to make it from the North Tower to the Great Hall and when they arrived, lunch was half over. Harry was quick to take his seat and spoon his lunch of roast beef sandwiches and vegetable soup up. Ron followed suit and the pair began to eat, Ron muttering under his breath about Hermione Black keeping him from his food. Since he didn't have a single word to say about Harry's words or actions, it was clear that he had no problems with them.

Malfoy and Hermione hadn't arrived by the time the bell rang. Harry and Ron were quick to dart from the Great Hall to the door outside. They wanted to up at the front of the class to give Hagrid as much support as they could. They found the half-giant outside waiting for them and even though there were several students behind them, Harry grinned at his first friend. Hagrid grinned back before turning his attention to the rest of the class.

He started the lesson, going over the syllabus and the things that they would be learning that year in Care of Magical Creatures. Halfway through the class, Hermione and Malfoy arrived, note in hand to hand to Hagrid. Hermione had a splint on her hand but appeared to be in no pain. There were snickers that broke out when the rest of the class saw her hand. She didn't acknowledge them and kept her chin high. Since it was her wand hand that Seamus had stomped on, she wasn't able to take notes like she normally would but Malfoy seemed to be reassuring her.

After Hagrid sent them on their way just a little bit before class ended, Harry grinned at him one last time and hurried to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. He had heard all week long how brilliant Professor Lupin was, how all the students already loved him. He was eager to experience it himself but he wanted a word with the man first. Since he was the first one in the classroom, he knocked on the door that led to the man's office. To his delight, the man answered the door and he smiled happily.

"Harry, how wonderful to see you. You're a bit early for class." Harry nodded and entered the office when Professor Lupin waved him in.

"I wanted to stop and talk to you since I don't have much free time. I know this isn't the best time to talk about my parents, I'd rather save that conversation for another day. However, I wanted to ask you a question." Lupin nodded at him.

"Why did you punish Black for what she did on the train? They saved a bunch of kids." Lupin raked his hand through his hair and threw himself into the chair behind his desk.

"Harry, I used to be friends with her father. I'll admit that I wasn't the fairest to her but what she and Mr. Malfoy did was exceedingly stupid. They could have been kissed by those dementors if their patronuses hadn't worked. They should have just stayed in their compartment and locked it. She did hurt Miss Farmington, she had a concussion from hitting that window so hard. What would have happened if she had pushed Miss Farmington any harder? She could have been seriously injured or killed. I could have handled it better, I'll admit that, but they deserved to be punished. I should have been the one to take the risks, not two thirteen-year-old kids." Harry frowned as he considered the man's words. He didn't believe that he was lying to him, rather that he was telling the truth, but it didn't seem fair that when Hermione did stupid things she was punished and when he did stupid things he was awarded points and house cups. However, that wasn't Lupin's doing so he would keep quiet about it for now.

"I understand, Professor. I suppose student's safety should come first." Lupin smiled at him softly.

"You like so much like your father, Harry. But with Lily's eyes, exactly the same." Harry grinned. He had heard people tell him this before but he never tired of it. Even though it wasn't new information to him, he loved being reminded that they weren't gone from him completely. His thoughts flashed to the Mirror of Erised and wondered if Lupin would appear in it now. Lord Black and his daughter had.

"I like knowing that, Professor. It makes me feel closer to them knowing that I look like them." Lupin nodded his head and looked at his watch.

"We'll have that conversation soon, Harry, I promise. For now, your students have gathered in the classroom and seem quite eager to begin." Harry nodded and rose to his feet, preceding his professor out into the classroom. He took the open seat next to Ron and noticed that Hermione was seated by Malfoy on the other side of the room.

-O-

Hermione would never admit it, not to anyone aside from Draco anyways, that she was nervous for Defense Against the Dark Arts. She knew that Lupin already hated her and would likely make her life hell. On top of her hand, it would just be icing on the cake, that much was certain.

Madam Pomfrey had given her a pain potion for the broken bone in her hand and had forced a splint on her to keep it in place while the skele-gro did its work. She hadn't wanted to wear it, knew that it would bring even more attention to her hand but the woman was persistent. With Draco nattering in her ear that she needed to wear it, it was easier to just give in. Care of Magical Creatures had been horrid, everyone pointing at her and laughing under their breath. She knew that it had been done as revenge for what she had done to Lavender but there wasn't anything she could do about it.

Draco had left her there in the Hospital Wing while she took her skele-gro to go and tell Uncle Sev. He said that their godfather hadn't been happy but that he would handle it. She wasn't sure what that meant but she doubted that Finnegan would like it. It really didn't make her feel any better. She deserved some of their treatment of her; she had hurt and almost killed their friend and she had only lost points, no real punishment.

Sure, the rest of the school wasn't too keen on her right now. Slytherin was mostly behind her, though there were a few that agreed that she had taken it too far. Hermione agreed completely so she didn't hold it against them that they felt the same way. Draco knew exactly what she had been thinking and had pulled her hair harshly, yanking her head a little, and lit into her. After drilling it in her head that she didn't deserve what was happening to her for ten minutes, she had finally agreed just to shut him up.

Now, rather than go to class with the one man that probably hated her more than Dumbledore, she wanted to go run. After running for as long as she had, she felt a certain amount of peace when she did it. Draco usually accompanied her now, though not always. Her endurance was at its best and she could admit that she felt good. Her baby fat was disappearing quickly, leaving behind long and lean muscles. Her aunt had been so impressed that she swore she needed to start running so she could shed a few pounds.

Hermione allowed her cousin to guide her into the seat next to him. Harry came out of the professor's office and she wanted to groan. As if he didn't already want to not be friends with her, now he was going to have Lupin nattering away in his ear, turning him against her fully. He took the seat next to Weasley and Lupin smiled at the class.

"We aren't going to waste our time going over things that you learned last year as a review since you didn't learn anything last year. I was informed as to Lockhart's way of doing things and I want to make sure that every one of you is aware that that will not be happening this year. Now, we have two whole years' worth of defense to fit into a single year. Let us begin." Hermione listened to him lecture on the revulsion jinx. She found it odd that he started with a third-year spell when they had learned nothing in second but it was his class.

Since she had her notes from Madam Cambridge, there was no need to despair that she couldn't take notes with her hand in a splint. So far this week, it had been going over syllabuses and review so she wasn't worried since her hand would be better by nightfall. Since the professor liked to wander while he lectured, the chalk writing on the board by itself, he stopped next to her and she could feel his eyes on her.

"Miss Black, is there a reason that you aren't taking notes? You are aware that you will be tested on this information." Hermione had to bite her tongue. Since the professor was so close, Draco couldn't pinch her like he had last time.

"Yes, sir, I'm aware." He spoke again and this time there was a bite to his tone.

"You must think that you're much better prepared than your classmates." Hermione was gritting her teeth now.

"I couldn't say since I don't know how prepared my classmates are, sir." Lupin's gaze hardened even more.

"Perform the revulsion jinx, Miss Black, if you think you're capable. Otherwise, take notes." Hermione knew that her eyes were flashing. Never had a student been called out on not taking notes, not even her godfather did it. He felt that it was the responsibility of every student to worry about their grades on their own. Hermione rose to her feet and held her wand awkwardly in her hand. Draco was trying to furiously communicate with his eyes but she ignored him.

"What would you like me to cast it on?" Lupin smirked at her.

"Me. Push me away from you." Hermione couldn't believe he was telling her to hurt him. She knew that it was a set up so she aimed her wand at the empty desk in front of her.

"Relashio." The desk was sent flying across the room, even though her aim was just slightly off from the damned splint. Hermione met his gaze with an impassive mask.

"You may doubt my skills but I don't. I won't harm someone in a simple class demonstration. For the record, I learned this spell when I was seven years old. I have all my old notes from my tutor so I won't be taking notes in this class unless you tell me something I don't already have written down. Sir." There was fury dancing in his eyes now. The rest of the class was silent and Hermione took her seat once more and turned her attention to her notes. She thought that he was going to drop it but instead, his voice rang out again.

"How advanced are you, Miss Black?" Hermione shrugged, not really wanting to show off her skills.

"Draco and I study during the summers. I really have no idea how far advanced you would consider us." She realized that she probably shouldn't be pulling Draco down this road with her but she knew him well enough to know that if she didn't, he throw himself down the road. Lupin grinned at her in a feral way and she wondered just how much of his inner wolf was bleeding through.

"Let us duel then, Miss Black. If you are as advanced as you claim, you deserve a curriculum that would challenge you." Hermione wanted to laugh. He was going to duel her, injured, so he could win and prove a point. She knew that Dumbledore would never allow them to have an advanced curriculum so it wasn't worth her time. However, she wasn't one to back away from a challenge. Before she could speak, however, Draco cut in.

"Professor, she can't duel right now. Her wand hand is in a splint because it's broken." Hermione held her hand up to Draco and nodded at her professor. She unstrapped the splint and stood.

"Very well, Professor." Her hand felt achy still but she refused to back out and let everyone call her a coward on top of what they were already saying about her. She may be a Slytherin but was most assuredly not a coward. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw worry cross Harry's features but he remained quiet. As she walked to the front of the room after Lupin, she flexed her hand softly. She had a feeling that this was going to hurt, especially since she knew that she wasn't going to win. Sure, she was good, but she was still only thirteen. She didn't have the power to pour into her spells that would match an adult werewolf no matter how powerful she was. Once they were in front of the class, they faced each other and raised their wands.

"Begin."

Lupin threw the first spell and she wasn't sure what it was since he cast silently. Hermione instantly erected a shield and deflected the spell, sending it through the room. Everyone ducked except for Draco, who cast a shield around himself so he could watch. The look in his eyes was murderous and, in his place, hers would be as well.

Hermione cast another revulsion jinx, under her breath so he couldn't hear her casting. She was powerful enough that the spell still worked, thank Merlin. Due to her being trained in magic from a very young age, her magical core, already strong from being adopted, was well used to her asking the impossible from it.

The spells flew between the two of them, Hermione getting a single cutting curse through his shield to catch his bicep. This seemed to incense him further and his spells became more furious. After a while, Hermione wasn't able to do anything but flicker her shield in and out of existence, blocking herself from his spells. Her hand was aching more than it had been and she knew that it was only a matter of time before she couldn't get past the cramping.

It happened several minutes later. A cramp seized her hand and she was unable to hold her wand at the correct angle to get her shield to appear. As if the fates hated her, it was a revulsion jinx that hit her. Hermione felt the spell collide with her chest and her feet lift from the floor. Moments later, she slammed into the wall behind her and slid down, reaching both hands out to catch herself. Pain shot through her hand again and she suspected that it was broken again. Her head was ringing from where it had hit the wall and her vision was spotty. Draco was instantly at her side, pulling her to him so he could feel her for injuries. She heard a growl of fury come from him when he felt the back of her head and pulled his hand away bloody. He pointed his wand at the wall and muttered a spell, vanishing the blood on the wall. There was no way that Draco would leave her blood behind.

"What is wrong with you, Lupin? She had a broken hand and you were casting silently. The least you could have done against a thirteen-year-old injured girl was cast verbally. You were so worried about her giving a concussion to that girl on the train and now you've given her one. I hope you consider yourself a great role model now." Hermione clutched at Draco's arm, trying to shut him up. The last thing she wanted was for him to end up in detention.

"It's fine, Draco. He wouldn't even get in trouble since it was a classroom demonstration that I agreed to. However, I'll console myself that a thirteen-year-old girl with a broken hand managed to draw his blood too." Hermione knew she shouldn't. She knew that she would regret it more than anything but she just couldn't help herself.

"My father would be disappointed in you." It really was a growl that escaped his lips now. Hermione could see that Harry's face went pale as if he couldn't believe that she would say something like that. She felt a twinge of guilt but not much.

"You will serve three detentions with me, Miss Black, for your cheek and your antagonistic comments. Trust me, no decent person would want your father to be proud of them. What's that say for you?" Hermione didn't let that comment hurt her. She knew that he would fire back with something mean.

"Twenty points from Slytherin, Mr. Malfoy, for your tone." Draco just glared at him but said nothing. Lupin walked away from the pair on the floor.

"Class is dismissed." Hermione allowed Draco to help her off the floor and held tight to him as the world spun. He wrapped an arm around her waist tightly and guided her so they could get their things. Once he had shouldered both their bags, he pulled her to the door and started down the corridor to the Hospital Wing. Hermione's hand was throbbing as they turned the corner that headed to the Hospital Wing. She wasn't expecting Harry to step out of the shadows in front of her and glare at her.

"Why would you ever say something like that after what your father did?" Hermione sighed. The last thing she wanted to deal with while her hand and head were throbbing was Harry in a snit.

"Because I know the truth of what happened to your parents. Not Dumbledore, not Lupin, not McGonagall. My father was best friends with both your father and Lupin and it's a fact that if he saw how he dueled against a young girl, the daughter of his friend no less, he would be disappointed as fuck. It was a cheap move and you know it. I may the most powerful witch in ages but I'm still a child. Against a full-grown man casting silently, did I really stand any chance? He did that to put me in my place, to embarrass me so I'll dance his tune. It's going to be a long year because that will never happen. You can call me a stuck-up pureblood snob but I'll bow to no one. I won't dance for anyone unless I want to." Harry sneered her way.

"Yet you'll dance to your master's tune as soon as he returns. You'll bow before him and kill for him, just like your father and uncle. I really hope you don't, that you're serious, but after that comment, I seriously doubt it." Hermione felt as though someone had slapped her. She visibly recoiled and Draco took her weight for her. She drew in a stuttering breath before she met his gaze again.

"I'm sorry you feel that way, Harry. I thought that my actions would surely speak louder than my words, that Draco and I have gone out of our way to help you in your insanely stupid adventures. Draco almost died to help you. I could have lost the most important person in my life because he was helping you against Voldemort. I understand that we aren't friends and I don't expect you to embrace me or my family but you should know that my father never turned your parents in to Dark Lord. He was never marked. He never supported the dark. He loved your parents and he loved you and he was so devastated when he found them dead, that he handed you to Hagrid and went after the man who did hand them over. Peter Pettigrew. If he wanted you dead so badly, why would he have given you to Hagrid so readily? Ask yourself that." She paused for just a moment to try to stop her chest from heaving.

"You want to judge me for things you think my father has done when you haven't heard his side of it? That's fine. Just know that I'm going to judge you on your actions and right now, it isn't looking favorable. If there's one thing I've learned about your parents it's that they were honorable people. Make sure you're someone they would be proud of." Hermione felt bad for stooping that low but she was done. She was tired of having a tenuous relationship with the boy only for him to throw things in her face the first time his beliefs didn't match hers. Pain crossed Harry's face and Hermione stepped forward to continue her way to the Hospital Wing. Harry reached out and grabbed her arm softly.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to say all those things to you. If things were different I think we would have made great friends. I know that you think your father is innocent and maybe he is. The fact remains that one of us is being lied to. You're right though, I haven't heard your father's side of it. I can't say that I'll agree to meeting with him but I'll consider it. I really didn't want to hurt you. I hope you can forgive me." Hermione wasn't sure what to think about his words. She knew without a doubt that Dumbledore would never allow Harry to meet with her father no matter when it was. All he would have to do is read it in his mind and he would stop it. The thought that he would consider it though meant the world to her. Therefore, she nodded her head.

"I forgive you. I appreciate that you're willing to listen to him, it means a lot. Never in a million years do I think that Dumbledore will let that happen. Thank you though. I'm sorry as well, I shouldn't have brought your parents into it." Harry grinned at her, clearly happy that they had cleared that up. He spoke again.

"I still owe you an apology for last year. I should never have said what I did about you almost killing Lavender. I'm also sorry that I put Malfoy in danger, that was never my intent." Hermione grinned at him just a little.

"I forgive you. I know that your words are true, however. I deserved it." Harry frowned but Hermione didn't give him the chance to refute her words.

"I really need to get to the Hospital Wing and get my hand fixed again. I shouldn't have agreed to duel the bastard." Hermione refused to be nice about Lupin for Harry's sake. Harry nodded.

"I understand, I won't keep you anymore. We're not friends but I like that we aren't enemies." Hermione nodded his way. If he managed to speak with her father maybe they wouldn't have to be enemies ever again. Draco pulled her into the Hospital Wing and once they were away from Harry, he spoke, warning her.

"Don't get your hopes up. It's clear that Lupin hasn't got ahold of him yet. Even if he does decide to talk to Sirius, Dumbledore won't let him talk to him." Hermione nodded sadly as she settled into the nearest bed.

"I know but the sentiment means a lot. I don't think it's going to last though. Lupin is going to turn him against me even more." Draco nodded and watched Madam Pomfrey bustle over. Hermione leaned her head against his shoulder and sighed.

"After last year I really hate the Hospital Wing." Draco chuckled and kissed the side of her head.

"Wanna sleep with me tonight?" Hermione nodded against him.

"I thought you would never ask. Will Theo snitch on us?" Draco rubbed her back between her shoulder blades.

"Not if he knows what's good for him." Hermione chuckled again and groaned as Madam Pomfrey put her hands on her hips and started in on her.

Thank goodness she was going to sleep with Draco tonight because it was going to be a long night. Now all that was left to do was to convince Draco to keep his mouth shut about everything that had happened and she would consider it a win.

-O-

Severus sat in his quarters and sipped his fire whiskey. His goddaughter was determined to make his life hell because she couldn't keep her mouth shut. Lupin had made sure to gloat to him that she had lost a duel against him in class and had earned herself three nights of detention. After asking Nott what had happened, he had gotten the story and he was none to happy about it. However, there was nothing that he could do about it since it was a classroom demonstration that she had fully agreed to.

On the other side, there was extreme pride that Hermione had lasted as long as she could against a fully-grown werewolf. She had even gotten a cutting curse through his shield and drew blood, quite the feat for a thirteen-year-old. However, he dreaded having to tell her father. There was nothing he could do, of course, but he would have to hear him rage regardless. Not that Severus blamed him; he had wanted to rage when Lupin had rubbed it in his face.

After he had heard about the dementor attack on the train and Lupin's treatment of his daughter, Sirius had wanted to come straight to Hogwarts and blast the man to smithereens. Between Lucius and himself, they had convinced him otherwise, but it hadn't been easy. In fact, it had been difficult as fuck but it was what it was. Sirius couldn't throw everything away now when he had worked so hard to convince everyone in their world that he was truly a follower of the Dark Lord.

Lucius had promised retribution but he had convinced the man to stay his hand and let his children handle it. It wasn't something that he liked doing but he was afraid of the kind of retaliation that would occur when the werewolf learned of their actions. His friend had reluctantly agreed but Severus didn't think that he would stick by his word for long. Hermione was the light of his life and he would always do whatever he could to protect her. Draco being protected went without saying.

Severus had taken a sick sense of pleasure out of berating Finnegan in front of the whole of the Great Hall. He had lost fifty points for Gryffindor and been assigned three days of detention with himself. He was well-aware of what was going on in the school regarding his goddaughter. He felt terrible, his heart hurt for her being shunned, but there was nothing he could do about it. She had only cried into his robes once since the information had come out so he figured that Draco was taking excellent care of her.

The portrait in the Slytherin common room that watched the students to make sure they were behaving had just visited to tell him that Hermione had sneaked into the boy's dormitory. Severus couldn't help but smile. He wondered if the pair would ever grow out of sleeping together. He had wondered if Draco telling himself that he would marry Hermione to protect her if the Dark Lord won would make things awkward between them but it hadn't. If anything, it had made them closer. Almost losing Draco had made them both realize just how precious they were to each other.

Severus sighed. He supposed that he should just get the letter written and send it off. Nothing the pair did would do any good and Lucius would hopefully realize that since he was the Head of he Board of Governors. He wished that he could get away with not telling them since they would only feel worse about Lupin being there but that wasn't an option.

Therefore, he stood and went to his desk, pulling out a quill, parchment, and ink. He settled in next to the fire and refilled his whiskey. With another deep sigh, he put quill to parchment and started. Hopefully, they would realize that he was doing the best he could to keep their children safe.

A/N- Another one bites the dust! Dang, I'm on a roll, look at me go. I hope you all liked this chapter, don't worry, things aren't going to settle down anytime soon. Thanks to all those that continue to show so much love to my story, you guys are the bomb. Leave me a review and tell me what you thought, they make me smile.

Next chapter, an interesting Care of Magical Creatures lesson and Lucius visits Hogwarts.

Love,

Alicia


	47. Chapter 47

A/N-Wow, guys, sixty-three reviews on the last chapter. I have never had that many of any chapter I've written before, this story or any others. Thank you so much, the love you show me is just astounding. I know that Remus is being horrid and I apologize. However, when the truth comes out, he's going to grovel and it's going to take a long time for him to be forgiven. Hang tight…please? Anyways, I know you really want the chapter so I'll go for now. Thanks again!

**Shout out to Fraulein Takoor on being my 1400th reviewer. You're freaking awesome!**

Disclaimer: Someday I'll have my own original story but until then you're going to have to make due with me writing stories about characters that don't belong to me. Trust me, I've made no money from this story or any other. If I had, I would have quit my job to take up writing full time already. My bank account balance tells no lies.

Chapter 47

September 21, 1993

Hermione had already ate all she was going to eat of her chicken salad sandwich and broccoli and cheese soup. The meal was good, quite tasty, but it would never compare to the meals that Dip and Dot made at Black Moor. Dot especially always made sure to make Hermione's favorites. She supposed that made her a bit spoiled but Hermione didn't care. She loved her elves and they loved her so there was nothing else for it.

Draco was laughing about a joke that Blaise had told that none of the girls could listen to. She was quite sure that it had been dirty in nature by the volume of their guffaws. She rolled her eyes at them and opened her book but she didn't really read. It was so much easier to think when everyone assumed that she was enthralled in a book.

Hermione hadn't talked to Harry since the day she had dueled Professor Lupin. She knew that he was being honest in saying that he would consider speaking to her father but she also knew that it would never happen. Dumbledore would never allow it and he would see in Harry's mind before it ever happened if he tried to keep it from him. Therefore, she hadn't seen fit to inform her father. It would only get his hopes up for them to be dashed later.

Truthfully, Hermione felt as if she was back in the same rut as she had been her first year. Harry would be terrible to her and then he would be nice. She would start to trust him and then he would dash it with a cruel comment. She swore to herself that she wasn't going to go out of her way to befriend him at all unless he made a move to speak with her father. Frankly, she was tired of being the rug that he could wipe his feet on and then try to clean up later.

The school in general was still being horrid to her. Most of the Slytherins that had been against her had come around and started acknowledging her again but the rest of the houses were a no-go. Even the Hufflepuffs, they were usually as loyal as they came, had turned their backs on her. The Gryffindors were the worse, however.

Since Hermione was almost always with Draco, he knew about most of the incidents. She had noticed that while most of the lions were in on the incidents, Harry was never around when they were performed. There were a couple that had landed her in the Hospital Wing and truth be told, she had had just about her fill of it.

Hermione had been out running one early September day, one of the days without Draco. Whereas she ran every morning, he joined her only four days a week, citing that he needed his rest for quidditch practice too. She usually didn't mind. However, just the week before she had been out on a Tuesday morning, running in the brisk air in the first rays of light around the Black Lake. There was a path that she ran every single day that twisted and turned between the trees and bushes along the shore. She had been on her third time around the lake when someone had stepped away from a tree behind her and blasted her into the Black Lake.

At home, this wouldn't have bothered her. Black Moor and Malfoy Manor had a pool and she was perfectly fine in the water there. However, when it came to swimming in the lakes on their lands, it was a different story. Hermione would go only as far as she could reach and no further. Not being able to see the bottom was a fear of hers since she was a kid and she had never gotten over it.

When she landed in the lake, her feet weren't touching the bottom. Hermione had never been the strongest swimmer, one of the reasons she preferred the shallower water. She had started to panic but her heart hadn't exploded out of her chest until the grindylows appeared and tried to pull her further under. Hermione wasn't sure how much water she had sucked in when the giant squid had appeared and caught her in one of his tentacles and lifted her high above the water and started to pull her towards the shore.

Hermione had been gasping for air and it had been hard to breathe. However, she refused to show weakness. After thanking the giant squid, she had dragged herself back into the castle and to the Hospital Wing. Draco had found her an hour later when she didn't show up for breakfast. He had been livid, Madam Pomfrey had shoved a calming draught down his throat, but Hermione didn't blame him. She would have been the same. Since she hadn't seen who had cursed her, there was nothing that they could do about it.

It had taken the better part of the day but Draco had finally agreed to not say anything to their parents about the bullying that she was receiving from both the students and Lupin. He made it quite clear that he wasn't happy with the situation and had also told her that he would begin running with her every morning when she had refused to stop. She didn't mind, per se, but she hated that coddled feeling she got when Draco did things he really didn't want to to protect her.

Her godfather knew about half her visits to the Hospital Wing. He had told her that if she wanted him to step in that he would but she didn't want that. She wanted to stand tall and proud on her own two feet, just like any Slytherin would. After each incident that he knew of, she cried into his robes and he held her close, kissed her head, and promised her that someday things would change. However, she would instruct him not to step in, that she wanted to handle things on her own. She was a proud Slytherin and when she finally reached her limit, things were going to get ugly. It was only a matter of time. Hermione just hoped that when it happened, she didn't end up almost killing someone.

Lupin hadn't gotten any better to her in class but he also hadn't gotten any worse. Outside of class, he ignored her as if she didn't exist in the corridors and Great Hall, which was perfectly fine with her. In class, he glared at her and refused to call on her for answers to his questions but he didn't challenge her to anymore duels. Even though she hated being ignored, she considered the way things were as a win since she hadn't had any further point losses or detentions. Draco treated him as if he was a servant, which she was just waiting for the werewolf to snap but he hadn't yet so she wasn't going to complain.

The bell rang in the distance so Hermione shoved her book into her bag and stood, throwing it over her shoulder as she did so. Her shoulder was still a little sore since she had been blasted into a wall the day before coming out of the library while Draco wasn't with her. She had been quite sure that nothing was hurt so she hadn't said anything and she hadn't gone to the Hospital Wing. Frankly, she was tired of the pitying looks from Madam Pomfrey and she was tired of being lectured by Draco to stay close.

Draco stood and offered her his arm, kissing the side of her head quickly as they headed towards the dungeons for Potions. Once inside the dungeon classroom, the pair quickly took their seats. Unlike last year, where Hermione had been paired with Weasley, this year she was paired with Parvati. It was still awkward but the girl wasn't stupid enough to say anything to start an argument, especially since she knew that she would never win. Hermione played nice and kept her mouth shut and in return, the Gryffindor did the same.

Today's lecture was over chizpurfle, something that Hermione had learned ages ago. She once again thanked Merlin that she had saved all her notes so she didn't have to waste her time taking more. Everyone else in class was scratching away dutifully at their parchment, which made Hermione smile. Even though her godfather was a prickly bastard, he could still get the student population at large to do whatever he told them to.

After her godfather assigned them to write an eighteen-inch essay over the subject, they were dismissed. Hermione gathered her things quickly since she had to make her way clear out to Hagrid's hut for Care of Magical Creatures. So far, the class hadn't necessarily been enlightening for Hermione but it had been interesting. Madam Cambridge had taught them everything they needed to know about most animals but she had never seen half of them and would kill for the opportunity.

Hagrid had told them in the last class that this class would prove to be their most exciting yet. Hermione couldn't wait to get there and see what he had in store but Draco would have been content to skip it. It was no surprise that Draco didn't care for the half-giant and he wasn't one to hide it. Hermione didn't blame him.

The rest of the students in their class seemed to have the same idea as Hermione since they all followed them straight out into cool air. Draco kept hold of her arm and was shooting looks at anyone that got too close to her. She supposed that she couldn't blame him since she still wasn't quite sure who had sent her sailing into the lake.

Hagrid appeared from the Forbidden Forest and greeted them happily. The rest of the students, Gryffindors mainly, greeted him back eagerly. Slytherins were always more reserved. Once they were all gathered around, he began his lesson.

"Today, we're goin' ta learn 'bout hippogriffs." Hermione grinned even though she was supposed to be reserved. She had loved learning about hippogriffs when Madam Cambridge had went over them. She had begged her father to take her to a hippogriff reserve but he would never agree because they were such flighty animals and they perceived the slightest negativity as an insult. She supposed that she understood from a parental point of view but that didn't mean that she didn't want to see a hippogriff.

Hagrid lectured for almost an hour on the beautiful beasts. Hermione double checked her notes and was happy to see that she had several facts that she could add to her already perfect notes. Hagrid had his flaws but nobody could deny that he was a magical creature's genius. Draco was jotting down notes next to her so she figured that even though he would never admit it out loud that he agreed with her too. After the lecture, Hagrid waved for them to follow him and Hermione was horrified to see that he was going to lead them into the Forbidden Forest. She tentatively raised her hand and when he called on her, she did her best to make her voice sound strong.

"You want us to go into the Forbidden Forest? Isn't it dangerous in there?" It seemed as thought the Slytherins hadn't considered that and now had leery looks on their faces. The Gryffindors looked as though they were still ready to charge in head first though and she supposed that she shouldn't have been surprised. Hagrid's features flashed with annoyance but it was gone before Hermione had even fully registered that that was what it was.

"The forest is perfectly safe when I'm wit' ya. We aren' goin' in too deep." Hermione supposed that there was nothing she could do but follow so she slid her wand down from inside her sleeve into her hand. There was no way she was entering the Forest unprepared.

It really was a short walk, just about ten minutes or so. They reached a large paddock and found ten or so hippogriffs, all ranging in colors and sizes. Hagrid whistled and one of the larger hippogriffs came when he was called. He trotted up to the fence and watched the group of students warily. Hagrid patted his head merrily and addressed the class.

"Dis here is Buckbeak. He's one of tha oldes' males in tha herd and loves humans. Who wan's to volunteer ta come greet Buckbeak and tell 'im how perfect 'e is?" Hermione really wanted to be the first but refrained from volunteering. It was Care of Magical Creatures and even though she had a perfect score in the class, it was clear that Harry and his friends were the favorites. Everyone in the class stepped back as a whole except for Hermione and Harry. Hagrid beamed, completely ignoring her.

"Harry, 'ow nice of ya ta volunteer like dat. You'll love Beaky." Hermione had to hide the grin that threatened to blossom at the sight of Harry's expression. It was clear that he didn't want to go first more than she wanted to be thrown in to the lake again. However, as a true Gryffindor, he gulped his fears back and stepped forward.

Hermione watched as he bowed to the hippogriff and after several minutes, the hippogriff bowed back. Once he had done so, Harry looked quite content to pat his beak and scratch his feathers behind his ear. Truth be told, Buckbeak looked quite content as well. It all changed when Hagrid went behind Harry and lifted him on the hippogriff's back and spoke quite loudly.

"He'll let ya ride 'im. Mind 'is feathers, don' pull 'em out." Hagrid then slapped the beast on the rump and sent him off flying.

Hermione could hear the screams of Harry as they climbed through the air. They quieted once he was completely level and then there were whoops of joy. Hermione shuddered. There was no way in blue hell that she could ride the hippogriff but she imagined that she could well-handle petting the beast. The other students talked quietly amongst themselves for almost ten minutes before Buckbeak came swooping down once again, Harry clinging to his back and grinning. Hagrid helped him slide off and she could see them speaking softly to one another. After seeing his experience, Hermione was so excited to greet of them on her own. Hagrid finally turned his attention to the class.

"Alrigh', Harry has showed us how ta get it don'. I'm gonna call all tha others and let ya meet 'em." He gave a sharp whistle and several others came trotting forward. Hagrid turned to them and shouted.

"Ok, ya kno' the rules, make yer friends." Hermione grabbed Draco's hand and quickly stepped up to the nearest hippogriff, Buckbeak as it was. She watched Draco bow to the beast and make friends, her cousin patting him softly on the nose before he finally stepped back. Theo went next and bowed low enough that the hippogriff bowed back. Hermione was almost vibrating in excitement at getting to go next. When it was finally her turn, she bowed low before the shiny grey hippogriff and waited until he followed suit. Once he had, she stepped forward and began to stroke his face much the same as she did her Abraxan horse, Bluebell.

"You're the most beautiful creature I've ever seen aside from my horse, Bluebell. He's an Abraxan horse and I ride him every chance I get. Do you like to be ridden?" Out of nowhere, the beast that had been allowing her to caress his nose and face flipped on a knut. His eyes went wild and his head started to twist through the air. He reared up on his back feet, his front hooves kicking wildly. Hermione knew what was coming before anyone else did but there was no way to move out of the way in time. Therefore, she closed her eyes and hoped that Draco wouldn't be too angry with her.

However, rather than feel the grip and bite of the hippogriff's hooves, Hermione felt nothing. When she opened her eyes, Draco was on the ground at her feet, blood blooming all over the sleeve of his arm. Instant anger erupted and her wand was in her hand, ready to cast. Draco was on the ground next to her, softly whimpering because of the pain. Just before she could cast on the filthy beast, Hagrid ran out in between them and started waving the hippogriff away.

"Off wit' ya, ya great bloody beast." While Hermione was pleased that the hippogriff was no longer a danger, she was livid that Draco had had to step in in the first place. Hagrid was clearly panicking as he approached Draco.

"Yer jus' fine, Malfoy, ye'll be good as new in no time." Hermione stepped between them and held her wand on him.

"Don't you take another step towards him, you great fucking idiot. I bowed to that beast and then told him that he was as beautiful as my Abraxan horse. Then he rears up and attacks. Telling him that he's fine isn't going to make that so." Her wand didn't waver as she knelt next to her cousin and helped him stand. Greg appeared on his other side while Hermione cradled his injured arm. Her voice was ice cold as she spoke to the half-giant.

"My father and uncle are going to hear of this. Year after year you just keep putting students in danger. I won't stand for it. First with me in the Forest during our first-year detention. Second year, you sent Potter, Weasley and my cousin to the acromantula nest. This year, a hippogriff. You aren't fit to be a teacher no matter what the Headmaster thinks and no matter how knowledgeable you are." Hermione could feel her magic bubbling right near the surface and she was doing her absolute best to keep in under control. The last thing she needed was to have her magic take care of things just like it had when it had been faced with Lavender Brown. She could see that the Gryffindors weren't happy with her words but at this point, she could give two fucks less. She turned to Greg and gave him a determined smile.

"Help me take him to the Hospital Wing. I'll contact my uncle from there." He gave her a nod and shifted his massive weight under Draco's shoulder. On her own side, she cast a spell that would levitate and support him the whole way. It seemed the easiest way to go about it. Hagrid looked as though he were destroyed and for a moment, Hermione felt sorry for him. There was no way that anybody else was going to stand up for Hagrid after what happened the year before.

Draco would probably have been able to walk if he had to but Hermione knew that he would never admit that letting the others get him there via magical transport was so much easier. She knew his arm hurt like mad but she doubted he regreted it, not a single little bit. The hippogriff had been going to attack his cousin for whatever reason and the attack would have been bad against her slight frame. As much as it pained her to admit, his injury was nothing compared to what hers would have been.

She knew that he was bleeding quite profusely and she and Greg tried to get him out of the Forbidden Forest as quickly as possible. Hermione was cursing under her breath, a sure way to realize that she was pissed beyond measure. Greg kept quiet, a good choice since Hermione was sure to have hexed his lips shut for a year. Hermione clutched her cousin's hand tight to her chest and did her best to stay calm.

"We're almost there. Once we're in the Hospital Wing, you may go, Greg. Thank you for helping me." Goyle beamed at her and she felt a tiny bit guilty for having him aide a person who would likely become his enemy once the truth about her father came out.

They finally reached the castle and started to make their way to the fourth floor. Once they had entered the Hospital Wing, she was quick to put her cousin in the nearest bed. Hermione drew the blankets up around him. Madam Pomfrey had seen them come in and would be over the second that she was able. She bent and ripped a strip of fabric from her skirt, making it six inches shorter than it usually was so she could wrap it around the wound on Draco's arm. She pulled his tattered sleeve up to reveal a ten-inch long gash deep enough to see his bone. Her stomach flopped uncomfortably at the sight of his bone but she swallowed it down so she could do what needed to be done. Madam Pomfrey finally appeared at her side and was surprised to her skirt wrapped around his arm.

"What happened here? What am I dealing with?" Hermione snarled at her, the anger she felt clear on her face and in her magic dancing on the very edge.

"That idiot Hagrid introduced us to hippogriffs. The hippogriff that slashed him was bowing to me at the time. I told him that he was as beautiful as my Abraxan horse and he reared up and went after me. Draco took the punishment, not me. You have to fix him, Madam Pomfrey." The mediwitch reached out and squeezed her shoulder tightly.

"I'll fix him right up, Miss Black, I promise." Hermione gave her a grateful smile. However, she felt she owed the mediwitch a warning.

"I'm calling my uncle. He won't be angry at you but things are going to get ugly." Madam Pomfrey didn't seem too worried so Hermione produced her wand and waved it, her fox appearing before them. She gave the message to her Uncle Luci that Draco was injured and needed him to come right away.

Draco whimpered a few times during the treatment but refused to cry. She knew that he wanted to during the cleansing of the wound but he had held strong and she was proud of him. After the mediwitch had stepped away for a second, she told him so. Draco did his best to smirk at her but his attempt was pathetic. Madam Pomfrey returned and continued to work on his arm. The mediwitch placed the last bandage in place before turning to Hermione.

"He's going to be just fine, I promise. No scars since he got here soon enough. He'll just be a little uncomfortable for a day or two." Hermione grinned at her before she stepped forward. Impulsively, she hugged her for just a moment. When she pulled away, Madam Pomfrey was smiling softly at her.

"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey." Nobody else got to speak because the doors of the Hospital Wing were flung open wide and her Uncle Luci strolled in, a thundercloud of fury on his face.

-O-

Harry couldn't believe what he had just seen. Hagrid was crying as he shooed the hippogriffs off and Ron was clearly plotting with Seamus and Dean. He was still confused as to what had happened. Buckbeak had been perfectly fine when he had bowed to him and had seemed to be doing just fine for the others in their group. He supposed that something must have happened because there was no way that Buckbeak would have attacked for no reason.

Harry couldn't believe the amount of blood covering the ground where Malfoy had fallen. It was clear that he had really been hurt and that he had taken the hit from Buckbeak's hooves for Hermione. Since she was usually perfectly lovely, he couldn't understand why the hippogriff would attack her. Hagrid was quick to dismiss all the students and head for his hut, tears still streaming down his cheeks. However badly he felt for Hagrid, however, he also hoped that Malfoy would be alright. Anyone who took an injury like that for someone else couldn't be that bad of a person. He tuned back into he conversation that Ron was having with Seamus and growled at them.

"You're not doing anything to them. Malfoy's arm is pretty fucked up. If your brothers had been attacked, Ron, you would be just as angry as she is." Ron narrowed his eyes at Harry and spoke softly so nobody else could hear.

"Are you going soft on this girl? Her father turned your family over to You-Know-Who. You can't let her fuck with your mind." Harry raked a hand through his hair as he sighed. Ron was probably never going to change and it was going to drive him spare.

"I'm not going soft for anybody. I'm just saying that if you guys go messing with her, what do you think her father and uncle are going to do to your families? It's going to be bad and your parents shouldn't have to pay the price of you being stupid, Ron." Ron stopped and thought for a second before he finally nodded his head.

"Alright, yeah, you're right. I won't do anything to the little bitch." Harry wanted to tell him not to call her names but he had just agreed to leave her alone. He was going to take what he could get and be thankful for it.

"Thank you. Now, let's get up to the castle, I bet dinner is going to be served soon." Ron's eyes lit up like it was Christmas and Harry could only chuckle. His friend was so predictable.

The pair made their way to castle, neither one talking. The silence wasn't uncomfortable though. As they entered through the side door, Harry caught sight of Professor Lupin coming down the corridor, clearly on his way to dinner. He smacked Ron on the arm.

"You go on it, I want to speak to Professor Lupin really quick before I eat." Ron nodded his way and cut over to enter the Great Hall without him. Harry approached Professor Lupin, who as soon as he saw him, gave him a warm smile.

"Hello there, Harry. You're out of class. Did you get out early or did you skip?" Harry grinned at his words.

"No skipping, promise. Malfoy got hurt in Care of Magical Creatures so we were dismissed early. I'm glad that I caught you though, I was wanting to ask you a question." Professor Lupin smiled at him again and nodded.

"Ask away." Harry rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"I heard the stories about Malfoy and Black casting a patronus on the Express and I saw you cast it. I was wondering if you could teach me." Professor Lupin frowned slightly.

"It's a ridiculously advanced spell, Harry. I'm not even sure how the others cast it, only my theory about their cores, let alone for the length of time they held it. I'll teach you but I don't want you to get discouraged if you can't do it." Harry nodded his head slowly.

"I do want to learn it so thank you. Why is it, you think, that Malfoy and Black can cast it? Malfoy is only a couple months older than me." Professor Lupin laid a hand on his shoulder and started to steer him towards the Great Hall since there were far more students heading that way now.

"From what I've been told, they've been learning magic since they were born. They're ridiculously advanced. Your magical core is like a muscle, the more you use it, the stronger it gets. Not that you'll gain more power but it will last longer and you'll understand it better. Their magical cores are out of this world because they've been using them since they were tiny. Yours is just now starting to strengthen." Harry frowned.

"How did they use their magical cores if underage magic use is illegal?" Lupin sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, an act reminiscent of Snape.

"Both Malfoy and Black live in their family seats, manors hundreds of years old with ancient blood wards. The wards are strong, some maybe stronger than Hogwarts' wards since every generation pours their blood and magic into them. It blocks the Trace. I'm not saying that they've been using wands because they won't be sold to a child before they go to Hogwarts, but they've been taught to channel their magic and direct it how and where they want to." Harry nodded. He understood a little about wards since he had read a book on them over the summer.

"That makes sense. Just seems unfair that they get an advantage like that." Lupin nodded.

"I agree but there is nothing that we can do about it. They're Slytherins so they're going to use every advantage they have regardless if it's fair or not." Harry nodded glumly.

"I'm never going to catch up to them, am I?" Lupin looked at him sharply.

"It isn't a competition. Yes, though, you will. You're already advanced for your age, Minerva told me that you're at the end of the fourth-year curriculum. I heard tell that they're on their sixth Just keep working like you are, your dedication is going to get you there. Make sure that you practice magic as much as possible so you exercise your core. It won't make you more powerful but it will give you more control." Harry nodded and asked one last question.

"How are they so powerful? I'm supposed to face Voldemort and I don't feel as powerful as they are." Lupin sighed again, this time a hint of irritation at his question.

"Malfoy is powerful, he came from the Blacks and Malfoys, both very powerful families. Since the two families haven't been related in a couple hundred years, there wasn't any inbreeding. Therefore, the strength of his magic is more so than many of the other purebloods who are related more closely. As for Black, the same applies. Her mother is Malfoy's aunt and she was sired by Lord Black's brother. You get magic from both your parents so she had the same strength as Malfoy. Well, when Lord Black adopted her, he did so with blood magic, an extremely dangerous thing. It added a third component to her magic, Sirius' magic. Whereas you have two donors of magic, the same as Malfoy, she has three. That's why she has so much power. As for you, Harry, you're just as powerful as she is, if not more so. I can feel the power just bleeding off you, you just don't notice." Harry thought he understood so he nodded.

"I don't feel powerful, that much is true. I suppose I'll just have to take your word for it." Lupin smiled again and laid his hand on Harry's shoulder again.

"Get in there and eat before you miss dinner. Don't worry about your power levels and how they compare, it won't matter in the end. I'll let you know when we're able to start our patronus lessons." Harry grinned at him and followed his advice. His belly rumbled and he hoped that Ron had saved him some food.

You never knew when it came to Ron and his food.

-O-

Lucius was furious. If Draco had been injured in Defense Against the Dark Arts, he could have understood it. There were always injuries in that class because you were learning to defend yourselves. He had lost count of how many injuries Hermione and Draco had given each other just last summer as they learned to duel.

This, however, had occurred in Care of Magical Creatures. Hermione had told him what had happened, what she had told the hippogriff. As much as he hated to see his son in pain and looking as pale as a ghost, he was glad that his boy had stepped in to protect Hermione. If the hippogriff had attacked her, the injuries would have been more severe. Draco already towered over her and she weighed next to nothing. She clearly took after her mother in that regard.

Lucius still missed his sister every single day. He had watched out for her much the same way that Draco watched after Hermione. She had been the light of his life until he had fallen in love with Cissy but he had never stopped loving and protecting her. It had been his fault she had been killed, even though it was indirectly. The Order had burst into her modest home with the intent of taking her to question her about his actions and his role in the on-going war. Lucius knew that she never would have told them anything but the fact remained that they wanted her because they wanted him. His guilt for that would never fade.

After he had lost Erise, he knew that he had to have Hermione in his life. When Sirius had given him the ultimatum of abandoning his beliefs and way of life or losing Hermione, he had let everything else go. Sure, he still felt that most purebloods were better than muggleborns but there was always an exception to the rule. Potter's mother had been one of them; ridiculously powerful and had no problems using that power to protect those that she loved.

Now, however, he didn't let his personal feelings make him a prejudiced berk. He could be civil to muggleborns, had been since Hermione was two and he had promised that he would never utter the word mudblood again. He had kept his word too and would continue to keep it. Honestly, it was too much work to actively hate someone just because of who they were born to. His feelings of superiority would likely never change but he would never spew it as propaganda again. Hermione was more important.

He was currently waiting on the Headmaster to arrive. Madam Pomfrey had unbandaged his son's arm and let him inspect the wound before it healed. It was clear down to the bone, almost a foot long. Seeing the gash had made him want to lose his temper but he had kept a tight leash on it. He wanted to make changes, not get kicked out of the castle because he tried to hex the Headmaster.

Draco was now sleeping, thanks to a draught from Madam Pomfrey. Lucius had always liked the woman, she had never shown Slytherins any less care despite their bad reputations and house. His son and niece seemed to like her as well. Hermione was seated on the bed next to his son, softly brushing his hair back off his face. Her words were soft when she finally spoke.

"It was all my fault, Uncle Luci. The hippogriff wanted to attack me, not Draco. He stepped in and was attacked because of me and I don't even know what I did wrong." He moved to her side so he could drop a kiss on the top of her head and rub his hands up and down her arms in comfort.

"What did you say to the beast?" She sniffled softly but there were no tears. He smiled softly. Always so strong, only allowing herself to show weakness in front of family.

"I told Buckbeak that he was as beautiful as my Abraxan horse. He is too, he's just as beautiful as Bluebell." He dropped another kiss on her head.

"Hippogriffs are very proud animals, poppet. They don't like to be compared to any animals, not even ones as beautiful as Bluebell. That's why he attacked. It wasn't your fault, there was no way that you could know he would react that way. You're only third years, you shouldn't have even been learning about hippogriffs yet, it's usually a sixth-year subject." He watched a single tear slide down her cheek before she brushed it away angrily.

"I should have known that, I should have known what to say and what not to. I'm just so mad that he stepped in and got hurt because of me." Lucius chuckled at her words. She was such a little ball of fire.

"No, I'm sure you don't like it. However, we both know that you would have done the same for him so you can't get angry at him for doing just as you would have. That would be hypocritical." Hermione hissed softly.

"I can do as I please. He's not going to get out of a lecture that easily." Lucius chuckled and kissed the top of her head again. He didn't get to reply because the door to the Hospital Wing opened and the Headmaster and Severus entered. His friend looked more irritated than usual so he supposed that his chat with the Headmaster hadn't gone well. The Headmaster looked pissed, that was a sure thing. Lucius, however, wasn't in the mood for the run-around talk that Dumbledore was famous for.

"I want to know what you're going to do about that complete idiot teaching Care of Magical Creatures. Letting third year students approach hippogriffs is complete folly." Dumbledore raised his eyebrows.

"Well, it's funny. None of the other students had any problems with their beast, only your niece. Maybe you should ask her what she did." He heard Hermione's soft intake of air at his words and it made Lucius even more angry. His eyes hardened at the old man in front of him.

"I have asked her what happened. She told the beast that he was as beautiful as her Abraxan horse, quite the compliment if you ask me. Her horse is one of a kind. She's aware now that the beast perceived it as an insult but that doesn't make this her fault. Not when she shouldn't have even been out there with hippogriffs in the first place. Do you even know how injured she would have been if Draco hadn't jumped between them? I guarantee you, after last year, you do not want a pissed off Lord Black up here." There was a tiny flash of something in Dumbledore's eyes but it was gone before he could decipher what it was.

"Well, it seems as though your niece is as much at fault as Hagrid is. Perhaps if I am to be made to punish Hagrid, she needs to serve detention for not paying attention in class and causing her cousin's injuries." He could feel his niece's body tense at the Headmaster's words and he was suddenly even more enraged than he was.

"You want to punish my niece because she gave the beast a compliment?" The Headmaster shrugged his shoulders.

"You want me to do something to Hagrid about the incident when he was very clear that hippogriffs were proud creatures and don't react well to insults. He had no other problems in the class, only with Miss Black. It's sad that young Draco had to pay the price but there is no going back now. Miss Black was just as much at fault. If you take this to the Board of Governors, they will do nothing except demand that the hippogriff be put down which is always an option I suppose. I'm willing to put a note in Hagrid's permanent file but your niece should be punished for her part in the scenario as well." Lucius knew exactly what this was. It was a power play and he had just lost when he mentioned putting down the creature. Hermione would never stand for that, she had always loved animals. Her kneazle Tenebris followed her everywhere and her horse loved her more than anything. She would gladly take any punishment as long as the beast wasn't harmed. Just as he had suspected, her head came up quickly and she had panicked eyes.

"No, Uncle Luci, I'll serve the detentions. Don't take this to the Board, it isn't right for Buckbeak to be put down. He shouldn't even be corralled. Please, I'll help Draco do all his homework and I'll make sure that he gets better, I promise." Lucius wanted to avada the Headmaster right then and there but he couldn't. He bent down and pressed another kiss to his niece, her forehead this time.

"Relax, princess, we're not going to put the hippogriff down. You're right, he's a wild animal and it's completely asinine that he's being kept in a cage." He went to his full height and glared at the Headmaster. The almost smirk on his face made Lucius want to curse it right off.

"Since it was my son that was injured, and I'm the head of the Board of Governors, I'm going to propose a solution. Hagrid gets a permanent note in his file and the school is to remove all hippogriffs from the grounds. They should be in a reserve. In turn, Hermione will serve two detentions with her Head of House and I won't take the school to the Wizengamot for the injuries my son received as a result of his poor teaching choices." Lucius could see Severus' lips twitching just slightly, giving away his amusement. The Headmaster shook his head.

"Absolutely not. I won't force Hagrid to get rid of animals he has cared for for decades." Lucius shrugged his shoulders.

"Very well. No detentions for Hermione then and I will see you before the Wizengamot. I'm sure you know how many of those men and women are my friends. I'll be pushing for Hagrid to lose his job, however. We have nothing left to discuss so you may go now." Hermione was now squeezing his hand tightly in apprehension. Lucius turned his back on the Headmaster and smirked at his niece. Dumbledore's voice was strained when he finally spoke.

"Very well, I'll agree to get rid of the hippogriffs from the grounds. There is a reserve in Ireland that I'm sure will take them. Miss Black's detentions will begin tonight." Lucius smirked the Headmaster's way.

"You write up the reprimand that will go in Hagrid's file. I want my signature on it." If it was possible for Dumbledore to hate him more, he wasn't sure. However, he didn't care. His voice was tight when he responded.

"Very well. Come with me to my office and we'll get it handled." Lucius nodded and kissed the head of his niece again.

"I'll be back soon, poppet. Don't leave, I'll make sure that the elves send up some dinner for both you and Draco." She smiled at him and nodded.

"I'll be right here waiting for you, Uncle Luci." He smiled softly at her. She really was the light of his life. After giving one of her curls a gentle tug, he motioned for the Headmaster to lead the way.

He had a feeling that they weren't going to agree on what was to be written on the reprimand for Hagrid. He had a feeling that it was going to get ugly and he didn't want Hermione to witness that. Lucius caught Severus' eye and nodded. His friend fell back and remained with his children and Lucius squared his shoulders.

This wasn't going to end up being a pleasant conversation, of that he was sure.

A/N- Yay, another chapter down, y'all. I can't believe we're already almost to chapter fifty. Time flies, I suppose. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Thanks again to everyone out there showing this story so much love. You guys are just awesome. Leave me a message after the beep and tell me what you think.

Next chapter, boggart lesson and a long talk.

Love,

Alicia


	48. Chapter 48

A/N- You guys are just awesome, thank you so much for showing this story so much love. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it, it keeps me motivated to keep writing. I'll end this now since I know you all would rather read the chapter

Disclaimer: I don't own a darn thing in this story. The original idea for Part One belongs to Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle and the characters belong to our queen. I haven't made any money off this fic or any others. I'm a broke bitch as evidenced by the balance of my bank account.

Chapter 48

November 11, 1993

Hermione pushed the roasted chicken around on her plate. She really wasn't too hungry to be entirely truthful. She ate a little, however, to keep Draco from worrying. He wasn't paying her any attention; he was busy talking quidditch strategy for their upcoming game against Ravenclaw. As much as she hated him playing a game that he could get hurt in, it made him happy and she would never begrudge him that. Her mind drifted to the incident just a few days ago.

*Flashback*

She was still suffering from bullying but not to the extent that it had been. Apparently, it wasn't as much fun anymore since Draco wouldn't let her go anywhere by herself after he had seen what happened to her the last time. She had been leaving the library by herself, she had been doing some extra reading for her warding homework for Madam Cambridge. From somewhere behind her, a piece of stone had soared through the air and hit her directly in the back of the head.

Her vision had swam and she had fallen to her knees. Once she had pulled herself together, Hermione had searched for the culprit, determined to make sure that they paid for hurting her. She had had just about enough of being on the receiving end of the bullying and her magic was going to respond eventually. She had a feeling that when it happened, it wasn't going to be pretty.

All she had seen was a flash of vibrant red hair and what sounded like a giggle. Hermione had her suspicions that it was Ginny Weasley that had thrown the stone at her but she would never be able to prove it since there were other red heads in the castle. She had brushed off her robes and continued to make her way down to the dungeons so she could go to bed.

Once she entered the common room, Draco was there holding court. Pansy was plastered to his side and was stroking his arm, her hand coming up to brush hair from his face occasionally. Theo, Greg, and Vince were sitting across from him and were laughing at whatever he was saying. Daphne was sitting with Blaise, Millie, and Tracey and she appeared to be quite pleased that Blaise had his arm around her shoulders. They were talking softly and Draco had his eye on them. Hermione wanted to roll her eyes at how obvious he was being but she didn't. Rather than stick around and have to watch the scene play out, she headed towards her dorm. Draco's voice was almost shrill when he spoke.

"Hermione Alula Black, you get back here and tell me what's wrong with you." Hermione spun around and glared at him. There was worry on his face but she wasn't about to be ordered around.

"Piss off, Draco, keep holding your court and just let me go to bed." He shoved Pansy off him and stood, crossing the room in only five strides. She didn't turn and leave but she glared at him. When he reached her side, her voice was ice.

"You don't get to order me around. I may be your cousin and I may be a girl but I will wipe the floor with you if you try to order me around. You do it all the time and I usually let it go. However, I'm tired of you doing it in front of everyone. I'm not your girlfriend and you're not my father. I'm my own person and I will do as I please." She knew that she was being a bitch but she was so tired of people taking pot shots at her and treating her like complete shite. She realized that she had made a mistake in treating Brown as she had but hadn't she paid enough? Draco's eyes widened for a second before he stepped into her personal space and hugged her close.

"What happened to you? There is blood down your back." Hermione cursed inwardly. She hadn't been aware that she had been bleeding, otherwise she would have cleaned it off and nobody would have been the wiser. Her voice was still icy when she answered him.

"It doesn't matter. Just know that next time something happens to me, I'm going to end it. I've paid my dues for hurting Brown. Just warn everyone you care about that when it happens they better not get in my way." Draco's face was a mixture between anger and fear. He gripped her biceps in his hands and squeezed, almost tight enough to bruise.

"You're not going to do anything. You're going to report it and let Uncle Sev handle it. You can't get in trouble because you fight back, you know you won't be able to control it." That one line hit her like a slap in the face. Her impassive mask fell into place as she tried to appear unaffected. Draco, however, knew her better than anyone else in the whole world. He could see that his words had hurt her but he didn't look contrite at all. She stepped back from him and out of his arms. Her voice was monotone as she spoke.

"I'll be fine, don't worry about me. I'm not hurt. Your fans are missing you though, you should probably get back to them. Pansy especially looks bereft without your company." He scowled at her words but didn't acknowledge them. He stepped forward once more but she stepped further back and turned to flee to her room.

Once she was in her dorm, she quickly showered and changed into her pajamas. Just as she settled into the bed with a book and her kneazle, there was a brief knock at the door. She didn't answer it but the door opened anyways, revealing her godfather. He gave her a concerned look as he sat next to her on the bed.

"What happened, princess?" Hermione shook her head. Telling someone wasn't going to make it any better, especially if it really was Ginny Weasley that had thrown the stone. She knew that she had been a bitch to Draco but he clearly had no faith in her and knowing that hurt.

"It doesn't matter. It won't change anything." His hands reached out and snagged one of her hands and pulled her into him. He hugged her close and she breathed in the scent of potions on his robes. It still managed to calm her after all these years.

"Maybe not, but you'll feel better if you tell me." Hermione sighed since she knew that her godfather wasn't going to leave her alone until she told him.

"I came out of the library and someone threw a stone at the back of my head. I thought I saw Ginny Weasley but I can't be sure." He pulled her closer so he could make her bend her neck and inspect the back of her head. Hermione let him but when he released her, she explained.

"I healed it myself when I took a shower. I'm done, Uncle Sev, I'm done with the bullying. I made a mistake, I get that, but this is too much. The next time something happens, I'm going to fight back. I'm sure you probably agree with Draco and think I can't keep my control but you're both wrong." His hands reached out and cupped her cheeks.

"Is that what he told you?" She nodded, tears pricking her eyes. She refused to let them fall though.

"Yes, that's exactly what he said. Not that it matters, he believes it. I can't be mad at him for speaking what he believes to be true. I just thought that he had more faith in me." He pulled her in for another hug and held her tight.

"He believes in you, Hermione, he just doesn't want you to get hurt. He loves you and wants to protect you." She snorted.

"He wants to protect me but he was too busy letting Pansy hang off him to protect me when I actually needed it. I don't expect him to stop living his life but he doesn't get to pick and choose when he's going to protect me. If his protection is just a lecture, I'm not interested. I've been protecting myself just fine so far." He glared at her.

"Not just fine, you've been in the Hospital Wing how many times? Let your cousin help you." Hermione wanted to scream in frustration but realized that this was going to be a never-ending argument and nodded. Her godfather clearly knew that she was just giving in to shut him up but it didn't stop him from kissing her forehead anyways.

"Get some rest, princess. All will be better in the morning." Hermione had nodded and snuggled back down into her bed. On his way out, Uncle Sev put the light out.

*End of Flashback*

The following day, Draco had apologized to her for hurting her and she had apologized for being a bitch and taking her frustration out on him. His apology didn't take away the hurt of knowing that he didn't have any faith in her but she supposed that she hadn't done anything to make him believe that she could do it. The last time she had retaliated, she had almost killed someone. For some reason, though, the fact that Draco doubted her hurt more than every single incident of bullying since the beginning of the year.

The bell rang and she gathered her things quickly. Draco didn't leave her side now and as much as she would never say so, she was grateful. She hated having to rely on someone to help keep her safe, especially when that someone wanted to go do their own thing and spend time with their friends. He followed her to Ancient Runes and they took their usual seats together. Hardly any time at all passed before Professor Babbling entered and pointed her wand at the chalkboard and gave them their assignment.

Hermione worked quietly on her own, even though they could help each other. She wasn't angry at her cousin but being around him and being reminded that he didn't trust her to control her magic hurt. He seemed to realize that she wanted time to herself and seemed content to work on his own as well.

Once her assignment was done and she had handed it in, she could hear the whispers around the room, saying that she had driven her own cousin away and that they were fighting. Hermione wanted to scream in frustration. Nobody had a clue about what was going on and it was beginning to piss her off. The bell rang shortly after, cutting off all talk and speculation.

Hermione rose, Draco next to her, and started for the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. She dreaded this class today because Professor Lupin had warned them that they would be facing a boggart. She had faced one already, during the summer between first and second year, but it wasn't something that she really wanted to relive. Draco wrapped an arm around her waist, she was sure that he knew just how nervous she was about this class. He didn't seem too excited either.

They entered the classroom and took their usual seats. Harry slinked in and took his seat next to Weasley. She still hadn't spoken to him since he had told her that he would consider meeting with her father. It wasn't really a good sign that he was avoiding her like he was. She sighed to herself; he was probably going to decide against it and nothing would ever change. More than anything, she wished that they could just find Peter Pettigrew and prove to the world that he was the guilty one, not her father.

Professor Lupin strode in, his face happy and his step springy. It was the new moon, the best time of the month for a werewolf since there was little pull from the moon. She supposed that she should be happy; maybe he would just ignore her today and leave well enough alone. Once he was at the front of the class, he waved his wand and a large wardrobe floated to the center of the room. It was shaking and moving, clearly holding the boggart inside.

"Alright, class, I warned you last time that today we would be facing a boggart. I'm a man of my word and you will all be taking turns facing down the creature that turns into your greatest fear. Please stand and push your desks to the side of the room so there will be plenty of space." Hermione left her bag on her desk and helped Draco shove it to the side. After everyone's desk was out of the middle of the floor, he stood behind her and started to massage her shoulders. Even though he had hurt her, she leaned into his hands and let her body rest against his. She felt him kiss the side of her head but he remained quiet.

Lupin was waving them forward, one by one, first a Slytherin, then a Gryffindor. Greg went first, fearing vampires. After several tries, he was able to turn it to something funny. Same for Parvati, who feared hags. Blaise was next and he feared mummies while Seamus feared the water. On and on it went until Lupin called for Draco. Her cousin squeezed her hand and stepped forward to meet the boggart.

It started to morph before their eyes, just like it had with everyone else. The form finally settled on a replica of Hermione, in raggedy clothes that prisoners of Azkaban wore. Her face was hollowed out and haggard, her hair stringy and filthy. Hermione froze because she didn't know what she was supposed to do with this information. With a wave of his wand, the boggart Hermione was wearing a princess costume and looked to be around the age of eight.

She could feel the tension in her body; her back was ramrod straight and her shoulders were pulled back. Her chin was parallel with the ground and she refused to show weakness. Lupin was watching her and it was clear that he was considering what he had just seen. Draco returned to his spot behind her so he could continue rubbing her shoulders. She didn't say a single word to him about his greatest fear. She didn't think that she could bear to.

Ron was called up next and she was unsurprised to see that his greatest fear were spiders. After freaking out for a few moments, he waved his wand and skates appeared on all eight legs of the spider and it started to fall. The class burst out in laughter but Weasley looked pretty proud of himself. Hermione gulped when Lupin sneered her name, telling her that she was next in line.

Hermione walked away from her cousin and faced the boggart. It was still a spider struggling to stand but when it realized that a new threat had stepped forward, it began to morph again. The creature became a mirror image of Draco, laying on the floor with a knife plunged in his heart. He then changed to her father laying at an awkward angle with his throat sliced all the way across. Aunt Cissy and Uncle Luci followed, all dead in a horrible fashion. Before her boggart gave away how close she was to her Uncle Sev, she raised her wand and whispered the spell.

"Riddikulus." Her Aunt Cissy, the current dead body on the floor, rose in the air and started bowing before them, like she had been acting in a play and then bowing before the crowd. Whereas most of the other students had laughed at all the other changes made to the fears, everyone remained silent at hers. Lupin finally nodded at her, waving her back. It was clear that her fear had astounded everyone in the classroom, more so than even Draco's had.

Lupin didn't say anything, which surprised her immensely. Instead, he waved Harry up and she watched as he warily made his way up to the front of the room. Draco had wrapped his arms around her waist and was hugging her from behind. She patted his hand clumsily but remained silent. As the image of her Aunt Cissy bowing before a crowd realized that there was someone new before it, it began to morph.

Hermione had wondered if he would most scared of Voldemort. It would make sense since he was the wizard that had murdered his parents. However, Hermione couldn't have been more horrified at what she saw. When the boggart finally settled, it was as though her father was standing before him. She could only cover her mouth at the fact that his greatest fear was her father, her sweet, loving, kind father. He had been so warped that he feared the one person that would never hurt him no matter what.

Harry waved his wand and spoke the spell and Hermione watched as her father was turned into a court jester, complete with the uniform and everything. The image was clear. He had made her father into a joke. It pissed her off completely but she wouldn't retaliate against him. He had been thoroughly turned against her and her father and he was only scared of what the others had told him to fear. After the image of her father was chivvied back into the wardrobe, Harry took his spot back in the crowd while Lupin spoke.

"Well done, class, you all took on a boggart and won. Write me a six-inch essay on the experience and what you could have done better." Hermione noted the assignment in her planner and stuffed it back into her bag. Draco was doing the same next to her so he was ready when she was to leave. She had just about escaped when Lupin met her gaze and he sneered at her.

"Your fears are valid, Miss Black. Someday, they'll come true, when this war blows open and everyone realizes what side they're really on." Hermione wanted to lash out but she knew that she couldn't. Attacking a teacher would surely get her expelled. Therefore, she stared at him as though he meant nothing and then walked out of the room.

Draco was hot on her tail but Hermione didn't meet his gaze. She watched out the windows as she traveled the corridor, on her way to the Great Hall for dinner. Just on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, she caught sight of a yellow lab that looked as though it was starving. She vowed to gather some food and go out there and feed it in the next day or so even though she feared dogs as she did. The last thing she wanted on her conscience was a starving animal that she had done nothing to help.

Draco pulled her close to him and kept her at his side. They were only a few corridors away from the Great Hall now and while she wasn't hungry, she could hear her cousin's belly rumbling. Out of nowhere, another bit of stone came rushing at her. It caught her directly in the chest, her right breast to be precise. Even though it was smarting enough to make her eyes water, Hermione turned and caught sight of Ginny Weasley sauntering away.

Before the little redhead could escape, Hermione drew her wand and summoned her back to her. Ginny was flabbergasted and clearly didn't know what to do once she was standing in front of Hermione. Her magic shoved her against the stone wall of the castle, hard. She was shaking her head as if to clear it when Hermione walked up and slapped her across the face. There were several gasps around her but nobody stepped in. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Weasleys and Harry watching with trepidation. Her voice was clear and didn't waver a bit when she spoke.

"You throw one more rock at me, you little bitch, I'll make sure that you regret it. I've put up with this shite for months now and I'm done now. From now on, anyone fucks with me, they're going to meet the business end of my wand. If you all are too scared because I'll kill you like I almost did Brown, I suggest you leave me the fuck alone. All of you, run and tell the Headmaster and your other professors. I don't care. What are they going to do, put me in detention? Heed my warning." Ginny fell to the ground and stayed there. There was a bright red handprint on her face and Hermione felt a sick sense of satisfaction at seeing it. It was about time that she got some of what she deserved for being mean to her. It just so happened that at that very moment, her Head of House strolled by and saw the commotion.

"What is going on here?" Hermione turned her calm gaze to her godfather and told him the truth.

"Ginny Weasley threw another stone at me. I summoned her to me, threw her against the wall and slapped her. I just warned everyone that I am done being their doormat. I'm done letting them bully me. From now on, I'll be fighting back and they aren't going to like what that consists of." Her godfather pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"You both need to go to the Hospital Wing and have Madam Pomfrey heal you. Miss Weasley, three detentions with your Head of House starting tonight for throwing a stone at Miss Black. Miss Black, three detentions with me for fighting back." Hermione wanted to grin inwardly. Her detention was going to consist of doing extra brewing with her godfather, something that she enjoyed immensely. Who knew what Ginny Weasley was going to get stuck doing. After her godfather had strode away in the direction of the Great Hall, Harry approached her looking furious.

"I can't believe you slapped her. You could have just told a professor you know." Hermione let her face go impassive when she realized that he was going to berate her too.

"I can't tell you how many times I've been to the Hospital Wing since school started because people won't leave me alone. I don't mess with anyone, I don't start any fights. I just want to be left alone so I can learn. I'm done being everyone's rug. If she's going to throw stones at me and hit me again, I'm going to slap her. She's lucky that's all I did; I did far more to Brown if you don't recall." Hermione figured that she might as well throw that out there since it was the cause of the bullying. She threw out one last parting shot.

"What would you do in my shoes, continue to take it or put a stop to it?" She didn't wait for an answer, she just walked off. Besides, she didn't think she had it in her to be nice to him right at that moment, not after seeing her father as his greatest fear. She understood why he was but that didn't mean that she had to like it. Just before she turned into the Great Hall, completely forgoing the Hospital Wing since it was likely her breast was only bruised, she met the gaze of her cousin who had remained silent until now.

"Maybe now you can put some faith in me. That you didn't believe in me hurt more than every incident of bullying so far. I hope this proved to you that I'm not going to lose control." Hermione knew that her words hurt him but he had hurt her too. She needed him to believe in her, she needed him to know that she was going to do everything in her power to stay right where she was, not locked up in Azkaban. Before she could walk away, he pulled her into a tight hug and buried his face in her shoulder.

"I'm so sorry." It was the hint of a whisper in her ear but she knew he meant it. Therefore, she wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him back. Maybe now things would start getting better.

-O-

Harry couldn't believe that he had seen Hermione slap Ginny. Sweet, little, innocent Ginny. Sure, she was spoiled and could be a little brat but she had never been mean before. She was halfway in love with him and didn't hide it at all but Hermione had taken it too far. Ron was next to him, muttering under his breath even though he was eating dinner.

"I hope her tit bruises black and blue. I think one of us should throw another one at her tomorrow, hit her in the same place. It'll hurt more then." Harry slammed his fist down on the table, catching the attention of everyone around him. While he didn't think that Ginny was the one who threw the stone at her, it was clear that someone had and Hermione had every right to protect herself.

"I don't believe that Ginny threw the stone at her but someone did. That means that she's just protecting herself. You can't blame her for that. You were all supposed to leave her alone and it's clear you haven't been. No more fucking with Black, you're going to lose us house points and we aren't going to win the cup this year. Remember our first year Transfiguration class, none of us want a repeat of that. Just leave her the fuck alone." There was grumbling under breaths but everyone finally nodded at him. Ron looked as though he wanted to protest but even he remained silent on the matter. Ginny was teary-eyed down the table, Percy trying to comfort her. Neville and the twins were eating together, talking in whispers. Harry shoved his plate away.

"I have to go, I have a lesson with Professor Lupin." Nobody said a word but Harry wasn't worried. He really hoped that the whole of his house wouldn't go against his wishes, especially when they revered him as a god. He grabbed his bag and headed back to the DADA classroom. Once there, he knocked on the door and was pleased to immediately be beckoned to enter. He set down his things and sat in one of the desks at the front of the classroom.

"I'm ready, Professor. Do your worst." Professor Lupin chuckled and took the desk next to him.

"A patronus is basically a guardian that comes forth to protect you. Later, once you've mastered it, I'll teach you how to send messages with one. The wand movement is a small counter-clockwise circle and the incantation is 'expecto patronum'. However, the words aren't enough. You must focus on the happiest memory you can and let it fill you up. You have to focus on that happiness when you cast." Lupin produced his wand and demonstrated.

A large wolf appeared before them and wandered around the room, sniffing at just about everything. Harry watched in in wonder until it finally disappeared. He turned to his parents' old friend and asked his question.

"Is everyone's patronus different? What were Malfoy and Black's?" Lupin looked only a little irritated.

"Everyone's is different. Sure, some might share the same animal because the same things represent them but that doesn't mean that the animal itself is the same. They'll look different and it will be completely unique to you. Miss Black's patronus was a fox and Mr. Malfoy's was a dragon. What traits of those animals do you think fit them best?" Harry pondered it for a moment.

"Foxes are known for their wisdom and cunning, their quick thinking and adaptability. I suppose that fits Black pretty good. Black in a nutshell, actually. Dragons represent dominance, ambition, they're protective of things they care about and they live as they please. Sounds a lot like Malfoy." Lupin grinned at him.

"Yes, now mine is a wolf. What does that say about me?" Harry thought about it and smiled.

"Wolves are highly intelligent, loyal, and instinctive. That sounds a lot like you, sir." Lupin nodded.

"Thank you, Harry. How about you give it a try? Don't get discouraged if it doesn't happen the first time. It's a very difficult spell that most adults can't master." Harry nodded and waved his wand in the exact same way that Lupin had taught him. He spoke the incantation clearly.

"Expecto patronum." There wasn't an animal but there was a wisp of silver mist that he hadn't seen before. He grinned at his professor, who smiled back before patting him on the shoulder.

"Great job, Harry. It took me a week to get that much when I decided to learn how." Harry nodded happily and tried again with the same result.

He tried almost ten times before he had to give up because he was exhausted. Lupin was smiling at him before he handed him a load of chocolate.

"Eat this, it'll help you regain your energy. No more practicing tonight." Harry nodded and ate his chocolate with gusto. Once it was all gone, he really did feel better and decided to ask his professor about his parents.

"Tell me about my parents, sir. Now is as good a time as any." Lupin chuckled sadly.

"I met your dad on the Hogwarts Express our first year. Of course, he was already friends with Sirius Black, they had grown up in the same circles, but they pulled me in right away. It was like we all fit together. After we were all sorted into Gryffindor, we picked up Peter. The rest of the first years were picking on him so we stepped in and he became a part of our group. We were the best of friends." Harry smiled at the story. Hagrid had told him a couple but nothing like what he was hearing.

"What about my mum?" Lupin laughed now.

"Your mum was a pistol from day one. She used to be friends with Severus, you know, Professor Snape. Your dad and Sirius couldn't stand him so they were constantly picking on him. Your mum would get right in your dad's face and tell him he was a complete toerag before she threatened to hex him blue. From day one, though, he was in love with her. I bet he asked her out a thousand times before she finally said yes in their seventh year." Harry laughed softly at the image. His mum had been friends with Snape? How did that ever happen? Lupin saw the question in his eyes.

"Your mum and Snape grew up together, on the same street. They still managed to stay friends even though she was a Gryffindor and he was a Slytherin." Harry nodded, still floored that they had been friends. He urged Professor Lupin on.

"Tell me more." Lupin laughed and settled back in his chair.

Harry listened as he enumerated pranks and time spent together, the girl they had both dated and fought over, how they had made up afterwards. His favorite were the stories where his dad would propose marriage to his mum and she would hex him for being an arrogant and egotistical prat. He learned that they had been married in June of 1979 and their wedding had been held at Potter Manor. He hadn't even been aware that his family had a manor but Lupin had just nodded his head.

"I doubt you'll get to see it before you're seventeen. Black was left in charge of the estate since he's your godfather and your father named him as your guardian. Once you're seventeen, you can claim your rightful inheritance and take back your ancestral home. It's beautiful, by the way. It's been a very long time since I've been there but I'm sure it's been well-taken care of by the elves." Harry felt his blood run cold. His godfather was in charge of his fortune until he was of age? He could do whatever he wanted with it and Harry would have nothing left of his parents. He didn't care about the money but he wanted his family's home. The next question was extremely hard to ask.

"When did it all fall apart? From what you've told me, you were all four very close. How did it come about that Black betrayed my parents?" Lupin raked a hand through his hair and sighed.

"I really couldn't tell you, Harry. I was out with werewolf packs at the time, trying to sway them to our side of the war. I knew that Dumbledore had convinced your parents to move to their cottage in Godric's Hollow, said that they would never be expected to live there. Sirius took on the role of secret keeper. Do you know about the fidelius charm?" Harry nodded. He remembered when the Headmaster had explained it.

"I know that Sirius was their secret keeper and on Halloween in 1981, Voldemort came and killed your dad first. Your mum rushed up the stairs and tried to protect you but died in the process. Sirius found you there but he handed you to Hagrid and went after Peter. Nobody knows why since he was always at home taking care of his sick mother. Peter hasn't been seen since that night and it's believed that Black killed him. He then killed an auror in Hogsmeade. Before he could be arrested, he apparated to St. Mungo's and picked up a little girl that had been left there since she was an orphan. That little girl was Hermione Black, the daughter of Sirius' brother Regulus.

He adopted her with blood magic, knowing that there was an obscure law that protected purebloods from going to Azkaban if it would leave their children an orphan. He went before the Wizengamot, was charged a fine for killing that young man, and he was free. Sirius and Hermione came to see him the very next day but I wouldn't see him. I couldn't hardly look at him. I wanted to kill him myself for what he had done to your parents but he was a pureblood lord. There was no way that I would have gotten away with it.

He went to see Dumbledore next, Minerva was there from what I was told. He refused to give up your location and he was very angry. They argued and they began fighting. Dumbledore was trying to curse Black but hit little Hermione instead. Her magic went wild and I heard that she won. Sirius was injured and had to seek treatment but it wasn't anything serious. The next month, they were in the ICW court.

Black tried to pin Dumbledore with illegally taking money from your parents' vault and in the end, he won. I don't believe it though, I think he bribed the goblins. Albus was charged with accidentally cursing little Hermione even though he didn't mean to. It was also determined that you be kept from him, until you went to him on your own." Lupin moved closer and grabbed both of Harry's arms and held him tight.

"You need to be careful around Hermione Black, Harry. I know that she's nice to you but Sirius was our best friend. We thought that he would die before handing us all over and you know how that turned out. Don't make your parents' mistake and trust her because she is a Slytherin at heart and can be just as sneaky as her father. I'm not saying you have to be mean to her or hate her. I'm just warning you what she's capable of. You know she's powerful and she can also twist your mind to believing things that aren't true. Just promise me that you'll be careful." Harry wondered if that was what she had been doing to him all along. He realized that he had a crush on her but he also didn't trust her, even before. Now, after hearing the stories about how much his parents had trust Sirius Black, he really didn't trust her. Now, he wanted no part in giving her father a chance to explain. If what Lupin said was true, he had to stay away from Harry until he went to him first. That wasn't ever going to be happening, that much was fact. There was no way in hell that he was going to hand himself over to the man that had handed his parents to a madman. Lupin smiled gently at him.

"I think that's enough for tonight. We can get together later in the week and practice again. More stories also if you'd like. Merlin knows I have enough of them to tell you." Harry smiled at the man even though his insides felt like ash. Was Hermione Black playing him? Could he even take the chance that she wasn't? It was all so confusing and he hated it, he hated it more than anything. Harry nodded and gathered his bag once more, readying himself for he trek to the seventh floor. After a jaunty wave to his professor, he set out with the Gryffindor common room as his destination.

It seemed that he had a lot of thinking to do that night.

-O-

Remus had enjoyed the talk he had had with Harry. He was a wonderful boy and the perfect blend of his parents. He could be James' lookalike but he had Lily's compassion. He wished that he had been able to meet him before now but Dumbledore had convinced him that staying away was for the best. He couldn't know about the magical world until Hogwarts, not to mention that his aunt and uncle would never have let someone magical in the house at all.

He supposed that he should feel ashamed of himself for how he treated Hermione Black but he didn't. It was true that the girl was brilliant, with power to spare, but just the knowledge of who her father was turned him off her completely. However, he could find no fault with her work so she was passing his class with a perfect grade. That didn't mean that he wasn't taking out his anger for her father on her anyways.

It was wrong, he knew that. He couldn't help it, however, since Sirius had been allowed to see his niece grow up and James and Lily had to miss their boy getting bigger. It wasn't fair and Remus struggled with playing nice when it came to the girl. He was sure that eventually it would bite him in the arse, especially since he was just a poor lowly werewolf and Sirius was a noble lord, but at the moment he didn't care. He wanted justice for James and Lily and being rude to Hermione Black was all he had at the moment.

It was odd to see Severus backing up the daughter of Sirius Black. He wasn't sure who Severus had hated more, Sirius or James but it had been close. However, the man had done exactly that. He knew that he was friends with the Malfoys and had seen the girl grow up. Was there an affection for the girl there? Was he just doing his duty as Head of House? Was he trying to stay on the good side of the Malfoys by watching out for their niece? It was all so confusing that sometimes Remus wished that he hadn't agreed to come teach. The only reason he had was because he had wanted to meet Harry and get to know him. He had missed him all the long years that he had been secreted away in the muggle world.

If Remus could be honest with only himself, he missed Sirius. Where James had been both their best friends, Sirius had always been more. Neither one of them had acted on it until they were well out of school. One drunken night in Sirius' flat had changed their lives forever. They had been lovers for six months before everything went to complete shit. Remus had been sure that he had loved Sirius, that he wanted to make a life with him but then Sirius had to rip his heart from his chest and stomp on it.

Remus had always been dirt-poor because of his condition and not being able to work but he had always had charm and a handsome face. Once the truth was out about his lover, he had gone crazy, shagging every girl or witch out there that would have him. There were a few men but after a while, he had stopped seeing the men. None of them were Sirius and they never would be. It had taken almost a decade for him to finally realize that shagging whoever he found at the moment wasn't the way to go. In the end, he just felt lonelier. It was in these low moments that he wondered where Sirius was and what he was doing. Then he would curse his name for ruining everything they had.

Telling Harry about it all had brought it all to the forefront of his mind again. James, Lily, and Peter were dead. Sirius was a traitor that served Voldemort. His daughter was living the life of a princess and was trying get Harry to meet with her father. He had heard the conversation they had the night he had fought Hermione in a duel. He had been terrified since, hoping and praying to whatever god would listen that Harry would pull his head out of his arse and see reason. Therefore, he had just taken matters into his own hands.

Remus poured himself four fingers of whiskey and sighed. Talking about everything made it all real again. That meant that he was going to be nursing a hangover in the morning because he knew Severus would never give him a sober-up potion, not after how he had treated his special little snake. He shrugged his shoulders to himself. Oh well. He threw back all four fingers at once.

The whiskey wasn't going to drink itself.

A/N- Boom, another one bites the dust! More mind-fuckery in this chapter, hope y'all don't mind. Before anyone asks me how Remus could spread those lies, Remus truly believes that Sirius is guilty, just as Dumbles and Minerva do. He is being a douche to Hermione but he's trying to protect Harry. Doesn't excuse it, but it's a valid reason. Anyways, enough of that business. Thanks to everyone out there reading and reviewing, I love you all. Let me know what you think, reviews are love.

Next chapter, a quidditch match goes wrong.

Love,

Alicia


	49. Chapter 49

A/N- You guys are amazing, thank you so much for the support you continue to show me and this story. I love you all for it. First off, however, I want to tell everyone that once again, FFN hates me. It has been telling me intermittently that a review is invalid and it won't let me reply. If you did not get a response to your review, I apologize. I'll hope for the best and catch you next time. Secondly, I have told a few people because everyone is asking me when the truth comes out. It will all come out at the end of their third year, chapter 57 to be precise. I figured my guest readers would like an answer to their questions as well. I will make a side not that if you want questions answered from your reviews, you'll have to log in. I detest those authors that answer reviews in their A/Ns. Not hating on you if you do it, but when I see a huge word count on a story, I want it to be the story not review responses. I don't have any other points to make but I want to tell everyone thank you for reading, reviewing, following, and favoriting. It means so much.

**Shout out to Bibbity88 for being my 1500th reviewer. You're freaking awesome!**

Disclaimer: None of this story is mine. It is J.K.R.'s sandbox and I'm just playing with my toys in it. I haven't made any money off this story or any other. Let's face it. I'm a broke bitch and if I was making money off my stories, I would have quit my job a long time ago.

Chapter 49

November 30, 1993

Harry could feel the butterflies in his stomach as he tried to eat a little bit of breakfast. It was their first quidditch match of the season, Gryffindor's first anyone. Slytherin had already played Ravenclaw and the snakes had stomped them. It was clear that Malfoy had practiced a lot over the summer. Once again, Harry lamented the fact he had nowhere to practice until he went to the Weasleys a couple weeks before term began.

Harry still wasn't worried about facing the snakes. While Malfoy had indeed gotten better, he still wasn't any match for Harry. He wasn't the one saying it but Oliver, who had no problems spying on the snakes during their practices. Harry thought it was just a bit too much like cheating but Oliver had snorted at him and asked him what he thought the Slytherins did while they practiced. There was a reason he didn't call out his plays in the air. After learning that, Harry had just shrugged and let it go.

He was still taking lessons with Professor Lupin to learn how to cast a patronus. All he continued to produce was a silver mist. It was extremely disheartening but he was determined to succeed at this. All of the times he had met with Lupin, he had reassured him that it had taken him the better part of a year to master the spell so really, he wasn't doing so badly.

Things with Hermione Black had gotten tenser. After being re-told everything by Lupin from a different point of view, it was like the reality of everything had reached out and slapped him in the face. He had told her that he would consider meeting with her father, he had apologized to her for making her feel bad. What had he been thinking? Now more than ever he needed to keep his distance and make sure he learned as much as he could. Meeting with Lord Sirius Black wasn't important and frankly, he didn't have a death wish.

No matter how much he believed this, however, he couldn't get the image of Hermione's boggart out of her mind. Her family dead and dying was her greatest fear; that would never happen unless the Dark Lord returned and they didn't hand him Harry. It made sense when he thought about it. Malfoy's didn't make near as much sense since it was Hermione clearly in Azkaban robes. Why would she be in Azkaban?

At first, Harry had been embarrassed about his greatest fear. He had thought that it was going to be Voldemort, had even considered that it would be dementors. Then when he had stepped in front of the boggart, Lord Black had appeared. Harry had only seen him at a distance but it was enough to know exactly what he looked like. After he considered why Lord Black had appeared, he figured that it made sense. That was the man that was responsible for his parents being murdered, the same man who wanted Harry dead. Why shouldn't he fear him?

Harry and Neville had gotten into a terrible row over it. Neville refused to believe that Lord Black had sold out his friends and Harry was determined that he had. Neither one of them would back down and it had ended in the two of them having to be separated. Once he had calmed down, Harry knew that he would have done the same if Ron had been accused of something that he didn't do.

Ginny had been mortified at being slapped in full view of the public. She had sworn to the twins and Ron that she hadn't thrown the piece of stone either time Hermione had been hit. He was fairly sure that the twins thought that she was lying but they never came out and said it. Ron stood staunchly behind his baby sister, which meant that Harry was expected too as well. Percy didn't seem all too fussed about any of it, to be truthful. He was far more worried about Penelope and being Head Boy.

Therefore, any time that Ginny was in public and Hermione was going to be there, Ron and Harry shadowed her. While Ginny had seemed annoyed at first, she quickly got over it when she realized that she was closer to Harry that way. It made his stomach turn a little, her clear hero-worship, but there was nothing for it. Ron was his best mate and if he wanted to protect his baby sister, he would most certainly help him.

Molly Weasley had come to the school once she had heard about Hermione slapping Ginny while she held her against a wall with magic. He had heard that it was a full-blown meeting between Dumbledore, Hermione, Ginny, the Weasleys and Lord Black. Since Hermione had already been punished, by her own Head of House, it seemed as though there wasn't much to complain about. Whether any of it was true, he couldn't say. He thought that Ginny might be prone to storytelling just like Ron was.

Harry had quit eating completely and was just staring at what was left of his English breakfast. Everyone was laughing around him, all charged up and excited for the upcoming match. It was bright and sunny outside, with only a few clouds up high in the air. Even though it was a little brisk outside, he wasn't going to complain. It could be freezing outside and when it was, it made quidditch a terrible sport to play. Ron clapped him on the shoulder and grinned at him in excitement.

"You ready for the match, mate? You're going to do great, I don't know why you get all nervous and broody before them." Harry shrugged and picked at the toast still left on his plate.

"I get nervous because I can. Everyone expects me to win and it's a lot to put on my shoulders sometimes." Ron looked as if he didn't understand at all. Harry just shook his head in wonder at his best mate. So on point about some things, then completely clueless when it came to others.

The bell rang above them and the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor quidditch teams rose from their seats on the benches and started for the door that led to the pitch. The rest of the student body was cheering loudly, whistling and cat-calling. This was normal behavior so Harry wasn't too thrown by that. His eyes caught on Hermione holding the elbow of her cousin while she allowed him to escort her towards the door at a slower pace. He was firmly against the girl now but he couldn't help but still think she was the most gorgeous thing he had ever seen. He still wanked off to her, especially to the glimpse he had caught of her bum and knickers when she had been coming down the ladder from Divination that day.

His attraction to her hadn't waned with his newfound attitude towards her, if anything it had gotten worse. Harry had no idea what he was supposed to do about that but he was really out of ideas. There was nothing for it, he supposed, just to remind himself that her family was poison and she would never abandon them to join his side.

Once he reached the locker room for the Gryffindor team, he stepped inside and found his locker, going ahead to take the time to change. The three girls had a partition across half the room so once they were through changing, they came around and sat next to the boys. Fred and George threw their arms around Katie Bell and Angelina Johnson while Alicia Spinnet took a seat next to Harry. Oliver was standing in front of them with no shirt on yet but he was already lecturing them about how they needed to win the match.

Harry knew that it would all come down to him to end the match but that was nothing new. He didn't know why he was always so nervous since once he was out in the air, everything else fell away and nothing else mattered. While he was nervous now, he would be utterly confident in the air. Oliver was still waxing on about what plays they were going to use when and how the beaters were going to aim for the chasers and Diggory more than anyone. Harry just leaned against the lockers and listened. Oliver finally turned his speech to Harry, he had apparently saved him for last.

"Harry, watch out for bludgers and make sure you outfly Diggory. He's good but not as good as you. However, since he's a sixth year, he's got a little more experience than you." Harry gave him a serious nod and watched with thinly veiled amusement as he finished dressing. Once they were all kitted out in their quidditch gear, Oliver gave one last yell that sounded suspiciously like 'lions'. Harry followed the rest of them out of the locker room to mount their brooms. Oliver led them around the pitch in a lap so they could be introduced. Since the game wasn't in progress, Harry could hear what Lee Jordan was saying.

"Here comes the Gryffindor team, led by Captain and keeper Oliver Wood! Following Wood are the trio of beautiful chasers, Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, and Katie Bell. Nobody can forget the human bludgers themselves, beaters Fred and George Weasley! Last but most certainly not least is Harry Potter, our star seeker and the youngest member of the team." Harry could see signs in the audience that had his name on them, some proclaiming the owner to be the future Mrs. Harry Potter. It really was rather embarrassing.

Since the Hufflepuff team had already been introduced, they faced off with Madam Hooch in the middle. She opened the case holding the match balls and released the snitch. Harry didn't bother to see which way it went since it wouldn't take long for it to disappear anyways. The bludgers went next and Harry caught sight of Fred and George grinning maliciously. They really were dangerous on the pitch. Finally, Madam Hooch put her whistle in her mouth and blew as she threw the quaffle in the air.

Angelina was the first to reach it and she reached out and snagged it for herself. Harry could honestly say that the three girls worked seamlessly together and they were by far the best chasers in school. Before the Hufflepuff keeper was even in place, they had scored two goals. Harry turned his broom to the clouds, always managing to spot the snitch while it was in the clouds. However, Diggory was good so he needed to be on the lookout.

Harry couldn't tell you how long he flew, searching for the snitch. It seemed like it had been forever but he knew that wasn't right. Diggory was just off to the side of him, scanning the sky like he was. The sky was clouding up and it was making it increasingly hard to spot the small fluttering ball. It was even ages later when he finally caught a glint of gold just in front of him. However, Diggory seemed to spot it at the same time as he did and they both took off like a shot.

Harry was completely focused now, his eyes on the prize, and he was determined to win. Diggory had the same expression on his face and harry knew that this was going to be a close call. They flew through a cloud that was darker than the others and Harry fully expected to get wet from the rain. When he and Diggory came out on the other side, however, Harry seized up in fear at what he saw.

Dementors.

Several of them, swarming him and rushing him, trying to get close enough to his mouth to suck out his soul. Diggory chased on as if he hadn't seen them and Harry figured that he probably hadn't. Diggory was a pretty boy to the nth degree but he was fair and would never abandon someone to a fate like dementors. Harry pulled his wand and tried his best to call upon his happy memory, determined to cast the patronus charm perfectly now that he really needed it. He heard the crowd go wild so Harry assumed that Diggory caught the snitch.

His spell failed.

Silver mist appeared but didn't do much repelling. One of the dementors got close enough to start sucking the essence of who he was away from him. He couldn't explain it any better than that but that was exactly what it felt like. There were screams in his mind since he knew that they weren't real. He heard a woman's voice begging for someone to spare her baby, to kill her instead. There was maniacal laughter and Harry instinctively knew that it was Voldemort and his mother, her last moments on this Earth.

As two more dementors swooped closer and started to pull from him as well, Harry couldn't stop what happened next. His eyes slid closed, his grip on his broom fell away, and he plunged two hundred feet towards the ground, a sure death for anyone.

-O-

Hermione had her nails dug into Draco's arms, watching as Harry fell from high in the sky towards the ground like a limp rag doll. Draco had a fearful look on his face as well but he hid it better than Hermione did. The Headmaster rose as if there was nothing wrong, pulled his wand, and waved it. When Harry rushed into the ground, it was as if he had hit a huge pillow. He bounced a few times and though he would still have a few injuries due to the fall itself and the reason why, he was going to live.

Draco wrapped an arm around her shoulders and held her tight. She clung to his side and watched as Madam Pomfrey rushed out onto the pitch and began to work on Harry. The Gryffindor team gathered around them so it was hard to see anything else. It was several minutes before the team parted and Madam Pomfrey had Harry on a stretcher and was floating him alongside her towards the castle. Dumbledore's voice rang out above them all.

"Cedric Diggory caught the snitch, Hufflepuff wins, 350 to 330 points. Harry Potter is going to be fine, please don't all rush to the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey will kick you out. You shall see him once he is dismissed from the Wing." Hermione out a breath that she hadn't been aware that she had been holding. Draco pressed a kiss to the side of her head and waited a few moments for the crowd to thin before he started to pull her towards the castle.

Hermione let her mind drift to other things as they walked. If she thought about Harry in the Hospital Wing, she would surely worry herself to death. Her mind turned to when she and Draco had finally talked.

*Flashback*

Hermione was seated by herself in one of the chairs in front of the fire in the common room. Everyone had seen how volatile she had been lately and had no problems leaving her alone. She had just returned from serving her detention and Uncle Sev had brewed beside her, making potions for the Hospital Wing. It was punishment to everyone else but to her it was how she and her godfather spent time together. Potions was her most advanced subject. Even though she was on the verge of dozing, she didn't want to go to her dorm room since all the other girls were in there. They all acted like they were scared to death of her and she hated it.

Someone approached from behind and tugged softly on one of her curls. She turned to see that it was Draco, though she had already knew that. Nobody dared to tug her curls except for her family and she had just left her godfather in his lab. She didn't say anything but she watched him curiously while he enlarged the chair she was sitting in until it was big enough for the both of them. After he sat down next to her, he took her hand in his and stroked his thumb over her knuckles.

"I know you aren't very happy with me and I don't blame you. Uncle Sev talked to me and told me that you felt like you were being targeted while I was enjoying my friends. That's mostly true." Hermione stopped him with a quick shake of her head.

"No, that isn't what I was angry about. I want you to have your own life and friends, I don't want you to have to babysit me all the time. I was angry because you are always telling me to tell you something so you can protect me but that night you hadn't been there to protect me. Mostly it was because I was being a bitch and I took it out on you. I usually don't mind when you act that way but that night I had had a rock slam into my head hard enough to make my vision go spotty. My head hurt, I was tired of getting bullied and I was tired of feeling weak." Draco pulled her head down to his shoulder and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"You aren't weak and I want to be there to protect you. You're the most important person in the world to me, Miney, even more than my mum. I just get caught up with the attention the others give me and I forget that you're there and need help. Not a good excuse but it's all I have." Hermione shook her head.

"You have nothing to apologize for. I know who you are and I accepted it years and years ago. I love you the way you are, Drake. Like I said, I was just being a bitch." He chuckled softly and kissed her forehead.

"I'm sorry for what I said about you not being able to control yourself." Hermione tried to hide the shuddering breath she took at his words. That had been what truly hurt her, that he had no faith in her whatsoever. Followed up by his boggart, it had been heart-wrenching for her.

"You can't help how you feel and I suppose that I deserved it. I haven't given anyone reason to have any faith in me." Now he pulled her down so she would lay her head in his lap. His fingers carded through her curls and he sounded so guilty.

"I should have had faith in you, you would have had it in me. You have always believed in me no matter what I wasn't able to do and I've always pulled through. I feel like this time around, with Weaselette, you had to do it on your own because I wasn't there cheering you on and telling you you could do it. I should have been." Hermione shook her head even though it was hard to do with her head in his lap.

"No, I needed to do it on my own to prove to not only you but myself that I could do it. You won't always be there, Drake, some day you're going to get a girl friend and she'll become your wife. You'll be her rock. I need to know that I can do things on my own too." Draco gave her hair a sharp tug, forcing her to look up at him. His face was serious as he spoke.

"I will always be there for you. It doesn't matter if we're both married, I will always be your rock and you'll always be mine. If you need me, I'll be there. You're my best friend, my sister, the most important person in the world, I would never abandon you. Do you plan to abandon me when you get married?" Hermione shook her head and tried to banish the pricking of tears behind her eyes.

"No, I would never. I just know that it's harder for boys to focus on more than one thing at a time. You'll be getting sex from your wife so she'll be more important." He reached down flicked her nose. She was just starting to get indignant when he spoke again.

"You just can that complete and utter tripe. You're always going to be important so stop feeling sorry for yourself. This isn't you and I don't want to hear it. You're going to listen to me and you're going to believe me. I care about you and I'm going to be there for you no matter what, no matter who I marry, no matter how many kids I have. Fuck, if Voldyshorts wins, I'll be marrying you so you won't be sold to the highest bidder. I won't let someone who isn't going to treat you like the princess you are have you." Hermione felt a tear break free and she smiled at him. He thumbed the tear off her cheek and leaned down to rest his forehead against hers. She fisted her hair in his platinum locks and met his gaze.

"I love you, Drake." He chuckled softly before pulling away.

"I love you too, Miney. Now that we're done here, lets get to bed. You want to sleep with me tonight?" Hermione grinned at him.

"Absolutely."

*End of Flashback*

Once they were inside, they headed for the Great Hall. It was the middle of the afternoon so they were still serving lunch but Hermione really wasn't that hungry. However, since Draco was starving, she followed him. They took their usual seats and rather than pay attention to the conversation around her, she focused on the dueling technique's that she had gone over with her godfather just the night before. She really wanted to try them out with Draco but since it had been a quidditch night, she had doubted that it was going to happen that night. She might be able to convince him tomorrow night, however.

After they had eaten their fill, Hermione had insisted that they make their way to the library to work on some homework. Draco had rolled his eyes at her but had gone with her anyways. She knew that he had homework from Madam Cambridge to work on so she knew that it was all a show. To her surprise, Neville appeared to work on his potion's assignment. The rest of their friends bailed, saying that it was a Saturday and it was too late in the afternoon to focus on schoolwork.

Hermione hadn't been avoiding Neville or the twins after the incident with Ginny, per se, but she hadn't sought them out like she usually did. The twins especially couldn't have any charitable thoughts for her at the moment and she didn't blame them. She would stand behind Draco no matter what he had done so she understood completely that family was family and friends were just that. Not as important. She hoped that it wouldn't come between them but if it did, she wasn't going to be angry. It would be the choice she would make too. Neville grinned at her, completely unaware of her inner turmoil.

"I'm surprised the twins aren't here leeching off your potions expertise." Draco eyed the Gryffindor boy and Hermione just shrugged her shoulders slightly.

"I'm sure they have other things to do than spend time with me." Neville narrowed his eyes at her.

"Is this about the Ginny incident? Is that why you've been avoiding us?" Hermione met his eyes sharply.

"I'm not avoiding you, I'm just letting things cool off. It was their sister that I threw against a wall and slapped in front of large group of people. I don't want them to have to choose when they're angry." Neville smiled softly at her.

"You don't have to worry about that. They love her, sure, but I don't think they really believe that she didn't do it like the rest of Gryffindor. They're staying away because they're afraid you're going to be mad at them because she's their sister." Hermione just rolled her eyes. The whole situation was just ridiculous. She nodded eventually.

"Alright, I'll try to talk to them tomorrow." Neville smiled at her and turned back to his assignment.

The time they spent in the library went fast, but then again, for Hermione it always did. Even though she was thoroughly concentrating on her assignments, she couldn't help but worry about Harry in the Hospital Wing. She was sure that the quidditch team had already been in to see him but she doubted that anyone else had tried to sneak in to see him. Maybe Weasley but he wouldn't be in there during dinner. Since it was nearing that time, she made a snap decision and closed her book.

"It's almost dinner time, we should go if we want to get good seats in the Great Hall." Draco narrowed his eyes at her, knowing full well that she wasn't worried about food. He said nothing, however, and gathered his things dutifully. Once they were all packed up, Hermione followed them from the library. However, at the bend in the corridor that would take her to the Hospital Wing, she pressed a kiss to Draco's cheek.

"I have to go, I forgot a book I need for one of my assignments from Madam Cambridge." Draco narrowed his eyes at her so she cut her gaze towards the Hospital Wing. He rolled his eyes but nodded his head.

"Alright, we'll see you down there." Hermione watched Neville and Draco make their way to the staircase and travel down. Once they were out of sight, she started for the Hospital Wing.

Once she was outside the doors, she took a deep steadying breath to calm herself. Hopefully, he would be asleep and she wouldn't have to say anything. All she wanted to do was reassure herself that he was fine, that he hadn't died or suffered a permanent injury. She could have asked Neville but she didn't want attention drawn to the fact that she was curious. She pushed the door open and crept in as quietly as she could, noticing that there was only one bed that had the curtains around it drawn. Just one peek was all she needed and then she would be on her way, happy that she had stopped by. However, when she peered around the edge of the curtain, the voice that greeted her was cold as ice.

"Is there a reason you're sneaking into the Hospital Wing and seeing me while everyone else in the school is at dinner in the Great Hall?" Hermione sighed and stepped in the rest of the way. She tried to give him a soft smile but it fell flat when she realized that he looked furious.

"I was worried about you but didn't want your other friends to know that I had come to see you. I was just going to make sure that you weren't hurt or anything, I needed to know. I wasn't even planning on you being awake." Somewhere along the way, he had mastered raising only one eyebrow. It arched perfectly.

"As you can see, I'm perfectly fine. No reason for you to be here, no reason for you to care." Hermione wasn't sure where this animosity was coming from.

"I worry about you, you were supposed to be my brother. I've worried about you since I was four years old and was first told who you were." Harry scoffed at her words and the sound was like a dagger in her heart.

"You don't worry about me, you just worry you won't get me to come to your father, your father that handed my parents over to the Dark Lord. I'm probably your initiation, aren't I? If you can catch me in your spell, pull me in, you'll be treasured above all others in his new regime?" Hermione wasn't sure where any of this was coming from, she hadn't even talked to him in days. She knew that her voice was shaky when she spoke.

"I don't understand, I thought -." He cut her off before she could finish.

"You thought what, you could whore yourself out to me and I'd jump on the chance to fuck the perfect daughter of the traitorous Lord Black? You thought your pussy would lead me right into the hands of the enemy? You're beautiful, sweetie, but not that beautiful. I won't ever want you, you'll never be good enough for me. All you'll ever be is the daughter of a family of traitors. You will never be more than Voldemort's whore, Ron's told me what he uses the women for. When he returns, you'll whore for him or you'll die. Nobody deserves someone like you." Hermione couldn't stop the tears that were tracking down her cheeks. His words were harsh and stabbed through her like a knife. Her voice was weak when she spoke.

"I never thought you wanted me, I wasn't going to try to have sex with you. I want to wait for someone who loves me. I just thought that we could be friends, that we could -." Harry's words were still like ice and his face was cut in stone.

"You thought wrong. I don't want you and I won't ever want you. Not as a sister, not as lover, not as anything. I would love for you to be dead, that way your father would feel the same pain that I've had to feel since he stole my parents from me." Hermione didn't understand any of this, not in the least. It was in this very moment that she realized that she did have a crush on Harry, she did think that he was handsome and wouldn't mind getting to know him better. She had been in denial before then. Not only was her self-confidence, her self-worth, and self-image in tatters, her crush had just spit in her face and told her to fuck off.

Suddenly, she didn't want to ever see Harry again. She had let him pull her back in and he had done just as he had done in first year. Hermione cursed herself for falling for it. She couldn't hold back the sob that escaped from her lips. She grasped the curtain in her hand but before she left, she had one last thing to say.

"All I ever wanted to do was be your friend." Without another word, she fled.

Hermione didn't remember much of getting back to the dungeons. She met nobody in the corridors and the common room was empty. The Slytherin didn't even bother going to her dorm, she would never be able to sleep anyways. She entered the boy's dorm and grimaced at how absolutely disgusting it was. She shucked off her shoes and climbed into Draco's bed, snuggling under his duvet and into his pillow.

It took awhile but her sobs finally subsided. It was clear how Harry truly felt about her and she wouldn't be stupid enough to forget that ever again. If he truly felt the things he had said to her, she deserved better than that. It wasn't his fault that she harbored a little bit of a crush on him; she would just have to bury it and forget that it had ever existed at all.

What puzzled her the most was how he had flipped so thoroughly. There was no reason for him to have said those things to her, none that she could think of anyways. However, she supposed that something else could have happened that she wasn't aware of. When she considered it, she realized that the problem probably went by the name of Remus Lupin. It was several hours later when Draco finally came in after quidditch practice, frantic, only to find her snuggled into his bed. He let out a deep breath and sat down next to her. His hand brushed hair back from her face as he spoke.

"What happened, Miney? I've been looking everywhere for you." Hermione didn't want to have to talk about so just shook her head. Her cousin wiped the remnants of her tears away and met her eyes.

"Show me then." Hermione closed her eyes for a brief moment before nodding. She replayed the whole scenario in her head again, every single detail, and let him watch. When it was finally finished, he laid down and crawled into the bed next to her. He pulled her close and she snuggled into his side.

"I was so stupid, Drake. How could I have had a crush on a boy that thinks those things of me? I don't understand what I did." Draco ran his fingers through her hair and murmured soft nothings in her ear until she calmed down.

"You can't help who you like, Hermione. He said he deserves better than you but I disagree. You deserve better than him. Even if he kills the Dark Lord, he won't deserve you. If he says just one single word to you after this that isn't as fucking polite as it gets, I'm going to pound his face in. I don't give two fucks about detention and sure don't give a fuck about the house cup." Hermione buried her face further in his shirt and inhaled his comforting scent. Finally, she shook her head.

"No, Drake, he isn't worth it. You're right, I can't help who I like, but I can help how they treat me. I deserve better. No more Harry Potter unless he tries to kill himself again. Like it or not, he's still the one who has to end this." Draco nodded and kissed her head.

"Go to sleep, Miney. Tomorrow will be better." Hermione did as she was told. She wasn't quite sure how getting your heart crushed by the boy you liked would get better but she had to believe her cousin because the alternative wasn't something that she wanted to consider.

-O-

Harry couldn't get the sight of Hermione Black openly crying in front of him out of his head. He had to make her leave him alone, he had to make sure that he kept his distance from her but he had done it in the most cruel way possible. He wasn't sure what to believe when it came to her motives but he knew that she didn't deserve the truly terrible things he had said. It was likely the sight her icy blue eyes wet with tears would haunt his dreams for ages.

Ron had come by directly after Hermione had left, full of chatter from dinner and plans for what they were going to do the next day when he got out of the Hospital Wing. Harry had just nodded and went along with the conversation since he wasn't really much in the mood to talk. He knew that he had hurt the girl, probably beyond repair, but he had hurt himself too. He didn't like knowing that he had hurt someone that seemed as good and kind-hearted as Hermione. However, it had to be done so he could keep his objectives in sight.

With a sigh, Harry turned his head and watched the rain fall through the window. It matched his mood perfectly. He could only hope that Malfoy didn't come after him once he was out of the Hospital Wing. It wouldn't surprise him if he did and he would fully deserve it. Harry sighed again and closed his eyes.

Sleep was going to be a long time coming tonight.

A/N- Oh maaaa gerrrd! I hated writing this chapter, I really did. However, it had to be done. Don't kill me, please? Anyways, thanks again to everyone out there showing this story love, you're all the bomb. Leave me a message after the beep and tell me what you think.

Next chapter, Hogsmeade weekend and a trip to the Three Broomsticks doesn't go as planned.

Love,

Alicia


	50. Chapter 50

A/N- Wow, you guys are just awesome. Even most of you that hated the chapter and couldn't see how I'm ever going to redeem Harry cheered me on and told me that they would stay tuned. However, on that note, I'm going to say a few words.

I knew that I was going to lose a few readers over that last chapter. I don't blame anyone. However, for those that are telling me that Harry is completely irredeemable, let me remind you that Harry and Hermione don't get together until sixth year. There will be two full years between this and that, plenty of time for Harry to change and redeem himself in Hermione's eyes. No, he won't be perfect, but he will be much better. After all, nobody is perfect.

With that said, thank you to all that have read and reviewed this story, the follows and faves are appreciated too. I won't drag this one, but thanks for keeping me motivated, y'all.

Disclaimer: I don't know why I bother with these things. If you don't know after fifty chapters that this story and characters aren't mine, you have worse problems than I thought. Oh yeah, haven't made any money off my stories either.

Chapter 50

December 2, 1993

Harry was pissed off. When he had blown his aunt up over the summer, he hadn't taken into consideration that Uncle Vernon or Aunt Petunia hadn't signed his Hogsmeade permission form. He had already gone to see McGonagall to see if she would sign for him as his Head of House but she had told him no, that it wouldn't be proper. Ron was going to go with Seamus and Dean since he couldn't go and he had decided at first to just stay at the school and do some extra school work. However, the more he thought about it, he realized that he had his dad's cloak and he would be able to get past everyone without them noticing. The only thing that worried him was getting past the dementors on the edge of the grounds since the rest of the students were going in the carriages and he would be on foot.

Harry figured that he could sneak past them while they floated past him. They didn't have eyes so they wouldn't be able to see him. While some would consider his actions foolhardy, and he knew they were, they were also something that he had to do. He was tired of not getting to do things because of his shitty relatives.

Harry had just thrown his cloak over himself and watched the door since it was snowing outside and his footprints would be visible. However, before he could venture outside, two arms grabbed him under his armpits and pulled him into an empty classroom. He struggled until he realized that it was the twins who had ahold of him. Once they had closed and locked the door behind them, he pulled the cloak off of him to scowl at them.

"We know what you're getting ready to do and even we think it's stupid. Therefore, we're going to give you a present that we're sure you can use." Harry narrowed his eyes at the twins. They were great friends but they never did anything out of the kindness of their hearts. Truthfully, he was surprised that they weren't Slytherins.

"What are you going to give me and what do you want in return?" The twins glanced at each other with amused looks. He thought that it was Fred that answered but he wasn't sure. According to the twins, the only person who could tell them apart at school was Hermione Black.

"It's a map that shows every single person in the castle and on the grounds, every single day. You won't ever have to run from Filch again. There is a secret passage that takes you from Hogwarts to the cellar in Honeydukes, then you don't have to worry about the dementors seeing you." Harry felt a sliver of excitement at their words. A magical map would be amazing when it came to sneaking around the castle on their adventures. However, he knew the twins well.

"What do you want in return?" The twins faces turned sour and George glared at him.

"We want to know what happened between you and Hermione. She used to smile when your name got brought up, she laughed at our stories that included you. Now, she ignores us whenever you're brought up. We can see that you hurt her and we want to know how." Harry felt a lick of shame at their words. He didn't regret what he had done but he regretted that he had had to hurt her to get it done. He raked a hand through his unruly hair and started to pace.

"This goes no further. Do I have your words?" Both twins nodded. Harry sighed.

"Professor Lupin told me everything and I realized that I was leading her on by letting her think that some day we could be friends. I was even stupid enough to tell her that I would consider speaking with her father. I know you two are friends with her and you don't believe that her father is evil but you two aren't the ones with dead parents. I was really mean to her, made her cry, so she would leave me alone and not have false hope. I hate that it hurt her but I don't regret what I did." The twins shook their head from side to side slightly as if they couldn't believe what they were hearing. George thrust the map in his hands.

"There's your map. I hope you get lots of use out of it. For the record, if you would have told her nicely to leave you alone, she would have. She tried doing that the last time you were a prick to her but you were the one that started being nice again. Do us a favor, Harry, and just leave her alone. For real this time. Don't start feeling guilty about what you did and pull her back in again because you know all she wants is to be your friend. Her father may be a traitor, we don't know, but she's the best girl we know. She deserves better." Harry felt another lick of shame but nodded.

"I can do that. I won't seek her out, I promise." He just hoped that he would be able to keep that promise. Life always seemed to get in the way for him and the last thing he wanted to do was hurt her more. The twins didn't say anything else, just turned around and left him standing there alone, with the map in his hand. There was a slip of parchment on top of it with instructions.

 _To activate, tap your wand on the map and say, "I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good."_

 _To deactivate, tap with your wand and say, "Mischief managed."_

Harry pulled out his wand and tapped the parchment, whispering the code phrase. Lines began to appear all over the parchment, the stories of the castle being drawn slowly, the names of its inhabitants following. It took several minutes for him to locate the passage that the twins had told him about. He was only a few corridors away so he was quick to abandon the classroom he was in for the statue of the one-eyed witch. Once he was in front of her, he pulled his wand and whispered the pass phrase he found written next to it.

"Dissendium." The stone witch moved to the side and he slipped in behind it. After making sure that it closed behind him, he started off through the passage by the light of his wand. It seemed like it took forever for him to reach the cellar of Honeydukes but he eventually did. It took several more minutes before someone came down into the cellar, leaving the door wide open for him to get out. Hopefully, he could sneak into a carriage with Ron on the way back.

He crept up the stairs as quietly as he could only to find himself in the biggest candy store he had ever seen in his life. Candy was on every shelf he could see, stacked ten feet high. It was every kid's version of heaven. Ron was off in the corner, talking to Seamus and Dean, trying to decide what kind of candy he would like best. Even though he wanted to tell his best mate that he was there, he didn't dare reveal to the other boys that he had an invisibility cloak. Therefore, he set out on his own. He really didn't need to buy anything but he wanted to explore, he wanted to see what was out in the wizarding world aside from Diagon Alley.

Harry always tried to stay close to groups of students so is footsteps wouldn't be noticed. He visited the apothecary, Zonko's, the twins were always on about it, the owl post office, the book shop, the robes shop, and even the writing supplies store. Deciding that he wanted to see the Shrieking Shack before he ventured into the Three Broomsticks, he set off on his own to look at the haunted shack that had half of Britain scared out of their minds.

However, it wasn't quite the experience that he thought it was going to be. Hermione and Malfoy were there, his arms around her shoulders and hers around his waist with her head leaning on his shoulder. They were gazing at the Shack, their gaze's contemplative. Every so often, Malfoy would run his fingers through her ebony curls and he couldn't help but feel just the tiniest bit jealous of the fact. Hermione's voice was wistful.

"Isn't it sad to think that it was his pain and suffering that made everyone thing the Shrieking Shack is haunted? That's not a life I would wish on anyone. It would be terrible to feel that alone through something so terrible." Harry had no idea what she was talking about. Malfoy kissed her temple and tugged one of her curls softly.

"It would be. I'm glad we have each other, Miney. We'd probably be alone if we didn't. Nobody likes your father because they think he's a traitor and nobody likes mine because he was a Death Eater. Everyone thinks that we're stupid and don't know anything. What would they think if we told them that we knew everything?" Hermione snorted at his words.

"I don't know. They probably wouldn't believe us. I suppose that it doesn't matter, they don't believe us anyways." Malfoy chuckled as he leaned his cheek against the top of her head.

"I suppose you're right. We know we're right though and that's all that matters." He smiled softly at her and Harry still couldn't get over the fact that Malfoy the arrogant prick had a completely different side that he showed only his cousin.

"I'm sorry you're hurting, Miney. If I could take it for you, I would." Her other hand patted him on the chest.

"I wouldn't let you and you know it." She paused for a moment before she gave him a contemplative look.

"Do you think they were lovers, you know, Daddy and…" Her voice trailed off but it was clear that Malfoy knew who she was talking about. He looked into her eyes for a moment before he turned his gaze back to the Shack.

"I do but I would never ask. Some things just aren't our business." Hermione nodded.

"I agree, I just didn't know if I was the only one who thought so." He smiled down at her again.

"Father thinks so too. I heard him and Mother a few years ago talking about it after they thought we had went to bed. You were busy sneaking ice cream from Snitch in the kitchen and I was keeping look out." Hermione laughed at his words.

"Merlin, it's been a minute since we sneaked around like that. We should do that this Christmas. I miss how easy things were when we were little. I miss being close to you all the time like we were back then." He chuckled and pressed a kiss to her head again.

"I miss it too. Life was definitely easier, much less complicated when you were my queen and I was your king and there wasn't anyone else to worry about." She playfully pinched his side.

"Well, my Lord, would you escort your queen to the Three Broomsticks so I may have a warm butterbeer? I can no longer feel my toes despite the warming charms." He laughed at her words and waved his wand at her, clearly casting the warming charm again.

"Allow me to escort you, fair maiden." He took her hand and started to pull her back the way they had come. Harry watched them go, listening to them laugh the whole way.

He couldn't help but wonder if he really would have been raised as their sibling, as Malfoy's cousin. He couldn't see himself being a part of their closeness, the fact that they would have been a trio. He probably would have made it into Slytherin with them since he barely became a Gryffindor as it was. It made him wistful to think about so he tried to shake the thoughts from his head.

Harry stood at the Shrieking Shack for almost half an hour, just admiring the countryside and the rickety shack in the distance. He heard Ron in the distance and he considered revealing himself when he didn't hear Seamus or Dean. However, when he appeared, Parvati and Lavender were with him and they were giggling about something. Harry sighed. It looked as though he was going to have to sneak back down into the cellar to get back to the castle. Later that evening he would tell Ron what he had done.

He had surprised himself when he hadn't told Ron what he had said to Hermione Black. Harry had fully intended to, knowing that Ron would rub her face in it. It would just be more incentive for her to stay away. However, when he tried to tell him, he found that he couldn't. Seeing her face crumple and the tears down her cheeks had been more than he could take and he couldn't bear to heap more pain on that. Deciding that the Slytherin pair had the right idea, he headed for the Three Broomsticks. He had just shoved the door open, hoping it would look like a phantom breeze, when Hermione brushed past him, fury painted on her features. Malfoy was right behind her, throwing angry glances back at whoever had caused his cousin's ire. Harry had no right to follow and eavesdrop, he's done enough of that, so he just let it go.

After watching the pretty barkeep deliver a bottle of something that smelled delicious, he left money on the table and swiped the drink, hiding it quickly before anyone saw where it disappeared to. He hid under a table and couldn't help but think that the warm beverage in his hand was a drink of the gods. It was warm and smooth, a sort of butterscotch flavor that made him remember one of his teachers handing him a candy in primary school.

From his place under the table, he observed the others that were around him. Seamus and Dean were sitting with a fourth year Ravenclaw and they were guffawing quite loudly about something. Hagrid was sitting at the far end of the bar, a tankard in front of him that looked like a watering trough. There were several upper classmen sitting around the pub and they were all joyous and happy.

What caught his attention was the sight of the Minister, Fudge if he remembered his name correctly. He looked worried and Professor McGonagall was standing next to him, hand on his shoulder looking quite contrite about something. The barkeep, the woman the older students had told him was named Rosmerta looked saddened but was going about her job as though nothing was wrong. Not quite sure what to think, he decided that he had better leave if he didn't want to get caught.

Harry slipped out of the front door with a group of fifth years and followed them to Honeydukes. He only had to wait a few minutes before the cellar door was opened and the owner's wife went down to retrieve extra stock. He followed her as silently as he could and waited until she was gone to open the secret passage again.

It wasn't quite as long going back as it had been coming to Hogsmeade. It had definitely been worth the trip. He would continue to do his Christmas shopping by owl order so nobody would be the wiser except for Ron and now that he knew what it was about, he didn't think that he would have to brave the risks of sneaking out again. Maybe this summer he could do extra chores to convince his aunt to sign his permission form. Otherwise, maybe he could get away with forging it. He supposed that he would have to cross that bridge when he got there.

Once he was outside the one-eyed witch, he pulled his cloak from over his head and stuffed it in his robe. He made his way to the library to make sure he put in an appearance in case someone realized that he had been missing. He spent a lovely two hours there researching the history of Hogsmeade rather than working on his assignments. Reading for pleasure wasn't something he did all that often but today he had enjoyed it.

The bell rang for dinner and he was quick to abandon his book by placing it back on the shelf. With a smile and wave to Madam Pince, he left the library and headed for the Great Hall. All in all, it had been a great day.

-O-

Hermione allowed Draco to pull her into Zonko's after they left the Shrieking Shack. After all, she had made him spend two hours at the book store. He didn't mind of course but she supposed that she could suffer for half an hour. Of course, Draco found Blaise and Greg inside and they had gotten together to make plans about their purchases. Finally, at the end of thirty minutes, she had told Draco that he was welcome to stay for as long as he wanted and she would meet him at Three Broomsticks.

Hogsmeade wasn't a new experience for the pair of them. They had been coming since they were little, mostly because her father insisted that there wasn't anywhere better for chocolate than Honeydukes. Over the years, she had visited just about every store in the tiny town. It wasn't as diverse as Diagon Alley but it definitely had a better atmosphere.

Draco had waved her away and she had gone onto the Three Broomsticks. After finding a small table, she had taken her seat and waited for Rosmerta to come take her order. The woman waved her way to let her know that she had seen her but she seemed to be deep in a conversation with the Minister for Magic and Professor Cat. Almost ten minutes passed of her waiting patiently before she finally decided to just go to the bar and place her order. Since Rosmerta was still speaking to the Minister, a man she had met and conversed with several times, and her Transfiguration professor, she just approached them from behind. Their conversation was quite enlightening once she started paying attention. The Minister sounded uncertain when he spoke.

"Are you sure that is Black's daughter? She doesn't look like I remember." McGonagall nodded.

"I'm positive. She's the brightest girl I've ever met, quite powerful too. I just wish that I could stand her father. The biggest disappointment from my own house. Just tragic, and the girl was only adopted to keep him out of Azkaban. Sad, but true. Not that she knows, poor dear." Hermione felt her temper ignite but she stayed quiet. Rosmerta spoke next.

"I remember Sirius and James coming in here together all through school, I never would have thought the man would turn on one who was closer than his own brother. Makes you wonder why little Regulus wanted nothing to do with his older brother. Did he know something we didn't?" Hermione felt tears prick her eyes but she held them back ruthlessly. She was not going to show weakness. The Minister just couldn't leave well enough alone.

"Her father is shrewd, most certainly a follower of the Dark Lord. There are those in the Ministry that are too scared of him to even ride in the same lift. The only one who dares is Lucius Malfoy and that's because they were cut from the same cloth." Hermione knew the things that her uncle had done; he had told Draco everything before Hogwarts and he had shared it all with her. While it sickened her to the highest degree, he had left it all behind so he could keep her in his life. She had been worth it for him and she loved him even more for it. McGonagall took a sip of her whiskey before she spoke again.

"Lucius Malfoy is the worst sort, not one I'd like to meet in a dark alley. He seems gaga for his niece but I'm sure she's the only one. All his victims have seen his darker side, I'm sure." Rosmerta spoke one more time before Hermione finally lost her temper.

"I don't know how poor Narcissa copes. She's such a lovely woman and her husband has dragged her name through the mud. I wonder if she thinks about all the women he's raped. His son won't be much better, I'm sure." That was well and truly the last straw. Nobody talked badly about Draco without getting a reaction from her. She cleared her throat and enjoyed the startled look on all three of their faces. She raised her chin as her aunt had taught her, reigned in her temper like her father had taught her, and sounded as haughty as her Uncle Luci.

"I'm so happy to hear the wonderful opinions you have of my family and I. I just have to wonder if a single one of you would have the bravery to actually say them to their faces." She paused for a moment before she addressed Rosmerta first.

"You've seen my family in here more times than I can count. You know exactly how my Uncle Luci treats my aunt and you can see how much he loves her. Don't presume to know things that you are completely clueless about. As for my father, you knew him as boy. Not as a man. Keep your uneducated mouth shut." She turned to McGonagall next.

"Just when I start to respect you, you do this. I never expected you to believe that my father was innocent, however, I did expect for you to comport yourself with enough propriety to realize that gossiping about a student's family while said student is in the establishment is bad form and bad manners. As for my father adopting me, how would you know his reasons? You never listened to a word from him after the Potters died, only your precious Saint Dumbledore's. If you don't know something for a fact, keep your mouth shut as a proper pureblood should." Finally, her gaze turned to Fudge. However, at this moment, Draco entered and saw her at the bar, instantly knowing that something was wrong. He hurried to her side and laid an arm around her shoulders. However, she didn't acknowledge him.

"I'll be sure to inform my Uncle Luci just what our esteemed Minister really thinks of him, I'm sure my father would love to know too. Especially since that bill is coming up in the Wizengamot, the one you've been angling for all of them to pass. Since they're the two most influential votes in the Wizengamot, who do you think everyone will follow in voting after?" She leaned forward and smirked at the three of them.

"I may be a sweet little girl ninety-eight percent of the time but never forget that I have learned how politics and pureblood society works at my father's and uncle's knee. Throw in my aunt's tutoring in how to properly comport yourself and I'm the result. I'm not someone you want to fuck with. You want to hate my family, that's fine. Do so. Don't talk about it in my presence ever again. I will burn you to the ground if I catch any of you doing it again." The three of them were silent and wide-eyed. Hermione realized that she had just threatened her professor and the Deputy Headmistress but she didn't care. She didn't expect everyone to like her family, in fact, most didn't. However, she expected respect and what she had just heard in her presence was a distinct lack of it. After all, she had been raised to know that she was wizarding royalty. As much as she hated it at times, there were times when she was pompous enough to expect it. This was one of those times.

When they all remained silent, Hermione turned to Draco and offered him a smile.

"Escort me back to the carriages, Drake, I feel no more urge to be here. I think I'd rather prefer the swill they serve in the kitchen at Hogwarts." She could tell that Draco was trying not to laugh, he always had to bite it back when she brought out her haughty and stuck up side. He offered her his arm and led her to the door. She could have sworn that she brushed against something solid and she walked out the door but once they were outside, her face relaxed and Draco began to laugh.

"You have to tell me what that was about because I feel like I missed one fuck of a performance." Hermione laughed softly as he guided her to the carriages. Once they were ensconced inside, she told him the whole story. By the end of it, he was shaking in rage.

"I can't believe they would say those things knowing that you were close enough to possibly hear. Don't get me wrong, I hate that they said them at all but you're a student. They should have been more respectful." She snorted in a most unladylike manner. She still felt like she was going to snap from the tension but Draco's arm around her shoulders helped her in that aspect. She finally relaxed against him and sighed.

"We have to go tell Uncle Sev. You know Professor Cat is going to run to the Headmaster and tell on me. Better he not be blindsided." Draco kissed her temple and nodded.

"He won't be angry, I promise." Hermione nodded. Out of all the things she had done in the last year, this one still ranked up there with one of the dumber ones.

"I hope not. I hate disappointing him. I do it far more often than you do." Draco smirked at her.

"That's because I'm better than you in almost every way. Except that you're more beautiful. And smarter. And sneakier. And the one that everyone always wants to talk to. Alright, I give up, you're definitely the better choice." She chuckled at his words and laid her head on his shoulder. She really did love Draco.

The ride to the castle was shorter than she had imagined it would be. After considering it, it was probably because she was dreading her godfather's reaction to her outrageous behavior. The ever-present chill from the dementors was heavy on her chest until they passed the line of the Hogwarts wards. Once they were at the castle, they dismounted quickly and headed for the dungeons. They found their godfather in his personal lab, working on what appeared to be wolfsbane. Hermione instantly jumped in to help him, mincing the fresh ginger root. He gave her a grateful smile as he spoke.

"Something happened. You might as well tell me so I don't have to be surprised at the High Table." Hermione sighed and put down the knife after the ginger was finished. It took her almost ten minutes to explain but at the end, she felt lighter even though her uncle looked livid. She lowered her head and stared at her lap.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Sev. I shouldn't have said most of what I said." Since he couldn't use his hands, he leaned over and kissed the side of her head.

"I'm not angry at you, poppet. You did as any proper Slytherin would. I expected this from Rosmerta and Fudge but I'm livid at Minerva. I thought that she had changed her way of thinking just a little and to gossip about a student's family is horrid, especially to do so while said student is in the establishment. Truthfully, she should have held her tongue entirely. I will be speaking to her, I promise you. Don't worry, sweet, you won't get in trouble." Hermione shook her head worriedly.

"No, she was angry. She's going to tell Dumbledore. I swear, at the rate I'm going, I'm going to have spent more time in detention than out of it. Like father, like daughter I suppose." Uncle Sev broke out in laughter at her words before leaning down to kiss her again.

"No, sweetness, no detentions for you. I'm going to take care of it. Truthfully, I'm betting that Minerva is far too ashamed of herself to tell Albus." Hermione chuckled softly, still worried.

"Alright. If I do get detention, could you at least try to get them with you?" Her uncle looked at her sharply.

"Do you not trust me, Hermione?" She met his gaze, startled.

"I trust you with my life. I just know how much the Headmaster hates me, even more so than Draco. He would never pass up a chance to punish me." How could her uncle even think that she didn't trust him? He must have seen her thoughts because he gestured for Draco to take over so he could wrap his arms around her and hold her tight. She breathed in his scent and let it comfort her.

"I'm sorry, baby. I never meant to make you feel like I thought you didn't trust me. Just know that in this, I will make sure that you are unpunished. Trust me." She smiled softly and nodded against his chest.

"Alright, thank you Uncle Sev." He kissed the top of her head and took over for Draco once more. His tone was more businesslike now that the hard conversation was over with.

"Go on and head towards the Great Hall. Dinner is in ten minutes and we wouldn't want the pair of you to miss a meal." Since Draco seemed to agree with his sentiment wholeheartedly, she smiled and nodded.

"Don't forget to eat, Uncle Sev." He grinned at her.

"There is only twenty minutes left until this goes under stasis. I will see you there."

Hermione allowed her cousin to pull her out of their godfather's personal lab and towards the Great Hall. The slight rumble in her belly told them both that she was hungry, if not just a little. Draco grinned at her.

"Good thing it's dinner time." She laughed and shoved at him, both of them taking turns shoving each other as they made their way to dinner.

-O-

Severus sat at the High Table next to Minerva and did his best to keep his mouth shut so Albus wouldn't figure out what had happened in Hogsmeade. She was uncharacteristically quiet and she was only picking at her food while she usually dug in with gusto. He bided his time and waited until she finally excused herself from the table. Since he knew that she always adjourned to her office after dinner, he waited ten minutes or so and then followed her.

It was irritating having to trek clear to the seventh floor to get to her office but Hermione was worth it. After a brief knock, he let himself in her office only to meet her appalled expression. He didn't give her a chance to berate him for his rudeness. He launched into his lecture without even giving her the chance to speak.

"I'm going to go out on a limb and trust you just a little, Minerva, not that you deserve it. I know you've learned occlumency. You didn't need it since you're an animagus so I'm assuming you learned it to help soften your temper. Am I correct?" She gave him a sharp nod.

"I did, almost two years ago." He gave her a grim nod.

"If you reveal what I'm about to tell you to Dumbledore, they won't ever find your body. Don't doubt me, woman, I learned many things in my service to the Dark Lord." Her eyes widened but she nodded, understanding completely.

"Hermione Black is my goddaughter, just as much as Draco is my godson. Regulus named me but Sirius has allowed me the chance to continue in that capacity. We have become friends, best friends even, Sirius, Lucius, and I. I'm not going to convince you to believe that Black is innocent because I'm not stupid enough to believe that you would ever be that forward thinking without the Headmaster's approval. However, I'm going to warn you that if you ever upset my goddaughter, the only female that has ever held my heart, again, I will end you. She doesn't ask that you believe her father, although it would be nice if you would listen to him, but she asks that you don't gossip about him in front of her. She showed up in my lab with Draco to confess, sure that she was going to face punishment. I don't like to see Hermione cry and I will hurt anyone who does. Don't put yourself on that list, Minerva. She had started to respect you, to think that you weren't like Dumbledore since you were decent to her. That's all gone now because of your gossiping. You had to know that she would hear, that she would find out." It was clear that his words had surprised her. It took her almost a full minute to formulate her answer.

"I didn't think she would hear, I had seen her sit down halfway across the pub. I never meant to hurt her like that. I've never been threatened by a thirteen-year-old child and actually felt fear until today. I regret it more than anything." Severus regarded her with a shrewd look. He decided to embark on a conversation he really didn't want to have.

"Why have you never listened to Sirius' side of the story? You've just accepted Dumbledore's story as gospel and never asked questions. How can you be certain he's guilty when you've never spoken to him?" Her eyes went downward and her chin trembled. Severus prayed that she wasn't going to cry. Deciding to head it off, even if it made him sound like a prick, he spoke.

"Don't cry, Minerva. The only female who will receive comfort from me for their tears is Hermione. Even Narcissa is left in the cold." She chuckled wetly before she met his gaze with wet eyes.

"When my son was killed, Dumbledore was there for me. After my husband left me for another woman, saying that I wasn't woman enough to keep a child alive, Albus was there for me and gave me something else to work for. I later found love in another man and we were engaged to be married. However, he was killed in the first blood war and Albus was there for me then too. I felt he was owed a certain amount of loyalty." Severus wiped a hand down his face. He hated hearing such personal things that made him feel things he didn't want to. However, he was going to follow through as he had planned.

"If I can put everything aside and become friends with Sirius Black, the man who made my life a living hell, you should be able to listen to a simple story. You weren't even at the trial in the ICW, you know only what he told you. Did you ever research it and what happened?" She shook her head and wiped her nose and her wrist.

"No, like I said, I felt he deserved a certain amount of loyalty at the time." Severus raised an eyebrow at her.

"And now?" She raised her head to meet his eyes. After several seconds passed, she smiled softly at him.

"I'll listen to what Sirius has to say as long as you promise to be there." Severus nodded.

"How does Christmas sound? The Headmaster can't begrudge you for leaving on a holiday such as Christmas." Her eyebrows raised in surprise.

"You spend Christmas with Hermione every year?" He gave her a smirk and a nod.

"Every year since she was two. Rather than spend summer in my own family manor, I take turns every year spending it with Sirius and Lucius. The children come see me all the time. Who do you think has tutored them in Potions since they were six years old?" Minerva broke out in laughter that took almost a minute to get under control.

"I bet that just eats you alive, not being able to take credit for Hermione's amazing potions abilities." He gave her a soft nod.

"It does put a cramp in my style, especially since she enjoys potions more than Draco." Minerva winked at him.

"Tell me, what's that girl's favorite subject?" He glared at her but responded with a dry answer.

"You'll have to ask her yourself over Christmas. You'll arrive after Christmas dinner. Remember what I say, Minerva. If Albus hears of this before he is meant to, I'll know where the information came from and they won't find your body. I'll do anything to protect my godchildren and that includes killing you." She gave him a bright smile and nodded.

"I understand. Can I say that being a guardian suits you?" There was trace of laughter in her tone so he raised an eyebrow.

"I'd rather you wouldn't. By the by, an apology to both children wouldn't go amiss." She gave a nod to show that she understood. Severus rose and exited her office and prayed to Merlin that he hadn't just made a huge mistake. He supposed that if he had, he could obliviate her as easily as just about anything. With a superior smirk, he headed back to the dungeons. He had happy news to relate to his godchildren.

-O-

Minerva sat her desk with a tumbler full of fire whiskey. She never would have thought that Severus would turn her whole world on a knut but that was exactly what had happened. Who would have ever thought that he had let the past go and become best friends with Sirius Black?

Albus would have a canary if he ever found out. However, Minerva knew that Severus was not known for bluffing. He had killed before and would not hesitate to kill again if he thought that it was protecting his godchildren, especially Hermione. It was clear that the girl was the light of his life and she wasn't quite sure how she hadn't seen it before. It was clear in everything he did that she was important to him. He had always taken being Head of House seriously but Hermione Black had been a special case from the start.

Minerva was so ashamed of herself. Hermione Black had been right in putting her in her place. She was a pureblood and had been raised as such. She knew that they were a fickle bunch but they always had the propriety to not say such things where they could be heard out of respect. That was a golden rule that Minerva had forgotten today and she had hurt a young witch in the process.

Minerva would apologize, of course. She was capable of admitting when she was wrong. Wrong, she most assuredly was. After hearing what Hermione had to say to her, Rosmerta, and Fudge, she realized that she had deserved it. She just hoped that girl would forgive her. She had quickly become one of her favorite students after she had quit being so prejudiced against her because of her house.

The fact that she was Sirius' daughter was a little harder to swallow. She still wasn't ready to just believe Sirius after whatever he said but she supposed that he was owed the right to explain. Severus was right, she hadn't let him explain, had just instantly believed every single word out of Albus' mouth because of their past history.

Her life hadn't been happy or content, that much was fact. In fact, the only pleasure she seemed to get from life was from being Head of Gryffindor House and helping the students cope with their problems. Her own son had died in her arms and she would never feel whole again. However, helping her students was a close second.

It was for this reason that she vowed to give her ex-student the chance to explain himself. She wasn't sure if she was being foolish for letting Severus talk her into visiting their home over the holidays but she supposed that her disappearance wouldn't go unnoticed if it came to that. Now, she just had to keep quiet in front of Albus and act like nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

Throwing her glass of whiskey back, she grimaced slightly at the burn. This was going to be her most interesting holiday for quite some years.

A/N- There ya go, folks, another chapter finished. Hope you all enjoyed it. Maybe things are going to start looking up? I'm not going to promise anything but we can always hope. Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing, y'all are the bomb diggity. Leave me your thoughts in a message after the beep. They make me smile.

Next chapter, Christmas and all sorts of truths being revealed and the reactions to all of it.

Love,

Alicia


	51. Chapter 51

A/N- The amount of love you guys show this story after every single chapter is amazing. Thank you all so much. I won't say much since we all know you really want to read the chapter. Just…thanks.

**Shout out to Lonelywicked for being my 1600th reviewer and Jamie Theobald for being my 1700th reviewer. You guys review every single chapter and you're just awesome.**

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing about this story, maybe the personal twist but that's about all I can claim. I haven't made any money from this story or any others, my bank account tells no lies.

Chapter 51

December 25, 1993

Harry smiled at the sounds around him, the complete and utter chaos that was the Burrow on a normal day, not to mention Christmas. It was brilliant though and he wouldn't trade it for the world. In fact, he would go so far as to say that it had been the best Christmas of his life.

They had been home for five days now and they had been filled with lazy mornings, huge meals, and quidditch in the orchard behind the house. Dobby was in his element, buzzing around the kitchen helping Mrs. Weasley with whatever she needed done. Harry was thrilled to see the little elf so excited, something he usually wasn't when he was at Privet Drive with the Dursleys during the summer.

Harry loved how the Weasley siblings all banded together and played Christmas pranks and begged for hot chocolate and helped their mother make cookies. It was so blessedly normal that it made him want to cry and laugh at the same time. He would have killed to have something like this growing up; the redheads didn't know how good they had it.

The older two Weasleys, Bill and Charlie were going to be unable to make it home for the holiday. Though all the redheads were saddened at this, they did their best to not let it bother them too badly. Harry still struggled to see a family that cared about each other as deeply as the Weasleys did. It made him long to be a part of it, to be accepted as a member.

They had just finished opening their presents, as evidenced by the wrapping paper still scattered across the floor. Molly had went to the kitchen to start Christmas breakfast, apparently a big deal in the Weasley household. Ron had told him that it was so huge because it had to last you clear through the day until Christmas dinner, that his mum refused to cook in between. Harry could understand that; who had time to cook lunch when they were trying to cook a fantastic Christmas dinner?

Since all his gifts were put away already, he had been quick to clear up, he sidled into the kitchen and watched as Molly kneaded dough and Dobby fried sausages. Molly grinned at him when she saw him and poured him a steaming cup of hot chocolate and set it on the table, gesturing for him to take a seat. Harry did so quietly, still a little unnerved about being a part of this household.

"What's the matter, dear? You're not out there roughhousing with the other heathens." Harry grinned just a little at her. He had never been one to roughhouse, his family would have beaten him senseless if he had ever considered it.

"Roughhousing isn't really my thing. I thought I'd come see if you needed any help with breakfast." Molly cocked her head to the side and smiled at him.

"Now, dear, you aren't here to work. You're here on vacation so just sit back and relax. Enjoy your hot chocolate. Just don't tell the others, they'll be in here in point five seconds bleating that they want some as well." Harry chuckled as Fred (or was it George?) stuck his head in and wailed.

"No fair, Harry gets hot chocolate before breakfast! We want some too!" Harry openly laughed at the expression on Molly's face. She poured enough cups for the rest of the siblings to come in and take their seats around the table. Arthur stayed behind in the living room, probably to clear up the mess, Harry was sure. Ginny, who still couldn't manage to look at Harry without blushing, looked in his direction.

"What are Christmases at your house like, Harry? Is it different in the muggle world?" Harry felt a lick of shame pass through him. How was he supposed to know what a normal muggle Christmas was like? He lowered his head and played with his cup, his voice soft.

"I wouldn't know really. My relatives aren't big on the holiday." It fell silent around him and he was sure that they were going to start asking more curious questions but when he glanced up, Ron was glaring at Ginny and his gaze was daring everyone else to ask him. It was clear that nobody was going to take him up on it. Harry was grateful, once more happy that Ron could be such a good mate despite his other failings. Molly watched him carefully and seemed to realize that he was uncomfortable when she spoke.

"Ginny, dear, come help with breakfast." The young girl groaned but dragged herself out of the chair and stood at her mother's side to do whatever she asked. Harry didn't understand why it was such a big deal; he would have loved to help in some way. The twins were whispering to each other softly, probably planning something if he didn't know any better. Things with the twin terrors had been a little tense since they had gifted him with the map but none of them acknowledged it. Harry figured that it would either get worse or better, depending on the situation. Ron smiled his way.

"I'm really glad you got to come home with us for the hols, mate. Nobody should have to stay at Hogwarts if they don't have to. I know Mum and Dad were happy to have you." Harry grinned at him.

"It's been great, much better than Hogwarts. I didn't realize that Christmas could be this fun." A shadow passed over Ron's face and Harry feared that he had said too much. He had never come out and said that his relatives were abusive, it really wouldn't get him anywhere since he had nowhere else to go. However, he had a feeling that Ron suspected. It really wasn't something that Harry wanted to talk about so he was quick to change the subject.

"What do you say we gather everyone after breakfast and play a pick-up game? You should try out for the team next year, mate. If you do, you should get some practice in." Ron's face lit up. Harry knew that his friend loved the game and his biggest dream was to play professionally. It wasn't that Ron was bad at quidditch but he didn't have very good focus. If he could work on that, he would be so much better.

"That, mate, is a great idea." Harry grinned as Ron waved a hand in front of the other Weasley children's faces. The twins glared at him and Percy still seemed caught up in his own thoughts.

"We're gonna play quidditch after breakfast. Who's in?" The sour look on the twins' faces disappeared and they looked excited. Truthfully, Harry wasn't surprised. Ginny started jumping up and down in excitement. Percy was the only one that didn't look like he was about to wet himself.

"I don't know, I still have some homework to do." Ron rolled his eyes at his brother and then stuck out his tongue.

"Don't be such a stick in the mud, Perce. Come play for a little while and you can do all the homework you want after dinner and tomorrow." The twins were nodding in agreement. Percy sighed as if he was suffering.

"Fine, fine, we'll play bloody quidditch. Don't you people realize that there is more to the world than quidditch?" Harry grinned at the most imperious of the Weasley children.

"We know, we just love quidditch best." The twins burst out in laughter and Harry could see Molly hiding a smile behind her hand. Percy looked down his nose at Harry but there was glint of amusement in his eyes.

"Very well, as long as you know."

The rest of the Weasleys burst out in laughter and Harry couldn't help but confirm it in him mind. This was definitely the best Christmas of his life.

-O-

Hermione stretched languidly in her bed, Tenebris warm at her side. Her room was toasty, proof that Dot or Sipsy had been in and stoked the fire around an hour ago. Draco was snoring softly on the other side of her bed and she reached out with her cold feet and planted them right in the middle of his back. His eyes flew open and he started berating her.

"What the fuck, Miney, your feet are always bloody freezing. Why would you do that to me?" Hermione grinned unrepentantly at him.

"Because it's Christmas morning and I'm pretty sure that our parents are already waiting on us." Draco sat up in bed, goose bumps sprinkling his shoulders as the blankets fell away. Hermione didn't understand why he slept with no shirt on but he said that he was more comfortable. She smirked to herself, just easier access if she wanted to put her ice-cold feet on him.

He beat her out and bed and slipped his shirt on over his head and his feet into his slippers. When he turned around, he was glaring at her. Hermione just smirked at him and got out of the bed at a leisurely pace that she knew would piss him off. He sighed irritatedly and started to tap his foot. Hermione burst out in laughter and hurried up before he had an aneurysm. Once her feet were in her favorite unicorn slippers, Draco grabbed her hand and started to pull her down the stairs.

Her father, aunt, and uncle were all waiting for them in the library. Candy was passing out hot chocolate to everyone so Hermione bounded over to her father happily and planted herself in his lap. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him close.

"Happy Christmas, daddy." He kissed her temple and chuckled.

"Happy Christmas, poppet." She repeated the same procedure with her aunt and uncle, though she just bent over and hugged her aunt close. They had gone on a day long ride the day before, something that Hermione had been missing greatly since she had returned to school. If only she could take her horse with her to Hogwarts. Draco just watched her with an indulgent smirk before he settled into his own chair in front to the fire. Her father grinned at her.

"Alright, sweetness, we missed you passing out gifts last year. Hit us with 'em." Hermione considered being a smartarse and throwing his gifts at him but decided that it wasn't worth the argument that would surely ensue.

Hermione passed the gifts out quickly, more than excited to open her gifts and see if everyone loved her gifts. It took only ten minutes or so to get through them all, but once they were finished, Hermione was pleased with her haul. Uncle Sev had gotten her her own solid gold cauldron, used to make the most difficult of brews, and a handwritten note that told her that he would be meeting with her in two days' time to start teaching her the seventh-year potions. As much as Draco loved potions, he didn't have the love for it that Hermione did and would therefore not be joining them. She was sure that he could easily make plans with Theo or Blaise to play quidditch or something.

Her aunt had gotten her all new tack for her Abraxan horse, Bluebell. Even if it was overdone with gemstones stitched into the leather, it was beautiful and she loved it. There was also a ridiculous amount of clothing but Hermione vowed to go through all of it at a later time. Uncle Luci had gotten her a front row seat to the book reading of her most favorite wizarding author for when his new book came out in just over a week. After she had squealed her happiness, he had told her that he would be attending with her.

Her father, knowing that he couldn't possibly compete with the gift he had sent her last year for their Christmas at Hogwarts, handed her a small package that she suspected was jewelry. Since she was still a child, only fourteen, she doubted that it was anything too extravagant. Daughters used their mother's jewelry and family jewels until they were of age to court. She ripped into it eagerly and almost passed out at what she saw nestled inside the small box.

The tiniest chain she had ever seen, housing the Malfoy family crest littered with diamonds and emeralds as a pendant, sat there unobtrusively. Underneath the necklace was a small ring that had the Black family crest on it. Hermione felt her breath catch.

"You didn't have to, I could have waited, you never know, daddy, you could -." She was rambling and she knew it but she couldn't help herself. She put herself back in his lap while he took the necklace out and fastened it around her throat.

"That necklace is from Lucius. It's the very same necklace that your mother wore. He removed it from her neck himself after she was killed. Nobody has worn it since. It's to show the world that you're as much a Malfoy as Draco and that you bear their protection." Hermione knew how the spells worked.

Necklaces like this were almost always placed on the women of the family, laced with spells that would protect them against mind magic and poisons. It did nothing for spells but it was a layer of protection that most purebloods wanted their women to have. After all, there was no continuing the line without women. The thought behind it sickened Hermione but the fact that her mother had been the last to wear it made her feel closer to the woman she couldn't really remember at all. Her father took the ring and placed it on the fourth finger of her right hand and it glowed brightly before sizing down to her finger. It would grow with her now and would never be able to be removed unless her father did so as her paterfamilias.

"I know that there won't ever be another child born to the Black family, Hermione. You are perfect and you will be my heir. If something happens by accident, well, you will still be my heir. Any brothers or sisters you end up with, though hopefully none, will fall second in line. This is your family ring, wear it with pride." Hermione felt happy tears sliding down her cheeks as she hugged her father close. This ring told her that she was officially his heir, that he wasn't going to try to have a son. He had just told her in a single gift that she would be responsible for continuing the Black line and passing on its legacy.

"I love you, daddy." He squeezed her tightly and chuckled.

"I love you too, poppet. Enough tears though, this is a happy day." She chuckled wetly before rising and putting herself in her uncle's lap like she was still seven years old. She hugged him tightly around the neck.

"I love you, Uncle Luci, thank you for this. It makes me feel closer to her even though I can't remember her." He kissed the top of her head and smoothed a hand down her curls.

"Just remember, princess, you're as much a Malfoy as you are a Black. That necklace will give you our family protection, officially, even though you've had it from the start. Nobody but myself or Draco can remove it so I hope you like it." She laughed as she wiped happy tears from her cheeks.

"I love it, I think it's beautiful." Her Aunt Cissy clapped her hands happily.

"Now that you're wearing your own family ring, you're old enough to get jewels of your own. Oh, this is going to be so much fun!" Hermione choked out another wet chuckle at her aunt's exuberance at shopping. Her uncle rubbed his hand down her aunt's thigh warmly and she was reminded that she wanted a love like they had. She wanted her father to have a love like they had.

Her thoughts then instantly went to Harry and her crush on him. It was horribly stupid, she knew that now but it refused to disappear. Her uncle's hand was massaging the back of her head, something he had done to her since she was a child. It relaxed her and would usually put her to sleep if she let it. She leaned into his ministrations and sighed happily. She caught Draco rolling his eyes at her.

"You're like Tenebris when he does that, Mia. Like you could curl up and take a nap in his lap." Hermione chuckled at completely true that statement was.

"Don't judge me, you like to have your hair played with. You're no better." She cracked an eye to see that there was the slightest tinge of pink to his cheeks.

"You're a horrible hag, Hermione. You weren't supposed to tell anyone." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Did you really think they didn't know when you put your head in my lap all the time and then place my hands in your hair?" He glared at her playfully. However, the hand rubbing her head stopped for a moment before they focused on something that Hermione had forgotten was there. The inch-long scar from the stone thrown at the back of her head. She cursed inwardly. She should have just gone to Madam Pomfrey and there would have been nothing left.

"What is that, Hermione? Is that a scar?" She pulled his hands away quickly and sat up straight even though she was still perched on her uncle's knee.

"I'm not sure what it was." His hands reached out again to feel it but she pulled away.

"It's fine, it's nothing. Let's just call one of the elves to start cleaning up." Her uncle was glaring at her now but it was her aunt that spoke softly.

"You can tell us, Hermione. We won't get angry." She reached out and took Hermione's hand, worry clear in her gaze. Hermione knew then that her cousin was going to cave. As much as he loved Hermione, he hated when his mother was scared or worried. Her father had his eyes narrowed at her and if she hadn't known any better, would have guessed that he was trying to peer into her mind. However, after she had finally mastered occlumency, her family had sworn that they would never delve into her mind again without permission. Hermione leapt from her uncle's lap and started gathering the wrapping paper and putting it in a pile.

"It's nothing, alright. Nothing. I've already handled it and it's not a big deal." Now all the adults were glaring at her and when Aunt Cissy turned her gaze to Draco, she knew that her secret was about to be out.

"What's been happening, Draco?" Hermione knew that her Uncle Sev had told them some of what had been happening to her at school, she would never ask him to keep secrets from his best friends. However, there was plenty that he didn't know for that very reason. Draco sighed and met her gaze. She shook her head no, trying to tell him not to say anything. He had promised her, after all. He looked torn but in the end, he capitulated.

"Everyone found out about what Hermione did to Brown last year. The whole school turned on her, even some of the Slytherins. They've mostly gotten over it but the rest of the school has been bullying her, playing pranks and such on her. Uncle Sev knows about some of it but she made me promise not to tell you. She wanted to handle it on her own." It was to her great shame that Draco then enumerated every single incident that he knew about and the injuries that she had sustained. She could only thank Merlin that she hadn't told him all of them.

To her even greater horror, Draco spilled the beans about her last conversation with Harry and what had been said between them. He told them about how Professor Lupin was mean to her and what he had said to her about her boggart's form. She could see her family getting more and more angry and she had never felt so betrayed. There were angry tears shining in her eyes as she glared at her cousin. She had trusted him to keep her secrets and he had just told them to all the adults. However, she didn't want to act like an adult, she wanted to hex him. She slid her impassive mask in place and met her cousin's gaze. Hermione could tell that her cousin knew exactly what that look meant.

"I trusted you." She said nothing else to him but turned her attention to the adults in the room.

"There's a reason I didn't tell Uncle Sev about everything. I wanted to take care of this myself, not rely on my father and uncle to fight my battles for me. I was the one that almost killed Brown, it was me that deserved everything they did. I put a stop to it myself too, I didn't need anyone to rescue me. As for Harry, don't worry, I'll make sure the complete wanker doesn't get himself killed since there's an Azkaban escapee after him but there is nothing else for us. He's burned the last bridge between us. Lupin isn't a bother, I already know why he does the things he does, he doesn't bother me anymore." Hermione couldn't help but to reach up and fiddle with the necklace at the hollow of her throat.

"I think I'd like to go put my things away while we wait for Christmas dinner." She hadn't even opened the gifts from her friends at school but she didn't let that bother her. She would open them later and enjoy them just as much. Her father allowed her to wave her wand and levitate her gifts so they would follow closely after her.

Once she was in her room, she started to put her gifts away, though she did call Sipsy to put her new tack out in the stable with the rest of the tack. After her gifts were in their new homes, she decided that a proper shower was in order. It didn't last long enough, however, and only an hour had passed. She dressed quickly, in simple robes that her father must have bought for her because they didn't look near extravagant enough to be from her aunt.

Hermione knew that she was acting like a child but Draco had hurt her feelings by betraying her trust like that. If he had sat down and had a serious talk with her about telling their parents, she would have considered it. It wasn't likely that she would have told them but she would have listened to his argument. Now, he had just blurted it all out and there was no going back. She snuggled underneath a lap blanket in an arm chair in front of her fire with one of her favorite books when there was a knock on the door.

"I'm not ready for company, just leave me alone." The door opened anyways and Draco stepped in, sheepish look on his face. She stared at him, impassive as ever.

"Please leave. I really don't want to talk about it right now." Now there was anger on his features. She had clearly just pissed him off. He reached out and grabbed one of her figurines off her shelf and threw it at the mantle, exploding it into a thousand different pieces. Hermione couldn't hide her flinch and his clear anger. She hated when Draco got like this; he was always so calm and collected so it was just a tad scary when he lost control and threw things. His features were lined with rage.

"I'm not going to leave, you're going to stop being a drama queen and you're going to get over it. They deserved to know, they needed to know that people were hurting you. It isn't fair to keep them in the dark when you demanded complete honestly from them when they kept the diary from us. Don't be a fucking hypocrite, Hermione." She could admit that he had a point but now it was a matter of principal.

"You know that I handled the problem, nothing has happened since I threw that little bitch against the wall. Yet you told them anyways. What good did that do except to worry them, make them feel impotent because they can't do anything while we're at school and they're here. Telling them what happened between Harry and I was going too far. I could have forgave all of it except for that. That was my most mortifying moment and I ran to you. I showed you because I trusted that my pain would be safe with you. But it wasn't." Draco sighed and raked a hand through his hair before dropping to his knees in front of her.

"I'm sorry, Miney, I am. There are things I don't like to see though, and you hurting is one of them. I know how much Potter hurt you and I know that your father is going to hope that you're going to be friends after the truth comes out. He's going to push you and not even know that what he's asking of you is hurting you too. He deserves to know how much that idiot is making you hurt." Hermione allowed him to pull her into a gentle hug. She buried her face in his shoulder before she choked out the words that she feared most.

"I'm scared that it won't matter, that when Harry comes around again, I won't mean shite. I know that he only adopted me to stay out of prison for Harry. I'm scared that if Harry comes around, I'm not going to matter like I do now. If he knows what Harry has done to me and he still welcomes him with open arms, it's going to be a thousand times harder than if he's clueless. I'm trying to protect my heart." Draco made her stand so he could sit in her chair and settled her on his lap. She wasn't crying but she wanted to. She knew that when Harry learned the truth, her father was going to do exactly as she said and she was afraid that her heart couldn't bear it. Draco's arms tightened around her and held her close.

"This is why you're really mad, isn't it?" Hermione nodded. Everything else she could forgive. Draco kissed her hairline.

"I'm sorry, Miney, you should have told me. I would never have told them if I had known. I thought that it was because of your pride." Hermione shook her head in the negative.

"No, I'm trying to keep my heart from breaking in the end." He rocked her softly for what seemed like ages. She had almost dozed off when her cousin spoke again.

"Even if he welcomes Potter back with open arms, that won't mean that you don't matter. He hasn't seen the boy in years, he's going to be a little punch-drunk. You're still going to matter to him." Hermione nodded.

"I know but how am I going to not see that as a betrayal? I would never be friends with someone that had been horrible to you, that had hurt you like that. Maybe if it was away from the house where I didn't have to see it but you know he's going to bring Harry here and want him to live with us. How is that going to be for me.? Harry ripped my heart from my chest, threw it on the ground, and stomped it to death. I've done so many things for him and for him to think those horrid things of me, it was like something in my world shifted. I feel disconnected and I don't like it. It'll only be worse if he comes here and my father loves him like nothing happened." Draco clearly had nothing else to say to that for several minutes.

"If that happens and it's too hard, we'll go to the Manor. You know Father and Mother would love to have you there full time." She nodded but said nothing. There really wasn't anything to say. He gave her one last squeeze.

"I am sorry, Miney. Forgive me?" She nodded against his chest and didn't move for another hour until Candy appeared in front of her.

"Missy and Master is needed downstairs. Dip and Dot has finished the meals." Hermione smiled at her father's elf and thanked her quietly.

Hermione crawled out of Draco's lap and allowed him to pull her down the stairs to the dining room. Once inside, he led her to her seat and pulled out her chair just like a proper gentleman would. After he was seated, she turned to the adults in the room, now including her Uncle Severus.

"I don't want to talk about it. It's over and done with and I've handled the problem. I'll keep watch over Harry, don't worry about that. As for Lupin, he doesn't matter so neither do his words. If I stay away from him, he stays away from me." Her father gave her a small smile.

"Alright, sweetness, we won't talk about it but if the bullying starts again, I want you to go to Severus. Promise me." She nodded her head, not missing that he hadn't commented on the confrontation with Harry.

"I promise." Her Uncle Luci was not about to let it go though.

"All you need to do is make sure that Severus knows if something happens. Potter isn't your responsibility, Hermione, especially since he said those things. You deserve better, princess." She gave him a small smile.

"I'll do what my conscience can live with." After that, the matter was dropped.

Uncle Sev was full of chatter about the school, how calm and peaceful it was with Potter and the Weasley brood out of the castle and not causing any trouble. He was cursing the twins and how they never seemed to get caught doing anything wrong but he was determined to catch them in the new year. Hermione chuckled at his dilemma to which he promptly glared at her for.

The meal was merry, much merrier than she had figured that it would be. They adjourned to the library again and she caught Draco talking softly with his father. Lucius laid a hand on his shoulder and nodded earnestly but they broke it up quickly. Suddenly, Hermione felt something press against the wards and watched as her father flew to his feet. Uncle Sev was there next to him, hand on his arm.

"Calm down, Sirius, I know who it is. I invited them." Hermione wasn't sure what he was talking about but she was very keen on finding out. Her father raised an eyebrow at him and the potions master sighed.

"It's Minerva. She's willing to listen to you, Sirius, mostly thanks to your daughter and her dressing down in the Three Broomsticks."

Hermione couldn't believe what she was hearing. Professor Cat had pulled her aside two days after that day in the pub and gave her a very perfunctory apology and went about her way. Hermione had accepted it but told herself that she would never delude herself into trusting the woman again. Her father's eyes blazed but said nothing. Instead, he went to the fireplace and tapped his wand on the mantle. Minerva shot out of fireplace, coughing with a hand over her mouth. Once she had quieted, her father held out his arm for her to precede him.

"Why don't you take a seat, Minerva." She watched him warily and then gave the same treatment to her uncle. After she was seated on a loveseat all by herself, she turned to Hermione in proper pureblood etiquette.

"You have a lovely home, Miss Black." Even though she was seated on the floor in front of her Uncle Sev, she gave the woman a nod.

"Thank you, professor." Her father was quick to call for Candy and have her bring them tea and brandy with chocolate biscuits. Draco looked excited for the biscuits but Hermione was more than ready for the tea. Uncle Sev had a lock of her hair in his hand, twirling it around his fingers while he surveyed the older woman.

"Well, Minerva, you're here. You'll get your answers as long as you keep your mouth shut. I've already warned you what will happen if you don't. Ask your questions." The Gryffindor swirled her tea around in her cup for a few seconds before she finally voiced her first question.

"What happened the night that the Potters were killed? The full story, the truth." Her father raised an eyebrow at her and looked to her godfather. He nodded and pulled a vial from his robes and threw it to him.

"Veritiserum, my own brew. Only three drops, Sirius." Her father nodded and dropped three drops on his tongue. After it had taken effect, he looked to her professor.

The story poured out of him, how he had found James and Lily, how he had found Harry and taken him to Hagrid. Going to Peter's house because he knew that he had been the secret keeper and how he had followed him through apparition to Hogsmeade. Hearing how her father had killed an innocent auror on accident was hard to hear and when he revealed that Pettigrew had disappeared, she was filled with righteous anger. McGonagall looked dumbfounded at his words and took a few moments to gather herself when he had finished.

"Are you really a pureblood bigot now? Have you left all your ideals behind?" Her father snorted but answered anyways.

"It's an act, to get into the pureblood circles. If I couldn't help the Order, I was determined to help in my own way and that was getting the information first as only a follower of the Dark Lord could. I've never believed in blood purity and I don't plan on starting." Her eyes widened at his words.

"What about the Malfoys, how do they factor in? How does Severus factor in?" Her father met her gaze directly to show that he was still under the effects of the potion.

"When I adopted Hermione, they were all Hermione knew. She thought I was Regulus when I first got her. I told Lucius and Narcissa that if they were to be a part of her life they were going to have to leave it all behind, no more mudbloods, no more torturing, no more blood purity. They chose to keep their niece in their lives and have never looked back. As for Severus, he followed me that day I came to Hogwarts and told me that he was Hermione's godfather. I allowed him to see her and we've grown to become as good of friends as James and I were. A few nights before we sent the kids to Hogwarts for their first year, Lucius and Narcissa came over and told me that they knew what I was doing and that they wanted in. They wanted to bring the Dark Lord down and I agreed to let them." McGonagall scrubbed a hand down her face and was clearly having a hard time coping with his words.

"Did you lie about anything? Does Dumbledore know that this is the truth or is he just mistaken?" Her father shrugged.

"I lied about nothing. Albus really did try to pull money from the Potter vaults without permission, you saw him curse Hermione, and I tried to testify under veritiserum at the ICW. He had the Mugwump in his pocket. As for if he knows what the truth is, I can't be certain. However, I believe that he is so certain that he's correct that the possibility of something like this just isn't in the realm of reality for him. I'm not sure if he'll believe the truth until I catch that traitorous bastard Pettigrew and string him up for the world to see." McGonagall looked devastated as though her whole world had just changed in the blink of an eye. After several minutes, she turned her eyes to Hermione and Draco.

"How did they get pulled into this?" Her father chuckled.

"I've never lied to Hermione, she knows the truth about everything, even the bad parts. She was determined to help me. She then told Draco because she tells him everything and vice versa. He was just as dedicated as she was. They've been watching out for Harry and making sure that he doesn't die. Dumbledore isn't a wizard that believes in safety." It was clear that the woman wasn't going to dispute that. She turned sorrowful eyes to her father.

"I'm so sorry, Sirius, I should have given you a chance to explain and not just assumed that Albus was right. I should have known that you would never turn James over to Voldemort." Her father's eyes looked suspiciously wet but nobody commented on it. She then turned to Hermione.

"I truly am sorry for the other day, dear girl. I apologize most sincerely." Hermione nodded and smiled softly at her. Finally, someone believed her father's story.

"Have you tried to tell Potter?" Hermione looked down into her lap and let her father explain how Harry and Weasley had spurned all her offers of friendship and how there would be no more. McGonagall looked saddened when he was done explaining but was nodding softly.

"Yes, I'm sure that's exactly what happened. The boy is loyal as they come so he's going to take everything that Weasley says as gospel, Dumbledore too." Hermione realized that nothing was said about Remus Lupin but supposed that was probably for the best. It was a sore subject with her father and they didn't need anymore strife.

Hermione let the conversation fade into the background and leaned back against her godfather. His hand was still playing with her curl but it made her cherished and safe. Her eyes slid closed and even though she wasn't completely asleep, she felt someone drop a blanket around her even though she was leaned against her godfather's legs.

After a while, the world just fell away and she let sleep claim her, high on the fact that somebody finally believed them.

A/N- Yay, Minerva believes them! I almost didn't include this but decided to go ahead and do it. Hope you all enjoyed it (: Thanks to everyone out there that is reading and reviewing, you guys are my heroes. Leave me a message after the beep and let me know what you think.

Next chapter, a short chapter about a New Year's Ball.

Love,

Alicia


	52. Chapter 52

A/N- I can't tell you guys how much I appreciate your level of support. The love you show my story is astounding. This chapter is purely fluff, except for Harry's POV. It's going to get the ball rolling to something that we all are going to hate seeing. Anyways, thanks to everyone out there reading, reviewing, following and favoriting this story. You guys are my heroes.

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing about this story. The original idea for Part One belongs to Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle and the characters belong to J.K.R. We all bow before the queen. I haven't made any money off this story or any others especially since I struggle to find enough money to put fuel in my gas tank. Adulting suck, y'all.

Chapter 52

December 31, 1993

Harry had never celebrated a New Years with wizards before. Sure, he had been at Hogwarts and there had been a feast but he hadn't participated in anything that would make the day special.

At the Burrow, it was different. He was still unsure if they were actual traditions or if they were just something that the Weasleys did on their own. First, they had all been ordered to sleep in, stating that if they were going to be expected to stay up until midnight, they would need a little extra sleep. Once they were all up, Molly had insisted on the largest brunch Harry had ever seen before and it had all been delicious.

After eating, all the children had been ushered outside to entertain themselves, Percy included. He hadn't been the most pleased but wasn't surprised so Harry assumed that this was something that happened every year. All the Weasley children lamented the fact that Bill and Charlie weren't there this year so they weren't able to play the last quidditch game of the year as a family. After Ginny had gone in the wheedle her father, Arthur had even come out to play with them.

Once they were finished playing quidditch, Molly had ushered them inside and had them sit around the table for tea and biscuits. They were dismissed to the living room where the twins talked quietly in the corner, Percy read a book, and Harry, Ron, and Ginny played wizard's chess. After several games, Ron was still the undisputed champion of the family. According to the rest of the family, Bill was the only one that could give Ron a run for his money when it came to the game.

Dinner came next, a huge meal that put Hogwarts' meals to shame. Dobby seemed to be enjoying the holiday as much as Harry was and helped Molly with everything. He seemed to love working in the kitchen and Harry refused to pull him from something that he clearly enjoyed. They feasted as a family, Dobby even taking a seat at the table after Harry and Molly had insisted for almost ten minutes.

The family had played more games together after dinner; exploding snap was one of the favorites. The twins won every game and Ron accused them of cheating. Ginny had laughed at them and promised to get even, that she would expose their sneaky ways. It was homey and fun, making Harry feel as though he belonged. To say that it had been his best New Years ever would have been an understatement.

Arthur had told them that the residents of Ottery St. Catchpole, the nearby muggle town, had a firework show every year at just a few minutes before midnight. Since it would be the first fireworks show that Harry had ever seen before, he was more than excited to see it. Molly had poured everyone glasses of sparkling cider that they had splurged on. Harry instantly felt guilty, that he should contribute to the celebration somehow. However, Molly had seen his thought instantly and told him that they wouldn't allow him to pay for anything. The twins grumbled as they were handed their cider.

"Merlin, Mum, don't you think that Percy and us are old enough for just a little fire whiskey? We're not babies anymore." Molly put her hands on her hips and started to berate them loudly.

"No, you're not going to get fire whiskey. You're only fifth year students, not near old enough to be given liquor. Don't even think about sneaking any or I'll make sure to tan your hide good." The twins cowered for only a moment before laughing off her threat.

"We'll just wait until we're back at school, I bet we can get Mia to help us with the lucky potion and we can get a taste off of McLaggen." Arthur, normally quiet and laid-back, narrowed his eyes at his sons.

"You will not be getting any fire whiskey from anyone at school, don't think I won't be owling Minerva and having her check the dorms. You probably would have gotten away with it if you had kept your mouths shut." Harry couldn't help but wonder if he was giving the twins a clue to keep quiet so they could get their taste of liquor. From the look on Molly's face, it was clear that she would be doing everything in her power to make sure that they remained alcohol-free. However, before she commented on it, their words struck her.

"Who is Mia?" Fred grinned at his mother before answering.

"Mia is Draco's pet name for Hermione so we kind of picked it up. She doesn't seem to mind when it's her friends but boy does that girl get mad when other people use it. We watched her hex a sixth year Slytherin because he used the name Mia to ask her out on a date. We never thought about turning someone's mouth into a toilet but after watching her do it, we'll definitely be using that one." Molly narrowed her eyes at their words.

"It isn't proper for young women to do such things. Surely, she was taught better than that." Fred and George laughed while Ron and Ginny scowled.

"Mum, you would like Hermione. She's really nice and she doesn't think that she's better than anyone. She gets really annoyed that all the older boys ask to escort her everywhere. Draco always insists on being her chaperone even though he doesn't really count but it's better than sending her on her way on her own. It's clear that most of the boys only like her because she's a Black." Ron snapped at his brothers.

"Don't let them lie to you, Mum. Hermione Black is horrid, she thinks she's better than everyone because of her last name and her fortune. Not to mention, she threw Ginny up against the wall and slapped her at school." Ginny lowered her eyes quickly and before Harry knew it, the Weasley parents' eyes were flashing. Molly's voice was low as she spoke.

"What do you mean that she threw your sister up against the wall and slapped her?" It seemed as though Ron wasn't going to do the rest of cluing his parents in so George (at least, he thought it was George) broke the silence.

"Hermione was punished, Mum. She did it because Ginny threw something at her and it wasn't the first time. This was just the first time that Hermione finally fought back." Molly swung her gaze to meet her daughters. Harry was just confused because he had thought that the Weasleys had been told by the school.

"Were you throwing things at her?" Ginny looked hurt that she had to even be asked.

"No, Mum, I didn't throw anything at her. I know that the rest of the school hates her though." Arthur spoke for the first time.

"As much as I can't stand her father and uncle, even her cousin, I've heard nothing bad about the girl. Everyone at the ministry gushes about what a beautiful, polite, and intelligent young woman she is." Ron snickered.

"Yeah, she was all those things while she almost killed Lavender in February. There's a reason that the rest of the school doesn't like her. Her father and uncle have been teaching her and Malfoy their Death Eater ways." Harry finally spoke up.

"I'm not saying that Ginny did throw something at her and I'm not saying that what she did was right. However, the school has been terrible to her and I don't blame her for fighting back. She's taken more than I would have." Molly's eyes softened just a little bit.

"Regardless of how wonderful everyone thinks the girl is, I want you all to keep your distance from her. If she almost killed Lavender Brown, she's dangerous. I don't want anyone getting hurt because she mistakenly thinks that you're being mean to her." The twins gaped at her but Harry was unsure if it was because she had said something nice about a Black or because they had just been told to stay away from her. Fred (he thought?) narrowed his eyes at her.

"You're telling me that we have to stop talking to her just because she smacked Ginny for being a bully? That is unfair and we won't stand by it." Harry could only shake his head; did the twins not realize that their parents would only watch them closer after a comment like that? Molly's face turned red and she started to glare at them.

"You will do as I tell you and leave the girl alone. I have nothing against her personally except for what she did to Ginny. If she's dangerous enough to have almost killed a student, she's dangerous enough to hurt you. Do as you're told and keep your distance." The twins put a cowed look on their faces but Harry knew that they wouldn't be abandoning their Slytherin friend anytime soon.

"Yes, Mum." It was a chorus and Molly seemed appeased.

After they had dropped the subject well and truly, she started to usher them outside to watch the fireworks. Since they all had a glass of cider in their hands, Harry hated cider truth be told, but he kept it to keep his hands warm, they lined up along the fence of the garden. Harry was sandwiched in between Ron and Ginny, with everyone lining up on either side of them.

The fireworks were beautiful. Harry had never seen them before and it was truly a sight to behold. They started only ten minutes before the new year so it was no surprise when he heard Molly call out that there was only a minute remaining. Once the time had whittled down far enough, everyone began counting down aloud.

"Ten."

"Nine."

Harry smiled as he listened to everyone count. Ron had told him that the muggles always did the most amazing fireworks right at the stroke of midnight and he couldn't wait to see what they shot off that topped what he had already seen. The faces of the Weasleys were lit with excitement and happiness, something that he wished he could have felt every year before now.

"Three."

"Two."

"One."

The loudest firework that Harry had ever heard shot into the air and it exploded into a thousand different colored lights. It seemed to explode at least ten more times, giving them the same show. For the last one, the sparks turned into numbers, spelling out "1994" in the sky. Harry was just about to comment on how wonderful it was when he felt someone tug on his arm. He turned to see Ginny smiling brightly at him so he bent down, figuring that she had something to tell him.

Rather than a secret, Harry received his first ever kiss. Ginny fisted her hands in his hair and pulled him close, her lips pressing to his. They were cold and chapped, probably from all the time they had spent in the air playing quidditch. Harry wasn't sure what to do next and froze, his hands on her shoulders but unsure if he wanted to pull her closer or push her away. He felt a brazen lick to his lips and opened them in surprise. Before he could react, her tongue slipped into his mouth and sucked his into her mouth.

It was his first kiss and while he was thrilled that it had happened, he was mortified that she had done it in front of her parents. Harry finally pushed her away from him to see his best mate glaring at him but he seemed to be the only one who had noticed. Ginny licked her lips and grinned at him before turning her attention back to the sky. Ron punched him in the arm hard enough to bruise.

"What the fuck, mate!? That's my sister!" Harry glared at him while he rubbed his arm.

"I didn't kiss her, she kissed me! Merlin, she sucked my tongue right into her mouth." Ron looked faintly sick but leaned forward to glare at his sister. She just laughed at him so Ron turned his attention to Harry again.

"Don't even think about it, Potter." Harry held his hands up.

"I'm not thinking about anything." Ron relented a little.

"Good. She's only twelve, she doesn't need to be thinking about boys." Harry nodded and turned his attention back to the sky.

His prick was hard in his pants but not uncomfortably so. It would go away on its own in just a few minutes. While he hadn't been too thrilled about who his first kiss was with, he couldn't say that he had hated it. There was a small voice in the back of his mind that whispered that she wasn't Hermione, that she would never be as good as Hermione Black, but Harry did his best to ignore it. He had effectively driven her away for both their good. There was no way in hell that she would ever give him a chance, even if her father wasn't a traitor.

Harry blinked his eyes several times, trying to get the picture of kissing Hermione out of his mind. He caught Ginny watching him out of the corner of her eye and he wanted to groan. Sure, the kiss had been nice but now she wouldn't leave him alone for anything. It would prove to be a long year, that much he was certain of.

Honestly though, he had to get through the rest of the night before he worried about the rest of the year, especially with the hungry expression on Ginny's face.

-O-

Hermione surveyed herself in the mirror one last time before she turned to face her cousin. It was New Years Eve and there was the annual Malfoy Ball going on just down the stairs. This would be the first year that Hermione and Draco would be allowed to attend since before they hadn't been old enough. Most of their friends would also be in attendance, something that Hermione didn't find much comfort in. Since they would be out in society, Hermione would have to follow the rules of etiquette that her aunt and Madam Cambridge had taught her so long ago.

Draco was dressed quite dashingly in a set of robes colored charcoal grey. His hair was still slicked back, which Hermione still hated, but she had to admit that he looked handsome. Her uncle was dressed similarly while her father and Uncle Sev were going to go with the standard black robes. Her Aunt Cissy had helped her choose her dress robes and was quite thrilled to see her in them. Hermione had rolled her eyes once her aunt had left her, only showing her personal elf Sipsy how trivial she found such things.

Her robes were a striking burgundy, quite the statement for a Slytherin to wear. Hermione had been unsure if it would be appropriate since it was such a bold color and she was only fourteen but her aunt had assured her that it would be completely proper. Her father had gifted her with a diamond bracelet to wear along with her Malfoy family necklace and the Black family ring. The earrings hanging from her ears were ruby teardrops, sparkling through her curtain of ebony curls. Draco had been sure that her robes had been too tight, showing off too much of her figure, but his mother had assured him that she would never allow Hermione to wear something in public that wasn't entirely proper. Draco offered her his arm and she took it with a smile.

"May I escort you to the grand New Year's ball, Miss Black?" Hermione laughed and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"Of course, kind sir."

Draco led her out of her room and down the stairs towards the ball room. Her room, just like in Black Moor, was next to Draco's not that she ever used it. She always stayed with him in his room and much to his horror, she had left her slippers next to his bed for his friends to see this afternoon. He had complained for almost an hour but she had just laughed at him. When he had complained to Snitch, his elf, the elf has told him to hush and quit complaining, that it wasn't becoming for a young man to whine.

The elves were greeting everyone and showing them into the ball room. Since this was a Malfoy tradition, her aunt and uncle always entered together from the staircase that led from the top floor. Since it was their first time attending, they would enter behind the Lord and Lady of the house, Draco escorting her as was proper since neither one of them had dates. Neither one of them were old enough for dates anyways.

They found Uncle Luci and Aunt Cissy just outside the door that led to the stairs they would enter at. Her aunt pulled Draco away from her so she could hug him close and fuss over how grown up and handsome he looked. Since it was Draco and he was just a little conceited, he looked torn between being horrified at his mother's affections and pleased that he was netting so many compliments. Hermione was about to poke fun at him when her uncle bowed to her before extending his hand to her. Hermione took it in hers and curtsied to him.

"You look stunning, Miss Black, a true vision. Only my wife outshines you." Hermione wanted to giggle since her uncle was being so proper, something that he usually wasn't around her but she refrained since they would be playing their parts tonight.

"Thank you, Lord Malfoy, you are quite handsome yourself." He kissed her knuckles and then grinned at her.

"You haven't forgotten your lessons. Let's just hope that Draco does as well as you do." Hermione covered her mouth so her cousin wouldn't hear her giggle. It didn't work since he turned her way and glared at her while he tried to fend his mother off from fussing with his hair. Tippy appeared at the door and gave them all an anxious look.

"Is you readys? It being time for masters and mistresses to enters." Hermione took a deep breath and nodded. It was her first ball and as much as she told herself that she didn't care, she didn't want to make a fool of herself either. Uncle Luci bent down and kissed the top of her head and smiled.

"You'll be fine, my heart. You're ready and you look a vision. Draco won't lead you astray." Hermione went to her tip toes and kissed his cheek since she wouldn't be able to in front of the crowd.

"Draco and I will be fine, don't worry about us. However, I'd put money on me saving him from a faux pas, not the other way around." Draco pinched the back of her arm through her gown and laughed when she pulled her arm out of his grip.

"Dirty wanker." He laughed again and pulled her hand through his arm.

"Don't be like that, Miney. I had bruises for weeks after you woke up from being petrified and beat me up. One tiny bruise when you're being a hag is nothing." Her Uncle Luci sniffed imperiously at his son.

"Do behave, Draco. Assaulting the cousin that knows you better than you know yourself, who also happens to know more spells that you, just isn't a smart move." Now Hermione laughed but it was cut off by Tobby opening the door and gesturing for them to enter. Hermione watched as her aunt and uncle entered and started down the stairs. She could hear Tobby announcing them and Hermione couldn't help but think how pretentious the whole scene was.

"Happily announcing Lord and Lady Malfoy." Hermione noticed her aunt holding her head high and shoulders back, perfect posture if she had to judge. Once they were at the bottom of the stairs, everyone applauded loudly. As soon as it quieted, Tobby pulled Hermione and Draco through the door and gave them a shove.

"Proudly announcing for the first time, the heirs of House Malfoy, Draco Malfoy and Hermione Black." Hermione paused for a second, surprised at Tobby's words. Heir of House Malfoy? Draco was the heir, not herself. Draco didn't seem to catch the wording and led her down the stairs. Hermione emulated her aunt and held her head high, shoulders back, and back ramrod straight. Draco had a haughty look on his face that made her want to laugh since they had just been arguing.

Hermione caught sight of her father and Uncle Sev in the crowd and they were both beaming at her. Knowing that she couldn't grin at them like she normally would, she winked just a tiny bit and kept her façade in place. Her father burst out in laughter as the applause started.

Hermione knew that she was blushing by the time she made it to the bottom of the stairs. Her aunt and uncle gave them small smiles before they headed off into the crowd to mingle and socialize. Since Draco was her escort for the evening, Hermione allowed Draco to pull her through the crowd of people to where they were offering refreshments. Once they were alone, he grinned at her to where the crowd couldn't see him.

"That went well, I'd say." Hermione grinned back and nodded. After just a few drinks of her refreshment, she set it down at her cousin's insistence.

"Let's get this dance out of the way, that way you can dance with who you want and I can go ask Daphne." Hermione smirked at him.

"It's not obvious you're crushing on her at all. Just don't make it obvious to her." Draco reached up and tugged one of her curls hard.

"Don't be a hag, like I said earlier. It isn't fair to make me blush when my complexion shows everything, especially at a ball." Hermione felt a little chastened and nodded.

"Sorry, Drake." He nodded and waited until the song was a few bars in to lead her out on the dance floor.

It was a standard waltz and she and Draco danced it perfectly.

He held her the perfect distance away from himself, their posture was exact. Hermione would even admit to having fun during the dance even though she knew that Draco hated dancing. There were several flashes from a camera and Hermione had a bad feeling that it was from the Daily Prophet. She could only hope that they were photographing her aunt and uncle since they were the Lord and Lady of the ball.

Once the dance was over, Draco led Hermione back to the sidelines of the dance floor so he could find their friends. Pansy, Daphne, Theo, Blaise, and Greg were watching them with smirks on their faces. She couldn't help but wonder where Vince, Tracey, and Millie were but she wasn't going to brave the crowd to find them. Pansy and Daphne rushed her, both exclaiming over her dress robes. Draco smirked at her when he saw the look on her face and she vowed to get even.

After they had exclaimed over each other's robes for the appropriate amount of time, Pansy moved on to Draco's group, going on about how handsome her cousin looked. It was still quite clear that she wanted him but when Hermione wasn't around, she wasn't overt. Daphne watched them for a few moments before turning back to Hermione and smiling at her.

"Have you finished your homework yet? I got stuck on the Arithmancy assignment. I tried to ask Daddy for help but he was late to the Wizengamot so I had to ask my mother. She's terrible at it! Would you mind looking it over for me once we get back to school?" Hermione gave her a genuine smile and nodded.

They conversed for several minutes about their homework and what they had done on their break from school. Hermione had invited Daphne and Pansy to go riding with her several times but neither one ever took her up on the offer. For some reason, they were under the impression that the horses her father raised were large, stupid beasts that they would have to ride astride on. Hermione had went on to inform them that they were highly intelligent and she had been taught to ride both astride and sidesaddle. Still, neither one was interested but Hermione didn't mind. It was the one thing that her and her aunt shared together that nobody else cared for. Before they could change the subject, a throat cleared behind her. Hermione saw Draco narrow his eyes so she knew that it wasn't going to be anyone she wanted to see.

Miles Bletchley stood before her, looking quite debonair in his white dress robes, his blond hair pulled back in a queue. Hermione could admit that he was very handsome and most would consider him a catch. However, he wasn't interested in learning new things and she was nothing more than a good political move for the Bletchley family. He bowed before her and with a small sigh, she extended her hand so she could curtsy. After a brief kiss to her knuckles, he raised his eyes to hers. They were dancing merrily and Hermione was quite sure that it had to do with the fact that he had just come from the shadows of the ball room. Whoever he had been in there with had clearly pleased him.

"Would you care to dance, Miss Black?" Hermione knew that it would be exceedingly rude for her to turn him down so she gave him a small smile and nodded.

"I'd love to, Mr. Bletchley."

Miles pulled her out onto the floor and held her close, closer than was proper, but she didn't say anything. He was humming softly to the music and she could smell someone's perfume on him. There was fire whiskey on his breath and Hermione hoped that this would pass without a scene. The song was almost over when his hand sat on the top of her bum, clearly out of bounds since it wasn't proper for him to put his hands lower than her waist.

"Mr. Bletchley, please put your hands back on my waist. It isn't proper." Miles scoffed at her words.

"I could show you things, Hermione. I want to marry you, I'm sure your father would agree. I have a pedigree that goes back hundreds of years." She glared at him and started to pull away.

"I'm fourteen. This isn't proper. If you're so eager to show someone something, go find the girl you were just hiding away with. I'm sure she's quite put out that you left her to come dance with me." Miles' hands tightened around her and he gave her a lascivious smile.

"Now, love, don't be like that. You can't expect me to be celibate until we marry." Hermione couldn't hide the downturn of her lips at his words. She knew the distaste was clear in her expression.

"I don't expect anything from you, Mr. Bletchley, because I won't be marrying you. Surely you're smart enough to remember that my father won't be accepting any betrothal contracts unless I agree to them." Anger flitted across his features and he was just getting ready to open his mouth when she felt someone come up behind her. She turned slightly to see her father and Uncle Luci behind her, expressionless. Her father raised a single eyebrow at Miles.

"Is there a problem, sweetness?" Hermione bowed slightly to her father before she answered.

"No, Father, Miles was just going to go ask one of the Fawley sisters to dance." Her father looked to Miles and it was clear that her fellow student was intimidated. Her father glared at the boy before he spoke.

"Don't let me catch you harassing her, Mr. Bletchley. Run along and find another girl to dance with." He gave a quick nod and disappeared almost instantly. Uncle Luci searched her face.

"Did he harm you, princess?" Hermione shook her head and smiled, trying to keep the mood light so they wouldn't draw attention.

"No, his hands just went lower than was proper. That was what started our disagreement." Her father held out his hand and bowed to her.

"Dance with me, poppet." She grinned at him now and curtsied.

"Of course, Lord Black." Her father gave her a roguish grin and pulled her onto the floor.

They shared two dances before her Uncle Luci cut in and kept her occupied for another two dances. After he released her, Neville stepped in and danced with her, sharing stories of their holidays so far. The twins weren't there even though she had sent them an invitation but after her birthday party, she wasn't surprised.

There were numerous boys after Neville. Hermione couldn't keep them all straight and if the look on Pansy's face was anything to go by, she was the most popular girl on the floor. She wasn't sure how many boys had danced with her when her Uncle Sev finally stepped in and swept her into his arms for a single dance. Since he hadn't danced with anyone else, not even her aunt, she decided to take what she could get and be happy with it.

Finally, the last dance was called and Hermione waited for Draco to find her. Since he was her escort, he would open and close the ball with her. She had caught sight of him dancing with Pansy and Daphne both several times, even with Millie and Tracey after they had met up. Aunt Cissy had demanded that he dance with her and Draco, and the ever-dutiful son that he was, hadn't complained once. Her father had danced with almost every woman present, even the married ones. She knew that while he was a naturally charming person, all the women were hoping that he would someday make them Lady Black. According to her father, however, she would be Lady Black since he had no plans to marry any time soon.

Draco found her and bowed to her so she curtsied in turn. He pulled her in for the last waltz and filled her in on everyone that he had danced with. When he was finished, she told him about Miles and how her father and uncle had come to save her. Draco wanted to go after their classmate then but Hermione stopped him. It would only cause a scene and she was quite sure that their fathers had put the fear of Merlin in him. When the dance ended, Hermione could hear Tobby over the chatter around the room.

"The countdown begins now." Hermione didn't realize that the countdown to the new year would be announced. She listened as the Malfoy elf counted down from ten and when he reached zero, a loud bang went off and confetti exploded all over the ball room. Since nobody could see through the cloud of confetti, Draco pulled her close and hugged her.

"Happy New Year's, Miney." She kissed his cheek before she grinned back at him.

"Happy New Year's, Drake."

The cheering continued for another minute or so. Once it had quieted again, Hermione let Draco lead her to the staircase they had entered on. He escorted her back up, signaling the end of the ball. Her aunt and uncle followed them and after both pairs were out of sight, Tobby announced to the guests that they were grateful they had come and that the ball had ended. From the staircase, far out of sight from their guests, Hermione and Draco watched all the guests leave. Snitch finally appeared before them and spoke.

"All guestses is gone. Masters and mistresses made good party." Hermione grinned at Draco's personal elf.

"Thank you, Snitch." There were heavy footsteps on the steps and Hermione looked around the corner to see her Uncle Sev and father coming up the stairs. When he saw Hermione watching them, he grinned at her.

"Well, poppet, you and Draco were a success." Hermione grinned and nodded.

"I thought we did well." Aunt Cissy smiled at them and Hermione could see the pride shining in her eyes.

"You were both a success. I'm proud of you both. You did the Malfoy and Black families proud." Draco wrapped an arm around her shoulders and hugged her close.

"It was all Hermione. I'd be hopeless without her." She felt her cheeks color as she tried to pinch his side. He danced out of reach, laughing loudly. Her father held up his hands and sighed.

"You're going to make the Daily Prophet. The photographer that was there took pictures of the pair of you during the opening dance and then asked my permission to print it since my daughter was a minor. I told them that I wanted to preview the photo before they printed but if it was acceptable I'd allow it." Lucius nodded.

"I was asked permission as well. This will solidify our image as pureblood elite that is wanting to uphold the ideals of the Dark Lord." Hermione sighed. Everything always came back to the war, their efforts to stop it, and how their actions affected it. Uncle Sev seemed to realize that she was a little melancholy and pulled her into a hug.

"You were beautiful, love. Surpassed by none. I'm happy to hear that you enjoyed yourself." His eyes twinkled in hidden amusement.

"I suppose Draco was alright." Draco let out an indignant squawk and narrowed his eyes at his godfather.

"Hermione is everyone's favorite. It isn't fair." Hermione could hear the petulant whine in his voice that always tipped her off that he was playing. Aunt Cissy stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, smothering him in kisses.

"You'll always be my favorite, Draco, you're my baby boy." He started to struggle to get away but when he couldn't escape her grip, he gave up and just endured. Hermione reached out and poked his side with a grin.

"I'm only the favorite because I'm so much better looking." He lunged for her but she was ready for him. Hermione lifted her robes and started to run from him, skirts in hand, hair streaming behind her. Draco laughed and gave chase, the adults laughing behind them. After two corridors, Hermione slowed just enough to let her cousin catch her. He swung her up in the air, spinning her in a circle, and she laughed. Draco set her down and hugged her from behind, the adults finding them laughing softly together.

Hermione wasn't going to complain. It had been one of the best New Year's Eves ever.

-O-

Sirius settled into the armchair in the library at Malfoy Manor. His daughter had convinced both himself and Severus to stay the night and return to their homes the next day. Since Severus stayed at the castle during the holidays, he wasn't going to complain. It was only during the summer holidays that he left and even then, he usually stayed at either Malfoy Manor or Black Moor. He complained that his own family manor was too big for just one man.

Lucius had taken Cissy to bed an hour before; she had agreed to have just one drink of fire whiskey with them for the holiday. It had resulted in her blatantly asking her husband to take her to bed and remind her that she was still a young woman. They had all chuckled at her, knowing full well that she would be mortified in the morning. However, Lucius didn't appear to be all that upset when he had escorted her to bed.

Severus had just retired; they had shared another couple drinks after the happy couple had went to bed. Mostly, they had discussed the ball and people they had seen and talked to. Sirius filled his friend in on what had happened between Hermione and Bletchley. It was a good thing that they had been paying enough attention to know that she was in trouble. They had both wanted to throttle Draco for not paying attention to her but Sirius had decided to let it go. His daughter was more than capable of taking care of herself usually and Draco had earned the right to have a little fun on his own without looking after his cousin. Besides, he was her father and he rarely had the opportunity to take care of her anymore.

Severus had promised him that he would watch after her when they went back to school to make sure that there wouldn't be any backlash after he and Lucius stepping in. Sirius had a feeling that the boy had been drunk; he could have sworn that he could smell fire whiskey on his breath but since he wasn't his child, it wasn't his place to say anything.

His mind turned to the meeting with Minerva on Christmas. Sirius knew that she had treated his daughter terribly a few times but in general had tried to make it up to her after Hermione had pointed out her actions. The last time, however, the incident in the Three Broomsticks, was unacceptable. Minerva had embarrassed her in public, to people that knew her and knew of her. She had apologized more than once and if it was good enough for Hermione, he supposed that it would be good enough for him.

What bothered him was Remus' treatment of his daughter. Sirius understood that his ex-lover was angry at him, that he had been hurt by Sirius' supposed betrayal, but it was out of line to take that anger out on his daughter. As much as Sirius loved Remus and missed him, Hermione was his daughter, his blood, and he owed her far more than he owed Remus. When the truth finally came out, there would have to be so many apologies from the man to his daughter before he would even consider forgiving him.

This train of thought led him to the next touchy topic for his daughter. Her argument with Harry had hurt her deeply, deeper than he thought that even he understood. Draco seemed to understand but he remained silent on the matter. If he didn't know any better, he would think that his daughter had had a crush on Harry and he had broken her heart. However, his daughter was nothing if not practical and he really didn't think that she would allow herself to like someone that didn't like her at all in return.

Sirius couldn't help but grin to himself. If Harry was anything like James had been, he would have the girls flocking to him before he made it to his fourth year. The Potter fortune was vast, the third wealthiest family in Britain. The Malfoy and Black fortunes were the only ones that were larger. Even with his half-blood status, he would be quite the catch in the wizarding world. There would be plenty of families that would happily shove their daughters in his face in hopes that they would marry. His fame for defeating the Dark Lord only added to his appeal.

Sirius wanted it all for him; he wanted him to play the field like James had. Yes, James had been in love with Lily from the first day he saw her but she had spurned him until they were seventh years. James had been far from celibate and he sometimes thought that that was part of the reason Lily had held him off for so long. She didn't like that he had experience while she had had little. He chuckled to himself when he remembered the night James had spent with two sixth year girls when he was only a fifth-year because they were both determined to be the next Lady Potter.

Sirius wanted all that for Harry; he wanted him to live life to the fullest, be young and have fun, do his best to forget that Voldemort would eventually come for him once he returned to his body. Eventually, after his wild oats were sown and he had had all the fun he wanted, he would find a good woman that would love him for who he was, not his money or name. Frankly, it was the same thing he wanted for himself. He was tired of being sought after for his money and title; for once, he wanted just one of the women he escorted or danced with to care about his life and daughter, not just how they could manipulate those things to get what they wanted.

With a sigh, Sirius threw the rest of his drink back and set the tumbler on the table next to him. It had been a long night; Hermione and Draco had retired almost three hours ago. He was proud of them; even though Draco was his cousin, he was his surrogate son. He had been there for every step of Draco's childhood and he had spent more than half of it under his roof and at his knee. He loved that he and Hermione were as close as they were; Draco loved her as much as Sirius did and would always do his best to keep her happy.

Sirius heaved himself to his feet and started for the door. He waved his wand, calling out a 'nox', and left the library for his room. He had a feeling that Hermione would wake him up early and it was already late enough. After all, the holidays were almost over and he needed to spend as much time with his daughter as he could. Six more months without her would be hell.

A/N- Alrighty, folks, another one finished. Nothing too crazy happening but Ginny totally laid the smack down on Harry. He seemed to enjoy it too. I was informed by my hubby that even if a man doesn't like someone, it is still possible for him to get turned on by them. Since I'm a woman, I have to bow to his expertise. If that's not the case, forgive me. Thanks to everyone out there for reading and reviewing, you guys are just awesome. Let me know what you think.

Next chapter, Hogsmeade trip and a little action.

Love,

Alicia


	53. Chapter 53

A/N- Thank you so much, y'all, your support astounds me. You have no idea how much your reviews, follows, and favorites keep me writing. If I could crank one out every day I would. However, my children like to eat and unfortunately, I'm not wealthy so I must go to work. Thank you, though, it means so much.

I want to say a few things here and only because I have so many people asking the same things. I try my best to answer everyone but sometimes ffn works against me, people review as guests, or it's in another language. I only speak English, guys, I wish I could understand and reply to your reviews but that isn't possible when they aren't in English.

First off, this is a Harmony story. I've had a few people ask if I would put Hermione with Draco, Neville or the twins. Dramione is my all-time fave but it won't be happening this time around. Not to mention, Hermione and Draco are first and second cousins in this story. Ewww. As for Sirius, I haven't decided what I'm going to do in regard to Remus. Originally, he wasn't even supposed to have had a past relationship with the man, I just threw that in there to cover my ass if I decided to make this story into a wolfstar down the road.

Secondly, I know that Sirius has his priorities skewed right now. He is thinking that Harry is going to be just like James and he can't wait to have him in his life. Not only is Hermione going to lose it on the pair of them, he's going to realize that Harry is very much his own person.

Third, I'm aware that Harry is a little prick right now. I know that he's being a follower. Think about it, Harry was a follower in canon. It was several years before he stepped back and started to think for himself. It's going to happen much quicker in my story, I think.

Fourth and lastly, I know that Sirius' words were sexist. Yeah, he wants Harry to play the field but he wants Hermione to remain a virgin. Well, actually, it was Narcissa that told her that women were expected to remain pure. However, I've made perfectly clear that my version of the wizarding world is BEHIND, like wayyy behind, the times. There is still sexism and all that going on there. Why would you not expect boys to be encouraged to mess around while girls weren't?

Now that I've made an enormous author's note, something I hate to do because it bloats my word count with shit that doesn't matter, I'm going to close and tell you all that I love hearing what you love about my story and I enjoy hearing what you don't to see if I could make it better in some way. For those that leave me constructive criticism, I appreciate it so much! I'm not trying to sound bitchy here but when you have fifty people messaging you the same thing, it's much easier to answer here

** Shout out to Mycrookshanks1222111 for being my 1800th reviewer! You're awesome! **

Disclaimer: Nothing in this story belongs to me. I've played with and tweaked the characters that belong to J.K.R. and used a story line that has been done before. Still a broke bitch so I haven't made any money off this story or any other. Maybe someday…

Chapter 53

January 15, 1994

Hermione pushed her eggs around her plate, waiting patiently for her cousin to finish his meal so they could make their way to Hogsmeade. They had been back in school for just over a week when the Headmaster decided to give them a surprise Hogsmeade visit. Hermione wasn't going to complain; it meant an impromptu visit to the bookstore where she would be allowed to purchase more books. While the library at school had just about every book she wanted to read, if she bought her own books, she could make notations on the pages much the same way that Uncle Sev did. She would never dream of vandalizing a library book so that left purchasing her own.

Her father made sure that she had a generous allowance even though he knew that she spent most of it on books. He had once told her that it could be worse; she could spend it all on clothing like most other witches her age. Hermione had laughed at him and reminded him that with Aunt Cissy shopping for her, she would never have to spend a knut of her allowance on clothing. Draco would go with her and he would whinge the entire time but he would secretly purchase several books of his own and slip them into his robes after shrinking them so she wouldn't notice. It was a game they had been playing for years.

Pansy and Daphne were making plans to visit the Hogsmeade branch of Twilfitt and Tattings. Pansy was loudly telling Daphne that she needed to get new lingerie because she had outgrown what she had bought at the beginning of the year. Hermione thought that it was a little trashy since she could have gone with her mother on holiday but it wasn't her business since she wasn't included in the conversation. Hermione knew that she was just looking for attention from the boys and much to her distaste, it seemed to be working. All the boys had their eyes glued to her breasts and she was reveling in it. Hermione dug a sharp elbow in her cousin's ribs and when he glared at her, she glared right back. He finally broke eye contact with her and focused on his meal again.

Truthfully, it was a plight that Hermione sympathized with. Her use of the time turner meant that she was reliving numerous hours a day over again. Then she had to turn her time back after classes were over so she could get all her homework done along with the assignments that she had gotten from Madam Cambridge. While she admitted that Madam Cambridge's assignments were more important, she also wanted to keep her perfect score in school. It was a trivial thing that was fed completely by her pride but since it was herself that she was tiring out every day of the week, she didn't feel that anyone could complain about it. Well, except maybe her Uncle Sev, but she hadn't told him about her extra usage. If he asked, she wouldn't lie but there was no way that she would volunteer information like that.

Due to reliving several hours over a day, she had aged more than her schoolmates. Not much, that much was true, but enough for Hermione to notice that she was developing faster than her aunt had warned her about. In fact, there had been a shopping trip over the Christmas holidays since her aunt had told her that receiving lingerie as a Christmas gift in front of men wasn't appropriate in the least. Her attention was pulled from pushing her eggs around by Theo, remarking low, but not low enough.

"Pansy doesn't have shite compared to Hermione. That girl has grown overnight." She felt her cheeks flush and turned her gaze back to her plate. Pansy was glaring, she was sure, but she felt better when she caught sight of Draco punching their friend pretty hard in the shoulder out of the corner of her eye. His voice was low and menacing when he spoke.

"Don't ever let me hear that shite come out of your mouth again, Nott. Hermione is my cousin, my sister, and you won't stare at her like a piece of meat. She isn't Pansy." Pansy screeched in anger, threw down her fork, huffed as she went to her feet and stormed off. Daphne was trying her hardest not to burst out laughing and Hermione had to admit that she was in the same boat. She knew that it made her a terrible person but Pansy really brought some of it on herself. As young women, they were brought up to be proper and Pansy was far from proper in almost every way. The worst part was that her parents seemed to encourage her outrageous behavior. Theo dropped his eyes after he winced.

"Sorry, mate. It won't happen again." Draco still glared at him.

"Apologize to Hermione. She's the one that's embarrassed." Hermione reached out and pinched her cousin's arm. Did he think that this made her less embarrassed? He hissed a little in pain but showed nothing. Theo nodded and met Hermione's gaze.

"I'm sorry, Hermione, forgive me for objectifying and embarrassing you." She gave him a small smile and nodded.

"Forgiven. Please tell me that everyone is ready to go to Hogsmeade. I want to make sure I have plenty of time in the bookstore." Daphne snorted at her, a very unladylike sound that made Hermione want to laugh.

"Trust me, there will be plenty of time at the bookstore. For me, there has to be a stop at Honeydukes." Everyone else was nodding and started enumerating the places they wanted to be sure and visit.

Pansy eventually returned and after making sure that everyone was finished, they started for the doors of the Entrance Hall. Hermione saw Ginny and her friends watching jealously as others piled into the carriages. Hermione frowned when she saw her. Only a couple days after returning to school, Hermione had heard Ginny bragging to her friends that she had shared a New Year's kiss with Harry and that it had been amazing. She was biding her time, waiting for him to ask to court her. Hermione had snorted when she heard that since Harry had no idea what courting even was.

However amused as she was at Ginny's hopes of courting, it had been a dagger to her heart. No matter how much Harry hated her, Hermione still liked him, she still wanted to get to know him better and had hoped for more. After he had told her what he really thought of her, she did her best to avoid thinking of him because it was too painful. Now that she knew he had kissed Ginny, it was like pouring acid on her already broken heart.

Draco had listened to her that very same night, held her close while she had been upset but refused to cry. He told her over and over how Hermione deserved much better than Harry, that she would someday meet the perfect man and he would be her perfect match. Since she didn't believe in the concept of perfect, she had taken his words with a grain of salt but the fact that he was trying to make her feel better lifted her spirits in the end.

Ronald was in the carriage ahead of them, packed in tight with all the other Gryffindor boys and both the girls. Harry wasn't included in their group and Hermione assumed that it was because he didn't have a signed permission slip. If his muggle relatives were as terrible as she suspected, there was no way that they would do anything that would make his life better.

Even though it was an extremely tight fit, all the third year Slytherins squeezed into one carriage. Pansy somehow finagled herself into Draco's lap and her cousin looked pained as Pansy ground into him. Knowing that she was purposely trying to excite her cousin, Hermione reached out and pinched the back of her arm as hard as she could. Pansy squealed in pain and turned a glare to Hermione.

"What the bloody hell was that for?" Hermione frowned at her language. Her language wasn't always perfect but she didn't curse near as much as Pansy did. She wondered if the girl thought it made her sound appealing. Hermione glared at her as she explained.

"I know exactly what you're doing on my cousin's lap and I made myself quite clear what I thought of you doing things like that. If he wants to carry on with you in private, that's your business. In public, you will conduct yourself as a proper young woman should. It's my cousin and my family name that will have shame brought upon it if the pair of you were to be caught." Pansy's face flushed and while Hermione felt a little like a bitch, she wasn't going to apologize. In no way was she telling Pansy not to do what she wanted with her cousin but it had better be in private. They had been raised from birth that the family name was everything. Draco shot her a thankful look and shoved on Pansy. She moved instantly and scooted over to Theo's lap, though Hermione noticed that she kept her wiggling to a minimum.

The trip to Hogsmeade wasn't a long one. Hermione watched the scenery through the window of the carriage. Once they reached the drop off point, the ten of them left the warmth of the carriage to brave the blustery wind and flurries. They were all arguing over where to go first since nobody could agree. Draco and the boys wanted to go to Zonkos for more jokes and pranks, Pansy and Daphne wanted to go shopping at Twilfitt and Tattings, Millie and Tracey wanted to go to Honeydukes, and Hermione was going to Flourish and Blotts. Since she had no plans to go anywhere else, she grinned at the rest of them.

"Well, I don't need to stop anywhere else so I'll just go to the bookstore. You guys can go wherever you need to and if I leave in time, I'll meet you for a butterbeer." She really wasn't too excited about going to the Three Broomsticks after her last visit but she supposed that she wouldn't be able to avoid it forever. She would put on her pureblood façade and let it do its work. Most people couldn't last out against her Uncle Luci's imperious glare and she had learned from the best. Draco narrowed his eyes at her.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea, Mia. I mean, what if -." Hermione cut him off before he could say anything about Rookwood or anything else he always worried about.

"I will be fine, Drake, I promise. What kind of trouble can I get into at Flourish and Blotts?" He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at her. It was clear he wasn't happy about her going on her own but really, there was nothing he could do about it if he wanted to go to his stops as well. He finally sighed and nodded his head.

"Fine, Mia, you go to the book store and we'll go to Zonkos. The girls can go where they want and we'll all meet at Three Broomsticks in four hours." Hermione smiled at him and leaned over to kiss his cheek.

"Bye, Drake, have fun." He chuckled at her and tugged a curl before releasing her to find the bookstore. As she walked away, she heard Pansy mutter to someone that she was boring and would never get a boyfriend. She sighed since she knew that it was likely the truth. She understood she was pretty, she had been told that for as long as she could remember. However, Hermione was more than aware that none of the boys her age would ever like her because they wanted girls that were more interested in fashion and being a proper wife while she wanted to learn all she could. As much as she understood it, it also hurt.

Hermione heard a sharp retort from her cousin and what sounded like a yelp but she didn't turn around and let everyone know that she had heard. Pansy was angry that she had embarrassed her on the carriage ride so she supposed that she could let her have the one comment. It wasn't in her nature but since Draco had done something about it, she didn't think that she needed to handle it also.

It didn't take her long to find Flourish and Blotts; she had been there numerous times through the years. While Gerald Flourish ran the shop in Diagon Alley, Barney Blott ran the shop in Hogsmeade. Hermione tended to favor the one in Diagon Alley since it was bigger and had more of a selection but she still found interesting books in Hogsmeade. After travelling the three streets over to where Flourish and Blotts was, she went inside to get out of the cold. Even though her cloak had a warming charm cast on it, it still wore off after so long and it made for a miserably cold walk. Mr. Blott smiled at her as he wiped off the counter.

"Morning, Miss Black. Are you staying warm out there?" She gave the older gentleman a soft smile as she swept her cloak from around her shoulders.

"Warming charms can only do so much. It's reminding me that it's Scotland out there today. How's business been?" The older man laughed softly and came around the counter to lay his arm around her shoulder.

"Business is good, but never as good as when you're here. I do believe you are my single best customer." Hermione felt her cheeks stain so she cast her gaze to her feet. He chuckled at her obvious embarrassment.

"Do you want to see my new releases?" Hermione, forgetting her earlier embarrassment, looked up and nodded eagerly. Mr. Blott guided her to the shelf closest to the desk.

"Here's all the newest releases. There may be a couple you don't have already." She grinned at him happily and started thumbing through the first book she picked up. It happened to be on dragons found in Wales.

"Thank you, Mr. Blott. I appreciate it." The old man chuckled and went back behind his counter to work on whatever he was doing when she came in.

Hermione wasn't sure how long she browsed through the shop. After she picked out the new releases that she wanted, she went from subject to subject, choosing books that she wanted. Since she was studying a fair number of subjects at Hogwarts and even more through Madam Cambridge, it was a rare occasion when she left a book store with less than six or seven books. Her father usually shook his head and laughed at her, telling her that she was just making sure their library stayed up to date. She would usually scowl at him and he would tug one of her errant curls and they would both laugh.

It was much later that she realized that she was late in meeting Draco at the Three Broomsticks. Only by fifteen minutes or so but it was enough that he would worry and she would never hear the end of it. She purchased the ten books she had picked out, put her cloak back on after slipping her purchases into the inner pocket after shrinking them, bid Mr. Blott goodbye and struck back out into the cold.

Hermione cursed inwardly as she slid her wand out of her holster and into her hand so she could cast another warming charm on herself. The cold air was silent and the fog that her breath was creating was stark in the picturesque landscape of the tiny village. After the warming charm had been cast, Hermione frowned. She was still ice cold and it seemed to have no effect on her. Her eyebrows drew inward as she contemplated the problem and what she could do about it.

Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione caught sight of a black cloak. It was so quick that it reminded her of her Uncle Luci's Death Eater robes. When she and Draco had been eight years old, they had been snooping in her aunt and uncle's closet looking for Christmas presents. Rather than gifts, they had found her uncle's Death Eater robes. It was that night that her uncle had told her cousin the harsh truth about being a follower of the Dark Lord. Of course, he had told Hermione and even though she had cried at the thought of her uncle doing those horrid things, she was proud that he had left it all behind. There were times that she was sure he had to know that she knew of his past deeds but they had never discussed it and likely never would. She loved her uncle for the man he was, not the man he had been.

Hermione turned her attention to the cloak she had seen. It was no longer in sight but she could see students just down the street dropping to their knees. She cocked her head to the side and tried to see what they were doing. The same black cloak came into sight again and she knew instantly. It all made sense, the black cloaks, the freezing cold, the failed warming charm.

 _Dementors._

Hermione took off running as fast as she could. The dementors were getting closer to the students, close enough that they were feeling the effects of the proximity. She could feel the overwhelming sense of despair wash over her as she passed the kneeling students. As she passed the corner of the stationary shop, she caught sight of a bedraggled man in the thinnest of robes. It was clear by the number on the front of his robes that it was Rookwood. Knowing that she couldn't acknowledge him in any way without putting her loved ones in danger, she kept her eyes forward. He too had fallen to his knees. It sickened her that her casting her patronus to save the students was going to save him as well, especially since he was after Harry. She took a strong stance in front of the students and slid her wand into her hand. After a wave, she yelled as loud as she could, knowing it would give power to her spell.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

She didn't have Draco casting with her this time and it was clear that there was nobody out there that was going to help her save the students. The streets were empty aside from the half dozen students and the dozens of dementors chasing after Rookwood. She couldn't even really get mad this time since the dementors were clearly after their target, not the students. Not that it mattered since their presence affected everyone in the area.

Another group of students rounded the corner of a shop and Hermione could hear them laughing about something as her fox burst from her wand. Rather than sniff the ground delicately like it usually did, it ran after the dementors and attacked. The dementors, enraged that they were being driven from their target, fell back. Only a little, however, just enough for more to somehow show up. She wondered to herself if they had ways to summon each other or if it was just luck, the draw of their target.

The students that had been kneeling behind her went to their feet but they looked traumatized, their eyes empty. She knew they hadn't been kissed but it was clear that they had been affected. What she needed was chocolate, not only for them but for herself as well. The dementors, after receiving reinforcements, started to move forward again. She wished more than anything that she could move back behind where Rookwood was hiding but with the students not moving, there was no way that she could do that and keep them from getting kissed. She braced herself by moving a foot slightly behind the other and waved her wand again. Hermione knew that this spell was going to have to take all her strength to fight off as many dementors as there were all by herself.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

The amount of power she put into the spell left her feeling empty and she knew that her magical reserves were draining quickly. Never had she put this much power into a spell before. Hermione knew that she was an extremely powerful witch, there hadn't been an equal to her in decades, but she was only fourteen, nowhere near her magical maturity or having her full power available to her. After several minutes of watching her fox chase the dementors and attack them ruthlessly, Hermione dropped to her knees. Watching the dementors flee was the most welcome sight of her life since she couldn't hold the spell any longer. Her fox disappeared along with the dementors and Hermione was fighting to stay conscious.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Rookwood staring at her, a contemplative look on his face. This frightened her more than facing the dementors; Rookwood had worked for the Department of Mysteries before Igor Karkaroff had snitched on him. He was extremely smart, even her Uncle Luci had been unable to deny that. Her eyes focused on him and he seemed to realize that she was watching him. He turned around and disappeared behind a building, clearly escaping however he had entered the town.

Hermione was still on her knees when she heard someone yelling in the distance. The students behind her were starting to move again, probably because the dementors had vanished, their effects with them. Somebody dropped to their knees next to her, throwing another cloak around her. It was Mr. Blott and he was casting his own warming spells on her. Without the effects of the dementors, they were working and warmth slowly started to return to her numb limbs. His hands came up and cupped her cheeks, searching her gaze.

"Sweet girl, you drove those dementors off by yourself. Merlin, you saved a dozen students." Hermione couldn't help the tear that squeezed out of one of her eyes and as much as she wanted to speak, she literally didn't have the energy. Mr. Blott produced his wand and gave it a wave, his own patronus appearing. It was a parakeet of some sort and she could hear him speaking to it but for the life of her, she couldn't focus on what he was saying. Just as he stopped speaking, Hermione watched as Draco turned the corner with their friends in tow. Pansy was hanging off his arm again and even though she felt a flare of annoyance, she let it go. Eventually, he would date her or get rid of her for good. All of them were laughing, Draco reaching out to poke Daphne in the ribs. She blushed and pulled away from him, clearly unsure what to do with his flirting.

Draco turned from teasing Daphne to look forward and saw Hermione kneeling in the snow with Mr. Blott hovering over her protectively. She watched him shove Pansy off him and he started running, clearly not caring about his image and what others were going to think. He skidded to a halt in front of her and dropped to his knees in front of her to cup her face in his hands in much the same way Mr. Blott had. He sounded frantic when he spoke.

"What the fuck is wrong with her?" Mr. Blott laid a hand on her cousin's shoulder to try to calm him down.

"Calm down, son, she's exhausted but fine. Dementors attacked, dozens of them. She drove them all off on her own. Saved more than a dozen students." Draco flashed him a grateful look and handed his cloak back the shop owner. He took his own cloak off and wrapped it around her tightly. Mr. Blott put his cloak back on as he spoke.

"Keep her warm, son, the dementors will pull the warmth right out of you, especially as close as she was to them." Draco nodded again and stood before bending over to sweep her into his arms. She snuggled close to his chest and he was whispering softly in her ear about holding on, that he would get her to the castle quickly. Mr. Blott was quick to offer up that he had sent a patronus.

"I sent a patronus to the Headmaster and the Ministry as well. They should be here soon." Hermione groaned inwardly. The last thing she wanted to do was deal with the Headmaster and his shite. There was a soft popping noise next to them and Draco turned to see who had arrived. Much to her dismay, it was Professor Lupin. Draco sneered in his direction.

"Don't worry, the Ministry has been alerted. We'll wait here until they get here." They didn't have to wait long since there were popping noises all along the street. Hermione could see what appeared to be aurors approaching when she heard a familiar and welcome voice.

"Hermione! Sweet Merlin, baby, what's wrong?" Her father was bounding to her side and taking her from Draco. He gave her over quickly but didn't stray far. After several seconds, Uncle Luci came into view as well. Hermione decided to try to get this show taken somewhere warm since she was freezing. The warming charms weren't working as well as they had been.

"So cold." Her father brushed her curls back from her face and kissed her forehead.

"We're going to get you to the castle, sweetness. Hang on." She closed her eyes since it was clear that he was going to apparate. Not closing her eyes would have guaranteed that she puked up her breakfast on his fine black Wizengamot robes. With a squeezing feeling, they disappeared and then reappeared at the castle gates.

Apparently, Dumbledore had learned his lesson last year about keeping her father out of the castle. The gates swung open and allowed him entrance. She heard another pop behind them and she could just barely see two blond heads behind her father. It was a ten-minute walk on foot across the grounds but she swore that her father made it in five. By the time they reached the castle, Hermione could no longer feel her feet or hands and her father was huffing loudly. She felt terrible for making him haul her weight around but there was no way that she could have walked. She couldn't even stand while they were in Hogsmeade.

Professor McGonagall and Uncle Sev were waiting at the front door of the castle, holding it open so they could usher them in faster. Both looked confused so Hermione was happy to hear her Uncle Luci explaining it. There was a sharp intake of breath from the Deputy Headmistress and she could feel the fury emanating from her godfather. Her father wasted no time in getting her to the Hospital Wing and calling out for Madam Pomfrey as they breezed through the door. Her father set her down on the nearest bed and instantly started casting warming charms on her. However, her clothing was soaked from being in the snow and the charms were having little effect. Madam Pomfrey bustled out and saw who was in her wing and hurried her way.

"What happened?" Her father answered her.

"She won't hardly talk. A message was sent to the Ministry stating that there was a dementor attack in Hogsmeade. I have no idea other than that." Draco stepped forward and sat on the bed next to her.

"Mr. Blott told me that she held off dozens of dementors, driving them away. She saved over a dozen students from being kissed." Madam Pomfrey gasped and hurried off, only to return a minute later. A huge bar of chocolate was clenched tightly in her hand.

"We need to get this down her but first, I need you all to let me put curtains up. She has to be changed out of these wet clothes. She's freezing from the cold and the dementors and the warming charms aren't going to work as long as she's wet."

Hermione watched as everyone in the room turned their back and allowed Madam Pomfrey to conjure a curtain around them. Once they were out of sight, she waved her wand and her robes vanished. In their place were warm flannel pants and a long-sleeved shirt, woolen socks covering her feet. She was still shaking but she already felt warmer. She waved the curtains away and gestured for Draco to come forward. She handed him the whole bar of chocolate and smiled kindly at him.

"Feed her this whole bar. It may take a bit at first because she's physically and magically exhausted, but she'll get better the more she has." Draco nodded at her and started to break the chocolate into pieces.

Hermione let him feed her while the adults were off to the side, discussing something quietly. Draco was quiet and she could see that he was blaming himself for her predicament. She had eaten half the chocolate bar and had regained some of her strength. She reached out and grasped his hand tightly. He met her gaze so she gave him a stern look.

"Stop it. I see what you're doing and it's shite. Stop it now." Draco didn't even deny it, he knew exactly what she was talking about. He lowered his eyes and started to rub his thumb over her knuckles.

"I shouldn't have left you, I should have -." Hermione cut him off before he could get any further.

"You shouldn't have done anything. You were having fun in Hogsmeade. You did exactly as I asked you to do. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine. So, stop it. I don't blame you and I'll have words with anyone who does." She could see that he was truly upset so she squeezed his hands.

"Please." He met her eyes again and he finally nodded. She gave him a small smile and nodded towards the chocolate.

"There's no way I can eat anymore without throwing up." He laughed softly and called out to the adults.

"She won't eat anymore, said she's going to throw up." Madam Pomfrey buried her face in her hands and started muttering about the only child who didn't eat loads of chocolate. Hermione turned back to Draco and whispered.

"I saw Rookwood, the dementors were after him. I couldn't let them get him without letting them get the other students too." He curled up into her side to help keep her warm.

"You did the right thing. We'll tell them after everyone leaves. Not sure if they want you putting yourself out there like that." Hermione nodded and just waited. Before anything else could be said, the doors banged open and the Headmaster and Professor Lupin came through. Hermione flicked her eyes to her father and wasn't surprised when she saw the old flare-up of pain at the sight of his old friend. Dumbledore didn't bother going to the adults, he came straight to Hermione.

"Two of the students reported seeing Rookwood in the same area that you fought off the dementors. Did you see him?" Hermione caught sight of her godfather and Uncle barely shaking their heads from side to side. She tried to sit up a little more before she answered.

"No, I saw nothing. I didn't even realize that there were dementors until I was almost on the students kneeling in the snow. I was focused elsewhere." The Headmaster gave her one of those smiles that are supposed to make you feel better but just made her skin crawl.

"You did the right thing, dear. You were superb out there, Mr. Blott has already told the aurors how you drove them all away by yourself. He got there too late to help but was duly impressed with your actions." Hermione gave him a thin smile.

"Thank you, Headmaster." Professor Lupin stayed surprisingly silent. The two of them joined the other adults and it appeared to be getting quite heated but Hermione could barely keep her eyes open. Draco snuggled down under the blankets with her and she was grateful that he was willing to share his body heart. He kissed the side of her head as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close.

"I'll keep you warm, Miney. Go to sleep, you need rest." She nodded sleepily and took his advice, sleep pulling her under almost instantly.

-O-

Harry had waited all evening for the adults to leave the Hospital Wing. He had been having patronus lessons with Professor Lupin when the silvery phoenix had appeared before his teacher and told him that he was needed immediately in Hogsmeade because there had been a dementor attack. Harry had walked around on pins and needles the rest of the day, hoping for students to return and tell him what had happened.

It was at dinner that a fourth year Gryffindor had told him the story. Fred, George and Neville looked like they wanted to vomit at what they heard. Hermione Black had drove off dozens of dementors who had almost kissed students. It was reported that Rookwood had been spotted in the area but it hadn't been confirmed. Regardless, it still made him feel sick inside knowing that Hermione was now in the Hospital Wing for magical exhaustion because of the situation.

Harry's patronus lessons were coming along nicely. While he still hadn't produced an animal, he could get a fair amount of silver mist. Lupin told him all the time that he was doing great since they didn't practice every day, that most adult wizards couldn't cast the spell. He knew that he was doing the best he could and while he was proud of himself for what he had accomplished so far, it felt like too little too late when he heard about things like what had happened in Hogsmeade today.

Now, against his better judgement, he was going to sneak into the Hospital Wing to make sure that Hermione was alright. Ron thought that he was in the library and he had even stopped by there to get a book to make his visit look legit. He had watched his godfather and Malfoy's father leave the hour before. He couldn't confirm it but he had heard that little Malfoy had returned to his common room when they left.

Harry was under his father's cloak, using the invisibility to help him get in without alerting anyone to his presence. It wasn't curfew yet but it was getting close and he didn't want to get another detention. Lately, Professor Snape's detentions had been horrid and he had no wish to repeat them if he didn't have to. He wished that he could recommend that the man get laid but knew that would just lose Gryffindor every single point they had and land him in detention for the rest of the year. However, if Harry was truthful, he thought it might be because how much he had hurt Hermione after that quidditch match that day.

Harry wasn't going to try to talk to Hermione, he had promised the twins that he would leave her alone. However, he couldn't forget how jealous he had been when he had returned to school only to see an issue of the Daily Prophet floating around the tables featuring Hermione and Malfoy on the front page, for their first debut in wizarding society. Harry wasn't quite sure what that meant but he knew that he thought she was beautiful and had wanted to be in Malfoy's spot dancing with her.

This problem was only made worse by the fact that Ginny was telling everyone that he had kissed her, not the other way around. Pav had already asked him about it and confirmed that Ginny was spreading rumors. He understood that she wanted to be in the spot light but he wasn't alright with her using him to do it. He had taken her aside and told her that he didn't appreciate her lies about who had kissed who. Harry knew that he hadn't even kissed her back, he had been far too shocked, but the whole school believed the opposite was true.

While Harry would be the first to admit that he had enjoyed the kiss, he had no urge to repeat it again. He had other things to focus on, more magic to learn, and he wasn't about to get caught up in a drama-filled romance with a girl that was twelve years old when he was only thirteen. It screamed of madness and he wanted no part in the scenario or the fact that Ginny was likely to start stalking him if her actions so far indicated anything.

Ron had pulled her aside and chewed her out, threatened to tell their parents if she didn't stop following Harry and telling everyone they had kissed. Once again, Harry was reminded why Ron really was a good mate. After that initial reaction, he had believed that Harry hadn't kissed Ginny and didn't plan to kiss her back any time soon.

Once the Hospital Wing door closed behind him, Harry crept forward, pulling his father's cloak off of him. If he was going to get caught, he wanted to make sure he didn't get his cloak confiscated. He peeked around the curtain to see Hermione resting quietly against her pillows and her cousin sitting next to her, reading a book and softly stroking her hair. She appeared to be sleeping but Malfoy's eyes snapped to his and blazed in fury. He bent and kissed her forehead and eased out of the bed, Hermione seeming undisturbed. Harry knew that he was about to get chewed out so he braced himself. Once they were away from the bed, Malfoy hissed at him angrily.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Harry raked a hand through his hair and sighed.

"I just wanted to make sure that she was alright. I wasn't going to talk to her, I swear." Malfoy reached out and pushed him back several inches. Harry couldn't help but get angry but after the blond spoke, his anger deflated quickly.

"You broke her fucking heart. She cried for days over the shite you told her. Don't worry, she might believe everything you said but I'm not stupid. I'm far enough away from the situation to know that Lupin is feeding you bullshite and you're buying it. You don't believe those things you said about her but you said them to make sure that she wouldn't come back around you. You wanted to make sure that you wouldn't be the weak one by actually taking a chance and trusting her. I'm going to tell you now, Potter, you lost the best thing in my life. She could have been the best thing in yours too." Harry couldn't believe that the Slytherin had seen through him so completely. He started to flounder, hoping to find words that would deny the truth. Malfoy just sneered at him.

"Don't try denying it, I'm not stupid like your best pal Weasel." Harry started to get angry at him for insulting Ron. Malfoy cut him off though.

"It's really simple. You wanted her to stay away from you. You got what you wanted. She believed you when you said all those terrible things to her. She'll probably always believe them. Why don't you do the both of you a favor and leave her the fuck alone. Haven't you done enough to her? I know you don't care but that girl is my whole world. I love her more than my parents and I want her to be happy. Watching you pull her in and get her to trust you only for you to slap her down over and over isn't making her happy, she's miserable. So, do the best thing for both of you and get the fuck out of here. Your conscience can be clear, she's not dying, in fact, once her magical stores are built up again, she'll be back to kicking your arse in class. You know how she is now so bugger off."

Harry knew that he was right, he had no right to be there worrying for the girl that he had so thoroughly hurt. It made him feel like Dudley, but worse. Dudley usually just hit you and hurt you. Harry knew better than anyone that words usually hurt far longer than injuries. He nodded at the Slytherin and started to back away. He threw the cloak back over himself and watched as Malfoy went back to the bed and crawled in next to her. It was only after several whispered words later that he realized that Hermione was awake and had heard everything. She was crying softly and Harry could just barely make out his words.

"I don't know why he hates me, I've only just been nice to him. I don't understand, Drake. Why am I not good enough?" He could hear the utter heartbreak in her voice and he left before he could hear her cousin's response.

Malfoy was right, he didn't deserve to know that she was well. He deserved to suffer for what he had done to her. Even if her father was a traitor and had been responsible for what happened to his family, she wasn't. She had only been two at the time. Still, as much as he hated what he had done, he couldn't fix it. He had given his word to the twins that he would leave her alone and stop hurting her. Harry vowed in that moment to do just that.

He was going to do his best to forget about Hermione Black, he was going to do whatever he could to get her out of his head. He really wasn't sure what he could do to do that, he thought about her all the time now and he studied as hard as he could. It was going to take something else to get his mind off how he had hurt her and keep it from entering his mind again.

Suddenly, his mind flitted to Lavender and how she had openly flirted with him since everyone had heard that he had kissed Ginny. Harry had just blown it off but now it had merit. Ginny had definitely made him forget about Hermione if only for a few minutes. He figured that it was better than nothing.

With a plan in mind, he set off to find Lavender. It was time that he learned to snog and he was sure that Lavender would be just the girl to learn from. Seamus already boasted about snogging her. He hated his decision, he really just wanted to fix things with Hermione, but he wouldn't. It wouldn't be fair to her and she deserved better than him fucking with her head. Harry heaved a sigh and entered his common room, his eyes open for a blond who had eyes only for him.

A/N- Omg, guys, don't kill me. I warned you that our pair aren't going to get together until their sixth year. Harry is going to do everything he can to forget about Hermione, then later, to forget that he likes/is in love with her. You guys know I dig some angst. Just keep telling yourself that all will end with the two of them together. Anyways, leave me your thoughts after the beep, they make me smile.

Next chapter, a certain bad boy gets into the castle.

Love,

Alicia


	54. Chapter 54

A/N- Here we are again, my friends. After thanking you guys for your continued support, I want to let those that read this story on AO3 know that I'm well aware that my formatting on that site sucks. I really don't care. I haven't started posting on that site until recently and that's only because my friend begged me to. Since I simply copy and paste, I don't have the time to go through and make sure the line breaks are all there. If you want chapters as quickly as you've been getting them, something has to give. I also rarely check my comments on that site either so if you really want an answer, you'll have to review on ffn. Sorry if this inconveniences anyone but I try to answer every review, pump out a 7000-word chapter every other day and still take care of my family around having a full-time job that I work overtime at. I would literally get nothing done if I checked and replied to those comments as well. I wish I had more time but right now in my life, it just isn't possible. To those that didn't get responses to their reviews, I apologize. I wish that just once fanfiction would let me reply to every single review.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything about this story. I have just manipulated J.K.R.'s characters into a story I wanted to write. I have made no money from this story or any others. Trust me, I'm far too broke for anyone to try to say differently.

Chapter 54

February 21, 1994

Hermione waited impatiently for Draco to finish his meal. Lunch had been shepherd's pie today and she knew that it was one of her cousin's favorites. However, since he was now finishing up his second helping, he had had enough. She nudged him with her elbow and glanced at the permanent tempus on the wall. He rolled his eyes at her and sighed.

"Alright, alright, I get it. Hurry up and quit feeding my face because you're ready to go to class." She grinned at him unrepentantly. It was clear he knew her well. Pansy scowled at her but Hermione acted like she couldn't see her. She understood that she was still angry about Hermione telling her to get off her cousin's lap but she needed to get over it.

Pansy was still almost scandalous in her actions to Draco. Hermione said nothing as long as it was in a semi-private setting, especially since her cousin didn't seem to mind most of the time. However, if she put the image her family tried to uphold in danger, Hermione was quick to put her in her place and that was never anywhere near Draco.

Hermione had had a talk with her cousin just two days before regarding his behavior. He had agreed that while he did enjoy Pansy flirting with him, he let it get out of hand in public and he wouldn't allow that anymore. She did believe that he meant it at the time but she was sure that he would slip up again. The interesting thing was that since Draco and Pansy had been getting closer, Pansy and Daphne had been growing further apart.

Daphne had finally confessed to Hermione that she had a crush on Draco, that she thought he was handsome and very intelligent. However, she was confused by Draco's blatant flirting with her and then inviting Pansy to sit on his lap and keep him company on the couches in the common room before they retired to bed. Hermione couldn't blame her; she would have been confused as well.

Hermione had also told her cousin that if he was going to take up with Pansy then he needed to start leaving Daphne alone because it wasn't fair to her. He had looked genuinely confused at her words but had agreed that he wouldn't flirt with Daphne anymore. Hermione didn't understand it; he had told her that he thought Daphne was pretty and he seemed to like her but he kept Pansy around, flirting with her shamelessly. However, it was his life and she wasn't going to dictate his life as long as he wasn't embarrassing himself or her aunt and uncle.

Hermione knew all about getting mixed signals. She couldn't forget that Harry had come to check on her while she had been in the Hospital Wing following the dementor attack on Hogsmeade. Her heart had soared at the thought that he might care but had quickly been dashed the next day when she had seen him snogging Brown sloppily outside the Transfiguration classroom. It was just another knife in the heart that she did her best to ignore and distract herself from. Draco had steered her away from the scene quickly and then told her over and over how Harry didn't deserve her and she was going to find someone so much better than Potter.

Honestly, it was easy enough to ignore as long as she didn't have to witness it. She merely tuned the students that were talking about it out and got caught up in a book. When she was confronted with seeing it herself, however, it was a very real pain. Hermione really didn't understand why it was so hard since she knew that she was only fourteen and had plenty of time to find someone that would love her. Honestly, she had never been in a rush to find love. While Harry was acting like this, though, it was easier on her that they weren't friends. Then she wouldn't have to stand next to him and watch him with other girls, pretending not to care.

If it was possible, since she was distracting herself with schoolwork and reading, her grades had improved. Most of her teachers had taken to giving her extra assignments since they weren't able to give her more advanced ones. She always did them even though she knew she didn't need to; she told herself that it was more practice and that it would pay off in the end.

The Slytherin had heard through the grape vine that Harry was getting extra lessons from Professor McGonagall. It made her so angry that he was trying to cram as much information in his head as quickly as he could because her father had been denied his right to care for his godson. If Harry had been allowed to go to her father, he would have been at the same place in his education as she and Draco were.

She was also happily surprised with how Professor McGonagall fit into the dynamic. Yes, she gave Harry his assignments and made sure they were graded. Dumbledore had asked it of her and who was she to refuse a task that would help the savior of their world? However, she had joined Hermione, Draco, and Uncle Sev several times since returning to school in her uncle's quarters. As nervous as it made Hermione to be herself in front of the Transfiguration professor, it was getting easier. In time, she could see Professor Cat as someone that she could go to if she needed someone to talk to. Once that layer of prejudice against her father had been removed, McGonagall really was a wonderful person to talk to.

Hermione stood and followed her cousin out of the Great Hall, heading to Ancient Runes. It was a class that they didn't share with Pansy so she was grateful she wouldn't have to listen to the girl simper on her cousin's arm. She had to admit at first that it was difficult for her watch Draco shower Pansy with attention but she had quickly gotten over it. He would drop the girl in a heartbeat if Hermione needed him and she believed that one hundred percent. However, it was still nice to have her cousin to herself for just a little while each day. She wondered if he would feel the same way if she ever started courting someone.

They took their usual seats in Ancient Runes and pulled out their texts, parchment, and quill. Today was supposed to be a lecture with an assignment at the end. Once this class was over, Hermione was supposed to use the time turner and go back to attend her Magical Theory class. Draco would go on to Potions and she would meet him there. The time turner had been getting to her, she was constantly exhausted. Reliving the hours for class and then several more to make sure all her homework for school and Madam Cambridge was finished made for a long day that she couldn't hardly stay awake for.

Draco had urged her to give it up, to drop some of her classes but Hermione couldn't even imagine quitting like that. Sure, she planned on dropping Divination and Muggle Studies at the end of the year but there was no way that she would just quit. Between Magical Theory, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, and Care of Magical Creatures, she would still be busy but wouldn't require a time turner. In the privacy of her own mind, she could admit that she wished she could quit the other two classes.

It wasn't that she hated Muggle Studies; actually, she found it quite fascinating. What got to her was that they learned the subject in theory only. She knew how electricity worked but she had never seen it. She doubted that she ever would. If it would be possible to go the muggle world and see these things for herself, she would love to continue the class but the truth of the matter was that as long as they had to keep the image of being pureblood bigots, it was never going to happen. There was no point in losing sleep over a class she couldn't truly enjoy to the fullest extent.

Divination, however, was a joke. While she knew that prophecies were real, that they usually did play out, Professor Trelawney clearly had no idea how to teach the subject. Hermione was quite sure that the woman was a fraud but since there was no proof, she had to hold her tongue. If she had to hear the woman predict Harry's death one more time in class, she might just scream. Dropping her class at the end of the year would be a wondrous occasion, though Draco said he planned to continue it. Why, she wasn't sure but she supposed that it was his choice and she wasn't his parent, even if she sometimes forgot that while bossing him around.

Professor Babbling started her lecture, over Greek runes. Hermione checked her notes against the words her professor had spoken. She was thrilled to add several new things to her existing notes, always something she enjoyed doing. Once they were given their assignment, Hermione started it since she was sure to have plenty that night to take care of. When the bell rang, she gave her cousin a hug and stepped into an alcove while nobody was watching. With a quick turn of the dial, she vanished.

Hermione reappeared in the same alcove but the people around her were different. She caught sight of herself and Draco heading into the classroom and once they were past, she hurried out so she could make it to the Magical Theory classroom just two corridors away. She was the last one to enter but it was still before the professor so she was safe from detention.

Magical Theory was a class that wasn't overly popular. It was only a two-year class, then Spell Crafting usually came after. Most people couldn't handle two years of what they called a "boring" class but Hermione loved it. She had always been stronger in theory and couldn't wait until she got through it so she could learn the basics of crafting her own spells. She knew that her father and uncles had made their own spells here and there but they weren't anything too special. She wanted to make spells that would be taught for decades to come.

Since there were only two classes all week in the subject, Professor McGonagall taught Magical Theory. She recommended the class before anyone attempted to become an animagus, something that Hermione wanted to try to do later in her school career. She wasn't quite sure that her magic was powerful enough at the moment. Her father assured her that it was but she didn't want to take the chance of harming herself or her core because she couldn't wait a couple years.

After listening to her lecture for the whole hour, Hermione wrote down her assignment and left with a wave to Professor Cat. She had accidentally slipped up with the name that the Slytherins called her and to her great surprise, the stern professor had laughed. She said she didn't mind the name as long as they weren't disrespectful. Hermione could only agree to her terms and breathe a deep sigh of relief.

Once she had left the classroom, Hermione started for the dungeons. Potions was next, her all-time favorite subject. They were brewing Confusing Concoctions today and while Hermione hadn't brewed one in quite some time, she wasn't worried. Since Draco had told their family about what Harry had said to her that day in the Hospital Wing, her godfather had done all he could to keep them apart. To her knowledge, he hadn't told anyone that they Boy-Who-Lived had visited after her run-in with the dementors but it didn't matter. The less everyone knew about her feelings regarding Harry, the better.

Since they had already lectured over the potion, they would go straight to brewing. While Hermione was thrilled that she wasn't paired with a Gryffindor, she still groaned inwardly when she realized that Pansy was her partner. She was downright terrible at potions and she was still angry at her for her actions over a month ago. Hermione just sighed and straightened her spine. She was going to get through it no matter what Pansy said to her.

To make a point, Hermione refused to move from her seat. Draco knew exactly what she was doing and chuckled softly before kissing the side of her head and moving to his spot by Parvati. Pansy glared at her as she slid into the seat he vacated but Hermione pretended that she didn't notice. Getting into an argument in Potions class with her godfather present was not something that she wanted to add to her "survived through" list.

Hermione told the girl to ready the cauldron and bank the heat while she gathered the supplies, mostly because she didn't trust the girl to get the right ingredients. Draco had had the same idea and was getting ingredients as well. Hermione noticed that Harry had followed suit, leaving Millie to ready their cauldron. A decent idea since potions was Millie's best subject. She still wasn't great, but she was certainly passable.

Once she had gathered her ingredients, Hermione went back to the table and started readying them. Pansy just watched her until she finally snapped at her and told that if she didn't start helping, she was going to get a failing grade. Pansy realized she was right and began mincing the daisy root.

The hour passed by better than Hermione had expected. Pansy remained mostly silent, followed directions, and they had turned in a perfect potion. Sure, Hermione had caught the glares coming her way but she hadn't commented on them. As her aunt had told her during her training, there would always be people who hated her because of her wealth, family, and station. Her job was to be the best woman she could and ignore those that sought to bring her down. Unless they took it a step too far, of course. Then she was to strike back hard and fast, leaving no proof that she had done so. Just before the class dismissed, Pansy asked her a question, completely sullen.

"Why do you hate the idea of me with Drakey so much?" Hermione turned her expressionless mask to her friend and cocked her head to the side. This was a one-time situation and she didn't want to waste it.

"I'm not against Draco being with you. I'm against the image you portray. You come across like a tart, like you're trying to sell yourself to him because he's rich and influential. Whoever becomes Lady Malfoy is going to have to have a better image than throwing herself at a man because he was rich. Lady Malfoy is supposed to be respected, not a mockery. You grinding yourself on him just to excite and embarrass him is crass and trashy. If you decide to be intimate together, it should be in private and certainly shouldn't be flaunted. Sure, hold hands and exchange small kisses, but you don't excite him like that and leave him that way for your entertainment. Not only is it cruel, it's far less than he deserves." Pansy sputtered for a few moments, searching for words. Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"You just don't him to spend time away from you." Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Oh yes, that's been an issue so far, hasn't it? Think before you speak, Pansy. Even though Draco likes quidditch and being social doesn't mean he's going to be happy with a girl that either is stupid or plays that way." Pansy looked ready to smart back but, in the end,+- her face fell.

"You're right. It's just hard because my parents are pushing me so hard." Hermione reached out and laid her hand over her friends.

"I know, but you have to do what's best for you. I know you genuinely like Draco. I'm not saying don't go after him but keep it classy. If you act cheaply, he'll treat you that way." Pansy nodded miserably. Hermione had a feeling that this would help for a little bit but Pansy would be right back to her old tricks within a month. That's how it usually went. She did decide to address her attitude towards herself before they were dismissed.

"For the record, Pansy, you should keep your looks of disdain in my direction to a minimum. Do you think Draco is going to be serious about you if you show your hatred for me so openly?" Her eyes widened and Hermione wanted to laugh but didn't. It was clear that the girl thought her hatred was well-disguised.

"How did you…I don't hate you…I'm not… -." Hermione waved her hand, silencing her.

"I know you don't like me, Pansy. It's no secret. Just a word to the wise. Hide it better if you want my cousin." She narrowed her eyes at Hermione.

"Why are you helping me?" Hermione stared at the girl as she gathered her things.

"Frankly, I don't really care how you feel about me. Aunt Cissy told me ages ago that girls wouldn't like me. Your obvious hatred, however, is creating tension within our group of friends. Either hide it better or get over it. We'll never be best friends and I'm alright with that." Hermione didn't give her a chance to speak before she threw her bag over her shoulder and flounced from the room.

Hermione had only made it to the staircases when Draco caught up with her. He was grinning at her unabashedly and she wondered just how much of their conversation had been heard. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and hugged her close.

"That was brilliant, Miney." She felt color flush her cheeks.

"You heard that?" He laughed.

"I think the whole class did. You know I don't want to end up with her, right? If I do anything with her, it'll just be fun." Hermione could only shake her shoulders since she really didn't want to get into an argument over equality between sexes with her cousin.

"I think you can do better and deserve the same but it's your life. If Pansy makes you happy, who am I to tell you she's terrible for you?" Draco chuckled at her words.

"You don't have to, I can tell you can't stand her. Whoever I end up with will have to love you as much as I do." She smiled at him and leaned her head down on his shoulder. He really could be quite sweet when he wanted to be.

They made their way to the Great Hall for dinner together. Their friends trailed behind them, nobody willing to interrupt them in the time they spent together. They took their usual seats and Hermione rolled her eyes as Draco served her a large helping of roast beef on her plate. She waved him off as he started to serve her potatoes. Hermione lost herself in a book while Draco started talking quidditch with his teammates.

Since Draco had quidditch practice that night, Hermione was planning to go to the library and work on her heaps of homework. Neville had made plans to meet her there so she could help him with his potions. She was sure that the twins would show up at some point since they were always looking for tips when it came to potions. Daphne had asked if she could tag along and Hermione had happily agreed.

After the meal was over, Draco hugged her close for a brief moment before he took off towards the pitch. Hermione rolled her eyes, gathered her bag, and started for the library. The night was going to be full of laughter if the twins had anything to say about it.

-O-

Harry really needed to get to the library to work on his homework. He had blown it all off the night before in order to spend the evening snogging Lisa Turpin but tonight he really needed to get his work finished. He was supposed to have his extra school work handed in by the morning and he had an assignment in Transfiguration that needed to be finished for the day after tomorrow.

He had had Transfiguration and Care of Magical Creatures that morning, though Professor McGonagall was the only one to give them an assignment. Even Professor Snape hadn't given them homework after brewing their potion. There would be no way to work on his homework the next day after class because he would have quidditch practice. It really was maddening trying to find time to fit everything into his schedule this year.

Harry couldn't seem to get away from Hermione Black these days. It seemed as though she was in all his classes, which he supposed that she was. However, where they hardly had interactions before, now it seemed as though they were constantly running into each other. They had tried to leave Transfiguration at the same time and had run into each other, literally. After Care of Magical Creatures, he had caught her feeding what looked like raw meat to a feral looking dog just outside the Forbidden Forest. During Potions, they had gone to retrieve their ingredients at the same time. He knew for a fact that she would be in the library tonight as well. It was torture.

Harry hadn't said a word to her, he had kept his word to the twins and done exactly as Malfoy had asked of him. He snogged a new girl each week, Ginny being one of them, though he had no plans to tell Ron that. He hadn't initiated it but he wasn't going to complain, that much was for sure. Besides, he knew for a fact that he wasn't the only boy Ginny was snogging. He had personally caught her with one of the boys in her own class just four days ago. Ron likely wouldn't believe him even if he had told him; he seemed to think that Ginny was a little angel.

Snogging girls helped him forget about Hermione. She fled from his mind almost instantly, until he ran into her of course. Seeing her in person was always hard. Guilt assaulted him every time he remembered her crying after they thought he had left the Hospital Wing. He had hurt her and he deserved to have thoughts of her torturing him.

Harry entered the library and found a table to himself. Ron had been doing good keeping up with his homework so if he didn't have to work on an assignment, he always begged off going to the library in favor of playing Seamus or Dean a game of wizard's chess. Pav usually stayed to watch him which left Harry to work in peace and quiet. He usually didn't complain about it.

Across the room, he caught sight of Hermione sitting with Greengrass, Neville, and the twins. Harry couldn't believe that the twins had been crazy enough to defy their mother; Molly was a frightening woman and Harry wasn't sure that he would want to willingly defy her. However, they did and they didn't seem to care that they would likely be grounded for the whole summer when they returned from school.

Harry tried to concentrate on his assignments, he had already retrieved the books he needed from the shelves. However, his attention kept fleeing to the girl he was doing his best to forget. The twins sat on each side of her while Daphne and Greengrass sat across from them, both working on something together. Hermione had a small smile playing across her lips while she listened to them. When she turned her attention to the twins, she quickly had to hide a full-blown smile. Both Fred and George threw an arm around her shoulders and kissed her on the cheek at the same time. She flamed red and started to hit them, clearly embarrassed at their show of affection.

Harry was happy to see her smiling and laughing. She usually looked so serious and he knew that she needed to let loose just a little. He turned back to his work to finish his Transfiguration assignment. He was unsure why he had to do his regular assignments when he was doing extra work as well but he supposed that it would just have to work for now. After he finished his assignment, he needed a potions book to work on his extra assignment. He rose to his feet and went to the shelf closest to Hermione and started to search the shelf on the other side for the book he needed. Just as he located the book he needed, he heard Greengrass speak.

"Putting Pansy in her place earlier was priceless! Her agreeing with you was the best part though. She does come across trashy when she throws herself at Draco like she does." Harry slid a book out of the shelf so he could watch them. Neville nudged her with his shoulder and grinned at her.

"You're only saying that because you have a crush on Draco. Everyone can see it, especially since you don't hang out with Pansy anymore." Harry grinned at the bright flush of her cheeks. Harry could admit that she was a beautiful girl; nothing compared to Hermione but he would snog her if she wanted to. Fred and George started howling laughter and the girl put her head down on the table.

"Please promise me you guys won't tell him. He doesn't like me that way and I don't want to lose him as a friend if he were to find out. Besides, we're only thirteen. Nobody makes life decisions at thirteen." Hermione gave her a soft look before she patted her friend's hand.

"The twins won't tell a soul, right boys? I wouldn't want to have to try one of my experimental potions on them." Fear crossed both their faces before they began shaking their heads in the negative quite vehemently.

"Your secret is safe with us, Daph. Weasley's word of honor." Daphne raised her head and smiled at them.

"Thanks boys." They all fell quiet again and Harry had just decided to go back to his seat when Neville spoke.

"There aren't many girls here that are private about their personal life. If I have to catch Harry snogging Lavender one more time, I'm going to hex him. Ginny too for that matter. I don't really care if he does it but I don't want to see it. I'm just waiting for Ron to find out. Ginny is snogging three or four boys right now and Ron doesn't know about any of them." Harry watched the amusement on Hermione's face disappear and she concentrated on the book in front of her. It hurt knowing that just the mention of his name brought her to that but he supposed that he had done it to himself. Not wanting to hear anymore, he found his way back to his seat.

Perhaps he should be more circumspect about his snogging. He wouldn't want to watch anyone else so he supposed that it probably went the same way. Vowing to do his best to keep his activities more private, he gathered his things and left the library, casting one last glance to the other table.

Harry let his mind wander as he walked through the school's corridors. His lessons with Professor Lupin were going well. He had finally managed a corporeal patronus, a stag just like his father's had been. It wasn't the strongest and he couldn't hold it for long but his professor was thrilled. He still needed more practice calling upon it whenever he needed to but he was pleased with his progress.

Harry never made it to the Tower; he was met by the Headmaster and a sea of Gryffindors on the sixth floor. The expression on the Headmaster's face was grave as he laid a hand on his shoulder.

"All students are to return to the Great Hall. Immediately." Harry nodded and fell in step behind the man but shot Ron a questioning look. Ron was nearly bouncing in his shoes as he gave him a grave look. It was definitely sending him mixed signals.

"What happened, mate?" Ron spoke low as he answered.

"I was heading to the Tower and found Rookwood standing in front of the Fat Lady. He was using a knife on her portrait, she's ruined. Dumbledore reckons she can be fixed but it isn't good. She told Dumbledore that the loon was asking after you, wanting to know if you were in there." Harry couldn't believe what his best mate was telling him.

"Before curfew and in plain sight, he was trying to get through the Fat Lady?" Ron gave a restrained nod.

"Yeah, mate, I couldn't believe it. He heard me and took off down the corridor. They aren't sure where he is, that's why we're all traveling together. He sent one of those patronuses to all the teachers and told them to bring us all to the Great Hall while they searched the castle. I think the aurors are going to come too." Harry nodded and watched the floor as they walked. It was nearing curfew and he couldn't help but wonder how long this search was going to take.

Once the Headmaster had them to the Great Hall, he gestured for all the students to take their usual seats. Harry slid into his spot and waited for someone to say something helpful. Dumbledore made a quick search of the Great Hall and shot sparks out of his wand. Everyone quieted and turned their attention to him.

"You're all to stay here until you are told otherwise. The castle must be searched and I have to go meet with the aurors. I want the Head Boy and Girl to assume order of the Great Hall. Prefects, you will help patrol your house and make sure that there is no trouble and no students sneak off. If you are found out of the Great Hall, you will be expelled. This is no game, children. Rookwood is a Death Eater and will not have a problem hurting or killing you to get what he wants." There were fearful looks on all the students faces but Harry kept his face neutral. He knew that he was the target of Rookwood. Likely the man wouldn't bother with anyone else unless he thought it would get him closer to Harry.

Harry caught sight of Hermione being hugged by her cousin. Malfoy was still in his practice quidditch robes so neither one of them had made it to their common rooms. Neville came up behind him and smiled.

"Alright, Harry?" Harry nodded and was happy that someone had asked him how he was handling the knowledge that an escaped killer was after him. Neville smiled again.

"You want to come over to the Slytherins with me?" Harry shook his head instantly. He wasn't going to go back on his word.

"No, I don't want to cause problems in this mess." Neville nodded and clapped him on the shoulder.

"I understand. Just remember, Ron isn't your only friend." Harry knew what he was trying to tell him but at the moment, he didn't care. Rookwood was in the castle and he wasn't allowed to go find the man. All he wanted was to keep the students safe and he couldn't.

"Thanks, Nev." His friend clapped him on the shoulder again and returned to his Slytherin friends.

Harry listened to Ron for almost an hour, telling his story repeatedly, bragging that he had come close to death. He was getting more and more irritated as the time went on to where he was just sitting there silently and scowling. He didn't get to tell Ron to stuff it because the Headmaster appeared on the dais that they High Table was located on and spot off sparks again.

"Everyone, the search continues. Since it is now after curfew, we will all be bunking down here for the night while the aurors and I continue to search. Your Heads of House will stay here with you and make sure that there aren't any problems. I'm going to vanish the tables and I expect you to spread out and use the sleeping bags that have been provided. Trouble makers will be punished heavily. That means you, Messrs. Weasley." The twins guffawed in laughter and there were several others that chuckled along with them. Causing trouble to earn laughter sounded like something they would do.

Harry stood and picked up on of the sleeping bags and walked to one of the empty corners of the Great Hall. Everyone else followed suit, Ron, Ginny, Pav, and the twins settling down next to him. Prefects were moving down the line and transfiguring school clothes into pajamas. Harry's flannel pants and tee shirt were much more comfortable. He looked over and caught sight of Hermione and Malfoy about ten feet away from them. He wasn't sure if they had moved so close on purpose but they didn't pay him any mind.

The sixth-year prefect, Miles Bletchley, came through and swished his wand, changing the clothes of the Slytherins to night clothes. Malfoy glared at him when he put him in boxer shorts and an undershirt. He waved his own wand and changed it to pants and a tee shirt. Bletchley moved on and waved his wand at Hermione, changing her uniform to the shortest shorts that Harry had ever seen and a low-cut skin-tight tank top. His cock hardened in his pants at the sight of her but he sat down quickly to hide his condition.

There were several whistles around her but Hermione waved her wand, not only giving herself pants and a looser tank top, but a robe as well. Malfoy stepped forward, hands clenched into fists, only to be separated by Professor Snape. Harry couldn't hear what was said but he was quite sure that it ended in Bletchley getting detention. Hermione settled into her sleeping bag and her cousin crawled into his next to her. Since everyone else seemed to be doing the same thing, Harry decided to follow suit and get some extra sleep. It was earlier than he usually went to bed but there was nothing for it now. There was no way he could concentrate enough to get his homework done in this environment.

Trying to ignore the thoughts he had of Hermione in next to nothing just a few feet from him, Harry rolled away from her, closed his eyes, and let himself fall to sleep.

-O-

Lupin hated being used. If it were for anything aside from keeping Harry safe, he would have told the Headmaster to piss off. However, even he could admit that his werewolf senses could help him find someone even in his human form.

Therefore, he was left to escort the aurors until the Headmaster returned. He knew that Albus wanted to keep the children together in the Great Hall, but he was sure that the Death Eater had already left the school. He had found Rookwood's scent and followed it to one of the side doors of the school where it had become so faint, he wasn't sure what had happened. He couldn't help but wonder if the man had cast a scent-deadening spell on himself, knowing that Remus was a werewolf. It wasn't a huge secret after all.

He listened to the aurors squabble about nothing while they waited for Albus to return. He let his mind wander to once again to seeing Sirius up close for the first time in forever just a month ago. Remus could admit that he looked fine as fuck. However, he couldn't allow those old feelings to resurface since the man had single-handedly killed their best friends.

Watching him have such strong emotions for his daughter was hard to take. That should have been Harry that he loved and cared for, not Hermione. Yes, he could admit the girl was powerful and smarter than anyone he knew, but he couldn't help but resent the girl for her place in his ex-lover's life. Harry should have been the most important person in his life, not his Death Eater brother's bastard spawn. Oh, he had heard the rumors that Regulus had married Erise Malfoy after their deaths but he wasn't sure that he believed it.

Remus tried to distract himself again with thoughts of Harry and his triumph in casting the patronus. He knew that the boy was only putting half his power into the charm; once he learned to channel all of it, he would be unstoppable, even stronger than Hermione Black. He grinned. Harry would show Sirius exactly what he had missed sooner or later. He was certain of it.

Lupin sighed as the Headmaster approached and barked out orders for them to continue searching. It was going to be a long night.

A/N- Another chapter, guys, look at me go. Nothing too terribly action-packed in this chapter but moving the story right along. Hope you all enjoyed it. Thanks to everyone out there that has been showing my story love. You guys are just awesome. Let me know what you think, your reviews make me smile.

Next chapter, Pansy's birthday and a chance encounter.

Love,

Alicia


	55. Chapter 55

A/N- Here we are with another chapter, guys. We're getting closer and closer to the reveal. I only hope it doesn't disappoint. Anyways, thanks to everyone out there reading and reviewing, you guys keep me motivated, hence why I crank out a chapter every other day. Just a warning, as the holidays get closer, the chapters will slow down. Life in insane for me around the holidays.

** Shout out to jacktank10 for being my 1900th reviewer. You are da bomb!**

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing except the twist on the plot line. Pureblood Hermione has been done before, daughter of Regulus and Sirius has been done before, angsty Harmony has certainly been done before. The idea for Part One was gifted to me by Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle. I merely twisted it and used it to draw me down this dark and winding road.

Chapter 55

March 18, 1994

Hermione felt the familiar worry rise up in her chest as she watched her cousin rise from the breakfast table in his quidditch robes. They were playing Ravenclaw today and while Ravenclaw was the one favored, Draco was pumped and thriving on the happy energy his table was creating.

As one, the team rose and started for the door leading them to the pitch. As if he had just remembered, Draco turned and jogged back to the table to press a kiss to the top of her head and tug a curl. She grinned at him and hugged him close.

"Don't do anything stupid. If you get hurt, I'll be very angry." He laughed out loud and pulled her curl again.

"I'll be fine, Mia, just you watch." She smoothed his robes before he could run away.

"Good luck. I'll be watching." He didn't say anything else but she knew that he appreciated it. She could feel Pansy glaring at her but she refused to give her the satisfaction of turning around meeting her gaze. Instead, she turned and met Daphne's gaze. The girl loved watching quidditch and Hermione could see the excitement on her features.

They made small talk for another half hour before the bell rang, dismissing them to the quidditch pitch. Hermione wrapped her cloak around her tightly, recasting the warming charm. It was decent in the middle of the afternoon but it was still pretty chilly in the mornings since it was only mid-March. Daphne was smiling next to her and Hermione couldn't resist just a little bit of light teasing.

"So, are you so happy because it's quidditch or because Draco is playing?" Daphne's cheeks flushed prettily and Hermione wanted to grin at her friend. Since she had had a falling out with Pansy, they had really grown close. Of course, it had come with the promise of never telling Draco that she had a crush on him but that was easy enough. Hermione would be the first one to admit that it was nice having a female friend. The pair had even made tentative plans to go shopping over the holidays, even though Hermione wasn't the biggest fan. She wanted to have other things to do with her friend other than study.

"I do like watching Draco play but I know he doesn't like me like that. He wants Pansy. That's ok, I'd rather be with a boy that likes me for more than being pretty." Since Hermione understood completely, she hooked her arm through Daphne's and smiled.

"If Draco doesn't realize that you're better than Pansy, he doesn't deserve you. Besides, you're only thirteen. You'll meet plenty of boys that will like you for yourself. I caught Blaise eying you just the other day." Daphne blushed again.

"I know. It just hurts that he doesn't notice me but he pays attention to Pansy. I know I'm pretty, I have eyes. Like you said, one day I'll find a boy that only has eyes for me. As for Blaise, he's no better than Draco. I caught him snogging a Hufflepuff the other day. When did snogging become so important?" Hermione chuckled and leaned her head on her friend's shoulder.

"I don't know but I don't plan on rushing into it. Besides, my Aunt Cissy might kill me if I disgraced the family. My father would probably understand, he's a bit of a rebel after all, but Aunt Cissy would be so disappointed." Daphne laughed.

"I guarantee you she wouldn't. I bet you she was messing around with Lord Malfoy before they were married. My mum told me that almost everyone does, it's just nobody talks about it." Hermione could almost bet that her blonde friend was right. Her aunt and uncle were far too in love to wait until it was proper. They barely waited now. Hermione smiled at her.

"Enough of this depressing talk. Let's concentrate on quidditch." It just so happened that at that moment, Harry walked past her with his arm around Mandy Brocklehurst. He pulled her into the dark shadows under the stands, disappearing from sight. Hermione felt her face fall and Daphne didn't miss it either. Since Daphne had several inches on her, when she leaned her head down, her neck was at an odd angle. Hermione smiled softly at her friend.

"How long have you liked him?" Hermione shrugged her shoulders since she really didn't know for sure when she started liking Harry as more than her would-be brother.

"I'm really not sure. I didn't even realize I did until recently." Daphne smiled at her.

"Seems we're in the same boat. The boys we like don't see us at all. I don't understand it either since you're bloody beautiful." Hermione pinched her arm.

"So are you. My cousin's just an idiot." Daphne laughed but started pulling her up the stands.

"Oh well, we can be spinsters together then. Boys be damned." Hermione started laughing now, feeling genuinely better after Daphne's words. As nervous as she had been about Daphne finding out, she really did feel better.

"Let's get settled."

Hermione pulled her friend to the top of the stands so they would have the best view. The boys that were seated there already were happy to move and then offered them the use of their cloaks if they found themselves cold. Hermione thanked them for their offer but told them they were fine at the moment. After they settled in, Hermione couldn't help but start to worry again.

However, she didn't have to worry for long. Only ten minutes later, the Ravenclaw team emerged and Lee Jordan announced them. They took their lap around the pitch and the school cheered for them. Hermione wasn't under any illusions that the rest of the school wanted Slytherin to win. If it came down to it, the whole school would rather Slytherin lost every single match. She didn't take it personally.

The Slytherin team emerged next, to the same introduction as the Ravenclaw team. All the Slytherin stands cheered and when Draco's name was announced, Hermione and Daphne went to their feet and started applauding him. Since nobody else had gone to their feet, they were easy to pick out and Draco waved at them with a smile. After they landed on the ground in the middle of the pitch, Madam Hooch started the game by releasing the balls and throwing the quaffle in the air.

Hermione always struggled watching quidditch. She knew what each player did and what their purpose was but she had a hard time following the quaffle at the speeds that it was passed. She wasn't sure why but it had always been like that. Her father and uncles made fun of her all the time but she had learned to ignore them years ago. Even though they teased her, they still dragged her to all the professional matches they attended.

The match lasted over two hours and even though Hermione knew that they were behind in points, it all came down to Draco doing his job as seeker. While he was a much better chaser, he was still a decent seeker. Slytherin was down by eighty points and even though she couldn't follow the quaffle, she was pretty sure that they wouldn't come back eighty points by the end of the match. She knew that Draco was going to have to end the match before Ravenclaw got more than a hundred- and fifty-point lead.

Another twenty minutes passed before Draco leaned forward on his broom and shot through the sky. Cho Chang, the seeker for Ravenclaw, leaned forward and shot off after him. Hermione couldn't see the snitch but judging by how Draco was focused, he could. It wasn't a feint and she thought that Cho realized that. Hermione had never been a huge fan of Cho Chang. While she was a pureblood, she always acted like she was better than everyone else because of it. Hermione was more than capable of using her pedigree when she needed to but she didn't think that others were beneath her just because of her "pure blood".

Slytherin and Ravenclaw were all cheering loudly, some people jumping up and down in the stands, urging their seeker to get the snitch first. Hermione was gripping Daphne's hand tightly, scared to death that Draco would hurt himself or fall off his broom. Granted, he hadn't fallen from his broom in probably eight years but that was beside the point. The two seekers ended up bouncing off each other in the race to the snitch.

The race came to an end near the hoops at the Ravenclaw end of the pitch. Draco feinted left but went right, closing his hand around the tiny golden ball. Ravenclaw seemed to sag in disappointment and the whole of the Slytherin stands went to their feet and cheered, chanting Draco's name. Hermione was bursting with pride for her cousin and his accomplishment. Daphne was cheering as loudly as everyone else and Hermione was unsure if it was because of Draco specifically or the fact that Slytherin had won against the odds. Either way, Hermione didn't care.

As a whole, the Slytherin stands rose and rushed the pitch. Hermione took her time picking her way down the bleachers since the last thing she needed was a broken neck. She had faith in Madam Pomfrey but it wasn't something that she really wanted to experience. Daphne was nice enough to stay with her. Once they reached the pitch, Hermione realized that Pansy had thrown herself into Draco's arms and was hugging him tightly around the neck. Before Hermione could even step in, Pansy had kissed him. Not just a peck but a full-on snog that had everyone around them cheering. Her cousin's arms wrapped around the girl hanging on him and Hermione sighed. This was only going to get ugly by the time her cousin finally tired of Pansy.

Daphne wilted next to her but Hermione shot her a look that told her to stay strong and not show weakness. When she stepped into sight, Hermione waited for her cousin to separate himself from Pansy. He finally pulled away and had a stupid grin on his face. However, his expression fell when he caught sight of Hermione. He shoved Pansy away from him and made his way to her side. He wrapped Hermione in his arms and started to kiss her cheek but Hermione squawked in protest.

"Please, Drake, I know you're going to kiss girls but when you kiss her, please keep your lips to yourself." He laughed at her words and kissed the side of her head anyways. She pinched his side but smiled at him when he released her. However, she couldn't stay angry at him for long.

"You're lucky you stayed safe, now I don't have to kill you." He laughed out loud and several others around them chuckled at her words as well. Daphne grinned softly but stayed behind Hermione. It seemed that as soon as Hermione moved just a tiny bit, Draco caught sight of her. He stepped to her and grinned a roguish grin. He reached out and took her hand in his so he could bend at the waist and kiss her knuckles like a proper gentleman.

"Did you enjoy the match, my lady?" Daphne blushed but curtsied in response.

"Of course, my lord. You were wonderful." Draco released her hand but kept his eyes on her for a few moments more. Pansy came to his side and wrapped an arm around his waist, laying her hand on his chest.

"Now we can turn my birthday party into a celebration for winning. It'll be great." Hermione smiled thinly at the girl but said nothing. Draco raised his eyebrows at her in question. Hermione straightened her robes.

"Feel free to do so. I think I'll find the twins and Neville instead. I find that I have other things to do besides mingle with those undeserving of my attention. Have fun though, Drake. I'll find you before I go to bed and we'll talk." It was a slap in the face for Pansy and everyone around them had heard it. Hermione didn't make a habit of wielding the power that her family had but she had warned Pansy time and time again about making a spectacle of her cousin. If she had to publicly shame her, she would. Most of the girls took a step back, completely aware of what she had just done. Draco smirked at her but waved to the boys he usually spent time with.

"Let's go, boys. I suppose Pansy's birthday has become a quidditch celebration." He was well-aware what she had just done and he found it amusing. While he might find it amusing, he would never work against her. Pansy's eyes lit up at his words but all the girls started making excuses to not attend. Pansy's party was originally planned for that night and everyone had been happy to attend. Now, none of the girls dared attend unless they wanted to commit social suicide.

Her cousin kissed her head one last time before he allowed Pansy to wrap herself around him once again. Hermione wrapped her arm through Daphne's and pulled her back towards the castle. Since it was close to lunch time, she figured that they could eat lunch first. The other girls of Slytherin dispersed and Hermione leaned towards Daphne.

"I figured we could go eat lunch before we find the boys. You are going to stay with me, right?" Daphne burst out in laughter, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Of course, I'm going with you. You think I'm going to attend that party after what you said? I may be blonde but I'm not stupid." Hermione grinned at her but said nothing. Daphne finally calmed to just chuckles as they entered the castle.

"You know, it really is amusing to watch you sometimes. You are the last person to use the power you have just by being the Black heir and niece to Lord Malfoy. When you do decide to use it, though, it's hilarious. You cut down whoever you need to and leave them bleeding like the vicious socialite that trained you. I know Lady Malfoy taught you everything she knows." Hermione laughed now as they took their seat at the table.

"You're right, she did. She started teaching me a few years back. I'm almost ready for my role as Lady Black. I don't like to ruin people but I will do anything I have to make sure nothing happens to my family. Like it or not, Draco is the most important person in the world to me. Whoever he ends up marrying is going to end up dealing with me for the rest of their lives." Daphne's eyes sparkled at her words.

"I pity Pansy if she ever takes her place at his side." Hermione started to spoon food onto her plate.

"You should. If she can't be a proper Lady Malfoy, I'll make her regret ever taking her vows. Draco deserves the best and if he's stupid enough to choose her, I'll do my best to make sure that she fits the requirements." Daphne's face fell but Hermione squeezed her hand.

"Stop worrying about Draco. He's just being young and stupid. In case you haven't realized it yet, boys are stupid. One of these days, he'll pull his head out of his arse. He might not choose you, but I can almost guarantee you that it won't be Pansy." Daphne nodded but changed the subject.

They passed lunch with small talk about classes and homework. Hermione really wasn't sure what they could do with the twins and Neville but for once, she didn't want to study. Maybe later she would visit her Uncle Sev. It had been a couple weeks since she had spent time with him in his quarters. Once Daphne finished eating, Hermione pulled her over to the Gryffindor table where their friends were still eating. Harry was sitting between Ron and Ginny and she could feel his eyes on her as she crossed the Great Hall. The twins were grinning widely at her and Daphne when they got there. Hermione smirked at them.

"We were wondering if you three wanted to do something fun with us this afternoon." Neville cocked his head to the side and looked contemplative.

"Don't you two have a victory party to get to?" Daphne burst out laughing at his words. Hermione kept her smirk in place but nothing more. All the attention of the lion's table was on them when Daphne finally spoke.

"Only the boys will be attending the victory party. Hermione made sure to make it clear that attending the party would be social suicide." The twins started laughing and even Neville looked amused. Hermione could tell that Harry was confused. However, she didn't feel like explaining for him. Neville instead asked her reasoning.

"You finally wielded your power as Hermione Black, princess of the wizarding world. What made this happen?" Hermione just raised an eyebrow at him but Daphne burst out laughing before laughing.

"She warned Pansy a month ago to quit making a spectacle of Draco, that it wasn't dignified. She even gave them dispensation to do whatever they wanted in private but to keep it discreet. Pansy leapt into Draco's arms on the pitch and snogged him in front of everyone. Pansy declared that her birthday party was going to be a victory party. Hermione then informed her that she had better things to do than mingle with those undeserving of her time." Neville and the twins burst out in laughter. The twins leapt from their seats and dragged Hermione to sit between them while Neville gestured for Daphne to sit as well. Fred spoke once she was settled.

"Vicious little Slytherin, aren't you?" Hermione shrugged with one shoulder.

"I learned everything I know from my Aunt Cissy. Do you think she would approve of Pansy's behavior?" All three boys laughed again and then she heard a voice she hadn't heard directed to her in quite some time.

"So, you ruined Pansy socially because you didn't like her snogging your cousin?" He sounded genuinely confused so Hermione tried not to take offense. Ron, however, knew exactly what she had done. She knew that he had been taught the pureblood way of thinking just the twins had been.

"She ruined her socially because she was jealous that her precious cousin moved on from her to Parkinson." Hermione didn't have to say anything. Neville pulled his wand and hexed Weasley's mouth shut.

"Shut up, Ron. You don't even know what you're talking about. She cast aspersions on Pansy's character publicly because she refuses to keep their private life private. The main reason is because she's hoping to trap Draco into a betrothal contract." The twins were nodding and Harry still looked confused. Hermione rolled her eyes and turned to Neville.

"If he's going to survive in this world, you have to educate him." She gestured to Harry and Neville nodded.

"I try but he's resistant to learning." It wasn't her place and it wasn't her problem. Therefore, she turned back to her friends.

"What do you guys want to do? Daphne and I are yours until dinner." George grinned.

"Let's go skip rocks on the Black Lake." Hermione nodded amiably. She wasn't very good at it but she was down to do anything as long as it wasn't attending Pansy's party.

The five of them finished quickly and started for the doors that led outside. Hermione allowed the twins to formally escort her while Neville offered Daphne his arm. If Daphne didn't have such a crush on her cousin, she would be hopeful for Neville. He was a great friend and a nice boy. Sure, he was probably no better than any other boy in private but he didn't make spectacles of himself.

They spent several hours competing against each other, skipping rocks as far as they could around the lake. Fred ended up challenging Hermione to a race around the lake and she had basked in the glory of winning after she beat him by several minutes. Of course, he was unaware that she made four to five rounds around the lake every morning. Conversation did turn to schoolwork briefly, mostly because the twins were despairing that they couldn't figure out a potion for one of their pranks.

The evening drew closer and found Hermione laying on the blanket between the twins, her head on one of their legs while the other one rubbed one of her feet. She usually didn't allow such familiarity between them but she knew they wanted nothing from her but friendship. Neville had long ago draped his cloak around Daphne's shoulders and they were all talking about what they wanted to do after they graduated from Hogwarts. The twins wanted to open their own joke shop, something that she was quite sure they would excel at. Neville wanted to gain a mastery in Herbology and breed new and exciting plants. Daphne didn't really have academic plans but knew that she wanted to start a new wing of St. Mungo's for creatures that weren't allowed to be treated, like werewolves. Nobody was surprised when Hermione waxed on that while she wasn't sure what she wanted to do, she enjoyed potions, transfiguration, and creating spells.

The five of them finally headed back to the castle at dinner time. Hermione had had an enjoyable afternoon even though she hadn't been studying. It was a reminder that learning wasn't everything and she needed to remember to have fun here and there as well. The boys convinced the pair of Slytherins to dine with them that evening since all the boys were still celebrating. Just about every girl in Slytherin turned up for dinner and looked quite pleased that Hermione noticed their presence.

Hermione could feel the eyes on her from up and down the Gryffindor table. She glanced up to the High Table and while her godfather looked worried, Professor Cat looked quite pleased. She knew that she was happy that they were trying to house rivalries but until the mouth of Ronald Weasley and Seamus Finnegan were contained, that would likely never happen.

Hermione bid her friends farewell at the end of dinner. Daphne said that she was going to go to the library and find a book to read in bed that night. The twins were going to go put her advice to use while Neville was going to hang out in the common room and play chess. Hermione didn't announce her plans but she was heading to her godfather's quarters. She missed seeing him all the time and maybe they would be able to brew something together that night. With a merry wave to her friends, Hermione started off towards the dungeon, determined to forget all about Harry and Pansy. She was going to see her godfather, after all, one of her favorite people in the world.

-O-

Harry watched Hermione all through dinner, completely surprised that the twins and Neville had been able to convince her to stay and eat with them. Ron hadn't noticed him watching the Slytherin girl but he was quite sure that Ginny had. He couldn't help himself, however. In fact, he had followed them to the Black Lake and watched them, curious as to what they would do to spend their afternoon. He realized that this was probably considered stalkerish but he was truly curious what the girl did for fun. All he ever saw her do was study.

He supposed that he should feel ashamed that he listened in on their conversations but he heard nothing that was important or life threatening. He had been quite surprised to hear that such a society witch planned on having a career that dealt with potions, transfiguration, and spell creation. It made him respect her and that was more than he could say for most girls these days.

He really had been confused how and why she had ruined Pansy Parkinson socially. Sure, he wasn't going to cry over it but the thought process that went behind it eluded him. After it was explained, it made him feel a flush of embarrassment. Did his actions embarrass the name Potter? Would his parents be disappointed if they had been alive? Again, he vowed to keep private business private.

He had snogged so many girls as of late that he wasn't sure that there were any girls with morals left. Sure, they had to exist, they just had to, but he hadn't met one yet. One of them had to see that he was just using them to remove Hermione from his mind and demand better treatment, see past his eventual place as Lord Potter, his fame, and his money. However, so far, that hadn't been the case. In fact, he had met with Mandy earlier that day and spent half the match snogging and lightly petting her breasts but tonight, Ginny had begged him to meet her. He was on his way to the alcove just outside the dungeons. Nobody ever checked there during rounds and he had yet to be caught there.

He stepped into the darkness of the alcove and found that Ginny was already waiting for him. She bunched his robes in her hand and pulled him closer, her mouth slanting over his, thrusting her tongue into his mouth. Harry no longer held back, lightly massaging her tongue back. His hand fisted in her hair and jerked her head back roughly. It should have hurt but instead Ginny moaned. It went straight to his cock and he ground his hips into hers.

Ginny reached down and opened his trousers, pulling his cock out. Only Lisa had dared to give him a handy so far but Ginny surprised him completely by sinking to her knees and putting his length in her mouth. It was clumsy and it was clear she wasn't experienced but as his first blow job, he wasn't going to complain. His hands buried in her hair and he thrust into her mouth roughly, completely uncaring that he could be hurting her. Women had become a tool for him to forget, to cope, and he now treated them as such. He knew they deserved better but at the moment, he didn't care.

It didn't take him long to spill himself inside her mouth, his seed trickling out of the corners of her mouth. Her tongue snaked out and caressed his softening cock, cleaning him. Just before he could get aroused again, he pushed her away. She stood and kissed him again, something he really wasn't too keen on but allowed. She pushed his hand to her pants and urged him to slide into her knickers. Harry had never done this but he knew the general idea of what he was supposed to do.

Harry couldn't help but feel just a bit disgusted at the overgrown hair of her pussy. She was only twelve! Did she take some sort of potion to appear older? He knew that most witches didn't believe in shaving, very few did, but muggles were firm believers in being hygienic. However, he tried to ignore it and focus on the task at hand. Ginny was sopping wet, something he really didn't find surprising. Ginny was rumored to have fun with three to four boys so he was probably not the first one to do this for her. He really wasn't that interested but since she had made him orgasm so spectacularly, he felt he owed her. His finger found her nub and started to rub circles around it, just like the books had told him.

It didn't take her long to orgasm. At least, he thought she did. She moaned loud enough in his ear that he wasn't sure he'd be able to hear until the next day. Her pussy didn't spasm like he had read and it didn't gush fluid. He hoped that she was just different rather than faking it. If he was going to do something, he was going to do it right. He pulled his hand from her pants and sniffed his fingers. She wasn't paying attention so he didn't feel bad that the smell wasn't what he had expected. He vowed to cast a cleansing charm as quickly as he could after he left. Ginny turned mischievous eyes to his and Harry was reminded in that moment that she was exceedingly young. He should probably feel guilty but the one time he had tried to deny her, she had been even more forceful.

"You were great, lover. I hope I was as good as you were." Harry couldn't keep back the grin at her words. She had definitely been good.

"You were amazing." Ginny grinned now.

"Shall I tell my mum we're exclusive?" Harry frowned at her and stepped back.

"Gin, we aren't exclusive. I shouldn't even be messing around with you, you're twelve. This is wrong. I don't want to be exclusive with anyone." Ginny seemed to realize that he was retreating and stepped forward to grab his hand and lay it on her cheek.

"That's fine. You have your fun and when we're both old enough, we'll deal with it then. Just don't stop letting me make you happy." Harry knew he should get out now while he could but he couldn't help it. As soon as they had separated, his miserable life came flooding back, the look on Hermione's face when she had ran from him and the guilt that refused to leave him. Hoping for another chance to forget it all, he nodded. Ginny grinned and went to her tip toes to kiss him before she stole from the alcove as silently as he had come. When Harry had tucked himself back in his pants and left the alcove, he stepped out right in front of Hermione Black. She ran right into him and he wanted to catch her but knew that it would be wrong to catch her with the hand that smelled of Ginny's pussy. Therefore, she fell to the ground and cried out as she landed on her tail bone. Harry stepped forward and offered her the hand that wasn't soiled. She refused to take it, however, and kept her eyes downward and she tried to slip past him.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to run into you." Harry reached out and caught her elbow but she shook him off as if his touch burned.

"It was my fault, not yours. I'm sorry I didn't catch you." Hermione nodded slightly and tried to move forward again. He hadn't released her yet so she sighed and turned towards him fully.

"Please let me go. I'm trying to do as you asked and leave you alone and stay away from you. I can't do that when you're holding onto me." Harry knew that he had no right to hold her there but he kept hold for just a moment later.

"I am sorry. For everything." She finally raised her eyes to meet his and Harry could see the pain there.

"Please, if you want me to leave you alone, allow me to do so. Don't apologize when you're just going to do something hurtful again. We both know you feel guilty but your feelings haven't changed. You don't have to feel guilty about me. Just consider me someone who tried to be your friend but decided it wasn't a good idea. You don't have to be sorry. I got the message and I'll leave you alone. What more do you want?" Harry had a mountain of things that he wanted to say but he remained silent. It wouldn't be fair to her so he released her as she had asked. Instead, he muttered the words again.

"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry." She smiled at him sadly now.

"You don't have to be." Without another word, she was gone and he felt even worse about himself, mostly because she was right. Nothing had changed except that he felt bad about hurting her. She was doing as he had asked and he had no right to make things harder for her. He watched her scurry away and hated himself even more than before. Without another word, he turned and headed towards the Tower.

He would do anything to forget tonight but he didn't think that he could that lucky.

-O-

Severus grinned at his goddaughter as she explained what she had done to Pansy. He hadn't expected any less; everyone in the school had seen Pansy's kiss. They had both been raised to enjoy attentions from their other half but to keep it private. Pansy was truly not showing herself well and he had truly thought that his ruthless niece would have done something about it earlier.

They were laying on the couch together; or rather, he was sitting in the corner while she took up the rest of the couch with her feet in his lap. He was rubbing one absentmindedly while he listened to her prattle on. He could tell that something was bothering her but wasn't sure what it could be since putting Pansy in her place should have made her day. When her dialogue finally ended, he arched an eyebrow at her.

"Tell me what's bothering you, dearheart." She rolled to her side but didn't pull her foot from his grasp. She sighed and seemed to be contemplating what to tell him. Finally, after several minutes, she met his gaze.

"Can I trust you not to tell my father?" Severus glared at her. He would never betray her trust unless she was in danger.

"Unless you're in danger, I won't say a word." She sighed again and began.

"I realized that when Harry told me all those horrible things that I liked him. Not just as someone who should have been my brother, but I liked him, liked him. Now, he's snogging everyone he comes across and he just tried to apologize to me this evening. I saw Ginny Weasley leaving the alcove he was in and then he tried to tell me how sorry he is after he's the one who drove me away. It's just very confusing and it hurts even though I want to forget so badly. I want to forget Harry Potter but that won't ever be possible because of who he is to my dad. He'll always be there rubbing it in my face that I'm not good enough for him and it hurts." Severus reached down and pulled her hand until she was leaning against him. He hated teenaged drama more than anything but his goddaughter was in pain and he hated to see that.

"I'm sure I'm telling you what Draco has already told you. If Potter is too fucking stupid to realize how wonderful you are, he doesn't deserve you. You'll find someone who cherishes you for the treasure you are." His goddaughter nodded against his chest.

"I know, that's what I keep telling myself. It doesn't make it hurt any less though. How do you get past your first heartbreak?" Severus wanted to groan at her words but he didn't.

"You just cope as best you can and distract yourself until you're over it. Sometimes you won't ever be totally over it but it will hurt far less. As for Potter, he's a young boy. He's not going to get smarter, he's going to get dumber, just as Draco will. Don't sit around and wait for him. Don't give him the satisfaction. If the chance for happiness comes along, you grasp it with both hands and to hell with Potter. If you two are meant to be together, he has to pull his head from his arse first." He knew that she knew this but sometimes hearing it helped. She grinned against him and nodded.

"Thanks, Uncle Sev. I love you." He kissed the top of her head and grinned even though she couldn't see him.

"Love you too, princess." She pulled out of his grip and laid back down before grinning mischievously at him.

"You didn't finish my foot massage." He picked up his wand and sent a mild stinging hex at her backside. She yelped loudly and scowled at him before grinning unrepentantly.

"Brat." Even though she grinned at him, he still picked her foot back up and started massaging it again. The only female in his life laughed and started to regale him with tales from her afternoon, reminding him there were still good things in her life.

Severus grinned as he listened to his goddaughter enlighten him with the story of her day. He loved her more than anything and listened with a smile.

After all, she was worth it.

A/N- Just a little teenaged drama and angst. My daughter is thirteen and it's horrid. I don't know how I ever survived, I'm surprised my mother didn't murder me. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Thanks to everyone out there reading and reviewing, you guys are awesome! Leave me a message after the beep and leave me your thoughts.

Next chapter, Hermione shows up Ron in class and things explode.

Love,

Alicia


	56. Chapter 56

A/N- You guys are just amazing, thank you so much for supporting me through chapters that you don't necessarily agree with. I hope that this chapter sits better with you but I'm not going to hold my breath. Ron douchery up ahead! You guys can all thank SugarQueen93 for getting this chapter today. I came from work, threw my laundry in and took advantage of the children being at their grandparent's house.

**Shout out to Moonsong78 for being my 2000th reviewer. Seriously, you're awesome!**

Disclaimer: As always, I don't own a thing about this story. I have taken J.K.R.'s characters and twisted them into a story extremely different from her version. I tell myself she would approve but really, she probably wouldn't. Doesn't stop me from hoping! Still a broke bitch so I still haven't made any money from these stories.

Chapter 56

April 25, 1994

Hermione watched her cousin fondly as he started on his third helping of beef stew. She wasn't sure what he had done to work up such an appetite but she had an inkling that it had to do with Pansy. They had disappeared together just before lunch and had been thirty minutes late getting to the Great Hall. All Hermione had done was glare at her cousin and tell him that he had better have been more discreet than Pansy had been. He had told her that he had and left it at that.

Hermione didn't like thinking about what Draco got up to with Pansy, mostly because he was closer than a sibling and she couldn't stand Pansy. However, since Hermione had made clear that hanging around with Pansy would be suicide, the girl had only gotten worse, not better. She had spoken to Draco about it, only for it to turn into a row where she ended up hexing him for doing everything in his power to make Aunt Cissy cry. He had relented and admitted that she was right. After that day, she knew that the pair were still seeing each other but she hadn't seen proof of it. Therefore, she kept her mouth shut on the matter.

Hermione and Daphne had only grown closer in the month that Pansy had been on her own. It was nice having a girl friend that understood you, to a point at least, and didn't mind being smart and studying. As a result, Hermione found herself doing more fun things than she usually did, much to the twin's and Neville's delight. She would have spent more of this free time with Draco but he was always with Pansy or practicing quidditch. Truthfully, she missed her cousin but they were going to have to grow apart at some point and she had a feeling that that time was now.

The bell rang, signaling that lunch was over. Hermione did her best to hide her sigh. Next was Defense Against the Dark Arts and she was dreading it. Lupin no longer singled her out or sneered in her direction; now, he just acted like the she wasn't there, like she didn't exist. While it was an improvement from the beginning of the year, it was still frustrating.

Hermione knew that the werewolf was still seeing Harry after classes, she had walked past his classroom one evening and had seen them together. While she was happy that the Gryffindor had someone to rely on, it hurt because she knew that her father was getting the raw end of the deal. This whole conflict between her father and just about everyone in his life was because of Peter Pettigrew and his traitorous ways. She did her best not to dwell on it but it was hard sometimes to do that. Her father had been deeply hurt by Lupin believing him capable of selling their best friend out to the Dark Lord.

Hermione gathered her things and started for the door. She no longer waited for her cousin to escort her anywhere. He was rarely at her side anymore. Neville had done his best to step into the void but it just wasn't the same. Therefore, she no longer had chaperones when the other boys asked to escort her. While it hadn't become a problem yet, she a feeling that it would since she was getting older and a more reasonable age to sneak into alcoves. However, she refused to rely on her cousin when he had done all he could in the years past for her. He deserved time to make himself happy as well, even if it was in the arms of Pansy Parkinson, as sick as the thought made her. Hermione heard her cousin calling out to her, telling her to wait for him. She slowed but didn't stop. Draco was out of breath when he caught up to her, probably due to the fact that he hadn't been running with her in over a month.

"What's the deal? Why were you leaving without me?" Hermione couldn't believe what had just come out of his mouth. She turned to meet his gaze, her eyes flashing.

"Please tell me you're kidding." Draco glared at her.

"No, I wasn't." Hermione shook her head at him as she turned and started for class again. When he caught up to her, she whirled around to glare at him.

"If I waited for you, I would never make it to class. You haven't walked with me to class in a week. Last week, you walked with me one time. Why in the world would I wait for you? I'm just doing as you are, growing up and doing my own thing. It was bound to happen sometime." Understanding dawned on his features and he reached for her arm. She turned and started walking again, putting herself just out of reach.

"Miney, I didn't mean -." Hermione met his gaze with her impassive mask on.

"It doesn't matter. This was bound to happen and I haven't complained. I've made my own way, found escorts elsewhere. You deserve to make yourself happy and I won't begrudge you that. However, don't ask me why I don't wait for you anymore when you haven't bothered to see if I was actually alive for a month or more. I know you don't think its true, but I can take care of myself." He looked bereft but she wasn't in the mood to deal with it at the moment. They were at the door to Defense and she entered without another word.

Draco looked heartbroken when she took her now customary seat next to Daphne. He had left her table to sit next to Pansy three weeks ago and left her with nobody else at her table. Daphne had taken the seat and while it wasn't the same as being with her cousin, it was better than sitting with nobody. Daphne looked up and got a confused look on her face.

"Why does Draco look like he's about to cry?" Hermione kept her eyes on her bag as she pulled her things out to ready herself for class.

"Probably because he just realized that he's made himself scarce enough over the last month that I realized I don't need him to make sure I'm safe. It's called growing up and while I hate it, it's what is happening." Daphne nodded knowingly but didn't say anything else.

Professor Lupin breezed through the doorway of his office and shot sparks in the air. The class fell silent and paid attention; as much as Hermione didn't like the man, he was a good professor, a far better one than the professors they had had so far. He was well-liked by almost everyone, even the Slytherins though they would never admit it. He smiled pleasantly to the room before he started lecturing.

"Today's lesson is going to be over werewolves."

Hermione couldn't help but want to snicker. A werewolf was going to lecture a bunch of third year students on werewolves. She found the irony of it amusing. The Slytherin flipped through her notes and found her section on werewolves and started to pay attention to his words. To her great surprise, she added numerous little facts that he told them about that Madam Cambridge hadn't told her. She supposed that being one meant he had the inside scoop.

The whole class was spent in lecture with Professor Lupin assigning them an eighteen-inch essay over the differences between a wolf and a werewolf. Hermione couldn't help but grin to herself. She had done this exact assignment years ago when Madam Cambridge had assigned it; if only she had kept it. After the bell rang and Lupin dismissed their class, Hermione began to gather her things so she could put them back in her bag. Charms class was next and it was only two corridors away, meaning she had a few minutes to make sure that her things were orderly.

When Hermione looked up, she realized that Daphne had fled. Draco was standing at the door waiting on her. She sighed because she knew that Draco wasn't sure how to act but she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do. She had been cast to the wayside for Pansy Parkinson and had been forced to do things on her own. She had already accepted that they were growing apart but her cousin hadn't. She started for the door and even though he probably thought she would refuse his arm, Draco offered it. Without a word, she took it and they left Defense and started for Charms. Draco's voice was soft when he finally spoke.

"I'm sorry, Miney. I didn't realize how bad I had let it get. You're right though, I've totally blown you off for Pansy when I was the one to tell you that I would always have time for you. Can you ever forgive me?" Hermione sighed and rubbed her temple with her free hand.

"It's fine, Draco. I knew it was going to happen at some point. I warned you of that, remember? I knew that it was just a matter of time. Really, I've learned how live without you around all the time. I just want you to be happy. If Pansy is what makes you happy, I'll deal with it. I mean, I can't stand her but if she's your choice I'll live with it." Draco pulled her to a stop and she could tell that he felt horrid. She took his hand in hers and squeezed it with a small smile.

"I promise, it's alright." He shook his head no and she sighed. His eyes met hers and he sighed.

"I don't like Pansy like that, Miney. She's giving me blow jobs and they feel amazing. She annoys me most of the time." This made Hermione feel even worse. He hadn't ditched her for Pansy, he had ditched her for sexual favors. Her eyebrows drew inward and she couldn't help the hurt that bled through in her voice.

"You've completely ignored me for a month because she's sucking your dick? That makes me feel even worse. I thought that you genuinely liked her, that she meant something to you. I could understand coming after a girl you liked but coming after sexual favors? Glad to know that I mean so much to you." Hermione held back her tears and stomped past him. He called her name but she ignored it. She would try to talk to him after dinner but now, she was hurt, more so than she had been before talking to him. Why hadn't he just left well enough alone?

Hermione threw herself in her seat in the Charms classroom. Daphne had anticipated them making up and had sat next to Tracey. She started to get her things out of her bag when Draco slunk into the classroom and slid into the seat next to her. Pansy smiled and waved at him, gesturing for him to come sit with her but he ignored her. Hermione glared at him.

"Don't ignore her on my account." He didn't look at her but continued to ignore Pansy. She had just gotten her things situated when Professor Flitwick came in and grinned widely.

"Alright class, we're going to be learning the full body bind. I'm going to split you up into pairs and you're going to practice on each other." Hermione wanted to groan. Professor Flitwick was famous for pairing her with the worst students so she could help them. While she didn't mind helping Millie or Greg, she detested having to help Ron Weasley.

Sure enough, the Slytherin found herself paired with the hateful red head. Draco was paired with Pansy and even Hermione had to admit that he looked miserable. She fawned over him and patted his hair several times before he finally swatted her hand away. Daphne shot her a questioning look when she moved to sit next to Weasley since he would never move to sit next to her. Weasley glared at her while she settled herself next to him and set out her things again.

Professor Flitwick lectured for half the class period, teaching them the wand movement and the incantation. After he was sure that they had it down, their tiny professor bid them to spread out and start practicing. Hermione sighed and went to her feet, beckoning for Ronald to go first. He sneered her way.

"Why do I always have to go first?" Hermione sighed and rubbed her temples.

"Because I've been able to do this spell for years. Would you like me to show you?" She didn't give him a chance to answer; she whipped out her wand and gave it a wave.

"Petrificus totalus." Ron's legs and arms snapped to his body and he fell over backwards, landing on the hard floor. She winced, reminding herself to cast a cushioning charm on the floor behind her. She released the spell quickly and Ron was grumbling under his breath. She rolled her eyes.

"Would you like to try now?" He waved his wand without warning, much the same way she had. Hermione, however, didn't snap together and fall backwards. She sighed.

"Your wand movements are sloppy, you need to make the circle tighter." Ron sneered her way again.

"You really think you're something special, don't you? Let me tell you, Black, even your cousin has wised up and moved on. I mean, I hate Parkinson but she's better than you." Hermione didn't have anything to say in response and she was saved from having to by Professor Flitwick speaking.

"Well, we didn't get near the practice that I had hoped but we'll pick it up again next class. The bell is getting ready to ring, go ahead and gather your things and you may go early." Hermione praised Merlin under her breath and moved back to the desk to get her things together. She had stuffed her things back into her bag and stood to leave when she heard Draco's voice above all the others.

"Fuck, Pansy, you're not my girlfriend. I don't have to carry your bag, in fact, don't count on me ever doing that for you." Pansy looked dumbstruck but Hermione paid it no mind. What happened between Draco and Pansy was their business. She had just left the Charms classroom when a voice called out to her. She could only grit her teeth when she realized that it was Weasley.

"So, Black, how does it feel knowing that your cousin has left you behind for Parkinson? She must be a better shag." She knew that she should walk on and ignore him but the things he was implying weren't proper and there was no way that she could pretend she hadn't heard it. When Weasley realized that she was going to say something, he grinned at her.

"Truth hurts, doesn't it? She must suck better dick than you do." Hermione raised an eyebrow at him, aware that they were gathering a crowd. Draco hadn't emerged from the classroom yet. Hermione raised one eyebrow at him, doing her best to impersonate her Uncle Luci.

"First of all, the things you're implying are disgusting and not true. Second, if I was ever in competition with Parkinson, I would win hands down. Third, you're only spouting this complete trash because you know you're a second-rate wizard with a first-rate best friend. You'll never be able to compete with Harry Potter. He's everything you're not and the world is going to see you for the sidekick you are." She knew it was a low-blow but she was tired of him spouting complete shite. She was tired of seeing Harry with other girls and acting like it didn't hurt. She was tired of Draco ignoring her for the sexual favors of Pansy Parkinson. She supposed that Weasley's words were true to an extent. After all, Draco had ditched her for Parkinson. Well, her blow jobs.

Weasley, however, was turning a shade of scarlet. She wasn't sure if it was embarrassment or anger but she guessed that it was a little bit of both. The students around them were snickering, a mixture of Slytherin and Gryffindor alike. Hermione watched as Draco came out of the classroom and tried to make it to her side. She glared at him, silently telling him to stay back, that she was handling the problem herself. However, she never would have guessed how Weasley would react.

Hermione's attention was on her cousin, that was her mistake. Weasley's hand raised and he swung, Hermione not realizing until it was too late. The back of his hand caught her cheek like the Hogwarts Express. She had always been tiny, her mother's genes she was told. While she was strong, she still wasn't a match for Weasley physically. She was knocked to the floor and she could hear the crowd gasp. Her cheek was throbbing and she could taste blood.

Draco was yelling but Hermione didn't pay attention to what he was saying. Hermione rose to her feet, her magic swirling around her like a tornado that nobody could see. She could see Harry standing next to his friend, his jaw hanging open at what he had just seen. The Slytherin didn't even try to rein in her magic; she let it flow from her freely. Weasley slammed against the stone wall with a heavy thud and he began to rise. Nobody stepped in and she could see fear in most of her classmate's eyes. Draco came up behind her and laid his hands on her shoulders. However, since she was angry with him too she just threw his hands off of her.

"Don't try to calm me down, this waste of air deserves whatever he gets." Draco put his hands back on her shoulders and whispered in her ear.

"I know you're pissed, you have every right to be. However, if you hurt him, you'll get expelled." Hermione started laughing. She turned to face her cousin with mirth in her eyes.

"Why would I care about that? That just means that I'll get to take my N.E.W.T.s earlier, I won't have to deal with bullshite from anyone here, our illustrious defense professor won't have to deal with me, and you won't have to feel guilty for doing what you want." Draco cupped her cheeks with his hands.

"Miney, you promised everyone that you wouldn't hurt anyone." She felt a stab of guilt at his words. She had only promised not to take it as far as she had with Lavender again. She had no plans to do that, she was in control. However, she felt that Weasley deserved something in return for her black eye and bloody lip. She shook her head at her cousin.

"I'm in control. I'm not going to kill him. I swore I would never take it that far again. Why doesn't anyone trust me?" She let Weasley fall with a thud but since he was only a few feet above the ground, he was able to keep his feet when he landed. Hermione stepped forward until she was right in front of him.

"If you ever touch me again, I'll let my father and uncle have you. We'll see how you fare against the traitor and the Death Eater. That's how you describe them after all." She didn't get to say anything else since Lupin walked around the corner and spotted them. He shot sparks from his wand and everyone backed away. Hermione stayed in Weasley's space for another few seconds before stepping back. She turned to her father's ex-best friend and spoke in monotone.

"I'll just see myself to my Head of House for punishment." Lupin narrowed his eyes but Draco spoke before he could.

"You didn't do anything, you shouldn't be punished." Parvati stepped forward.

"She had him up against the wall and was going to drop him. She did drop him. She did plenty." Hermione turned her impassive gaze to Parvati and raised an eyebrow at her. The girl shrank away and into Harry's side. She couldn't help but notice that Harry didn't look like he knew what to think. Draco glared at the Indian girl and spoke again.

"Weasley backhanded her. Look at her face." Hermione didn't like feeling like she was on display but refused to back down. Her chin raised, mask still firmly on her features. Lupin stared at her for almost a minute before sighing and raking a hand through his sandy hair. With a wave of his wand, a wolf appeared and he gave it a message. Lupin sighed again and spoke.

"Mr. Weasley, who saw everything that happened?" He grinned.

"Harry, sir." Lupin nodded.

"I want Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, Mr. Malfoy, and Miss Black to head to the Headmaster's office with me. Everyone else head to the Great Hall for dinner." Hermione knew that this wasn't going to end well. Draco wrapped an arm around her waist and started to pull her after Lupin. Hermione glared at him, not in the mood for his babying. She had gone without it for a month and she was still hurt that it had happened because of sexual favors. However, when she saw his face, she left his arm where it was. He knew she was pissed and there was no point in making him feel worse.

They had to go down two floors to get to the Headmaster's office. Lupin led them through the griffin and into the large office. Professor McGonagall and her godfather were already there, as was the Headmaster. Both professors gasped at the sight of her face but only her godfather rushed forward to cup her face.

"I demand to know what happened." Draco glared at everyone in the room.

"I want Lord Black summoned at once." The Headmaster held up his hands.

"Now, now, this is simple case of a childhood argument. There is no need to get parents involved." Draco glared at the Headmaster and produced his wand. He waved it with a whispered spell, his dragon appearing. After giving it a whispered message, he turned back to the room.

"My cousin will be here momentarily. If you won't summon him, I will. I suggest you open your floo." Professor Cat came over and started to examine Hermione's face. While she wanted to pull away from her, she didn't. Her cheek was tender and she could feel her eye swelling. Professor McGonagall narrowed her eyes.

"Did nobody at least clean the blood from her face before walking her through the castle?" Hermione reached up and felt the corner of her mouth. Indeed, there was a trickle of blood there. She was getting ready to wipe it away when Draco grasped her wrist and shook his head no.

"I want your father to see your face." The Headmaster sighed and produced his own wand. The phoenix appeared and he gave it a message. When it had soared out of the room, he spoke.

"Arthur will be here as well. If we're going to do this with one parent, we may as well have both." Hermione didn't give a shite who he had come watch. She's take her punishment willingly. All she wanted to do was go back to her dorm and go to sleep.

The floo activated and Arthur Weasley stepped out, shaking soot from his robes. He turned to see who was gathered in the office and glared at his son. Ron was staring at the floor, completely unaware that his father didn't appear to be happy. Harry stood quietly at his friends' side though he appeared to be very nervous. Hermione supposed she couldn't blame him; he was going to come face to face with her father for the first time ever. Before anyone could speak, the floo activated again and her father stepped out, still in his Wizengamot robes. It was clear he had been called from the Ministry. He caught sight of her face and rushed to her side. His hands found her face and he cradled it gently.

"Sweetness, what happened? How did this happen to your face?" She said nothing, not sure she could answer without tearing up. She didn't want her father to be disappointed in her. Draco had no such problems, however.

"Weasley backhanded her. Her magic threw him against the wall and he started to rise up the wall. He only went up two or three feet when she released him." Hermione watched as her father's eyes clouded over and he started to lose control. A wind blew through the office and everyone looked confused. The Headmaster glared at her father.

"You need to control yourself, Sirius." Her father's head whipped around, fury dancing in his gaze.

"You may address me as Lord Black. Don't tell me to calm down when my daughter was struck in your school, somewhere she's supposed to be safe." Hermione stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her father, burying her face in his chest. His arms went around her and he buried his face in her hair.

"Calm down, Daddy. Don't give him a reason to throw you out." Her father sighed and the breeze disappeared. Her Uncle Sev was glaring at Weasley and she had a feeling that he was going to demand the pleasure of having him in detention. The Headmaster held up his hands again, trying to calm everyone.

"Why did Mr. Weasley strike Miss Black?" Hermione remained silent but Draco tried to help her.

"I'm not sure. I hadn't made it out of the classroom yet." Weasley snickered.

"Yeah, he was too caught up in Parkinson's spell." Hermione watched Draco glare at the redhead. Harry just shook his head as if he couldn't understand how his friend was that stupid. Dumbledore shook his head, exasperated.

"Miss Black, your side please." Hermione raised her chin again and met the Headmaster's gaze, her occlumency shields all in place.

"Weasley made a distasteful comment about how Draco and I were intimate and he had thrown me over for Pansy Parkinson. He then made another one about sexual acts that he thought we had taken part in. I told him that he was a second-rate wizard just trying to ride the coattails of Potter, that he was nothing more than a sidekick. It made him angry so he backhanded me. My magic threw him against the wall and started to pick him up. Draco tried to calm me down and I let him down." Her father smoothed her curls with one hand and glared at the redhead silently. The Headmaster turned to Ronald and raised an eyebrow.

"Are her words true, Mr. Weasley?" He sputtered for a moment and burst out, almost shouting.

"She was complete bitch in Charms, rubbing it in my face that I couldn't do the body-bind." Hermione raised her eyebrow imperiously.

"That's true if you consider instructing him how to do it properly as rubbing it in his face." The Headmaster sighed and rubbed a hand down his face. He turned to Harry.

"How much of what has been said here is true, Harry?" He didn't seem to realize that he was being spoken to since his eyes were fixed on her father. Once the Headmaster cleared his throat, Harry flushed.

"It's all true. She did tell him how to cast the spell correctly but she was clearly irritated because he couldn't cast it. Ron said those things, she said those things and he hit her. Her magic lashed out and threw him into the wall." Her Head of House turned his attention to her. He raised an eyebrow and she could see the amusement in his gaze.

"Why were you irritated that he couldn't cast the spell?" Hermione wanted to grin but she didn't.

"How would you feel if you were always partnered with someone that the teacher wanted you to help? Sure, Millie and Greg want my help so I don't mind. Weasley hates me and he doesn't want my help. I detest having to help him because he doesn't want it. He would rather struggle than have someone who has been able to cast the spell for years help him." Draco smirked but remained silent. Her father snorted and Arthur glared at him. The Headmaster help up his hands again to stave off comments.

"I am going to give Mr. Weasley a month of detention. Who oversees it will change from day to day with whoever is available. Miss Black will serve a week of detention under the same stipulations. Mr. Weasley will lose fifty points for Gryffindor and Miss Black will lose twenty-five." Her godfather glared at the Headmaster.

"That's hardly fair, Headmaster. You took a hundred and fifty points from Miss Black last year for something she did against another student. You only take fifty from a Gryffindor?" Dumbledore glared at her uncle.

"Last year, neither student received detention." Uncle Sev snorted.

"No, because Miss Black was petrified for over four months. Miss Brown was never punished with detention either, yet she only lost twenty points. By that reasoning, it would only be fair for Mr. Weasley to lose more points while Miss Black serves no detention." Hermione could feel her father shaking with laughter but he didn't look like he was laughing at all. Dumbledore glared.

"I am assigning him a month of detention and taking less points. That seems fair since Miss Black served none last year. As for the witch in question, she will lose her points and serve only one detention." Professor McGonagall smiled at the room.

"That sounds fair to me. I want to say that as Head of Gryffindor house, I am deeply disappointed in your actions, Mr. Weasley." Ron dropped his head and stared at the ground. Arthur spoke for the first time.

"Trust me, this will be handled once the summer arrives. His mother and I will figure out an appropriate punishment." Sirius glared at the man and Hermione could tell that he wanted to be an arse to the man. Before he could, however, Arthur squeezed his son's shoulder and spoke with a hard voice.

"You will apologize to Miss Black this very moment. You will do it sincerely or you won't touch your broom for the whole summer." Ron paled and turned to Hermione. He bowed his head formally, showing that he had indeed been taught the proper ways.

"I apologize for hitting you, Miss Black. I hope that you can someday forgive my atrocious behavior." Hermione wanted to remain silent, she wanted to leave him hanging but she couldn't. Her aunt had taught her that even if she had no plans of forgiving something, you accepted it and kept that person close. Friends close and enemies closer, she always told her. She curtsied just a tiny bit.

"I accept your apology, Mr. Weasley." Harry looked confused but didn't say anything. Arthur stepped forward and offered his hand to her father. He looked dumbfounded but shook the redhead's hand.

"On behalf of the Weasley family, I formally apologize for my son Ronald's behavior. We will do our best to remedy the situation in the coming months." Her father looked like he wanted to rip Arthur's head off for a few moments before he nodded imperiously.

"Please do. I would hate to have to act against him formally. Believe it or not, I don't like dealing with this unpleasantness." Arthur nodded his head.

"I understand. I'm not really a fan of it either." Her father nodded and turned his attention back to Hermione. He kissed her forehead and brushed her hair back from her face.

"I want you to go straight to the Hospital Wing and get Poppy to fix you up. I'd do it myself but you don't want donkey ears." Hermione laughed softly and she could tell that he wanted to say something to Harry. However, by law, he couldn't. Not until Harry came to him first.

"You aren't disappointed in me?" She knew that everyone could hear her but they were kind enough to act like they couldn't. He smiled cupped her cheeks softly again.

"I am most certainly not disappointed in you. You're the light of my life, poppet." Hermione smiled at him while he turned to Draco.

"You are to take her to the Hospital Wing right now." Hermione bristled and glared at her father.

"I don't need Draco to escort me everywhere. I'm perfectly capable of walking two floors on my own." Her father stared at her for a few moments and she could have sworn that he could see right into her mind. However, she felt no pricks against her shields. Finally, he looked back and forth between Draco and herself.

"I don't know what has happened between you two. Fix it. You are each other's best friend and you will never meet someone else that will know you like you know each other. Don't piss that away on something stupid." Hermione sighed, exasperated. She wasn't going to rat Draco out to her father but he couldn't possibly understood how she felt. Draco nodded and looked to the ground.

"Yes, sir." Her father clapped Draco on the shoulder.

"No need for sirs right now. I'm not angry. Just don't throw this away. You'll regret it the rest of your lives." Hermione felt just a little bit bad for her part in their argument. She really hadn't been angry about any of it until she discovered that he had thrown her over for blow jobs. Hermione sighed and nodded.

"Yes, daddy." He kissed her on the head and hugged her one last time.

"I must go inform Lucius what happened. He was frantic when I left." She laughed softly.

"I love you. Tell Aunt Cissy and Uncle Luci I love them too." Her father nodded.

"I love you as well, sweetness." He turned to Draco and shook his hand.

"I thank you for calling for me. I'll tell your mother you love her." Draco nodded and stepped back to Hermione's side. Her father turned and stepped back through the floo, calling out for Malfoy Manor rather than the Ministry. Arthur was having words with Ron and Harry appeared to be waiting on him. Professor McGonagall was standing next to them, adding her own two sense into the conversation. Their godfather stepped forward and laid a hand on both their shoulders and walked them through the door. Once they were down in the corridor again, he glared at them and crossed his arms over his chest.

"What's going on between the two of you? You're usually never apart and now you're never together. Draco, you haven't practiced dueling with us in ages and I know you aren't running anymore." Hermione glanced at her cousin before she spoke first.

"Just kid's stuff. Don't worry, there won't be any problems." Uncle Sev snorted at her words.

"For a Slytherin, you're really terrible at lying. I won't push, it's really not my business, but I want this fixed. Especially now. You can't possibly think that there won't by any retaliation. You need to look after each other." Hermione growled at her godfather.

"I can take care of myself. I've proven for the last month that I don't need anyone to care for me." He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Really? Why is that we're in this predicament then? How close were you to really hurting that boy?" Hermione felt like she had been slapped in the face. Did her word mean nothing to those she loved? She took a step back from her godfather and slid her mask back into place.

"We're in this predicament because Ronald Weasley thinks it's hilarious that Draco has thrown me over for Pansy Parkinson. We're in this situation because he's a fucking prick who can't control his temper. As for how close I was to hurting him, I was nowhere near as angry as you all think I was. Yes, I wanted to hurt him but I was crushing Lavender's chest. I threw him against a wall. Big difference. You know, if I can't be trusted around other people, maybe I should just go home and study there. I'll be less of a danger. Why would it ever make sense that my magic would protect me against someone who had caused me harm?" She dashed a tear from her cheek and stepped further away.

"I'll just head to the Hospital Wing now. Don't worry, an escort isn't needed." Before either one of them could speak again, she turned and fled. She was doing her absolute best to keep her emotions in check.

Hermione found her own way to the Hospital Wing and was led to a bed by Madam Pomfrey. She fetched her a potion for pain and one for bruising. With a couple waves of her wand, her eye was healed and the swelling was gone. The cut on her mouth was healed and she felt better. After the mediwitch reminded her to get plenty of rest and drink lots of water, Hermione gathered her bag once more and left the Hospital Wing. However, once she was a corridor down, her cousin and godfather came up on either side of her and pulled her into the empty classroom on their right. Her godfather silenced and warded the room before he turned back to her, eyes flashing in anger.

"Don't you ever walk away from me like that again, young lady." She could hear the fury in his voice and she dropped her eyes to the floor. Her mask appeared again and she clasped her hands in front of her, trying not to cry. Draco was silent next to her.

"I don't know what your problem is today but don't take your problems with Draco out on me. Don't lie to me either, I know that you took that anger at Draco out on Weasley. Sure, he was a little cretin but you were already angry and wanting to fight. You forget, little girl, it took you years to master occlumency. I know your mind better than you do." Draco stepped closer to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She wanted to burrow into his side but she refused. She wanted to be taken seriously and that would never happen if she cowered behind her cousin every time someone was angry at her. Finally, she took a deep breath and raised her eyes to meet her godfather's. He was still furious but she wasn't going to crumble in front of him.

"I apologize, sir. My actions were reprehensible and they won't happen again." Uncle Sev snorted.

"That's what you said the last time. Your father may be fine with this behavior, but I expected better, Hermione." Hermione felt like she had just been punched in the gut. Her eyes went back to her feet and she tried her best not to fidget. Draco spoke softly.

"That's harsh, Uncle Sev." Hermione shook her head.

"Don't Draco, he isn't lying. I should be better. I'll work on fixing the problem." Her godfather still glared but he waved them away.

"Get back to the common room. I don't want to hear of any problems either." Hermione nodded before she turned and fled. With a wave of her wand, she dispelled the spells her godfather had placed on the door. Draco was right behind her the whole way. It wasn't until they were one corridor away from the common room that he grabbed hold of her wrist and pulled her into an alcove. He pulled her close and while she didn't fight him, she stiffened. Draco wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. Hermione let a few tears release while her face was hidden but she held the rest of them back ruthlessly.

"Miney, he was wrong. He's angry and he was scared. He was scared that you were hurt and he hadn't done anything to protect you." Hermione shook her head and laughed wetly.

"He has a fucked-up way of showing he cares. It doesn't matter, he's right. I should be better." Draco pulled her head up so he could cradle her face in his hands.

"He's going to feel terrible once he calms down. Mark my words." She shook her head.

"He won't. He said exactly what he was thinking, whether he wanted to or not. You know he doesn't say things he doesn't mean. He might regret hurting me but that won't mean it's not the truth." Draco started to run his fingers through her curls and Hermione stepped back.

"We better get back to the common room before he realizes we aren't there. You know that portrait spies for him." Draco's eyebrows raised.

"I didn't know that actually. I still want to talk to you." He sighed and looked extremely guilty.

"I know that I hurt you and I am so sorry. I shouldn't have just ditched you. You took it well, you never complained and you were never a bitch about it. I didn't realize I was doing it as much as I was, not until you pointed out that I hadn't walked you to class in ages. I haven't been doing my school work from Madam Cambridge and I haven't been running or dueling. I've let a lot of things fall to the wayside because Pansy has distracted me." Hermione shook her head.

"It's your life, Draco. You can do as you please, I'm not angry you're spending time with her. I just thought that you genuinely liked her. I feel like I'm not shite to you either when you choose blow jobs over spending time with me. I don't even ask for all your time, just to remember that I'm alive and living in the castle with you. That you remember that even if you don't miss me, I do miss you. I just want a little time, not all of it." He pulled her in close again and hugged her tight. He kissed the top of her head over and over again.

"I told Pansy to fuck off. I can't say that I won't ever mess around with her but she was making me forget about my family. You're my best friend, like Sirius said. You'll always be more important than a girl who gives me sexual favors." Hermione sniffled softly.

"It didn't feel like I was." He held her silently for almost a minute.

"I know. I can't tell you how sorry I am about that either. Let me prove to you that you are." She smiled a little and shook her head.

"No, that won't be necessary. Just walk me to class a couple times a week and I'll be good." He wiped her tears away and smiled.

"Until I have a girlfriend to walk to class, you'll be the one I'm walking with. I know that I'm just using Pansy but it isn't fair to make her think that we're a couple by doing things like that. If she's going to do things with me, she needs to know what she's getting into." Hermione really didn't want to talk about Pansy and what she was giving Draco so she just nodded.

"Want to sleep in my bed tonight?" She glared at him.

"Have your sheets been washed since Pansy has been there?" He grinned at her.

"Pansy has never been in my bed. Only you, Miney." She leaned against him and giggled softly.

"Alright. I'll go get changed and meet you in there." He tugged a curl and released her.

"Get moving then, I'm exhausted. Too much drama for one day."

Hermione hurried in front of him before she started jogging ahead.

"Catch me if you can. You're the one who's out of shape." He broke out into a run after her, smile bright on his face.

He chased her all the way to the common room, Hermione laughing the whole way.

-O-

Harry wasn't sure what to think about being so close to Lord Black. He had seemed so different compared to what he had been led to believe about him. Everyone made him sound like a cold monster that didn't care about anyone but himself. However, it was clear that he loved his daughter very much. Harry could tell that he cared about Malfoy as well.

Harry couldn't help but notice that Professor Lupin had stared at Lord Black. His eyes had never left him and while there was hatred abound there, there was also something else there that he couldn't quite place. There had been no words exchanged between the two but the tension had been palpable.

The most surprising thing of the entire evening was that Lord Black had accepted the apology of Arthur and shaken his hand. Neville had explained months before that he would have the power to punish the Weasleys for any slight to his family but he hadn't seen evidence of him wanting to do that tonight. Sure, he had basically said that he would bring formal charges against Ron is something like this had happened again but that had been all.

Not that Harry was stupid enough to think that the man hadn't been angry. It had been obvious that the phantom breeze had come from Lord Black. Dumbledore had even told him that he needed to calm down. Harry didn't think that the man would have calmed as quickly as he did if it hadn't been for Hermione stepping forward.

He and Ron had just returned to Gryffindor Tower and the redhead was silent. Nobody in the common room said a word, just watched the pair warily. Fred and George openly glared at their brother while Ginny looked triumphant. Harry wasn't sure why she looked so happy but he supposed it didn't matter. Ron went up to their dorm room and Harry followed, furious at his friend. Once they were alone in the empty dorm room, Harry turned on his friend and let his anger out.

"I can't believe you hit Black! Not only did you hit someone that could fuck your family up, you hit a girl! You didn't play hit her, you backhanded her and put your weight into it. You gave her a black eye and cut her lip. Is that acceptable behavior in the wizarding world? Have I missed that this is okay?" Ron started to speak but Fred, George, and Neville entered. They were all glaring and the twins looked as though they were going to murder Ron. Neville's voice was cold as ice.

"It's been known to happen in pureblood circles, though it's usually a husband hitting his wife. It's still frowned upon but it does happen. However, for a man to just randomly strike a female doesn't happen all that often." Harry raked a hand through his unruly hair.

"I can't believe that I watched you hit a girl. You insinuated that she was fucking her cousin, did you really think she wouldn't retaliate?" Ron started to pace.

"I really didn't think at all. She makes me feel so fucking stupid and I couldn't let her go without giving her hell about Malfoy ditching her for Parkinson. Everyone knows she's sucking his dick. She tells everyone that will listen. When she said those things about me, playing on my insecurities, I lost it. I didn't set out to hurt her, I didn't plan on hitting her. I just lost my temper." Harry was still livid but he felt better knowing that his friend hadn't set out to hit Hermione Black. He growled at his friend.

"I can't be friends with someone that thinks it's acceptable to hit women. It isn't. It's so fucked up. You are three times bigger than she is and probably three times stronger. She's tiny! You're big for your age. If you wanted to fight her, you should have challenged her to a duel so it would have been equal." Ron started to sputter.

"That wouldn't have been equal, she's stupid smart. She would kill me in a duel." Harry glared at his friend.

"It's magic against magic, not five foot, ninety pounds against five six, a hundred and fifty pounds. It's not her fault you don't apply yourself to learning." Ron was glaring now.

"It sounds like you want her, mate. You're awfully bent out of shape over Hermione Black getting hurt. Don't you remember what her father did?" Harry waved his hand, not even meaning to throw Ron against the wall silently and wandlessly.

"It has nothing to do with her father, it has to with you being a cowardly piece of shite. I can't talk to you anymore until you can make me believe you when you say you're sorry you hurt her. No, I don't want to be friends with her but what you did isn't right. You provoked her and then you hit her when she fought back. That's cowardly and you're supposed to be a Gryffindor. Get your shit together before you talk to me again." Harry didn't wait for Ron to say anything else. He grabbed his pajamas and headed for the bathroom, determined to take a shower and hope that it calmed him down.

After all, he didn't think it was possible for him to get angrier.

-O-

Severus sat in front of his fire, a tumbler of fire whiskey in his hand. He was going to get ridiculously drunk after his confrontation with his goddaughter. He probably didn't deserve it but he was going to do it regardless.

Albus was livid at his intervention. He had returned to the Headmaster's office after receiving a summons. He had berated him for half an hour over sticking his nose in business that wasn't his. Severus had finally lost his temper and told the man that he was sick and tired of his blatant favoritism of his lions. He promised him that he would always strive for equality in punishments, especially when it was against someone that was rarely in trouble.

He had overreacted when he had confronted Hermione. It was true, he knew that she had taken her anger for Draco out on Weasley but how was he any different than what she had done? He had taken his anger and fear of her being hurt and crushed his goddaughter. He knew she had been fighting tears ruthlessly; like he had told her, he knew her mind better than she did.

Another thing he would have to apologize, truth be told. Hermione had had the hardest time learning occlumency. Where Draco had learned it in just over six months, it had taken Hermione years. Four to be exact. She struggled with her emotions and she did her best to hide them. Draco had always been better at that than her. Truthfully, he didn't think that anyone saw Draco's true emotions but Hermione. Severus had throw the one thing she struggled with in her face.

All in all, he had hurt her terribly.

He was going to apologize first thing in the morning. He had watched his godchildren enter the dorm room and later, Hermione sneaking into her cousin's dorm. He was sure that she was going to sleep with him. The falling out the two of them had had hurt her a lot but she never complained. He assumed that it had something to do with Miss Parkinson. Severus wasn't so blind that he didn't know that his godson was involved with the chit. It was quite clear that it was sexual in nature and that he had no attachment to the girl at all. Hermione must have gotten hurt and jealous at the fact that he was more interested in Pansy than herself.

The fact remained that Severus should have been there to protect her. His guilt sat heavy on his chest. It just added to him reprimanding Hermione so harshly. He should have been there and he hadn't. It had been heart-wrenching to see Hermione's face bruised and bleeding. He couldn't lie and say that he didn't want to murder Weasley on the spot. He knew that he wasn't a good man but he had accepted it long ago. His family accepted it as well. Hell, Lucius and Sirius were just as bad when it came to Hermione.

He threw back the rest of his whiskey. Sirius had come face to face with not only Harry Potter but Remus Lupin as well. No words had been exchanged but Severus could tell that it affected his friend. He wished that the truth would come out sooner rather than later since it was getting tedious trying to keep his relationship with Hermione to himself. She really was the light of his life, he loved her more than anything.

Severus wiped a hand down his face. The whiskey's effect had hit him and he was ready for bed. He would have to be somewhat sober by the time he faced Hermione in the morning. He would apologize and tell her that she hadn't disappointed him, that he had been disappointed in himself. Of course, she would tell him that it wasn't his fault, that he couldn't protect her single moment of the day. However, while he knew that her words were the truth, he couldn't help but feel that it was part of his duty as her godfather. He had given an oath to protect both her and Draco with everything he had.

He sighed one last time and went to his feet. It had been a long day and an even longer night. Tomorrow was going to come bright and early in the morning. He departed for his quarters, vowing to head straight to bed. He needed sleep after all.

A/N- Wow, this chapter is a monster and I wrote it in four hours. Thank Jesus it's done. Thanks to everyone out there reading and reviewing once again. Without you guys, this story wouldn't be as far along as it is. Anyways, leave me a message after the beep, reviews are love.

Next chapter, the truth comes out. Finally.

Love,

Alicia


	57. Chapter 57

A/N- You guys are just amazing. Just short of 75 reviews to the last chapter. I don't even know how to respond to that. I can't thank you enough for the reviews and support I get from each chapter posted. I want to say that I wrote this chapter as fast as I could in order to get it to you. If there are more mistakes than usual, that's why. I also couldn't answer about a third of my reviews…ffn kept saying invalid message. If you didn't get a response, I humbly apologize.

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing about this story. Everything about it has been done before from pureblood Hermione to idiot Ron to manipulative Dumbledore. There is nothing new under the sun as my mama likes to say. I haven't made any money from this story or any of my others. I'm a broke bitch, I wouldn't lie.

Chapter 57

May 30, 1994

Hermione sighed happily. Arithmancy had just dismissed and it was her last class of the day. While she usually didn't mind going to class, today was a Friday close to the end of school year. There was only two more weeks of school and they would be full of exams. As much as she loved learning and Hogwarts in general, this had been a long year.

Draco had promised to go with her out on the grounds after dinner to help her feed the poor yellow lab that had been hanging around most of the year. The beast was always starving and looked quite feral but it had always been perfectly lovely to her, going so far as to lick her hands after she petted and fed it. He had even learned how to play fetch with a stick that she had gotten from the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

Things had gotten better between herself and her cousin. He still occasionally spent time with Pansy but it was only a couple times a week now. The rest of his time was spent with his friends and Hermione, doing his schoolwork and dueling. He had even started rising early again so he could run with her. She had had quite the time running circles around him and laughing when he had thrown up after being determined to match her distance. Now, however, he had gained his stamina back and she could no longer gloat.

Draco had even taken to paying attention to Daphne and giving her small compliments. There were times that she suspected he liked her more than he claimed but she couldn't be sure since he was still receiving certain favors from Pansy. He hadn't told her so but Pansy didn't know how to keep a secret. Things were decidedly frosty in their dorm room but Hermione didn't let it bother her. Of course, Pansy wasn't going to like her after everything that had been said and done between them. Hermione was sure that the Slytherin girl knew that she didn't like her as well.

Her cousin escorted her to the Great Hall and took her bag from her to lay it on the ground. After taking her usual seat at the Slytherin table, Hermione turned her attention to the rest of the Hall. Harry was already seated at the Gryffindor table, Weasley sitting next to him. They hadn't been sitting together or speaking for the last month, the whole school had been talking about it. It had only been in the last few days that they had begun to do so again. She was unsure as to what had happened between them but she would likely never discover what it was. Both boys hated her and would never share information like that with her or anyone that would tell her.

Fred and George were sitting with Neville, further down the table from Harry. Harry had joined them quite a bit over the past month that he hadn't been sitting with Ronald. Now that they weren't needed, however, they were sitting with a couple of the girls that played on the quidditch team. Hermione couldn't remember their names but since she had never had any interaction with them, she couldn't find any reason to dislike them.

Lupin was sitting at the High Table next to Professor McGonagall, a severe look on his face. He didn't look well and Hermione attributed that to it being the night of the full moon. She had helped her godfather brew his wolfsbane the last couple months so she was well-aware of what the side effects of the potion could be. She was just unsure if his general look of unhealthiness was due to the upcoming moon or the potion.

Her godfather was seated on the other side of Professor Cat. He paid nobody any attention until the Headmaster said something to him. He then glared at the older man until he laughed, turning his attention away from her uncle. Uncle Sev turned back to his meal but not before catching her eye for a brief moment.

*Flashback*

Draco took her bag from her and threw it over his shoulder before wrapping his arm around her waist and smiling down at her. She remembered a time when her cousin had been smaller than she was, especially since she was almost a full year older than he was. Now, though, she had to look up to him and he outweighed her by quite a bit. Hermione had always been on the small side, her Uncle Luci told her that her mother had been exactly the same. While it was sometimes annoying that she had to be so little compared to everyone else, she liked having something in common with her mother aside from her icy blue eyes.

He guided her from the common room and towards the stairs that led out of the dungeons. The pair didn't make it far when their Head of House stepped around a corner and stood in front of them. Hermione lowered her eyes at once and remained silent. Draco squeezed her waist just a little before he spoke.

"Professor Snape, how can we help you today? We're just heading to breakfast together." Hermione couldn't see her godfather's expression since her eyes were cast downward. She hated that her godfather intimidated her so much but she didn't like that he knew her so well. Not when he used her weaknesses and insecurities against her.

"When do the pair of you plan to practice together?" Hermione knew that he was talking about dueling and she didn't know the answer. She and Draco hadn't discussed it since he had gotten up early and went running with her. The Slytherin could feel the tension in her cousin's frame but he sounded completely at ease. It was a talent she was insanely jealous of.

"We haven't really discussed it but I'm sure that it will be either tonight or tomorrow evening since I have quidditch practice Thursday night." Uncle Sev made a sound that made her think he was agreeable. Hermione, however, didn't want to practice at the moment. The last thing she wanted was another person that was angry with her or hated her throwing spells at her. She had learned from experience that it usually didn't go well for her, as evidenced by the rebroken hand Lupin had given her. Not that her Uncle Sev was anything like Lupin but she knew that he could volatile when he was angry.

Her train of thought derailed when she felt the lightest brush against her mind. It didn't feel as though someone was trying to break through her shields; more like, someone was trying to get a feel for her emotions. Either way, she knew that Draco would never violate her in that way, just as she would never do it to him. Her eyes flew upward and her magic pushed her godfather away from her. Draco looked startled but understood completely at her words.

"It might have taken me years to learn occlumency but make no mistake. You won't get through my shields without me letting you in now. You have no right." Her godfather nodded and held his hand out, beckoning them to enter the door on his left.

"Come with me." Hermione glared at him but did as he asked. Once the door was closed, locked, silenced, and warded, he turned and met her gaze.

"I wasn't trying to break through your shields, Hermione, you know that. I brushed against your mind, trying to see what your emotional state was so I would know how best to handle this situation." Hermione continued to glare.

"What situation?" He stepped forward and cupped her face in his hands. She knew that her features were still hard but she couldn't help but soften inside just a little.

"Me apologizing to you for being an absolute horror." Hermione knew her eyes widened but she refused to speak. There was no way that she was going to muck things up and earn herself more censure from her uncle. He seemed to know exactly what she was thinking because he smiled at her softly.

"I was horrid to you and I really have no good excuse. I should have never said those things to you and I can't tell you how sorry I am." Hermione wanted to accept it immediately but she couldn't in good conscience do that. Her uncle had been right, sure, he had been hurtful but his opinion had been right. She shook her head and looked down to her feet again.

"No, you have nothing to apologize for. You were right, I should be better. I acted in anger and I shouldn't have." Her godfather released her face and lifted her chin.

"I wasn't right. I felt so guilty because I hadn't been there to protect you from the Weasley spawn and I took it out on you. I took my anger at Weasley out on you just like you did to Weasley. I did the same thing. I should have acted better but I didn't. I am so sorry and I hope that you can someday forgive me." Hermione could only remember one occurrence where her godfather had had to apologize for something. It would be rather churlish of her to not accept his apology. She smiled just a tiny bit.

"I forgive you, Uncle Sev. I really am sorry, though. I never meant to take my anger out on someone." His eyes clouded over.

"You shouldn't have but he deserved it. He's lucky that we were in school, otherwise I would have showed him a new hex or two." She chuckled softly. She really wanted to hug him but didn't know if he would be alright with that since he had been angry with her just the night before. As if he knew exactly what she wanted, he opened his arms. She rushed at him, slamming into his chest and hugging him as tightly as she could. He pressed several kisses to the top of her head before he ran his hand down the length of her curls.

"I love you, princess." She nodded against his chest.

"I love you too, Uncle Sev." She finally stepped away from him and smiled.

"We'll both be better." He chuckled under his breath before he shooed her to the door.

"Get to breakfast, impertinent child." Hermione laughed as Draco led her out of the classroom and up the stairs to the Great Hall.

*End of Flashback*

Hermione turned to the meal that her cousin had spooned up for her and started to eat. Draco had already started and was almost finished with his first plate of chicken and dumplings. She caught sight of Pansy glaring at her but she didn't let it bother her. Daphne was sitting a couple people down from Pansy, between Theo and Tracey. Even though she was being quite sneaky, Hermione saw her watching Draco several times through the meal.

After her meal was finished, she banished her bag back to her dorm room. Draco had another serving of dinner but he followed her lead when he pushed his plate away. She smiled brightly at him which made him roll his eyes at her. While she had always adored animals, just about any kind of animal, Draco wasn't usually too fond of them. He was going along solely to make her happy and to make sure that she wasn't alone while Rookwood was still at large.

Hermione threaded her arm through his and pulled him to the door that led out to the quidditch pitch, even though they wouldn't be going near it. The lab had been hanging out by the Forbidden Forest closer to Hagrid's hut. Truthfully, she wondered how the large man hadn't caught the dog and made it his pet already. For all she knew though, he had tried and the dog had tried to eat him. The poor beast hadn't seemed to like Ginny Weasley when she had tried to feed him last week.

Since they weren't working on a deadline, it was a Friday after all, Hermione set their pace at leisurely. She and Draco made small talk between them, mostly what their plans were for the upcoming summer. Her cousin had laughed at her when she confided in him that she was going to convince both her Uncle Luci and Uncle Sev to take her to the library in Alexandria to see the ancient scrolls. Her father would have no problems telling her no, he wasn't the intellectual that she and her uncles were, but she knew that they would want to take her badly. She had wanted to go for years and had just met the age requirement this year. Draco planned to go to the quidditch world cup and told Hermione that if she would accompany him, he would go with her to Alexandria if she could get her way.

It seemed as though the yellow lab had been waiting for them. He whined when Hermione went to her knees in front of him and pulled the enormous bag of food from the kitchen out of her robe pocket and enlarged it. Once it was all laid out, the dog began to gulp it down quickly. It was clear that even with the food that she brought out every few days, it was still starving. She wondered if she could convince her father to just let her bring it home as a pet. While she knew that Tenebris would get along with a dog, he had no problems with her father after all, but she wasn't sure that Padfoot would handle it well.

After the dog had inhaled all the food she had brought, she scratched him behind the ears for a few minutes. Out of nowhere, the dog growled and then backed away, his ears laid back. Hermione was stunned since this wasn't his normal behavior. She crawled backwards quickly, her fear of dogs returning full-fledged. It had taken her the whole school year to get past her fear of this dog and now he was growling and looked as though he wanted to eat her. Draco helped her to stand and pulled her back, clearly wanting her out of reach of the dog.

As quickly as the dog had shown up was as quickly as he disappeared back into the Forest. Hermione wasn't sure what had happened or if he was going off to hunt something but she counted herself lucky that he hadn't gone after her. Maybe feeding a feral dog hadn't been such a good idea after all. Draco wrapped his arm around her shoulder and smiled at her as he started to guide her back towards the castle.

"I'm sure he went off to hunt something." She nodded and let him pull her away from the line of the Forbidden Forest. While Hermione was confident that she could handle the beasts only a little way into the Forest, her first year flashed in her mind and she couldn't help but admit that being near it made her nervous. Once her eyes had focused on the horizon, she caught sight of Harry, Ron, and Parvati headed their way. Parvati was in the lead and the boys seemed like they were trying to stop her from whatever she was doing.

Hermione watched as the Indian girl drew nearer and nearer, her eyes dancing with anger. She had a feeling that this wasn't going to end well and she wanted to groan. Hadn't this year been horrid enough? Harry looked apologetic but Weasley was now smirking at them. Hermione was stunned when Parvati launched herself at Draco, her hand coming out to slap him right across his cheek. His face only turned a little bit but the handprint on his cheek looked like it was scarlet against his alabaster coloring. The Indian girl was yelling at him.

"Your family needs to fall from grace now, Malfoy, Black with you. Your father levied ridiculous fines against my family for bringing a flying carpet into the country when we relocated. Do you know how long we've lived here? This is clearly retaliation and the Wizengamot is going to hear about how your father and Lord Black are showing favoritism to Voldemort's followers." Hermione reined in her fury and stepped forward. Rather than reach for her wand, she reached up and grabbed the girl's hair, jerking it hard enough to bring her to her knees. Weasley started to step forward but Harry held an arm out in front of his chest, keeping him from getting in the middle of it. Hermione balled up her fist and hit the girl in the face, the first punch she had ever thrown. It wasn't great but she didn't think it was too terrible either. Her hand throbbed and she belatedly remembered her father's advice to keep her thumb on the outside of her fist. Parvati had a hand over her face, clearly surprised that Hermione had hit her. Her voice was ice cold when she spoke.

"You will never strike my cousin again. If he needs someone to hit him, it will be me. I warned you once before that you would be sorry if you kept fucking with my family. As for your father, we don't give a shite. We aren't in the Wizengamot, our fathers are. If they levied fines against your father for breaking the law, then he deserved it. Everyone knows that flying carpets aren't allowed to be used in this country. To have, no, but it seems that nobody would have known about it if it had been moldering away in your attic." Hermione felt her cousin lay a hand between her shoulders and she pulled back slightly.

"I really don't care if your father takes it to the Wizengamot. As stupid as that is, since it would be convincing the body of Wizengamot members to admit to using favoritism of their fellow friends and members. Not very ethical, I agree, but that's the way our world works. Perhaps your father should hide his illegal activities better, if he doesn't want fines. From now on, know that if you move against my family again, I won't punch you. I'll use my wand. We both know that I'm much better with it." Her cousin pulled on the back of her robes so she was out of reach of everyone. Harry was staring at her as if he couldn't believe that she had hit his friend. Weasley looked livid. His face was turning red and his hands were clenched into fists.

"You can't just hit her like that. We're going to report you." Hermione snorted at him and raised her chin.

"I'll report myself. She attacked my cousin without any provocation. I defended him with one single blow and then desisted. I didn't use magic at all so good luck telling everyone that I almost killed her. You Gryffindors won't get away with that one again." Draco stepped forward protectively, the handprint standing out even more now that his skin was starting to swell slightly. She hoped that the welt wouldn't bruise. Harry got in the middle of them and held his hands out to each side to keep them from advancing on each other again.

"Nobody is going to snitch to anyone about any of this. Parvati shouldn't have hit Malfoy and Black shouldn't have hit her. Honestly, both girls will get in trouble if we got to the professors. We'll heal Parvati and you heal Malfoy and we'll forget this encounter happened." Hermione crossed her arms in front of her chest even though her aunt would be berating her if she could see.

"Why should I agree to that? I did nothing wrong. I defended my cousin from an attacker that he would never fight back against. Patil came out of nowhere and hit him, much the same as Weasley did to me. I have a feeling that she would fare far worse than I would." While she knew that it was true, Hermione knew that she was being petulant. She was tired of having to deal with the unfairness that came with being herself and a Black. She was tired of bigots and prejudice from everyone and just wanted the world to get along. Harry's eyes flared for a second, with what emotion she wasn't sure, but he seemed to understand her reasoning. Draco laid an arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple.

"I really don't care, Mia. She doesn't matter and you hurt her pride more than detention would have. Now she knows that you don't need magic to make her respect you." Parvati stood and glared at his words but she didn't say anything. Harry pulled her back and behind him and Hermione felt her heart clench at his actions. She had done everything in her power to protect him and he protected one of the girls that hated her more than anything. He hadn't stepped in and protected her from Weasley when he had backhanded her in the face. It brought everything front and center and she didn't like the way it made her feel. Weasley grabbed Patil's arm and pulled her towards Hagrid's hut. Hermione let the pair of them pass, Harry following after them just moments later. He tried to smile at her but she couldn't return it. Not only was her heart hurting, her hand was too.

Once they were all past, Draco pulled her towards the tree just a few paces off. He kept his hand iron-tight on her elbow and she knew that she was about to get a lecture. Was she ever going to be able to do something without somebody not liking how she handled it? He sat her down on the ground before taking a seat in front of her. His hand came out and cradled hers, the light purple bruising just beginning to show.

"Don't do that again. I don't like knowing that you just hurt yourself to keep her off me. I wouldn't have hit her but I could have cast a full body bind. Yes, this was a much more poignant reminder to behave but now you're hurt." Her eyes came to meet his.

"You're not angry I hit her?" He shook his head.

"No, I'm angry you hurt yourself. I bet you cracked a knuckle." She pulled her wand from her robes and waved it at her cousin's face. She muttered the incantation that her godfather had showed her last summer and the swelling and redness in his face disappeared. He grinned at her and started to stand when there was a shout from behind them.

Hermione turned to face the shout, Parvati's as it turned out. The yellow lab she had just got done feeding bolted from the Forbidden Forest and ploughed into Harry, hitting him square in the chest. Once he was one the ground, the dog grabbed him by his shoulder, tearing his shirt a little, and started to bound away with him. Hermione couldn't understand how the dog could be so strong as to pull a thirteen-year-old boy behind him as though he was nothing. Ron took off after him, yelling for the Indian girl to go get help from the castle. Parvati dashed past them, not even seeing that they were watching the whole scene unfold. Hermione finally understood and clutched Draco's hand in hers.

"Draco, that's Rookwood. He's an animagus. I've been feeding a fucking Death Eater."

Before her cousin could stop her, Hermione released his hand and started running towards the Forbidden Forest, determined to save her father's godson. She didn't know what Rookwood had planned for Harry but she knew that it wasn't good. While Harry had been studying on his own and was well-ahead of Weasley, it wasn't going to be enough to take down a full-fledged Death Eater hell-bent on revenge.

Draco's footsteps pounded behind her and she never thanked Merlin more than in that moment that she had taken up running for endurance. While the run would have winded her before she began exercising, it was just a little warm up now. She could hear the thundering through the trees and underbrush so it was easy to hear Weasley following after Rookwood and Harry. While she was certain that they were by no means quiet, they were much quieter than Weasley was.

All of a sudden, the thrashing in the trees ahead of them stopped. Draco reached out and pulled her to a stop and gestured for her to go slowly and quietly. They crept through the brush until they were hiding behind a rather large pile of limbs that looked as though they were home to a beaver. After peering around the pile, Hermione could see that Harry was on the ground, nursing a bleeding dog bite while Rookwood was standing above him. His wand was trained on the Gryffindor and he was laughing. Weasley was just standing there, his hands in the air to show that he wasn't going to do anything, probably thinking it would save his best mate. Draco pulled his wand and made sure that he was well hidden before he gave it a wave. His whispered spell brought forth his dragon and it kept close to the ground while Draco gave it a message.

"Go to Severus Snape and tell him that Potter and Weasley are in the Forbidden Forest with Rookwood. Hermione and I are watching from a distance and won't step in unless he goes to harm Potter. Use the locating spell he put on us when we were three." Hermione wanted to laugh out loud. Her godfather had been put in charge of babysitting one day while their parents went to a fundraiser together. He had gone to the loo and returned to the library to find them gone. It had taken all the Prince elves searching for them for almost twenty minutes before they had been found in the kitchen with the nanny elf that had raised their godfather. That very day he had put a locating spell on them. He hadn't used it in eight years or so but it seemed that he would be doing so again.

Hermione heard someone thundering through the trees and she knew that it couldn't possibly be her godfather already. Rather than assume that it was someone friendly, she had Draco crawled into the pile of limbs, hoping that it would hide them from sight. After just a few minutes, Lupin appeared through the brush and didn't even stop to see them. It made sense she supposed. Parvati had been sent for help and Lupin would be able to find them quickly since he had his advanced sense of smell to rely on. Especially this close to the full moon.

Fuck. The full moon. Hermione could only hope against hope that he had taken his wolfsbane as instructed. Draco seemed to be realizing the same truth beside her, gripping her hand tightly. They emerged from their hiding place to watch the events unfold. Once they were free to watch again, they couldn't look away. Rookwood was pacing but had a maniacal grin on his face. Hermione had heard how brilliant he had once been back in the days of the first war so while he looked crazed, she wasn't willing to bet that he was stupid.

"I caught you, this is a once in a lifetime chance for me to bring greatness to the Rookwood name. Your furry friend has told me all about Harry Potter and how to go about finding my master. He will return and he will reward me above all others for killing the boy who sent him into exile." Hermione had no idea what the man was talking about but she would ponder his words later. She was watching those around her, making sure that nothing happened to any of them.

Harry was still on the ground, his wand nowhere in sight. She wasn't sure if Rookwood had disarmed him but she didn't see any wands in the man's hands. He was now bleeding quite freely from the wound on his shoulder and he looked disheveled in general from his trip through the underbrush of the Forbidden Forest. Lupin was standing on the fringe, his wand in his hand but down at his side. He looked quite wild around his eyes but she had never seen him transform before she couldn't judge if he had taken his potion or not. Ronald was standing just to the side of Lupin, his hands still held out in front of him like an idiot. She wanted to laugh out loud but the oddest sight caught her attention. There was a rat climbing out of his front robe pocket and was running down his arm. Hermione instantly knew what furry friend Rookwood had been speaking of.

Peter Pettigrew.

The rat landed on the ground with a squeak and it caught Lupin's attention. Hermione watched as complete and utter disbelief crossed his features. It was clear that he hadn't expected to ever see his friend again. He lunged for the rat, completely forgetting that Harry was being held at wand point. Peter dodged his grasp and Rookwood started yelling.

"Pettigrew, you fucking idiot. Get back here!" His wand was waving through the air and Hermione was scared to death that he was going to cast something on someone there inadvertently. Lupin lunged again but missed the rat once more. Hermione decided that there was no time like the present to reveal herself since she wanted to capture Pettigrew more than anything.

Draco followed behind her as she stood and showed herself, her wand appearing as quick as a snitch. Both their wands came up to cast on the rat, only feet in front of them. Their voices were loud since neither had ever cast the spell. Neither wanted it to be weak and let Pettigrew escape.

"Animalis autem homo."

The skinny and balding rat grew slowly, a human form left after the spell had worked. He had a wand in his hand but was still on the ground. Hermione didn't think for more than half a second before she disarmed him and snapped his wand in half. He let out a piteous yell but started to scurry back. Hermione's attention, however, was pulled from Pettigrew in front of her to Rookwood starting to cast. His aim wasn't very good, probably from years without practice, but it gave Harry time to draw his wand from his robes. The Gryffindor aimed his wand and shot off one spell, a cutting curse. It caught Rookwood in the thigh and he screamed in pain.

The Death Eater must have realized that it would be a lost cause to hang around. He disappeared just a few moments later, the yellow lab before them again. He turned tail and flew as fast as his legs could carry him. Lupin chased after him, wand out and spells flying. Just as Hermione turned her attention back to Pettigrew, she heard a drawling voice. Her godfather had arrived.

"Why Pettigrew, you didn't think that you were going to flee from my godchildren, did you? You're lucky I caught you. Hermione would have been ruthless for what you've done to her father." Uncle Sev was standing over Pettigrew, his wand shooting ropes out of it to bind him. Pettigrew began sobbing but Hermione felt no pity for him. Draco stepped forward to come between Hermione and the rat but she shook her head. She raised her head high and looked down at him imperiously. It was the best impression of her Uncle Luci that she could do.

"You are going to rot in Azkaban for what you've done to my father and the Potters. I hope you try to escape as Rookwood did and the dementors suck out your soul. In fact, I bet I could get them to follow me here. They're just outside the gate, you know." She could see the fear in the man's eyes but she didn't care. This man had betrayed her father and their friends, making Harry an orphan. He deserved to suffer. However, she wasn't going to go get the dementors. She did believe in justice and letting the courts do their job. With her uncle and father on the Wizengamot during the trial, he would be convicted for sure. Instead, she stepped closer and smiled sweetly at the man. It was clear that he thought she wasn't going to do anything since the fear eased. Without warning, she brought her foot down as hard as she could on the man's groin.

Pettigrew screamed and rolled to the side, trying to hold his balls while bound. He wretched and then rolled into the pile of his own sick. Hermione smiled at him again before bending closer.

"Be lucky there are witnesses. Professor Snape was right. You're better off with him than me." Pettigrew was still in pain but he spit at her.

"You little fucking bitch! When my master returns, he'll set me free from my prison cell and you're going to be the one that I'll enjoy hurting. I'm going to fuck you until you're a shell of yourself and then I'm going to skin you alive before I return your mangled body to your father." Hermione laughed softly and she could hear the boys moving closer behind.

"I'd like to see you try, Death Eater scum. I'll be waiting for you." Draco reached out and pulled her away from Pettigrew and fit her under his arm. She turned to hug him and caught sight of Harry and Weasley's faces. They were still disbelieving and she didn't care. They had made their choices just as she had made hers. Everything wasn't all better because now they knew she had been telling the truth all along. Weasley seemed to realize that she was watching them and he grimaced in her direction. He met her eyes for only a moment.

"May I say how much I appreciate that you just threw me against a wall? Much better than puking up my balls." Hermione couldn't hold back a soft chuckle. However, it died in her throat when she caught sight of a full-grown werewolf loping towards them.

"It's Lupin!" Uncle Sev rushed past them, putting himself between the werewolf and the rest of them. Hermione tried to hurry to his side so she could help him; out of all the other wizards in the Forest, she was the most powerful. Draco snarled at her, his eyes dancing with fury.

"Stay where the fuck you are. He will put you in his lap and spank you bare-arsed in front of everyone if you run over there. I'll let him." Hermione felt her face flush in embarrassment at his words. She had never been struck before Weasley; the elves had used stinging hexes on her when she had misbehaved but that was all she recalled as a child. Then she realized that he was trying to distract her. Her uncle would never show her off getting reprimanded like that and Draco would never allow someone to see her naked without her permission. She elbowed him sharply in the belly and glared at him. Rather than say anything, he glared at her. Her godfather was waiting for the wolf to make a move. Lupin had stopped ten feet away from him and seemed to be judging the situation.

"If you're in control of yourself, lay down on the ground and cover your snout with your paws." Hermione watched as the enormous werewolf dropped to his belly and hid his face in his paws. Her godfather sighed in relief but didn't let his wand fall. He backed away from the wolf and spoke softly.

"We're going to go back to the castle. You'll have to stay out here tonight since you've already transformed. There will be clothes waiting for you just inside the Forest by Hagrid's hut. Come find us once you've recovered." The werewolf nodded its massive head and her godfather gestured for them to retreat. Harry and Weasley looked as though they couldn't believe what they were seeing. Hermione rolled her eyes at them as Draco started to pull her away from them.

"Lupin is a werewolf, has been since he was a child. Honestly, if you had paid attention to the signs, you would have realized it." Both Gryffindors were silent but started to follow them. Pettigrew flinched when he saw her approaching but she was content to allow Draco to levitate him out of the Forest. They led, followed the Harry and Weasley, with her godfather bringing up the rear, covering them just in case Lupin decided to attack. Once they were out of the trees, Hermione knew what she needed to do. Her wand raised and she waved it, muttering her spell. Her fox appeared and started to prance around happily. She bent to speak to it, her hand throbbing from holding her wand so tightly for so long.

"Go to my father and Uncle Luci, tell them to get to Hogwarts as quick as they can, the gates will work. Bring aurors. We've caught Pettigrew." Her fox bound away from her, disappearing at the line of the wards surrounding Hogwarts. Draco reached out and threaded his hand in her curls so he could hug her close. His voice was soft in her ear.

"We did it. Everyone is going to know the truth and nobody can say your father is a traitor any longer." Hermione nodded her headed against his chest before she pulled away from him to smile at him. Her uncle broke the line of the trees and waved for them to continue.

Rather than head to the castle, Draco and Hermione started them towards the gate of Hogwarts. Her uncle rolled his eyes at their actions but followed behind without a word. Harry and Weasley seemed to be along for the ride, following them even though they weren't sure where they were heading. Hermione heard her uncle cast his own patronus, though she doubted that anyone else had. His doe went rushing to the castle, alerting the Headmaster and possibly Professor McGonagall.

Hermione let Draco lead them all to the gates. Once they reached them, not only were her father and uncle there, there were eight aurors, the Head of the D.M.L.E., the Headmaster and Professor McGonagall. Hermione snickered when Draco cancelled the spell and Pettigrew fell to the ground with a thud. Pettigrew started yelling at Hermione again after hearing her laughter.

"You little bitch, you're going to pay in pain!" Her father stepped forward, fury clear on his features, but Uncle Luci held him back.

"Not now, the last thing we need is for you to join him in Azkaban." Her father took a deep breath and made to step over his ex-friend but stepped on him instead.

"Oh, pardon me, I was in a hurry to get to my daughter. She just made my decade." Everyone else was quiet when Professor McGonagall asked the question that everyone wanted answered. Her voice was hard but Hermione could see that her eyes were wet.

"Why would you turn James and Lily in to that monster?" Pettigrew's eyes went wide and he just glared. Uncle Sev stepped forward, imperious mask in place.

"You might as well answer it now. Once you get to the Ministry, there will be many different techniques of questioning used." Hermione wanted to snort. They hadn't used those techniques on her father. Pettigrew's eyes grew impossibly wider before he scowled.

"I did what I had to to finally gain power. I was nothing but a laughingstock while a part of the Marauders. When they didn't have Snivellus to torture and torment, it was me. I didn't set out to turn the Potters over to the Dark Lord but when that was what he had demanded, I gave it to him. If it weren't for that brat of theirs, I would be rewarded above all others." Hermione stepped forward and stomped on his balls again. Everyone grimaced, including the aurors, but her father and Uncle Luci grinned.

"That's for being a coward and don't call him Snivellus. His name is Severus." Hermione knew that she was the only one that could have gotten away with what she just did. Well, maybe Harry, but she was just a tiny little girl that was indignant about him being a coward. Everyone would just chuckle and think she was cute. She had planned on it. She wasn't a Slytherin for nothing. The Head of the D.M.L.E. stepped forward and slapped a button on Pettigrew's chest. She laid her hand over the top of it. The rat was still curled up in pain while everyone else ignored him.

"We're going to go ahead and take him in. It's late, it's a full moon, and there's bound to be werewolf attacks tonight. There always is. We'll send someone back here in the morning to get statements on how this happened. However, Lord Black, I would say that your name is cleared when it comes to the betrayal of James and Lily Potter." Her father was now playing the esteemed lord and he nodded imperiously. After they had port keyed away, there was only Hermione, Draco, Ronald, Harry, her father and Uncle, Professor McGonagall and the Headmaster. Her godfather stepped forward.

"While Lupin is running off his time in wolf form in the Forbidden Forest, might I suggest that we adjourn this meeting until morning when he can join us?" Her father and uncle nodded before clapping their friend on the shoulder. Dumbledore's eyes widened at the sight. He stepped forward and cleared his throat.

"I know you want to save conversation for tomorrow so I want to offer you both rooms in the castle. Your children would be able to stay with you if that was your wish." They both glared at the man but finally nodded.

"That would be acceptable. Anywhere is fine as long as the children are welcome to stay. We see them precious little during the school year." Her father turned to put his arm around her shoulders when the Headmaster spoke again.

"Sirius, I want to apologize -." He didn't get to finish his sentence since her father had moved his hand from around her shoulders and balled his fist. Lord Black slammed his fist into the Headmaster's face. Blood spurted everywhere and Hermione feared that his nose was broken. Her father shook his hand for a moment before he spoke.

"You will address me as Lord Black, I made that clear last time. You don't get to apologize to me and think that all will be well. We'll discuss everything tomorrow. Keep your sorries to yourself." Hermione wrapped her arm around her father's waist. His hand came down on hers and she whimpered. He stopped so he could pull it into his hands and inspect it.

"What did you do, poppet?" Hermione grimaced since she knew that she was likely going to get in trouble.

"Parvati Patil was angry at Draco because Uncle Luci got her father fined for a flying carpet. She slapped him without any warning. I punched her once, in the face, and told her I didn't need my wand to protect my family. I think I hurt it though, I forgot to leave my thumb out." Her father sighed as her godfather and Uncle Luci chuckled behind her.

"Sweetness, you're going to be the death of me. You're supposed to be a lady." Hermione snorted now and her uncles were almost howling in laughter.

"I'm only required to be a lady in public and in front of Aunt Cissy. None of you are going to tattle because you know she'll hex you for letting me brawl." Her father buried his head in his hands and sighed. He knew that her words were true. Her Uncle Luci kissed the back of her head before starting for the castle.

"Never change, princess. You keep things interesting." She heard Weasley snort behind her and she turned to glare. He held his hands up in surrender and she saw Professor McGonagall try to hide her grin. Her father slung his arm around her shoulders again while Draco walked closely at her side. The Headmaster was trailing behind, blood flowing freely from his nose and down his lavender robes.

"Let's go sit in front of the fire for a bit before we sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a great day."

Hermione could only grin at her father's words.

-O-

Harry wasn't sure what to think of any of it. He had gone through the gamut of emotions that night, none of which he was overly comfortable with.

The Gryffindor had watched his friend assault Malfoy in her fury. It hadn't been smart but there had been no dissuading her. He had then witnessed the tiniest girl he had ever seen punch his friend in the face and drop her to her knees. He wasn't sure if she had ever done it before but by this point in his life, he didn't think anything about Hermione Black would surprise him.

Rookwood had appeared and dragged him through the Forbidden Forest and his best mate had chased them down. Professor Lupin had appeared and changed into a werewolf. Scabbers, Ron's trusty old rat, had been Peter Pettigrew all along and had tried to escape. Hermione and Malfoy had stopped him and Professor Snape had bound him to make sure he couldn't sneak away.

His whole world had shifted when he realized that his godfather was innocent and he had made a colossal mistake by trusting Dumbledore. Professor Lupin it seemed like, as well. Not only had he just gone three years of the Dursleys when he hadn't needed to, he had gone his whole life. Sirius Black should have had him from the day his parents were murdered but Dumbledore had prevented that. He had assured everyone that the fidelius spell couldn't be fooled and there was no way that his mother would have been able to alter it. His life had been complete shite since he was year old because of the Headmaster.

On top of it all, he had told Hermione that she was a liar more times than he could count. He had said unforgivable things to her and none of them had been deserved. She hadn't lied a single time and she had done nothing wrong. In fact, Harry had been the one to ruin things between them before they could even get started. He didn't think that she would ever forgive him and he wouldn't blame her.

Harry had just crawled into bed in his dorm. He had been escorted to the Hospital Wing by Professor McGonagall and she had been oddly silent about the whole situation. After the wound from Rookwood's teeth had been healed, she had walked him to the portrait of the Fat Lady. There, she had stopped him and given him as serious a look as he could remember.

"Potter, I know you have feelings for the girl. I don't know what you did to hurt her but if you were smart, you would grovel to her for as long as it takes for her to forgive you. Girls like Hermione Black don't come around very often. You'll likely never meet another like her."

Harry hadn't know how to take her words so he had just nodded. He hadn't realized that his feelings were that obvious but really, that was the least of his worries. Ginny had accosted him once he was inside the common room, begging him to go somewhere and snog her. He had tried to be nice, tried to tell her that he was exhausted, but it hadn't worked. He had ended up yelling at her, telling her that one of her other boyfriends could fill in for the night. Ron had looked pretty pissed at him but by the time they had crawled in bed, he appeared to have forgotten about it.

Now, he lay there trying to figure out what he wanted to do about everything. Did he want to try to make things up to Hermione and her father? Did he want to just act like he knew nothing and let them approach him? Should he say fuck it all and go back to the Dursleys? His head was starting to ache with the thoughts that refused to quiet. He should have asked Madam Pomfrey for a vial of Dreamless Sleep.

Harry finally rolled over and buried his head under his pillow. He refused to think about the situation until morning. He needed sleep and if he was going to follow his Head of House's advice, he was going to need his rest. With a huff of irritation, he closed his eyes and cleared his mind, doing his best to convince sleep to take him.

-O-

Sirius couldn't sleep. He was so bloody happy that he couldn't hardly keep his heart from beating out of his chest and he owed it all to his daughter, young cousin, and his best friend. They had really come through for him and it was something that he would never forget.

Now, though, he had to consider how this was going to affect his image. Right now, the Wizengamot and pure bloods respected him because they thought that he was a traitor, that he had supported the Dark Lord all along. Sending Pettigrew to prison after trial was going to blow the truth wide open. He didn't really care because spying had been useless so far but he wasn't sure what it meant for his cousin and friend. Would Lucius and Cissy come out with their true affiliations or would they continue the farce? If they did, it would mean separating Hermione and Draco and that wasn't something that he really wanted to do. In fact, he was quite sure that they would do whatever the fuck they wanted and to hell with what they were told. His friend was seated in the couch across from him and he was also watching the fire. Hermione was stretched out with her head in his lap and her feet in Severus' lap. Draco was sleeping in a chair next to Lucius, his head leaned forward so his chin touched his chest. Lucius' voice was soft when he spoke.

"I can't continue to publicly follow the Dark Lord. It would have to cause a rift between these two for it to be believable and it would break their hearts. As nice as it would be to gather information, I can't do that to them. Draco would soldier on as much as he hated it but Hermione would be lost without him." Sirius nodded; his friend's thoughts had mirrored his exactly.

"We'll all get out now. He's going to come back eventually but he won't gain as many followers if all three of us work against him. Black, Malfoy, and Prince working for the light would surely change some minds." Lucius nodded.

"I agree. Help where we can, keep laws from passing, keep fellow members of the Wizengamot from being bought off." Severus finally spoke, his voice hard but his hands gentle around his goddaughter's foot and ankle.

"I won't quit. You two have to, the children would make it quite unbelievable. I, however, can continue and not be too conspicuous. The world only knows that Draco is my godchild, not Hermione. Sure, Pettigrew heard it but nobody is going to believe him after being in Azkaban, especially when it comes out how much Sirius and myself still hate each other. It's going to get crazy but it's what has to be done." Sirius knew that his friend wanted out, he wanted it more than anything. He had realized quite quickly after being branded that it wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. He shook his head.

"Sev, you have to quit. If you're ever suspected of treachery because of your relationship to Lucius and Draco, you will die. You know what that will do to Hermione and Draco, especially her. She loves you so much and it will kill her to lose you." Severus nodded his head.

"I know but it is for her that I do this. We need an insider that we can trust in order to kill this psycho bastard. It has to happen. Better it be me and know that you can trust the spy than someone else and be betrayed." Sirius was silent. He regretted every single time he had ever called his friend a coward in his youth. He wanted to tell him but knew that Severus wouldn't appreciate it. Instead, he smiled softly.

"You know that once this comes out, Hermione is going to do everything in her power to convince you otherwise." His friend snorted and threw back the rest of his fire whiskey.

"While I do generally give her whatever her heart desires, I am capable of telling he no. I will make her understand that it is necessary." Sirius nodded again.

"Alright. It's your life and I can't make that decision for you."

The three of them lapsed into silence again and Sirius let his mind wander to his godson. Would he want anything to do with him? Would he want to come visit him? Live with him? Would Hermione forgive him and become his friend? He wouldn't blame her if she didn't but he really hoped that it would all work out in the end. Sirius threw back the rest of his fire whiskey just like Severus had.

He supposed that tomorrow would tell.

-O-

Albus knew that he was fucked. His nose had been healed, he had done that on his own as soon as he had returned to the castle. He had sent one of the elves to show their visitors to rooms that were suitable for them. The wards informed him that Severus, Hermione Black, and Draco Malfoy were in their rooms with them. It made him nervous, he wasn't going to lie.

He had made an enormous mistake in not believing Sirius way back in 1981. He should have looked into it, not just been reassured that Lily Potter couldn't overthrow his spell and modify it without him knowing. She had been a brilliant witch, after all. He should have considered it.

Now, he knew that he was going to have to grovel. Not only had he ruined Harry's life by sticking him with the Dursleys, he had publicly called the Lord Black a liar. He had cursed his daughter, granted it truly had been accidental, but the whole confrontation shouldn't have happened at all. All along, both Black and Malfoy had been supporting Harry in their own way and he had been so sure of himself that he had assumed it was because they were angling to get close to Harry and have him killed.

Remus was sure to turn from him in this, as was Harry. Remus had always been close to Sirius and to have him so convinced of the man's guilt only for it to be wrong would surely turn him against Albus. He didn't blame the man, he would have felt the same way.

While Remus was going to tough to take, Harry turning from him was going to be the worst. He had cultivated a relationship with the boy that had made him feel safe and loved. To find that Albus had been wrong was going to devastate that. He understood. Harry had had little to believe in growing up so when something he did believe in turned out to be a farce, it was understandable for him to turn against him. With Black and Malfoy whispering in his ear that Albus had known all along, it was surely the end.

Minerva turning on him was almost as bad as Harry. He had been there for the woman during some of the toughest times of her life and she had trusted him implicitly. She hadn't seemed surprised at the truth so he wondered if she had guessed the truth long ago or just recently. Either way, she refused to speak to him and he wasn't brave enough to try to force her. Yes, he was more powerful but Minerva could be quite mean and vindictive if she wanted to be. Much like he had witnessed from Hermione Black that very evening.

He sighed to himself. Albus was just going to have to do his best to earn the forgiveness he needed to make sure that this war was won. Sure, he had been misguided in ways of going about things but he had never faltered from the light and the need to bring Voldemort down for good. He was going to make it work.

Everyone would forgive him eventually. He would make sure of it.

-O-

Rookwood was now freezing cold after swimming across the Black Lake to leave Hogwarts grounds. He knew that Pettigrew was caught, that he wasn't going to be following him. Severus had showed up and bound him, making quite certain that Black's daughter could hand him over.

The worst part of failing was that he had liked Black's kid. She had been sweet and she had cared for him. She had fed him, showed him affection, and played with him. It made him wonder if that could ever carry over, if she could feel the same for the man as she had for the dog. Once his master was returned, he would have to make it a point to try to catch her and see. While he knew that her father wasn't a traitor and was probably trying to spy, Rookwood knew that she was powerful and she would be a boon to the Dark Lord if he could convince her to join. It would be worth the effort and if it led to more between them, all the better.

Potter, however, was going to die. Rookwood was determined to make sure that he was dead before his master returned but he wasn't sure how he was going to get close now that the boy knew what he looked like. His chance had been blown by Pettigrew trying to escape. Not that it mattered now; the man had shared the whispered words to him from their master and the instructions they needed to follow to resurrect him.

Rookwood was going to resurrect his master if it was the last thing he did and nobody was going to stand in his way.

A/N- Holy fucking balls, y'all, this chapter is massive! I can't believe it's this long. However, I promised you all an epic chapter when the truth came out and I hope that I came through on that promise. Thanks to everyone out there that has stuck through this story for this moment alone. You guys are seriously awesome. Let me know how I did, reviews make me smile.

Next chapter, meeting of the minds as the truth is explained.

Love,

Alicia


	58. Chapter 58

A/N- Wow. You guys are just so awesome, thank you so much for the love you show this story. It wouldn't be happening without you. I'm still having issues with replying to reviews so I apologize if you didn't get one. I always try to reply back (: Now that this chapter is being posted, I'm going to take a couple days off. I lost a few hours of sleep getting this chapter to you after only one day. Thanks for understanding!

**Shout out to Midnight Little One for being my 2100th reviewer and Jamie Theobold for being my 2200th reviewer. Y'all rock!**

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing in this story or any of my others. The original idea for Part One came from Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle and the characters belong to our queen. Nothing y'all didn't know already. I'm still broke so I haven't made any money from this story or any other. Someday, I'll make millions.

Chapter 58

May 31, 1994

Hermione pushed her curls out of her face as she stepped into her dormitory to change clothes. She had fallen asleep on the couch in her father's room, her head in his lap and her feet in Uncle Sev's. She was quite sure that she had been the most comfortable of everyone since they had all fallen asleep sitting upright, even Draco. However, that didn't mean that the couch had been comfortable. It most assuredly had not been, though she wouldn't trade her bed for being able to spend time with her family. Aunt Cissy had been the only one missing and she would be arriving early this morning.

The other girls were awake, some of them dressing lazily since it was a Saturday and others still lazing away in bed. Daphne was still laying under her duvet with a book curled up next to her. Pansy was fiddling with make up charms, changing the color of her lip color over and over again. Hermione fought the urge to roll her eyes. However, the girl looked over to Hermione and sneered.

"You've been whinging this whole time about Drakey spending time with me and then you spend the whole night out with a boy. I wonder what your daddy dearest would think of that. I might just post a letter to him myself and inform him of your scandalous behavior." Hermione stared at her for only a moment before bursting out in laughter. Pansy looked quite startled and the others looked like they were confused. Hermione brought herself under control.

"You do that, Pansy, see where it gets you. You know, since my father was the boy I was out with all night. I'm sure he'll see fit to inform your father of how you're trying to get his daughter in trouble and spreading lies about her." Pansy's mouth fell open and Daphne started laughing. She abandoned her book and sat up, her eyes dancing with mirth. Hermione decided she didn't want to leave it at that either.

"For the record, I told both you and Draco that I didn't care what you got up to as long as you were discreet. That was never the case since the whole school knows you've been performing fellatio for him, as told by you. I wonder what Lord and Lady Malfoy would think of you making their only son and heir a laughingstock in school?" Hermione didn't wait for the girl to respond. Instead, she left her threat open-ended and flounced into the bathroom to shower.

Hermione showered off quickly, drying herself and her hair with a quick charm. Her Aunt Cissy was going to be there in just a little bit and she knew that she would have to look perfect. While in the comfort of her home, her aunt didn't mind if she wasn't one hundred percent put together, in public, she was expected to look as a proper young woman should at all times. Granted, there were very few times that Hermione hadn't looked proper but with her aunt coming to the school, she wanted to be extra sure she wouldn't disappoint her. Hermione didn't buy into all the customs and rules the pureblood society held to but she loved her aunt dearly and would never want to disappoint her.

Hermione went back out into the dorm to find that only Daphne remained. She watched Hermione silently and it was clear that she was considering her words. The Slytherin left her to it while she dug through her wardrobe to find a set of robes. She quickly slid into ivory bra and knickers set, one of her favorites. She had always loved how silk felt against her skin. A set of form-fitting witch's robes in the color of royal purple followed. Daphne stepped forward and gestured to let her do her hair so Hermione sat and let the blond witch twirl her wand around her curls, making them impossibly shinier. Once she was finished, she drew the top half of her hair back and clipped it with one of her many hair clips while the rest hung heavy down her back. Hermione didn't bother with make up; her aunt had told her that for everyday use, she didn't need any since she had inherited her mother's perfect skin. Daphne smiled at her.

"I don't know what's going on but you put those robes on like they're armor. Is everything about to change?" Hermione stood and pulled her friend into a hug.

"Yes. Things are certainly going to change. I must take the path before me. Your path will lie in your choice once nothing is a secret anymore." Her friend looked uncertain and Hermione felt bad for her.

"Will I lose you as a friend?" Hermione smiled softly at her and squeezed her hand.

"I truly hope not." She hugged her one last time and then turned, exiting the dorm room. Hermione heard her friend following her and smiled to herself. She hoped that Daphne would choose to follow the light rather than her Death Eater father. However, she couldn't even imagine how hard it would be to go against your family. That was one thing that Hermione had never had to worry about.

Hermione turned her attention towards the common room when she came to the bottom of the stairs and was surprised to see that her father, her aunt and uncle, her godfather, and Draco were waiting. She felt her cheeks flush slightly when she realized that they had been waiting on her.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't realize that everyone was waiting on me. I would have hurried." Aunt Cissy stepped forward and hugged her close before pulling away and cupping her cheeks with a smile.

"Nonsense. A witch can never take too long getting ready. That's what fire whiskey was made for, to entertain our men while we ready ourselves." Draco snorted.

"What am I supposed to do then? You won't let me have fire whiskey yet." Hermione laughed as her aunt waved her wand and smacked her son in the back of the head. He howled in indignation.

"What was that for?" Her aunt lifted an eyebrow in his direction.

"Proper gentlemen don't snort and they don't comment on the amount of time it takes their witch to ready herself. I swear, Draco, you will learn manners." Hermione could hear him grumbling under his breath. Daphne giggled softly behind her. Her aunt realized that she was behind her and she smiled at her friend.

"Miss Greengrass, it's been awhile. May I say that you're looking quite lovely?" Daphne curtsied and blushed.

"Thank you, Lady Malfoy. You always look very beautiful." Her aunt moved forward and slid an arm around the girl's shoulders. Daphne looked startled but relaxed when she saw the small smile on her aunt's face.

"I hear Draco is quite the handful at school. Would you happen to have any good stories for me?" Hermione knew that her aunt was teasing but her cousin looked decidedly uncomfortable. Daphne flushed again and tried her best not to stammer.

"Well, m-most everyone thinks he's amazing at qu-quidittch. He's the most well-liked boy in Slytherin. Hermione too, well, everyone except Pansy. You've raised wonderful children." Her aunt cocked her head to the side for just a moment before she patted the girl's hand.

"Thank you, dear. I'll be sure to tell your mother I saw you and you were looking well. We really must be going though. Will you keep an eye on my two wayward children while they're here?" Daphne beamed and nodded.

"Of course, Lady Malfoy. I love Hermione. Draco's very kind as well." Hermione knew that Daphne was flustered trying to speak to her aunt. Aunt Cissy, for as transparent as she may have been to Hermione, left everyone else clueless. It was clear that she was interested in this girl and by having her look out for her children, it would guarantee that she would be close to Draco. She was hoping for a match there and nobody knew but Hermione. Well, probably Uncle Luci, but he didn't count. Daphne hurried out of the common room and her aunt threaded her arm through Hermione's and led her to the door. After passing through it, her father started to lead them towards the Great Hall. Hermione couldn't believe that they were all going to dine there but who was she to complain?

"Tell me, Hermione, why does everyone in Slytherin like you but Pansy?" She could tell that her cousin was on edge and she didn't feel bad. He had known better than to let himself become a spectacle and that's exactly what he had done.

"I killed her social life in just one sentence. Just like you taught me, Aunt Cissy. I let many things get by me but when you push me too far, don't think I won't push back." Her aunt's eyes narrowed as they climbed the stairs to the ground floor.

"What did you say to her, darling?" Hermione leaned her head on her aunt's shoulders. She could hear the men behind her chuckling at Draco's obvious unease.

"I told her that I had better things to do than spend time with someone that was undeserving of it." Her aunt laughed, a musical tinkling sound that Hermione was sure she had to have practiced.

"Oh, darling, you've made me so proud. Now tell me why." Hermione grinned. The one incident she would let loose was in no way Draco's fault so he wouldn't get in trouble for it. The rest of his behavior, however, was on him.

"Draco won the quidditch match and everyone was congratulating him. He deserved it, he was amazing. As Daphne and I were walking up to wish him well, Pansy threw herself into his arms and snogged him there in front of the whole school. Draco froze, it was clear he hadn't been expecting it. I had warned her before about fawning over him and making a spectacle of him but then she did that. It was time for action since she wasn't listening. She said she was turning her birthday party into a victory party and I told her that I wouldn't be attending, that I had better things to do then spend time with her. Daphne and I spent the afternoon with Fred and George Weasley and Neville Longbottom down by the lake. None of the other girls attended." Her aunt gasped and then grinned.

"You managed to get every girl to refrain from attending? That really is social suicide. You will do well as Lady Black someday, darling." Hermione laughed softly, knowing that her aunt would be proud of her for finally wielding her power socially. Aunt Cissy, however, turned to glare at Draco as they entered the Great Hall.

"You and I will be having a conversation later about that girl. Don't think I don't know the ways of young boys. That girl won't be my daughter-in-law." Hermione knew that if Draco told her aunt that he loved her, she would capitulate but it was clear she knew all too well about boys and their distractions. Her cousin scoffed at her words.

"Please, as if I would marry someone that hated Hermione." Her aunt looked quite pleased so she dropped the subject for the time being as they took seats at the Slytherin table.

Hermione was nestled in between her father and her Uncle Luci at the table. It was amazing to have her family around her but she could feel the stares from the rest of the Great Hall. She was well-aware that everyone thought her family was stuck-up and they would be right. They were all entitled, arrogant, and stuck-up. However, they weren't so stuck up that they couldn't sit at the table that they had dined at for seven years. Well, she supposed that her father was technically at the wrong table but that was beside the point.

As her family made small talk, the other Slytherins were too nervous to speak to them, Hermione watched Professor Lupin slink in and take the seat next to Professor McGonagall. He looked exhausted but there was an overall air of self-loathing around him. Hermione wondered if he would throw himself at her father's mercy today or if he would wait and try to do it in privacy. While she didn't like the man at all, she knew that her father missed him. She would accept the man if her father asked her to, though she was quite certain that he deserved better. She was still convinced that they had been lovers once upon a time but she still hadn't gathered the courage to ask.

Theo was finally the one to muster the courage to ask why they were all there dining with them that morning. Her father had looked down at the boy, clearly unhappy since he knew about the words Theo had had for Harry the year before and told him that it was business with the Headmaster. Uncle Luci had corroborated the story and that was the end of that.

The family unit rose as one and started to leave the Great Hall. Hermione watched in amusement as her aunt bent at Pansy's shoulder and whispered in her ear. Since the girl paled and then nodded weakly, she was quite sure that her aunt had just issued a warning about her behavior and perhaps a threat to tell her parents. Hermione would have to tell her that the girl's parents were pushing her to act this way even though it wasn't proper. Once they were in the corridor again, her godfather spoke.

"Let's make our way to the Headmaster's office. I'm sure that's where we'll meet. It has the best wards in the school." Hermione snorted, earning herself a warning look from her aunt.

"Aside from your quarters, you mean." Her father and uncle laughed while she thought there was a slight tinge of red on her godfather's cheeks. Draco offered her his arm and escorted her towards the stairs. When they were all pairing up, he whispered down at her.

"Thanks for telling her that it wasn't my fault." Hermione laid her head on her cousin's shoulder and smiled at him. After that encounter, he and Pansy had never been caught but the girl had told everyone she came into contact with. She couldn't wait for the day that he realized he wanted nothing to do with the girl.

Once they found their way to the second floor, the griffin that guarded the Headmaster's office was before them. Before Uncle Sev could offer the password, it leapt out of the way and Draco led the way into the office. Hermione should have paid more attention to those in the Great Hall since she realized in that moment that they were the last to arrive.

Rather than sitting behind his desk like he usually did, Dumbledore was seated in front of the fire in an armchair. Amelia Bones, the Head of the D.M.L.E., and two of her aurors were seated on a sofa close to Dumbledore. Professor McGonagall and Professor Lupin were together on a loveseat. Harry and Weasley were both together on a couch with Arthur Weasley next to his son. Her godfather took an armchair so when her aunt, uncle, and father took the last couch, Hermione pulled Draco to the other loveseat. An elf appeared and served them tea even though they had just finished breakfast. Hermione wasn't sure who was going to break the silence but it was clear that it wasn't going to be anyone from her family. In the end, it was Madam Bones that spoke.

"I'm sure that there are several personal conversations that need to take place and we don't need to be here for that. Peter Pettigrew was identified last night and then questioned. Legilimency was performed on him to discover that it wasn't possible since he is an illegal animagus. However, he didn't seem to be aware of the fact that we wouldn't be using veritiserum so he confessed to everything." The woman adjusted her glasses and sighed.

"He confessed to Lily Potter changing the Headmaster's fidelius spell and making the secret keeper himself rather than Lord Black. He told us that he had been branded by the Dark Lord just weeks after graduation. The Dark Lord had demanded he discover where the Potters were staying and he then started telling everyone how he thought that one Remus Lupin was a traitor because he was spying with the werewolf packs. He then put forth the idea that Lord Black would be the obvious choice in secret keeper. Once he had been named secret keeper, he had told his master everything." Hermione watched impassively as Lupin buried his head in his hands and refused to meet the eyes of anyone in the room.

"Pettigrew told us that Lord Black knew who had sold them out immediately but he hadn't expected such quick retaliation. When he had shown up at his mother's, he had to make sure that she wouldn't be harmed. He apparated to Hogsmeade and Lord Black followed him. They were going to duel; Lord Black gave him every chance to pick up his wand and fight. Then two aurors came upon the scene and one of them tackled Lord Black, which sent his freshly fired killing curse into her partner. Pettigrew stated that Black was mortified and he took that moment to disappear." Hermione stood up from her seat next to Draco and went and plopped herself in her father's lap no matter how improper it was. His arms came around her and she squeezed him tight. Madam Bones, however, continued.

"Pettigrew didn't return home. He traveled the countryside for ages in his animagus form and was found by a little boy. He later learned that the boy was Percy Weasley. He decided that it was the safest place he could find and allowed himself to become a pet to the Weasley family. Nothing changed until he came to Hogwarts with Ronald Weasley, his new owner when Percy passed him down.

He never showed himself but he always kept track of Harry Potter since he was the best friend of his owner. Nothing out of the ordinary happened until after their first year, he learned his master had returned through Quirrell. The following summer, he disappeared from the Weasley home to search for his master. He found a trace of his existence just outside of Godric's Hollow. He was somehow able to communicate with his master, he couldn't explain how, and he learned that he needed to break into Malfoy Manor and retrieve his master's old diary. Once he had it in his possession, he returned to the Weasley home and planted it in Ginny Weasley's things. He didn't learn that his plan had failed until Harry had killed the basilisk and Ginny was freed from the hold of the diary." Hermione could feel her father's heart thumping underneath her and she didn't blame him.

"After Rookwood escaped, he followed them to Hogwarts. Pettigrew sneaked out and found the man and told him everything that he knew, all his directions for resurrecting his master. There was some sort of spell cast on him so he couldn't speak of it but it was clear that Pettigrew had shared his information. He said that when Rookwood played his hand and outed his involvement, he tried to escape. Hermione Black and Draco Malfoy forcibly changed him to his human form and then Severus Snape prevented him from leaving. He also reported some abuse from Miss Black but the auror department isn't planning on following up on these claims at this time." Hermione wanted to laugh. Bones had seen her stomp his balls the last time and she was leaving it alone. Overall, Hermione was pleased and there wasn't a thing that she would change. Bones turned to meet her eyes.

"Now that I have his side of the story, I need the story of everyone else involved." Hermione stood and returned to Draco's side so they would present a united front. Her uncle gave her a look of approval before she started speaking. Draco's arm fell around her shoulders as she spoke.

"Draco and I had gotten into an altercation with Parvati Patil and we had just parted from that. I had just healed his face when we heard a shout. I had been feeding a yellow lab on the edge of the Forest, had been all year. When we turned, we saw said lab maul Potter and haul him into the Forbidden Forest. Weasley followed after him but Patil headed for the castle. We had hoped that she was going for help." Weasley nodded.

"I told her to go get help and that I would follow Harry and try to help him." She gave him a polite nod.

"We followed after them. We've spent two years protecting Potter because we knew that my father wasn't guilty. We've been trying to keep him safe since day one. After we reached the place where they were stopped, Rookwood had transformed and he was monologuing. Draco took that time to send his patronus to Professor Snape and beg him to come help us." Madam Bones goggled at them.

"You can cast patronuses?" Hermione nodded.

"Yes, Draco and I learned how when our fathers learned that there would be dementors stationed at Hogwarts." Ron broke in.

"Harry can cast one too. Professor Lupin taught him how." Hermione wanted to roll her eyes but she refrained.

"After we sent off the patronus, Lupin came running through the forest. Once he realized what was happening, he was trying to keep Harry safe. I noticed the rat coming out of Weasley's pocket. I knew instantly who it was so Draco and I stood and cast the spell that force animaguses into their human forms. He was trying to crawl away but my attention was forced from him to Rookwood, who was then trying to curse Potter while he was unarmed on the ground. Harry was able to cast a cutting curse at his leg before he transformed to his animagus form and ran off. Professor Lupin chased after him and my Head of House arrived and bound Pettigrew to make sure that he couldn't escape. I may have stomped his reproductive parts for the pain he had caused my father through the years and he may have threatened me back." Her aunt laughed that tinkling laugh again and the others were smiling. Aunt Cissy sounded quite fond of her when she spoke.

"I do adore you, Hermione. In addition to riding this summer, we're going to start running together." Hermione grinned at her aunt but remained silent. Her work was done and all that was left was that of the adults.

Her godfather detailed how he had made sure that Lupin had been under the influence of his potion and then guarded their backs as they left the Forest. He had told them about the confrontation at the front gates between Hermione and Pettigrew again but left out the fact that her father had socked the Headmaster right in the nose. After all fell silent, Madam Bones turned to Harry.

"Has everything that has been said here today been true? Would you stand behind their words in a court of law?" Harry gave a resolute nod.

"Absolutely, Madam Bones. They haven't lied about a single thing." Hermione wanted to scoff. Now he wanted to let them speak for him but not once in the past had he believed them so staunchly. Madam Bones and her two aurors rose and started for the floo.

"We have all we need. When his trial comes up, we'll let everyone here know and some of you may have to testify." Hermione gave a silent nod to the woman who seemed to take no shite from anyone. She couldn't help but wonder if she would someday command the level of respect that woman did.

The three of them left in a whoosh of flame and the room fell silent once again. It was nearing on five minutes of silence when she finally couldn't take it any longer. Hermione rose to her feet and brushed her hand down the length of her robes and spoke, her chin held high.

"Well, if nobody has a single thing to say here, I'm going to go. I have studying to do for our upcoming exams." Draco took this as his cue and stood as well, offering his arm. Professor McGonagall stood and gestured for them to please take their seats again. Hermione gave the woman a respectful bow before allowing Draco to seat her once again.

"I know that there has been a lot of anger and hurt in this circle. I understand that. However, now is the time to try to begin healing, if you can. I already began this process at Christmas. I want to tell my story so you all know exactly where I stand in this." Hermione wanted to smile at the woman's decidedly Slytherin approach.

"I had been at the Three Broomsticks before Christmas and I was gossiping with Madam Rosmerta and Minister Fudge. I said some things about Sirius that I now regret. Hermione heard me and quite soundly put me in my place. Even though I later apologized, nothing prepared me for the conversation I was about to have with Severus. Actually, Headmaster, are you sure that Arthur can be trusted with this information?" Her Uncle Sev leaned forward and glared at the redhead.

"How's your occlumency?" Arthur sputtered for only a moment.

"It isn't wonderful but it's passable." Her godfather glared at him.

"I'll check it later. If I find you wanting, you will be having lessons with me." Hermione watched as the Headmaster's eyes widened at his words. Professor McGonagall continued.

"I visited Black Moor over Christmas once Severus told me that Hermione Black was his goddaughter and that Sirius had become his best friend. I went even though I was sure that I would regret it. To my absolute horror and surprise, he dosed himself with veritiserum and told me that he was innocent, that he had never betrayed the Potters. I've been in on their secret since then and watching the events at this school, it's sickened me. The things that I have seen students and professors alike levy at these two children has been astounding." Hermione wasn't sure if she was going to enumerate them but she apparently was.

"Albus, you have been against them from the start. Yes, they have done wrong but you have always made them pay for it. You tried to read the thoughts of Miss Black in her first year and showed you that she had benefited from Severus' teaching early on. You punished the girl publicly at the end of her second year for cursing Miss Brown. Sure, she deserved punishment but not the bullying that she suffered this year. You made her serve detention over Hagrid having hippogriffs here, totally inappropriate. You have done everything you can to cut Miss Black and Mr. Malfoy down since they walked through the gates." She turned to Lupin.

"Remus Lupin, you're just as bad as the Headmaster. Yes, you were brainwashed to believe that he was right but you were atrocious. You punished a young girl for saving students on the Express, you dueled an injured girl because you needed to prove yourself. You rubbed her boggart in her face. What young child of war doesn't fear the deaths of those she loves? Not only did you do these things, you told Harry that he couldn't trust them, that they were going to lure him away. Inexcusable." Hermione didn't know how the woman knew half of those things but she couldn't deny that she was right. This didn't stop her.

"Mr. Weasley, you have done nothing but bully a young girl for a mistake she made when she was faced with a threat to her family. You have been bullying her all year and it has been inexcusable. Everyone has turned over your name for the person who threw Miss Black into the Black Lake and I really don't doubt it. You've struck her, why wouldn't you try to kill her?" Hermione watched impassively as Weasley started to sputter and argue. As much as she hated to admit it, she couldn't help but believe his words.

"I've done more than my fair share to Black but I never threw her into the lake. You have the wrong person." His Head of House glared at him but she didn't tarry. She turned to Harry next.

"I understand that you have had Dumbledore telling you how evil those two are in your ear. I get that you have been led astray. However, I know that you hurt that girl desperately and I'm not sure if she will ever forgive you. She's done nothing but try to protect you so I can't help but wonder if you're really as gullible as you seem or just willfully stupid. I really hope the answer is gullible so you have a chance at repairing the rifts you've helped make worse." Hermione lowered her head and let her cousin pull her into his chest. She hugged him close and said nothing until the Headmaster spoke.

"I tried to apologize last night but understandably, Lord Black is angry. I thwarted his attempts at getting Harry because I truly believed that he was guilty. I never considered that Lily would be able to override my spell without my knowing. I have done my best to make the lives of Miss Black and Mr. Malfoy complete hell and there's nothing I can say in defense of myself. I should have considered all outcomes but I didn't. I'd like to say that I'm perfect but it's clear that I'm not. You can't blame Harry or Remus for believing me when I clearly manipulated them into believing me over other people." Hermione wanted to stand up and scream at him but she didn't. It wasn't her place, even though he had done her wrong too. It was her father's and she was counting on him to come through. Rather than scream at the man, his Lord persona came out.

"Oh, so now you're willing to admit that you were wrong and you've done my daughter and cousin wrong. You have done everything you could to make sure that Harry believed the worst of me when I never wanted anything more than to keep him my self and love and protect him? Try telling him that." Hermione could tell that Harry wanted to say something so he didn't back down when the opportunity arose.

"Why would you keep me from him when you knew that my aunt and uncle would hate me? They've told me from day one that they couldn't stand my kind. It wasn't until I got my letter that I realized that they meant people with magic. My aunt hated her sister because she was unnatural. Why wouldn't she think the same thing of me? Hermione has told me more than once that I would have been loved if I had been raised with her and Draco. Now I can't help but wonder what my life would have been like, strong and magically powerful because I had been studying from the time I could talk. Lupin told me I'm powerful but power is nothing if you can't use it. Not to mention, I hurt her more than anyone should ever have to suffer because I believed not only Dumbledore's words, but Lupin's as well. I've been so completely wrong and I have nobody to blame but myself." Hermione was surprised to see her Headmaster rise to his feet and bow.

"I offer my most sincere apologies. I have made the life of his loved ones more difficult and I was wrong. They deserved so much better. I offer my humblest apologies and hope that one day I will be good enough for forgivingness." Hermione wanted to scream. Why should he be granted forgiveness when she had been paying the price of her father's perceived sins since day one? However, it was clear that he had truly believed that her father had been guilty. His actions were almost relatable when she considered that he thought her father a traitor. This, however, didn't mean that she was ready and willing for forgive him. He was far from that. Her father rose and used his most put-upon voice for his display.

"I understand that you thought I was guilty. I understand your reasoning. If it had only affected me, I would have accepted your apology with little to no fanfare. However, my daughter has suffered at your hands. You're going to have to work for every bit of acceptance and trust you receive from us. Now you know that while you've betrayed your allies, we never have." Hermione wanted to cheer when she saw the crestfallen face of the Headmaster. However, he deserved it so she did her best to keep that customary feeling of pity well up in her. Lupin stood next and Hermione was astounded to see him kneel at the floor in front of her father, laying his head in his lap.

"Sirius, I'm not sure how you can ever forgive me. We were lovers, we loved each other and I believed his word against yours. I can't blame him for my failings. I should have known and believed that no matter what you were innocent, that you wouldn't turn on James like that. I've believed the worst of you for twelve years, I've done my best to forget you and curse your name. Now, having the truth smack in the face, I can do that no longer. I have loved you for over a decade and I can only grovel at your feet and pray that you someday forgive me." Hermione watched her father shove Lupin off him in disgust and rise to his feet. He beckoned for the werewolf to rise and when he did, Hermione knew what was going to happen. She was sure that she should feel terrible but in truth, she didn't.

Her father reared back his fist and let it fly. Numerous times. Hermione flinched every single time he landed a blow on his ex-lover, knowing that it was hurting him as well. The werewolf didn't even attempt to fight back. Hermione stepped forward after three or four blows and wrapped her arm around his. She smiled gently at him.

"No more, daddy. I know you love him and this isn't doing any good but making him feel better. You deserve more." Her father met her eye and nodded slightly. Lupin was on the ground in front of him but wouldn't raise his head to meet anyone else's eyes.

"I'll prove to you in time how sorry I am. If it takes me letting this happen every day for the rest of my life, I'm going to earn your forgiveness." Hermione didn't let her father answer since she wasn't sure that he deserved the words he would surely spit out. Instead, she knelt at his side and whispered in his ear.

"It isn't him you have to convince, it's me. I'm the one who will keep him from accepting your pathetic apology. My father has been miserable for over a decade because of you. You deserve to rot with only your disease to accompany you. You deserve to know he deserves better. You have to convince me you're sorry before he'll ever consider you again." Hermione knew that her words were the truth too. Where he might forgive Harry with no repercussions, he would never forgive Remus Lupin if he thought Hermione hated him. Dumbledore stood at this point and nodded his head, quick to assure them that while he knew they were in control, there was nothing he could do.

"I think this meeting has come to an end. We'll all need to atone for our mistakes and only time can tell if we'll be successful." Hermione knew this was a cop out but said nothing. This had to happen and at this point, she wanted out of this whole situation.

After everyone stood and started for the door, Hermione hugged her father close. She had a feeling that he was going to forgive Harry readily and she needed one last hug that wasn't overshadowed by that. Once he pressed a kiss to her head, she backed away and stepped to her aunt. They exchanged hugs like they usually would and she smiled at her words or well-wishing.

Her Uncle Luci had hugged her close and told her that there was nothing in the world that meant more than her and Draco. She had hugged him tight and kept him close for several minutes as though she didn't want to remember that once he left, the one staunch supporter she had in her corner was going to be gone. Hermione wasn't stupid. While her father loved her, he was going to forgive Harry and welcome him with warm arms. Her godfather would do the same since he had loved his mother. No matter how much it hurt her, it was going to happen and Uncle Luci was the only one that would keep her as their number one. It hurt her but she wasn't stupid enough to believe any different.

After their goodbyes were said, Hermione started for the entrance with a grimace on her face. She knew that Draco was reminded of her words at Christmas and wouldn't leave her anytime soon because of them. She supposed that she should be grateful. It had been a long time coming and there was so much more to come. With a sigh, she let her cousin lead her to the Great Hall. After all, nothing about their meeting really affected her after all. She wasn't required to let her father's feelings overrule her own. Thank Merlin.

It was going to be a long rest of the year.

-O-

Harry knew he should have apologized to Hermione at the very least before the meeting broke up. He hadn't been able to believe that his godfather had pounded on Lupin like that. However, if his words were to be believed, they had been lovers and truthfully, that made the whole situation even worse. He should have given Lord Black a chance to explain at the very least.

Harry sent Ron on, telling him that he needed to try to mend fences with his godfather. Now that the truth was out, he wondered what his boggart would be now. The Malfoys seemed to realize that he wanted to speak to Lord Black alone because Lucius shook the man's hand and his wife pressed a kiss to his cheek. Professor Snape shot him a look that he was sure he should have understood but, in the end, he watched him leave. Once they were alone, Lord Black smiled at him.

"Shall we take this out on the grounds?" Harry nodded, unsure of exactly what to say. They left the privacy of the Headmaster's office and Harry let the older man lead him out of the castle to walk around the lake. Incidentally, it was the same path that he took when he ran in the evenings. After they were far enough out that they could hear the giant squid splashing, Harry decided to open the conversation.

"I'm so sorry, sir, for believing the worst of you. I had told Hermione that I would consider talking to you about everything and then I talked to Professor Lupin. I should have went with my gut, not my head after hearing what he had to tell me. I should have trusted Hermione and Malfoy all along. Instead, I -." Lord Black cut him off with a smile.

"First off, I'm your godfather, not your teacher. I'm Sirius, not sir or Lord Black. Draco calls me Sirius, or sometimes cousin, so I don't see any reason for you to be so formal." Harry shuffled his feet.

"Draco hasn't thought that you were evil for the last three years." Sirius laughed out loud now.

"I most certainly can be evil. I was raised in a family of Slytherins and when my loved ones are threatened, I can be as ruthless as any Slytherin. However, I'm a Gryffindor at heart, the only one in my family. I'm hoping that you'll join me in that regard." Harry felt his heart soar at his words. He wanted him to come to his house and be part of his family. Suddenly, he remembered that Hermione wasn't going to be so happy with that development. His voice was tentative.

"I'm not sure that would be a good idea. I was really mean to Hermione, I know I hurt her. She isn't going to want me anywhere near her." Sirius nodded and clasped his hands behind his back.

"I know, Draco told us what happened at Christmas. He didn't go into detail about what happened but he found Hermione in his bed sobbing her eyes out. Did you mean those things?" There was a slight bite to his tone but Harry didn't blame him.

"No, I didn't mean any of it. I wanted to hurt her so she would stay away from me. I knew that if she kept coming around I would give in and after my talk with Professor Lupin, it didn't seem like a good idea. It wasn't fair to lead her on and make her think that there was a chance at us being friends." Sirius nodded his head as if he understood but Harry wasn't sure he did. Harry decided he needed to know what he told her.

"I told her that I thought she was trying to whore herself out to me and then that I wished she was dead so you would know what it felt like to be me. She cried in front of me, something I've never seen her do in the three years I've known her." Sirius looked angry but he wasn't exploding so he hoped that he wasn't about to die.

"I want you to know that I love Hermione more than life itself. No, I didn't adopt her for the right reasons. I adopted her to keep myself out of Azkaban so I could raise you. However, she's my daughter and I love her. You ever hurt her like that again and I'll kill you." Harry gave a shaky nod. He knew that something along those lines was coming, he wouldn't be a good parent if it didn't. Harry took a deep breath before speaking.

"I would do anything to take it back. She told me more than once that she should have been my sister and that she was looking out for me. I want to apologize but I really don't think that it's going to work. I don't deserve for it to work. Frankly, you talking to me like this is likely going to piss her off. I think you're nuts, I would much rather keep her on my side than talk to a kid that has held you in contempt for three years because he listened to lies." Sirius chuckled softly before he laid his arm around his shoulders.

"You're right, she's going to be pissed. However, I loved your dad like he was my brother. The same way that she loves Draco, hell she might love him more. I owe it to your dad to bring you into my life and offer you my protection and love. Once she gets past the hurt, she'll realize that she would do anything in the world for her cousin. She really would too. I know that she would kill for him, they've been together since Draco was born. Did you know they sleep almost every night in the same bed when they're home for the holidays?" Harry nodded his head and Sirius barked a laugh.

"Ron and me, we sneaked into the Slytherin common room last year over Christmas. They made a pallet on the floor and slept there together. That was when I realized how much they loved each other." Sirius nodded.

"They kind of fell apart this year, why I'm not sure, but they're better now. It's good to see since I know it was hurting Hermione terribly." Harry snorted.

"It was over Pansy Parkinson. She's been sucking his dick and telling the world. Malfoy forgot that Hermione existed for a month or so. The day it all blew up, though, I could tell that he felt bad. It was clear he didn't realize that he had been ignoring her. It's been better since then." His godfather burst out laughing. It took him several minutes to get himself under control.

"I bet she eviscerated him too. Good girl." Harry didn't understand his thought process so he just nodded. His godfather smirked at him.

"In Slytherin, showing weakness is the ultimate sin. Yes, Hermione shows her cousin weakness because she trusts him. If he had ditched her, however, she wouldn't have showed him anything but ruthlessness. I bet she eviscerated him. Her aunt has coached her for years on how to handle her position socially. I bet she would be thrilled." Harry snorted now that he understood.

"I bet her aunt would have loved watching her put Parkinson in her place after the quidditch match then." Sirius laughed loudly.

"Probably. You need to apologize. I doubt she'll accept it, and I don't blame her, but keep doing it. Show her that your words aren't true and eventually she'll forgive you." Harry wondered what Hermione would think of her father giving away her secrets but he supposed it wasn't his place to worry about it. He nodded instead.

"I'm going to grovel for as long as it takes." His godfather smirked at him sideways.

"I know you like her as more than a sister. If you decide to pursue that, don't even think about hurting her. I will kill you, son of my best friend or not." Harry didn't speak. What was he supposed to say? That he constantly thought of the man's daughter and wanked to her at night and in the shower? It was better to remain silent. Thankfully, Sirius seemed to accept that nothing else was needed.

"I'm going to see if I can get custody of you. I don't want you returning to the Dursleys." Harry grimaced.

"According to the Headmaster, I have to go back. Something about my mother's sacrifice protecting me. However, if you could get me out of there as soon as possible, it would be appreciated. They really do hate me." Sirius nodded.

"I'll get with Dumbledore another day. Probably a few days from now since I know he's still pretty pissed I broke his nose." Harry laughed.

"That was a good hit." Sirius nodded.

"A hit he deserved for sending you to Petunia. I only met her once and she was horrid." Harry snorted again.

"She's still horrid." Nothing more was said as they finished their circuit around the Black Lake. Once they had reached the starting point, Sirius turned to Harry.

"I have to go. I'm going to owl the Headmaster about you coming to Black Moor and when we meet again, I'll tell you every story about your parents I can think of. I hope you end up with a love like theirs. I'll be in touch now that it's possible. If you have need of anything, I mean anything, you write me. Have Hermione teach you to send a patronus message so if it's urgent I'll get it. Even if she hates you currently, she'll teach you. What is your patronus, by the way?" Harry grinned.

"A stag." Sirius laughed again.

"Just like your father. Not only was that his patronus, it was his animagus form." Harry grinned now.

"Maybe I'm more like him than I know." Sirius clapped him on the shoulder.

"You should know, then, that he chased your mum for seven long years. You better hope you don't end up with that part of his legacy." Harry couldn't help but agree since he couldn't get Hermione out of his mind. Considering their current situation, he supposed that he would probably end up more like his father than he wanted to admit. Therefore, he remained silent. Sirius reached out and cupped his face in his hands.

"I've dreamed of you for over a decade. I'm glad that you're finally in my life." Harry nodded. He would definitely return the favor. Therefore, he grinned.

"I'm glad I finally know the truth." Sirius smiled softly at him and ruffled his hair.

"I must go. Remember what I said. I'll be in touch." Harry nodded and then watched as his godfather strode away from him, his strides purposeful and determined.

Harry really wasn't sure what to think of his first encounter with his godfather. It had gone well, that much was sure, but he still couldn't help but think that he was going to cause a rift between Hermione and her father. The things he had said to her weren't going to be easily overcome and for her father to welcome him with open arms, it was going to end badly. It was just a matter of time. He kept telling himself that that wasn't his business but he couldn't help but worry about the girl that he couldn't get out of his mind. The last thing he wanted was to cause her more pain. He had enough to atone for already.

Harry considered going back into the castle and finding Ron. However, he didn't want to hear about how Slytherins were evil and this changed nothing. While he loved Ron as a friend, he knew his faults. He was prejudiced and this would change nothing in the scheme of things. However, as much as he loved Ron, things were going to have to change and he needed to have the conversation with him. Therefore, he headed towards the castle and mentally prepared himself for the confrontation.

Harry entered the castle and started for the Gryffindor common room. He knew that Arthur was required to be there since his son had been involved but he doubted that he had hung around. Therefore, he would bet his vault that his friend was in the common room playing chess. He climbed to the seventh floor and entered Gryffindor Tower to find that everyone was staring at him. Since he wasn't in the mood to answer questions, he went straight to Ron, who was playing against Neville. Harry sighed, remembering the argument he had had with his friend over Sirius' innocence.

"I owe you an apology, Nev. You were right about Sirius, though let's keep it quiet until I know what they're doing with the information." Neville beamed at him and nodded.

"I know nothing, Harry. Glad you finally realized that you have more people in your corner than you thought." Harry nodded before he turned to his best mate.

"Ron, can we talk for a minute? You can come back right after." Ron nodded and Neville didn't seem too irritated. He just picked up a book from the table next to him, something about Egyptian plants. He led Ron over to the side of the common room that nobody was occupying. Ron opened the conversation.

"I can't believe that Black was innocent, though I guess it should have been obvious. He was a Gryffindor after all, loyal til the end. If only his daughter could be trusted." Harry reached out and shoved his shoulders hard, pushing him back just a little. His voice was hard.

"Yes, Sirius was innocent but Pettigrew wasn't. He was a Gryffindor too. House makes no difference and if you think it does, you're stupid." He could tell by the dumbfounded look on his friend's face that he didn't' know what to think at his words.

"I'm here to tell you that you are no longer to make comments about Hermione and Malfoy. I don't care if they're Slytherins, they're family. I will always consider you and your family my family as well but they are too now. No more comments or we are going to butt heads." Ron stared at the floor for a moment before he spoke.

"I think you're making a mistake trusting those two but I'll keep my mouth shut. I'm not going to be their friends, I'd rather shoot myself, but I won't say anything about your family. Not so much that I'm scared of you but I'm scared Black will stomp my nuts like she did Pettigrew's." Harry couldn't help the burst of laughter at his best mate's words.

"That was brutal. She didn't get in trouble either, which is even better. I'm pretty sure that right now, that girl is my hero." Ron laughed and nodded.

"Yeah, Pettigrew had it coming. Like I said, I consider myself lucky she only threw me against a wall." Harry nodded before he gestured that they were finished.

"I'm going to apologize and try to be her friend. I don't expect you to be their friend but I want you to keep your comments to yourself." Ron nodded, smile playing on his lips.

"I can do that." Harry grinned back

"Thanks, mate."

While Ron returned back to his game of chess, he made his way up to his room so he could take a nap. It hadn't been long since he had woke but he hadn't slept well. Needless to say, he felt much better in the light of the day then he had last night.

Things could only get better from here.

-O-

Sirius settled into his chair before the fire in the library. Lucius and Cissy had just left and to say that he was ready for bed would have been an understatement. While he had enjoyed spending the night with his daughter the night before, it hadn't been restful or comfortable. Candy had already brought him a potion to help him with his stiff neck.

He swirled the fire whiskey around in his tumbler. Sirius had spoken with Dumbledore before he left about having Harry come to Black Moor that summer but he had been told about the blood ward that had been erected when he had been placed with Lily's sister. As much shit as it was, he would have to continue returning to his aunt and uncles until the wards weren't needed anymore.

Sirius was doing his best to drown his sorrows. As excited as he was about having Harry in his life and having him come stay the better part of the summer with him, it had been arranged that he would arrive for his birthday, he knew that it was going to cause a rift between him and his daughter. He knew that she was going to think that he had chosen his godson over her and he supposed that he couldn't blame her. He was choosing to have Harry around and he knew that Hermione wasn't going to like it. However, it needed to be done.

Sirius hated to hurt his daughter like he was going to but Harry needed to be brought into the fold. It was past time and he deserved to be loved as much as Hermione did. Yes, his godson had hurt her terribly but he knew that she would forgive him in the long run. It would happen quicker the more he was around.

Sirius knew that what he was doing was fucked up. He knew that his daughter was going to view it as betrayal. However, he also knew that once she had forgiven his godson, she would agree with every decision he made. As terrible as it sounded, he had to make decisions for the world at large, for the war, and they didn't always revolve around his daughter's feelings.

He knew that Severus was just as thrilled that Lily's son was finally in the fold. While he didn't necessarily like the boy, he was bound to protect him. He had loved Lily and there was nothing he could do to change his vows to the Order. Having him close would make his life easier and he hoped that his daughter would remember that before she lambasted him for taking Harry's side.

Lucius would likely be the favorite this summer. Sirius expected it. As much as he hated hurting his daughter, he had to do right by Harry as well. He hadn't done right by him since he had been born and it was high time that it happened. Hermione had had twelve years of being his sole focus and now she was going to have to share him. It would be quite the shock to her but it was a shock she was going to have to get used to.

Truthfully, the whole situation made Sirius feel like a complete bastard. He knew that his daughter deserved his loyalty but on the other hand, so did Harry. It wasn't his fault that the Headmaster and Lupin had done their level best to turn him against him. His godson deserved to be first to someone and not because of what he could offer to the war effort. Yes, he had done wrong, especially to his daughter, but he deserved the right to repent.

While Sirius had easily accepted Harry's apology, he was unsure of what to do with Remus' apology. It had felt good pummeling his face, much better than it should have, but he couldn't deny the facts. He had loved Remus, they had been lovers for six months when things had gone south. His lover hadn't even given him the chance to explain, he had just cast him from his life without a single explanation. It had been heartbreaking, that much was sure.

Sirius had had more than his fair share of lovers through the years. Numerous, numerous women had experienced his cock but only a handful of men. He had been bisexual from the start but had never been attracted to anyone until Remus. They hadn't gotten together until a drunken night after they had graduated and from there, it had become a relationship. To say that he had loved Remus more than anyone else in his life would have been an understatement.

To watch his last love, go to his knees before him, it gave him dirty thoughts. However, he couldn't forget the things that he had done to Hermione. He had dueled her while she had a broken hand. He had gave her a concussion and rebroken her hand. Ultimately, it was unforgivable. If it had been just himself that had been hurt, he would have forgiven the man already. However, Hermione was his daughter and he wouldn't stand for someone that bullied her. He would never start a relationship with someone that had hurt her. He was going to have to have to gain her forgiveness before Sirius would ever consider forgiving him.

Lucius had warned him that things were going to get tricky now that the truth had come out. He knew that the man was telling the truth but there was nothing he could do to tell the man that he was wrong. He just hoped that when things went wrong between himself and Hermione that Lucius would be her support and help her realize that he had to help his godson.

Sirius threw the rest of his whiskey back and swallowed hard. He went to his feet and started for his room. Life was only going to get harder and he needed to prepare himself. After all, he was going to have to go against his daughter eventually. It had been a long time in the making.

This was going to be an interesting summer.

A/N- Another huge chapter down, guys. Damn, I can't believe it. I know that Sirius is coming across as a douche right now. He is being one, that's for sure. However, things are going to escalate before they blow up. Hang tight. Thanks to everyone out there that who's showing my story love, you guys are awesome. Leave me a message after the beep and let me know what you think.

Next chapter, Hermione receives some apologies.

Love,

Alicia


	59. Chapter 59

A/N- My laws, you guys are just awesome. Thank you so much, once again, for the love you show my story. I know I say it every chapter but that's because I mean it more than you know. I would have quit a long time ago if it weren't for you. Sorry y'all had to wait a few extra days for this chapter but truly, I had no clean laundry, no food in my house, and my living room looked like it had thrown up on itself. I don't even want to discuss the kitchen. Thanks for your patience.

**Shout out to Ms-Fleur for being my 2300th reviewer! Thanks for being awesome!**

Disclaimer: You guys have heard it all before, I don't own a thing. Everything about this story belongs to someone else. Our queen, J.K.R., gets all the credit for the characters and while I have spun my own story after Part One, the original idea that snowballed belongs to Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle, a loyal reader who gifted me this idea.

Chapter 59

June 6, 1994

Hermione made her way to Transfiguration alongside Draco. Her cousin rarely left her side now that the truth was out. He wasn't so much worried about the bullying now, but Harry finding her and accosting her with apologies.

The Slytherin wasn't stupid. She knew that her father was going to forgive Harry, she had warned Draco of it at Christmas. Therefore, she hadn't been surprised when her father had written her two days after the truth had been revealed and told her that he and Harry had made their peace and while he knew that she was angry at him, he hoped that she would eventually forgive him.

As angry as his letter made her, she didn't blame her father. Even Hermione knew that Harry hadn't meant most of the words that he had said to her that night in the Hospital Wing. If he had, he wouldn't have tried to check on her after the dementor attack on Hogsmeade. She knew that he felt guilty; the crux of the matter, however, was that Hermione didn't think that she had any more forgiveness left in her. Harry had been mean more times than she could count and thus far she had forgiven him. Her Uncle Luci had always told her "fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me". She found that it was quite fitting in this instance.

Harry had been trying to pin her down for just under a week now. A part of her felt guilty but Draco quickly reminded her that she owed him nothing. She had gone above and beyond to protect him for three years, had given up not only her Christmas their second year, but most of her childhood, and Harry had thrown in back in her face. It made her heart clench in hurt when she realized that she was in love with a boy that only wanted to be her friend now because the truth had finally come to light. Hermione would be the first to admit that she wanted more than that, that she deserved more than that.

Draco steered her into the classroom and into her seat. Pansy was looking quite sure of herself at the table she used to share with Draco but Hermione paid her no mind. It was no secret that her cousin had spent time with the girl the night before. While Draco had spent time with the girl doing she didn't want to know what, Hermione had spent a pleasurable evening with Daphne, studying for their exams. There was only one more week of school and today was their last day of exams. The next week would be spent in leisure as the professors graded exams and got them back to students. Hermione was excited because it meant that she would be able to devote all her time to her assignments from Madam Cambridge.

Hermione had wanted to throw a fit when her father had told her that Madam Cambridge had agreed to pick up Harry as a student this summer. She was quite sure that her father would find a way for the boy to come stay with them over the summer no matter how she felt about it. While she wanted to be happy for her father since he was finally able to have a relationship with his godson, she knew that when it happened she was going to be mortified and hurt that her father would invite him into her home after what he had done and said to her without even discussing it with her. She really wanted to be grown up and not view it as a betrayal but she really wasn't sure that she could.

Hermione had gone to her Transfiguration professor just a few days ago to see if the Headmaster would now lift the ridiculous rule that they couldn't have more advanced work. The Gryffindor had checked, Hermione believed that she had, but was told that the rule still stood, especially now that Harry would receive private tutoring as well. She thought that it was complete tripe but there was nothing she could do about it, therefore, she left it alone. She had known all along that what was good for the Boy-Who-Lived wasn't good for everyone else.

Perhaps the most disturbing event since the truth came out was that Albus Dumbledore had called Hermione and Draco into his office three days after her father had left the school. He had openly apologized, profusely actually, and then begged her to get her father onboard with fighting the war the way the Headmaster wanted to. While Hermione did believe that at least a part of him was sorry for fucking everything up with his opinions and actions, she wasn't about to convince her father to follow the man to war. When war came, they were going to make decisions as a family and go from there. That had been decided years ago.

Professor McGonagall passed out the exam and bid them to begin. Hermione hadn't wanted to study since everything they had learned that year had been pure review. However, the perfectionist inside her wouldn't allow her to get anything less than a perfect score. Draco and Daphne had rolled their eyes at her but she had just continued on her way, doing what she wanted.

The exam was just as easy as she had feared that it would be. There wasn't a single question that she didn't' know the answer to and she was quite sure that it was the same for Draco. After she had filled in her exam and then turned it in, Professor McGonagall had told them that they were free to leave. Harry was still working on his exam but appeared to be on his last page. That meant that Hermione had to hurry so they wouldn't meet in the corridor.

Draco flanked her as she left and she flashed him a grateful smile. Even though she was sure that there were still people that wanted to bully or prank her, they hadn't in quite a while. Truthfully, she wasn't sure if it was because of her threat to Ginny Weasley or Harry threatening them. Word had trickled into the snake's house by way of Neville and the twins to inform her that Harry had told the whole of Gryffindor house to treat her like the princess she was.

However, this would all have also been explained in the newspaper article that came out following the confession of Peter Pettigrew. Every major newspaper, and most of the minor ones, had printed a story on the clearing of the name of Sirius Black. The whole story had been rehashed and then retold from Pettigrew's point of view. While Hermione was grateful to the papers for letting the truth be known, for publicly clearing her father's name, she couldn't help but be irritated at the articles. Where everyone had hated her before, most were now chummy and more than willing to be friends. What they weren't aware of was that Hermione had no room in her life for fake friends.

What astounded her the most was that people assumed she was now loyal to the light but Draco was still dreaming to serve the Dark Lord. Theo had been one of these people. There had been a confrontation two days before where Theo had told her cousin that he was sure that he could keep him away from her so he didn't get tainted with her outlook on life. Draco had pushed the boy away from them and told him that if he ever spoke such tripe again, he would pay in blood. While Draco wasn't usually a vengeful wizard, she believed his words. He was his father's son after all.

Blaise didn't seem perturbed at all and neither did Tracey or Millie. They just took it in stride. Daphne had been astounded, quite surprised at the fact that Lord Black had been innocent of most of the crimes levied against him. However, she refused to lose Hermione's friendship and told her that she was going to talk to her father over the summer holidays. Hermione had urged her not to but if there was one word that described Daphne, it was stubborn.

Greg and Vince had been standoffish at first, probably since both their fathers were Death Eaters that had claimed the Imperious Curse in the first war as well. However, after a day, it was like nothing had changed. Hermione wasn't sure that it would last but for the moment, all was well with them.

Theo was the only fly in the ointment. Even though Pansy had turned up her nose at Hermione when she realized that her father was indeed on the light side of the war, it was undeniable that she was still the Black heir and there was nothing to be gained politically by turning against Hermione even though she had publicly shamed her. Theo, however, had no problems screaming at the pair of them in the common room in front of Merlin and everyone that they were traitors to the Dark Lord and that his father would rescind the betrothal contract for Hermione poste haste.

Draco had went to his feet and drawn his wand. The whole situation had been ridiculous and when Hermione had tried to say so, Daphne had pinched her arm until she had remained quiet. Draco had told him that not only would his suit never be seriously considered, he would duel him right there for the slight to their family name. Theo had quickly backed down, knowing that he was no match for Draco. Her cousin had demanded an apology from the boy to herself and then told him to instruct his father to withdraw his suit. Theo had agreed quickly but ever since, he had glared at the pair with undisguised hatred. It had been one thing to deal with bullying from other houses but a completely different thing to worry about watching your back from someone in your own house.

Since they were released only a few minutes early, Hermione aimed her cousin towards the door leading outside. Herbology was next and even though she was confident in her abilities, she wouldn't mind studying for the few extra minutes before class started. Her cousin, of course, rolled his eyes at her since he knew exactly what she was up to. However, he allowed her to lead him and she smirked at him.

The grounds were lush and green after the spring rains. Now that summer was upon them, the wind was warm and the sky was blue. The clouds were large and puffy and Hermione wished that she had time to lay out on the grounds at night before she left so she could stargaze. It used to be something that she, Draco, and her aunt used to do together, usually with her aunt telling them over and over again through the years why they had named the Black family after the stars. They rarely did it now and she wished that they could do it more often since she missed it.

Hermione stripped her robes as they entered the greenhouse. She shrunk them down and put them in her bag, Draco following suit right away. Professor Sprout smiled at them and Hermione acknowledged it was a nod of her head. They settled into their seats and Hermione leaned her head against her cousin's shoulder and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders before kissing the side of her head.

"Last day of exams. Thank Merlin." Hermione chuckled.

"You act like you aren't going to be doing Madam Cambridge's assignments for the next week." Draco snorted and closed his eyes. She could tell that he was starting to doze so she nudged him softly.

"You can't sleep yet. You need to stay alert for this exam." Draco nodded before he kissed her head again and released her.

"It's your fault for being so warm. Distract me."

It turned out that the distraction wasn't needed. Hermione had just opened her mouth when the doors opened and students poured in. Pansy was the first one to come to Draco's side and give him a pleading look.

"I thought that you were going to sit with me in class today. We talked about it last night." Draco snorted at her.

"You talked about it, I was a little busy. I never agreed. Frankly, I won't be sitting with you in class. Hermione is my sister in every way but blood and I won't be leaving her to sit with who knows who." Pansy sneered at him while Hermione clutched his hand tightly.

"You had no problems with it earlier in the year." Hermione smiled sweetly at her.

"Do I need to call my Aunt Cissy?" Pansy paled before turning on her heel and finding her seat. Once she was gone, Hermione turned to her cousin.

"You know I don't care if you sit with her here and there. I just don't want to be ignored like I was before." Draco shook his head.

"She means nothing to me and while you'll say it's horrible of me to use her like that, I don't care. She's a horrid human being, you should hear the things she tells me in private. I don't want her thinking that there is a chance with me in the long run." As much as Hermione didn't like his attitude, she supposed that she understood. Pansy deserved to not be led on. Instead, she nodded.

"You're right, I don't like it. However, I won't say anything. It's your life and I won't interfere." Draco smiled at her.

"Someday I'll find a girl that will fit perfectly into my life. My family will love her, she'll adore you, my mother will approve. I just have to wait for her to show up." Hermione nodded against him. She already thought that Daphne fit his words perfectly but she wasn't going to jinx it and speak too soon.

"You'll find an amazing girl that will make you happy." He kissed the top of her head against.

"You will too, Miney. I'm pretty sure Potter fits this description, he just needs to grow up." Hermione sat up abruptly and refused to meet his eyes.

"Potter would never like me. He made that quite clear. While I don't believe that he thought I was a whore or whoring myself out for the Dark Lord, I do believe wholeheartedly that he believes I am undeserving of his attention or love. To make me believe otherwise, especially after his words, is cruel." Draco seemed to be warring with himself when he finally lowered his eyes and nodded.

"Forgive me. I don't agree with your words but I won't push you. I want you to stay away from him. He doesn't deserve you and I'm not quite sure he ever will. All I was saying is that he could someday if he ever changed." Hermione was spared a response by Professor Sprout calling them to order. After passing out the exams for the end of the year, all the students got down to business.

Hermione was one of the first to finish. The class didn't challenge her, just like the others in her schedule. Draco followed afterwards, completely assured in the fact that he passed with flying colors.

Since they weren't dismissed early like they had been in Transfiguration, Hermione had been forced to entertain herself and then come up with ways to avoid Harry. When the bell finally rang, she had come up with nothing, no additional ways to keep away from the Gryffindor boy. She knew that she would have to face him eventually but she wouldn't feel bad about putting it off for as long as she could.

In the end, she didn't need a reason to keep away from him. Parvati did that all on her own. She hung off Harry's arm and grinned at him shamelessly all while slowing him down so there would be no chance and catching up with her. As much as this stung, she thanked Merlin for the advantage and then sped off to the Great Hall at Draco's side. Just outside the door to the Great Hall, the familiar form of Remus Lupin stepped in front of her. She wondered if he had been waiting there for her but she quickly reminded herself that she had better things to do than worry about a werewolf that had caused her father such pain. His hand laid on her shoulder and when she turned cold eyes to him, he removed it quickly.

"May I please speak with you after the meal, Miss Black?" Hermione wanted to snort at him but she refrained. As much as she disliked the man, she understood that he had been misled and lied to. However, it didn't excuse the numerous years of pain her father had suffered because his ex-lover hadn't believed him or given him the benefit of the doubt enough to listen to his side of the story.

"Why should I?' She felt her question was valid but after it was out, it sounded so petty. While Hermione knew that she could be petty at times, she didn't like to appear that way to anyone but her family. Lupin lowered his eyes.

"I fear it will be the last time we speak." Hermione started just a little. Sure, there was the rumor of the curse on the position of the Defense professor but she had never believed it. Why would she when every professor had been a complete joke until Lupin? Hermione finally gave him a consenting nod.

"Alright, I'll meet you in the classroom next to the Charms classroom after dinner." Once he gave her a blinding smile, he hurried away and Hermione let her cousin lead her to the table. Once they were seated, eh glared at her.

"Why would you agree to that when you know we have a meeting for the quidditch team after dinner to discuss next year?" Hermione grinned at him.

"I'll be fine. You can't stop living your life. I'll meet you in the common room after and you'll see how great I am afterwards." Draco hesitated for a few moments but finally nodded.

They continued with their meal, excited chatter all around them. Everyone was thrilled that classes were finished for the year and they had a whole week to spend with their friends and relax. Hermione didn't blame them. This year felt like it had been her most emotional yet and she couldn't wait for the summer holidays.

Dinner passed by without incident and once the food disappeared, Draco leaned over and tugged one of her curls. She smiled at him to reassure him that all would be well but she wasn't sure that he believed her. He helped her up from the bench and handed her her school bag.

"Promise me that you won't let him anger you. He isn't worth it." Hermione nodded and smiled.

"I promise. Now go before you're late to your meeting. I swear I don't understand why you need to have a meeting about next year when that won't happen for a few months yet." Draco laughed but didn't answer, just sauntered off towards the door. She assumed that they were having their meeting in the locker rooms judging by his direction. Hermione watched as Pansy followed behind, smile on her face as she approached her cousin. She turned away from the scene since she really didn't want to know exactly what their relationship consisted of.

Hermione quickly made her way to the Charms corridor, locating the classroom with ease. Just outside the door, she stopped and took a deep breath, calming and centering herself so she didn't lose her temper. Before she lost her courage, she pushed the door open to see that Lupin was already there waiting on her. Once the door was closed, she met his gaze and she could see sorrow there. However, the sorrow in her father's eyes for years now far outweighed the werewolf's. He had conjured a couch and he gestured for her to take a seat. Once she was seated primly on the couch, she turned his way. He raked a hand through his hair and sighed.

"I've been sacked. Someone leaked my condition to the Board of Governors; your uncle thinks it was Rookwood owling Pansy Parkinson's father. Since they hadn't been informed of my condition from the start, I've lost my job. Not the first one, however, it was the best one of my life. I just wanted to speak with you one last time before I leave in the morning." Hermione wasn't sure what she was supposed to say so she remained quiet. He didn't seem to mind.

"I know you hate me and I don't blame you one bit. I've been completely horrid to you and you didn't deserve it, not even a little. Even if your father had been guilty, I should have been better." Hermione held up her hand to stall his words.

"I know that I deserve better. However, I really don't care about what you've done to me. Sure, it was complete tripe but I let it go. I understand that you were hurting because you thought your friend had betrayed you. I understand your motive. I know myself well enough to say that I'm not sure I could treat the child of someone who did that as though there was no history there. However, I really don't like you because of what you did to my father. You weren't the one that saw him miserable for years. You weren't the one who would wake up as he brought all the girl's home, trying to forget about you for just a little while. You weren't the one who saw how horrid he felt that he couldn't bring Harry home and give him the home he deserved. That was me. I was the one there for all of that, Draco too. Both my uncles and my aunt were the only ones he had. This being said, I won't be forgiving you anytime soon. My father deserves to have someone in his life that is there because they trust each other, not because the truth comes out and suddenly all is well. I'm not even touching on the fact that you were lovers. That isn't for me to have an opinion on." Lupin had kept eye contact the whole time and nodded when she had finished.

"I don't want you to forgive me, not yet. Your dad either. He deserves for me to grovel and show all vulnerability. I loved your dad more than anything once upon a time and I still do. If he were to forgive me straight away we would both know it was a lie. Your dad is a passionate man and he acts on his emotions. We would grow to resent each other is he forgave me too quickly." Hermione wanted to puke in reality. While she was alright with her father having male lovers, she didn't want to hear about his relationships and such.

"If that's the case, what is the point of having this conversation with me?" Lupin gave her a soft smile.

"I want your permission to reach out to your dad and start the process of mending fences. I know your words from that night were true. If you're against me, he won't ever let me in. I want you to let me prove to him that I can be better, I will be better." Hermione cocked her head to the side and stared at him.

"What would you do if I told you no?" He lowered his eyes and sighed.

"I would respect your wishes. These days you know your dad better than I do." Hermione knew that she couldn't refuse him. If her father had refused something like this on her account trying to protect her, she would have been livid. Therefore, she heaved a sigh.

"You have my permission. I won't help you and I haven't forgiven you. That will take a very long time. I shall let my father make his own decisions in that regard." Lupin broke out in a grin and she could see how her father had been attracted to him. He was quite handsome when he was happy and unencumbered.

"Thank you, Miss Black, you have no idea how happy you just made me." Hermione scrunched her nose just a tiny bit at the formality but lifted her chin anyways.

"You're welcome. Just know that you have to convince him to talk to you because I won't be." He gave an enthusiastic nod.

"I want to tell you again how sorry I am for being so childish and petty. I should have been better and I'm going to strive to do better." He paused for a moment.

"Have you talked to Harry yet?" Hermione stood up and brushed off her skirt. Her robes were still shrunk in her bag and she suddenly felt like she needed armor.

"No, I haven't. I see no need to. I will continue to protect him as I have but he's made quite clear his feeling about me. I refuse to put myself out there again. He will just have to be happy with my protection." Lupin looked sad but she didn't acknowledge it. He started to rake his hand through his hair again.

"I know you're angry, Hermione, but he didn't know any better. He had Dumbledore and I telling him how evil you were." Hermione spun, skirt flaring around her. Her magic created a breeze that lifted her ebony curls but she quickly got a hold of herself so she could speak.

"He didn't know better at the beginning. After first year and the Philosopher's Stone, he should have used his own mind. I have given him three years of showing him I was on his side and he still disbelieved me for the words of you and the Headmaster. Don't tell me I should forgive him. He doesn't deserve it." Lupin held up his hands in surrender and spoke softly.

"He should have, yes. However, nobody is perfect. I'm not asking you to forgive him but give him the chance to be better. I know he can be." Hermione glared at the man and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I don't see how it's any of your business. We both know my father will forgive him and that's what matters most, right? Therefore, drop the subject and don't touch it again." Lupin gave her a quick nod and smiled at her again.

"Thank you again. I won't take up the rest of your evening and perhaps I'll see you over the summer." Hermione gave him a nod and watched the man put his robes back on before leaving, the door wide open as he left. With a deep breath, she threw herself back on the couch and let her mind drift. However, only a minute passed before Harry stepped out of the shadows just outside the door and came in, closing the door behind him. Hermione flew to her feet, not wanting to be at a disadvantage. Her hands threw her bag up on her shoulder and she started for the door. Harry stepped in front of it and beseeched her with his eyes.

"Please, just listen to me. You don't have to talk, just let me get what I need to say out. Then I'll move and let you out without a fuss." Hermione put her arms at her side and raised her chin, more than ready to launch her wand into her hand if she needed to. Harry pushed his glasses up his nose and met her eyes.

"You have no idea how fucking horrible I feel knowing that I said those things to you. I never meant them, not any of them. I had just talked to Lupin and he had warned me about getting close to you, told me that he had been pulled in by Sirius and betrayed. I didn't want you anywhere near me because I'm always tempted to be your friend no matter what anyone tells me." Hermione didn't miss the fact that he called her father by his first name. She decided not to comment since she didn't want to start yet another argument between them.

"I wish that I could show you how terrible I feel but I know it won't matter. I'm going to have to prove myself and I want you to know that I'm up for the challenge. You deserve better from me than you've gotten and I am going to change that. I'm also going to change how Gryffindor house as a whole treat you." Hermione snorted; she couldn't help it. He certainly had high hopes.

"Your house hates me, starting with your best mate and his sister. I don't expect any loyalty from you or anyone else." Harry nodded and raked his hand through his hair.

"I know you don't, you're strong like that. However, you're still owed an apology and I want you know that I will never regret anything more than the words I said to you that day in the hospital wing and how I've treated you the last three years. I should have listened to you and not the Headmaster." Hermione nodded, ready to escape.

"Yes, I understand. You're sorry and I deserve better. I don't know what you want me to say to this." Harry deflated, his shoulders sagging and Hermione felt just a tiny bit bad. However, she remained silent.

"Nothing, I suppose. I just want you to know that I feel horrid and I'm going to do everything that I can to make you believe me too." Hermione nodded. She needed to get out before she let her heart soften and forgive the idiot boy.

"Maybe someday you'll make me believe you." Harry nodded and stepped away from the door, allowing her to pass. She hurried out of the room and down the corridors. Once she was two floors way, she stopped and leaned back against the wall and took a deep breath.

Hermione had faced Harry and survived. She hadn't given in to his apology and she let him know that they were most assuredly not okay. She hoped that it would be enough. With another sigh, she headed for the common room to wait for Draco. She was sure that he would find her story entertaining and give her stellar advice.

-O-

Harry couldn't believe that he had actually cornered Hermione Black and got her to listen. Of course, it had meant that he followed her when she met with Lupin but that made no difference to him. In the end, she had listened and that was all that mattered.

Of course, he had hoped that she would forgive him and welcome him back with open arms. However, he knew that that would never happen. Therefore, when she had even deigned to speak to him, he couldn't have been happier. To say that she had made his week would have been an understatement.

In truth, Harry had already been working her cause and her side since he learned the truth. He knew that she would likely never hear about it but that was alright with him. He didn't want her to forgive him just because he did the right thing where she could see. He wanted to do the right thing because it was right.

After stewing in the fact that he had indeed been led astray by those that were supposed to be right, Harry realized that he was going to have to do more than just believe Hermione and think that she would have his back from here on out. He was going to have to change things, prove that he had committed to the change in his behavior wholeheartedly. It wasn't going to be easy but he was going to do whatever needed done, that much was sure.

Ron had balked, of course. He didn't want to embrace the girl as a friend and Harry wasn't going to make him. However, he had almost made it known to the whole of his house that he was going to be friends with Hermione Black and if they didn't like it, they would be cut from his circle. Since he was the Boy-Who-Lived, this wasn't in their realm of social abilities, so they all promised to be better in the upcoming year. Nobody had been stupid enough to drastically change their behavior this year since they were aware that it would likely end in them being hexed by the witch in question. If there was one thing she didn't fear, it was standing up for what she believed in whether you liked it or not.

Harry had expected Neville and the twins to be onboard with his declarations. All three had taken to his words like a duck to water and promised to back him in any way that he needed as long as he was promoting inner house unity. Harry had high hopes after all; he wanted to get all the houses working together so when they time came, they could band together and destroy Voldemort. It hadn't been received well but he was going to keep working on it. He refused to give up.

Ginny had been the most surprising. Where Hermione swore that Ginny had gone out of her way to bully her and throw stones at her, she had been the first to step forward and pledge to help him create house unity and peace. He hadn't believed her at first, after all, Hermione swore she was a bully and she hadn't lied to him yet. However, her actions spoke louder than words. Since she had backed him completely and publicly, Harry had met with her in the quidditch locker rooms and performed oral sex on her. It hadn't been an experience that he particularly loved, but Ginny had seemed to. She had sucked his cock for almost an hour and he had been begging by the end of it.

Harry still kept his distance any other time, however. He was sure that Ron knew what was going on between him and his sister but he kept quiet. He was thankful since the last thing he wanted to deal with was more drama. Ginny had told people, of course, but he wasn't surprised. He had known from the start that Ginny was only showing him attention because she wanted a part of his fame. As much as the girl wanted to date him, it would never happen.

All the girls were the same in truth. None of them wanted Harry for himself, only for the fame that came along with being the Boy-Who-Lived. He knew this and wasn't interested in a girl that would only try to shag him because of his name. He knew now that this was a common occurrence in the wizarding world but this was something that he wouldn't budge on.

Not to mention that Harry he knew he wasn't the only guy that Ginny was messing around with. It helped with his guilt immensely since there were rumors that she was also seeing Dean and Seamus, along with two guys from Hufflepuff. He wasn't sure if she was going as far with them as she was with him but he supposed that it was none of his business. As long as she didn't bring them up, he wouldn't either.

He breezed back through the common room door and spotted Ron playing chess against Percy. Rather than bother them, he started for his dorm. Ginny, however, stepped in front of him, shrewd look on her face. Her arms were crossed in front of her chest and she slightly glared at him.

"What are you so happy about?" Harry smiled at her.

"I finally spoke to Hermione tonight and even though she hasn't forgiven me for being a complete prat, she let me speak. It's an improvement." Ginny rolled her eyes and laid both her hands on his abdomen and massaged the muscles there. While running wasn't great for building muscle, quidditch was. He knew that his stomach was gaining a six-pack and he couldn't wait until it was fully developed.

"Harry, I know you want to make things right with her but she isn't ever going to let you. She's already made up her mind that you're evil, that you don't want her friendship. She's never going to forgive you." Harry sighed, fearful that her words were true. He gripped her elbows and squeezed softly.

"I hope you're wrong but if you're not, I'll live. I just want to do the right thing." Ginny smiled at him and reached up to brush hair off his forehead, exposing his scar. He hated this gesture more than anything. Her voice was soft though so he let it go.

"I know. I'll help you. How about we go meet in a classroom in thirty?" Harry shook his head.

"No, I'm tired. We can meet up tomorrow, alright?" Her eyes clouded over for a moment but it cleared almost instantly.

"Alright, tomorrow evening in the locker rooms right after dinner." He gave her a smile and nod and headed up the stairs.

After showering off and dressing for bed, he fell into his four-poster and allowed his mind to drift once more. It was over all the same information but he couldn't help but feel as though this was the beginning of Hermione forgiving him. He was well-aware that it would take a good long time but he was willing to put in the effort to have the girl in his life. She had been a phenomenal friend when he hadn't even realized it. He longed to see how amazing she would be when he was aware of it.

He closed his eyes and tried to divert his attention to his upcoming encounter with Ginny. The girl got him hard and he surely came to her but the fact remained that he couldn't masturbate to her image. Ginny wasn't what he would call attractive. Sure, she was pretty but she had never caught his fancy, not until she had kissed him and distracted him. The distraction is what he craved, not her body.

Harry closed his eyes and banished all thought from his mind. He was going to get a good night's sleep if it was the last thing he did.

-O-

Severus had just bid his goddaughter farewell and sent her back to the common room. There was only a week left of school and they were surely going to be busy with social engagements. While he didn't think they were important, Narcissa had taught the both of them that they were.

He knew that Hermione was going to be disappointed in him come this summer. She wanted someone in her corner after her father had so quickly forgive Harry Potter. While Severus wished that he could tell her that he was her man, he knew that he wasn't. It hurt him deeply but there were others that deserved his loyalty as well.

The boy was Lily's son and he deserved Severus' loyalty. Even though there was no love lost between the two of them, they would never likely be friends after all, but he knew that when Harry was kept close, there was less chance of him coming to harm. He had already suffered enough at the hands o the Dursleys and he didn't want to prolong that. He was well aware that the truth was going to come out over the summer but he couldn't help that. Harry deserved the truth, the same truth that the rest of his family knew. He only hoped that it didn't destroy the relationship he had with his godchildren.

Severus knew that between himself and Sirius, Lucius was going to be the favorite this summer. The man could give two shits less about Harry, especially after the truth had come out about his words to Hermione. While he knew that his friend was right, he still couldn't forget his loyalty to his best friend in the whole wide world. He guessed that it wasn't going to end well for him but there was nothing that he could do. As much as he disliked Harry at the moment, he still deserved a decent home.

Hermione had just stopped by since Draco was at quidditch practice or some such. She hadn't gone into detail as to where he was. She had spoken with Lupin and then Harry and wanted his opinion on the matter. While he knew that Hermione had every right to be angry, he also hoped that she would forgive him quickly. Yes, they had been at odds all the years past but now, he wanted nothing more than to put the conflict behind him. He knew he shouldn't hurry her but it was extremely difficult.

Hermione had left clearly confused as to how he could advocate for Potter when he had hurt her so deeply. Severus didn't blame her. For years, he had been her staunchest supporter and this was the first time that he was suggesting that she move on and not let things bother her. It was very out of character but there was nothing for it. He wanted peace and this was the only road to it.

Severus threw his fire whiskey back before he climbed to his feet and started towards his quarters. It could prove to be a long summer, that much he was sure of. He only hoped that his goddaughter could be reasonable and make things easier for everyone involved.

A/N- Another one finished, y'all. Lordy, this story is just getting more and more complicated. Anyways, thanks for taking the time to read my story. You guys make me smile. Leave me a message after the beep and let me know what you think.

Next chapter, a short leaving feast chapter.

Love,

Alicia


	60. Chapter 60

A/N-You guys are just awesome, thank you so much for the continued love and support of this story. I do want to say that there might be a few more days between chapters now, but I'm still hoping to update at least once a week, more likely twice a week. Life is just getting crazier and my work load is getting out of control. Can't lie, my kids like to eat too. I'm also having problems replying to reviews so if you didn't get one, I apologize. Fanfiction hates me, y'all. Thanks to everyone out there reading and reviewing, y'all are so awesome.

Also, I can't remember who recommended I read The Arithmancer by White Squirrel, you're the devil. I stay up later and later to read these stories. I deleted all my messages and can't remember who did it but thank you. Excellent story. For all those that need a good Hermione-centric story, give this one a shot.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Harry Potter and Co. belong to our queen and the original idea for Part One came from Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle. Since I still shop using coupons, it's clear I have made no money from this story or any others. One of these days, I'll have my own original idea and I'll be rich and famous. Then y'all can claim that you read my work long before I was famous (don't burst my bubble!).

Chapter 60

June 15, 1994

Hermione sat on an armchair in the common room while Daphne was brushing her hair. It wasn't something that she usually allowed but Daphne had begged to brush her hair. She was insanely jealous of her curls and while Hermione was unsure why, she agreed. Draco was smirking at her from across the room where he was speaking with Greg and Vince while Pansy hung on his every word.

"Do you think Harry is going to come stay with you from now on? I can't imagine that he would want to stay with the muggles. I heard Weasley one day telling Finnegan and Thomas that they were mean to Harry and didn't feed him." Hermione had to grit her teeth at the thought of Harry coming home with her. However, she knew that wouldn't be the case.

In truth, her father had sent her a letter and told her that Harry would indeed be returning to his muggle relatives but only until his birthday. They would see him for Pettigrew's trial but since it was scheduled for the end of June, Harry would be returning to his aunt and uncle's house. She was sure that her father would make a stop at their house to threaten them but she hadn't asked.

Hermione dreaded him coming to Black Moor. She would never be able to escape him and his apologies. Was it too much to ask everyone to understand that she wanted nothing to do with him anymore? However, when she thought about it, it made her heart speed up too. While she knew that she would never date Harry and he would never court her, she knew that a small piece of her heart would always wonder what it was like. She refused to be a distraction for him, like all the other girls he had been seen with. Even she could admit, though, that she hadn't heard of him being seen with girls in quite some time. There was no way that she thought it had ended though.

Draco had been suitably outraged when she had shown him the letter from her father regarding Harry. He had wanted to send his cousin a letter and tell him what an idiot he was being but Hermione stopped him. The last thing they needed was for Draco to be arguing with her father over something that didn't directly affect him. Hermione was going to have to discuss it with him but she wasn't sure when. Right now, it wasn't high on her list of things to do since it was almost certainly not going to end the way she hoped.

"He's going home to the muggles until his birthday and then he's coming to Black Moor." Daphne grinned at her.

"That must make you happy. He should have been your brother and now that can finally happen." Hermione shook her head slightly.

"No, he's made quite clear that he doesn't like me. I'm not going to go out of my way to have anything to do with him. Hopefully, he'll do his own thing and I can do mine." Daphne frowned at her for a moment before she spoke again.

"I thought this would make you happy. You've been trying to be his friend for a long time." Hermione knew that her voice was a little shrill and far snappier than she intended.

"I did want to be friends with him. I wanted him to be friends with me before it was acceptable to. No, he threw it in my face more than once that my father was a traitor and we could never be friends. This feels fake and I'm not interested." Draco heard her voice and broke away from his friends. Daphne's eyes dropped to her hands, comb still in hand, while Hermione went to her feet. Draco glared at the blonde girl.

"What the fuck is going on here? What are you saying to upset her, Greengrass?" Hermione hadn't heard him call Daphne "Greengrass" in years so this showed her that things were about to get nasty if she didn't head it off. Daphne's cheeks colored and she was staring at her shoes. Hermione reached out and took her cousin's arms and shook her head slightly when he looked her way.

"It's fine, Draco. She didn't do anything to upset me. She was asking about Harry and I got a little defensive." Draco searched her face for a lie, she was sure, but when he found none, he bowed slightly to Daphne.

"I apologize, Daphne. I hate it when my cousin is upset, I'm sorry to have jumped to the wrong conclusion." Daphne raised her head warily and nodded softly.

"I accept your apology." Hermione knew that this probably hurt Daphne's feelings since she had such a huge crush on her cousin. Draco seemed to sense it and stepped forward, snagging her hand in his so he could bow over hand and kiss her knuckles. Her friend's cheeks colored as she curtsied in turn. Hermione chanced a glance at Pansy and she could see her fuming, her arms crossed over her chest. Draco rose up and smirked at the reddish tint to her cheeks. It was Blaise that broke up the scene.

"Draco, Pansy is trying to get your attention." The spell between the both of them was broken and Daphne lowered her eyes again while Draco let go of her hand. Her cousin kissed the side of her head while he went over to Pansy and his two friends. Hermione could see that they were arguing but she couldn't hear what they were saying. She sighed as she turned to her friend.

"I'm sorry, Daph, I didn't mean to get snappy. I just want people to like me for who I am, not my money, my name, and not whether my father has finally been proven to be innocent in handing over the Potters to the Dark Lord." Her friend nodded her head before speaking.

"I understand. I'm sorry I didn't understand." Hermione cast a glance at the tempus charm on the wall and saw that they were in danger of being late to the Leaving Feast. She smiled at her friend and started to pull her towards the door.

"The Leaving Feast is about to start and I want to make sure we get good seats." Daphne laughed as she followed.

"I'm not sure why. You rarely eat more than a few bites and you'll just get bored waiting on Draco to finish." Hermione laughed now and waved at her cousin.

"True, I do get bored but this also signals our last night in the castle. I love Hogwarts but I'm ready to go home for the summer. I want to spend time with my family." Draco appeared at her side and offered her his arm. Hermione threaded her arm through his and laid her head on his shoulder.

"Get things straightened out with Pansy?" Draco shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know. Frankly, I don't care. She'll get over it or she won't. I'm really not bothered either way." Hermione pinched his side and even though he hissed in pain, he didn't pull away.

"I love you more than anything, Drake, but try to not be a complete arse that I'll have to end up hexing." He laughed at her and kissed her head again. Daphne watched with a smirk on her face as the rest of the third years fell in behind them and headed for the Great Hall.

The snakes were the last ones to arrive, always wanting to make a dramatic entrance. Hermione could feel the eyes on her and she made sure to hold her chin high. Once she was in her seat, she felt better and Draco tugged one of her curls.

"It will be better next year. The staring will be better." She gave him a small smile and nodded. Draco turned his attention to Blaise and his plans for the summer. Apparently, the dark-skinned boy was going to spend all his holidays in Italy this year so he wouldn't be available to come around unless it was a special circumstance. He thought he would probably be able to wrangle coming for their birthday party but only time would tell. Pansy started to gush at this, going on about how she couldn't wait to come for his birthday party. Hermione leaned forward and met the girl's eyes.

"Do you really think my aunt is going to invite you when all she's going to worry about is you making a fool out of her son?" Pansy went silent but Draco frowned at her. He leaned over and whispered in her ear.

"Miney, come on. I know she has no tact and she doesn't listen but it's cruel to single her out and not invite her. She's only doing as her parents have instructed her." Hermione was pretty sure that Daphne heard his words but she was quite sure that nobody else did. Her face went expressionless as she stared at her cousin.

"If you want to advocate for that girl, you're on your own. I won't help you. Everyone knows that boys play the field before they marry, sometimes afterwards, but it isn't usually talked about. She's making it quite clear that she's telling everyone. What proper girl is going to want to go into a marriage with you scared that you're going to betray her with Pansy fucking Parkinson? Maybe it isn't my business, feel free to tell me so. If that's the case, fine. Don't ask me to help you with getting your mother to agree." His eyes hardened and he didn't say a word, just turned his back on her to give all his attention to Pansy. Hermione felt her heart clench just a little before she turned to Daphne. Her friend gave her a sad smile and squeezed her hand.

"I think you're right, Mia. Her parents should be ashamed of themselves asking her to act like that." Hermione tried to smile at her friend but knew that she fell short. She was just getting ready to change the subject when the Headmaster stood and cleared his throat. Hermione turned her attention to the man even though she really just wanted to go back to her dorm and go to bed.

"Another year has come and gone at Hogwarts. There have been many changes and most of them for the better. I think we can all agree that we'll miss Professor Lupin." All the houses cheered, even parts of Slytherin. The man really had been a brilliant teacher but she wasn't going to miss him. After the applause died away, the Headmaster continued.

"The time has come to award the quidditch and house cups. I'm sure Professor McGonagall is pleased to hear that her lions have once again won the quidditch cup." The Gryffindor table went wild, smacking their fists on the table and cheering loudly. Hermione had to smile inwardly at their display. The cup was passed from McGonagall to Oliver Wood and he looked to be close to tears. She wondered if it was because of it being his last year or losing just wasn't in his realm of possibilities. After the cheering finally stopped, Dumbledore started again.

"The house points stand as follows. Hufflepuff, 320. Ravenclaw, 380. Slytherin, 400. Gryffindor, 450." It still pissed Hermione off the level of bias the Slytherins were shown. Most of the professors only gave small amounts of points to snakes where they would usually hand out more to the other houses. The Headmaster had a twinkly grin on his face, however.

"I have last minute points to hand out." Hermione laid her head on the table since it was clear that they were going to go to his precious lions. Therefore, she was surprised when he spoke and her head came flying off the table.

"To Mr. Draco Malfoy, twenty-five points for successfully sending a message patronus and calling for adult assistance." Slytherin went wild and Hermione rolled her eyes. They were still losing and those were likely the only points they would be awarded.

"To Miss Hermione Black, fifty points for keeping a calm head during an emotional encounter and exposing the truth and innocence of someone wronged for many years." Daphne hugged her tight from the side and the rest of their friends were all chanting her name. Theo and her cousin were the only glaring exceptions. Even Pansy looked happy.

"That means that the house cup is going to Slytherin house this year. Everyone give them a round of applause." Her godfather looked thrilled so Hermione smiled for him.

She still wasn't sure how to take the last private conversation she had had with him. He had always been her staunchest supporter and to hear him advocate for Harry had made her world shift. Hermione wasn't denying that Harry needed to get away from the muggles but it wasn't right that her father was just acting as though her pain was nothing. He had invited the boy to come stay with them with no thought to her feelings. She understood that he was the parent but he had always told her that big decisions would be made by them all together, as a family. This had been just her father, and apparently her godfather. Now Draco was angry at her, which meant that she would likely be miserable this summer.

Her godfather took the cup and set it down in front of Hermione, letting her admire it first. However, it stayed there for only seconds before it was swept down the table and hefted high in the air. After the commotion died, the Headmaster spoke again.

"Let us feast, as tomorrow will be full of goodbyes."

Hermione wasn't particularly hungry but she put food on her plate anyways. Daphne tried to hold conversation with her, mostly about the trip to France that was in her future that summer. Hermione was still going to try to convince her Uncle Luci to take her to the library of Alexandria but she hadn't asked yet. With all the excitement of the last couple weeks, she had completely forgot. At least one of her uncles was standing fully behind her. Draco had told her over and over that she could come to Malfoy Manor but she wasn't sure that she wanted to cause problems with her father and uncle. The last thing the family needed was more drama.

Hermione ate her fill and everyone else did as well. There was laughter up and down the table, friends telling each other goodbye and promising to write and visit. Daphne had told her that she would visit several times over the course of the summer so Hermione had a little hope for her summer being somewhat exciting. However, she missed her horse most of all. Bluebell was one of her shining points in her holidays.

Once they were all dismissed, her belly was full and Daphne wrapped an arm around hers since Draco was still clearly ignoring her. Hermione kept her head up and wondered if she was being too much of a bitch. Should she just let Draco do what he wanted and embrace the stupid girl? Should she tell her aunt that all was well, that she had learned her lesson? Even though her mind screamed no, her heart was beginning to wonder. Draco was behind her, escorting Pansy on his arm and Hermione had to bite her tongue to keep her mouth shut. Just two corridors away from the common room, Uncle Sev stepped out of the shadows and smirked at her.

"Job well done, Mr. Malfoy, Miss Black. I wanted to speak with the pair of you before you retire for the evening." Hermione knew what this was. Her godfather had noticed her cousin ignoring her and wanted to know what was going on. They detached from the rest of the group and followed him to his office. Once ensconced inside, he gestured for them to take the seats in front of his desk.

"I noticed that the two of you aren't speaking. Do I need to intervene?" Draco hissed angrily.

"She wants to keep excluding Pansy from everything just because she doesn't like that I spend time with her. She's using the power she has because of her family and name to be petty. I can't deal with that right now." Hermione frowned at his words. How many times had she told him that she didn't care what he did with the girl as long as it was discreet? Her uncle turned his gaze to her and raised an eyebrow.

"I refuse to bring you into our argument, Uncle Sev. It's for Draco and I to work out, not you." Her godfather frowned at her, in surprise probably. She had never denied him information before.

"Princess, I only want to help you. I hate seeing you unhappy." Hermione laughed bitterly.

"You hate to see me unhappy yet here we are. You and my father are all about whisking Harry away to Black Moor no matter how I feel about it. It's like now that Harry Potter is in the picture, I'm nothing. I know that I have my faults but I'm still worth the time of being number one to someone. Uncle Luci is the only one who doesn't think the boy pisses excellence and I can't be number one to him either because he has his own son. Sure, I'm a close second but I have no illusions. The one person I should be number one to has tossed me over and invited the one boy that has hurt me more than anything in the world into our home and you're supporting him. I don't want him to go to the muggles but why not the Weasleys? He's obviously friends with them and they care for him." She tried to control her breathing and went quiet for only a moment.

"I'm really done with the whole situation. I can't stop him from coming to Black Moor and I can't stop you and my father from being happy about it and embracing him fully. I can't stop Draco from not speaking to me because I'm trying to look out for him. I'm so done with caring because all that does is hurt. So, if Draco wants to believe that, fine. I really don't care anymore. Message that it's not my business is received loud and clear." Her godfather sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Hermione, you know that nobody can ever replace you. You have to understand, though, I made a promise to myself many years ago to protect the boy and make sure he is well. This is the first time that's been possible." Hermione felt her heart soften just a little.

"I understand that, Uncle Sev. I'm not telling you that you can't. I'm telling you that every action has a reaction and the reaction is that I feel like you're betraying me. Maybe you're not but that's how I feel. Maybe time will change that but I can't say. I want someone to care about me for more than what I can contribute to getting Harry Potter onside." Draco cast an angry glance her way and his tone was derisive.

"That's a bunch of bullshite, Hermione. For years, I've had to watch you be the apple of not only your father's eye, but my father's, our godfather's, and my mother's. You don't want to be second, well, that's what I've been my whole life. Second to you because you're the Black princess. To hear you whining about this makes me want to sick up." Hermione felt her heart freeze inside her and her face lost all expression.

"I loved you more than anyone, Draco. I still do. Harry has done everything in his power to hurt me and make me cry. I never asked for your parents to take me into their home and hearts. If you can't see that you've been number one to me since you were born, you can fuck off too. Let's be honest, if it ever came down to me or you, your parents would choose you. You're their son and heir; I'm just the niece." She turned to her godfather.

"I don't have anything else to say. I hope that we can meet this summer and brew. It wouldn't be summer holidays without that." Her godfather smiled for only a moment. He bowed his head to her, indicating that she could leave. Once she was out of his office, the door banged open and Draco was bearing down on her and looked pissed. She stopped to let him catch up and she was surprised when he grabbed her arms and shoved her up against the wall. Her head banged painfully off the stone and her vision swam for just a moment.

"You don't get to tell me what to do with my life. I may be your cousin but I can do what I want. I don't need you to mother me, I already have a mother who does that enough as it is. Excluding Pansy is just you being a bitch and jealous of the time I spend with her. News flash, Hermione, I will eventually end up with another girl. You're going to have to share me." Hermione felt her magic swirl around her and she let it blow her cousin away from her. She felt the back of her head and felt a small trickle of blood. However, she didn't let this distract her.

"You ever touch me like that again, you won't be able to pick up your wand to cast at me." He saw the blood on her fingers and she could see the remorse on his face.

"I'm sorry, Miney, I wasn't trying to hurt you. Please forgive me." She responded like she didn't hear him.

"It's good to hear that I don't get to tell you what to do with your life. That means it goes the other way around too. No more chaperoning other boys escorting me, no more you playing the protective cousin. If I was being a bitch, I would have told you from the start that I didn't want you seeing the little slag. No, instead I told you to be discreet, that I didn't care as long as that restriction was met. Don't worry, though, you want to play that, you don't get to say a word if I decide to start sleeping with any boy I want. After all, it's appropriate for Pansy, why not me?" He growled in her direction but she didn't care.

"Maybe if I go throw myself at Harry, I can suck his cock. It'll be completely acceptable since that's what you're saying about Pansy. Just think, you won't be able to say a word." She didn't care what he had to say about it since she turned and started walking towards the common room. She had almost made it there when she felt a hand clamp down on her elbow. She blasted her cousin away from her.

"Don't bother with me. Just go on ignoring me and go spend time with Pansy. She's more important anyways, I mean, I won't suck your cock." Her words stopped him in his tracks and she took the opportunity to leave him behind.

Hermione didn't pause in the common room, just headed straight for her dorm. She went to the bathroom and showered off quickly before dressing in her pajamas and climbing into bed, not even bothering with her wet hair. It was only a few minutes later that the rest of the girls entered the dorm and Daphne approached her bed and petted Tenebris softly.

"Draco asked me to see if you would come down and talk to him." Hermione buried her face in her pillow for a few moments before making her decision.

"I have nothing else to say." Daphne sat on the edge of her bed and bit her lip softly.

"It isn't my place to get in the middle of it but he looks pretty miserable. At least go down there and tell him to piss off. Otherwise, he's going to stay out there all night waiting on you." Hermione groaned loudly and Pansy grinned at her.

"What, is poor Miss Black jealous that he wants to talk to me more than you?" Hermione snatched her wand and cast at the girl, boils erupting all over her face.

"Open your stupid mouth one more time, Pansy, and I'll hex it closed. Go ahead, go run to Professor Snape. Since he probably agrees with my sentiment, he'll probably laugh." The rest of the girls were snickering as Hermione climbed out of bed, Tenebris held close to her chest. He purred and rubbed his face on hers, giving her a small amount of comfort. She descended the stairs and found the common room empty save for her cousin. She stopped at the end of the stairs and stared at him impassively. He lowered his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath before he stepped forward and held his hand out to her. When she didn't take it, he reached forward and grabbed her wrist, gently pulling her to the couch. Once she was seated, he sat next to her, took another deep breath, and began.

"I'm so sorry for pushing you against that wall so hard. I feel so bloody bad, I should have never touched you like that. You're half my size and my father would curse me to the moon and back if he ever knew." Hermione arched a single eyebrow at him, something that had taken her the better part of a month to accomplish.

"Of all the things said and done, hitting the wall was the one that hurt the least. You're forgiven and I won't tell your father." He pulled her down towards his lap and while she fought him for a moment, she let him win in the end. She could feel his wand sliding down the length of her hair, drying and detangling it. Once he was finished, his fingers were carding through her length while she remained silent. She really didn't have anything further to say.

"I know you're right, Miney. I know that I don't want to end up with Pansy but she is rather indiscreet. I don't like it but I don't like the constant reminder. I'm not sure what to do." Hermione remained silent for a moment.

"I don't know. Only you can handle the situation. However, I'm going to do as Aunt Cissy instructed me and cast anyone away that brings embarrassment or shame to the family. Your parents have told me time and time again that I'm a Malfoy too. If you want me to stay quiet, I will but I won't invite her and I won't lie for her. If the invitation goes to her, I won't have my name on it. All I asked was that she keep her trap shut and she tells everyone. After rebuffing me so completely, I won't ever be friends with her. However, you're right. It's your life and you can do with it as you wish. I'll step back and keep my mouth shut." Her cousin leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"I don't want that. I want you in my life and that means your constant bitching too. I know that it's only for my good but sometimes it's hard to take." Hermione stared straight ahead and shrugged her shoulders.

"I received the message loud and clear. I won't say a word to Pansy anymore but I won't be her friend and I'm not going to feel bad about excluding her." Draco sighed, clearly frustrated, and decided to take another approach.

"Were you lying when you said that I was your number one?" Hermione was silent for a few moments, surprised that he even had to ask.

"You've been my number one since you were born. I love you more than I love anyone else. I would die for you." Draco hitched a deep breath and kissed her head again, his fingers tangling in her curls.

"You're my number one too, Miney." She snorted.

"Yeah, I could tell when you ignored me for Pansy Parkinson and then told me that I should just suck it up. It doesn't matter, Draco, just let it drop. I've gotten used to the idea and I'm resigned to it." She could tell that her cousin wanted to say more but he refrained. Instead, he threw a blanket over her and rubbed his finger down her cheek.

"You can still come to Malfoy Manor." Hermione shook her head.

"I'll just stay home. I don't want to make things worse between us. Uncle Luci and I will grow apart if I spend less time with him." He leaned forward and gave her an alarmed look.

"You can't do that, he would be heartbroken." She shrugged.

"You're heartbroken now and you're more important. I don't like you feeling like I come before you." He sighed and leaned his forehead down to rest on hers.

"I'm just being a brat, Miney. Don't stay away." She snorted again.

"I suppose you think I'm just being a brat then?" He chuckled a little before answering.

"No, Potter has gone out of his way to hurt you and like you said, I'm the most important person in the world to you. Two completely different scenarios." She didn't say anything for the longest time. Draco was finally the one to break the silence.

"Are we okay, Miney?" She smiled softy.

"We'll always be okay, even if we're fighting. I told you, you're my number one." He bent down and kissed her forehead again.

"Close your eyes. Let's sleep out here tonight." She didn't say anything, just did as he asked.

She felt him shift underneath her and get comfortable. Only a few minutes went by before she felt him go slack and fall to sleep. Even though they weren't completely okay again, they were better. Hopefully this summer would see them back to new.

-O-

Harry followed after his friends from the Leaving Feast. He had paid close attention to Hermione and saw the slight color on her cheeks from her last-minute award of points. He supposed that in comparison to last year, it was quite a change. It almost made him sick since he knew that if her father hadn't turned out to be innocent, those points would never have been awarded.

Ron was chattering next to him about plans over the summer. Harry had told him that he would be going to Black Moor on his birthday but his friend still talked like they were going to spend a whole month together. While he wasn't against spending time with his friend, he was also ready to get to know his godfather better, even though Hermione was sure to hate him even more for coming to her home.

Harry had tried to warn Sirius that she would be livid. He had told him to let him handle Hermione. He had a feeling that it wasn't going to go well and he fully expected the young witch to lose her temper more than once. Not that he blamed her; he had hurt her terribly. He hadn't seen her tears since the day he had been so completely horrid to her in the Hospital Wing. Even when in pain, she had done her best to keep her tears hidden. He was sure that it wasn't going to end well but he had no other choice but to trust his godfather. Just as they were about to enter the common room, Dumbledore, stepped from an alcove and smiled at Harry.

"Would you accompany me for a short talk, Harry?" Harry knew exactly what this was. Dumbledore had yet to apologize for filling his head full of lies and since he would be spending half his summer with Sirius, he was afraid that he would lose Harry completely.

"Yes, sir." He waved his friends on and followed the Headmaster into a room that appeared to be somewhat like a tavern. They took a seat and Dumbledore spoke aloud to order them butterbeer. Once they popped into existence, Harry cocked his head to the side.

"What is this room?" Dumbledore smiled.

"It's known as the Room of Requirement. You pace in front of the tapestry out front and think about what you need three times and the room appears. Just food for thought for later years." Harry knew that the Headmaster was trying to bribe him.

"I know you're only telling me this since you think Sirius is going to turn me against you." The Headmaster sighed, fiddling with his beard for a moment before speaking.

"I can apologize to Sirius all day for the rest of my life and never come close to the amount of apology you deserve, Harry. You trusted me to lead you down the right path and I was wrong. I warned you against not only Sirius but Hermione and Draco as well. They were all innocent and the things I told you did untold damage to your relationships. I regret it more than I can say." Harry raked a hand through his hair angrily. He had been expecting this conversation since the truth came out and had been surprised that the Headmaster had left it to the last minute.

"I don't understand how you could have kept me from him when I was a baby when it was only a hunch that he was guilty. Do you know what life was like for me with the Dursleys? Do you know how many times I was starved, how many broken bones I suffered at their hands? My life has been horrid, up until last summer with Dobby, I starved the whole time I was gone. All that could have been avoided if you had just trusted in my mother's abilities in Charms." Dumbledore sighed and met Harry's eyes.

"I know this makes nothing good between us and I don't blame you. I'm going to do my best to prove to you how bloody sorry I am for leading you astray. I've told Sirius as long as you stay until your birthday, you can go to Black Moor. I don't want to deprive you of family and love, Harry. Now, you have to return because of the blood wards that were erected because of your mother's sacrifice. They protect you and with Voldemort returning, you need all the protection you can get." Harry nodded and understood that the Headmaster had made a mistake. However, it was a mistake that had cost Harry greatly.

"I can't forgive you now, Headmaster, but maybe in time. I need to know that I can get the rest of my family on board and have them forgive me before that can extend outward." Dumbledore nodded and when he didn't ask, Harry grew suspicious.

"Have you really been reading my mind like they've said?" Dumbledore looked to his hands and shame was written on his face.

"Only three times in three years. I don't like to do it but at the time I felt that it was imperative to make sure that you were protecting yourself against Hermione Black and her father." Harry felt his magic explode from him and there was no hope of containing it. It knocked the Headmaster back from his seat and he landed on his arse. However, he didn't fight back. It was the first time that Harry had seen his magic strong enough to rival that of Hermione's.

"I'm going to have them teach me how to protect my mind. If you ever do it again, you'll pay the consequences." Dumbledore nodded meekly.

"I'm sorry, Harry. I can only say it so many times." Harry nodded since he understood completely. He was in the exact same position with Hermione.

"I can't say that I forgive you or that I will anytime soon. Maybe with time, that will change." Dumbledore smiled softly and nodded.

"Thank you, Harry. I won't keep you from your friends and packing any longer. I wish you the best summer possible." Harry nodded and stood, making his way to the door leading into the room. After exiting, he headed for the common room. He hadn't even made it three steps inside when Ginny accosted him.

"Lavender just said that she spent time with you yesterday. Is this true?" Harry sighed, not in the mood at all the deal with Ginny.

"So, what if I did? You told me that I was free to spend my time wherever. Not to mention, I've heard you spend time with Seamus, Dean, and two Hufflepuffs. If you don't like our arrangement, we can always stop." Ginny changed her tune really quick and gave him a sultry smile.

"No, you can spend time with her. I just like knowing who I'm sharing you with." Harry glared at her.

"It's really none of your business. You don't tell me and we aren't dating." She pouted visibly but gave him another smile.

"Think about the time we'll be able to spend together this summer." Harry just looked at her, clearly aware of her manipulations.

"I won't be there this summer. I'm going to Black Moor on my birthday and spending the rest of the summer with my godfather." Ginny's tone was flat and monotone when she answered.

"With Hermione Black." He nodded.

"Yes, if she'll even speak to me." Ginny looked angry and her tone told her that he was correct in his assumptions.

"You know she isn't going to forgive you. She isn't going to give you the time of day." Harry nodded.

"Yes, I know. I'm going to have to work for any trust I get from her." Ginny stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his middle to lay her head on his chest.

"I know this sounds ridiculous but you shouldn't have to work for her forgiveness. You've done nothing wrong to her except believe the Headmaster." Harry shoved her away from him, anger on his face.

"You don't know shite, Ginny. You're fun to mess around with but you don't get to influence my life." She seemed taken aback of course before she nodded.

"Of course, I was just trying to warn you." He sighed and raked a hand through his hair.

"I know, I just don't want to talk about it anymore. I'm going to go finish my packing and head to bed. I'll see you tomorrow on the train." She gave him a disappointed nod but let him go.

After finishing his packing and showering, he climbed into bed and laid there in the dark by himself. It was clear that he was going to have to go out of his way to earn Hermione's forgiveness. That, he didn't mind. It was that Ginny was so against it. Was she really bullying Hermione like she said? He just couldn't see it but he supposed that she hadn't lied to him yet. He would keep a closer eye on things in the future.

With a deep sigh, he turned over in bed, burrowed deeper in his pillow, and let sleep take him under.

-O-

Severus swirled his fire whiskey in his glass, considering the words of his goddaughter. He hated to see her hurting like she was. In truth, he was sure that she could handle it until he saw Draco openly shunning her at dinner. He still wasn't quite sure what the problem was but he had a feeling that it had to do with Miss Parkinson. Hermione had already taken a stand against her and Draco was clearly spending time with her.

Not for a second did he think that his godson was in love with the chit. He had been young and even though he had been desperately in love with Lily, he had spent plenty of time with other girls. Granted, most of it was because she wouldn't give him the time of day but the fact remained that he had done the same things as Draco.

The worst part of it all was that he could see that Hermione liked Potter as more than just brother and sister. It was painfully clear that she had had a crush on him and he had stomped on her heart. He understood how much this had hurt her but he also knew that he had made vows to Lily Potter after she had died to protect her only son. It was killing him to have to make the choice but Hermione had been his choice for almost fourteen years. Why was she holding it against him that he finally wanted to make things better for his best friend in the world's son?

He had known that she would feel betrayed; he had seen that coming from a mile away and he didn't blame her. However, he hadn't expected to be so clearly rebuffed in his approach to speaking with her. He was aware that his goddaughter was a bit spoiled in thinking that she was number one in everything but he also knew that they had all had a hand in making her that way. However, as much as it hurt her, he needed to keep his vow to Lily and make sure that her son received the best. Sirius would provide that. He had no plans to be best friends with the boy but he wanted him to be among family and be safe from the muggle's abuse.

Severus was currently spying on his godchildren while they slumbered in the common room. Hermione was asleep stretched out across the sofa with her head in Draco's lap and his hands were buried in her hair. He had heard the whole conversation between the pair and while he didn't think that things were back to normal between the two, they were better. Otherwise, Hermione would have told him to fuck off.

Draco's words about throwing her into a wall had scared him. He had no idea if she was hurt or if she needed help other than her words to Draco. However, he was loathing to interfere since he was clearly on the list against her at the moment. He hoped that as summer wore on it would get better but he really wasn't holding his breath. However, he understood her feelings. Her father was clearly putting Harry before her as was her godfather. While Lucius would come next, she didn't want to encroach especially after Draco's words about her taking the number one spot from him. She felt important to nobody even though it was the furthest from the truth.

Severus would inform the rest of his family of their interactions in the morning. He was due to stay at Black Moor this summer since last year had been spent at Malfoy Manor. He would tell his best friend his daughter's words. Once he had a chance to inform Lucius, he would. They both deserved to know how both children felt because it was unlikely that they would ever hear from the children themselves. Honestly, he hoped that all would iron itself out in time.

Severus threw back the rest of his whiskey and rose to head to his chambers. It was his last night in the castle and he couldn't wait to get to his room at Black Moor. No matter what, the castle never felt like home. He kicked his shoes off and fell into his bed still fully clothed. Hopefully, everything would look better in the morning.

A/N- You guys are just so awesome, showing me such love for this story. This summer is going to a few more chapters that usual but that's to expected. I hope you all enjoy! Leave me a message after the beep and tell me what you think, I do love hearing your thoughts.

Next chapter, Pettigrew's trial and Lupin makes an appearance.

Love,

Alicia


	61. Chapter 61

A/N- Thank y'all so much for the continued support for this story. I love that you love this story. Anyways, it's summer time now and it's going to get rough so hold on tight, it's going to be a wild ride! Enough for now, we all know you want to read the chapter and not my ramblings.

**Shout out to Fanny Bennet for being my 2400th reviewer. You da bomb, girl!**

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing in this story. I have borrowed the story idea from a reader and the characters from our queen. I'm still broke, I literally have forty-three dollars to my name, so it's pretty clear I haven't made any money from this story or any other.

Chapter 61

June 30, 1994

Harry was pacing in the living room of the Dursleys. His aunt, uncle, and cousin were all in the kitchen eating a breakfast that he had made for them while he waited for Sirius to pick him up. Today was Pettigrew's trial and it would be the first time that he had seen anyone in two weeks that weren't his family.

Dobby still hid in his room, fetching food from Hogwarts every day so Harry could eat. His aunt had already accused him of stealing their food in the middle of the night since he wasn't losing weight and Harry had only suffered a few bruised ribs from his uncle for the argument. Dudley had tried to beat on him and resurrect the old game of "Harry Hunting" but had quickly abandoned it once he realized that Harry was now much faster and had more endurance than he had before he was eleven years old.

Harry had gotten up at 3 a.m. to get all his chores finished so he could go with his godfather today. It made no never mind to his relatives that the Ministry of Magic had sent him an official subpoena, demanding his testimony for the traitor who had handed his parents over to Voldemort. Harry had hoped that his aunt would care just a little that there would be justice for her sister but she didn't seem to be moved in the slightest. They had barely given their permission for him to attend the trial today so he had been quick to agree to their compromise.

Harry was pulled from his thoughts as a knock sounded on the door. He had just started in that direction when his uncle came thundering down the hall to reach the door first. It was hilarious to see since he was usually the first one to order Harry to answer the door when he was home. Uncle Vernon wrenched the door open and spoke harshly.

"Just who do your government of freaks think we are? We aren't required to bend over backwards to accommodate them. They can just make do without the freak, he's staying here." Harry felt his heart clench. Not only would he get into trouble for not showing, he would likely spend the next month or more in his room. Sure, he wouldn't starve but who wanted to spend their summer holidays like that? Harry watched as his uncle was suddenly blown inwards, landing on his back a few feet from the door. His godfather stepped in and slammed the door behind him. Uncle Vernon was rolling back and forth, trying to flip himself over so he could crawl to his feet. Harry couldn't help but compare him to a turtle stuck upside down on his shell.

"How dare you use your freak magic on me, you filthy excuse for a man!?" Sirius gestured for Harry to step behind him. He complied quickly while Aunt Petunia and Dudley rushed into the corridor to help Uncle Vernon. His godfather's voice was cold as ice.

"Here's what I think of that." With a wave of his wand, a pig's snout appeared on Uncle Vernon's face, complete with grain and food stuck to the end. His godfather turned and winked at him, completely unaware that he was making things with the Dursley's worse. He then turned back to his family.

"I'm going to leave you like this until we return. Once I bring Harry back, you're going to tell me that you're done making him be your slave, you're done touching him at all, and you're done calling him names. You aren't going to starve him and you aren't going to lock him in his room. If I come to find any of these things to happen after I return, I'll make this change permanent to anyone who disobeys me." Sirius turned just a little.

"Dobby?" Dobby appeared and was confused as to why he had been called.

"I want you to make sure that Harry is treated well here. If he isn't, you're to come to me at once and alert me so I can come and remedy the situation." Dobby gave him an enthusiastic nod before turning to make sure that Harry agreed. He gave the elf a nod and Dobby started clapping his hands.

"Bad muggles is going to be pigs if they's mean to Master Harry." His godfather turned back to his muggle relatives.

"Dobby here lives with Harry. You can't make him leave and if you think that you can keep him from his master, you'll find yourself in much worse shape than you are now. Elves will protect their masters with their lives. Do you understand what I'm saying to you?" His aunt and cousin were already nodding but Uncle Vernon was sputtering mad.

"You change me back right now, I demand for you to change me back!" Sirius chuckled darkly.

"You can demand all you want, that doesn't mean that I'm going to do it. I told you, you wear that nose and see if you can live with wearing it the rest of your life. If you give me the right answer when I return, I'll change you back to normal. Honestly though, you should be grateful it's me and not my daughter; she's ruthless." Harry couldn't help but feel a lick of shame. He didn't deserve for Hermione to be there defending him. He didn't even deserve for Sirius to be there defending him. His godfather held out his wand and pointed it at Harry's enormous clothes. With a quick wave, they had been transfigured into a set of formal robes, the charcoal color looking quite good on him. He now held his hand out, which Harry took warily.

"We're going to apparate straight to the Ministry. Since I'm a member of the Wizengamot, I have the wards set to allow me. It's going to feel horrid and you're going to want to vomit." Harry gave a jerky nod before his godfather turned on the spot and he felt as though he was going through a small tube. It was only an instant later that he was normal again, though this time his stomach was rolling.

"Just give it a few seconds, it'll pass. Everyone feels like that when they aren't used to side-long apparating. After a while, you'll get used to it." Harry nodded and already felt his stomach settling.

"Won't you get in trouble for doing that to Uncle Vernon?" His godfather chuckled.

"Probably. Not that anyone will ever find out. He'll tell me whatever I want to hear when I take you back and I'll change him back. Besides, who does he know to complain to? If he shows people, he'll be a freak just like he calls you." Harry couldn't hold back the smile that stretched across his lips. He shouldn't laugh, he had learned his lesson on being cruel, but he couldn't help it.

Harry turned his attention to his surroundings to find that he was in Sirius' office. There was a large desk in the center of the room with a few chairs in front of it for others to sit in. Carpet covered the floor, a soft cream color that looked warm and cozy. Pictures dotted the walls, numerous of Hermione and Draco, some of himself with three other boys in it. It only took him a moment to realize that the other boys in the photos were his father, Lupin, and Pettigrew. The one that he couldn't tear his eyes from, however, was one of Sirius as a young man holding a small infant with black hair. Harry scrunched his nose in thought before he asked his question.

"Is that Hermione?" Sirius shook his head.

"No, Harry, that's you. I didn't get Hermione until she was two years old. That was the day your parents asked me to be your godfather." Harry felt something tighten inside his chest and he wasn't sure how to deal with it. He gave a quick nod and a brief smile before he changed the subject.

"Where is this trial taking place?" This seemed to bring his godfather back to point and he straightened his already perfect robes.

"They're down the corridor. You'll have to wait with the others that are testifying." Harry nodded and started to follow Sirius.

"Who are the other witnesses?" He grinned at Harry.

"Hermione and Draco, Remus and Severus, your best mate." Harry nodded. At least Ron would be there. He was well-aware that the others didn't like him and he didn't want to be completely alone for the whole of this experience.

Sirius led him into a small room that housed the aforementioned people and a tiny woman that had to be around the age of sixty, maybe sixty-five. He wasn't sure who she was since she was there on her own. The look on her face was sour until she caught sight of Sirius. Her face morphed into a picture of rage and she lunged at him. Snape was quick enough with his wand to immobilize her but that didn't stop her from screaming.

"It's all your fault he's going to go to Azkaban!" Harry assumed that this woman must be Pettigrew's mother. He supposed that it made sense since Remus had told him that all Peter had had back when they were young was his mother. Sirius just glared at her, remaining silent. It was Hermione that spoke, her voice soft and clear.

"This isn't my father's fault. Your son chose to follow Voldemort. He handed his best friend over to the Dark Lord who promptly killed him. I know you're hurting right now but you can't lay this blame at my father's feet." Sirius waved his wand and released the woman from the spell before kissing his daughter's head and running his hand down the length of her curls.

"Unnecessary but much appreciated, poppet." She huffed and Harry couldn't help but notice how the action made her chest jiggle just a little bit inside her lavender robes. He averted his eyes quickly as Sirius turned to the woman.

"I can only tell you how sorry I am, Mrs. Pettigrew. I never wanted things to end this way. I wanted us all to live, make families together and grow old as best friends. However, Voldemort came and that never happened. We're all paying the price now. Your son is going to go to Azkaban and I lost my best friends in the world. Hermione lost her parents, and Harry lost his. You're not the only one who has experienced losing someone they care about." The woman melted back into her seat and started crying softly. Sirius turned to everyone, his voice clear.

"I have to go. I'll be out there in the crowd. If you get nervous or freeze up, just find me or Lucius." Hermione nodded and hugged her father quickly. Draco gave him a quick nod so Harry followed suit. Ron started gesturing for him to come sit next to him so Harry complied.

"Did Lord Black bring you, mate? My dad brought me just a little bit ago. He doesn't sit on the Wizengamot but he and my mum are going to be in the audience section. Mum reckons we're heroes for helping catch Pettigrew." Harry was only half-arsed listening and almost burst out laughing when Snape snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Mate, we didn't do shite. Black, Malfoy and Snape did way more than we did." Ron screwed up his face for a moment before smiling.

"Yeah, I know but it means Mum will give us extra pudding when you get to the Burrow." Harry wasn't even sure that he was going to go to the Burrow this year, he had told Ginny that he wasn't, but rather than bring it up now, he just nodded his head.

Mrs. Pettigrew was still crying softly and Hermione pulled one of her handkerchiefs from her robe pocket and stepped closer to the woman. She sat next to her and handed it to her, the woman smiling softly at her. Harry couldn't hear what Hermione was whispering to her but all seemed fine until the woman's face morphed into anger. The older woman pulled her wand and pointed it at Hermione before she could do anything else. Her wand was at her throat and her hair wrapped in her hand. Snape and Lupin jumped to their feet, wands out and at the ready. Snape's voice was cold as ice.

"You will release her now, madam, or you will discover why the Death Eaters feared me." Harry couldn't believe what he was seeing. Draco was clearly burning with anger, his wand coming out much slower. Harry could see that he was working something out in his head but for the life of him, he couldn't think of what. Ron started for the door when the woman turned and fired a curse at him.

"Nobody is going anywhere. We're all going to walk out there and they're going to release my baby boy in exchange for the Black princess. Lord Black will choose letting my boy go over losing his daughter." Hermione gave a scornful laugh.

"I'm not near as important as you seem to think I am." The woman laughed now, slightly maniacal. Honestly, Harry couldn't blame her. Sure, Pettigrew deserved to be punished but he couldn't picture any woman losing their child and not losing it at least a little bit.

"You're important enough, love. Come, let's do this." Her wand dug deeper into Hermione's throat, sure to leave a bruise. Harry could tell that her eyes were moving, clearly communicating with either her godfather or her cousin. Suddenly, Hermione spoke and her tone changed completely.

"I hope your son rots in prison, I hope the dementors suck his soul out and he can't manage to do anything other than drool. For hurting my father the way he has, he deserves it and so much more. I'd kill him myself if I wouldn't get caught." The older woman screamed in rage and threw Hermione to the ground, kicking her right in the face with her dragonhide boot. Before she could get anymore than that done, a bright red spell hit Mrs. Pettigrew and dropped her to the ground. Draco was instantly at his cousin's side while Snape and Lupin bound the woman and called for an auror.

Two aurors, one a young woman with honey blonde hair and the other a middle-aged black man with a bald head, rushed in to find the scene of disarray before them. Hermione was bleeding freely from her nose and mouth, running down her chin and throat to stain her robes. Draco was helping her to a sitting position so she wouldn't choke while Snape stepped in front of the aurors. Lupin hurried to Harry and Ron's side to assure himself that they were fine. Harry grinned at him.

"We're fine, go make sure that Black is alright." Ron was watching the scene unfold silently until he laughed softly.

"Man, that girl did that to herself. Bloody brilliant is what it was. Don't get me wrong, I still can't stand the girl but I have to admit she has guts." Harry narrowed his eyes in confusion.

"What the bloody hell are you talking about?" Ron rolled his eyes at him.

"The woman had a wand to her throat. She had no chances of getting to her own so she had to count on Snape and Lupin. Therefore, she had to distract Mrs. Pettigrew. She said those things to enrage her so she would make a mistake and react rashly. It worked but she's probably got a broken nose and a split lip to show for it." Harry thought for a second before he realized that his friend had to be right. Hermione wasn't the type of person to say those things to someone for no good reason. Sirius and Lucius rushed into the room and bent to help her to her feet so she could take a seat again. Someone handed over a hanky and she started to mop her face free of blood. The auror, Shacklebolt he said his name was, started to question her.

Harry listened to her explain how the woman had gotten upset at seeing her father and how she had been crying when he left. After handing her a handkerchief, she started whispering soft words of comfort in her ear until the woman snapped. Both aurors were writing their words down on small pieces of parchment. A few moments later, Miller raised an eyebrow.

"What was the last thing you said to her?" Hermione wracked her brain for a few moments before turning embarrassed eyes to everyone in the room. Harry could see that underneath her eyes were starting to darken with smudge-like bruises.

"I told her that she would meet her son again someday and they would be happy." Harry didn't understand why this was bad but everyone else groaned. Hermione lowered her eyes, clearly embarrassed. Remus could see his confusion so he stepped closer so he could speak softly, even though everyone could still hear his words.

"He's going to Azkaban at the very least. He might even be subjected to the dementor's kiss. While not proven, it's widely believed that a soul is what takes you to what's beyond, or heaven as muggles call it. With no soul, people believe that they're doomed to not exist in any sense any longer. Even now, you can say and believe that your parents are looking down on you and watching over you. If someone has their soul sucked out, they wouldn't have the chance to meet others that have passed on already. So, on and so forth. None of it is proven, of course, but that means nothing if it's believed wholeheartedly. By Hermione saying that they would meet again someday, he wasn't going to get kissed when we all know that it is a very likely possibility. It was false hope and it triggered Mrs. Pettigrew. Who knows what she was capable of doing." Harry nodded, understanding a little bit better. Ron was nodding sagely next to him.

Hermione was still seated on the bench, her eyes cast to the floor. Sirius was sitting next to her, his hand brushing hair back behind her shoulders while the aurors glared at her. Shacklebolt waved his wand and Mrs. Pettigrew floated into he air, likely to be levitated out of the room to who knew where.

"Did you say that on purpose, Miss Black?" Hermione's eyes flew to the auror's before shaking her head emphatically.

"No, I would never, I didn't mean it like that, I just wanted to make her feel better. She was crying and so upset." Miller stepped forward, suspicious look in her eye.

"You're certain you didn't mean for this outcome to make Pettigrew's family look worse, get him a harsher sentence?" Harry could see the hurt in her eyes so he decided to step in and speak the first words since the whole event had happened.

"Hermione would never do that. She was being genuine, all of us could see that." Shacklebolt glared at Harry for a moment before realizing just who he was.

"We all heard about the stomping on bollocks by her. Why not inflict the most amount of pain possible?" Finally, Sirius stood and advanced on both aurors.

"My daughter was attacked, not the other way around. I want to press charges and I am done hearing how she caused this on purpose. My daughter would never do something so despicable." Both aurors realized that they were clearly stepping over a line and backtracked.

"Very good, sir. We're going to get her processed and give Miss Black a few moments to clean herself up before taking the stand. We'll have Mr. Malfoy go first." Hermione gave a quick nod to show that she understood while her father and uncle both kissed her head before leaving the room with the aurors. It was only a few moments later that a short rotund man stuck his head in and called for Malfoy. He stood quickly and tugged one of her curls before following after him. Snape was shaking his head in anger as he fished through his robe pockets.

"Bloody beasts is what they are. Go through all that and don't bother to see if the victim needs healing. Merciful Merlin, they're bumbling idiots." Hermione huffed a small laugh as she took the potion he had just handed to her.

"Actually, Kingsley Shacklebolt is said to be in line for Head Auror this year. Daddy told me a few weeks ago." Snape just shook his head, exasperated. Harry could tell that there was a little bit of tension there but he had no idea as to the cause.

Hermione stopped bleeding and once the replenishing potion had done its work, her godfather stepped forward and healed her face. Her face was back to being as beautiful as it had been when he had first walked in and her robes were clean when the man stepped in again to call her name.

Harry sat there in silence with Ron, Remus, and Snape. It was an awkward silence but none of them seemed to eager to fill it. Therefore, Harry closed his eyes and decided to just wait patiently for his name to be called. After all, it couldn't take forever, could it?

-O-

Having her face stomped in wasn't what she had pictured for herself this morning when she and Draco had started for the Ministry with Uncle Luci and Aunt Cissy. Uncle Sev had met them there since he wasn't supposed to be close to Hermione or Sirius and they weren't sure that they could pull him off arriving with them just because of Draco.

Aunt Cissy was sitting in the gallery all be herself while her father and uncle were seated with the other members of the Wizengamot that would be hearing the case today. Apparently, Pettigrew's counsel had argued that having her father on the panel wasn't fair but when the prosecuting counsel had pointed out that the whole body of the Wizengamot had been affected by what Pettigrew had done, one way or the other, it had been dropped.

Hermione hadn't enjoyed her summer so far. Sure, she had spent time dueling with Draco, reading with her uncle, brewing with Uncle Sev, and riding with her Aunt Cissy, but there hadn't been much time for her to spend with her father. He was constantly gone, doing something with somebody, and it was beginning to wear on her. She knew that he needed to get his affairs in line now that the truth was out, after all, for all she knew, Harry was taking her place as the Black heir now. When they did speak, he always seemed preoccupied though she wasn't sure with what.

Draco had stayed with her every single night she had stayed at home, though finally staying in his own room. Hermione missed him a little but knew that eventually this would have to happen. They were getting older and the last thing she wanted to do was wake up and see Draco sporting an erection from whatever happy dream he had been having. They made waking each other up a game, the winner of the week getting a chocolate sundae while the other didn't. Childish, she knew, but it made her smile.

They had split their time between Black Moor and Malfoy Manor, her aunt and uncle welcoming them warmly when they switched to their ancestral home. While they were there, Hermione missed Bluebell though and could only bear to be apart from her horse for a couple days before she would return. Their godfather would visit often since he too seemed lonely at Black Moor with her father gone all the time.

Hermione had broached the subject with her uncle one night just a week ago. Uncle Sev had been there, along with Aunt Cissy and Draco, and they had all been paying close attention to her even though her words had been quiet. After asking why her father wasn't around this summer, her uncle had tried to be diplomatic. He had tried to tell her that there were matters that only he could handle. Hermione instantly knew what that meant. Matters that dealt with Harry.

Hermione hadn't made her displeasure a secret and her uncle had finally capitulated and told him that he was going out of his way to set it up so Harry could access his family home and accounts if he wanted, though her father would have to stay on as the official caretaker of the account. There had been tears in her eyes when she had asked if her father had made the Boy-Who-Lived his official heir and her uncle had hugged her close when he had told her that he didn't know, that they usually didn't discuss things like that since they were close family matters.

Hermione and Uncle Sev had been strained since he had first told her that he was supporting Harry coming to Black Moor on his birthday. She understood that her godfather had made promises to Lily Potter after she had died but didn't she count for anything? She wanted to talk to Draco about it desperately but in the end, kept her mouth shut. She wasn't sure where he really stood on the whole situation since their last argument at the end of the year. Sure, they had apologized and made up, but she couldn't say for sure that he wasn't just telling her what she wanted to hear just to keep her from complaining.

This was also the main reason that she didn't stay long at the Malfoy Manor. Draco seemed genuinely upset that his parents "favored" her over him. She supposed that it could be true depending on how it looked. She was also aware that her uncle was confused why she kept him at arm's length but he hadn't asked her about it yet. Not that she held her breath for that to last the rest of the summer.

Having Harry be there while she was kicked in the face was humiliating. She wanted to appear strong and like she could stand on her own in front of him, only for it to be shattered the first moment they were together over the summer. Though she would admit to surprise to hear him rise to her defense against the aurors that had tried to pin her making that comment on purpose to make the Pettigrew family look worse. While she would have been appreciative any other time, she wasn't this time. The last thing she needed was his help because once again someone wanted to think she was evil and self-serving.

Hermione was pulled from her thoughts as the rotund little man called her name and gestured for her to follow him. Draco was already seated away from the witness stand and she felt a small shiver of nervousness run through her and the sheer number of people that were staring at her now. It was nothing compared to the New Year's Ball they had had at Malfoy Manor. She took her seat and waited for the prosecutor to begin. Mr. Neebil smiled at her softly.

"Miss Black, thank you for coming today. We're here to discuss Peter Pettigrew and his capture the night of May 30, 1994." She didn't respond, just sat demurely as she had been coached by her aunt and uncle. Once again, her father hadn't been around to help her.

"Please tell us your version of the events that night." Hermione heaved a sigh and started.

The Slytherin enumerated how she had been outside with her cousin and had seen Harry be attacked by Rookwood. They had followed after to help keep him safe and then watched and listened as Rookwood had given away the fact that Peter Pettigrew, an illegal animagus, had been living as the pet rat of Ronald Weasley and how they had stopped him from fleeing. There had been a brief question about the abuse that the defendant's balls had taken from her temper tantrum but she had told them that nobody who got away with hurting her father was going to get away with no pain at all. The crowd had chuckled softly at her words and even though it had made her look a bit immature, she could live with that. The truth was the truth.

Hermione had finally been dismissed after almost forty-five minutes on the stand. She was helped to her feet by the prosecutor and taken to a seat next to Draco. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and they watched together as Ronald Weasley was put on the stand. Truthfully, he had done better than Hermione had figured he would but she was far from giving him a glowing review. This was still the same arsehole that had backhanded her in a corridor in front of all their classmates.

Harry came next and reiterated all their points, though pointing out that he had been held at wand point by Rookwood. Hermione had assumed that they were going to try to gloss over the fact that Rookwood was involved and she had been right. The defense had jumped on the matter and it had been discussed at length. Hermione knew that it was important but not near as important as making sure that Pettigrew was brought to justice today. Besides, everyone had to know that the Ministry wanted to keep Rookwood quiet because they were still embarrassed that someone had escaped their fabled "unbreakable prison".

Her godfather and Remus took the stand one right after the other, the most valuable witnesses since they were the adults that had been present. While Hermione didn't necessarily agree with that, Lupin had been a werewolf half the time after all, she had remained quiet. As long as the case ended up with Pettigrew punished, she wasn't going to complain. Lupin's werewolf status was brought up during interrogation and while normally it would be a bad thing, it turned out quite well since he was able to testify that Pettigrew was indeed the rat and so forth due to his advanced sense of smell.

Once they were all seated in crowd. Hermione was sitting between Draco and Weasley. She leaned to her cousin since Weasley was still abhorrent to her. Sure, she knew that he had cooled off a bit since the truth came out but she had no illusions that he wanted to be her friend. Everyone down the line sat in tense silence, waiting for the Wizengamot to deliberate.

After almost an hour of deliberation behind a silencing charm, the smallest witch on the esteemed board stepped forward and handed the slip of parchment to Minister Fudge. His face betrayed nothing as he read the verdict. After calling for silence in the chamber, he went to his feet and read the verdict.

"Peter Pettigrew, the Wizengamot as a whole has listened to your case and came to an unbiased verdict. We, the Wizengamot, find you guilty of treason and being an accomplice to the murders of James and Lily Potter, and being an accomplice to the attempted murder of Harry James Potter." Hermione wanted to stand and cheer at the Minister's words. Pettigrew was finally going to pay for his crimes and her father's crimes were officially cleared. Down the line, everyone seemed to have varying reactions.

While her father and Uncle Luci were both stoic and silent in the Wizengamot crowd, her aunt was openly crying. Uncle Sev had wet eyes but was holding back the tears ruthlessly. Lupin was openly crying just like her aunt, a small smile on his face. Ron seemed bewildered, as if he wasn't entirely sure what he had just witnessed while Harry was openly sobbing his relief. Lupin wrapped him in a hug and held him close. Draco was holding her close and she could admit that there were a few tears that wended their way down her cheek.

Justice had finally been served, a long twelve years after the fact, but served nonetheless. It was certainly an occasion to celebrate. She could tell that her father was happy, as was her Uncle Luci but she couldn't tell anything else from their expressions. She was just about to ask Draco what he thought when the Minister started speaking again.

"The Wizengamot has recommended Mr. Pettigrew receive the kiss for his crimes against humanity. As Minister of Magic, I agree. The punishment of the dementor's kiss will be brought to fruition tomorrow at noon so he has time to say his goodbyes with his family." Hermione couldn't help but wonder if his mother would be allowed to see him now that she was now to be charged with crimes herself. Therefore, she couldn't help going to her feet and speaking on the behalf of the distraught woman.

"Minister Fudge, I humbly beg that Madam Pettigrew get to meet with her son one last time before his sentence is carried out. Since she stands against charges of her own, it would be cruel to deny her that." Pettigrew saw this as his opening and started to shout.

"Dear girl, sweet girl, tell them that I'm not deserving of such a punishment. I regret my actions more than anyone can know." Hermione turned a cold eye to James and Lily's betrayer.

"I have nothing to say about you. You're the worst. You betrayed the people that would have died for you. This is for your mother, she deserves to be able to say goodbye." She could see that her father was softly smiling at her in the Wizengamot crown as Minister Fudge contemplated her request.

"Very well, Miss Black, your request shall be granted. The pair will meet in the morning and will have an hour to say their goodbyes. After that, he will face the Kiss and she will face the judgement awaiting her for her rash actions." Hermione curtsied to the Minister even though she wanted to barf on him. Especially after his words just before Christmas. Once the last sound of the court was heard, Hermione was on her feet to hug her father. He wrapped his arms around her and smiled.

"You were amazing, Poppet." She smiled into his chest and watched as everyone else approached them. She pulled away slightly and felt that this called for a celebration, even if Harry had to attend.

"We should go back to Black Moor and celebrate. We've been working for this for twelve years." Her father kissed the top of head before speaking.

"I have to get Harry back and then we have to discuss terms for his summer with his aunt and uncle." Hermione felt her heart deflate and she could tell that everyone saw it.

"We've been waiting for this for twelve years, though, we have to celebrate. We've all been working so hard." Her father reached down and kissed the top of her head again and smiled indulgently at her.

"I know, poppet, nobody is happier than I am. You've done so well, Draco too. For now, though, head back to Black Moor and I'll meet you there in a few hours." Hermione felt her heart sink. Not only had she been rebuffed, she had been rebuffed in front of a crowd of people. Her cheeks colored in shame and she nodded quickly. Her father strode over and spoke softly to Harry before taking his wrist and disappearing with a pop. Silence reigned for a few moments before Uncle Sev stepped forward.

"He'll be back shortly, this isn't any reason to not celebrate." Hermione knew that she wasn't going to be able to fake it so just kept her eyes to the ground before gravitating to her Uncle Luci.

"I know you think that, Uncle Sev, but it isn't true. I haven't seen him for more than a few hours total since summer started. I just want to go to Malfoy Manor and forget about everything. I'm tired of caring who I hurt anymore." Draco pulled her into his arms and kissed the side of her head.

"I told you that staying with me wasn't going to hurt anything." Hermione just shook her head.

"No, that's one relationship I won't broach. You need your parents and I refuse to take them away." Hermione didn't wait for anyone else to say anything, just took off to her father's office since she knew that it would admit her.

Once inside, she found the floo powder and grabbed a handful before throwing it into the flames.

"Malfoy Manor." Hermione stepped into the green flames and let it take her from there. All she wanted was to visit her room, read one of her new books, and maybe take a nap. After all, nothing else going on was clearly her business.

-O-

Lucius followed after his niece, his heart thumping in his chest. He had no idea what the blazes had just happened and he narrowed his eyes at the one person that he knew would. His hand clamped around Draco's elbow and he hauled him to the office that his name on the door, pushing him towards the floo.

"Back home, no funny tricks." His son looked slightly fearful but Lucius wasn't sure why. It wasn't like he had ever been beaten, he'd never been severely punished. It was truly disconcerting to realize that his son feared him with no prior reason. Once they were all standing in the foyer, his niece was long gone and he was becoming livid. Severus had followed them through, thankfully, since he hoped that the man had an idea what was going on.

"I want to know what the fuck is going on right now." Lucius knew that his voice was hard and cold but he wasn't surprised to see that nobody else was surprised. He had been a Death Eater of his own volition for a few years and this was nothing in comparison to what he had done way back then. Draco was the first to lower his eyes but Severus wasn't far behind him. It was his long-time friend that spoke first.

"When the truth came out, Hermione was upset that her father was going to take Potter under his wing and into their home without a word about it. I basically told her that I agreed since the vows I made to Lily demanded that I see him in a home where he was safe and happy. I don't think that's possible at the Weasleys since they don't have blood wards, apparently Molly has decided that blood wards are dark and mean you serve Voldemort." Lucius started to rub his temples, still completely confused. Draco sighed and went to his feet so he could pace.

"Hermione didn't tell anyone, she said that it wasn't our problem. We quit talking for a month or so because I started to pay more attention to Pansy Parkinson than her. She wasn't mad, just told me that I needed to be more circumspect. It didn't go over well and we ended up having a fight in front of Uncle Sev. She told me that she was tired of feeling like she wasn't shit compared to Potter. I threw back in her face that I was tired of my own parents choosing her over me." Lucius wasn't even sure how his son could say that so he remained silent. Eventually Draco got the hint that he was supposed to continue.

"I told her that my words weren't true but after I told her that she could come stay at Malfoy Manor if things got bad, she said that she wasn't going to. She wasn't going to get any closer to Father because she didn't want to hurt me since she loved me more than life itself. I told her that it wasn't necessary, that I was being a brat, but here we are. She hasn't wanted to spend shite for time here, trying to figure out how every single little thing worked out. Since then, she's been holding herself differently and she isn't really connecting with me." Lucius' gaze darkened further he glared at not only his son but his best friend. They were supposed to make Hermione feel better, not worst.

"How could the two of you do this?" Lucius noticed how Severus flashed a hint of guilt through his eyes but it was gone before he could even fully register it.

"You don't get to depict everything that happens in our families. You are the one who has made Draco feel like he was worth nothing, prompting him to say something in the first place. Speaking as someone that was never been loved as they should have been, I understand your son' sentiment. You and Sirius just push it under the rug and hope that Draco forgets how he feels." Draco couldn't believe what he was hearing; it was going to de-evolve into a hexing match if someone didn't say something. When he started yelling, he could tell that his family was dumbstruck.

"No more arguing! How do you think Hermione is going to feel about all this?" Lucius stepped back and took a deep breath, stabilizing himself. When he opened his eyes again, he saw that Severus had just done the same. Lucius decided to start since the others were the ones wanting to yell.

"Sirius has found his godson and while Hermione is still his daughter, he has forgotten that she even exists. How do you expect her to feel? She has made his goals her own until he hurt her so completely. Even after that, he welcomes the boy into his house, to live alongside Hermione. Who in the world is going to be alright with that? For the love of Merlin, she has taken it better than the rest of us would have." Lucius felt his heart clench at the pain his niece must have felt but the words of his friend had merit.

"You both think I love Draco less so when he blew up at Hermione, she's doing the best she can to stay away from me so I won't come between her and Draco?" Draco clearly didn't want to answer but Severus had no problems answering.

"He's jealous of the attention you shower on her while you do nothing but yell at him." Lucius bowed his head and couldn't help but wonder how this had de-evolved so quickly. He didn't even get to speak before the sweetest voice in the world cut him off.

"This isn't what I wanted. I wanted to avoid all of this. Please, I'm so sick of feeling like shite, let me have the illusion that this didn't start because of me." Lucius sighed before stepping forward. He was entirely surprised when Hermione stepped back away from him. She saw the pain in his eyes and her eyes teared up.

"Don't look at me like that, Uncle. I love Draco more than anything and there isn't anything I wouldn't do for him. Please don't look at me as though I just killed your favorite puppy." Draco stepped forward and wrapped his arms around his cousin.

"Hermione, please stop. I don't want you to keep yourself from my parents. They love you and I know they love me too. I was being a complete arsehole wanker that day and I didn't mean it. Please stop holding yourself away from us." In a rare show of emotion, Lucius stepped forward and hugged not only his niece but his son as well. Draco's form stiffened but eventually it bled out of him and he leaned against his father's chest. He could tell that Hermione was crying softly when he spoke.

"Both of you should know better. I love Draco more than anything. I would die for him, he's my only son and heir. The only reason I don't show it like I do with Hermione is because it's different between men and their sons than it is with men and their daughters." He could tell that his words had a positive effect on Draco and Lucius was unsure how he had missed son's feelings for so long.

"Where Draco is my heart, Hermione is my soul. Both are equally important but different in their own way. You're both the most important things in the world to me and I can't imagine life without either of you." Lucius felt distinctly uncomfortable saying these things to his son but could instantly see the effect his words were having. Hermione let one of her arms wrap around his waist and even though her face was buried in Draco's chest, she leaned them heavily into him. Severus watched them all silently until the two children pulled away. Knowing that Hermione needed him more than Draco, he cupped her cheeks in his hands and met her gaze.

"Princess, I know you're feeling very unwanted. Your father will get better once he realizes that Harry isn't you." She gave him a half smile but if fell away quickly.

"I wasn't kidding, I have only seen him a total of a few hours since summer started. I've dedicated everything in my life to getting Harry back for him only for him to forget that I even exist." Lucius had no idea what he was supposed to say to that. Severus looked as though he wanted to comment but he raised his eyebrow at the man, warning him to keep quiet. The last thing she needed a reminder of was that Severus sided with her father. Instead, he pulled her to the sofa and sat down, pulling her so her head would rest in his lap. Draco seemed to understand immediately and fetched a book that Hermione hadn't read before. Lucius knew that Hermione was aware she was being handled but she was allowing it for now. Draco sat at the other end, pulling her feet into his lap. Lucius bent and kissed her head before he began reading.

"You will always be welcome here, poppet." She buried her face into his abdomen and nodded. Lucius started to read, knowing that it would soothe Hermione more than anything else.

Lucius couldn't tell how long he read but it was over an hour later before he looked down and realized that Hermione was asleep. Draco was also asleep with her feet in his lap, his hands wrapped around her tiny ankles. Severus was still awake in the chair across from the couch and he stood to lay a blanket over the top of Hermione and Draco.

"Sirius is fucking up. Will it even do any good to tell him?" Severus shook his head.

"No, he's punch drunk with the thought of having Harry in his life. It's going to come crashing down around him if he isn't careful." Lucius nodded, hoping against hope that that wouldn't happen.

"I hope he pulls his head out of his arse before he loses her." Severus nodded.

"I'll try to talk to him tonight." Lucius nodded and set the book aside.

"I'm going to take the opportunity for a nap. They don't come often but I find that I don't want to wake Hermione." Severus flashed him a smile before standing himself.

"I understand. I'll send you an owl later with his response." Lucius nodded and set the book aside, letting his head fall back. His fingers stroked the hair of his niece and he smiled softly to himself. She really was the best of Erise and Regulus.

Closing his eyes, he let sleep pull him under in hopes that all would be brighter when he woke.

A/N- Yes, I know, Sirius is being a compete ass. Trust me, Hermione is going to put him in his place. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, it ended up much more angsty than I had planned. Thanks to everyone out there for reading and reviewing, you guys are the bomb.

Next chapter, Harry comes to Black Moor and Hermione loses her temper.

Love,

Alicia


	62. Chapter 62

A/N- The support you guys show me chapter after chapter just astounds me. Thank you so much. I know for a fact that you wouldn't get near as many chapters if I didn't get so much love. I pounded this chapter out as fast as I could, mostly because I've couldn't wait to write it. Anyways, enough for now; I hope you enjoy this one.

**Shout out to Gaerven for being my 2500th reviewer. You're freaking awesome!**

Disclaimer: Nothing in this story belongs to me. Pureblood Hermione has been done, teenage angst has been done, idiot Harry has been done, and Slytherin Hermione has certainly been done. The characters all belong to J.K.R. and the original plot line belongs to Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle. I haven't made any money from this fic or any other.

Chapter 62

July 31, 1994

Harry couldn't remember being this happy in all his life. Sure, he had enjoyed his time at the Weasleys but it hadn't been home. While Black Moor wasn't home yet, he hoped that eventually it would be. Sirius had told him that he wanted it to be his home but only time would tell.

Frankly, what had Harry the most worried about staying with his godfather wasn't that it would be a new place or that he would be around people he didn't know very well. It was that Hermione hated him and that he would be making her upset by being there. He was no fool; he had seen how heartbroken and hurt she had looked after Sirius had told her that they would celebrate later since he had things to do with Harry. He just hoped that she didn't blame him for her father's actions. He remembered telling Sirius that Hermione wasn't going to like that they were friends and getting closer.

His family had been quick to agree with his godfather's terms that day after the trial. True to his word, Sirius had removed the pig's snout from his uncle. There had been no mistreatment since that day but that didn't mean that life was good. While Harry was free to do whatever he wanted, it was also as if he didn't exist. None of the Dursleys spoke to him or even looked at him when he entered a room. It was almost as though he was a nonentity.

He had informed them the night before that he would be leaving this morning. Uncle Vernon spoke to him for the first time in a month and told him to make sure he took all his belongings with him and to not return until the following summer. Sirius had been quite clear to his family when he explained that Harry would have to return every summer for a certain time period so he would continue to be protected by his mother's blood wards. Harry didn't care how happy the Dursleys would be to see him gone, he was just thrilled to be going anywhere but there.

Harry had asked his godfather about his plans for the summer. While he would enjoy spending time with the Weasleys, he knew that he needed time to get to know his new family better. After Sirius had told him that he would prefer him to spend the entire month of August there, getting to know everyone better, working with Madam Cambridge, and enjoying himself, Harry had readily agreed.

The note to Ron informing him of his plans that summer had seen a little tiff between the friends. Nothing long-lasting since they really hadn't quit speaking but it had gotten back a short and almost bitchy letter back in response. Ron felt as though Harry was ditching him for his new Slytherin family. Harry had reassured him that this wasn't the case and though Ron was better after that letter, he wasn't sure if all was well or not.

Sirius was picking him up in just a few moments. It was almost noon and the Dursleys had left the house entirely to keep from facing his godfather again. Harry could say that he didn't blame them. While what Sirius had done wasn't nice in the least, he would be the first to admit that they had deserved it.

A pop pulled him from his contemplation, alerting him to the fact that his godfather had just apparated directly into the living room of his relative's house. Harry grinned at him when he realized that he was in the same room and the rest of the family seemed to be missing.

"The others run off and hide?" Harry nodded.

"Yeah, they refused to be here while you were here. Apparently, they're scared that you're going to turn them all into pigs." Sirius laughed loudly.

"Happy to see they've gotten smarter. Do you have your things? Do I need to shrink them?" Harry shook his head no.

"No, Dobby shrunk it and went on to Black Moor. Will your elves get along with him?" Sirius grimaced slightly.

"I think it's time a little bit of truth is told here. Dobby was Lucius' elf. He sent him to warn you away from Hogwarts to keep you safe. When you didn't stay home, Dobby took things into his own hands. When he freed him and sent him in your direction, it was mostly for protection for you. However, it was also because Dobby doesn't work well with other elves. He wants freedom and such but it isn't possible for a house elf. Our magic keeps them alive through the bond. The elves at Black Moor are no different. They think he's different." Harry took a moment to consider his words. His godfather and his family had been looking out for him his whole life and had gifted him an elf to look after him.

"I'll have to be sure to thank Mr. Malfoy." Sirius nodded and smiled.

"Just do your best to keep Dobby away from Sipsy and Dot. They're Hermione's personal elves and they think that Dobby wanting a paying job is a disgrace, that he should be as happy to serve his master as they are to serve my daughter." Harry knew that his eyebrows had drawn inward at his comment.

"Hermione has two elves bonded to her? I just never thought that she would allow something to act as her servant without fair compensation." Sirius laughed openly now.

"My daughter loves those elves. They're family. They've looked after her since she first came to Black Moor. Since she's the Black heir, they will serve her happily for the rest of her life. They've shot more stinging hexes at her backside than I have and I know that she loves them like she does me. Nobody will ever convince her that elves should be free because her elves are thrilled to serve her. That's all she's ever known." Harry couldn't help but be confused.

"Did the Malfoys not treat Dobby well?" Sirius shook his head to dispel that notion.

"No, he was treated great. He just wanted more." Harry nodded before smiling.

"Shall we get on our way then?" His godfather grinned and held out his arm. Harry grasped it around the elbow and held on for dear life. It took less than a moment for them to disappear and reappear in a room that Harry had never seen before. The rolling of his stomach was still present but far less than the last time he had traveled by side-along apparition. He supposed that the more he participated in it, the better it would get.

Harry studied the room they had appeared in. It seemed to be the family library and he would be the first to say that while it was larger than the Hogwarts library, it was quite cozy. He could picture family meetings and laughing memories taking place in this room. Before he could turn to say anything to Sirius, Hermione and Draco filed into the room, fake smiles on their faces. Hermione heaved a sigh before she spoke.

"We welcome you to Black Moor. We hope that you feel welcome here." Harry could tell that they were being forced to say these words so he just nodded at them. If they had been heartfelt he would have been more gracious. This all felt wrong and he hated that he had done this.

"Thank you very much." Sirius spoke up.

"Poppet, will you show Harry his room?" If it was possible for her body to stiffen anymore, it did.

"We have elves, Father." He wasn't sure what it was about her response that had her father glaring at her.

"I want you to show him, poppet. Please and thank you." Hermione waited almost a full minute before nodding.

"Very well, follow me." Harry knew that she likely had nothing else to say so he just nodded.

Hermione and Malfoy led him through the house, a huge house that Harry never would have dreamed of living in. It was the third floor that they finally stopped at, the third room from the stairs on the left. Hermione's voice was flat.

"This is your room. The third floor is the family floor so my father, my aunt and uncle, my godfather, and Draco all have rooms on this floor. If you need anything, you need only knock on a door and ask." Harry could see how much this was killing her so he remained silent. Hermione continued.

"You should go inside, call for your elf and unpack. The guests will be arriving within the hour." Harry narrowed his eyes.

"Guests?" She gave him a nod though refrained from meeting his eyes.

"Guests for your birthday party. Father didn't want you to have to share a party with Draco and I so he threw one for you. I'm sure he'll be thrilled to be see you so surprised." Harry could see that these words hurt her and he decided to be nice.

"I'm sorry, I never asked for this." Hermione gave him a cold look.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He couldn't help but sneer at her for thinking that he was stupid.

"I never asked to come here and have your dad fawn over me. Yeah, I'm thrilled to have him in my life but I'm not going to just move in with him without a single thought about it." Harry could see the flare of pain in her eyes but she remained silent.

"Your party begins in an hour so be ready by then." Harry drew his eyebrows downward in confusion.

"Why do I get a separate party from you two?" It was Draco that answered.

"Your godfather seems to think you're special. If you'll excuse us, we need to go see to the party plans." Harry finally nodded, knowing full well that he likely wasn't going to get any further answers from them.

They left him in his room and he took a few moments to admire it. The walls were a soft cream color with blue accents, the bed queen-sized with a royal blue duvet. It was furnished, with a vanity and mirror along with a desk and chair by the window. There were two doors and after a few moments, Harry learned that they led to his own bathroom and a walk-in closet. Harry couldn't help but snort. He had four changes of clothing and they were all five sizes too big for him since they were Dudley's cast offs. He wondered briefly which of his outfits to wear to his party when Dobby popped into the room next to him.

"Master Harrys, yous must hurry and bathe. Yous party begins in less than an hours." Harry chuckled softly at his small friend.

"I was just trying to figure out what to wear." Dobby gave him a strange look before gesturing to the closet again.

"Candy has been telling Dobby that Master Black has buyed Master Harry all new clothes." Harry knew that his mouth dropped open before he turned to look in the closet again. Sure enough, he had been so focused on where the door led that he hadn't realized that it was brimming with clothing.

Harry shuffled through what was hanging up, finally settling on a set of blue jeans that looked a few steps above casual. He chose a button-up shirt in an emerald green color, matching his eyes perfectly. Since he was in a pureblood home and he wasn't sure what climate he was going to be in, he threw a set of robes over the top. He was quite surprised to find that they fit him perfectly and he wondered just how this had been managed. He was surprised when Malfoy's voice sounded behind him. Harry did his best not to jump but judging by the smirk on the blond's face, he had been unsuccessful.

"My mother went shopping for you. I told her that you were roughly my size, maybe just a bit broader. Sirius gave her his vault card and told her to get everything that you would need. She even tried to get some muggle items for you." Harry felt his cheeks color slightly.

"I would have been happy with something that fit. I'm not picky, I don't need expensive clothes." Malfoy leaned against the door frame and watched him for a few moments before he spoke.

"The thing is, Sirius has made himself comfortable in the pureblood circle. Sure, they all know now that he wasn't really a servant of the Dark Lord but not a single one of them can dispute his place in society now. Now, he hopes to change the minds of Voldemort's followers. However, that can't be done if those around him don't fit in the mold that society has cast for them. There's a reason why Hermione always looks proper and perfect. She loves wearing casual clothes but rarely can. This is something you're going to have to live with too." Harry considered his words carefully.

"You're saying I now have an image to uphold?" Malfoy nodded.

"Hole in one." He shifted again and his arms came down to his side.

"I came to issue you a warning. Hermione is my world and I love her more than anything. If you hurt her while she's here, being the savior of the wizarding world isn't going to save you. Nobody fucks with my cousin and gets away with it." Harry raked a hand through his already wild hair.

"I don't want to hurt her, you have no idea how absolutely horrid I feel about hurting her before. I know she'll likely never forgive me but that doesn't mean that I'm going to stop trying." Malfoy's eyes flashed but he kept his temper under control.

"Why should I trust you when you tell me that you don't want to hurt her?" Harry took a deep breath while he considered his words.

"Before, I was constantly trying to find a balance when it came to Hermione. I wanted to be her friend more than anything but her father was responsible for my parent's deaths. I tried to stay away from her because it felt like I was betraying my parent's memory. I had Dumbledore whispering in one ear and Lupin in the other, telling me that she was evil and trying to brainwash me. I'm not saying that she has no right to feel like she does. She has every reason to hate me. I'm just saying that I believed the wrong people at age eleven through thirteen. All I can do is change." Malfoy seemed to be considering his words. Several minutes passed before he finally spoke.

"I do understand but Hermione is my cousin and she will always come before you. I won't stop you from trying to make things right but I'm not going to help you. I will never choose to help you over sticking on her side. All hats are off if you get her to trust you and you hurt her again." Harry started forward until he was standing directly in front of Draco. He stuck out his hand and waited for the blond to take it.

"I swear on my magic that I won't go out of my way to hurt her again. I can't say that I won't hurt her, I'm only human after all, but I won't do it on purpose." Malfoy nodded and shook his hand before stepping back out of his room.

"You better get downstairs. Your guests are already arriving." Harry gave him a brief nod and checked himself over in the mirror once more before turning to Dobby. Draco was gone and he had no idea how to get to where the party was being held.

"Dobby, I have no idea where the party is being held. Can you take me there?" Dobby gave an enthusiastic nod and grasped his hand.

"Yes, Master Harry, takes my hand and I will takes you." Harry nodded and in less than a moment, Harry felt himself squeeze into a tight tube and then reappear in what appeared to be a ballroom.

Guests were already milling all over the room. Harry had already spotted all the Weasleys and Parvati and Padma. Neville was there, as were Seamus and Dean. Lavender was skulking around the edges, talking to the those that belonged to Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Harry recognized Terry Boot, Lisa Turpin, Susan Bones, Mandy Brocklehurst, Hannah Abbott, Ernie McMillian, and Michael Corner. Harry couldn't believe that all these people had showed up just for him. Molly Weasley was the first one to see him arrive and hurried forward to pull him into a tight hug.

"Harry, dear, happy birthday! We're going to miss you this summer at the Burrow." Harry was still flabbergasted that the Weasleys had been invited, especially Ron. They had all been terrible to Hermione aside from the twins.

"Thanks for coming, Mrs. Weasley." Hermione appeared at his side and gave the red head a sickly-sweet smile.

"Yes, isn't it miraculous that when I invited the twins to our birthday party and New Year's Ball, they weren't allowed to come. However, the whole family is able to draw upon my family's generosity when it's for the Boy-Who-Lived." Harry could see that Mrs. Weasley was livid but she kept a smile screwed in place as she laid an arm around Harry's shoulders.

"Things have changed since then. Come, Harry, Ginny has been waiting to wish you happy birthday since she first woke." Harry wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to say to that so he allowed the woman to pull him away and lead him towards the youngest Weasley. However, he had still caught a glimpse of Hermione's pained expression. Rather than stay behind and discover what had caused the look, he let Mrs. Weasley pull him across the ball room to mingle with her children. Ginny threw herself into his arms, mindless of who was watching.

"Happy birthday, Harry. How does it feel to be fourteen?" Harry awkwardly patted Ginny on her shoulder before pushing her off him.

"It feels just like thirteen." She smiled at him lasciviously.

"What does the birthday boy want for his birthday?" Harry couldn't believe she was being this bold and therefore ignored her.

"Thank you all for coming." Mrs. Weasley smiled at him and ruffled his hair.

"We wouldn't miss it for the world. A young man only turns fourteen once." Harry smiled at the woman before Ron slid in next to him.

"Mate, the food is here is better than Hogwarts. I can't blame you for staying here." Molly clucked disapprovingly.

"You must tell me if there is anything inappropriate going on here, Harry. I don't want you to have that sort of influence in your life." Harry didn't get a chance to answer since Sirius swept in.

"I assure you, Madam, there is nothing inappropriate going on in my house." Harry could hear the steel in Sirius' voice but he remained quiet. Molly, however, couldn't hold her tongue.

"Ron has told us about the unnatural relationship between your daughter and her cousin. I know that the purebloods encourage marrying family but never first cousins." Harry couldn't believe that she was that bold. His godfather just sneered in her direction.

"Trust me, Madam, your son has brought far more dishonor to your family than my daughter and cousin have. He openly struck a female, a female of higher standing than he. I could have brought him forth on formal charges but I decided not to. You're making me regret my decision." Harry could tell that this was going to get ugly fast. He shot his godfather a look before grasping hold of Molly and pulling her to the dance floor. Once they were alone, he hissed at her.

"Are you mad? Sirius would feel nothing if he was forced to take your family down. He genuinely likes the twins but the rest of you haven't been the nicest to his daughter. What makes you think that he won't ruin you? Ron is on his last chance with the man, your husband realized that when he offered him his hand when the truth came out. Besides, he's my godfather and my family. You will show him respect or I won't be able to see you anymore. Ron has already agreed. Will the rest of you?" Molly couldn't seem to decide if she was affronted or angry at his words. It seemed as though his words were completely unexpected and Harry couldn't help but worry that they were. Was he so predictable that everyone thought he would continue to be a doormat once he knew they had all been lying to him? Molly lowered her eyes and nodded.

"Yes, Harry, we'll get along. We have no urge to lose you from our lives. While your words hurt, I understand. Blood is thicker than water." Harry gave her a semblance of a grin.

After they parted, Harry found himself a small corner away from everyone that allowed him to watch the crowd. Draco and Hermione were the only Slytherins in attendance unless you counted Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy sitting at a table speaking with his godfather. He was still disconcerted to think about his godfather being part of a family that was believed to be so deeply embroiled with the Dark Lord it wasn't funny.

Harry watched as Neville stepped forward first to ask Hermione to dance. Both swept across the dance floor like professionals and Harry couldn't help but be jealous. Just when he thought the torture was through, Fred and George stepped in and begged her to join them on the dance floor. After she did, they pulled her across the ball room to a waltz, dancing with her flamboyantly as they waltzed through the steps.

Harry watched her take turns with her father, uncle, and cousin, most of the time looking quite happy. It was only when an Ernie McMillian stepped forward to ask her to dance that she started to look guarded. Harry lost track of her then, finding himself dancing with every girl he had snogged, all of them wanting to sneak off with him so they could have another go at it. He had decided that he wouldn't let it happen until Lisa Turpin asked him to sneak off with her, that she wanted to show him her appreciation for the invitation with her mouth. It was bold and reckless, not something he expected from house of the brains but he had grinned at her and allowed her to pull him into an alcove.

Harry smiled as he considered his last birthday compared to this one. It was already better in the fact that he was able to celebrate with people he cared about and considered friends. To hear that his godfather wanted him in his life had been astounding. With a wide grin, Harry let Lisa wish him happy birthday in her own special way.

-O-

Hermione had never had a worse time at a party. Not only were she and Draco the only Slytherins there, everyone was staring at her as though she was going to jump out and murder them right there. Truly, if she was so smart and evil, wouldn't she hide her nature and then hide her evil dastardly plans?

While most of the adults seemed to leave her alone, Hermione couldn't help but bring up the fact that twins hadn't been allowed to attend her birthday or the New Year's Ball. In what world was it not allowed that her friends would be allowed to attend her parties under direct supervision but could attend a party where Ron and Ginny were allowed to attend because Harry was going to be there. It was bias and bigotry but there was nothing she could do except disagree with it quite vocally.

So far, nobody had asked her to dance except her family, Neville, the twins and Ernie McMillian. Neville and the twins seemed to be the most upset about the matter, evidenced by the fact that they asked her to dance over and over again. After a few hours, Hermione had had enough and decided that enough was enough.

Once Hermione had rebuffed her last partner's advances, she saw exactly why they were asking her to dance. Not a single other person asked her to dance, though Draco received several offers. After the rest of the people were out on the floor, Hermione couldn't disguise the implications. She was unwanted at a party being held in her own home. Deciding that her father would probably give two fucks less, she stood and went to her aunt and uncle's side.

"I find that I'm too tired to continue with the party. I'm just going to see myself out and find everyone in the morning." They hadn't had dinner yet but that was hardly a problem. Elves could do just about anything after all. Uncle Luci seemed to realize that this was going deeper and took her hand before bowing over it to kiss her knuckles.

"As you wish, Miss Black. May you sleep well tonight." Seamus must have been passing by since he had clearly heard their words. His words were ice as they were spoken.

"What, daddy's little girl isn't the favorite anymore so she's going to go to her room and sulk like she's five?" Hermione wanted to be angry at his words but to a point, they were true. Before she could say anything, Uncle Luci had his wand out and pointed in Finnegan's face.

"I would watch how you speak to ladies, you ignorant wretch. Especially when you're a guest in their home." Seamus was quick to scarper off and Hermione gave her uncle a forced smile.

"Thanks, Uncle Luci. You didn't have to though. It's true. I'm invisible and it kills me. I'd rather be invisible in my room, though, so I don't have to have it rubbed in my face." Aunt Cissy came forward and wrapped her arms around her and held her close, regardless of what people would think.

"Get some rest, darling. You can come see us tomorrow and stay for a few days. Maybe things will be better when you return, allow your father to miss you." Hermione gave her aunt a grateful squeeze but in no way did she think that her father was going to miss her. He hadn't missed her yet and they were six weeks into their holiday.

Hermione gave her uncle a hug before moving onto Draco, the twins, and Neville. They didn't hug her but they all bowed and kissed her hand, telling her that they would see her later. Hermione didn't bother telling her father that she was leaving; he was caught up talking to Harry and Ron about who knew what.

Once she was ensconced in her room, she called for Dot and begged him to bring her a plate of whatever they were serving for dinner. He instantly worried that she wasn't feeling well and begged her to let him bring her a potion but she told him that she was fine, only tired. After bringing her a tray and watching her eat almost all of it, Dot finally left since he was satisfied that she was fine. She then changed out of her robes and into something more comfortable. Shorts that hit her mid-thigh and tank top were her ensemble, black and pink in color. Aunt Cissy had had a friend tell her about these muggle clothes and she wanted Hermione to try them. She had given them a glowing review, telling her that they were the most comfortable things that she had ever worn.

It was almost eight o'clock when Candy appeared in her room and looked distraught. Hermione was on her feet instantly, afraid that something had happened since she had left the party. The elf wouldn't meet her eyes and was shuffling from foot to foot. Finally, Hermione couldn't stand there any longer in silence.

"What's wrong, Candy?" The elf finally lifted her head, almost meek. Hermione had never seen the elf be meek; her favorite past time was ordering her father around and withholding sober up potion when he had drank too much.

"Master has told Candy to come gets you. He wants to speak to yous now that the partys is over." Hermione shook her head.

"No, Candy, just tell him I'm not feeling well. I don't want to face him tonight." Candy sighed loudly before she reached out and grasped her wrist.

"Master said yous had no choice." With that, Hermione felt herself compress into a tube and then return to normal in the ballroom. Her aunt and uncle were still there, as was Draco and Harry. Uncle Sev had showed up at some point and appeared to be smoking a cigar. Hermione realized belatedly that she was barely clothed. Her father seemed to realize this at the same time.

"What the fuck do you think you're wearing? You're to be properly clothed at all times in this house." Hermione couldn't believe his tone and couldn't help but drop her gaze in embarrassment. Not only from her clothing but from the scene her father was making in front of everyone. Her father never acted like this with her and she couldn't understand now why he was. Aunt Cissy stepped forward, her beautiful face in a frown.

"I bought them for her, Sirius. They're pajamas. Nobody is supposed to see them and you're the one that ordered Candy to bring her down here with no delay." Her father sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Regardless, you're not to wear those under this roof again. I called you down here for a specific reason." Hermione finally raised her eyes and held steady since there was nothing else she could do. Never before had she faced her father's ire like this. Her father seemed to be waiting for her to speak but she wasn't sure what he wanted to hear. When she remained silent, her father growled at her.

"You are to apologize to Harry for ruining his birthday party. I told you that I expected you to put everything aside to make sure he enjoyed himself for his first party in our home. He deserves to have a family that loves him." Hermione could see that Harry looked as stunned as she did but that did nothing to curb her temper. Uncle Luci and Uncle Sev stepped back but her aunt was walking towards her.

Hermione felt her magic release and did her best to rein it in. She wanted to be in control but at this point, there was no way that was ever going to happen. Draco had a concerned look on his face but made no move to calm her down. He probably knew that it would be a futile endeavor. Hermione couldn't help but start screaming at her father.

"I will not apologize! I have already done more than I wanted to to welcome him into this home. Besides, Lisa Turpin did all she could to make sure that he enjoyed himself on his birthday. I didn't get asked if I was alright with him being here, I just got told to accept it. I haven't seen you for more than a few days total since school let out because you've been so caught up in Harry and all things to do with Harry. You used to take half the summer holidays off! I get that you're excited but don't expect me to be!" Hermione took a deep breath trying to pacify her magic but to no avail. This time her words were aimed at both Harry and her father.

"You have hurt me more than I even like to think about. I don't know how or why I became absolutely nothing to you, Father, but that's what's happened. I'm not shite compared to the great Harry Potter. I know that I only live here because I kept you out of prison so you could take care of the child that really mattered but I thought that I meant more than that to you now. I suppose that I should thank you for making sure I didn't go to the orphanage since you clearly hated your brother and there was no love lost between yourself and my mother." Her father's temper was building and she could see that he was about to explode as well. Aunt Cissy reached Hermione and laid a hand on her shoulder before gently pulling her back. She brushed her off of her and met her father head-on. Her father, however, picked up his tumbler of whiskey and threw it towards her, shattering on the floor right in front of her. She could feel little shards of glass cut her face, arms, chest, and legs but she paid them no mind when her father started screaming at her.

"You ungrateful little brat! You were taken in by me and I made you my heir. I told you that I wanted no other child but you and still you say such things to me. Is there no room for anyone in your life that doesn't treat you like some spoiled little princess? It's time to grow up, honey, there are more people out there that matter to me than just you." Hermione felt her heart grow cold at his words. Tears pricked her eyes and when one fell down her cheek into the tiny cuts from the glass, it stung. Hermione turned to Harry first.

"You are despicable. I only ever wanted to be your friend and paid me back by hurting me and insulting me. I will never trust you again. You made me trust you more than once only for you to cast me aside and hurt me each time. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. You can have my father, you deserve each other." Hermione knew what she needed to do and faced her father.

"I'm spoiled because you made me that way. Before the truth came out, you loved me just fine the way I was. Now, compared to Harry, I can't compete. I wish my real father was alive; he would want me and ask me my opinion before he did something like invite the one person who hurt me the most into his house and tell me I had to make life grand for him. That would never happen with my real dad." Hermione saw a flash of pain cross her father's face but he hid it quickly. Everyone else was still silent as the two raged at each other. Her father strode forward and fisted his hand in her hair tightly, making her whimper softly. Draco started forward but Aunt Cissy held him back.

"No, princess, life with your dad would have been worse. He was a Death Eater and he didn't care who he hurt or what he had to do to get what he wanted. You would have been a piece on a chessboard, I knew my brother. He would have already sold you off to the highest bidder, hoping it would get him more favor with his master." Her tears ran freely now and she couldn't stop them. Her father released her and Harry was still silent, completely horrified and confused as to what was going on. She took a step back from her father and pulled at the ring on her right hand. The Black family ring was in her palm for only a second before she threw it at her father. Everyone gasped in surprise and she knew why. Only her father could remove the ring unless she was renouncing her family. He missed it and it bounced off the marble floor and skittered away to Merlin only knew where.

"If you can't love me like you did, if I can't compare to Harry, then take your ring and shove it up your arse. I don't need to be the Black heir, I never did. I needed you. Don't worry, I can take care of myself. Fuck, I could probably take better care of myself than you do." Her father was standing there looking quite stricken. As she turned to head towards the floo, her father called out after her.

"You are my daughter by blood magic; you can't go anywhere without my permission." Hermione knew her magic was going to react; it threw him back several feet and he landed on his arse. She started to step forward again but her aunt took her elbow. Uncle Luci stepped forward and glared at her father.

"You've done enough. I have warned you and so has Severus. We understand that you're happy Potter is in your life, we're happy for you. However, Hermione was your life for twelve years. You cast her off and then expected her to just forget how much hurt this boy has done her. She deserves better than that. I am taking her to Malfoy Manor right now and you can't stop me. You may have made her your daughter by blood magic but you signed the proper paperwork for me to make her my heir as well." Hermione couldn't quiet her gasp. It was almost unheard of, making someone that wasn't of your name your heir. However, she wasn't allowed to speak again, Draco took her arm and pulled her towards the floo. Her father watched her with burning eyes and she wasn't sure if they were burning with hatred, anger, or pain.

Hermione didn't cast a second glance at her father while she let her cousin lead her towards the floo. Her father called out as she started out of the floo.

"You'll be back, you can't live without Bluebell." Hermione stopped and turned just slightly.

"Sipsy, Dot." Both elves popped into existence and were instantly trying to mother her due to her injuries she was sure.

"I need you to gather Tenebris and his things and bring him to Malfoy Manor. I suppose if my father wants to keep my one joy this summer from me, he has that right since Bluebell is legally his property. I suppose that will make him happy, to make me more miserable. I only hope that Bluebell will understand." Sipsy's lip quivered.

"What abouts us, Miss? When will we's get to see yous?" Hermione knelt down and wrapped her arms around both elves. After several moments, she pulled away and spoke softly.

"I love you both more than you know. I just renounced my last name and you are both Black elves. My father needs you to carry on your service and make his family strong. Promise me you'll treat him well." Dot shook his head angrily.

"No, Dots will not treats him well. Hims is taking away our Miss." Hermione shook her head.

"No, I threw the Black ring at him, not the other way around. It's my fault." Hermione felt her cousin lay a hand on her shoulder.

"Promise you'll take care of him." Both elves nodded sadly.

"Can't we comes with you, Mistress?" Hermione shook her head.

"No, you're bound to the Black family and I just effectively removed myself from the family tree. I'm more Malfoy than Black now." Both elves nodded and hugged her tight one last time. Her father had since taken his feet and stepped forward and Hermione found herself taking a step back.

"Hermione, I love you. Please don't do this." Hermione wanted to bawl her eyes out but held strong.

"You left me with no choice. I would probably have let him stay but you never talked to me. You were gone all summer. I haven't seen you because you're so caught up in him. I get that you were happy but I still deserve love and attention considering that I've made your cause my own since I was tiny." Her father nodded before speaking.

"I'll change Bluebell's papers and send her to you. I know you love her more than anything." Hermione nodded but had nothing else to say. Her uncle put his arm around her and started her towards the floo again. This time her father said nothing and she was allowed to step into the fireplace even though she was barefoot.

Hermione flooed to Malfoy Manor and found herself in the entrance hall, the same place that everyone flooed into and out of when they were traveling. Uncle Luci occasionally used his office but not very often. Draco followed her, followed by Aunt Cissy and then Uncle Luci. Aunt Cissy kissed her head and hugged her close before bidding her farewell. Draco held her tight and whispered to her that he loved her and all would look better in the morning. He had hopes that she and her father would make up in the morning. Finally, it was just her and Uncle Luci left and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her into the library. He sat her on the couch and took out his wand so he could remove the glass that had stuck in her skin. A charm later saw all her tiny cuts healed. He took the seat next to her, only for her to lean to the side and bury her face in his lap.

"Why wasn't I enough? I don't understand." Her uncle was stroking her curls as he answered.

"You are enough, sweetness. He's blind right now because of his excitement to have Harry around. I think tonight just gave him quite the eye-opening. Things will be well with time." She remained silent for several minutes.

"He'll never forgive me for throwing that ring at him. I just took the gift he gave me and threw it in his face. I suppose I don't blame him." Luci snorted.

"I promise you, he's going to forgive you and he's going to have you reinstated the second you tell him you want him to." Hermione wasn't so sure but didn't disagree. Instead, she asked a question she was dying to hear the answer to.

"When did you make me your heir? I didn't even know and it's so unheard of." Her uncle chuckled as he twirled one of her curls around his fingers.

"It was before the holidays. I sent a letter to Draco for his opinion and he said that nothing would make him happier. I changed all the paperwork the day before Christmas Eve. You're officially my heir now, the same as Draco. While you won't carry on the line, you'll still inherit half the Malfoy holdings." Hermione couldn't believe his words or the fact that Draco hadn't told her. A few tears leaked down the side of her face and into her ears before she controlled herself. Her voice was shaky when she spoke.

"Thank you for making me feel like I'm important." Her uncle chuckled again and smiled at her.

"Anything to make you happy, sweetling." Hermione knew this was her moment.

"It would make me very happy if you took me to the library at Alexandria. I'm old enough now." Her uncle burst out in laughter.

"Let me check my schedule, poppet. If I can take the time off from the Wizengamot, we'll go, just the two of us." Hermione reached out and squeezed his hand.

"Draco wants to go too." Her uncle kissed the side of her head.

"Of course, he does and so he shall." Hermione settled further into her uncle's lap as he draped a blanket over body. It had been a horrid night but maybe it didn't have to end that way. After all, her father had made his choice, it was up to him to bring her back into the fold if that was what he wanted. Otherwise, she would remember him fondly and leave him to his peace.

-O-

Harry couldn't believe what he had been witness to. Hermione Black had lost her temper at her father and he had been the cause. Truthfully, he had seen it coming but Sirius had been in denial and still couldn't believe that she had thrown something at him. Sirius was still standing there, dumbstruck, after everyone else had left except for Professor Snape. He came forward and laid a hand on his godfather's shoulder.

"What just happened?" His eyes were full of pain when he answered.

"I drove my daughter too far and she threw her family ring at me. She's renounced the name of Black and could legally drop it now. Lucius made her one of his heirs in the middle of December and she could legally take his name, especially since her mother was Lucius' sister. I no longer have any rights to her; the only way she could have removed that ring was to mean her words." Harry felt terrible for his part in this. None of this would be happening if he hadn't let Lupin's words sway him.

"This is all my fault." Sirius' head shook vehemently.

"No, this isn't your fault. I should have made her more of a priority. Now I've lost her forever." Harry scoffed softly.

"No, you haven't. She's the most forgiving person I've ever met. Just show her you love her and you still care for her and she'll come back to you. However, I think to make things better, I need to go back to the Dursleys." Sirius shook his head again.

"No, you're not going back there. I'll work things out with Hermione, that isn't your problem. I'll talk to her and make her realize that she's my world." Harry smiled softly.

"She doesn't know how lucky she is to have you." Sirius shook his head.

"No, she isn't lucky. I'm the lucky one. I just need to tell her that and pray to Merlin she believes it." Harry smiled at his godfather before calling for Dobby. Once the elf was beside him, he spoke.

"I'm going to bed. I'll see you in the morning and we'll figure out how to make this right." Sirius nodded while his elf started to clear things away from the numerous tables. Harry let Dobby lead him back to his rooms, hand held in his, hoping he would learn the way. Once he was in the safety of his own room, he quickly showered off and climbed into bed. His mind played over the events of the evening.

Hopefully, god willing, eh could help Sirius convince Hermione to return to Black Moor. Even though they weren't friends, he knew that he would feel her absence quite keenly. Harry closed his eyes and hoped that sleep would pull him under. It had been a long fucking day.

-O-

After Harry retired to his room, Sirius sat up in the library and contemplated life. He had fucked things up beyond repair, he was quite sure. Harry's words gave him hope but he knew that his daughter had been deeply hurt before his awful words to her that night. After she had made him angry, things had just gotten worse. Nothing compared to him cutting her face, body, arms, and legs open with the glass that flew from his broken tumbler. Where she might eventually forgive him, he would never forgive himself.

Sirius still wasn't sure how to balance out his attentions between the two teens but he now realized that he had owed Hermione the right to have a say in inviting Harry to their home. He hadn't because he had been scared to death that she would tell him no. As much as he hated to consider that reality, it might have to happen for Hermione to come home again. While he hated to have Harry leave, he knew that he couldn't lose his daughter. He had to do everything he could to make sure that she returned.

Severus had remained behind, probably because he was feeling especially guilty after Hermione's outburst. He hadn't been named specifically but it was clear that everyone that wanted Harry was against her. After Harry had gone to bed, he had allowed his long-time friend to berate him for almost an hour. Finally, he could take no more and assured his friend that he wanted to see Hermione come back as much as anyone. Needless to say, Severus had returned to his rooms in a huff since he had denied him the right to continue to berate him.

Sirius dragged himself up the stairs to his room, finding it cold and the fire unlit. He knew this was the elves' revenge and he couldn't blame them. Every elf in the manor adored Hermione and he had just driven her away. However, her words hadn't gone by and not left a mark.

Her telling him that she wished for her real father was both painful and an eye-opener. It showed him just how she felt but also slapped him in the face at the same time. He knew she loved him, probably not more than Draco but he was a close second. To hear that she wanted her father before him was heart-wrenching.

Sirius changed his clothes quickly, falling into bed and leaving his last tumbler of whiskey on the table beside his bed. He knew that Candy would whisk it away as soon as he fell asleep but it made him feel better to know that it was there as he fell asleep. After all, making him forget everything was number one in his book. Tomorrow would surely bring different priorities but for now, sleeping and forgetting would have to do.

A/N- Holy balls, y'all, this chapter is done. One of my longer ones. I hope you enjoyed it and that Hermione didn't let you down in her tirade. Anyways, thanks again for being awesome. Leave me a message after the beep and tell me what you think.

Next chapter, Hermione and Draco's birthday party and the return to Black Moor.

Love,

Alicia


	63. Chapter 63

A/N- Wow. All I have is wow, y'all. I received over a hundred reviews on the last chapter and it made me so happy. Fanfiction is still giving me problems so there were a few that I wasn't able to respond to. If you were one of them, please forgive me. I love the interaction with my readers and always do my best to respond to reviews. Please just know how much I appreciate you guys.

**Shout out to trouvaille for being my 2600th reviewer. You're the bomb!**

Disclaimer: I own nothing about this story and I haven't made a single dime from it or any others. My bank balance it literally eighteen dollars.

Chapter 63

August 11, 1994

Harry was sitting in the library by himself, contemplating everything that had happened in the time he had been at Black Moor while he waited on Sirius to get ready for the birthday party for Hermione and Malfoy at Malfoy Manor. He was the first to admit that he wasn't that excited about going but he would never further disrespect the Malfoys by effectively spitting on their invitation. The fact that he had received one still astounded him considering how they felt about him.

The truth of the matter was that Harry loved Black Moor, he could easily see himself considering the place home. However, he didn't want that to happen at the expense of driving Hermione from her father; he could see how much Sirius was hurting and even though Harry had to admit that he deserved it, he still felt bad. It had been this that caused him to tell his godfather that he would be returning to the Dursleys the day after the party. He wanted father and daughter to make up before they returned to school and he would do everything in his power to get Hermione to forgive him, even if it took him years.

The only matter that he thought about as much as Hermione ripping Sirius' heart out was the conversation he had had with Professor Snape two days after he had come to Black Moor. It had been heart-wrenching and disgusting, all at the same time.

*Flashback*

Harry was seated in the library doing homework from Madam Cambridge. Sirius had also started him in lessons about etiquette and pureblood customs. It was sad to say that the first lesson he learned was of courting and just what young girls would do to net the heir of an Ancient and Noble House. Sirius had plenty of examples from when he was in school and Harry could see a startling resemblance to how things were shaping up in his life. He had assumed that it had been because of his fame but now he knew better. He had already sent off to an apothecary for a contraceptive potion that males could use. It would show up in just two days and he would take it until he married. Sirius had warned him how disappointed his parents would be if he got a girl pregnant before he married her.

Harry was startled out of his thoughts by someone clearing their throat. He looked up to see Professor Snape standing before him, a nervous look on his face. It was so out of place that Harry wasn't quite sure what to make of it.

"May I sit?" Harry raised his eyebrows.

"Sure, who am I to tell someone they can't enjoy the library?" Professor Snape nodded and took the seat across from him while Harry turned back to his school work.

"I was hoping that we could talk. I have some things that need to be said and here and now is as good as it's going to get." Harry pushed his school work away from him and frowned. This didn't bode well and he really couldn't handle any more life shattering news.

"Sure, we can talk." Snape raked a hand through his lank hair and took a deep breath.

"First, I want to tell you that I'm thrilled you're here. I knew your mother when we were young, in fact, we grew up on the same street. When I saw her do magic, we became best friends. After she died, I swore to her that I would protect you and make sure that you were always safe." Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. How was this even possible?

"You were best friends? What made you stop being friends?" Snape sighed.

"I want to start this out saying that I never meant any of this to happen. It has been eating me alive for thirteen years. What I am about to tell you, you can't tell anyone outside of this family. Not even the Weasleys can know." Harry frowned again before nodding his head.

"Alright, I won't say a word." Snape stared at him for several seconds.

"Not even Dumbledore can know that you know. Sure, he knows but he wouldn't want you to know. I'm going to teach you occlumency this summer and through the school year so he can't just take a stroll through your mind and see whatever it is he wants to at the time." Harry nodded again. Snape took another deep breath and started.

"Your mother and I were best friends before Hogwarts, like I said. When we went to Hogwarts, we were sorted into enemy houses, me a Slytherin and her a Gryffindor. We didn't let it bother us for the most part. Your father and Sirius, along with Pettigrew and Lupin tormented me endlessly because I was brought up poor, with only a nanny elf to show for my mother's proud heritage. My mother was a pureblood and my father was a muggle.

Your mother would stand up for me, tell them that they were bullies and they would laugh and just make sure they caught me when she wasn't looking. Don't think I was innocent though. Even though they started it, I gave back just as good as I got. It became a Hogwarts tradition between the five of you, to torment and curse each other." Snape sighed and Harry had a feeling this was where things were going to turn south.

"If our fifth year, I had started hanging out with people that are now Death Eaters. Lily wasn't around as much and I wanted friends. I took what I could get. However, right after our Defense O.W.L. that year, your father and his friends cast a spell that turned me upside down and showed off my underwear to everyone sitting around the lake that day. It was my most embarrassing moment. Your mother rushed over, fire in her eyes and her wand trained on your dad. She told him to release me and he agreed as long as she promised him a date. She cursed at him and told him that she would never date him. Me, in all my idiotic glory, told her I didn't need help from a mudblood." Harry wasn't sure what he was supposed to say. However, he was just a little confused.

"What's a mudblood?" Snape chuckled darkly.

"It's a derogatory slang word for a muggleborn. Muggle blood equals dirty blood. Voldemort's entire selling point during his pureblood propaganda." Harry just stared at his professor.

"You called my mother something the equivalent of dirty blood, like she wasn't good enough?" Snape nodded.

"I did. She walked away and never looked back. I tried to apologize a million different ways, I even slept in the corridor outside of Gryffindor Tower, determined to apologize to her when she came out. She never listened to me and she never forgave me.

After a few months, I gave up on trying. I was making a complete fool of myself and she had moved on. Not that I blame her but at the time it was devastating. I threw myself into my other friendships. During our seventh year at Hogwarts, your mother started dating your father and I was branded with the Dark Mark." Harry couldn't help but feel sorry for Snape. His mother hadn't forgiven him after several months of him showing her how sorry he was. It reminded him of Hermione and himself, though the things he had said to her were so much worse than calling her a derogatory term.

"I was always gifted in potions so it didn't take me long to obtain my mastery. Once I had, the Dark Lord ordered me to apply at Hogwarts. Dumbledore asked me to meet him at the Hog's Head for my interview. He interviewed me first but told me that he had another spot to fill and would be interviewing another. Just out of curiosity, I stuck around and spied on them through the keyhole. The old fool didn't even bother to cast a silencing spell." Harry had a feeling that this was going to get worse.

"The person he was interviewing was Sybil Trelawney, your current Divination professor. However, in the middle of her interview, she gave an actual prophecy. Of course, I only heard part of it but I ran straight to the Dark Lord with it. Would you like to hear what I heard?" Harry nodded, eager to hear what had his professor so distressed.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches. Born to those that have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies." Harry's gut feeling was telling him to put his fingers in his ears and block out Snape's words but it wasn't in his nature.

"I reported it to the Dark Lord and when he considered the words, there were only two candidates that fit both requirements. James and Lily Potter and Alice and Frank Longbottom. Your parents and Neville's parents.

As soon as I realized what I had done, I went to Dumbledore and told him to protect all of them, you and Neville included. He wouldn't do it for nothing though so I promised him that I would spy for the Order of the Phoenix. I've kept my word ever since and have protected you as best I could because I still love your mother to this day." Harry was about to start hyperventilating. Snape was the reason his parents were dead; the reason Voldemort had tried to kill him. Suddenly, he had to know.

"What did the rest of the prophecy say?" Snape shook his head sadly.

"I don't know, Dumbledore never would tell me. I can only beg your forgiveness, Harry, I really can't tell you how sorry I am. I never wanted your mother dead, nor you for that matter. I won't lie and say I cared for your father but I begged Dumbledore to protect him just the same." Harry was trying to stay calm even though he wanted to rage at the older man and tell him he was a lying murderer.

"Does Sirius know all this?" Snape nodded.

"After Sirius turned up at Hogwarts after your parents were killed, I witnessed their confrontation. He had Hermione with him and he had been injured. I sent him a patronus and asked him to meet me at the local tavern. I informed him that I was Hermione's godfather, that her real father had made me so. It took a while for us to bury the hatchet but we did eventually. We now consider ourselves best friends, a friendship just as good as the one he shared with your father. He's had years to process this so I don't blame you if you hate me. I just wanted you to know the truth and my part in it. You deserve that now that you're privy to the other truths." Harry wasn't sure what he was supposed to say. He could tell that his professor was sorry, that he felt bad for his part in his parent's deaths. However, he was still partly responsible.

This didn't mean that he didn't understand why he had run to the Death Eaters. His mother had been his only true friend and when he had said one bad thing, she refused to speak to him and refused to forgive him. One mistake and their whole friendship was in the shitter. Really, it sounded as though his mother was just looking for a reason to be rid of him. Therefore, Harry did his best to temper his reply.

"Thank you for telling me. I forgive you for your part in their deaths though I likely won't forget any time soon. My mother played her part in sending you to the dark, though the final decision was yours. I need time to process this, I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around this information. Now I can't even find out the other part of the prophecy because Dumbledore can't know that you told me." Snape raked his hand through his hair again.

"I shouldn't have told you. He isn't going to tell you yet, he thinks you need to have a real childhood. While I agree to an extent, I think it's folly to be caught unawares." Harry nodded and met the man's eyes.

"I think you'd get farther forgiving yourself, professor. I'd really like you to do that. I know my forgiveness isn't as good as my mother's but it's the closest you're going to get. This being said, I think I should retire for the evening, I really need to consider your words." Professor Snape smiled at him, not a smirk, not a half smile, not even a crooked smile, but a full watt smile. Harry could admit that it made him look ten years younger.

"Do Hermione and Draco know?" Snape rose to his feet and met his eyes.

"All of our family knows. There aren't any secrets between us when it comes to you, the truth, the past, and the war." Harry nodded and gathered his things.

"Thank you, professor, for trusting me with the truth." Snape bowed his head low before he spoke.

"You're most welcome, Harry. If you have any further questions, feel free to find me and ask."

Without another word, Snape took off towards the door and Harry followed suit, going to his room. There was much to consider and he didn't even want to think how long it would take him to get used to the facts that Snape had just told him.

*End of Flashback*

Sirius entered the library in a flourish of robes, expensive and charcoal grey that matched his eyes perfectly. His godfather had told him that his tailor did that on purpose, that it got more compliments from the witches. He had then stupidly asked what about Remus. Sirius had given him a tight smile and told him that he and Remus hadn't been an item in many years and they wouldn't be anytime soon. Harry had taken the hint and left well enough alone.

"You ready to go, pup?" Harry nodded, ready to experience his first society party. While it wasn't a true society party, it was closer than he had ever come. It was mostly going to be a party of their peers but Sirius, the Malfoys, and McGonagall would be there to chaperone. It was bound to get interesting, even if nobody spoke to him.

Sirius had warned him that while his own party had been all his friends, leaving Hermione and Malfoy friendless, the same would go for him. Only their friends would be in attendance and he was just going to have to adapt. It was going to be an experience, that much was sure. His godfather gestured for him to follow him to the floo and when he reached it, he reached out and grabbed some floo powder. After stepping into the fireplace and calling out Malfoy Manor, he spun for only a few moments before he landed in the most ornate room he had ever seen. No wonder people raved on and on about how rich the Malfoys were; it was clearly the truth.

Sirius appeared behind him and an elf appeared before them. Harry didn't know what he was supposed to do or say; his lessons with Sirius hadn't progressed that far yet. His godfather laid a hand on his shoulder before reaching into his pockets and pulling out a speck. With his wand, he enlarged it and handed it to the elf.

"Here, Snitch, gifts for Hermione and Draco." The elf grinned and nodded, popping out of existence as quickly as he had come.

Sirius took his arm and led him towards the music that was playing. After leading him through a huge, ostentatious door way, Harry gasped. The ball room was even bigger than the one at Black Moor, but only by a little. There were students all over the place, dancing to the music and laughing at each other. Instantly, Harry felt completely out of place.

Hermione was being led around the dance floor by Neville, laughing about something he had said. Harry felt a flare of jealousy but tamped it down ruthlessly. She deserved to enjoy her party and he had no claim to her. In fact, he had came to Lisa's hand in an alcove at Black Moor. If she were to do the same, he would have no right to say anything. Hermione was wearing witch's robes the color of a summer sunset, her hair highlighting the beautiful colors. Malfoy was dancing with Tracey Davis not far off, a smirk on his features.

Harry wasn't sure what to do or what to say. He noticed that the twins weren't in attendance; he could only assume that Molly had kept them home to rub in Hermione's face that they weren't going to be allowed to be her friends regardless of where her loyalties lie. Harry thought that it was petty, especially since the twins had clearly made the decision to not obey their mother when it came to Hermione.

Lucius and Narcissa approached and kept their eyes on Sirius; Harry could take a hint. They wanted him to disappear so they could talk to Sirius about his daughter. Harry decided to help them along and took a deep breath, knowing it would take all his considerable courage to go through with this. The song ended and he strode over to where Neville had dropped off Hermione. She was caught up in Greengrass' words but he waited until she realized he was there. Her face instantly flickered emotionless, showing him instantly that she didn't trust him or his intentions.

"I was wondering if I may have this dance, Miss Black." Hermione just stared at him for several seconds. Greengrass melted away, giving them privacy.

"I thought you were there to witness that I am now Miss Malfoy." Harry couldn't believe that she was going to go through with it. He took her hand in his and pulled her to the dance floor despite her many protests. He pulled her in close even though he had no idea what he was doing. Sirius had promised those lessons later in the summer. Hermione allowed it even though she was clearly unhappy.

"I don't know why you dragged me out here but it isn't going to work. My father made his choice and I've made mine." Harry stopped in the middle of the dance floor and released her hand. It came up to brush against the skin of her cheek. He could admit that it was the softest skin he had ever felt and at this juncture in his life, he had felt several girl's skin by now.

"Your father has nothing to do with this. I was scared this was going to happen and it's the last thing I wanted. I'm here to tell you that I'm going back to the Dursleys tomorrow morning. I never wanted to come between you and your father. He's finally agreed to let me go." He could see the many emotions pass over her features before they settled on disbelief.

"My father would never allow you to go back. I've known since I was four years old that he adopted me so he could stay out of prison to take care of you. Not me, I didn't matter. I only mattered in the capacity that I provided a safe home for you. It matters not that you return. Stay for all I care. He has made his choice time and time again that you're more important than someone he adopted through blood magic. I was already a Black, that's no lie. He took the chance to make me go mad by adding in another Black family strand of magic. The goblins warned him and he still did it. You're all that mattered then and he only feels guilty now. You both have that in common so I'm not surprised you're helping him."

Harry hadn't been aware that her father had risked her going mad. Everyone knew that the Blacks were known for their streak of insanity but he never considered what having two-thirds of your magic from that branch would do to a person. It suddenly made sense why she lost her control on her magic that day with Lavender.

"Black, Hermione, I'm begging you. Give him another chance. Your father has been miserable since you've been gone. He's done nothing but drink and ride his horse. He misses you, Hermione." The girl lowered her head until it was almost on his chest. It stayed there for several seconds before she raised her eyes.

"I'll listen to him. If he can't convince me, I'm done and I'll be a Malfoy from here on out." Harry grinned at her, ecstatic that he had gotten his way.

"Just promise you'll talk to him after I leave." She gave him an odd look but since it was the end of the song, he let her go and she traveled back to her friends.

Overall, it had been quite the success of his evening and he could rest tonight happy that she had agreed to listen to him.

-O-

Hermione had just separated from Harry on the dance floor. She wasn't quite sure what to think of his words but it was hard to believe that he was willing to go home to his muggle relatives just to make her happy. Whatever his reasons were, Hermione felt even more terrible at his words, not better.

The problem had never been with Harry staying at Black Moor. Sure, she wasn't happy about it but she could have overlooked it and avoided him. It was the fact that her father made the decision by himself, without asking her since he knew that the boy had hurt her, that hurt her. She wanted to mean something to someone other than her aunt, uncle, and cousin. She wanted her father to love her and she wanted her godfather to realize that he had hurt her too.

This wasn't mean to be, however. She had waited several days after going to Malfoy Manor for her father to contact her; it had all been in vain. Finally, after a week, she had went to the stables and found Bluebell in a stall. It had given her hope that her father would eventually come around but, in the end, it hadn't meant shit.

Sure, she rode Bluebell every chance she could get. Every single day since she and her father had split ways. She drew strength from her horse and even though she couldn't be sure of it, she was sure it was the opposite as well. Aunt Cissy tried to ride with her but since the blow up with her father, she wanted nothing but solitude. Draco respected her wishes, as did Uncle Luci but it was hard for Aunt Cissy. She wanted to nurture her but it was hard to do when you weren't allowed the person you wanted to nurture.

Hermione had been gone the last two weeks to Alexandria. Her uncle had been more than amenable to taking her, even reveling in the fact that his son wanted to go. She had spent two weeks within the stacks of the great library, researching and learning all she could. Her uncle had been in heaven, being quite the scholar himself, while Draco had been right at her side. To say that it had been more enjoyable than anything in her life would be an understatement. The only piece that had missing was Uncle Sev and she couldn't help but feel just a little betrayed. He hadn't been to see her once since she had fled Black Moor. She guessed that due to their past, Harry was more important anyways. Draco found that he couldn't help worrying about her.

"What did Potter want? I know you didn't want to dance with him." Honestly, Hermione was surprised that he wasn't speaking with her either. After all, she had told him that she wouldn't be advocating for Pansy to attend their party. She had supposed that Aunt Cissy had capitulated when she learned of Draco's interest in the girl. After all, the new Lady Malfoy would surely be more important than a shoo-in niece of the heir. However, Pansy had never showed and according to Daphne, the Parkinson girl had been devastated at her lack of invite.

"He wanted to tell me that my father was miserable without me and he was going back to his muggle relatives in the morning because of the problems he had caused." Draco snorted.

"Does he even realize that he isn't the problem, your father is?" Hermione shook her head as Draco pulled her onto the dance floor.

"No, he has no idea. I'm not going to bend until he gets the nerve to face me. We'll see if that actually happens." No sooner had she spoke those words when she saw Daphne taking Harry by the hand to lead him out on the floor. After a few moments' speculations, she realized that the girl was warning him what to expect from the Black family. She and Draco waltzed quite nicely until a tap on Draco's shoulder pulled him away from her.

"May I cut in?" Her father was standing behind her cousin and looked as debonair as he always did. The girls in Slytherin house weren't quiet when they talked about how sexy and sophisticated he was. Rather than tell her father to fuck off, Draco stepped back and gestured for him to dance with her. She glared at her cousin but remained quiet. Her father pulled her into his arms and started to waltz to the music with her. They were silent for several moments before he finally broke the silence.

"I've missed you, poppet." She raised an eyebrow at him.

"I find that hard to believe since you had barely seen me before that day and you weren't professing to miss me then." Her father tightened his hold on her and his eyes were shining.

"I was stupid, Hermione, I have no other explanation. I was a fucking idiot and you deserve so much better than me." Hermione could feel herself weakening but was determined to stay strong.

"I do deserve better. I deserve to be more than your way out of Azkaban, I deserve to have someone who loves me just because, not for what I can offer to your life plan. You only took me in because you wanted Harry. I feel like a fucking tool and it was compounded by you suddenly forgetting that I was alive." Her father stopped dancing with her so he could cup her cheeks in his hands. His eyes were boring into hers and she could see the sincerity shining back at her.

"I was always going to take you. No, I wouldn't have risked you going mad by using blood adoption but I never would have left you to an orphanage. I had issues with my brother's life choices but I still loved him. You not being raised by me was never in my plans. I shouldn't have taken the chances when it came to blood adoption but I can only apologize for that now. Your temper and magical surges are worse than mine and I'm sure it's scary. Please don't ever think that I wouldn't have loved you." Hermione felt her eyes growing wet. Her father realized it too and he threaded her arm through his and escorted her off the dance floor. He led her into a room just off the ball room and closed, locked, and silenced the door. He held open his arms and Hermione threw herself into them. She couldn't hold her sobs in any longer.

"I'm so sorry, daddy, I should have never said I wanted my real dad, I was just so hurt that you hadn't spent any time with me and Harry was your favorite." His hands were smoothing her curls and he was shushing her softly.

"No, sweetness, you don't have to be sorry. I was the reason any of this happened. I should have told you what I was doing and let you be a part of it. I knew that Harry had hurt you and I didn't care because I just was so excited for him to be in my life. It doesn't matter, he's going back to the Dursleys in the morning, he's insisting. Maybe with another year under our belts, we can try this again next summer." Hermione sniffled, knowing her face was tearstained and she was about to start dripping snot.

"I don't want Harry to go back to the muggles. That was never what I wanted. I wanted to have a say in the matter, I wanted to feel as though I was still a part of the family, not that it was just you and him. We've always made decisions as a family and it suddenly wasn't that way because it was Harry and you were scared of what I was going to say." Her father was wiping the tears from her cheeks as he searched her face.

"You really don't want him to leave?" Hermione wiped her nose on the handkerchief her father handed her.

"I don't particularly want him there, he's been horrid to me from the start. However, I'm not so cruel that I would send him back to muggles that mistreat him and hate him for what he is." Sirius pulled her in for another hug.

"He won't go then. I'm sure he will understand how you feel and do his best to respect it." Hermione nodded against his chest and relished the way her father's arms felt around her.

"Severus told him, you know." Hermione raised her head and lifted an eyebrow.

"Everything?" He nodded.

"How did it go?" Her father sighed.

"He forgave him but told him that he wasn't going to be forgetting for a very long time." Hermione sniffed again.

"Understandable." He was brushing hair back from her face.

"Will you put your ring back on, become a Black again? You're still my heir." Hermione smiled softly.

"You found it?" He nodded.

"Dot and Sipsy found it and told me that if I didn't get you to put it back on, they were going to make my life complete hell until I died." Hermione burst out in laughter.

"I did pass on my attitude, didn't I?" He laughed openly now before fishing the familiar ring from his robe pocket. Hermione didn't hesitate in sticking her right hand out. Her father slipped the ring on it again and she felt it size to her hand once more. Before she could speak, there were two pops behind her. Sipsy and Dot threw themselves at her, hugging her around her legs while sobbing.

"Miss is back, Miss is back! We's keeped your room just like you likes it. Is you coming home tonight?" Hermione laughed before going to her knees to hug her elves tightly.

"Yes, I'll come back. What am I going to do about Bluebell though? I haven't had the chance to ride her in two weeks." Her father frowned at her words.

"Why not?" Hermione stared at him, confused.

"I know Uncle Luci had to tell you that he took Draco and I to Alexandria for the past two weeks." Her father snorted before hugging her again.

"I shouldn't be surprised, you did always have that man wrapped around your fingers." There was a throat clearing behind them and the man in question was leaned against the door frame, imperious look on his face.

"Don't hate me because I'm the favorite. My girl wanted to go read scrolls, I took her to go read scrolls. Beat that, Black." Her father laughed heartily.

"All I have up my sleeve is the Quidditch World Cup. I couldn't dream of comparing." Uncle Luci grinned.

"I know, Draco won't shut up about it and he's convinced your daughter to attend as well." Her father kissed the top of her head and made a shooing motion.

"I'll take care of Bluebell. Go back to your party, Draco is probably wondering where you are. I'm sure he'll be thrilled to see your ring back on your finger." Hermione wanted to clarify things one last time.

"You aren't going to ignore me again? You aren't going to try to make me forgive Harry?" He shook his head and cupped her chin.

"You have my word as a Black that you aren't going to be ignored or unloved. What your relationship is with Harry is your choosing. I won't push you and I doubt he will either. He seems sorry but I don't blame you for keeping your distance." Hermione grinned.

"Alright, thank you." After one last smile to her father and uncle, she left the room and went to find Draco, excited to tell him that good news.

-O-

Severus hoped that Sirius was going to be able to convince Hermione to return to Black Moor tonight. He had her birthday present, Draco's too for that matter, and since he could no longer be seen with them due to "dark leanings", he had to be content to wait until after their party. He hated it but there was nothing else he could do about it without renouncing the Dark Lord and when he returned, they would need a spy.

Truth be told, he felt terrible for abandoning Hermione and Draco this summer. Sure, he had started a fledgling relationship with Harry but it was nowhere near as meaningful to him as the ones he shared with his godchildren. He should have tried to contact them during their month long stay at Malfoy Manor but he didn't want to step in while tempers were still hot. He was also aware that Hermione, Draco and Lucius had been gone for two weeks. Narcissa had told him that they had gone to Alexandria and he almost regretted not going. Yes, he wanted to go more than anything but the forgiveness he had been given by Potter had already lifted his soul. He hadn't forgiven himself but it was a start.

Severus had stayed busy, working with Harry on his occlumency and helping Sirius teach him wizarding culture and etiquette. Severus hated to admit that he was taking to occlumency like a duck to water, much the same way Draco had. However, when he considered the reason why, he wanted to curse the muggle relatives that kept him every summer.

There were studies that showed that abused children picked up the skill much quicker than others. They were used to compartmentalizing and turning off emotions, a vital skill when you were continuously mistreated. Case in point was Hermione; she struggled for years to learn the skill and he didn't think that she had ever been struck in her life. She was well-loved and knew that she was important to others. Harry was the complete opposite, much like Severus himself. He had picked the skill up quicker than Harry and it was all due to the oh-so-loving treatment he had received from his father once he learned that his mother was magical and so was he.

Draco was the exception to the rule; he had never been abused but Lucius had been harder on him than he was on Hermione. He just had an easier time compartmentalizing. Severus wished that this was the case for Harry but since he had spent a fair amount of time inside his mind, he knew it wasn't.

Severus had seen the horrid things the Dursleys had done to him, the things they had made him do. Nothing sexual, thank Merlin, but was beaten with belts, knocked around, made to do all the chores, starved, and locked in a cupboard. There had been a few instances of broken bones but to his relative's horror, they had healed overnight. Severus could only figure that it was his magic taking care of him, him instinctively guiding it to heal him because he knew that he would likely find no treatment elsewhere.

He was pulled from his thoughts by the floo activating. He rose to his feet and left the library to wait in the entrance hall, where the floo was. Harry stepped through first, followed closely by Draco. His godson smiled his way as the fire flared again, leaving Hermione to step through next. His friend came last, a wide smile on his face. Sirius really hadn't been in a good place this past month. Sure, he gave Harry his lessons, as did Madam Cambridge, but other than that, he drank and rode his horse. Severus couldn't convince him to do otherwise.

Severus stepped forward and handed Draco his gift. He grinned boyishly at him as he ripped the paper, revealing a broom servicing kit. His godson grinned at him and thanked him profusely. He pulled Hermione's present from his robes, hoping that she liked it.

"I wish I could have came to your party but I can't be seen consorting with you any longer if the Dark Lord is to believe that I'm still loyal to him." Draco clapped him on the shoulder and smirked.

"Sure, you just didn't want to have to dance with anyone." He snorted.

"You know full well the only person I ever dance with is Hermione. It annoys your mother to no end." He didn't wait to hear Draco's response before he stepped in front of Hermione and held out her gift.

"I've missed you, princess." She smiled softly at him as she took her gift.

"I missed too, Uncle Sev." Without any hesitation, she ripped through the paper and gasped softly.

"You can't possibly mean to give these to me." He smiled at her before tugging an errant curl. He noticed that her Black family ring was back on her hand.

"They're all yours with the stipulation that you don't cast any of the spells in them until you ask me about them. There are some in there that are very dangerous." He had gifted her all his old potions books from when he went to Hogwarts, books that he had printed all his shortcuts and potions discoveries in, along with spells that he had created along the way. She had been begging to read them for years but he had always been leery because of the spells. Hermione threw herself into his arms and hugged him close.

"Thank you so much!" Harry looked confused while Draco was rolling his eyes. When he saw Harry's reaction, he smirked again.

"Miney's been trying to get Uncle Sev's old potions books for years now. The secrets to his success are located in those pages." Harry gave a knowing nod, apparently, he had picked up on his goddaughter's penchant for learning. Severus looked up when Harry spoke.

"I better go get Dobby to get me packed up. I'll see everyone in the morning." Hermione pulled away from him and glanced at her father. When Sirius remained silent, Hermione sighed.

"You don't have to go, Harry. The problem wasn't that you were here, well, it was, but what I was upset about was that I wasn't consulted about anything and that's not how we do things in this family. My father and I spoke and he's going to be better. I'm not particularly thrilled you're here but I'm not going to send you back to those horrid muggles." Harry grinned at her and stepped forward so he could catch her hand. Her eyebrows rose and stayed in her hairline as Harry bowed over her hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles.

"Thank you, Hermione. I really appreciate it. I'll try to stay out of your way. I would really like a chance to prove to you how sorry I am though." Her gaze darkened just a little.

"Don't push it, Potter. We'll see plenty of each other regardless of staying out of my way. Black Moor isn't that big." Severus was happy to see that Harry nodded and grinned, happy with what he had gotten. He released her hand and started for the stairs anyways.

"I'm still going to head to bed. It's been a long day." Severus knew that this was his opening to apologize and took it. His hand carded through her curls until she met his gaze, her hands lovingly caressing her new books.

"I'm sorry for hurting you, sweetling. I never meant to. I've missed you so much." She drew her eyebrows downward in thought.

"Why didn't you come see me?" He started to twirl one curl around his finger.

"First I stayed away because everyone's tempers were so hot. I didn't want to make things worse and I didn't want to argue with you. Then I learned that you were in Alexandria with Lucius and knew there was no chance of reaching you there." She nodded before she hugged him again.

"Don't do it again, I don't like feeling like I don't matter." He could hear the petulant whine to her voice and smiled.

"Don't whinge, darling, it's unbecoming of a lady of your upbringing." She pinched his side and he hissed in pain but smiled down at her.

"I won't. Let's go to the library. While Draco tells us about the party, I can start reading your books." She took his hand and practically dragged him into the library. His goddaughter plopped herself in the middle of the long couch while he sat on one end and Sirius took the other. She laid down with her head in Sirius' lap and thrust her feet in his lap. Severus just chuckled. Hermione once told him that he gave the best foot massages, hence why she always thrust them into his lap. He dutifully started to rub her ankles while Draco started to tell him all about the party. Sirius remained quiet but listened closely, nodding in the appropriate places.

Severus sat there, completely happy, for the first time in a month. Hermione soon dropped off to sleep, his book open on her chest. Draco continued with his story and he and Sirius sipped whiskey.

It was a great night.

-O-

Sirius was getting ready for bed when an owl tapped on the window. After opening it, he recognized the bird as belonging to Remus. He had sent him more than several letters, begging his forgiveness, begging him to give him the chance to show him how sorry he was. They had spoke briefly at Pettigrew's trial but he hadn't contacted the man since. Honestly, he was scared of what it would bring.

Sure, he missed his friend. He missed the companionship they had shared when they were lovers. He had connected with Remus on a level that nobody else had been able to achieve. While Sirius knew that he had made mistakes in his life, that he was no better than anyone else, he would also be the first to admit that he deserved better from someone that he was in a relationship with. Remus had hinted more than once that eventually he would like to rekindle things.

The other factor was Hermione. Sure, she told him that Remus didn't matter, that she didn't take his abuse to heart but he knew that was a lie. She was the most tender-hearted person he knew and despite her assurances that anything he started up with her would be fine, he knew that she would never forget the man's treatment of her. She deserved better than to have her father's other half be someone who had abused her in the past.

While he was leaning towards speaking to Remus to see if they could begin the slow process of becoming friends again, he wasn't very inclined to start anything more serious. Granted, things could always change but he knew what he wanted. He wanted someone that trusted him, that knew him and what he was capable of, that believed in him. Not to mention that while he did consider himself to be bisexual, he hadn't been attracted to man in quite a few years.

Sirius threw back the whiskey and started to change into the pajamas that Candy had left out for him. He decided to answer Remus in the morning and see if they could meet somewhere other than Black Moor and begin repairing the rift in their friendship. It would never be what it was before, it would likely never be close to what he shared with Severus and Lucius but that was life. They could salvage what they could and make it work.

Decision made, he crawled into bed after casting a breath-freshening charm and smiled to himself. His daughter was home, she still loved him, and she had accepted her name once more. He swore to himself that he would never fuck up so badly again when it came to her. With these promises swirling in his head, he let sleep pull him under.

-O-

Rookwood had followed every step according to plan. While he wasn't the strongest wizard, he knew that he was quite intelligent, evidenced by his employment in the Department of Mysteries. The ritual had went perfectly and he was now holding an infant-sized Dark Lord.

Pettigrew had confided in him that he had gone to Malfoy Manor on a whim, just to see if he could find any news on his master. Surprisingly, he had sensed dark magic that reeked of his master and had taken the book. After returning to the Weasleys, he had written in it and found that it was a direct line to their master. The Dark Lord had given him every step needed to bring his spirit out of exile before he had passed the book to the Weasley girl to continue his master's noble work inside Hogwarts.

It had required a dark magic ritual that called for the body of an innocent. Since there was nothing more innocent than a baby, it was decided that Rookwood would steal a baby from Diagon Alley. He wasn't sure who the little boy had belonged to but it had been splashed all over the Daily Prophet. The soul switching ritual had left the little boys in exile and his master's inside the baby.

The next ritual would prove to be more difficult, the one that would bring his master to his former glory. Now that the Dark Lord was flesh and blood, he was more than happy to help figure out what would be needed to make sure that he looked as he once did, back when he was young. Rookwood knew that his master was almost seventy years old and he couldn't blame the man for wanting to be young again. He claimed that he wanted an heir but Rookwood wasn't sure he believed that. However, it made him even happier that he hadn't mentioned Hermione Black to him. It would kill him if his master were to choose her and not let him have her for being his most faithful follower, if not his most powerful.

Knowing that he would need Harry Potter for the ritual that would bring his master back to his former glory, he was stumped as to how to get to him. Then a stroke of luck had happened upon him. A ministry witch had been drunk, bragging to her friends down Knockturn Alley about some tournament being held at Hogwarts next year. This had prompted him to go to his master with a plan. He had seen what happened to Barty Crouch, Jr. all those years ago. He had been in the cell across from him in Azkaban and knew full well that his mother had died in his place.

The Quidditch World Cup was coming and he knew that Barty Crouch, Sr. would be in attendance, which meant that his son probably would be as well. He planned to find him during the scuffle he had organized, free him from whatever was holding him back, most likely the Imperious Curse, and bring him back to their master. He would be undercover in Hogwarts and ensure that they received Harry Potter's blood so they could bring his master back.

It was a brilliant plan and he couldn't wait to get started. Just ten more days and his plan would be underway. He would bring his master back to greatness, that much he knew as fact. Hermione Black would be his reward and he would revel in the honor his master would bestow upon him.

Just ten more days.

A/N- Hot damn, y'all, another chapter done. This seemed to take me ages but I guess it really wasn't that long. I hope you all liked it. Thanks again for reading, reviewing, following, and favoriting, you guys rock. Leave me a message after the beep and let me know what you think.

Next chapter, Quidditch World Cup.

Love,

Alicia


	64. Chapter 64

A/N- Wow. Apparently, I have let a lot of you down in the last chapter. Everyone was disappointed in the apology scene which I can only apologize for. I hope to make up for it in the coming chapters. To everyone out there reading and reviewing, thanks a bunch. You're freaking awesome. I hope you enjoy this chapter more than the last one.

**Shout out to annieharp84 for being my 2700th reviewer. You're freaking awesome!**

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing, it has all been done before me. The characters belong to J.K.R. and I haven't made any money from this story or any others. Maybe someday (:

Chapter 64

August 21, 1994

Harry woke with a start, his dream still fresh in his mind. It had unsettled him and he felt a cold sense of dread in the pit of his stomach. He sat up quickly, determined to tell Sirius before he could forget it. He didn't bother to throw on a shirt as he bolted through his door and into the room across the hall. However, it wasn't Sirius' room. Hermione had just thrown a robe on, open in the front, her legs and feet bare. She squealed in outrage.

"What the fuck are you doing bursting in here?" Harry clenched his eyes tight, trying to keep the images in his mind.

"I'm sorry, I was going to Sirius' room. I need to tell him this dream before I forget." She was silent for a moment before she sighed.

"Alright. He's the next one over. You got the wrong door." He nodded quickly before he left and closed the door behind him. Draco was standing in the corridor, clearly confused as to why Harry was in Hermione's room. Before he could say anything, he beat on the door that belonged to Sirius. It opened quickly, his godfather similar to his undressed state.

"I just had a dream and it felt real. It felt like I was watching it play out in my head." Sirius ushered him into his room and had him sit in front of the fire. He called for Candy and ordered tea before sitting next to him.

"Tell me." Harry took a deep breath.

"I was slithering on the floor, I couldn't get any higher. I saw Rookwood there, in a house that was old and rickety, it looked like it was about to fall down. I could hear him talking to someone, telling him that their plans were finalized and that it would be put into play soon. I could see him holding a baby, but not like a baby I've ever seen before. It looked deformed or something. He didn't go into detail about what they were planning but it sounded important." Sirius was watching him closely.

"Can you replay the dream in your mind?" Harry thought for a few moments and nodded. Sirius gave him a serious look.

"I know you're learning occlumency but has Severus taught you how to push memories forward so others can view it?" Harry shook his head. Sirius nodded.

"You focus on the dream, play it over and over in your mind, make sure that you don't think of anything else. I'm going to enter your mind and hopefully see what you're thinking of. Don't put up any barriers. As soon as I watch it in entirety, I'll retreat. Now mind, I'm not the best at this but Severus has returned to the school to work on his lesson plans. He won't be back until tomorrow." Harry took a deep breath and nodded.

He played the dream over and over again in his mind, now fully aware of when Sirius entered his mind. Dumbledore would never be able to sneak a peek again, that much was sure. Severus had told him that while he hadn't mastered the art yet, he would get it in just a couple more months, that he had learned as quickly as Draco had. When he felt Sirius pull out of his mind, he heaved a deep breath.

"Did you see it?" His godfather nodded, a concerned look on his face.

"You're right, it did feel real. I think that I'm going to owl Severus and tell him that we need to hurry your occlumency along. If that was real, it wasn't a vision. Most visions don't occur when you're asleep. I think there's a connection between yourself and something in that room. Not to mention, that baby isn't right at all. I think it's Voldemort." Harry buried his hands in his hair for a moment before he lowered his hands.

"So, he has returned." Sirius shook his head.

"I don't know. If that was Voldemort, he's not going to be problem for a few years yet. However, I wouldn't guarantee anything. Rookwood is a genius, he worked for the Department of Mysteries. If there's a way to bring Voldemort back to an adult body permanently, not just by means of an aging potion, he'll find it." Harry nodded and sighed.

"What do we do?" Sirius reached out and ruffled his hair.

"For now, we forget about it. I'll send a letter to Severus and ask him to have Dumbledore floo call me. I hate to involve him but when it comes to Voldemort, he's the expert. Severus will step up your lessons and hopefully by the time Halloween comes, your mind will be protected." Harry nodded. Sirius smiled at him.

"Now, go get changed, we have the Cup today." Harry grinned now.

"I have to apologize to Hermione first. I thought it was your room and burst in hers." Sirius chuckled as he stood.

"Good luck with that, that girl can be bear in the mornings." Harry chuckled a little and let himself out of his godfather's room. He went back to Hermione's door and knocked. When she answered, she raised an eyebrow at her.

"I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to burst in on you like that. Your dad thinks my dream was of Voldemort. Rookwood was in it." Her head cocked to the side as she contemplated his words.

"I really hope not. I don't want him back, I just wish he would stay dead. But if Rookwood was involved, you're probably right. What's he going to do about it?" Harry couldn't believe it. They were having a civil conversation, the first one since her birthday party. Sure, they had gotten along, but they hadn't spoken. They hadn't become friends. If he could say anything, it was that they co-existed together. She spent time with her family and riding her horse while he played catch the snitch and did his homework.

"He's going to owl Severus and have him tell Dumbledore to floo him, that he's the Voldemort expert." She scrunched up her nose cutely and he couldn't help but notice she filled out her dress quite nicely.

"That makes me want to barf. I suppose there's nothing for it." He nodded, finally realizing that he was still shirtless. For some reason, this made color appear on his cheeks.

"Well, I just wanted to say sorry. I'll let you finish getting ready." She nodded and gave him a slight smile before turning and going back into her room.

Harry quickly went back inside his room and started to shower off, the warmth of the hot water feeling good on his stiff neck. His prick was starting to rise as he thought about Hermione standing in her room, her robe open to show him she wasn't wearing a bra, her legs long and bare. Even her feet were cute, tiny with pink toenails. He took himself in hand and began to pump his cock under the hot water, leaning on the cool tile as he got closer and closer to climax. He remembered the flash of knickers and the roundness of Hermione's bum from the beginning of last year and he felt himself explode, his release hitting the tile floor and washing down the drain.

As he regained his breath, Harry had a sobering thought. How much of his fantasies had Severus seen? Had he seen the dirty thoughts he had about his goddaughter, how sexy he thought she was? Now that his lessons were going to be stepped up, he would have to try harder than ever to make sure that the man never glimpsed the things that he did to himself while thinking of Hermione.

He toweled off quickly when he got out of the shower, dressing in the clothes that Dobby had laid out for him. Harry was slowly getting used to wearing robes every day, though he did still wear muggle clothes underneath. Sirius never seemed to mind so when Draco would nag at him about his image, he paid him no mind. Today, however, he knew that he would be being seen by the public and didn't want to hurt that image; therefore, he put on trousers and a shirt, much like what Draco wore on a daily basis. While he wasn't fond of the clothing, he could admit that he looked pretty good in them.

Breakfast was a crowded affair; not only had Lucius, Narcissa, and Draco stayed the night the night before to leave early with them, Remus had planned to arrive this morning to attend as well. The only one missing would be Severus and that was more due to the fact that he couldn't be seen in their company very often.

Hermione was talking happily to her aunt while Draco and Lucius were going on about the upcoming match. Sirius would interject here and there while Remus stayed mostly silent. Harry knew that they were trying to work things out, trying to be friends, but he had a feeling they still have a very long way to go. He knew for a fact that Sirius hadn't forgiven Remus for how he had treated Hermione. Finally, Harry was pulled out of his thoughts by Draco speaking to him.

"What about you, Harry? Ireland or Bulgaria for the win?" Harry shrugged.

"Well, the Irish chasers are fantastic, I've listened to the commentary on the wireless. But Bulgaria has Krum, the greatest seeker ever, or so they say. It could go either way really." Draco nodded.

"Well, chasers are what's going to save Ireland from Bulgaria. Their seeker is rubbish but if they can jack up the points before Krum gets the points, they'll still win." Harry nodded, surprised that he was being included at all. The blond boy hadn't gone out of his way to make friends with him, merely tolerating much the same as Hermione did. Both Hermione and Narcissa were rolling their eyes at them good-naturedly.

After breakfast, they gathered in the entrance hall of Black Moor. Sirius held out a hair brush and they all stepped forward to grasp ahold of it. Sirius had told them that he had a magical tent in his pocket in case the match went on for days and Candy would be more than happy to come assemble it. The port key activated and they were whisked away.

-O-

Hermione could feel the excitement in the air; it had been palpable from the moment they had arrived at the Quidditch World Cup. Draco and Harry were like small children in a sweet shop, her father and uncle not much better. Her aunt was watching them with undisguised amusement, rolling her eyes at Hermione when she caught her watching her. Remus was still subdued, though she could see that he couldn't believe the things that he was seeing. It was no secret that he was dirt poor since he was unable to work so this was probably something that he had never imagined himself being able to do.

Her father had just set up their magical tent in the field adjacent to the stadium that they would all be seated at. Hermione had brought a change of clothes and the barest number of toiletries, things she would only need to freshen up. If the match went too long, she would simply call for Sipsy or Dot and have them apparate her home. While the boys wouldn't dream of missing a single second of the match, she couldn't really be bothered by it.

Tents dotted the field, numbering in the hundreds. There were people everywhere and vendors were selling their wares. It was chaotic and Hermione got a headache just watching it. The noise was out of this world and she wished more than anything she had just stayed home by herself with a good book out by the lake.

Their friends were spotted all over, Neville with Amelia Bones and her niece Susan. Seeing her friend with the Head of the D.M.L.E. made her a little more cautious to approach him so she figured that she would meet up with him later. The Weasleys were spotted heading for the Minister's box, an odd place to see such a poor family. All their children were in attendance and when the twins caught sight of her, they left their father to rush to her side and pull her into a double hug. Highly improper, but she laughed nonetheless.

"Mia, we can't believe you came! You hate quidditch." Fred was laughing as she pinched his side to get him to release her.

"I don't hate quidditch, I just don't place the level of importance on it like everyone else does." She could see that the twin's older siblings were watching them warily. George followed her gaze and stepped back immediately.

"Lord Black, Lord Malfoy, Lady Malfoy, let me introduce you to our family. The members you don't know already at least." Her aunt chuckled warmly and laid a hand on both their shoulders.

"You two should be more circumspect in public. Such exuberance could be taken the wrong way." Hermione wanted to scoff at her aunt but would never disrespect her that way. George was the one that grinned at her before taking her hand in his and kissing her knuckles.

"Madam, I assure you that there is nothing to take the wrong way. While we do adore Hermione like we would a little sister, we have no interest in her like that. We're currently trying to get two of Gryffindor chasers to honor us with a date to Hogsmeade." Hermione nodded.

"Really, Aunt Cissy, we're just friends." Her aunt brushed a hand down the length of her hair and smiled at the twins.

"Introduce us, boys." Fred waved his family over and they approached quickly. Arthur looked nervous but the rest of them didn't seem to be impressed with who they were meeting.

"You know our father, Arthur. This long-haired chap with the earring is our oldest brother Bill, he's a curse breaker for Gringotts. Charlie's the next in line, the one with all the muscles. He's a dragon tamer in Romania. Percy is next, he's was a Hogwarts' prefect, Head Boy, and received eight N.E.W.T.s. You all know the pair of us, we're the best looking of course. Ron is next, he's best mates with Harry and this is our sister, Ginny. She's going to be a third year when we head back to Hogwarts." Hermione curtsied to their family, her aunt following her lead. All the boys, even Remus bowed their heads.

"My father, Lord Black and his friend, Remus Lupin. Lord and Lady Malfoy, along with Draco and Harry have all accompanied me today. We're pleased to make your acquaintance." By the look of distaste of her uncle's face, it was clear that he didn't agree with her. Bill, however, stepped forward and offered both her father and uncle his hand to shake.

"It's a pleasure meeting you. We heard about Pettigrew and are happy to hear that things were cleared up for the pair of you. Can't imagine it was easy to take knowing that you knew you were innocent but the world believed otherwise. Lord Malfoy's loyalty must be legendary."

Hermione tuned out the conversation between her father and uncle and Bill Weasley. It didn't last long and by the time it ended, she could tell that her family genuinely liked him. Once she realized that their conversation was over, she waved goodbye to the twins after their tugged one of her curls, one on each side of her head. She rolled her eyes at them and was slightly embarrassed when her father and uncle were laughing at her. She elbowed her uncle in the hip, the closest thing she could reach.

"Don't laugh, it's not funny. They're like that to everyone, it doesn't mean they want to court me." Her father leaned over and kissed the top of her head as they found their seats.

"I know, poppet, that's why it's so funny. They treat you just like everyone else and it's refreshing to see that you enjoy their company. Can't have you following Lucius' lead too much by making you too stuck up." Her uncle mock glared at her father as they settled into their seats and turned their attention to the pitch. Before anyone else could say anything, Fudge stood from his seat and held his wand to his throat, casting a sonorous charm.

"Welcome, witches and wizards, to the 422nd edition of the Quidditch World Cup. Our finalists for the match are Ireland." There was a pause with thunderous applause. Once it died down a little, Fudge continued.

"And Bulgaria." The applause was ground-shaking now, the spectators now chanting the words "Krum" over and over.

Hermione tuned the rest of the introduction out, wishing she had brought a book. The veela came out on the pitch, dancing in their human form before transforming to avian. Their fireballs were legendary and she was happy to say that she had witnessed one. A dancing leprechaun exploded into the air, showering the crowd with leprechaun's gold. There were people scrambling to gather it but Hermione wasn't among them. It would disappear in a few hours, after all.

The teams flew through the air, their members doing flips and somersaults to put on a show. The crowd was deafening when Krum was announced, which made Hermione want to roll her eyes. Just as the match was starting, Hermione caught sight of a vendor that sold her favorite flavor of ice cream. Hermione reached over and tapped her father on the arm, waiting patiently until he gave her his attention.

"I'm going to go get some ice cream, they have my favorite flavor." He reached into his robe pocket and handed her a handful of galleons.

"Get one for everyone." She nodded, pocketing the money in her own emerald green robes.

Hermione made her way to the vendor; it wasn't far but there were so many people that it took her a bit to get there. Once there, she smiled at the young woman behind the counter. Rather than pay attention to the match, she gave the Slytherin her full attention.

"I'd like seven raspberry ripples." The girl nodded and smiled before she began dishing them up. A boy came up behind her, clearly Bulgarian. With his dark hair and eyes, with aquiline features, he was quite handsome. He appeared to be around seventeen or eighteen though, much too old for Hermione. He smiled at her brightly.

"Vhat is such pretty vitch doing by herself?" She smiled at him but was careful not to encourage him.

"Trust me, I can take care of myself. Besides, I'm here with my family, they watch after me close enough." The boy held his hands out, clearly wanting her to hand the ice cream to him.

"Come, ve deliver their treats. Your father vill let you come sit vith me." Hermione shook her head.

"He won't, believe me. Thank you though, I wish your team luck." The boy's features darkened and he was about to say something else when an arm wrapped around her waist. Hermione was surprised to see that it was Harry. He didn't look at her but she could feel how he was fraught with tension.

"Hermione, your father sent me to help you carry the ice cream back." She flashed him a small smile. While she was irritated that he had stepped in, she really hadn't wanted to deal with an overzealous boy wanting her to sit with him. The boy scowled but melted away, leaving Harry to release her and take the ice cream from the woman who had dished them up. He looked back to make sure that she was following, clearly not willing to let her lag behind. She glared at him but he just grinned.

"He wasn't going to leave you alone. Just admit I did you a favor and I won't bring it up again." She could tell that he was teasing her, trying to make her feel better about him intervening. She decided to give him just a tiny bit.

"You did keep me from having to be mean." He snorted.

"More like blasting him with your magic. Or your foot. You are one scary witch, Hermione." She could tell that he wasn't being insulting so she let his words go. After he allowed her to go first to take her seat, he let her hand out the ice cream before handing her father back his change. Draco narrowed his eyes at her but said nothing, clearly not willing to question her during the match.

The match dragged on for hours. Hermione didn't care who won and her family didn't either; they were mostly there for the show. Even Remus' eyes were lit up with excitement as the snitch was spotted. Bulgaria was behind by 180 points so for Krum to catch it would mean that they still lost. However, Draco had explained to her time and time again that when faced with that scenario, he would just catch the snitch. It was likely the Irish chasers would widen the gap between scores anyways.

Therefore, she wasn't surprised when her cousin's prediction came true and the Bulgarian seeker caught the snitch, making them the losers by thirty points. Even though they lost, the crowd was still going mad. Green confetti was falling everywhere, shot from some sort of blasting charm and the Irish team was dancing to a merry tune on the pitch. Hermione met her aunt's eyes and couldn't hold back her laughter when she saw her poking her husband in the side, making him jump and bite back a laugh. Hermione leaned over and grinned at her uncle.

"Do you want to go dance with them, Uncle Luci?" Now everyone was laughing at him and he glared at Hermione briefly before kissing his wife's head.

"There will be no dancing. In fact, I think we should try to get out of here before everyone else realizes they can go celebrate. Otherwise, it could be hours before we get out." Hermione nodded quickly, allowing her father to take the lead. Draco and Harry were both in the middle with her while her aunt and uncle brought up the rear. Remus was still on cloud nine, matching her father's pace and helping him pick a path through the crowd.

They had almost reached the bottom of the stadium, just two more floors until they were on the ground and well on their way to the portkey point. Hermione was getting angrier and angrier the closer they got to the ground, people were bumping into her and sloshing fire whiskey down her robes. Draco had already pushed one drunk off of her, the man's fingers catching in her curls and pulling them painfully. Harry reached out and helped untangle them before her father shot some sort of spell at him, causing the man to yelp and scurry away. Screams began, not laughing screams or anything of the sort. Terrified screams. She looked around to see what the cause was and was horrified at what she saw.

The Dark Mark.

The sickly green skull had a snake twisting and rolling out of its mouth and just looking at it gave Hermione the shivers. Draco was instantly at her side, his arm wrapped tightly around her. Harry reached out and grabbed her arm, though he looked confused. Her father turned back to them.

"Wands out everyone. If you see a Death Eater coming for you, use whatever spells necessary to keep yourself safe." They paused for just a moment for everyone to produce their wands. Hermione could see Harry panicking, feeling through all his robe pockets before he looked to her father.

"My wand is gone. I had it in my pocket when we got here." Her father cursed loudly but reassured him with a hand on his shoulder.

"We'll deal with a lost wand after this is over. For now, I want Narcissa to take all the children and head for the portkey site. Lucius, give her the portkey. We can apparate home." He waited until Narcissa had the portkey home in her hand, a hand-held mirror. She slipped it in her robes as her father addressed her uncle and Remus.

"I think we need to go and see if we can help the aurors. Sure, everyone knows I'm not guilty and that Lucius is renouncing the Dark Lord, but they need to see it in action." Her uncle groaned but nodded his head before kissing his wife's cheek and pulling Hermione into a hug.

"Nothing dangerous, sweetling. Keep yourself safe." She nodded as he turned to Draco.

"Keep her safe." Draco didn't get to answer since Harry beat him to it.

"We will, sir." Uncle Luci gave them a nod before shooing them away.

Draco took the lead, Hermione and Harry following after him while Aunt Cissy watched their backs. The crowds were massive and the panic was widespread. Hermione could hear people screaming off to her right, a different kind of screams from the rest. The crowd parted slightly and she could see there were several people on the ground, thrashing about and screaming as though they were already mad. Hermione instantly knew it was the Cruciatus Curse. When Harry turned and saw the same sight she did, nobody could stop him from bolting away from their group. Hermione couldn't believe she was going to have to chase him through this madness.

-O-

Harry knew what that curse was; Neville had told him about it when he had once questioned where his parents were. He had been stunned to learn that Hermione's cousin had been responsible for torturing his parents into madness. Even though it in no way made up for not having his parents, Sirius had done all he could to make it right. His godfather had paid for all seven years of Neville's schooling amongst other things that the boy wouldn't talk about.

Seeing these random people under the curse had caused him to spring into action, wanting to spare another family from losing their loved one. Just shy of the clearing where the masked men were having their fun, Hermione caught up to him and took his arm, nearly jerking it out of socket as she pulled him to a stop.

"Are you fucking mad? Those men serve the Dark Lord and you're Harry Potter. A Harry Potter with no bloody wand." It was odd to hear Hermione curse like that; sure, she slipped here and there but never very often. He gritted his teeth so he wouldn't yell at her when she was just trying to keep him safe.

"I can't let them keep torturing those people. They'll end up like Neville's parents." She looked as though he had struck her. He realized that he probably shouldn't have brought up the fact that her cousin was in Azkaban for being a follower of Lord Voldemort.

"I didn't mean it like that, I'm not trying to judge you. I just don't want their families to lose them." She began to tug him away.

"I know but we have to keep you safe." Harry growled in frustration. He didn't get to retaliate when the masked men turned their attention to the pair of them and the approaching Draco and Narcissa.

"Well now, what do we have here? The esteemed Lady Malfoy and her precious heir. I'm betting that's Black's kid." Harry wasn't sure what to think about not being recognized himself. Hermione stepped in front of him and he reached out and pinched her.

"Get behind me, it's me they want." She ignored him, her wand coming up to point at them. Draco stepped up next to her, showing they were a solidified front. Before they could say anything, Narcissa stepped up and smiled at the men.

"Now gentlemen, this is no way to act in front of children. Perhaps I can answer any questions you have." Harry heard Hermione hiss in anger but stayed back. One of the men spat on the ground at Narcissa's feet.

"I need nothing from a blood traitor. You were once so loyal, only to throw it all away for that half-blood brat." Her aunt was going to speak but Hermione stepped forward, glaring at all the men.

"That half-blood brat is family. You threaten my family, you hurt my aunt, I'll kill you." Harry could see that she meant it. It was in this moment that he could see the glimmer of insanity she had told him about running in the Black line. One of them stepped forward, his stance threatening, his voice low.

"You're all mine, princess. I'm going to show you just what happens to little blood traitors like yourself." Hermione scoffed and Harry had to admire her nerve.

"You couldn't take me." Before anyone could do anything, aurors were upon them, shouting at the Death Eaters to stand down and desist. They refused, three of them reaching out and grasping each other's forearms so they could disapparated together. After they were gone, the same dark-skinned auror from Pettigrew's trial stepped forward to check on the victims.

"They're all alive but they need to go to St. Mungo's." He reached out and picked something up, holding it to the fading light so he could examine it. Harry saw it and knew exactly what it was.

"My wand!" Harry ran forward and snatched it out of Auror Shacklebolt's hand, warming in his hand instantly. The auror narrowed his eyes.

"How did a Death Eater get hold of your wand, Mr. Potter?" He shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know. I had it in my pocket when we went to watch the match and it was gone afterwards. You can ask Lord Black, he'll back up my story." Hermione gave the auror an imperious look as she glared at him.

"Have you controlled the situation or are you taking a break to chat? My father and uncle are out there trying to help you. The least you could do is make sure you help them too." He stepped forward but Narcissa held her hands up in a conciliatory manner.

"Now children, your fathers wanted you to go back home. If Auror Shacklebolt needs to ask any more questions, your fathers can bring him there." Hermione instantly deferred to her aunt while Draco was still glaring at Shacklebolt. Finally, he started to step back when Shacklebolt smirked at him.

"That's right, boy, head on home with your mother." Hermione reached out and snagged Draco's arm as he lunged, hugging him forcefully, forcing him to hug her back. Harry could tell that she was whispering something to him but he couldn't hear it. After a few moments of silence, Shacklebolt turned his back on them and his attention to the wounded on the ground.

Narcissa wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulders and started to pull him towards the portkey site. He kept turning and looking to make sure that Hermione and Draco were following until Lady Malfoy chuckled.

"Trust me, she isn't going to let him do anything stupid. She can get him to cooperate where I would have to stun him." Harry drew his eyebrows inward.

"All because the auror was rude and hateful to him?" She smiled at him softly.

"Draco is a very proud boy with a very proud father. He's been taught to never accept condescension. The auror's words were meant as an insult. In fact, Lucius would probably be angry he did nothing if it wasn't for Hermione being there. While he would die for Draco, he loves Hermione like she's a precious treasure. She reminds him of his own beloved sister, murdered by the Order of the Phoenix because they wanted information on him." Harry didn't say anything, just nodded and considered her words as they made the last leg of their journey.

Draco seemed calm once they reached the portkey site; Narcissa pulled out the hand mirror and made sure that they all had a hold of it good and tight before she activated it. With a whoosh, they were gone from the Quidditch World Cup.

-O-

Sirius was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to go home and sleep for fourteen hours straight. He, Remus, and Lucius had just apparated into the entrance hall of Black Moor, Sirius holding Remus' arm since he couldn't get through the blood wards.

Things with Remus were still strained. Very strained. They had met a few times for lunch, both of them wanting to try to get past the last twelve years of their lives. He was struggling with the forgiveness part of it though. He knew that Remus was going to continue doing whatever he could to gain it but it was tiring. The constant tension, the longing looks, it all wore on him by the time Remus would leave.

It would be so easy to go back to how it was before James and Lily died. He had caught himself a few times acting that way. Then he would catch himself, reminding himself that Hermione deserved better, that he deserved better, and the cold persona would emerge again. He needed to know that Remus was well and truly sorry for how he had treated Hermione, not just because she wasn't a traitor but because she was an innocent girl who had deserved his protection, not his scorn.

Lucius still thought that he was crazy for trying to make this friendship work but he had expected that. Hermione would always be more important to his blond friend, not that he minded. While Lucius made clear that he would kill the man for another mistake like Remus had made during the year, he had let it go, not wanting to make decisions for Sirius. Even though he would never admit it out loud, Lucius wanted Sirius to be happy.

He had no sooner gotten his feet underneath him when something small slammed into his chest, holding him close. Hermione had her face buried in his chest, trying her hardest to rein in her emotions he was sure. He smoothed her hair down her back to see that Harry, Draco, and Narcissa were watching, worried expressions on their faces. Narcissa waited a few moments before speaking.

"Did Shacklebolt find you and say if he had any more questions for Harry?" Sirius cocked his head to the side while Hermione switched from him to Lucius. His friend carded his fingers through her mussed hair and rocked her ever so slightly.

"I was so worried for you all." Lucius kissed the top of her head while Sirius answered her.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Harry looked sheepish as he spoke.

"We were on our way to the portkey point when we heard screams. There were Death Eaters holding people under the Cruciatus. I didn't think, I just ran to help them. Hermione stopped me but they noticed us, recognized Draco and Narcissa. They guessed who Hermione was. Narcissa tried to distract them but it didn't work. The aurors showed up but they disapparated away. Shacklebolt found my wand, he wanted to know how my wand made it into the hands of a Death Eater. I explained what happened but he was being a complete prick. Narcissa told him that you could bring him here if he had more questions, that she was taking all of us home." Sirius raked his hand through his hair and stepped forward, kissing Narcissa on the cheek.

"You're amazing, Cissy. I knew I could count on you." She blushed slightly, making her even more beautiful.

They all found their way into the library, clearly the most popular room in the manor. Hermione plopped herself down on her uncle's lap while Harry took an armchair next to Sirius, Draco, Narcissa, and Remus sharing the soft. Lucius was twirling one her curls at the ends of her hair around his fingers when she finally broke the silence.

"Well don't keep us hanging, what happened?" Lucius chuckled but it was Sirius that answered her.

"Well, the Ministry is looking pretty inept right now. They managed to catch one Death Eater, Jugson. We watched as they questioned him. He was silent until he saw Lucius; apparently, his reputation is still something to behold in those circles. He told them that Rookwood had found him and told him that he was organizing this little raid and was working on bringing their master back. He had no other information, just to spread fear and panic." Harry sighed, raking his hands through his hair now.

"These arseholes really know how to make my first professional quidditch match a disaster, don't they?" This seemed to break the tension as Draco and Sirius started to laugh. Hermione had a small smile on her face while Lucius, Narcissa, and Remus were smirking. Harry watched as Hermione snuggled deeper into her uncle and as the conversation switched to what the aurors were going to do about the attack, she slipped off to sleep. Harry wanted to smile at the sight, asleep in her favorite uncle's lap like she was six. He was brought out of these thoughts by his godfather.

"Well, I'm sure we haven't heard the end of the Death Eaters having your wand. I'm betting we'll hear more tomorrow once they've had a chance to gather their information. They'll send a message to get through the wards then." Harry drew his eyebrows downward.

"Will I get in trouble for them having it? They were casting the Cruciatus." Remus spoke this time.

"There is nothing they can do to you, Harry. You didn't cast the curse, obviously, and nobody is going to believe that the Boy-Who-Lived gave his wand to Death Eaters." Harry waited a few moments, unsure if he should say it.

"What if they suspect Hermione or Draco?" Sirius literally growled at his words.

"They'll find themselves wrapped up in litigation if they so much as try to pin this on my daughter and cousin. Lucius and I are not two people you want to fuck with, with wands or in the Wizengamot chambers." Harry couldn't help the shiver of fear at his godfather's words. If Severus was able to be a part of them being scary, it would double the effect. Lucius stood, holding Hermione close to his chest.

"I'm taking her to bed so I can head there myself. This day feels like it was three times longer than it should have been. I must be getting old." Sirius chuckled and stood as well.

"You're all welcome to stay if you want. You know where your rooms are. Remus, I can show you a guest room if you want to stay." Harry could tell that his godfather and his ex-best friend were still at odds. Not that he blamed Sirius for keeping him at a distance. The werewolf nodded, indicating he would stay. Lucius and Narcissa begged off, saying they would return home. Draco decided to return with them, a rare occurrence since he and Hermione rarely stayed apart from each other over the summer.

Harry watched the blond pair deliver Hermione to her room, bidding her elf to dress her for bed. He went to his own room, now decorated exactly like he wanted, and started to change in to his pajamas. It had been a long day and he couldn't help but let his mind linger on wrapping an arm around Hermione's waist while that boy was trying to flirt with her. Sirius had pointed out to him that she would need help carrying the ice cream but had been unaware that she needed saving from a boy. While he doubted that she couldn't handle the Bulgarian boy, he wasn't going to let her do it alone. He had vowed that he was going to apologize and make things right and standing behind her when she needed it was the first step.

Maybe one day, it would pay off and they could be friends.

A/N- Dang, y'all another decent sized chapter down. Look at me go. Hope you liked my version of the Quidditch World Cup. Anyways, let me know what you think, I love hearing your thoughts. Reviews are love.

Next chapter, return to Hogwarts and a few sparks fly.

Love,

Alicia


	65. Chapter 65

A/N- You guys are just so awesome, thank you very much. Everyone seemed pleased with the Quidditch World Cup which made me smile. To those out there leaving me negative reviews about how my story is written (not really a problem with my regulars), it's rude when you comment about the gist of the story. If you want to criticize my plot, my character portrayal, or my punctuation and grammar, feel free. However, if it's to tell me that I'm telling the story wrong, keep it to yourself. Not only do I not read the review, I just ignore the good points I could have gotten from it. It's my story and I'll tell it how I want to. Thanks to those who understand this.

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing about this story. While I have definitely expounded on the original story idea, Sirius adopting a baby to keep him from Azkaban was given to me by Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle. Everything else you see belongs to J.K.R. and fanfiction writers that came before me.

Chapter 65

September 1, 1994

Hermione hugged her aunt close, her familiar perfume enveloping her. It was almost time for the Hogwarts Express to leave, just ten more minutes. They had been running a little later this year since the elves all wanted to wish Harry a good year at school.

Truthfully, the rest of the summer hadn't been horrid. Harry had kept his distance but was always nice to her when they were in the same room or met up outside. He had apologized to her one more time since she had returned but she had told him that while she believed that he was sorry, she couldn't trust him because he had done this to her more than once before. He had nodded at her sadly, just telling her that he would prove her wrong in the end. Truthfully, she hoped that he did. It would make her life easier in the long run if she could trust him.

Aunt Cissy made her promise to be good and do her best at classes before passing her off to Uncle Luci. He pulled her in close and smoothed his hand down her curls, kissing her forehead. Their two weeks spent in Alexandria had made them grow impossibly closer, not that she was complaining. While they had been gone, he had told her all that being a Malfoy heir consisted of.

Since she was a female heir, something that was extremely rare, even her mother hadn't been an heir, she wasn't required to produce an heir for the Malfoy name. Draco would be responsible for carrying on the line unless something happened to him, meaning that Hermione would have to give her third born son the Malfoy name. Uncle Luci had explained that while he loved her more than anything, he had made her his heir for security reasons. If anything, ever happened to her father or anything of the sort, she would fall under his protection and he would legally take custody of her. Since she had thought this was originally how it would happen anyways, she had been very confused. In the end, she just waved his explanations away since they weren't important. She had always been half Malfoy and she would continue to be so.

"Promise you'll do your best." She lifted her head and stuck her tongue out at her uncle.

"You know I do, it drives me crazy to not do my best." He chuckled at her before tugging a curl.

"I know. If things get to be too much for you, you can write me at any time. As a governor, I can visit whenever I want." She went to her tip toes to kiss his cheek.

"Thank you, Uncle Luci. For everything. This summer would have been completely horrid without you. Rather than staying at Black Moor to be completely miserable, you took me to Alexandria and it was amazing. I love you." His hand found her cheek and stroked the skin there for a moment before he smiled at her.

"Your mother would be so proud of you. I will always be here for you, sweetling. Don't forget, you're a Malfoy now. Stand tall, be proud, and keep your cousin in line. I know exactly what he gets up to. Don't let him make a fool of himself." Hermione couldn't hold back a laugh.

"I promise. I'll make you and Daddy proud." He kissed her forehead one last time while Draco received one last hug from his mother. Moving on, Hermione found herself wrapped up in her father's embrace.

"I'm sorry, poppet, that we missed so much time together this summer." She frowned slightly. It did feel as though they hadn't spent any time together this year.

"Me too. I wish things had been different. Now I won't see you for almost four months." He kissed her head and pulled her back to meet her eyes.

"It's going to get better, I promise. Severus will watch over all three of you." She nodded her head again and hugged him again.

"I love you, daddy." He tightened his arms around her.

"I love you too, sweetness. You're always going to be important to me." She smiled at him and nodded as she stepped back out of his embrace.

"Write me and let me know how things are going between you and Lupin." He chuckled softly before agreeing. Remus had been coming around a few times a week, doing his best to mend the friendship he had once shared with her father. While a lot of the time he was in Black Moor was indeed spent with her father, Remus also made it a point to see Harry, and even Hermione. He had even trained with them a few times as part of the defense training.

Madam Cambridge was pleased with their successes. While they were starting to focus less on theory and more on practicals, Hermione still felt that she was doing well. More stress was being put on dueling, probably because they all feared that Voldemort was going to return sooner rather than later. Hermione hated to agree that she thought they were right.

Whereas she had Draco were in their sixth year with Madam Cambridge, Harry was catching up fast. He was only a year behind them, working through his fifth-year material. Being able to do the magic at Black Moor had sped up his learning process and it scared Hermione to see how powerful he was.

Hermione had always been a powerful witch; powerful shows of magic didn't frighten her since she was capable of performing them herself. However, during dueling just the week before, Uncle Sev had split them into teams, Hermione with Harry and her father while he had been paired with Draco and Uncle Luci. It was a given that none of them would ever dream to hurt Hermione and everyone had taken that for granted. Uncle Sev had used that weakness, attacking her with a cutting curse that went right through her robes to slice open her thigh. She gave a startled cry, alerting her teammates to her predicament. Her father rushed to her side while Harry's eyes had blazed with fury.

Harry hadn't even raised his wand when he blasted Uncle Sev fifty feet from where he stood to slam into a wall hard enough to knock him unconscious. It was only after Harry realized that she was fine, that her leg had been healed with dittany that he realized what he had done. It had taken him several minutes to apologize to Uncle Sev, telling him time and time again that he wasn't sure what had gotten into him.

Hermione had always known that Harry was going to be powerful but she hadn't seen proof of it until that day. Sure, he was able to cast the patronus charm, even send messages with it now, but she had never seen him do anything else other than what they did in class. There was a newfound respect there that hadn't been before and Hermione wasn't scared to admit that she was impressed. She had power like that but only because she had three strands of magic weaved into her core; Harry still had only two, much more amazing than her own power.

Harry was shaking the hands of her aunt and uncle, telling them that he appreciated their hospitality over the summer. He had stayed at Malfoy Manor a few times when Sirius had things to do and wouldn't be home. He usually tried to stay out of Hermione and Draco's business but it didn't always happen. Actually, it had been nice to see Harry living and learning as he should have been all along.

The whistle blew and Hermione hurriedly grabbed Harry and Draco's arms, ushering them along. The adults all laughed at them, waving merrily as she herded them onto the Express. Ron and Ginny were waiting just inside the door, waiting for Harry to board, snatching his arm as soon as he was fully in the train.

"We'll take him from here, Black, no need for you to drag him along everywhere." Ron sneered slightly but nowhere near as lethally as he usually did. Hermione couldn't help but blush slightly, however, causing her to release Harry instantly. Draco wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her in the opposite direction, flashing a smirk at the Weasleys before he spoke.

"Just remember, Harry, you're welcome in our compartment any time." Hermione pinched his side viciously. Just because she was glad that he had taken his proper place in life didn't mean that she wanted him hanging around her all day at school. Draco hissed in pain but waited until they were almost out of sight before speaking.

"You had to have seen how unhappy the Weasleys were with him. I guarantee you he's going to catch shite for being with us all summer. Nobody would dare say anything at your home on his birthday but now that they're on familiar territory, they're going to be pricks. As much as I don't like how he's treated you, he doesn't deserve that and you know you agree with me." Hermione sighed heavily before nodding.

"I know. Part of me wants to just forgive him, I know he's really sorry. The other part of me is telling me that I'm barmy, that I can't trust him since he's done this before. I'm afraid that the more time I spend with him, the quicker I'll forgive him. Let's face it, he deserves to suffer a little." Draco snorted at her words.

"I agree completely. However, you have to admit that he spent his whole summer with us, two people that wouldn't hardly give him the time of day. He worked on occlumency and his studies, played quidditch by himself, and didn't complain at all. We both saw plenty of our friends, did fun things and laughed. He didn't. You can't tell me he hasn't suffered a little." Hermione smiled just a little at him.

"I suppose you're right. If he comes and sits with us, I won't be a complete bitch. I'm still going to make him wait a good long time before I forgive him but I'll quit reminding him every second with my actions how horribly he fucked up." Draco pressed a kiss to the side of her head as they stepped into their usual compartment.

However, it didn't seem like their usual compartment. They were all bigger so it should have seemed smaller than usual but instead it looked quite roomy. Hermione settled in between Draco and Daphne, greeting their friends warmly. Theo was still sitting with them but remained quiet since he still didn't think that Hermione and Draco could be trusted now that the truth had come out.

Truthfully, Hermione was blessed in how many of their friends didn't seem to care about her father really not being dark. Greg and Vince had seemed offish for a day but since it had sank in, they were now fine. Their parents hadn't kept them from Black Moor or Malfoy Manor, quite surprising since both their fathers were Death Eaters. Daphne's father was as well and he happily sent her to both homes over the summer. Daphne had confided in her that he was considering changing his allegiances, not wanting to go against the Malfoy and the Black family names and fortunes.

Tracey's father was neutral so it made no never mind to her. Millie's father supported the Dark Lord but wasn't marked so he saw no problems with her visiting Hermione. Blaise had always been neutral and after discovering the true loyalties of the Malfoy and Black families, his mother was leaning towards supporting the light. All in all, it was promising. As for the older students and their families, she didn't know either way.

Small talk went on around Hermione for the first few hours though she paid it little attention. She had brought a book from home over warding objects rather than space and it was quite fascinating. Daphne was sitting next to her going over their Transfiguration text for the upcoming year. The boys were talking quidditch while Pansy was trying to get Millie and Tracey to join her in a discussion about the upcoming winter fashions.

The compartment door opened and four people piled in, most of them met with smiles. Neville was the first one through, waving to everyone and enjoying the greetings from the snakes. Fred and George were next, the twin redheads grinning widely and plopping themselves into seats by Pansy. Harry came last, a little slower than the others, a sheepish look on his face. The compartment fell silent when they realized he was there.

"Hey, guys. I decided to come sit with you for the rest of the trip." Hermione flicked her eyes to the twins and Neville and judging by the looks on their faces, things hadn't gone well for the newest member of her family. Draco smirked at him, gesturing for him to take a seat, the only one remaining by Daphne.

"Come on in, we don't bite." Pansy snorted.

"Hard." The boys snickered at her words while Harry took a seat. Silence fell and just as Hermione was getting ready to say something, Theo spoke, his tone harsh.

"Are we really going to accept Potter in our compartment? He killed the Dark Lord, he deserves to suffer with the Gryffindorks." Harry's face flushed slightly but Hermione raised her eye brow at Theo.

"You're the only one who seems to have a problem with Harry and his allegiances. Everyone else seems to pay it no mind that he rid the world of a psychotic megalomaniac." Theo went to his feet and his wand flew into his hand to point at Hermione. The compartment was silent and still, watching the scene play out before them. Draco started to rise, fury dancing in his eyes but Hermione shook her head at him. She turned back to Theo and laughed.

"Go ahead, Nott, if you think you have the balls. You know I don't need my wand to cast when I'm angry. You have to know that not only will Draco bury you if you hurt me, my father and uncle will bury your family name. If you don't like who we invite into this compartment, feel free to go sit in another one." Nott glared at her but slowly lowered his wand. With a huff and swish of his robes, he opened the door, stalked through it, and slammed the door closed. There was a collective sigh of relief once he was gone. Harry broke the silence.

"Don't alienate your friends for me." Hermione swung her gaze to meet his.

"I may not get along with you the best right now but you're still family. If there's one thing that Blacks believe in, it's sticking by family." Draco grinned.

"Malfoys too, don't forget. You're officially a Malfoy too." Hermione smiled just a little at her cousin.

"Malfoys too." She then turned to the rest of their friends.

"Is there anyone else that has a problem with Harry being here?" She didn't think that they did but figured she would give them a chance to voice it if they did. All of them shook their heads and Hermione finally gave them a full smile.

"Have no fear, Harry is well aware that if he starts problems, my anger will turn his way full force. The same goes for you all." They nodded and Hermione made a show of returning to her book. Soft chatter started up around her, mostly about quidditch. After almost ten minutes of it being just Draco, Greg, Vince, and Blaise, Harry finally joined in the debate of what qualities were most desirable in a keeper.

The rest of the trip to Hogwarts passed with no problems. Hermione was quick to don her robes a half hour from school, urging everyone else to do so as well. It was dark and dreary outside when they arrived at Hogwarts, drizzle starting to come down as they walked for the carriages. Since there were so many of them, they were forced to split into two of them, Fred, George, Neville, Harry, Daphne and Millie accompanying Hermione while Pansy, Tracey, Blaise, Greg, and Vince got in the second one with Draco. They had just entered the school and started for the Great Hall when Harry tugged on Hermione's elbow.

"Can I sit with you guys at the Feast?" Hermione raised her eyebrows at him.

"What exactly happened this afternoon?" Harry raked a hand through his already mussed hair.

"Ron was actually good this time. Everyone else in our compartment was going on about how they couldn't believe I had spent my entire summer with Slytherins, that I had thrown them to the wolves to be with you. I tried to explain that you couldn't stand me, that it wasn't the best situation but they didn't believe me. I finally couldn't take it anymore and just left." Hermione sighed as they entered the Great Hall.

"Yes, you can sit with us as long as the professors allow it. For the record, I don't hate you. You've hurt me deeply and I don't trust you not to do it again. It's going to take a long time for you to gain that back, probably long enough that you're going to give up. I don't want you miserable and I don't want you mistreated. I just want to protect myself." She knew that she was taking a gamble, telling him something so personal, but she figured that he already knew these things anyways. She was merely confirming them. He grinned at her.

"I won't give up, I'm going to prove to you that I won't hurt you like that again, that I mean what I say when I tell you I'm going to be better." She smiled at him again.

"I hope you do." She turned her attention back to Daphne now, clearly indicating that the conversation was over. After all, she couldn't give him too much too fast.

-O-

Harry couldn't have been happier after speaking to Hermione. Not only was he being allowed to sit with them for dinner, she had claimed him as family and showed just the slightest amount of vulnerability to him. That was most certainly not something that she would have done at the end of their last year. He meant what he vowed to her; he was going to prove to her that he wouldn't hurt her like that again and he was going to show her that he would have her back from here on out. Family was always there for family.

Silence fell over the Great Hall as he made his way to the Slytherin table and sat between Hermione and Draco. The rest of the fourth year Slytherins didn't blink an eye at him joining them but even the rest of the snakes were staring. Hermione lifted her head and stared down at the older students, arching one eyebrow.

"Do you have a problem?" Bletchley sneered at her.

"I think your little lion lost his way to the den." Draco stood and leaned forward, staring the boy down.

"That lion is family and we'll protect him as such. If you have a problem with it, take it to Professor Snape." Harry hated that they were fighting because of them so he opened his mouth to intervene. Hermione pinched the inside of his knee viciously, causing him to hiss in pain.

"Keep your lion to yourself then." Hermione arched an eyebrow at him.

"What makes you think Harry wants to see you? Do you have a crush?" Bletchley flushed and glared but remained quiet. After the rest of the table went back to their conversation, Hermione turned to hiss at him.

"You haven't been trained in surviving Slytherin yet. Until that happens, you'll keep your mouth shut. You'll be fine around us and our year mates but the older students will eat you alive." Harry wanted to argue with her but he could see Draco nodding out of the corner of his eye. He sighed, well aware that he still hadn't completed all his lessons with Sirius. Even if he had, it was likely that he still wouldn't be able to handle the older snakes for quite some time. After all, Hermione and Draco had been doing it for years now. Harry was pulled from her warning by Dumbledore standing at his podium and beginning his speech.

"Here we are, yet again. Another year begins and more children join us. Let us not delay, let the sorting begin."

Harry didn't pay attention to the sorting; he probably should have felt bad but he didn't. He was watching the Gryffindor table closely, trying to gauge just how angry his house mates were that he had sat with the snakes. He had done exactly what they had accused him of, not feeling bad about it at the time. Now that he thought about it, however, he wondered if he wasn't setting himself up to be pranked and bullied by his own house. It wasn't a thought he was fond of but if that was the result, he would deal with it. There was no way that he was going to let the lions tell him that he couldn't befriend any snakes, especially since Neville and the twins were regulars at the Slytherin table.

The sorting had just concluded when the side door leading up to the High Table banged open and a grizzled man stumped through with a staff in one hand. He had a wooden leg on the right-hand side and an eye that was spinning, taking in the whole room full of students. The calm sky featured on the enchanted ceiling turned stormy and shot lightning out of the "sky", striking the ground at the man's feet. Another bolt followed, closer to the student tables, making Hermione cringe. Draco wrapped an arm around her waist as Dumbledore stood and pointed his wand at the ceiling, turning it clear once more. Harry met Draco's eyes, questioning. The words in response were mouthed to him.

"She's been scared of storms since she was tiny." He gave the blond a nod and turned back to the front. The handicapped man was scowling at everyone while Dumbledore beckoned him forward.

"Gods-be-damned castle hates me, Albus, I can't believe I agreed to come back here." Dumbledore was making motions with his hand to have him sit. Once the man was seated at the High Table, the Headmaster turned back to the students.

"This is Master Auror Alastor Moody. He's going to be our defense professor this year. Please give him a warm welcome." Harry had never heard of him so clapped politely. Most of the Slytherin table refrained, however. Hermione turned at the sound of his clapping and slightly shook her head in the negative. As Dumbledore started speaking once more, the usual warning about the Forbidden Forest and such, Hermione leaned his way. Her voice was soft enough that he had to lean further in her direction to hear her.

"That's Mad-Eye Moody. He was an auror during the first war, he put most Death Eaters either in Azkaban or the grave. That's why he's got a wooden leg, a fake eye, and pieces missing out of his face. He can't serve in the auror ranks so he trains the new ones coming into the department. Daddy says that he's ruthless and if he sees a Dark Mark, he'd much rather kill the owner than take him to trial." Harry nodded, a little in awe at the man's legacy.

"Why am I not supposed to clap?" She sighed, clearly frustrated.

"Where are you sitting? A table full of students that have parents for Death Eaters. Children that have parents in Azkaban because of this man. Don't paint a target on your back." Harry finally understood and nodded.

Hermione turned back to Daphne and Harry spooned food onto his plate. He made sure to put all his new etiquette into play, showing the rest of the snakes that he did indeed have manners. He even joined in the conversation between Draco and Blaise about what Moody's classes were going to be like.

When the Feast was dismissed, Harry was full and content. He realized that he had actually had a good time with the snakes and wouldn't mind doing it again. Hermione gave him a small smile as he bid them goodnight but didn't speak. Draco gave him a genial wave before offering his arm to his cousin and leading her off in the direction of the dungeons. Harry had gone three floors before Ron caught up to him, an angry look on his face.

"I can't believe you ditched up for the snakes." Harry glared at him.

"I'll address it once we're back in the Tower." Ron gave him a jerky nod before following him up the stairs.

Harry wasn't quite sure how he was going to handle the situation but he knew that he was going to have to address it before it ended in full-on bullying like it had for Hermione last year. Ron was silent beside him and he could feel the eyes of his classmates on his back. Since he wasn't sure what the password was, he was forced to wait for the older students before he could enter. Katie Bell opened the Tower with the password "fairy lights" and Harry was one of the first ones through. After he was inside the Tower, he waited for everyone to file in and notice that he was standing there. Seamus barged through the crowd and faced him, furious expression on his face.

"I can't believe ya threw us over to go hang with the snakes. We ought to shun you right now. Traitor." Harry knew that he wasn't going to be able to just sit back and play nice or his house was going to walk all over him. Therefore, he planted his hands-on Seamus' shoulders and shoved him backwards, hard enough to make him stumble. Harry advanced even though his insides were jelly.

"You have yourself to thank for me ditching you. If you had just kept your trap shut, I would have been happy to stay in our compartment. I'm not going to take your shite this year and I'm not going to let you bully Hermione Black. She has done nothing to any of you without provocation and she has only tried to be our friends. Well, guess what? Now, she's family. You fuck with my family, you fuck with me. Malfoy is included in that too." Seamus looked at him, completely bewildered.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, mate? This chick is a Slytherin, her cousin too. Her whole family are dirty snakes." Harry couldn't help himself. He reared back his fist and let it fly, catching Seamus right in the nose. Blood exploded everywhere and everyone stepped back except the twins. Each stepped forward and took one of Harry's arms, making sure that he couldn't do anything else. He was breathing hard in anger, his chest heaving in his heavy student robes.

"Her father is my godfather and he was a Gryffindor. Innocent too. I guess that means nothing. Hermione hasn't done anything without you starting shite with her first. I don't want to choose between you all but if you make me, it will be her and the rest of my family. You let me know what your move is." Neville stepped forward and glared at everyone.

"We aren't going to make you choose, Harry. None of us want to lose the Boy-Who-Lived as a friend." Harry inwardly grimaced at the reference but he understood what Neville was trying to do. It was actually quite Slytherin. The rest of their house was nodding at the boy's words even though Seamus still looked mutinous.

"You keep her away from me, Potter. As long as you do that, I'll keep my mouth shut." Harry nodded and squared his shoulders.

"Not a problem. Believe it or not, she isn't your greatest fan either." Ron stepped up and clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"Enough excitement for the first night back. Everyone get to unpacking or we'll never hear the end of it from McGonagall." Harry let his friend pull him back, surprised that he hadn't been the first one to complain. Once they were off to the side, Ron sighed.

"I understand what you're doing and I understand why. I don't like it, not even a little, but I can't talk you out of it. Therefore, be careful." Harry knew that that was as good as it was going to get with Ron so he nodded. He turned to make his way up to his dorm but was stopped by Ginny. While she looked furious, her voice was surgary sweet.

"Harry, how was the rest of your summer? You never answered my letters." Harry sighed, now completely aware that she was hoping to trap him in a betrothal contract by getting pregnant. He took his potion monthly, determined to not have any children until he was quite sure that he was with the right woman.

"I was busy, Ginny. I had to take a crash course in wizarding culture since I had never been taught. I'm trying to get caught up to Hermione and Draco in my studies and it didn't leave much free time. I barely had time to practice flying." She pouted.

"You could have invited me, I would have played with you, studied even." He rolled his eyes at her.

"Look, Ginny, we aren't dating. I told you that. I have other things going on in my life, things more important than messing around with you. If you're going to hound me about how I spend my time and who I spend it with, I can just drop this. It doesn't bother me. I'm not trying to be a dick here but I have other things that need concentrating on. You choose." Her face cleared instantly and Harry knew that she was going to play like she wasn't angry. However, he just didn't care.

"Oh, I understand Harry, I just thought that I could help." He gave her a small smile before side stepping around her.

"Goodnight, Ginny." Without waiting for a response, he climbed the stairs to his dorm.

All the boys were already in there, putting away their things. Since Harry had agreed to take Dobby, he had handled his packing and unpacking. He could fully admit that he was thrilled he wasn't going to have to take the time to put all his things away. Instead, he picked up the pajamas that Dobby had laid out for him and headed for the loo.

Harry showered off quickly, deciding to go to bed early since it would be the first day of classes the next day. After all, he was going to be receiving extra assignments from Madam Cambridge now as well and he wasn't going to have much free time. Ron had told him that he was crazy for taking on the extra assignments but he had just shaken his head at his best mate. Ambitious, he was not.

Harry crawled in bed, curled up under the duvet after pulling the curtain and casting the privacy charm his godfather had taught him. He tried to take his mind off the events of the day but it was difficult. Finally deciding that he had to get some much-needed sleep, he practiced his occlumency as Severus had taught him. His next lesson was the next night and he was told that he was progressing nicely. He hadn't had any more dreams since the World Cup and he intended to keep it that way.

Once his mind was clear, his eyes closed and he drifted off to sleep.

-O-

Severus watched the students in the Slytherin common room milling about and re-acquainting themselves with their friends. It was always a good idea to watch the first night back so there wouldn't be any summer problems carrying over.

He had been surprised that Harry had sat with his snakes at the feast. Of course, due to his occlumency lessons, he had learned that Harry had almost been a Slytherin himself. Severus couldn't help but think that he would have done well in his house. While he wasn't as adept at the politics of the snake pit, he was well on his way to learning how to be Lord Potter, master of his own house. Due to his fame, wealth, and political standing, he would be respected if he could just learn the ins and outs of Slytherin.

His godchildren had stood up for the boy, the older children were whispering softly about it once they had retired to bed. It was surprising to Severus, considering how much Hermione still disliked the boy. He knew that Harry was sweet on Hermione; his fantasies of her were at the forefront in their earlier days of occlumency. While he hated the thought of a young boy lusting after Hermione, he knew that it was inevitable.

On the other hand, though, he could also see that while Harry played the field and used other girls, the feelings he harbored for Hermione were nothing like those. They were of tenderness, admiration, respect, and a little bit of lust. If he had to want someone for Hermione, it would definitely be someone that respected and admired her.

Once the common room was empty and silent, he threw back his fire whiskey and decided to head to bed early. He had already had to deal with Mad-Eye and he was going to have to tomorrow as well. The man still suspected Severus' real loyalties no matter what Albus told him, shadowing and eavesdropping on him constantly. The Slytherin had had a private word with Minerva regarding Harry and his developing friendships with Hermione and Draco and Severus had spotted the man trying to listen in. It unnerved him and he planned to complain to Albus in the morning.

With a soft sigh, he retired to his bedroom and stripped to his boxers before falling into bed. With the plans that he had just been made aware of after the Feast, he would be the first to admit that this was going to be his longest year at Hogwarts yet.

A/N- One of my shorter chapters, I know. However, it gets the ball rolling for fourth year! Hope you all enjoyed it. I know I thank you every chapter, but I do appreciate it. You're all the best for the love and support you show my story. Leave me your thoughts on the chapter, they're like chocolate and whiskey shots (:

Next chapter, Moody demonstrates the Unforgivable Curses and Hermione learns devastating news.

Love,

Alicia


	66. Chapter 66

A/N- A huge thank you to everyone out there reading and reviewing, you guys are seriously the bomb. I just want you all to know that the idea for this little addition to my story comes from AnaWayne. She gave me the idea just in time to get it in here. I hope you all enjoy it! If you don't, well so sorry Charlie! Hope you enjoy!

**Shout out to thoupetty for being my 2800th reviewer…you da bomb girl! Thanks for being awesome and reviewing every chapter, you have no idea what that means to me!**

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing, I feel like y'all know this already. While I have certainly made this story my own, the original idea came from Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle and the characters belong to our queen. Trust me, I haven't made any money from this story or any other.

Chapter 61

September 19, 1994

Harry was seated at the Gryffindor table between Ron and Fred, spooning food onto his plate as quickly as he could. He had overslept and was trying to get as much food on his plate as he could before it all disappeared. Ron was laughing at him but Harry tuned him out in favor of his bacon.

Things had been rough the first week of school. The tension in Gryffindor house had been thick, nobody willing to cast Harry to the wolves but none of them really comfortable with him befriending the fourth year Slytherins. Ron had his back, he only grumbled a little bit much to his surprise. Ginny acted like she was happy for him but he suspected that she was lying. The twins and Neville were the only ones that seemed completely at ease around Harry and it had worn on him.

Now that he was completely receptive to it, Neville was helping him with studying wizard culture and furthering his lessons on pureblood politics. Harry still questioned why he needed to know these things since he was a half-blood but Neville had kindly told him that there was a chance he would marry a pureblood girl and he was still the head of House Potter. Not to mention he would someday sit on the Wizengamot next to his godfather. After this detailed explanation, Harry had to admit that what Neville was teaching him was important.

The twins had even came forward and offered to help Harry with the funnier aspects of wizard culture, namely dance lessons. While he was sure that he would never need to know how to dance, they assured him that it would be useful to know to impress any young witch. Since the pair genuinely enjoyed dancing, they felt it was their duty to contribute to the Boy-Who-Lived's education. Sirius had told him that they would work on the task towards the end of the summer but they had gotten sidetracked on other things, making him promise to work on it with him at Christmas. While he wasn't the most excited about it, learning that he was going to go home to family for the holidays brightened his day.

Relations between the two houses weren't great but they were getting better. While they all snipped at each other in classes, there wasn't any open warfare like before. The one confrontation between Gryffindor and Slytherin had occurred in Potions before Severus had arrived. Seamus and Dean were laughing at Daphne, making fun of her for her father being a Death Eater. While the girl had held her head high and acted as though nothing bothered her, he knew better. He didn't know her well by any means but he knew her enough to know that she was a sweet girl that was quite sensitive.

Harry had been livid, stepping in before Hermione could. Draco and Blaise seemed ready to jump right in after her. He had raised his voice, something he rarely did since he hated to bring attention to himself. Once all the attention was on him, he told Seamus and Dean that they found her Death Eater father offensive and she grew up finding their muggle parents offensive. The only difference was that she wasn't holding it against them and wasn't teasing them mercilessly. After he had taken his seat again, the room was silent and he could see the tiniest sliver of admiration in Hermione's eyes.

His lessons with Severus were going well. He still wasn't where he needed to be but he was improving quickly. The potions master told him that the only person he had seen master the art this quickly was Draco. Harry knew that Hermione had taken an extremely long time to master it and it made him feel just a tiny bit better to know that there was one thing that he was better at than her.

Things between himself and the cousins weren't good but they were getting better. Hermione still kept him at a distance, understandably so, but she didn't shun him and she didn't get angry with him for sitting with them at meals and such. He did that every other day or so, doing his best to make friends with the snakes closest to Hermione and Draco. Neville and the twins were always quick to join him and he would be the first to admit that he had a great time when he sat there.

Harry knew that today was Hermione's fifteenth birthday; Draco had made sure to mention it two nights before. He had made sure to owl order something from Flourish and Blotts, a book about soul mates and how to find them. It was a book he had never seen her read about; he wasn't sure if Black Moor had no books on the subject or if it just didn't interest her but he took a chance on sending it to her. He hoped that she enjoyed it.

As far as he knew, there were no plans for her birthday in the school. Her friends had all given her their gifts for her at the day of their party so he was left to assume that she would receive no actual presents on her birthday. It made him sad to think about since he had recently discovered how much he loved getting gifts on his birthday.

Harry was pulled from his breakfast by the final bell ringing, dismissing them to class. Dumbledore was watching from his usual spot at the High Table, eyes twinkling like mad. The Headmaster hadn't gone out of his way to speak to Harry yet this year but he knew that it wouldn't last. It was only a matter of time before he insisted to speak with Harry, wanting to know any information he had. While Harry believed that he did indeed want to defeat Voldemort, it was hard for him to swallow acting as though nothing was wrong around the man that knew the whole prophecy regarding him and his parents.

Ron was pulling him up by his armpits, determined to make sure that he made it to class on time. Harry had been working hard on his assignments from Madam Cambridge, which meant that his regular classes had fallen in quality just a little. Not enough to drop him a grade point but enough for him to get talked to from Professor McGonagall. When he had explained his reasoning, she had agreed, off the record of course, that his reasoning was sound and she didn't blame him.

Charms was first on the list for the day. They were still in the revision part of the class so it was boring, especially since Harry had done these spells sometime last year. He understood now why Hermione and Draco always seemed so bored in classes. Since Charms was with Slytherins, much like most of their classes, Harry took the table next to Hermione and Draco. To his great surprise, Daphne took the seat next to him. She saw the surprise on his face and smiled slightly.

"Trust me, I have no urge to be part of your "personal fan club". I just want to help with the relations between Slytherin and Gryffindor. Most of us don't like how we always fight." Harry nodded, his respect for the shy girl growing. Hermione was watching them closely, an emotion he couldn't quite figure out what was in her eyes. Draco tugged one of her tendrils of hair and she turned her attention back to Professor Flitwick who was calling the class to order.

They were going over the repairing charm, something that Harry could remember doing at the beginning of last year. He took notes like he always did, having perfected the technique halfway through his first year. They all demonstrated that they could still perform the charm and Professor Flitwick let them out early. Since Potions were next, Harry rose from his seat and joined his Slytherin friends, Neville falling in behind him. Draco smiled at him, urging him to come walk with them but Hermione was unusually silent, especially with Daphne.

Harry was pulled into a conversation with Draco about their upcoming assignment in Potions. While he was further along than their peers, he was nowhere near the level of Hermione and Draco, especially Hermione. He had watched her help Severus brew Remus' wolfsbane and it was crazy how good she was at potions. Daphne fell back to speak to Hermione, the dark-headed girl letting her eyes fall to the floor. After several minutes of them speaking softly to each other, Hermione finally sighed, smiled at her friend and linked arms with her.

Potions class was still horrid. Severus had explained to him over the summer that he was still going to play the part of a spy, therefore, he couldn't have anything to do with Hermione or Harry outside of the privacy of his quarters or their homes. Even relations with Draco was going to have to be strained since they were all supporters of the light and Severus was still going to be a Death Eater. While it was far from a fun class, he kept his head down and did his best. His grades were great so he counted the class as a win.

Of course, Ron and the rest of the Gryffindors still hated him; Harry didn't blame them. He couldn't tell any of them what the man was really like. While he really was sour and snarky, he was also kind and understanding. It was clear that he loved Hermione and Draco more than anything and Harry hoped that someday he could be as close to the man as they were. The more he spent time with the Slytherins of his new family, the more he found that he wanted to be a part of their family unit.

Even Lucius and Narcissa were wonderful people; sure, the man scared the life out of him sometimes but the only time that had happened was when he had pulled Harry aside and warned him what would happen if he ever hurt Hermione again. His Death Eater persona was enough to scare anyone straight.

Since Potions had tables for four this year, he didn't feel bad for taking the table with Hermione, Draco, and Daphne. Ron was shooting him dirty looks as he took a table with Neville, Seamus, and Dean. It wasn't like it was a permanent seat and he sat with the Gryffindors in all his other classes. It wouldn't kill them for him to sit with his Slytherin friends for just one class.

It was a lecture class so Harry took notes on scarab beetles and there many uses. He noticed that Hermione and Draco still didn't take notes, just referenced the ones that they already had. Harry really wished he had a set of those, vowing to speak to Severus about helping him make a set for himself.

Class passed quickly, Severus dismissing them with an essay due next class period. Since he had sat with the snakes during class, he bid them farewell and started for his friends from Gryffindor. Seamus and Dean still glared at him but no longer said anything about it. Ron was silent for a few minutes but Neville chatted with him about looking up more information in the library that evening for their essay.

Once they entered the Great Hall, Ron huffed as he took the seat next to Harry and started spooning food onto his plate. Harry could tell that he wanted to say something but was biting his tongue so he wouldn't start an argument. He sighed, knowing that if he let it continue, it would likely explode.

"Just say it, Ron. You're going to end up biting your tongue off and then you won't be able to eat anymore." He slammed his fork down on the table, drawing the attention of those sitting around them.

"I just don't understand how you can go be friends with all of them. I understand Black and Malfoy, well kind of, but the rest of them? They're all horrid people, they hate muggleborns and half-bloods. How can they think that they're better than everyone just because of their blood?" Harry raked a hand through his already-messy hair and sighed.

"They don't all think that. Granted, Nott seems like a real prick but the others don't act like that at all. I'm a half-blood and they don't hate me. Most of them are pretty nice to me. They've just never met muggleborns before, how are they supposed to act towards them? Remember, we were the ones that started the war between us and them first year. They had left us all alone until then." Harry watched as Ron just shook his head in exasperation.

"You're seeing what they want you to see." Harry growled in frustration.

"You know, Ron, I don't know what else to tell you. I'm going to be friends with them and I want to stay friends with you. I can't handle always arguing with you about it though. Decide what you want and let me know." Ron sighed and raked a hand through his hair.

"Yeah, mate, I know. I just worry about you." Harry didn't say anything, just nodded and started on his lunch. After all, they still had two more classes and he was a growing boy. After cleaning his plate, he pushed away from the table, gathered his things while the rest of the lions followed suit. With a small sigh, he started for Transfiguration.

-O-

Hermione was having an off day and she wasn't sure why. It was her birthday, she was officially fifteen years old now even though she didn't feel any different. Her cousin had given her a gift, a ruby bracelet he had had made for her, but he was the only one. Not that she minded; they usually received their gifts at their party in the summer. She wasn't sure why she was down in the dumps today but she was.

It had started before she had seen her best friend sit with the one boy she had a crush on in Charms. Daphne knew that Hermione liked Harry as more than a friend, why would she go and sit next to him when she knew that she had caught the boy watching her blond friend. It broke her heart every time she saw him looking her friend up and down but she hardened her heart every time and acted like it meant nothing. Draco told her that she was imagining things, that he had only stared at Daphne one time but she wasn't sure she believed him.

Her friend had realized what was wrong as soon as class ended, pulling her aside to tell her that she would never try to be with Harry. Hermione had told her that while her words did make her feel better, she knew that Harry was attracted to her and just knowing that hurt. For some reason, the fact that he found her best friend attractive hurt worse than knowing he was seeing other girls in his free time.

Draco nudging her pulled her from her thoughts. Lunch was over and they were due in Transfiguration. She sighed and went to her feet, taking hold of Draco's arm once he offered it. He smiled at her softly before squeezing her fingers.

"It's your birthday, you're not allowed to be upset. Smile." She smiled at him, knowing that he was trying to cheer her up without bringing up the problem.

They started for Transfiguration, the rest of their friends trailing behind them. She could see Harry walking with Ron and Parvati but they weren't speaking. She didn't think that they were fighting but she couldn't be sure. Three corridors from the Transfiguration classroom, a small girl barreled out of a classroom, tears down her cheeks. She ran right into Hermione and nearly knocked her over.

Hermione was quick to reach out and take hold of the small first year, keeping her from landing on her backside. She still let out a squeal that drew the attention of all the students behind them. The Slytherin smiled at her softly before speaking.

"Are you alright? I didn't mean to almost knock you over." The girl raised her eyes and Hermione took a startled step back. The girl had short black hair, shiny and silky but it was her eyes that made her gasp.

They were stormy grey.

Her eyes matched those of her father's, those of Aunt Cissy's. Was it possible that this child belonged to the Black family? It wasn't a common trait outside of the Black line; she was one of the first ones in years to not have the grey eyes, taking the Malfoy blue instead. The little girl didn't seem to notice that she was staring incredulously. Draco wrapped an arm around her waist tightly, grounding her. The little girl sniffled softly.

"I'm sorry, it was my fault I ran into you. My friend told me that she was going to meet me in that classroom but she wasn't there. I don't know if something happened to her or if she was playing a trick on me." Hermione reached out and tipped the girl's chin up so she could stare into her eyes.

"I'm sure she's fine, she probably just got held up at lunch. What's your name? I see you're a Gryffindor." As if the girl had just now noticed she was talking to Slytherins, she shrunk back from Hermione. Even though she couldn't stop looking at the girl, Hermione smiled.

"We won't hurt you." The girl nodded and pulled away.

"My name is Juliet. I'm a first year." Hermione nodded at her.

"What's your last name?" Juliet wiped the tears off her cheeks.

"Bardon." Hermione gave her one of her handkerchiefs.

"You're French." The girl nodded.

"It's nice to meet you, Juliet. Maybe you'd like to have dinner with us today at the Slytherin table." She could hear the whispers behind her but nobody said anything. Harry and the rest of the Gryffindors caught up to the them and Harry narrowed his eyes.

"Juliet, what's wrong?" Hermione turned to Harry and raised an eyebrow.

"I just invited her to eat with us tonight. You're welcome to join to make sure that we snakes don't eat her alive." Harry laughed out loud and put his hand on the small girl's shoulders.

"You'll have fun, Juliet. I'll be there with you the whole time." Juliet looked to Hermione and smiled.

"Alright. I'll meet you there." Hermione patted the girl on the head and sent her off to class, then found herself hurried along by Draco so they wouldn't be late to class. They pulled away from everyone else and Hermione caught his eye.

"Do you think it's possible?" Draco shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know. I know Sirius saw a lot of girls for years. At this point, I think anything is possible. All I know is that that girl looks exactly like a Black." Hermione nodded her agreement.

"I thought so too. We need to get her mother's name and write daddy." Draco nodded as they took seats in Transfiguration.

Professor McGonagall started her class and Hermione looked over her notes on how to transfigure a hedgehog into a pin cushion. After listening to the Deputy Headmistress lecture for almost an hour, they were split up to practice the spell. Hermione wanted to sigh in boredom but decided against it. She was in her sixth year of schooling now, this was a simple spell.

By the time class dismissed, everyone had managed the spell. It was Defense Against the Dark Arts next and Hermione needed to gather herself before she went. Professor Moody seemed to hate her, Draco too, and she was determined to not get into any trouble with the man. He seemed deranged, even more so than her father had told her about in his letters to her. Harry, however, seemed to be his favorite student. He fixated on him in an almost creepy way.

Draco was talking to Blaise and Greg about something, probably quidditch, so Hermione was joined by Daphne. The blonde girl chattered on about the little first year girl that was going to be joining them. Hermione knew that she was fishing for information so she smiled at her friend.

"I can't say anything right now, Daph, but as soon as I can, you'll be the first person I tell." Daphne smiled and nodded.

Since the Defense classroom was only a few corridors from Transfiguration, all the students went together. None of the Slytherins were too fond of the class but almost all the Gryffindors seemed to think that Moody was brilliant. Hermione supposed that he was brilliant, he would have to be to be a Master Auror, but he was as prejudiced as they came. They had just barely taken their seats when the side door banged open and Moody stormed in. The bell hadn't even rang when he began his lesson.

"We've gone over what you've learned in the past. While you're up to date on dark creatures, you're woefully behind in curses. Today, we begin fixing that." He paused and waved his wand, chalk floating up in front of the board.

"We're going to learn about the Unforgivable Curses. Miss Black, tell me why they're called such." Hermione kept her eyes forward.

"They are exactly that. Unforgivable." Moody smirked at her as he continued.

"The use of any one of them will win you a one-way trip to Azkaban. Unless you're Lord Black." Hermione heard the snickers from the lions but she kept her face impassive. It would do no good to react and lose her house points.

"Weasley, tell me one of the Unforgivable Curses." Ron stammered a little when he answered.

"M-my dad told m-me about one. The Imperious C-curse." Moody gave a triumphant shout.

"The Imperious Curse. A curse mean to control another person, witch, wizard, or muggle. Many of the Death Eaters from the first war escaped from Azkaban because they claimed they were under the influence of the Imperious Curse. Your father being one of them, Mr. Malfoy." Hermione reached out and squeezed her cousin's knee, her nails digging in to keep him grounded. Draco's face was like stone, and she could see that he was about to explode. Moody levitated a spider out of a large jar and jabbed his wand at it.

"Imperio."

The spider bounced from person to person while Moody went on about how poisonous it was and that it would bite whoever he told it to. Hermione noticed that while he clearly hated herself and her cousin, he never once made the spider dance on their heads. Daphne, however, wasn't spared. She wasn't scared of spiders normally but even she wasn't immune to the fear of having a poisonous spider on her head. Moody let the spider come to a rest on his desk again before turning to the class again.

"Longbottom, give me another curse." Hermione couldn't believe that a professor was doing this. There was no way that Neville was going to get through this class without losing it and she wouldn't blame him, especially if the man was intent on demonstrating each and every one. His voice was strong, however, stronger than she figured it would be.

"The Cruciatus Curse." Moody laughed.

"Correct, dear boy. A curse designed to do nothing but bring pain. So much pain that it can render a person insane if they are held under it for too long." He turned his wand to the spider again.

"Crucio."

Hermione didn't know that it was possible for a spider to scream. However, it was unmistakable that the spider was screaming in pain. Everyone had horrified expressions on their faces and not a single person said a word. It went on for what seemed like forever before Moody broke out in a smile.

"Avada kedavra." A green light shot from his wand, hitting the spider straight on, putting it out of its misery.

"That, students, is the third Unforgivable Curse. The killing curse, it kills instantly and is more merciful than anything else. Those killed with the killing curse are the lucky ones." Hermione glanced at Neville to see that he was shaking, probably trying to keep the level of emotion inside him. Finally, Hermione couldn't stand anymore. She flew to her feet and she could feel her anger bubbling under the surface.

"How dare you?! How dare you show those curses to children? What kind of fucking professor are you? You think you can get away with treating children like complete shite, I wonder what the Board of Governors would think of your teaching methods." Her chest was heaving in an attempt to control her magic. Moody met her eyes and didn't look away once.

"Everyone get out except Miss Black. Class dismissed." Draco stood and made to stand by her side, Harry was coming her way quickly. Moody waved his wand and both boys were propelled to the door and thrown through it. After the door slammed, she knew that Draco and Harry were going to be doing their best to break back in. Moody stalked over to her, maniacal grin on his face.

"Miss Black, I have to admit that I like your fire. You're not the regular run of the mill Slytherin. Are you sure you're in the right house?" Hermione was still trying to restrain her magic.

"I'm right where I need to be." Moody advanced closer and Hermione was the first to admit that he looked quite mad.

"You fit the bill for a Gryffindor. Self-righteous and standing up for others. Just remember that no matter how strong you are, there will always be somebody that can bring you down." Hermione just stared at him impassively.

"Am I free to go?" She refused to tack on a "sir". Moody grinned again and leaned over to where he could whisper in her ear.

"Haven't you ever wondered who killed your mother? Who blew the door apart that sent the stake through your mother's chest, that watched you cry your eyes out while mummy bled out on the floor? It was the sweetest sight." Hermione couldn't hold her magic in after that. It exploded out of her and threw her professor into the wall hard enough to knock him unconscious. His spell holding the door failed and Draco and Harry both tumbled into the room, eyes wide when they saw her standing there, cold expression on her face while their professor was slumped against the far wall. Draco rushed forward and cupped her cheeks in his hands.

"Miney, what happened? Tell me what happened." Hermione couldn't quite form words at the moment, she wasn't even entirely sure that she could think straight. She suspected that she was in shock. Without another word, she turned and walked out of the classroom.

Hermione was unsure as to what she was supposed to do with this information. Why would someone rub the fact that they had killed your parent in your face unless you were evil? It made no sense to her why a Master Auror would do such a thing. She could hear Draco and Harry talking quietly behind her and out of the corner of her eye, she saw a silver dragon soar through the air, probably headed for Uncle Sev. They followed her clear to the Great Hall and watched her warily as she took a seat next to little Juliet. The young girl was chattering away about her herbology class, clearly ready to be friends with the Hermione now.

"Sammy almost got kicked out of class because he refused to wear the ear muffs, can you believe it?" Hermione nodded her head and that was all that the girl needed to continue her story. Draco ran his hand down the length of her hair.

"Mia, you have to talk to me." Hermione smiled at him but still remained silent. Uncle Sev appeared at her side, worry on his face.

"Miss Black, your father is on his way. Draco said that you are most distressed." Hermione just stared at her uncle and even though she wanted to throw herself in his arms, she knew that she couldn't. Everyone was quiet as she just stared at her godfather. Harry was hovering beside her so he bent down and whispered in her ear.

"He's coming, I'm sure he'll come in here if he needs to. You're worrying us, Mia." Her head turned to him abruptly. He had never called her by her nickname before. She just stared at him until she saw movement behind her. Her father and Uncle Luci were coming up the aisle between the tables, both clearly worried. Before her father could say anything, he caught sight of Juliet and stopped cold.

"What's your name, little one?" Juliet grinned at him.

"Juliet Bardon." He couldn't take his eyes off of her.

"Is your mother's name Helena?" Juliet nodded happily. Her father just stared at her before turning back to Hermione.

"Come with me, princess, we need to talk. Dumbledore just told me you attacked Moody." The table gasped in surprise but Hermione allowed her father to take her hand and pull her to her feet. Uncle Luci, Uncle Sev, Harry and Draco all followed; Harry had the peace of mind to ask Daphne to watch over Juliet before they left.

Hermione couldn't say where they took her. The only thing she knew was that she was in an empty classroom that had windows on both sides. Just before they started to speak, the door opened again and Dumbledore came in with McGonagall in tow. The Headmaster looked at her with a stern expression while his deputy watched in silence.

"Professor Moody is in the Hospital Wing being treated for a concussion. The amount of magic you released threw him into a wall. Can you tell me what happened?" Hermione couldn't hold it in. The magic that had been building since she saw her professor casting those curses exploded out of her again, this time she didn't try to rein it in.

Everyone was blown backwards, the windows all exploded outwards. The walls were shaking, dust falling from the ceiling. She knew that she shouldn't let her magic affect the school but she couldn't help it. Better the school than a person. One of the walls started to crumble when she felt someone trying to push her magic back. When she realized that it was Dumbledore, her anger flared again and her magic pushed back even harder. After a few moments, the resistance was gone. Then her father pushed himself to his feet and pushed himself through the force of magic surrounding her, determined look on his face.

"Hermione Alula Black, you will calm yourself now. You are going to hurt someone if you keep on." She let her magic relax just enough to let everyone move.

"I know what I'm doing. It hasn't hurt anyone because I'm controlling it. I had to let it out though before it did hurt someone." Her father pulled her into his arms as the wind blowing through the room came to a stop. He was whispering soft words in her ear, trying to calm her down when she finally burst into tears. Uncle Luci spoke, this time to Draco and Harry.

"What do you two know?" Draco spoke quietly but it was clear that everyone in the room could hear him."

"Moody was teaching about the Unforgivable Curses. He rubbed in her face about you getting out of Azkaban, the about Father getting out of Azkaban. He demonstrated the Imperious Curse, he had a poisonous spider dancing on people. He used the Cruciatus Curse on it too, you could hear it screaming. Neville was white as a sheet. Then he used the Killing Curse on it. Hermione finally lost it and asked him what kind of professor was he that he demonstrated those curses in front of children. He told everyone to get out but her and when Harry and I tried to stay, he waved his wand at us and threw us from the room. We tried to get back in but we couldn't get past his spell. The next thing we knew, the door opened, Hermione was standing there, shaking, and Moody was slumped over against the opposite wall." Hermione finally found the ability to speak.

"He killed her. Moody asked me if I ever wondered who blasted in the door that put the stake of wood through my mother's heart, if I ever wondered who had watched me cry for my mother as she died. Moody killed her." Draco came forward and hugged her close, pulling her from her father's arms because he was struck silent. She couldn't hold in the sobs and while she hated showing weakness like this in front of Dumbledore and Harry, she couldn't help it. Harry came up on the other side of her and wrapped his arms around her too. She couldn't help but stiffen at the contact but she didn't move. Hermione sneaked a glance at her uncle and saw that he was barely containing his anger. She pulled out of Harry and Draco's arms and threw herself at her uncle before he could do something stupid.

"Where's Aunt Cissy?" Her uncle buried his face in her curls for a few moments before answering.

"She was caught up in a meeting with St. Mungo's regarding their latest addition." She nodded against him.

"You can't do anything about it, Uncle Luci. Let the authorities handle it." He raked his hand through her curls and nodded, kissing her forehead. However, she could see that he wasn't going to let this go. Uncle Sev stepped forward.

"I will go retrieve my veritiserum. We give him the choice. Take it willing in front of us or take it in front of a full court." Dumbledore nodded.

"I will go speak with him. This is unconscionable." Hermione nodded.

"I want to hear him say the words."

The rest of them stood there while they waited for Dumbledore's patronus. Harry looked a little uncomfortable but Hermione couldn't worry about that. In fact, she remembered just who was sitting at the table in the Great Hall and turned to her father.

"Is Juliet your daughter? She looks just like you, just without the curls." Her father raked his hand through his hair.

"I don't know. Her mother's name is the name of a muggle girl that I dated when you were four years old. I left her when I realized that I had started to develop feelings for her. I didn't want to pull an innocent muggle into a war they wouldn't understand." Hermione heaved a deep breath, trying to wrap her head around it.

"So I have a cousin." Her father strode forward and cupped her cheeks with his hands.

"No, you have a sister. If she's mine. I promised you that you were my daughter and heir, that won't be changing." She nodded.

"I think we should figure out if she's yours first." Her father nodded and kissed her forehead. Before he could say anything, a silvery phoenix appeared.

" _Alastor has agreed. Meet us in the Hospital Wing."_

Hermione let her father wrap an arm around her shoulders as he handed her a handkerchief to dry her cheeks. Even though she was grateful to her father, she felt that Uncle Luci needed her more. She floated his direction and wrapped an arm around her waist. Her mind drifted as they made their way to the Hospital Wing. Wouldn't Dumbledore know who killed her mother? He was the leader of the Order of the Phoenix, surely it was under his orders that they were going to restrain her mother and question her about her uncle's activities. Her uncle seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"I don't trust Dumbledore completely. He's backed into a corner but surely he has to know who did it." McGonagall shook her head.

"No, he said from the beginning that he never knew. Trust me, after Sirius tried to get Harry, if he had known, he would have bragged about it. I don't think that it was ever a sanctioned mission." Hermione took the Gryffindor Head of House's words and considered them. She supposed that it was possible but she was still leery to trust the Headmaster.

As they entered the Hospital Wing, Moody was sitting on the edge of a bed, bandage taped to the back of his head. He sneered their way while Uncle Sev stepped forward and handed Dumbledore the veritiserum. He opened the vial and pulled out the dropper, dropping three drops on Moody's tongue. They waited the requisite minute for it to take effect. Uncle Luci stepped forward and glared at the man.

"Did you break into Erise Malfoy's home and kill her?" Moody stared at him impassively.

"No, I did not." Hermione clutched at his hand. However, he shot off another question.

"Why did you tell Hermione that you did?" He continued to stare.

"She's a mouthy chit and spoke out in class. One has to learn that there are consequences to actions such as that." Her father stepped forward, glaring. The potion was already wearing off so Moody was able to sneer in his direction when he spoke.

"This piece of shite is to have his actions brought before the Board. My daughter and godson will no longer be taking any lessons from him. I will send in my own tutor for them." Uncle Luci nodded.

"Draco will be joining them. At such time that he is dismissed or cleared, we will look into the situation further." Dumbledore sighed.

"Is that necessary? Other students will begin to write home and it will go downhill from there." Uncle Luci raised an eyebrow at the Headmaster.

"How is that my problem? I won't have a professor that is alright with torturing living species in front of his class. I've seen the Cruciatus Curse at work and it's a horrid curse. To have my children watch it is irresponsible. If he feels the need to press charges against my niece, I would completely understand." Uncle Sev and her father smirked. Moody just got shifty eyes before growling at them.

"I won't be pressing charges. I pushed her too far." Dumbledore nodded his head.

"Very well, it sounds as though we have come to an accord." Not wanting to be there any longer than strictly necessary, Hermione turned on her heel and stalked off. She could hear everyone following after her. It was several corridors down that her father pulled her to a stop.

"Lucius and I need to go to make a formal complaint to the Board. We know when you three have Defense and we'll send Madam Cambridge up here at those times. How would you feel about Remus coming when she can't?" Hermione heaved a deep breath and decided that she needed to take the first step.

"I suppose that would be alright. He was a really good teacher when he wasn't being a complete wanker." Her father wrapped his arms around her and held her close.

"If you have nightmares, go to Poppy. I wish I could stay but I really want to get this complaint in. Not sure if we'll get rid of him since those on the Board are the ones who wanted Moody." She nodded against him before pulling away and going to her uncle and wrapping her arms around him too.

"I love you, Uncle Luci. Sorry for this mess." He kissed her head and smiled down at her. It was in that moment that she realized how exhausted he looked.

"It isn't your fault, princess. You just reacted and that's something that anyone could understand. You notice you didn't get a punishment." She nodded against him.

"Tell Aunt Cissy I love and miss her." Her uncle nodded and kissed her again.

"I'll tell her." Her father turned to the boys.

"Make sure you keep your distance from that nutter. Don't let him push you around." They both nodded. Hermione waved as they both started for the stairs that would take them down to the ground floor. Uncle Sev ran a hand down her hair.

"If he comes near you, send me a patronus." After kissing her forehead, he stalked off towards the dungeons as well. Finally, she turned to Draco and Harry.

"I'm sorry for scaring you both. I couldn't answer when you were asking me questions." Harry smiled at her while Draco tugged one of her curls.

"We understand. Let's go to the kitchen, we need to get something to eat." Hermione smiled.

Maybe things wouldn't end on such a terrible note after all.

-O-

Sirius had just sent off the most difficult letter of his life. Minerva had looked through the roster and discovered that Juliet was actually a half-blood, meaning that Helena had at least been a muggleborn. How he hadn't realized that she had been a witch he didn't know but he supposed that would have to be a conversation to be had in person.

He had regretted how he had treated Helena from day one. He had seen her several times and when he had started to develop feelings for her, he had done a runner. The last thing that he wanted to do was drag what he thought was a muggle into a war that would surely get her killed. Since he had given her a false name, like he always did to muggle women, she would have had no way to contact him if he was indeed the father of young Juliet. However, he didn't know how she would be able to deny it since it was clear she was a Black by just looking at her.

The letter he had just sent off was to her mother. In it, he had begged her to meet him, even if she was married or otherwise. He had had to uncomfortably explain that he was the man who had seen her several times before leaving her high and dry, that he had given her a false name. He knew that shite was probably going to hit the fan when she read it but he couldn't let it go by the wayside. If Juliet was his daughter, she deserved the recognition and care that came along with it. She deserved to have a father that loved her.

The only difficult part of it was going to be Hermione. While she didn't seem opposed to the idea of having a sister, the last thing he wanted was another situation like Harry. He would have to talk every step over with her because he refused to have her throw her ring at him again. Even though she was technically his niece, she was family and the rightful Black heir. It was a known fact that Sirius had only been named heir because the rightful heir, his brother, had died. While he could probably argue that any son he had would be the rightful heir, he wouldn't do that to Hermione. The title of Lord Black would be his until she had a son to pass the title to.

Cissy had already been by to ask him about this new daughter of his. He knew that Juliet would never take Hermione's place but Cissy would never say no to having another girl in the family. He had told her that he sent a letter to her mother and it was up to her now. He really hoped that she would agree to meet with him.

As for Moody, he and Lucius had both filed official complaints with the Board but he doubted that they would get rid of the Master Auror. Sure, he would get a formal reprimand in his file but they wouldn't want to dismiss the first "qualified" defense professor in many years. Sirius could only shake his head at the thought that they felt a man who cast Unforgivables in front of children was more qualified than a werewolf.

Sirius had already contacted Madam Cambridge and Remus both. While she could go to Hogwarts once a week, it would be up to Remus to go the other time they had class. He seemed genuinely excited about it so Sirius was happy to offer him employment. Nobody could say the man didn't need it.

Their friendship had gotten a little better since they had started being around each other again. It was still tense at times but they were becoming more relaxed around each other. Sirius knew that the man still wanted to rekindle their relationship but he just wasn't sure that he could do that. Many things had been said and done between them and there were some things you just couldn't come back from. As much as it pained him, he didn't think that he and Remus were going to work out. He would always love him and hold a special place in his heart but there needed to be trust in a relationship and he wasn't sure he could ever trust the man again, not like that.

Sirius was happy to hear from Harry that things were getting a little better with Hermione. He told him that she was far from warm but she didn't turn him away and she stood up to her friends for him. It was heartwarming to hear; the last thing he wanted was for the children to hate each other. He, however, was staying out of it, just as he had promised Hermione. Fixing things with Hermione was up to Harry now.

He was worried about his daughter's frame of mind at the moment. He had never seen her magic flare so strongly. However, she seemed completely in control of it, blasting the castle rather than the people in the room with her. The most that anyone could complain about was a sore hind end from being blasted back. He was quite proud of her to be honest. That she had mastered even a small part of her ridiculous amount of magical power was phenomenal.

Sirius threw back his whiskey and set the glass on the table next to his favorite arm chair. There was nothing else he could do tonight except crawl in bed. They had done what they could about Moody and the children's education and he had done all he could about Juliet. Nothing could move forward until he had responses from other parties. Therefore, he felt no guilt for standing up wearily, leaving the library behind, and taking himself to bed.

A/N- Holy hell, so much going on in this chapter. Just a little food for thought, Juliet is going to have a French mother, hence the name Juliet. However, when I looked up the name, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was also the name of one of Uranus' moons, fitting in with the Black family perfectly. I know this came out of nowhere but I agreed with AnaWayne that it was a curveball that nobody would expect. Anyways, thanks to everyone out there still supporting this crazy story. You guys are my heroes. Let me know what you think, reviews make me smile.

Next chapter, Tri-Wizard Tournament is announced and other schools arrive at Hogwarts.

Love,

Alicia


	67. Chapter 67

A/N- I am back, y'all, with a new laptop, and I am so excited to get this chapter written. Don't get me wrong, I'm so frustrated that I have to completely rewrite this chapter but I suppose that it could have been way worse. To those out there that were patient while I dealt with my family drama, thank you. My sister in law was pulled over and arrested for possession of two different drugs while having her two year old daughter in the vehicle. Both children are placed with their grandparents now so all is as well as it can be. Anyways, enough for now because I want to get this chapter out now!

**Shout out to starlite22 for being my 3000th reviewer. You da bomb, girl!**

Disclaimer: I don't own anything about this story except my own personal twist. The story idea originally belonged to Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle and the characters belong to our queen. I haven't made any money from this story or any other as evidenced by the lack of funds in my bank account.

Chapter 67

October 31, 1994

Hermione smiled indulgently at her sister as she chattered on about her plans for the day over breakfast. Apparently, she planned to meet with her friends in the library before sitting with Hermione and Draco for the drawing of names that evening.

It hadn't taken long for Helena Bardon to answer her father's letter. She had met him the very next day. Hermione had received a detailed letter from him the very next day telling her everything. Even though Helena assured him that Juliet was indeed his daughter, he wanted to know what her thoughts were on him taking the final steps in making her a part of their house. He made quite clear that if she was opposed to it that he would drop the whole thing and leave well enough alone.

Hermione had considered telling him to do just that. It had taken her three days of hard thinking before she realized that she couldn't do that to Juliet. After that first night of sitting with Hermione, the girl had taken to sitting with her almost every day. She truly liked the young Gryffindor and Juliet seemed to adore her. Therefore, she had written her father back and told him to commence with the official blood test that had to take place with Gringotts.

Hermione and Juliet had been taken from Hogwarts for an afternoon by her father to meet with Helena at Gringotts. She had been oddly nervous, why she wasn't sure, but she laid that at the feet of her father. She still remembered him telling her how he had started to develop feelings for this woman before he had left her.

Her nerves had been for nothing. Helena had been quite nice. Juliet had been excited to see her mother and even more so to introduce her to Hermione. Her father had been quiet, tipping Hermione off to the fact that he had been ridiculously nervous himself. She was just unsure if it was because of Helena or Juliet. They had made their way to Gringotts and the Black account manager, Fury Bolt, had taken Juliet's blood and tested it against her father's. It had come back positive. The inclusion of Juliet into the Black family had only been another short procedure, one that touched Hermione down deep. It was in that moment that she decided to embrace Juliet with everything she had and make sure that she felt like she was a part of the family. Her father had reassured her that Juliet would never be his heir and she believed him. There was no reason for her to not embrace her.

Helena had been quiet the whole time, almost offish, but Hermione hadn't blamed her. She probably wouldn't have been any different if someone that had fathered her child had dropped her cold and then reappeared twelve years later to claim his child. She was sure that it was disconcerting to say the least.

Since then, Hermione had spent as much time as possible with her sister. Juliet adored her and spent as much time as she could with her. She had figured that there would be quite a bit of fallout for the young Gryffindor but to her surprise, there hadn't been. Slytherin had embraced her wholeheartedly but that was no surprise. Juliet had reported no problems in Gryffindor but she knew that Harry, Neville, and the twins looked after her.

Harry was her favorite person aside from Hermione herself. Juliet made no effort to hide it. Harry doted on her and was always seen walking with her in the corridors, laughing about who knew what. They both frequented the Slytherin table often and he treated her like she was his little sister as much as she was Hermione's. In truth, Hermione appreciated it. Her name protected her from quite a bit but it probably didn't mean shite in the lion's common room. Harry, Neville, and the twins were the best that she could have asked for to look after her. Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw didn't seem to have much to say about Juliet either way, at least not when she was around.

Draco nudged her as the bell rang, smirking at her clear inattention to her meal.

She glared at him for a moment before she cast her gaze around the table, trying to figure out why she felt like someone was staring at her. When her eyes found Viktor Krum, she shouldn't have been surprised.

Three days before at breakfast, Dumbledore had stood before the school and announced that a tradition was about to be reinstated, one that hadn't been in play since 1792. The Triwizard Tournament was coming to Hogwarts and students from both Durmstrang and Beauxbatons would be coming along with it. Everyone had been thrilled, it had been the talk of the day until dinner when the students from the other schools arrived.

Beauxbatons had arrived in a carriage pulled by abraxan horses and Hermione had instantly thought of Bluebell. The girls from France had shown up in October in the lightest of silk robes, garnering all the attention of the boys of Hogwarts. Draco had personally been seeing two of the girls since they had arrived, putting Pansy out quite soundly.

The boys from Durmstrang had arrived in a ship that had come up from the depths of the Black Lake, in the heaviest of robes with fur capes. Their Headmaster was also a confirmed Death Eater, Uncle Sev taking them aside afterwards to make sure to tell them to keep their distance. Moody had made his displeasure with Karkaroff's presence known quite loudly but Dumbledore seemed to have it in hand.

Dumbledore had stood before all three schools and with the help of representatives from the Ministry, explained the rules of the Tournament. There was to be an age line drawn around the Goblet of Fire, the ancient magical artefact that would determine who the champions from each school would be, to make sure that nobody under the age of seventeen was chosen due to the deaths that had occured in the past. Next, the champions that were chosen would enter a binding magical contract, meaning that if they didn't compete to the best of their ability, they would lose their magic. Other than that, there was really nothing else to do except wait the traditional three days to give students the opportunity to enter their names.

Since the students from Durmstrang had arrived, Viktor Krum among them, they had sat with the Slytherins. So far none of them had spoke to Hermione or any of her friends but she could feel Viktor's eyes on her and the rest of her friends had noticed it as well. Harry had even commented on it, and Draco had found it humorous for some reason. She wasn't sure about his reasoning for it but had just left it alone.

Juliet gave her a quick side hug before hurrying off to meet with her friends so Hermione turned to meet Draco's gaze. He offered her his arm and turned his head to see if Harry was coming across the Hall to walk with them. After waiting just a few moments, Harry caught up to them and grinned at them. Hermione felt her heart stutter for just a second but she quickly averted her eyes so nobody could see her one weakness.

"You guys know what we're going to do in Runes today?" Draco shook his head.

"No, I don't think Professor Babbling said." Hermione tuned them out as the conversation turned to quidditch. It didn't take them long to find their way to Ancient Runes and to take their seats. Harry was seated at their table with them, something that he had taken to doing with them. As much as she was trying to stay aloof with him, it was getting more and more difficult to do. She knew that she was setting herself up to get hurt again but he was right; slowly and surely, he was proving to her that he wasn't going to hurt her like he had before.

Professor Babbling started their lecture, runic wards and how they're applied in the real world. It was an interesting lecture but it wasn't anything that Hermione hadn't already learned before. Harry was taking furious notes next to her and for a moment she considered taking pity on him and making him a copy of her notes from all her studies with Madam Cambridge. She knew that he was taking lessons with her still, the same as she and Draco were, but he was still a full year behind them. It would help him catch up. She would speak with Draco about it later and see what he thought about it. He would probably agree since she knew that they were already becoming fast friends.

Professor Babbling assigned them an essay over the lecture due the next class period. Hermione gathered her things and stowed them carefully in her satchel while Harry and Draco did the same. They left Ancient Runes and Draco gave her a quick kiss to the side of her head before he and Harry headed off to Divination while she made her way to Magical Theory with Professor McGonagall. It was one of her all-time favorite classes because she felt that you couldn't truly understand the practical side of things without understanding the theory. Of course, every single other person in her family disagreed with her but that mattered not to her.

The hour and a half class was pleasantly spent, the class small since not many students were all that interested in theory. However, it was a requirement for the spell crafting class that came after the O.W.L. and that was what she really couldn't wait for. She had already invented a few spells of her own though they weren't very good and they weren't very difficult. Her godfather had still been proud of her and she had vowed to do better.

Professor McGonagall, while still strict in her Transfiguration classes, was far more laid back in her Magical Theory classes. She still had the same high expectations but it was clear that since there were less students that the rules were just a little less lax. Since there were so few students, there was only one O.W.L. class and third through fifth year all attended it. The only other fourth year that attended with her was Lisa Turpin, a Ravenclaw that Hermione knew spent personal time with Harry.

After they were dismissed with a two foot essay over just how a spell worked when you put differing amounts of power into it, Hermione hurried out of class towards the Great Hall. While she didn't have anything personal against Lisa, she didn't want to get friendly with her because she didn't think that her heart could take it. The girl always tried to get with her and make plans to do homework together. She knew that it was immature of her but she couldn't help it.

Hermione ended up traveling the corridors at the same time as the Durmstrang students. All the students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons had classes on their own, away from Hogwarts. Of course, the castle provided them with a lab for Potions class, but that was as far as it went. They were allowed to use their library and they took their meals in the Great Hall with everyone else but they also roomed in their carriage and ship respectively.

At the exact moment that Hermione reached the door of the Great Hall, Viktor did as well. The other Durmstrang students were crowding behind her, laughing at something in Bulgarian. Viktor held up his hand and all fell quiet behind her. She met his gaze for a moment before he bent at the waist, bowing before her. She felt her cheeks color at his show of etiquette. After he stood straight again, he reached out and held the door open for her, waiting patiently for her to pass through. Once she was through, she turned and curtsied as manners called for.

The Great Hall as a whole fell silent at the exchange. Hermione didn't wait for another exchange, just smiled at the Bulgarian boy and turned on her heel, making her way to her usual seat next to Draco. Harry was seated across from him while Juliet was at the Gryffindor table with her best girlfriend. The rest of the table was silent as the Bulgarians took their seats down the way next to the seventh years. It was several minutes later when Daphne finally broke the silence.

"Did Viktor Krum just open the door for you?" Hermione nodded, trying her best to keep her cheeks their usual alabaster color. It would do no good to blush in front of the whole of their peers.

"Yes, he did. What was he supposed to do?" Draco laid an arm around her shoulders.

"Was he a gentleman?" She gave him a shy smile.

"Of course he was. He bowed to me and then opened the door." He kissed the side of her head before letting his arm fall and turning back to his meal.

"That's all I care about then." Hermione glanced up to see that Harry's face had darkened but he said nothing. She started to dish up some of the vegetable soup and roast beef sandwiches that were in front of her, picking at the meal while everyone started to talk around her. There wasn't much of interest in conversation around her, some chatter about the latest prediction of Harry's death in Divination. She still wasn't sure why they all took that utter waste of time but she supposed that it was an easy passing grade. She was just of the opinion that she would rather work harder at getting a good grade than she would at listening to complete and utter tripe disguised as a class.

It was no time at all before the bell rang again, dismissing them again to their next class, Care of Magical Creatures this time. Harry, who usually kept with his own friends or stayed on Draco's other side, stayed on her side the whole time, which confused her to no end.

-O-

Harry watched Hermione through the corner of his eye. He knew that he had no right to be angry or jealous but he couldn't help but admit that he was. He had the biggest crush on Hermione and it was clear that Viktor was interested in her. Everyone was talking about how he stared at her during every meal. While he had no problem with the Bulgarian specifically, he couldn't help but wonder why a man who was eighteen years old would be interested in a witch that was just barely fifteen years old? The only reason he could think of was her name and fortune and Harry knew that Hermione deserved better than that.

Harry was still surprised that Juliet had taken to Hermione with as much ease as she had. He had been friendly with her since she had been sorted into Gryffindor, he had talked to her several times while she struggled with her homesickness. He still felt quite dim when he realized that he hadn't once made the connection that his godfather was indeed her father.

Juliet had confided in him that while she was excited to have a father, she had never had one after all, she was most excited to have a sister. She was exchanging letters with Sirius, that much he knew, but their relationship was nowhere near the one that she had cultivated with Hermione. Frankly, it made him just a little jealous that he didn't have a sibling.

Harry was walking next to Hermione, trying to keep an eye on her rather than the French girl that was trying to catch his eye just a few paces away. He had taken his father's advice to heart and was doing his best to keep his liaisons private. The French girl in question had been a wonderful snogging partner the night before but he wasn't about to make it exclusive like she wanted to. He was quite firm in that so if she couldn't handle that, he would just leave her be. It would be sad, really, because she was quite lovely; not as lovely as Hermione, mind you, but a good stand in.

They were on their way to Care of Magical Creatures and Hagrid was excited to teach them about fire crabs. Harry had actually learned about them over the summer with Madam Cambridge so it wasn't near as exciting for him but he supposed that it was for the rest of the class. They left the castle together, Harry and the fourth year Slytherins. He was sure that Ron was going to be angry with him for sitting with them for both lunch and dinner but he had promised Juliet that he would sit there for dinner as well.

The weather outside was cool, almost cold, but that was expected in Scotland at the end of October. Harry watched Hermione cast a warming charm on herself and he smiled to himself and the sight of it. While he wasn't all that cold, she probably was freezing. She was the tiniest thing he had ever seen, far smaller than most girls he knew. He had asked Sirius why she was so small once over the summer and his godfather had told him that her mother had been extremely small and her aunt had served as a role model when it came to eating the smallest amount of food as possible. Harry had expressed concern that she was starving herself at that information but his godfather had just laughed before assuring him that her health scans were all perfectly normal.

Hagrid was waiting for them, wearing no cloak whatsoever, with a smile on his face. After they were all gathered around, he launched into his lecture on fire crabs. They were interesting creatures but not anything that were personally interesting to Harry. Even though he wouldn't be able to approach them, he was excited for the lesson on unicorns that would come later in the year.

Since there were only a few fire crabs for the class, they were split into larger groups than usual to try to feed them. Hagrid had explained that they would have to demonstrate how to feed them for their O.W.L. practicals so it was mandatory that they all practice. Harry found himself in a group with Hermione, Draco, Ron, Daphne, and Seamus. Seamus and Ron glared at everyone while Daphne stared at the ground, Hermione acted as though they didn't exist and Draco glared back. Since it didn't look as though it was going to end anytime soon, Harry turned to Hermione.

"You want to go first, Mia?" She looked up, startled at the use of her pet name. He had vowed that he was going to start using it in front of others, not just when she was upset. Rather than tell him to fuck off, though, she gave him a shy smile and nodded. Seamus, however, sneered his way.

"Aww, how sweet. A pet name." Harry snapped his gaze to a boy that he had considered his friend.

"Shove off, Seamus. She's family so watch what you say." Draco appeared to be itching for a fight because he stepped forward.

"Harry can call her whatever he wants. You, however, may call her Miss Black." Harry couldn't believe it but Ron stepped forward and put a hand to both Seamus' chest and Draco's, holding them apart.

"Enough, you two. Just do the fucking assignment so we can get the fuck out of here." Harry shot his best mate a grateful glance as the two of them backed off from each other, Draco glancing at Daphne. In that moment, Harry understood that it wasn't about Hermione today. It was about Daphne. Draco was sweet on the blonde and it was hard to forget the confrontation at the beginning of the year between Seamus and Daphne.

Hermione successfully fed the fire crab and Draco gestured for Daphne to go next. Afterwards, the boys took turns, all in silence. Hagrid came around and monitored their progress and complimented them on their success. He was a little stilted around Hermione and Draco and Harry couldn't blame him. He had gotten in trouble because of the pair of them, though it had been deserved. Neither one of them were overly friendly with him as the Gryffindors were but neither were rude either.

Hagrid dismissed them as soon as they were finished and they were due in Herbology next. They started off for the greenhouses next, Hermione renewing the warming charm on her robes on the way. Draco was speaking softly to Hermione behind them while Ron was chastising Seamus behind them. Harry fell in step with Hermione and decided that if he didn't speak now he would lose the nerve.

"I'm sorry if me calling you Mia made you uncomfortable." She turned startled eyes towards him, almost as though she couldn't believe that he was talking to her. She gave him a small smile before turning her eyes forward again.

"I wasn't uncomfortable, just surprised. Draco only calls me Mia in public, it's usually Miney. He's called me that since we were in nappies. I don't mind though." He smiled at her, considering this a small win.

"I'm glad. I like that we're family." She gave him a shy smile again and he was struck again at how beautiful she was.

"I like it too."

They fell silent again and traversed the grounds to the greenhouses. Once inside the greenhouse used for lectures, they took their usual seats, which meant that he was at a table with Ron. Everyone was still coming in, talking and laughing softly and who knew what. Harry leaned over and bumped shoulders with Ron.

"Thanks for breaking that up, mate." Ron rolled his eyes at him but nodded.

Professor Sprout appeared shortly after the last student did and started her lecture on gillyweed. This was one plant that Harry didn't remember learning about so he made sure to take immaculate notes for the essay that would surely be assigned later. He noticed that Hermione and Draco once again didn't need to take notes, just compared the lecture to the notes they already had spread out in front of them. What he wouldn't give for a set of notes like theirs.

Harry started his essay with the last ten minutes of class before Professor Sprout dismissed them. It was more than he could say for Ron, who instead laid his head on the table and promptly fell asleep. When the bell rang, dismissing them, he snorted loudly and sat up, eyes wild until he realized where he was. Harry snorted in amusement at his friend, gathering his belongings so they could make their way to the castle together.

Ahead of him, Hermione had her arm threaded through Daphne's while Draco was deep in a conversation with Blaise. The girls were giggling softly, something that Harry didn't see very often. Ron was silent next to him until they reached the castle. As they entered the Entrance Hall, he groused at him.

"You're going to eat with them again, aren't you?" Harry sighed, knowing this was going to happen.

"I promised Juliet that I would sit with her over there for the names coming out of the Goblet of Fire." Ron blew an irritated breath out from between his lips.

"I don't understand why you cater to that firstie. I get that she's Black's family but she isn't your family." Harry glared at his friend.

"Let's get one thing straight. Juliet is Sirius' daughter and Hermione's sister. Sirius is my godfather, the only family I have left. His family is my family. For you to tell me that she isn't family is insulting." Ron rolled his eyes again, blowing him off.

"For the love of Merlin, Harry, you're acting like a girl. Quit being so sensitive. Go sit with your bloody snakes. I'll see you after." Harry glared at him as he walked towards the lion's table but let it go in the end. It wouldn't get him anywhere in the end anyways.

Harry strode across the Great Hall and took the seat next to Hermione at the Slytherin table since Juliet had taken the seat across from her and Draco, next to Daphne. The small Gryffindor was enamored with Daphne's blonde hair and always wanted to play with it and never passed up the chance to sit by her if she could. Hermione always laughed at her best friend, thinking it humorous as anything.

Dumbledore appeared at the High Table with a man named Barty Crouch, Sr. and Percy Weasley, his new assistant. He announced to everyone that they would enjoy a feast before the Goblet would choose the school champions. Mountains of food appeared before them and everyone seemed thrilled, even though they had just had a feast three days before when Durmstrang and Beauxbatons had arrived.

All the students ate with gusto. Harry himself had three plates of excellent food, though he had to admit that Dot's cooking at Black Moor was better. He loved that Dobby followed him to Hogwarts and took such good care of him besides but he had nothing on Dot's cooking. He had told Hermione that once over the summer and she had just laughed at him, telling him to never tell Dot that because her head would swell and they would never hear the end of it and she would never quit shoving food in their faces.

Juliet entertained them with stories of herself and her friends throughout the day. Hermione listened closely and replied appropriately, always paying her the attention she deserved. Draco was brought into the conversation several times and was always respectful. While he was kind and treated her well, it was clear that he wasn't ever going to be as close to Juliet as he was to Hermione. Harry had to give it to him that he wasn't jealous of the attention she gave her sister in the least.

Finally, after everyone had eater their fill, the dishes all disappeared from the tables and Dumbledore stood, raising his hands in the air to bring silence to the room. All the students fell silent, excitement clear on their faces. It was evident which students entered their names into the Goblet by the looks of nervousness and terror on their faces.

"The time has come for the Goblet to choose which students will represent our three schools in the Triwizard Tournament. The students that wished to enter wrote their names and schools down on a slip of parchment and then put it inside. If it comes back out, you've been chosen. Remember, though, if you're chosen, you must participate to the best of your abilities or you will lose your magic. You were all warned before the Goblet was activated so I hope that you all took that into consideration before entering." Harry was excited to see who would be representing Hogwarts. The Goblet turned a brilliant blue before the flames shot up and spit out a piece of parchment. Dumbledore caught it deftly and read it silently before speaking.

"The Hogwarts' champion is Cedric Diggory." All of the Hogwarts students went wild, even the Slytherins. Hermione was clapping happily next to him and he wondered briefly if she thought that Cedric was handsome like the rest of the girls in Hogwarts did. Hufflepuff was the loudest, though, and Harry couldn't blame them. Being chosen to represent Hogwarts was an honor and it wasn't often that Hufflepuff was honored above the other houses. Cedric rose to his feet at the Headmasters urging and followed his instructions to go through the room behind the High Table. He turned his attention the Goblet as it once again turned blue and shot out another piece of parchment. The Headmaster caught it once again.

"The Beauxbatons champion is Fleur Delacour." All the French in residence began cheering in French and Harry once again wished that Sirius had gotten around to starting to teach him French over the summer. Draco had promised to start teaching him once the schools had arrived but they hadn't had a chance to start yet. He would have to remind him to move it up in his priorities. The rest of the students clapped politely, Hermione included, though the males appeared to be drooling. Hermione caught his eye and grinned before leaning over and whispering in his ear.

"I'm fairly certain she's at least part veela." Harry nodded, goosebumps erupting over his skin at the feel of her breath. This made him wonder why he wasn't affected, however. Was he really some sort of freak like his aunt and uncle said? After Fleur had followed after Cedric and disappeared behind the High Table, the Goblet flamed blue again and once again shot a slip of parchment out of the flames. Dumbledore smiled as he caught it and read it aloud.

"The Durmstrang champion is Viktor Krum." The whole Hall went wild again, the Durmstrang students chanting and fist pumping in Bulgarian. Hermione was grinning fit to bear, clapping politely, as the famous seeker met her gaze before standing and following the same way Cedric and Fleur had gone. Harry wanted to scowl at her behavior but just barely refrained, not wanting to give away how he felt about her since he knew it would never be reciprocated.

Chatter had just broke out through the Great Hall when the Goblet turned blue once more and the flames shot out the top. Another slip of parchment flew through the air and Dumbledore just barely caught it before it hit the ground. Harry had a bad feeling when he saw the look of fury on the Headmaster's face.

"Harry Potter." Harry felt his heart drop into his gut and he couldn't move, he couldn't even speak. He knew exactly how Hermione had felt after thinking that Moody had killed her mother. Hermione reached out and squeezed his knee, her nails digging into the skin there. Dumbledore sounded livid as he spoke again.

"Harry Potter." Harry wasn't sure what he was supposed to do until Hermione elbowed him sharply.

"You have to go up there. I'll get daddy up here. Don't worry." Harry felt his himself loosen up just a little at her words and nodded. He rose to his feet and once he was standing, he was surprised to find that Hermione went to her feet and started applauding as hard as she could. Draco and Juliet were quick to follow, Daphne was on her feet next. The rest of the fourth year Slytherins aside from Theo were next. By the time Harry made his way to the Dumbledore, the whole Hall was applauding him. The Headmaster said nothing, just gestured for him to go through the room behind the High Table where the rest of the champions had gone.

Harry went through the door to find that the champions were conversing quietly with their Headmasters, or Headmistress in Fleur's case. Cedric was speaking quietly with Professor McGonagall while Severus and Moody watched on in silence. When they all realized that he was watching them, Fleur frowned at him.

"Do zey need us out zere?" Harry shook his head but said nothing. His Head of House narrowed her eyes at him while Severus strode his way. He laid a heavy hand on his shoulder, trying to look intimidating but in actuality probing gently on his mind. Harry put the memory to the forefront of his mind and let the man view it.

"What have you done, Potter?" There was a familiar sneer on his face but he could feel the almost gentle caress of the man's mind against his, showing that he wasn't angry at him. He was saved from answering by the Headmaster flying through the doors and slamming Harry into the wall behind him. His hand banged painfully off the wall and he heard his Head of House howl in protest.

"Did you put your name in the Goblet of Fire, Harry?" Harry shook his head.

"No, Headmaster, I would never do that. I was looking forward to a year where I didn't have to face certain death." Even though it couldn't have been more than ten minutes since his name had come out of the Goblet, the door banged open and his godfather strode in, his wand in hand. Everyone could see the insanity reflecting there as he pointed it at Dumbledore.

"You release my godson right now or I'll kill you where you stand." Harry watched as Hermione, Draco, and Juliet rushed through the door and over to him, Hermione taking his arm and pulling him away from the Headmaster and into the midst of them. As a group, they pulled him behind her father. Sirius was positively growling.

"I've allowed a lot of things to happen in this school, Albus, but make no mistake. Anyone who touches my godson will meet the business end of my wand." Harry could feel Hermione trembling against him and he wrapped an arm around her, holding her close while his other arm held Juliet tight in a hug against the front of him. Dumbledore held his hands up in surrender and Sirius finally slid his wand back up his sleeve.

"I apologize. I wasn't trying to harm the boy, I'm trying to figure out what is going on here. There was an age line drawn around the Goblet, he shouldn't have been able to enter his own name." Harry breathed in deep, memorizing Hermione's scent.

"I didn't enter my own name. I didn't even go near the bloody Goblet." Dumbledore narrowed his eyes.

"Did you have one of the older students put your name in?" Harry shook his head vehemently. Hermione, though she was still trembling slightly, sneered his way.

"Harry would never enter his name in something like this. The fact that you disbelieve him is insulting." The Headmaster sighed again and Harry thought he heard Draco softly chuckling next to him.

"I'm not trying to be insulting. I'm worried about how this happened. Harry now has to compete to the best of his ability or he'll lose his magic." Sirius looked as if he had been punched in the gut. Apparently, Hermione hadn't filled him in completely. However, he rallied quickly.

"That may be, but don't for a second think I'm going down without a fight. I'll be contacting Jamison Leevy directly after leaving here. I'm sure that he'll have something to say about this whether it's good or bad. He's the best solicitor in magical Britain when it comes to magical contracts." Dumbledore nodded, clearly relieved.

"Very good, I hope that he can find a way around Harry having to compete. This is a disaster." Madam Maxime sounded quite put out when she spoke.

"Dis is not fair. Hogwarts should not get anozzer champion while we get only one." Dumbledore nodded and turned to Crouch, Sr., who had entered at some point.

"What are your thoughts on the matter, Barty?" Crouch appeared contemplative for a few moments before speaking.

"We have no say in the matter. Lord Black is going to do all he can to get the Potter scion out of the competition. If that cannot happen, he must compete. The Goblet has gone out so there is no null and voiding the contract now, let alone asking for more champions. These champions will stand if he is forced to compete." Though nobody looked happy about it, nobody said anything against his word. Slowly but surely, the other champions and their Heads left to go celebrate with the rest of their students. Finally, it was just Harry, his family, Dumbledore, Severus, McGonagall, and Moody left. Severus broke the silence.

"You know the boy's bait, Albus." Harry still had his arm around Hermione so he felt her breath hitch but she was otherwise silent. Sirius looked livid but it was McGonagall that beat them all in speaking.

"We can't let him compete when he's bait. He's fourteen, and they're fully qualified wizards and witches. He'll be slaughtered." It was Draco that spoke next.

"We can't let him lose his magic. Besides, he won't be alone. He'll have Hermione and I to help him, not to mention Remus and Madam Cambridge. Trust me, he'll be prepared." Moody spoke next.

"I'll help the boy prepare as well." Sirius turned a cold eye to Moody now.

"You won't go near my godson. If I remember correctly, there is supposed to be no help from the school personnel. Remus and Madam Cambridge don't count since they aren't employed by Hogwarts but by me personally. Like I told you before, stay away from my family. In fact, that goes for Juliet now as well." Moody glared at his godfather but remained silent. It was Dumbledore that finally spoke.

"As much as I hope that Harry doesn't have to compete, I am certain that he will have to. This being said, if he does compete, we can discover who has set him up and why. I think that we should all keep a very close eye on the situation and report anything that we might consider to be suspicious." Moody snorted.

"You don't consider having a Death Eater from abroad in house suspicious?" The Headmaster sighed as he turned to Severus.

"Watch over Igor." Severus gave him a sharp nod though Harry knew that he hadn't even needed to have it asked of him. Sirius spoke again.

"I think I need to speak to my family before I leave." Dumbledore nodded and started to usher everyone out. Sirius spoke again.

"Please have Professor Snape stay so he can escort my children back to the dungeons. I'll place him under a silencing charm myself. I can take Juliet and Harry back to Gryffindor Tower myself." Harry wanted to grin. He had just made sure that Severus was able to stay for their family discussion. Once everyone else was gone and privacy wards and silencing charms were put up, Sirius sighed heavily.

"Any ideas who would do this to you, pup?" Harry reluctantly released Hermione and Juliet and raked a hand through his hair.

"No, I mean, the only people who hate me enough is Voldemort. Sure, there are a couple people that don't like me but they're all too young to put my name in." HIs godfather sighed again.

"I figured as much. You have any ideas, Severus?" The Slytherin shook his head.

"As much as I hate to agree with Moody about anything, I do think it's possible that Karkaroff could be behind it. He turned on all the Death Eaters at the end of the first war and killing off Harry Potter would be a sure way to put himself back in good graces. However, I never got the impression that he was bright enough to fool a powerful magical artefact." Sirius nodded.

"Alright, well it's better than nothing I suppose. I know it's cheating, but if I can't get him out of competing, can I count on you to help him out in training as well?" Severus looked offended.

"I can't believe you even have to ask." Sirius barked a laugh.

"I would never assume old friend." He paused for only a second. "You aren't coming around as much." Severus shook his head.

"It's hard to get away with Moody up my arse all the time. He's convinced that I'm doing everything in my power to bring back the Dark Lord." Sirius gave him a rueful smile.

"We understand. You're missed though." Severus nodded but said nothing. Sirius turned back to Harry and the rest of them.

"I want the four of you to watch out for each other. There is something going on behind the scenes and we don't know what. You're all smart and so be on the lookout. Help Harry train like Draco said. I'll be in touch." Hermione was first, floating into her father's arms and hugging him close. He kissed her forehead and whispered softly in her ear, though Harry couldn't hear about what. After she parted, Draco stepped forward and shook his hand before snagging Hermione's hand and pulling her towards Severus. However, Hermione stopped and turned back to Harry, pulling him into a quick hug.

"You aren't alone. We have your back and you're family now. We'll get through this." Her words touched him but he could only nod and smile at her gratefully. He watched her throw herself into her godfather's arms, telling him how much she missed being able to see him whenever she wanted to. They disappeared with her excited chatter.

Sirius gestured for Harry and Juliet to follow him and they were both quick to follow after him. They were quiet as he led them through Hogwarts to the seventh floor where Gryffindor Tower was located. He felt like someone was watching him and out of the corner of his eye, he saw a tabby cat perched in a window seat. Realizing that it was Professor McGonagall making sure that they made it back to the Tower alright, he filed the feeling to the back of his mind and focused on his godfather as he hugged Juliet close. Their farewell wasn't as heartwarming as Hermione's but that was to be expected. After he released her, she gave Harry a merry wave and disappeared into the portrait hole. Sirius turned to Harry and raked a hand through his hair.

"I'm going to do my best to get you out of this, pup. I don't like this and I don't like using you as bait. Your mum would have my hide if she were alive right now." Harry chuckled, knowing he should be far more worried than he actually was. He laid a hand on his godfather's arm.

"I know you will, Sirius. When my name was first called, I was freaking out. Hermione had to elbow me and tell me to go up there. She told me she was going to get you. Then you showed up and the three of them were right behind you, Severus too. Draco told everyone that not only would he and Hermione help me, so would Remus. Honestly, I'm not that scared because for the first time, I don't feel like I'm doing this alone. I feel like I have someone backing me up, helping me out. I know you're worried and I still want you to try to get me out of it but if you can't, don't make yourself sick over it. It's going to be okay." Sirius pulled him into a rough hug for a few moments before releasing him and ruffling his hair.

"Your parents would be proud of you. I know I am." Harry grinned at him but didn't say anything else, just climbed through the portrait hole. He didn't think that anything could bring him down.

How wrong he was.

The whole common room was full and they were apparently all waiting for him. Ron, Seamus, and Dean were the ones at the front, all extremely pissed off. Neville and the twins were further back and while they did look agitated, they didn't look angry. Ron immediately stepped forward and glared.

"How'd you do it?" Harry couldn't believe that his best mate would think that he would put his own name in the Goblet.

"I didn't. Why in the fuck would I put my name in the Goblet of Fire to compete in a tournament where I'm three years younger in age and magic than the other competitors?" Ron scoffed at him.

"You're so full of shite. We all know you did it. The least you could have done was tell us all how you did it so we could have all had a chance at the money." Harry should have known that was what it would boil down to. However, his best mate was calling him a liar and he wasn't going to stand for that. He pulled his wand and held it aloft.

"I swear on my magic that I didn't enter my own name into the Goblet of Fire and I didn't ask anyone to enter it for me. So mote it be." There was the customary flash from the tip of his wand and gasps around the room. However, Ron scoffed again.

"Oh please, you're best mates with Black and Malfoy, the two best students in school. You're telling me they haven't taught you how to fake a magical vow?" Harry couldn't believe that Ron was acting like this. Some of the people in Gryffindor looked convinced while others didn't. Therefore, he didn't feel bad when he started laughing in his friend's face. Ron's face turned so red it was purple.

"If you're stupid enough to believe that tripe, go for it. I really don't care what you believe. I guess I know who my real friends are." Without waiting for anyone to say a word, Harry made his way for the stairs to his dorm. However, he was stopped by Neville. The twins were standing behind him, clearly in agreement with his words.

"We want you to know that we believe you, Harry. We tried to tell everyone that you wouldn't do this but they all told us we were stupid to believe that." Harry gave them a forced grin.

"Thanks, guys. You're true friends and I appreciate it. Guess I'll be spending more time at the Slytherin table. You'll all be welcome there, you know." All three grinned at him.

"We'll see you there in the morning, Harry." Harry nodded and continued on his way.

He was ready for bed and in his honest opinion, he had earned it.

-O-

Sirius swirled his firewhiskey around in his glass as he watched the flames. He had just sent off his letter to Jamison Leevy, telling him to come to Black Moor at eleven the next morning. He hoped against hope that Harry was wrong, that they were all wrong, that he would be able to get out of competing, but he wasn't going to hold his breath.

Harry's words to him had touched him deep down. To know that his boy no longer felt as though he was alone meant that Sirius was finally doing his job, that he was finally among his family as he should have been from the start. He could only hope that James and Lily would approve. While he knew that neither approved of Severus and his life choices or Lucius and his, they had both made amends and changed their ways. He hoped that they would approve of them now.

Sirius had caught the way that Harry had wrapped his arm around Hermione. He knew that the boy had it bad for her and he was glad to see that she was finally warming up to him. It warmed his heart to see his family the way it should have been from the start. Juliet being thrown in was just icing on the cake. Harry seemed to adore Juliet as well, and she him.

Sirius still didn't have a wonderful relationship with the girl but that was to be expected. This had only been the third time that he had met her but they did exchange letters all the time. He was learning all about her and couldn't wait for the holidays so he could spend time with her on a more one on one basis. Hermione didn't seem to mind that he wanted to cultivate a relationship with her so he hoped that it held and she wouldn't mind him spending time with her at Christmas.

However, his letters to and from Harry revealed that Juliet was closest to Hermione. That made things easier for Sirius, knowing that his heir already loved his youngest daughter. According to his godson, she did. Truthfully, he wished that the relationship with her mother was going half as well but he couldn't say that in the least.

Helena had agreed to let Juliet take her rightful place in the Black family but that was as far as her involvement had went. While Sirius had made clear that he would like to reconcile and pick up where they had left off, she had made clear that she wasn't interested. When he had pressed her as to why, even though he knew why, she had told him that she didn't think that she could ever truly trust him to be there for her again because he had left her when she had needed him the most.

Sirius understood that, as that was exactly how he felt about Remus. However, they shared a child together and he wasn't going to go down without a fight. If they were going to fail, then he was going to be able to say that he gave it everything he had and there was nothing else that he could have done to sway her to give him another chance. When he had told her that, she had laughed at him. It had instantly pissed him off but he had bitten his tongue and restrained his magic; after all, this was the first step to proving to her that he was serious.

Since that day, they had met a couple times for coffee to compare notes on Juliet and how she was doing in school and make plans for the holiday. Helena wanted to split their time over the holiday but Sirius had vetoed that, telling her that Juliet would be sad to not get to see her mother the whole time. He had invited her to Black Moor over the holiday and had basically bullied her into accepting it. It had taken over an hour but she had finally capitulated. Sirius considered it a hard won victory but knew that he was going to have to bring his A game to keep her from thinking he was a completely selfish wanker for ditching her to her impoverished muggle home while pregnant while he lived in luxury.

Sirius threw back the rest of his whiskey and stood up; he needed to get to bed so he could meet up with Lucius before Leevy arrived in the morning. If the blond could swing it, Sirius wanted him to be there as well. They always worked better as a team. He would need to catch him before he went to the Wizengamot.

With one last sigh, he headed up the stairs to put himself to bed. Tomorrow was going to be another long day.

A/N- Holy balls, guys, how's that for getting back in the game? I hope you all enjoyed it! I am getting used to this new laptop so it's been a little slow going but thanks for being patient. Anyways, thanks again for being such awesome readers. Leave me a message after the beep and tell me what ya think.

Next chapter, Harry discovers what the first task is.

Love,

Alicia


	68. Chapter 68

A/N- I'm so glad that everyone enjoyed the comeback chapter. I'm telling you, it felt good to finally publish one. Anyways, I'm glad to hear that you all seemed to enjoy it. Thanks again for the being the completely awesome bunch that you are. You show me so much support and you have no idea how much I appreciate it. Enough for now, I really just wanna get another chapter out!

Disclaimer: None of this story belongs to me and I haven't made any money from this story or any other. I'm still a broke bitch so…

Chapter 68

November 12, 1994

Hermione watched as Harry made his way over to the Slytherin table for breakfast. Juliet was already seated by her and was going on about the latest test she had had in Transfiguration, worrying over every last question in much the same fashion Hermione had as a small child. Draco was on her other side but chatting with Blaise and Greg about some professional quidditch match that was supposed to be happening that upcoming weekend.

Harry plopped down next to Daphne across from Hermione and reached for toast. He gave her a small grin and she couldn't help but notice how tired he looked. Not that she blamed him. Hogwarts as a whole were complete arsehole wankers and were refusing to speak to him even though he had taken a vow on his magic that he hadn't entered his own name into the Goblet of Fire. While she wasn't surprised about Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw, she was surprised about Gryffindor. They were supposed to be the loyal house and they had turned on him quicker than a snitch.

It was for this reason that he had been adopted by the snakes full time. Sure, most of them had believed that he had entered his own name as well. However, they had been impressed that he had gotten around the age line drawn by the Headmaster. When they learned that he had taken a vow on his magic, they had instantly believed him, most of them being from old families and knowing exactly what could happen if he lied while performing one of those and knowing perfectly well that one of those couldn't be faked. After that, he had been fully embraced by the snakes.

Still, she knew that it hurt to be exiled by his own house. The only lions that had believed him and still talked to him were Neville and the twins and truth be told, they sat with them at the Slytherin table more often than not. Ron, Seamus, and Dean managed to call them all traitors at least once a day which made Hermione want to curse them but Harry always told her to just leave it alone and let him handle it. She was always reluctant but capitulated in the end.

Juliet turned her attention to Harry and started telling him about the same Transfiguration test and how she thought her mother was going to take it if she failed it. Harry laughed in the appropriate places and Hermione realized that the first year was trying to cheer him up. Juliet was a constant surprise to her and now that Hermione had heard from her mother, she couldn't help but wonder if she was part of the reason why.

*Flashback*

Hermione was seated at the breakfast table with Draco and Harry, Juliet was off with her friends at the library trying to cram for a test. They had just heard from her father about the Tournament and his meeting with Mr. Leevy the day before. Harry was going to have to compete to the best of his abilities or face the consequences of losing his magic. None of them were happy about it but Harry seemed the least worried about it. When he had been asked about it by Hermione, he had told her that for once in his life, he didn't feel like he was alone when he was facing something dangerous. Hermione had merely snorted at him and told him that he had never been alone, he had just never known about it.

An owl swooped down, a beautiful tawny owl with yellow eyes, and landed in front of her. The letter had a woman's script on the outside, spelling out her name so Hermione was quick to detach the letter. The owl didn't wait around for a response so she assumed that either one wasn't needed or they knew that she had owls available to her. She quickly spelled the letter open, surprised at the number of hexes on it, and began to read.

 _Hermione,_

 _I hope you don't think this is presumptuous of me to write but I wanted to thank you for taking Juliet under your wing and caring for her. She's never had anyone care for her but me so I'm sure that it's a novel experience for her, one that she's absolutely adoring._

 _I know that we know nothing of each other's situation but I want to remedy that. I know that you know your father wants to reconcile with me but I'm resisting. There are times that I think I should give in for Juliet's sake but I'm leery of doing so because of my past history. I'm going to share that with you in hopes that you will help Juliet understand when I finally tell her the truth. I hope this isn't too much to ask or makes you uncomfortable._

 _My mother was a muggleborn witch who couldn't find work in France. Her parents had died and she was struggling in the wizarding side of the world. She had just about given up when an older gentleman passed her in the equivalent of your Diagon Alley. He stopped her and asked to buy her coffee and a scone._

 _As it turned out, he was a pureblood lord who was married and already had an heir. His wife couldn't stand him, their marriage had been arranged, and he thought my mother was beautiful. He offered to put her up as his mistress and since my mother was desperate, she accepted. Over time, she fell in love with him and he with her. It was a complete accident that she fell pregnant with me._

 _I was born and they were both thrilled. His wife, less so. His son hated me and made no secret of it through the years. It was when I was almost sixteen that he came for me, determined to kill me. My mother was there and protected me. She called for my father and when he arrived, he ended up killing his son in protection of me. It broke him, somehow. Not only did he kill my mother in his fit of sorrow, he killed his wife as well._

 _He made me his heir, however. He wouldn't let me leave the house and he was scared to death that something would happen to me. He was paranoid and I think that at the end his thoughts were turning inappropriate. Just after I turned seventeen, I served him tea laced with Dreamless Sleep and escaped to Britain, hiding in the muggle world, pretending to be a muggle rather than a half blood. I know that he searches for me still, I pop back over to France once a year to see if he's still alive._

 _I loved him very much once upon a time and I wish that I could introduce him to Juliet but I could never do that and hope that he wouldn't fixate on her. He would try to do everything in his power to take her from me. I know your father thinks that I was just trying to do the right thing by letting him claim her as his but in truth, I was protecting her from him. My father is a pureblood lord but not an ancient and noble pureblood lord._

 _I had genuine feelings for your father before I realized who he was but now I'm scared to death what could happen if I trusted another lord. I know this is a lot to put on your shoulders, you're only fifteen after all, but eventually, I'll have to tell Juliet everything. I ask that you help her understand why I kept this from her, why I kept her grandfather from her._

 _I beg you, will you help me?_

 _Humbly yours,_

 _Helena Bardon_

Hermione was stunned at what she had read. She wondered if her father knew this story. Without second thought, she handed the letter to Draco and let him read it. Harry looked on curiously, and when Draco finished it Hermione handed it to him. It took him just a bit longer to finish it but when he finished it, he handed it back. Draco raised an eyebrow at her.

"Are you going to show that to your father?" Hermione grinched up her face but finally shook up her head.

"No, she trusted me with the information. She'll tell him when she trusts him not to be like her father. Until then, we're going to be silent and then help Juliet when she finally tells her the truth." Both boys nodded their agreement.

In that moment, she got the thought that they were both just following her lead.

*End of Flashback*

They had Transfiguration first so while Hermione was unworried, the rest of the snakes couldn't say that. They were all despairing since McGonagall had promised them a test. Hermione was checking her satchel to make sure that she had all the texts that she was going to need for the day when the table went completely silent around her. She raised her head to see just what had happened and found Viktor standing behind her. The bell rang in that moment. She went to her feet and Viktor took her hand, bowing over it and brushing the lightest of kisses over her knuckles.

"May I escort you to class, Miss Black?" Hermione knew that her cheeks were pink but she curtsied to him anyways.

"Yes, Mr. Krum." When she came out of her curtsy, Viktor was standing straight and was offering her his arm. She curled her hand into his elbow and allowed him to lead her out of the Great Hall. She knew that Draco and Harry were following closely behind but that didn't matter. This was the first time that she was being escorted somewhere without a technical chaperone and it was by Viktor Krum, the first boy to have the courage to ask her since she was old enough, not when she was eleven.

"Vhat class do you haff?" She tried to will her cheeks to lose their color.

"Transfiguration. Aren't you going to be late for class?" Viktor chuckled.

"I haff free period. You are very beautiful vitch." Hermione frowned just a little. Sure, she liked knowing that a wizard found her attractive but she wanted them to know she was smart too.

"I'm afraid if that's all you noticed about me, you shouldn't waste your time escorting me again, Mr. Krum. While every witch appreciates being told they're beautiful, they like being noticed for their other personality traits too." Viktor burst out laughing and Hermione wasn't sure what to think about that. When he finally quieted, he turned amused eyes to her, he reached out and brushed a wisp of hair back behind her ear.

"You adorable vitch. I only say beautiful because that's vhat most vitch's vant to hear. I know you love horses, you smart, you love family, and you loyal. You also most beautiful vitch I ever see." Hermione had no idea how he knew those things about her but he clearly didn't just think that she was beautiful. Therefore, she smiled at him before looking to the ground at her feet.

"I think you're quite handsome as well but I don't know anything about you except you play quidditch. Tell me about yourself." He was quiet for a few moments before speaking.

"I play seeker for Bulgarian National Team. I am heir for House Krum and have little brother and sister. Mother is healer. Favorite subject is Dark Arts and have crup." Hermione felt a little uneasy at hearing that his favorite class was Dark Arts but it was hard to hold onto that when he gave her an easy smile. However, it had to end there because they were just outside the Transfiguration classroom. Viktor bent over her hand and kissed her knuckles once more so she curtsied again.

"I vill see you again." Hermione gave him a nod and before she could speak, he was gone. Daphne was on her before she could even take in a breath.

"Sweet Merlin, Viktor Krum just escorted you to class!" Hermione let out a breathy laugh and let her best friend pull her into class. She could see Pansy glaring at her but she said nothing. Draco didn't look thrilled but he was smart enough to keep his mouth shut. It was Harry that looked livid. Once they were all seated, he leaned over and hissed in her direction.

"You're insane for letting an older man walk you to class. It's clear that he only wants one thing from you, well, two. Your name and your fortune. You're fifteen and he's eighteen." Hermione was scared to death that he was right so she knew that she was far more hateful than she should have been.

"You don't get to tell me who I can spend time with, Potter. I was publicly escorted, not spending time in an alcove. It's not like I was snogging or worse with him like you do with your fuck toys. Don't you dare judge me. Those girls only want you for your fame, your money, and your title. They are no different so don't you dare act like you're different." Harry reared back as if she had slapped him and while she felt bad that she had been so hateful, she didn't feel bad that she had put him in his place. She didn't tell him who he could spend time with so why did he get the right to tell her who she could spend time with? Draco just sat back and smirked at the pair of them and Hermione glared at him.

Professor McGonagall entered and immediately called the room to order before passing out the test that they were scheduled to have over cross-species switches. Hermione was quick to fill in the answers and hand it in, not even checking her answers. Draco was right behind her, Harry not far behind him. It really was boring sometimes to know that you were so far ahead that your classes were literally no challenge whatsoever.

After all the tests were handed in, McGonagall dismissed them even though it was just a few minutes early. Honestly, though, it was for the best since they had Care of Magical Creatures next. Hermione quickly gathered her things and flounced out of the classroom, not bothering to wait for anyone. She could hear Draco chuckling softly in the background but she didn't care.

Hermione made it clear out of the castle before she felt a soft hand on her elbow, gently turning her to look back. Harry was looking at her, contrite. She felt her heart soften just a little but she refused to give in without a heartfelt apology. He released her and raked a hand through his hair.

"I'm sorry, Mia, I shouldn't have been an arsehole. I know that I have no right to tell you who you can spend time with. I don't want to control you, I swear it. I just worry about some boy using you. Trust me, I know what the girls want from me and I've protected myself. No girl will trap me until I want to be trapped and that isn't going to happen anytime soon. I'm learning that things are different for women in the wizarding world and I just want to protect you from being used. I should have gone about it better though and I'm so sorry." Hermione felt her heart clench at his words about protecting himself from other girls. While she was happy that he was protecting himself from other girls, she hated that he was doing it too. It was just another reminder that he was intimate with other girls and she wasn't good enough for him. However, she tried to ignore those feelings and focus on how she felt about his apology.

"Thank you. I know you mean well and it means the world that you care. Trust me, I can take care of myself." Harry smiled at her and she could tell that he didn't believe her but since he didn't say anything, she let it go. After all, he was entitled to his opinion.

"Friends again?" She smiled and nodded again. He offered her his arm and she could admit that she was surprised. She had never seen him offer his arm to anyone and she didn't think that she would ever see him do so to her.

"Let me atone for my mistake, Miss Black, and escort you the rest of the way to Care of Magical Creatures." She could tell that he was trying to lighten the mood and be funny so she did the same, making a show of taking his arm and then dragging him along, not letting him escort her at all. Draco and Daphne had caught up and were laughing at them, as were the rest of the Slytherins. Hermione had to admit that it was fun but once they reached Hagrid, she knew that she had to pull back just a little. The last thing she needed to do was give herself hope that there was something there when there wasn't. Sure, they could slowly build into friendship but she didn't need to lie to herself and tell herself that he was interested in her.

Hagrid started his lecture on kneazles and Hermione compared her notes to what the half-giant was saying in his lecture. Since she was the only person in the school with a kneazle as a familiar, Hagrid had gone through Uncle Sev and asked if he could use Tenebris as a demonstration since they were quite rare. Hermione had asked Tenebris and he had been agreeable.

Just thinking about the conversation made her sad. She missed being able to see her godfather all the time. Moody was up his arse all the time and she didn't get to see him often at all. While Draco was her rock, Uncle Sev had always been there for her while Draco had been too busy with his own life. Granted, it still happened since he was seeing several girls now, not just Pansy but he did try to keep the times to a minimum. It was just frustrating that she never got to see a man that was so important to her.

Tenebris appeared at precisely the right time and allowed Hermione to set him on a stump and allow everyone to admire him. Most of the girls thought that he was beautiful and the boys were merely indifferent. Since kneazles were extremely good judges of character, it was clear who Hermione felt it prudent to keep a distance of. After her conversation with Viktor, she thought about introducing them and seeing how Tenebris reacted to him.

Hagrid assigned them homework, an essay on kneazles and their traits that are useful as familiars before the bell rang dismissing them to lunch. Hermione gathered her belongings and put them in her bag and offered to carry Tenebris, who gladly took her up on the offer. Hagrid, however, called out for Harry to stay behind and speak with him. Hermione shot him a worried glance but Harry just waved her off and promised to see them at lunch.

Draco walked with her back towards the castle, discussing their upcoming Defense lesson with Remus that afternoon. While they had started out as Defense lessons, after Harry had learned that he was going to have to compete, they had turned into training sessions. Hermione and Draco would train with him mercilessly, doing their best to make sure that he would be ready for anything that would come his way. Remus and Madam Cambridge would confer and do their best to come up with a plan to make sure that they covered as much information as they could. It was exhausting but they were doing all they could to make sure that Harry survived.

Hermione let Tenebris down once they were inside the castle and he hurried off, after a mouse she was sure. They found their way to the Slytherin table where Juliet was already seated and munching her way through a sandwich. Hermione had just spooned herself up a bowl of soup when Harry came through the door and she couldn't decide if he looked angry or stricken.

-O-

Harry waited until everyone was gone before approaching Hagrid. He hadn't realized that when he had walked off towards the back of his hut that he was meeting with someone but that was exactly what he was doing. Who he was meeting, however, threw him for a loop.

Charlie Weasley.

Harry had only met him the one time over the summer at the Quidditch World Cup. Charlie and Bill had both been polite and respectful to Harry's new family, more than he could have hoped for since that now included the Malfoys. Now the meeting from the night before telling them that the first task would be held November 24th made sense and he had a very good idea of just what that task would be. Hagrid could see that he had connected the dots but decided to say the words anyways.

"Harry, Charlie 'n me fel' tha' you deserve ta know." Harry nodded and Charlie took over.

"I sent Ron a letter yesterday and told him to tell you but I wouldn't feel right if I didn't warn you myself. The first task is dragons. There will be four different kinds and you'll have to draw to see which kind you get. I'm not sure what you'll be doing but I know that you'll have to get past nesting mothers. That's no mean feat. It's going to be bloody hard. I wish I could tell you how to do it but I could give you some pointers if you needed it." Harry, for the first time since he had learned that he was going to have to compete, was scared. He finally nodded.

"Yeah, that would be great. If you could write them down and owl them to me, I'd really appreciate it. I don't mean to be ungrateful but I don't think I'd remember anything you told me right now after hearing that." Charlie clapped him on the shoulder and gave a short chuckle.

"I understand. No worries there, mate. I'll write it down tonight and send it to you in the morning." Harry nodded.

"Thanks, I owe you." A thought occurred to him.

"You told Ron yesterday?" Charlie nodded and frowned.

"He hadn't told you?" Harry shook his head.

"No, he hasn't spoke to me since my name came out of the Goblet." Charlie closed his eyes briefly and shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Harry. I wish I could make excuses for him. I wouldn't blame you if you don't have shite to do with him after this." Harry felt cold all over but nodded.

"I'll talk to him but I don't know if I can be friends with him if he didn't tell me on purpose." Charlie nodded.

"I understand. I hate to but I have to run. I should probably tell you that Karkaroff and Maxime were out there when the dragons arrived. I guarantee you they told their champions." Harry nodded. That meant that Cedric was the only one who didn't know. He would have to tell him otherwise he would be woefully unprepared.

Harry wished them good day and made his way to the castle for lunch. Just thinking about Ron knowing that he was going to face a dragon and not telling him was making him feel sick inside. Even if he was mad, he was supposed to be his best mate. He wasn't sure if he was going to be able to stay calm while he questioned his friend.

Harry entered the Great Hall and took his seat at the Slytherin table like he usually did. He could see Hermione looking at him with worry in her eyes and Draco was looking at him oddly as well. Juliet was oblivious, of course, but he expected nothing else. Hermione was just getting ready to open her mouth when someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to see Ron standing there, his hand rubbing the back of his neck.

"Harry, can I talk to you when you have a free few minutes?" Harry wondered if this was going to be him warning him so he decided to give him a chance.

"Yeah. We have a double Defence but we can talk after dinner." Ron nodded and walked back towards the Gryffindor table. Draco narrowed his eyes at him.

"Tell us what the fuck is going on." Harry shook his head.

"Not here. I'll tell everyone at Defense." Draco cocked his head at him but eventually nodded. Hermione had worry in her eyes but kept quiet.

Harry dished himself up a bowl of soup and a few sandwiches but had lost his appetite. However, he knew that he would need his strength for Defense so he forced himself to eat two sandwiches and a full bowl of soup. There was conversation around him about quidditch and classes but he didn't participate in any of them; his mind was caught up in how to handle Ron and Cedric.

The bell finally rang and the three of them stood and gathered their bags while wishing Juliet well in Herbology. Since she wasn't allowed in class with Moody but couldn't keep up with them in class with Remus and Madam Cambridge, Hermione had agreed to tutor her from her notes from first year at the same time that Draco was teaching Harry French. They hadn't gotten very far yet but Harry seemed to be picking it up pretty quickly.

Once they had found their way to the room they used for Defense Against the Dark Arts, Remus was there waiting for them. They were quick to shed their robes as per their usual and once they were down to just their uniform, Hermione and Draco turned to face Harry. Remus gave them an odd look.

"What's going on?" Harry sighed and raked a hand through his already messy hair.

"Hagrid asked me to stay after Care of Magical Creatures. I met with Charlie Weasley. They both warned me what the first task was." They all looked confused but he had expected that. They didn't know the Weasleys like he did. Harry sighed and waited for the fall out.

"Charlie told me that he told Ron yesterday what the first task was and told him to warn me. He hadn't told me yet but I suspect that's what he wanted at lunch. He also told me that Karkaroff and Maxime were there when they arrived." Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Just fucking tell us already." Harry winced at her cursing.

"He said that we're going to have to get past nesting mother dragons." Hermione fell silent and sat down, hard. Draco sat down next to her and put an arm around her shoulders while Remus started pacing. This continued for almost ten minutes before Hermione broke the silence.

"They're barmy. Somebody is going to die." Draco snorted.

"I think that's the point, Miney." She leaned over and laid her head on his shoulder.

"We need to come up with a plan. What are a dragon's weaknesses?" Harry sighed at logic.

"Charlie told me that he would write it all down and owl it to me in the morning." Remus was nodding as he continued to pace.

"Well everyone knows that a dragon's weakest spot is it's eye. I think that we'll have to incorporate that in whatever plan we come up with." Harry nodded his head, sure that Remus was right. All of a sudden, Draco started laughing. Hermione elbowed him in the side until he finally scowled at her.

"What's so funny?" Draco chuckled again but kept it under control.

"I think we're going about this the wrong way entirely. Harry's going to face a dragon and what's the one thing that he's bloody brilliant at?" Harry wasn't sure where he was going with this so he kept quiet. Hermione looked confused as well so he didn't feel so bad. Draco wrapped his arm around her shoulder and started to shake her.

"He's bloody amazing on a broom! He can outfly anyone! I say he summons a broom and flies past this dragon." Harry started to get excited. This was something that he could do; flying had never posed an obstacle for him. Remus looked incredulous.

"You can really fly that well?" Hermione looked reluctant to nod her head but she did in the end.

"I hate to inflate his ego anymore but he really can. I think that Draco is right." Remus sighed.

"Alright. I'll run it by Sirius and Lucius but if Hermione and Draco think it's our best offense I'm sure they'll agree. In the meantime, I think we should get out to the pitch and get Harry and Draco on the pitch. Hermione and I will throw spells at the two of you from the ground. It isn't a perfect solution but for today, it's a start. I'll get with everyone tonight and we'll draw up a better plan." Harry felt better instantly, plan in place and people helping him. Harry had one more thing to say that he felt they had the right to know.

"I'm going to tell Cedric. Everyone else knows." Draco snorted.

"Bloody lion. You don't have to." Hermione punched him in the shoulder.

"He does to, it wouldn't be fair. Don't be an arsehole." Draco laughed and hugged her from the side.

"Miney, some days I wonder how you're a snake." They all laughed and Hermione huffed in annoyance. Harry just smirked at them.

"Come on, you two. Let's get this party started."

They all rose and started for the door, headed for the pitch.

-O-

Hermione knew that Harry was nervous about talking to Ron. He hadn't said as much but it was easy to see. He was supposed to be his best mate and it was bothering him that he hadn't said anything before now. While she was sure that he had every intention of talking to the redhead alone, Hermione had no intention of letting him do so. Harry could be very gullible and she wasn't going to let the redhead make him believe a lie.

They entered the castle after leaving the quidditch pitch and sat at their usual spot at the Slytherin table. There was roast chicken and potatoes on the table and they were all starving. Even Hermione ate more than usual but she wasn't sure why. The only difference between today and any other defense lesson was that today was outside and the others were held inside. The boys, however, did have to fly and dodge spells while shoot spells back. Hermione had to admit that they were extremely good and they were only going to get better in the almost two weeks until the first task.

Juliet was seated at the Gryffindor table tonight and Daphne was sitting with Tracey and Millie, going over some assignment of some sort. This meant that the three of them were largely left alone since Pansy had taken to hanging off of Theo since she was angry at Draco for spending quality time with two girls from Beauxbatons. They didn't waste their time eating since there were two conversations that needed to be had that evening before they could go to bed.

Since they didn't waste time eating, they were finished quickly. Harry tried to stand and leave by himself, but Hermione scoffed openly at him. Harry looked at her, confused. She and Draco both stood and passed Harry and he was forced to hurry after them to catch up. Hermione raised a single eyebrow at him as he started to speak.

"Were you really thinking that we were going to leave you to have these conversations by yourself?" Harry started to stutter.

"Y-y-you don't have to…" Hermione didn't let him finish.

"We don't have to, you're right, but you're family. That means that we've got your back and we're right there with you. Get used to it. Let's do Cedric first." Harry seemed like he was going to say something for just a moment but then gave in a nodded. They started for the Hufflepuff table and stopped by the seventh years end of the table. There was a pretty fifth year girl sitting there next to Cedric, a Chinese girl named Cho Chang. Harry had a stupid look on his face that made clear that he thought she was beautiful.

"Well, if it isn't the fake Hogwarts' champion. Have you come to ask Cedric for help and pointers?" Harry was staring at the girl, not even aware that she was insulting him. Hermione was tempted to continue to let her but knew that family honor wouldn't allow it. She instead raised an eyebrow at the girl.

"How do you know we haven't come to offer Cedric help? Why don't you run along and go flirt with someone else? Let the big kids handle this conversation." Chang glared at her.

"I'm older than you are, Black." Hermione smirked at her.

"Really? I couldn't tell at all. Maybe you should try acting like it. Seriously, get lost." Cedric watched in amusement as Chang huffed and left, irritation clear on her face. Harry watched her leave, his eyes firmly on her arse. Hermione felt her heart shrink at his actions. It wasn't until she was out of sight that he finally turned his attention back to them. He seemed to realize that he had hurt her feelings because he reached for her hand and she stepped out of his reach. Instead, she turned to Cedric.

"Harry has some information that could help you in the first task. Right now, you're the only one who doesn't have it and it wouldn't be fair if you didn't have it." Cedric seemed to be admiring her but at her words, he turned his attention fully to Harry. Harry, now clearly agitated, raked a hand through his hair.

"I was tipped off today that the first task is dragons. We have to get past nesting mothers. I wasn't told anything else but that was enough. Maxime and Karkaroff were there when the dragons were brought in so it's safe to say that Fleur and Viktor know." Cedric buried both his hands in his hair and blew a heavy breath through his lips. He stayed like that for almost a full minute before pulling himself together and offering Harry his hand. Harry took it and shook it.

"Thanks, mate. I appreciate your sense of fair play. I won't forget this." Harry nodded.

"No problem." Hermione gave Cedric a final nod before starting toward the Gryffindor table. Harry was trying to catch up to her but Hermione wasn't slowing down and she didn't plan on it either. Draco was behind the both of them so when just Hermione reached the lion's table, she got more than her fair share of odd looks. Harry rushed up behind her, his hand wrapping around her elbow softly. She ignored him and met Weasley's gaze.

"You wanted to talk to Harry?" He glared at her.

"I wanted to talk to him privately." Hermione knew that if Harry hadn't realized that she was angry or hurt or whatever he thought, he would have told her to bugger off. However, since he knew that she was angry or hurt or whatever she was, he let her have her way.

"I want Hermione and Draco there." Ron glared at him now but he still stood up. He walked off and didn't bother to make sure that they were following. Hermione threw his hand off her arm and tried to calm down. This was what she had been talking about. She needed to pull back because she was getting her hopes up when there was no hope. She took a few deep breaths as she followed Weasley into an empty classroom. She stayed by the door while Harry went further into the room and Draco waited with her. Ron started to pace, hands raking through his red hair.

"First off, I'm sorry I didn't believe you. I know you didn't put your name in that bloody Goblet and I'm a right prick for not believing you when you vowed on your magic. I should have been a better friend to you and I'm so bloody sorry that I wasn't." Harry was clearly torn as to what he was supposed to say or do. However, he was saved from responding because Ronald wasn't finished.

"I got a letter from Charlie yesterday at dinner. He told me that the first task is dragons, that you have to get past nesting mothers. I tried to find you afterwards but Neville told me that you were out with Ginny. I'm telling you, mate, you knock her up, my dad will make you marry her." He sighed before continuing.

"I fell asleep waiting on you to get back and then when I woke up you were gone. I didn't want to say anything in class and you were already with the snakes at lunch. I told you as soon as I could. I'm assuming you're trusting them with the information anyways." Hermione felt even smaller after hearing that bombshell about Ginny. Draco came over and wrapped his arm around her shoulders and hugged her tight. She felt him kiss the side of her head and she just wanted to disappear. Harry, however, didn't even seem to notice.

"Why didn't you believe me?" Ron sighed.

"I was just jealous. We're poor and that money would help us a lot. To be famous for winning would be great." Harry snorted.

"Yeah, well now you know I have to face a bloody dragon. Not really worth it if you ask me." Ron barked a laugh.

"Yeah, I know. Not my brightest moment."

Hermione tuned them out as they made small talk for a few minutes. It seemed as though they made up and were making plans to eat breakfast together. It was as though nothing had happened between them and Hermione just didn't understand how that happened. However, it wasn't her life so it wasn't her place to say anything. Finally, Ron seemed to remember that there was still dinner being served in the Great Hall and bid them all farewell, promising Harry that he would see him later in the common room. After he was gone, Hermione turned to leave after him but Harry spoke, bringing her to a halt.

"What did I do?" Hermione sighed and decided to be truthful.

"Nothing. It was me. I was just expecting you to be different then you are and that wasn't fair. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have acted that way." Harry still looked confused.

"I don't understand." Hermione sighed.

"I thought that you were going to be more circumspect. My father never was either. It's alright, I shouldn't have expected that of you. It was my fault." Harry blew a breath out hard and took a step and Hermione had to fight to not take a step back.

"I try to keep things discreet, Mia, I'm sorry. She was just so bloody beautiful." She felt her heart clench again but her torture wasn't complete. He stepped forward and tucked a curl behind her ear.

"Nowhere near as beautiful as you though." Hermione felt her heart stop but then remembered that he never looked at her like he did Cho. He had just been confirmed to spending intimate time with Ginny by Neville, one of her best friends. Therefore, she forced a smile to her face before turning to Draco.

"I want to get a good night's sleep, I'm tired. Besides, I'm sure Harry wants to spend time with Ron." Draco wrapped his arm around her waist and nodded while Harry stepped forward and hugged her quickly. He thanked them quickly for having his back and went about his way.

Draco was quick to lead her to the common room. Once there, she was quick to change her clothes and find her way to the boys dorm and her cousin's bed. He was already there, book propped up on his chest. When he realized she was there, he threw back the blanket, inviting her in. She snuggled in next to him and he held her close. She let a few tears spring free into his chest and he just stroked her hair soothingly.

"Why am I not enough? I don't understand." He just shushed her quietly while she cried her silent tears. Finally he spoke.

"You are enough, princess. You are more than enough, he's just too stupid to see it. By the time he does see it, you'll be over him. Promise me you won't wait for him. Promise me you'll grab the chance at happiness." She nodded into his chest.

"I promise." SHe sniffled. "I love you, Drake." He kissed the top of her head.

"I love you too, Miney."

-O-

Harry lay there in bed, unsure of what he had done wrong. He knew that Hermione had been lying to him, he just wasn't sure why. He had just spent time with Lavender in a chair in the common room, snogging like mad. However, his heart hadn't been in it and had gone to bed early.

It was clear that he had somehow upset Hermione. She had been allowing him to get close to her, hug her and tease her like Draco did. That had changed abruptly when they had gone over to see Cedric and come up against Cho Chang. He didn't think for a second that it was because he hadn't been circumspect like she had said. He really wasn't sure what that left though.

Harry did know that he didn't like how it felt though. After knowing how it felt to be close to Hermione, he hated being on her bad side again. He knew that she still had his back, he was family after all, but he could already feel that she had pulled away. He was just unsure as to why. Maybe he could get Draco by himself tomorrow and see if he would tell him, though he wasn't holding his breath. If there was one person in the world that Draco wasn't going to tell the secrets of, it was Hermione.

Harry sighed. Maybe he could figure it all out tomorrow.

A/N- Another one bites the dust, y'all. Not quite as long as the last one but that's alright. They can't all be novel length. I hope you guys liked this one. A little different from canon but that's what keeps this story fresh. Anyways, let me know what ya think, I like hearing your thoughts. They're like chocolate and whiskey shots.

Next chapter, the first task.

Love,

Alicia


	69. Chapter 69

A/N- Wow, guys, thanks for being so awesome and showing me so much support. It really means a lot. I love that you guys leave so many reviews and send me so many PM's telling me how much you love my story and leaving me suggestions on how to make it better. It makes me smile every day. I'm going to warn you, this chapter is going to be a trip so hang on. It's going to be a wild ride.

**Shout out to featherdusterpixie for being my 3100th reviewer! You're freaking awesome!**

Disclaimer: I don't own anything about this story. The original idea for Part One belongs to Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle and the characters belong to our queen. I haven't made a single dime from this story or any other. My bank account balance tells no lies.

Chapter 69

November 24, 1994

Hermione was so bloody nervous that it wasn't even funny. Today was the day of the first task and Harry was going to face a dragon. Draco was doing his best to keep her calm but to be honest, he was failing miserably.

In the past two weeks since they had learned what the first task was, Harry and Draco had practiced in the air against a simulator. She was unsure as to where her father had found it but it was something that had been used in dragon reserves to train rookies before they actually faced off with dragons. Harry had done wonderfully against the simulator so everyone was convinced that he could outfly the dragon if need be. Hermione was the only one that was still worried sick.

Viktor had told her just three days ago that the whole school was talking about Harry warning Cedric about the dragons. She wasn't sure how they had found out since the whole things was supposed to be a secret but she supposed that that was the nature of things at Hogwarts. The more things were supposed to be a secret, the shorter time it took for it to spread.

The Bulgarian had been impressed with her family's honor, complimenting Harry even though it hadn't been to his face. She had wondered why he hadn't done it to Harry but to her but she supposed that it hadn't mattered in the end. She had accepted it on his behalf. Harry had scowled when she had passed it onto him and she hadn't understood why. She had asked Draco but he had just smirked at her and refused to answer her question.

Viktor had walked her to class six more times since the first time he had. She had taken Draco's advice to grasp happiness with both hands. Though she wasn't entirely sure that Viktor was interested in her seriously, she was enjoying his attention immensely. They hadn't done anything more than walk to class together but they had had stimulating conversation about many different subjects that she had genuinely enjoyed. All the girls were jealous of her and while that really didn't affect her much, it was nice to be looked up to for something other than her money or name for once.

Draco never said a word about Viktor escorting her to and from class, though Harry got huffy each and every time. He never said a word to her about it though she did notice that he never strayed far from her when he did. It was nice to have Harry close but she wished that he had stayed close because he wanted to be close to her not because he was scared that the big bad Bulgarian was going to do dirty rotten things to her and he needed to protect her.

Hermione had done as she had promised herself and pulled as far away from Harry as she could get away with. She knew that he was confused as to why but she couldn't help it. She had to protect her heart and it wasn't right for him to tease her either. Though, she really wasn't sure if he was meaning to tease her at all. However, that was how she had taken his "beautiful" comment and her heart couldn't take it. Therefore, she had pulled away. She was still his friend and still spent time with him but she was no longer friendly with him like she was Draco.

Draco understood why she was doing what she was but Juliet was a different story. She had taken Hermione aside just two days after the incident with Cho Chang and had asked her if she was mad at Harry, if that was why she was acting so different around him. Hermione had assured her that she wasn't mad at him, that they were family. The young girl just didn't understand but Hermione couldn't make her understand without telling her her secret and as much as Hermione loved her little sister, that was a secret that she just wasn't willing to share with anyone aside from Draco. He would always be her first and foremost confidant.

Harry was currently at the Gryffindor table for breakfast, sitting with all his friends that wanted to wish him well today. Technically, he wasn't required to attend classes today but he had told McGonagall that he would attend since he would just sit in the library by himself and worry. Of course, his lion classmates had told him that he was crazy but Hermione didn't blame him. She would have sat there and worried incessantly.

Gryffindor as a whole had started treating him better after Ron had apologized to him and they had made up. She wasn't sure why they all followed the idiot redhead but they seemed to. It made absolutely no sense to her. Harry had reported no further apologies but they had all welcomed him back with open arms. Hermione thought that he was insane for just going back without a little revenge for thinking the worst of him but she supposed that was the difference between her Slytherin self and Harry's lion self.

Since he was eating breakfast with his friends, he was supposed to eat lunch with the Slytherins, Neville, and the twins. Usually it didn't bother her when he ate with his friends, especially since she was back to keeping her distance, but Harry could die today when he went against the dragon. It felt like a time for family. She knew that she was being not only irrational but selfish but she couldn't help it.

All her friends seemed to realize that today was not a day to fuck with her. Daphne was wisely staying quiet, studying next to her but saying nothing even though it was Transfiguration, the subject she needed help in the most. Blaise wasn't discussing quidditch, something that never happened. Pansy, Tracey, and Millie weren't discussing fashion and even Theo was staying silent. It was nice that they were all being respectful of her nerves by not only being quiet but by not mentioning the task as well.

The bell finally rang and Hermione was able to give up the farce of acting like she was eating. Draco took her bag and wrapped an arm around her waist, guiding her out of the Great Hall. Harry was walking with his friends towards Charms. Her cousin leaned over and kissed the side of her head and smiled at her.

"You've got to calm down, Miney, it's going to be fine. He's going to be fine." Hermione pulled a curl forward and began to twirl it in her fingers.

"I know but dragons are living beings. You can't control them and there's no saying what could happen. I hope that everything goes well and Harry wins but I want to prepare myself just in case it doesn't." Draco sighed.

"I know, I don't blame you. I just don't want you to make yourself sick." She nodded her head.

"I'm trying not to. I promise. It'll be better in class." He nodded and kissed the side of her head.

They entered the Charms classroom and took their usual seats. Everyone was full of excitement and energy as they filed in behind them. Once everyone was in their seats, Professor Flitwick came in with a smile and beckoned them all to be silent.

"I know that today is an exciting day but we are still going to learn today. For this class period, we are going to learn the vermillious charm." Hermione wanted to roll her eyes. It was probably the easiest charm they would learn all year. Who wanted to learn how to shoot red sparks from their wand anyways? What real purpose was there?

Regardless of her personal thoughts on the matter, Hermione checked her notes against the lecture to make sure that they were perfect. As usual, Madam Cambridge hadn't let her down. She earned every knut that her father paid her for tutoring her. After Professor Flitwick had lectured for three quarters of an hour, he beckoned for them to split up and practice. Hermione sighed as she slipped into a corner with Draco and waved her wand, trying the spell silently. Much to her surprise, it worked.

Hermione and Draco had just recently started working with nonverbal casting, Remus had insisted that they were ready. Draco had been excited but Hermione lacked the confidence. Her cousin had picked it up instantly, able to cast just about anything silently. She had struggled with the simplest of spells. Remus had assured her that she was more than powerful enough, that her problem was her lack of belief in herself. Draco had been helping her with it in the evenings after they had retired to their common rooms. This was the first time that it had worked for her. Draco grinned and let out a whoop before rushing her and gathering her in his arms and spinning her in a circle. She couldn't help but let out a laugh.

"You did it, Mia!" He set her down as Professor Flitwick came over to see what the fuss was over.

"What are you two celebrating over here?" Draco threw an arm around her shoulders, clearly proud of her.

"Hermione finally mastered nonverbal spell casting." Professor Flitwick's eyebrows went into his hairline. He smiled at her and gestured for her to show him. Hermione sighed but smiled at the diminutive man. She gave her wand a wave and red sparks shot from the end, another smile breaking out across her face. Professor Flitwick clapped his hands several times.

"Well done, Miss Black, well done. Twenty points to Slytherin for accomplishing something that not every witch or wizard can do." Hermione knew that she couldn't take the credit all by herself. She felt her cheeks color at the attention.

"Professor, Draco can do it too, it isn't just me. Please don't give me points, it wouldn't be fair." The half-goblin laughed.

"You're right, Miss Black." He turned to Draco. "Cast the spell for me, Mr. Malfoy." Draco raised his wand and cast the spell nonverbally. Professor Flitwick nodded his head happily.

"Twenty points to Mr. Malfoy for casting spells nonverbally." Hermione smiled at her Charms professor.

"Thank you, sir." Professor Flitwick patted her arm.

"Thank you, Miss Black. You may study the rest of the period." Hermione nodded and she and Draco took their seats once more.

Since they didn't have any homework, they decided to work on their warding assignment from Madam Cambridge. It was one that they had put off until last because it looked difficult. While Hermione hated saving the worst for last, it was Draco's modus operandi. Now they were stuck trying to do it in a classroom where they had no books to fall back on if they needed extra help. To say that it was frustrating would have been an understatement.

They didn't get it done before the bell rang but they did get a fairly good start. Harry met up with them as they were leaving and threw his arm around both their shoulders. Hermione tried not to stiffen up but she wasn't sure that she succeeded. However, Harry didn't seem to notice so she was going to count it as a win.

"Way to go, guys, getting forty points for the snakes." Hermione gave him a tight smile.

"Thanks." He smiled at her and moved his arm. He slipped his arm around her waist and tugged one of her curls.

"Please stop worrying, Mia. If you worry, then I worry." Hermione nodded and looked at her feet, trying to stop for him.

"I'm trying. I just don't want you to get hurt." He hugged her close for a moment before releasing her.

"I know. All will be well, alright. You guys have all trained with me and you've done all you can to make sure that I'm prepared. I can outfly just about anything out there. I'm as ready as I can be. Just believe in me, Mia, that's what I need now." She gave him a shaky smile before she shook herself and straightened her shoulders, lifting her chin.

"You're right, I'm sorry. You're going to be great, you're going to win this. I know it." He nudged her shoulder with his, his eyes mischievous.

"What about your boyfriend? I'm going to beat him too?" Hermione burst out laughing before she shoved him away from her.

"Viktor isn't my boyfriend. But yes, you're going to beat him. Well, you better anyways. I'm believing in you, remember?" Harry laughed now and fell back in step beside her.

The three of them made their way to Potions, discussing quietly what Uncle Sev was going to have them do. Hermione doubted that he was going to make them brew when their attention was so clearly on the first task being held after lunch. She also doubted that he would give them a free period to just work on homework so that left a lecture period on an ingredient or potion. Both Harry and Draco were hoping for a free period so she bet them ten galleons on it. They were both dumb enough to take her up on it.

Once they were seated in the Potions classroom, Harry forgoing his usual seat with Ron to sit at their table in Daphne's usual seat, they pulled their parchment, ink, and texts out. It took only a few minutes for Uncle Sev to appear, his robes billowing behind him like it always did. All the Gryffindors were scowling at his arrival but Hermione smiled at her godfather; truth be told, this was the closest she got to seeing him anymore since gods-be-damned Moody showed up at the castle.

"Turn your books to page two hundred sixty-eight. We're going to lecture on ginger root and it's uses in potions. Whether you take notes is your prerogative." Hermione wanted to laugh. Nobody was stupid enough to not take notes in her godfather's class.

Uncle Sev lectured for the entire hour and a half on ginger root. Hermione even added quite a few new things to her own notes from several years before so she wasn't sure why her uncle hadn't taught her those things then. When she caught his eye at the end of class, he further confused her by winking at her. She vowed to catch him a later date and ask him but there was nothing for it now. There was no time to ask now and she wouldn't be able to ask later because of his master auror shadow.

The three of them made their way up from the dungeons to the Great Hall. Harry still seemed to be in good spirits and Hermione couldn't help but wonder if nerves would hit him later or if he was used to being nervous because of his quidditch matches. Once inside, the three of them made for the Slytherin table. Juliet was already there, next to Daphne, twirling her hair while talking about her classes. Harry greeted them all warmly and took the seat next to Hermione but didn't touch her. She was grateful but sad at the same time. It was very confusing.

Lunch passed in a haze. It was filled with people stopping by and wishing Harry good luck and telling him that they knew he was going to win it. There were also well-wishers stopping down at the other end of the table doing the same for Viktor. Hermione was well-aware of how many girls had stopped to wish him well. While he was polite to each and every one of them, she was pleased to see that he didn't seem overly friendly with any of them.

Lunch had almost finished, it was almost time for the families to arrive when a hush fell over the Slytherin table, the same way it did whenever Viktor visited Hermione and asked if he could escort her to class. She turned behind her and saw that he was standing there, sheepish grin on his face. Even though he wasn't the conventional kind of handsome like her cousin, he was still quite pleasing to the eye. She smiled back at him.

"Hello, Viktor." He reached for her hand, even though she was still sitting. She let him take it and he pressed a soft kiss to her knuckles. She was finally able to control her blush when he did this.

"Hello, Hermy-own." Harry snorted next to her but she smiled. Inwardly she cringed at the butchering of her name but he had tried.

"Are you nervous?" He shook his head.

"I come tell you dat I vin dis task for you." Now she could feel her cheeks flaming. However, she knew that she needed to respond in some way. She just hoped that it was the right way.

"Thank you, Viktor. You don't have to win it for me though. I just want you to be safe." Viktor looked at her as though he was amused and for a moment she was angry. Then she realized that he was trying to be gallant. He kissed her hand again.

"I stand by my vord. I vin dis for you." Hermione finally nodded.

"Thank you." He bowed to her and then turned and went back to his end of the table. Harry shook his head at the display.

"Very gallant of him after all those girls visited him." Hermione didn't think that she would be able to be nice if she opened her mouth so she just kept her mouth shut and stared at her plate. Harry wisely said nothing more and finished his plate of food.

-O-

Harry couldn't believe the audacity of Krum telling Hermione that he was going to win the task for her. As if he knew that he was going to win it, hell, for all he knew the dragon was going to eat him for lunch. It was ridiculous to be so cocky as to say that he was going to win it.

Sure, Harry had told Hermione that he was going to be fine but that was for her sake. He was nervous as fuck, scared to death that he was going to fuck it up and get hurt or worse. However, he didn't want Hermione to sit there and worry herself to death all day long so he buried the worry down deep so she thought that he was fine and in turn would worry less.

Whatever had happened between them had broken them somehow. He hated it. They had felt like genuine friends but now it was like it had been over the summer. He felt like he was only tolerated and it was horrid. He wasn't sure what had happened or what he had done but he wanted to fix it. He knew that Hermione had said that it wasn't something that he had done but he knew that she was lying. He just wasn't sure what it was. There was no way in blue hell that Draco would tell him either. He would never break her trust.

Therefore, he would endeavor to watch and listen, see if he could figure out just what it was that bothered her about him. Really, he didn't think that she cared about anything he said or did but apparently he had been wrong. While he hated that he had hurt her, he loved that she cared enough about him to have hurt feelings.

Viktor, though, was ridiculous. Harry was sick of watching him chase after Hermione, acting as if he was a true gentleman. While he hadn't caught the Bulgarian in person, he had heard through the rumor mill that he had no problems seeing several witches on the side. He had no intentions of telling Hermione that until he had proof. However, even then, he wasn't sure that he would. As much as it pained him to think about it, he wasn't sure that she would believe him.

Harry was pulled from his thoughts by Sirius, Remus, Lucius, and Narcissa entering the Great Hall and rushing their end of the Slytherin table. Since there were only the four champions in attendance, each had their own table, Viktor moving to the Gryffindor table with his own family. Harry was pulled into hugs by Sirius, Remus, and Narcissa while Lucius shook his hand. Hermione threw herself into her father's arms followed closely by her aunt and uncle's while Draco watched in amusement. After she finished, she pulled Juliet over to Lucius and Narcissa.

"Juliet, this is my Uncle Lucius and Aunt Narcissa. Well, I suppose they're your cousins. Well, I suppose they're mine as well but that just sounds inbred. They're the best family a girl could ask for." Narcissa pulled the girl into a hug and smiled down at her.

"I'm so very happy to meet you, Juliet. Another female Black to terrorize Sirius. It serves him right." Juliet laughed as Lucius pulled Hermione back into his arms to he could hug her tight and press a kiss to her forehead.

"I've missed you, princess." Harry was pulled from the scene by Sirius speaking to him.

"Remus has given us a full report of how you've been doing in training. How ready do you feel?" Harry stepped further away from Hermione so she wouldn't hear.

"I'm ready but nervous as fuck. I've been acting like I'm ready for anything though because Hermione is going to give herself a bloody ulcer. That girl can worry with the best of them." Sirius laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. Harry turned to make sure that she and Draco were still preoccupied. Sirius saw his glance and frowned.

"Everything alright between the three of you? You aren't fighting, are you?" Harry shook his head.

"No, I don't think so. It's just odd. Things were great and then I decided that I needed to warn Cedric. We went over to tell him together. I was checking out Cho Chang and Hermione was disappointed in me because I couldn't be more circumspect, she said. She got all huffy and then apologized, said she expected too much and that she shouldn't be that way. I thought that we were all good. After that, though, she's just been standoffish, like she just tolerates me. I don't know what I did. I just wish I knew so I could fix it." Sirius looked genuinely confused so Harry didn't think that he was going to get much help from that front. Remus looked like he might have an idea but at that point, Hermione and the rest of them joined them.

The conversation turned to Juliet asking her father as to why her mother wasn't there and he explained to her that her mother had tried to get off work but her boss wouldn't let her. Since she couldn't afford to miss and she surely couldn't afford to lose her job, she was forced to miss the event. However, she promised to be there for the second event. Juliet seemed saddened at not being able to see her mother but was instantly happy again when she learned that she was going to get to sit with Narcissa who had taken a liking to the girl. Harry hadn't been surprised to be honest; Narcissa seemed to genuinely like just about everyone she came across. Juliet was ever further excited when she learned that she and her mother were going to be coming to Black Moor for Christmas. Lucius had just about been ready to speak when Dumbledore spoke loud enough to be heard over the entire Great Hall.

"Champions, it's time to say goodbye to your families and make your way to the tent opposite the bleachers." Harry turned to his family, for the first time realizing just how happy he was to be able to say he had one. Juliet was the first one to throw herself into his arms.

"Don't you dare die up there, Harry." He ruffled her hair and laughed as he hugged her back.

"No dying, I promise." He prayed to Merlin that he could keep that promise. She released him and Narcissa stepped forward, wrapping him in a hug so she could kiss the side of his head in a very motherly gesture.

"Stay safe, Harry. Promise you'll come back to us." He pulled away and gave her a very serious look.

"I promise to do my very best to come back." She sniffled softly but nodded as she backed away. Lucius stepped up next and held out his hand.

"Make our family proud, son. You can do this." It was more than he had expected from Lucius Malfoy. He gave the man a solemn nod. He knew that he took family honor very seriously. Remus came next and pulled him into a hug.

"James and Lily would be proud of you. Stay safe and do your best. That's all that's required of the contract. We don't give two rat's asses if you win." Harry laughed at his words and nodded. However, he had a feeling that he would be trying to win, especially after hearing VIktor's words to Hermione. Draco slipped up next and gave Harry a quick one-armed hug, slightly embarrassed at the show of affection.

"You've got this. You've trained for this and you're going to kick their arses. I believe in you." Harry grinned at him before nodding. Harry didn't think that Hermione was going to come to him after how she had been acting lately and he didn't think that he could face a dragon without telling her goodbye so he went to her. He folded her into a hug and to his surprise, she wrapped her arms around him and held him tight. Her face burrowed into his chest and he buried his face in her curls. They smelled of peaches and cherry blossoms and it was pure heaven. Her words were soft.

"If you die up there I'll be fucking pissed." He barked out a laugh before kissing the side of her head much the same way that Draco did all the time. He hated to let her go but made himself do it. She seemed just as reluctant to release him. He cupped her cheeks and met her gaze, getting lost in her icy blue orbs.

"I'm not going to die up there. If I do, I'll come back and haunt you so you can bitch at me for the rest of your life." She burst out laughing and nodded.

"Fair enough." He stepped back and his godfather stepped forward and pulled him into a rough hug, ruffling his hair.

"Pup, be careful up there. I know you're prepared but I just got you back. I couldn't bear to lose you." Harry hugged him tight for just a moment before nodding and pulling away. Without another word, he strode towards the door that led towards the quidditch pitch.

It was odd to make the trip to the quidditch pitch but not to play quidditch. Viktor was not too far behind him and he could see Cedric and Fleur ahead of him. He wondered if they were all as nervous as he was. Once inside the tent, they found Dumbledore and Crouch, Sr. waiting for them. They both had serene smiles. Crouch, Sr. broke the silence.

"The first task has arrived, ladies and gentlemen. Today, you will be facing a dragon. Specifically, a nesting mother dragon." Harry didn't understand why Fleur lost color; Cedric had told him a few days before that she had confided in him that she had been told what the first task was. The ministry official continued.

"There will be a golden egg hidden within the dragon's real eggs. Your job is to retrieve it. In this bag you will find four models of four different dragons with numbers on their backs. You will all draw one and that will be the dragon you face and the order in which you face them." Harry took a deep breath and nodded his understanding. Crouch, Sr. held out the bag to Fleur.

"Ladies first." Fleur reached in the bag hesitantly. When she pulled her hand out, she held a small model of a Welsh Green with the number two on it's back. Crouch, Sr. turned to Krum next and the Bulgarian reached in and pulled out a small Chinese Fireball with a three on the back. Harry wasn't getting a good feeling about this since he was pretty used to getting fucked.

Crouch, Sr. then turned to Cedric and gave him a smile, probably due to the fact that his father worked for the ministry. Cedric returned it and reached in the bag, pulling out a tiny version of the Swedish Short-Snout with a one of the back. Harry knew it was going to be bad. He was going to be going last and everyone knew that the worst was saved for last. It would put on a better show. Without another thought, he reached in and grabbed the last dragon model.

A fucking Norwegian Ridgeback, the most aggressive breed of dragon there was. Just his luck.

Harry blew his breath out in one harsh breath and centered himself like Severus had taught him in occlumency. He could do this, he just had to stay calm and stay focused. To be honest, Cedric and Fleur didn't seem to be faring any better than he was. Viktor was the only one that seemed to be handling it well. He was brought out of his thoughts be the Headmaster speaking.

"We have suits for the four of you to change into, while they are fireproof, they won't save you for long. We suggest that you get in there, get your egg as quickly as you can, and get out. Get changed now, we start in twenty minutes. The tent is sound proof so you won't be able to hear how those ahead of you have faced their dragon. You'll know it's your turn when the official tells you so." Harry took his suit and couldn't help but notice how much smaller his was compared to Cedric's and Viktor's. Sure, he had been eating better since he had gotten Dobby from the Malfoy's but years of being underfed was still evident in his size. It would likely take years to overcome. He wondered if there were potions he could take to help with that. He made a mental note to ask Severus at a later date.

Harry changed quickly and left his little cubby, leaving his clothes inside. Viktor and Cedric were quick to follow him, Fleur taking just a little longer. They were all conversing quietly about nothing important when the tent flaps flew open and Ginny was revealed. Harry was instantly concerned, worried that something had happened to someone. However, that wasn't the case. Ginny threw herself at him, into his arms, and slanted her mouth against his.

Harry was livid that she would do this to him right then, as if he didn't have enough to worry about at the moment, especially when he knew what her real motives were. Even though he was pissed that she would pull something like this, he couldn't help but feel his cock twitch at the feel of her burgeoning curves against him, the feel of her tongue stroking his. However, his mind strayed to the memory of Hermione pressed against him when she hugged him goodbye and how fucking good she felt, how bloody amazing she smelled, and he was suddenly sickened. He wanted to retch.

Harry shoved her away from him, but not before he caught a flash. Ginny stumbled and fell to the ground where she landed with a small thud but Harry wasn't concentrating on her. His eyes were focused on the woman standing at the entrance to the tent. She grinned at him.

"Young love is just precious. I'm sure that Miss Weasley would agree." Without another word, she was gone. Harry couldn't believe what he had just heard. He turned back to the others in the tent.

"Who the fuck was that?" Viktor was the one who spoke.

"Dat vas Skitter from Daily Prophet. She scandalous." Harry was even more livid now. Hermione had already been angry because he hadn't been circumspect and now it was going to be in the bloody newspaper.

"She's going to put that in the fucking paper, isn't she?" Krum nodded.

"Yes. You minor. Tell father to demand retraction. Vithout permission, it is law." Harry had to admit, if he wasn't fifty shades jealous of Krum, he wouldn't be too bad of a guy. He held his hand out to him to shake.

"Thanks, mate." Viktor shook it before turning back to Cedric and Fleur. Harry whirled to Ginny to see her grinning, back on her feet once more.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" She smiled at him even more brightly.

"I just thought I'd come give you a good luck kiss." Harry couldn't believe she was being so stupid. It was time for a reality check.

"Ginny, we aren't dating. You aren't my girlfriend. You are one of many girls that I fool around with. Now that reporter is going to put you kissing me on the front page of the newspaper like we're dating, like I'm courting you." Ginny came forward and ran her hands up his chest.

"It's okay, Harry, my parents won't mind. Mum would be thrilled. Dad will have to talk to you, of course, it's a rite of passage, after all, but they already love you." Harry really couldn't deal with her any longer because he was going to end up hitting her. He gripped her shoulders and shook her slightly.

"Get the fuck away from me, Ginny. Do not come near me again." He saw a flash of fear in her eyes as she turned and fled. Fleur watched the scene contemplatively.

"She is las putain, no?" Harry was learning French but wasn't sure what she had just said.

"I'm learning but have no idea what you just said." She laughed.

"You English say slag or whore, I tink." Harry laughed. He was saved from responding by the official sticking his head in and gesturing for Cedric to follow him.

After that there was no talking. They were all too nervous, even Viktor. They could hear nothing except the audience cheering and the final score being read of thirty-six. That being said, it was going to be a hard act to follow. Harry couldn't help but wonder just what Cedric had done to beat the dragon.

The official stuck his head through the tent flap and gestured that Fleur was next. She started for the door and gave them one last wave before stepping through. This left just Harry and Viktor though neither spoke. Harry sat and practiced clearing his mind like Severus had taught him, calming himself down. Viktor looked at him like he was crazy but didn't say anything.

It was probably twenty minutes before they heard the applause thundering beyond the tent and the judges shouting out a score of thirty-six just like Cedric. Harry was impressed; Fleur didn't seem like the type to excel at much. Only a few minutes passed before the official stuck his head in the tent and gestured for Viktor that they were ready for him. Harry nodded at him which the Bulgarian returned before he was gone.

Harry continued clearing his mind for the duration of the time that Viktor faced his dragon. He could still feel the nervousness deep in his gut but it wasn't ruling his mind. The Gryffindor just wished that Viktor would hurry up so he could hurry up and get past his own dragon. It had to be thirty minutes before the audience went wild once more, this time louder than the two times before. Harry waited to see if a perfect score had been awarded. He felt a little vindicated to hear that Viktor had only received thirty-eight points rather than the perfect forty.

Rather than the few minutes it had taken between people before now, it took almost twenty minutes for the official to retrieve him from the tent. Harry made sure that his wand was up his sleeve in the correct position and stood. He followed the official and stepped out into the cool air and sunlight, the thundering applause meeting him. His eyes searched the Slytherin stands, instantly finding his family. He was scared of disappointing his godfather; he remembered his conversation with Draco long ago of how he had an image to uphold now. That story in the paper was going to damage that image.

Harry focused on Hermione jumping up and down, cheerin for him, and took a deep breath. He stepped into the enclosure, facing the Norwegian Ridgeback head on. He could see Charlie on the sidelines giving him a thumbs up. Harry pulled his wand and gave it a wave.

"Accio Firebolt."

It took almost a full minute to come flying through the open window of his dorm room but Harry could see it in the distance. Once it was in his hand, Harry mounted it and pushed off the ground, the crowd already cheering. He could see the other three champions standing at the entrance to the medical tent, watching intently. Harry could see the golden egg nestled with the other eggs behind the dragon, meaning that it was going to be tough to get past the dragon.

However, he and his family had worked out a plan. Distract and tease the dragon away from the egg. It was going to be tough but that's what he was going to have to do. The dragon already considered him a threat, shooting a long stream of flames at him as he got closer. Harry dodged easily, swooping further down towards the eggs. The dragon roared in fury. He pulled up and flew as fast as he could, tempting the dragon to follow after him.

True to what Charlie had told him she would do, she followed him, but not far. Getting her to leave her nest for long distances was the hard part of their plan. Once she was back on the ground with her eggs, Harry changed direction and headed back for the nest, shooting spells at the dragon even though it would have no effect whatsoever on it. The point was the make the dragon think that he posed a danger to her eggs. Flames once again shot out and licked at his feet but Harry didn't pay attention to the heat, he merely turned direction on a dime and headed straight back up, the dragon following once more.

Just as he had hoped, the Ridgeback went a full hundred feet in the air before turning back to return to her eggs. Harry didn't mind since the first time she had only gone twenty feet or so. He waited for her to return before he charged her again, this time aiming his wand at the ground, conjuring a panther, a spell that Hermione had taught him. He knew that it wasn't going to distract the dragon long enough for him to take the egg, it was merely serving the purpose of ratcheting up the danger.

While the dragon was paying attention to the panther, blasting it with fire and burning it to a crisp, Harry swooped lower than he had as of yet. His fingers almost brushed the eggs before the dragon realized how close he had gotten. However, he hadn't taken into account the dragon's tail. The enormous appendage came flying through the air and caught him right through the soft part of his shoulder, a spike lodging deep within the soft tissue.

Since the angle that the spike was lodged inside him was an odd one, when the dragon moved her body rather than her tail, the spike tore off her tail rather than out of his body. Harry could feel the blood pouring down his chest and he suspected that his shoulder was broken but he had no choice but to finish what he had started. He took off upwards once more, the dragon enraged completely now. It followed after him, bellowing fire and smoke the whole way.

Harry suddenly had this crazy idea and glancing over at Viktor Krum sparked it. It would certainly ensure that he got his bloody egg and put a good show on doing it, plus putting Viktor bloody Krum to shame as well. He knew that he shouldn't be that way towards him but he was just so fucking jealous of him it wasn't even funny.

Harry went at least a hundred and fifty feet in the air before stopping and making sure that the dragon was close enough. Once he was sure that the dragon was close enough for the plan to work, Harry flipped directions and headed for the ground at top speed. The dragon bellowed in rage and his shoulder was screaming in pain. His hand was going numb and he knew that he needed to end this soon before it stopped working completely and he lost his grip.

The dragon seemed to realize that she was losing him and she sped up after him, still shooting flames after him. The ground was rushing towards him and he was going to have to put all he had into pulling up. His hands were slick with blood on the handle of his broom and he gripped it as tightly as he could. The crowd was screaming behind him but he was tuning them out.

The Wronski-Feint was something he had practiced numerous times over the summer after seeing Krum perform it against Aiden Lynch but it seemed much larger than life against a dragon. Only a few feet above the ground, Harry wrenched the handle of the broom up as far as he could and he felt his feet brush the ground before soaring back into the sky.

The crowd went wild behind him. He only flew fifty or so feet up so he could turn and see what had happened to the dragon. She was laying on the ground, obviously stunned. Harry took this as his moment of truth and flew to the clutch of eggs. Deciding that he didn't want to take a chance of losing grip on his broom and breaking an egg, he dismounted his broom. He stepped carefully through the eggs until he reached the golden egg and picked it up before picking his way back through the other eggs.

The crowd was going insane, everyone was on their feet. Harry was starting to feel lightheaded so he started to slowly make his way towards the medical tent. He could hear the dragon tamers calling out about the dragon and he tried to hear what they were saying. Deciding that he needed to check on the beast, he strayed closer to the mother dragon. Charlie stepped forward and clapped a hand on his good shoulder.

"Head to the medical tent, Harry. You're going to have to be healed." Harry narrowed his eyes at the redhead. He was clearly trying to deflect.

"I know I need healed. How's the Ridgeback?" Charlie raked a hand through his long hair and heaved a sigh.

"The Ridgeback is dead, Harry. She broke her neck when she hit the ground." Harry felt as though someone had punched him in the gut. Charlie lurched forward, shoving a shoulder under his good armpit to help hold him up. He got his feet under him again and nodded at Charlie.

"Thanks, mate. You know I didn't mean to kill her, right?" Charlie gave him a grim smile.

"Yeah, all the handlers know. We all thought she was just unconscious, it's near to impossible to kill a dragon. We thought you were just trying to put on a good show." Harry nodded.

"Are there other dragons that will take care of her eggs?" Charlie nodded and smiled at him, letting him stand on his own.

"We have an old dragon on the reserve that will care for any egg. Once they hatch, we'll care for them. They'll survive, no worries." Harry still felt terrible but felt a little bit better. At least her eggs wouldn't die because he had made a foolhardy decision. Charlie nudged him softly and gestured for him to listen since the judges had started speaking.

"That was Harry Potter, the second Hogwarts champion folks. The judges have deliberated their scores. Not only was his time the fastest, his method was the most creative. The eggs remained unharmed and even though the dragon lost it's life, Harry put on the best show. For these reasons, we award Mr. Potter the full forty points. Congratulations!" Harry finally looked out at the crowd and could see everyone on their feet, jumping up and down and cheering. His family was clapping and cheering as well but he could see worry on their faces as well. His gaze met his godfather's and he stood, ushering his family out of the bleachers and towards the exit.

Harry knew that he was headed his way so he started for the medical tent. Madam Pomfrey was standing at the entrance clearly waiting for him, a furious look on her face. Krum, Cedric, and Fleur had been moved back inside and it made him wonder what their injuries were. Once he was in range, the mediwitch came forward and helped usher him inside and onto a bed. Cedric was inside on a bed with no shirt on, a thick orange paste spread across his skin. She glared at Harry.

"Take the top of your suit off while I finish with Mr. Diggory. I'll be over to start healing you as soon as I'm through." Harry nodded, fully aware that she wasn't really angry with him, more with the situation. She didn't like when children were injured. Harry had just barely gotten his good arm out of the suit when the whole of his family filed into the tent and gathered around his bed. Hermione stared at the spike stuck through his shoulder, her lower lip trembling just the tiniest bit. Lucius wrapped an arm around her shoulders while Narcissa wrapped an arm around Juliet and kept her close. Sirius was the one that spoke first, his hands raking through his curls.

"What the fuck were you doing out there, pup? You could have been killed!" Hermione sniffled softly.

"Daddy, please don't. We can't change it now. Yell at him when he doesn't have a dragon spike sticking out of his shoulder." Sirius blew a heavy breath out of his mouth before looking at his feet for a few moments.

"You're right, poppet. I'm sorry, Harry. I'll chew you out later. Let me scan you while Poppy finishes with Cedric." Draco stepped forward and started to help him pull the suit off around the dragon spike. Remus stood next to Lucius, silent as he watched the scan closely. Harry watched Severus join them, watching the scan closely as well. He was sure that it was under the guise that he would provide potions for the healing but he knew that the man genuinely cared. His godfather hissed when the scan finished.

"Bad news, pup. That dragon part is stuck in your shoulder blade. Normally, we'd just vanish whatever was stuck in the wound but this is a dragon part. It's resistant to magic which means it's going to have to be manually pulled out." Harry cringed at his words. Madam Pomfrey chose this moment to return and perform her own scan. They all waited in bated silence, hoping that she would tell them something different. The results weren't good, however.

"Your godfather was right, Mr. Potter. We have to remove it manually." Harry sighed and tried to ready himself for what was sure to be the most painful thing he had ever experienced. He knew one thing for sure and that was that he didn't want Hermione to see him weak. He turned to all three girls.

"Can you three please leave? I don't want you guys to have to see this. It's going to be terrible and you shouldn't have to see it in your dreams." Hermione looked as though she was going to protest but Draco took her hand and squeezed it, shaking his head slightly in her direction. She sighed and nodded her head. She stepped forward and gave him a very quick and soft hug on his good side, kissing his cheek as quick as a snitch.

"I'm really proud of you. I hate that the dragon died but you did very well. I hate that you're hurt but you're not dead so I'm not going to complain. Be strong." He didn't even get a chance to say anything before she was gone, pulling Juliet out of the tent with her. Narcissa left with them, and Harry was happy to see that Fleur was throwing a blanket around herself to leave with them as well. While he hadn't asked her leave, he appreciated it the same. He was sure that he was going to shed a few tears and the fewer females that saw it the better.

Madam Pomfrey turned to Severus and asked for something. He handed her a vial of something that looked like blood replenisher. The mediwitch handed it to him so he chugged it down, gagging on the taste. She gave him a knowing look before she spoke.

"I know it tastes terrible but you've lost a lot of blood. I can tell you this is going to hurt like nothing else you've ever felt. I wish that I could give you pain relief potion but I can't yet. I have to make sure that it isn't going to react with the dragon spike inside you. Like I said, dragons and their parts don't like magic." The mediwitch turned to the others around him.

"I'm going to need your help. I'm going to lay him down. I need one of you to each hold an arm down, and one to hold his head. I'm going to pull the spike. Severus, if it comes down to it, you may have to cast an immobilizer on his legs. However, that spell can't be cast on his upper half. Mr. Potter, feel free to scream." Draco waved his wand and conjured a round stick stuck it in his mouth.

"Bite down on it. It'll be quieter than screaming and the girls won't hear as much." Harry gave him a grateful nod and laid back. Sirius took his good arm, Lucius took his bad arm, and Remus took his head. Harry could feel his heart beating a hundred beats a minute, scared to death of how much it was going to hurt. He took one last deep breath before giving the nod to start. Madam Pomfrey took the spike in hand and started to pull.

It was horrifying.

The pain was like nothing he had ever felt before. He could feel it grinding in his shoulder, it was like the spike had taken hold inside the bone and had no intention of ever letting go. Madam Pomfrey was on the table above him on her knees, both hands gripped around the spike and pulling with all her strength while the men all held him down. Harry was screaming around the stick in his mouth and he could feel sweat running down his face and neck. Tears were streaming from his eyes to pool in his ears. Finally, she stopped and stood on the floor once more.

"I can't get the fucking thing out. I don't know what we're going to do." Harry was breathing hard, his chest heaving up and down as he tried to catch his breath. Even though he could hardly think through the pain, all he could focus on was the fact that the mediwitch that he had never heard curse before just said fuck. Draco spoke next.

"You can't vanish the spike but you can vanish the bone. Just give him Skele Gro." Severus spoke.

"I don't think that will work. The spike is in the bone. It's going to have to be removed first." Lucius sounded annoyed when he spoke.

"The solution is obvious. Have Lupin pull out the spike using his werewolf strength. Draco will hold down Potter's head while Sirius and I continue to hold his arms. We should have started with that in the first place." Madam Pomfrey started to squawk.

"Remus has no idea what he's doing." Lucius glared at the woman.

"You're going to be right behind him and you're going to take over as soon as the spike is out. Seriously, how difficult can it be to pull the spike out?" The mediwitch huffed but said nothing more. Remus moved away from Harry's head and Draco appeared above him. Harry spit the stick out of his mouth. His friend picked it back up but Harry shook his head.

"I can't breathe with it in my mouth." Draco nodded and laid it back down. He laid his hands over Harry's forehead and he felt Sirius and Lucius clamp down on his arms again. This time, he didn't give the consenting nod. He didn't even get a warning. He just felt the gut-wrenching pain of Remus yanking on the spike again.

This time, his screams were audible and he knew that the girls heard them. However, Remus was able to get the spike out rather quickly. Just when he stepped back and Harry thought that he was done, there was a searing pain that made him feel as though his skin was on fire. Draco was leaned over him, speaking softly.

"Hang in there, mate. I know it hurts but she has to cauterize it, otherwise it won't stop bleeding. She's almost done and then you can take some pain potion. Come on, mate, be strong." Just as he quit speaking, the burning sensation stopped, though a dull burn remained. Severus stepped forward and Harry watched through pain-hazed eyes as he dipped his fingers into a pot of cream and rubbed it on his shoulder. The cream was ice cold but it felt like heaven on his burned flesh. Severus massaged it into the abused flesh for several minutes before closing the pot and handing it to Draco.

"That needs to be applied three times a day. It will help with the burn and the swelling. There's only so much the pain potion can do." Harry could admit that while his shoulder felt better, it still hurt quite a bit. He tried to sit up, hoping that it would relieve some of the pressure on the wound but found that he couldn't quite get up all the way. His godfather and Lucius helped him up and then propped him up with pillows. Madam Pomfrey had just thrust a vial of pain relief potion into his hands for him to drink when all the girls returned with suspiciously wet cheeks.

Harry chased it down and it immediately went to his head. He felt wasted on firewhiskey but the pain in his shoulder was gone. He was pretty sure that he had a goofy grin on his face but he really couldn't tell. Madam Pomfrey came back with a strange looking sling and put it on him, hiking his arm up high to put no pressure on his shoulder.

"You'll have to wear this until your shoulder is completely healed. I'll look into your other injuries once we get to the hospital wing. I need to see what we can do about your shoulder blade. The soft tissue damage, however, is going to have to heal naturally. You can visit for a little while but then it's going to be overnight with me, young man." Harry just nodded; staying overnight in the Hospital Wing really wasn't a new thing for him. Once the mediwitch had bustled off again, Juliet couldn't contain herself any longer.

"Merlin's toes, Harry, you're going to be on the front page of the paper for that dragon. That was amazing, I can't believe you did the Wronski Feint better than the seeker who invented it!" Harry snorted in amusement.

"That is pretty hilarious but I was already going to be on the front page of the paper." Harry saw his godfather frown at his words.

"Why were you going to be on the front page?" Harry snorted.

"Ginny and I were kissing in the tent and Skitter took a picture. Krum said that you could demand a retraction since you didn't give permission." Harry didn't understand what was happening. His godfather looked pissed.

"How could you let yourself get caught in a position like that, Harry?" Harry shrugged his shoulders.

"She literally jumped into my arms and sprung it on me." Harry caught sight of Hermione drop her gaze to the floor and remembered how upset she was at his lack of discretion. However, she seemed so much more upset than he would have imagined. Lucius stepped towards her and wrapped an arm around her and pulled her into a hug and she buried her face in his robes. He smoothed a hand down her hair and whispered softly in her ear, what Harry had no idea. Remus watched the whole scene in silence while Sirius just continued to berate the woman he knew now to be called Skeeter. After several minutes, Lucius pulled his niece away from him and faced Harry with a grim smile.

"You did well today, Harry, but I fear it's been a long day. We shall escort Hermione and Juliet back to the castle and Draco may join us if he chooses. Remus and Sirius may stay with you until they know what other treatment you may need. I wish you happy healing." Harry smiled at him and thanked him gratefully. He was still surprised sometimes when he realized that he really meant it too. Narcissa came forward and smoothed his hair back of his forehead and didn't even seem to mind that his hair was sweaty.

"You were foolish and brave and stupid and brilliant. I'm happy you're safe and well. I look forward to spending more time with you Harry." He grinned at her and laid a hand over hers.

"I wish I could have grown up with everyone like I should have." She smiled down at him gently.

"We do too." Just as she had stepped back, Juliet rushed forward and hugged him as gently and exuberantly as she could. Her father laughed at her and promised that he would write her as soon as he could, told her that he loved her, and would see her soon. She seemed happy enough to let the Malfoys lead her away. Hermione came last though she kept her distance.

"I'm happy you didn't die. I'm glad you're on your way to getting better. I'm really tired so I'm going to go. I'll see you later." Without another word, she was gone, her arm wrapped through her uncle's. Draco gave him a jovial wave as he followed after them.

Harry let his head fall back, his world still spinning. Obviously he had done something wrong but he had no idea what it was. Was she mad that he had killed the dragon? He hadn't meant to do that and he had thought that she would realize that. Was she mad that he was going to be on the paper with Ginny? Was it because he was making her father look bad? Girls were just so confusing.

Harry closed his eyes. He was exhausted and he was sure that his day wasn't over yet. Therefore, he felt no guilt whatsoever at taking a short nap until they were ready to move him to the Hospital Wing. Maybe there he could ask his godfather and Remus just why Hermione was so angry.

-O-

Sirius watched his godson sleep as he slept off the Dreamless Sleep. They had been in the Hospital Wing for several hours now and he had finally been fully healed. Severus, Albus, and Poppy had decided that he could use Skele Gro on the shattered shoulder after a few hours since the dragon spike was no longer an influence. Harry had groused about it but even he had admitted that it felt better after it had started healing.

This did nothing for the soft tissue damage, however. That would all have to heal naturally. He had complained continually about the sling so Sirius had finally told him to take the fucking thing off. Harry had left it off to go take a piss and by the time he had gotten back to bed, he had sworn he wouldn't take it off. Sirius and Remus both had had a good laugh at his expense about that.

Now he was out like a light and they were getting ready to leave. The boy had tried asking him what Hermione's problem with him was but he hadn't been able to tell him. As far as he knew, she didn't like that he didn't keep his private business private. He knew that she had had a problem with Draco for the same reason. After he had learned that lesson, she hadn't complained a single time about the time he spent with the girls.

Remus had given him an incredulous look when he had told him that, almost as though he had known the answer and couldn't believe that Sirius didn't. It was very frustrating to say the least. He stood and gathered his robe so he could start for Black Moor. He was sure that Remus was going to want to go home; he wasn't too keen on staying the night anymore since Sirius had made clear that he was going to try to win Helena back.

The pair left the Hospital Wing and were making their way through the castle and out onto the grounds. Just as they made it to the apparition point, Sirius turned to his old friend and grasped his elbow.

"Why did you look at me like I should know the answer to Harry's question?" Remus shook his head disbelievingly.

"Because you should. I barely know her and I know the damn answer. Lucius knows the answer and I guarantee you that Draco knows too." Sirius was starting to get angry.

"Just fucking tell me then if you're so smart." Remus growled at him, never a good sign.

"You keep telling him that it's a good thing he's protecting himself, you keep rubbing in her face that he's with all these girls, he keeps going on about it too. He parades them about right in front of her. She's in love with him you idiot, why do you think it hurt so fucking bad when he said those things to her last year? She just lets him in and then he falls all over Cho Chang right in front of her. He complains she pulls away. She gives a little back today when she gave him a hug and then a kiss on the cheek and then she finds out that he snogged Ginny and it's going to be on the front page of the paper. Her feelings are hurt and she feels like you're just egging him on." Sirius couldn't quite believe it. Could it be true? Was it possible?

"Surely she wouldn't like someone that has been mean to her from the start?" Remus just shook his head at his stupid question.

"In her mind, he hasn't been. She's known him since she was two and he was wonderful. It wasn't until she was almost twelve that he turned into a little prick." Sirius sighed. How was he going to handle this? Remus seemed to understand where his mind was going.

"You can't do anything about it. If you say something to Harry about it, you'll embarrass her and she'll never forgive you. If you say something to her, she'll think you pity her because you've made clear how you feel about Harry playing the field. Just leave it alone and let Lucius and Narcissa handle it. Just make sure you tell her how much you love her and how much she deserves someone that going to make her number one and won't look at other girls while he's with her." Sirius winced because he knew that his friend was right. He had really bollocksed this one up. He couldn't tell Hermione that she deserved Harry and someone that wouldn't look at other women when he was with her and truly mean it. He really had no other choice but to stay out of it.

Honestly, Hermione being with Harry would make his day. Of course, Harry would have to do a lot of growing up before he would be good enough for his little girl but he was well on his way. Harry reminded him of himself when he was younger. Eventually, he would grow up and it would probably happen long before it had for Sirius. Harry had Voldemort to help in that endeavor while Sirius hadn't had anything to help with that until Hermione had fallen into his hands on Halloween of 1981. That had been the best and worst day of his life.

Sirius clapped his friend on the back and wished him goodnight before apparating away to Black Moor. While he really wanted a whiskey before going to bed, he was far too tired. It had been a long, tiring, and emotional day. He was sure that tomorrow would be more of the like since there was still the newspaper and the dragon aftermath to deal with. Lucius would be over early in the morning, he was quite positive, to threaten his godson for hurting his niece's feelings.

Even Sirius could admit that it would be funny to see how Harry reacted to Lucius' Death Eater routine if he ever pulled his head out of his arse and started seeing Hermione. He would have to remember to take a picture of his face. Sirius chuckled to himself and showed himself up the stairs to his room. He quickly stripped down and threw himself on the bed, wiggling under the duvet.

Sleep found him quickly as did the nightmares.

A/N- Holy fuck, y'all. I think this might be the longest chapter of the story so far, I can't remember. Kind of like canon but different too. I really hope y'all like my take on it. Thanks again for reading and reviewing, I really appreciate it. Anyways, leave me a message after the beep and let me know what ya think.

Las putain- whore, slut in French according to google translator. If that isn't correct, I apologize.

Next chapter, Yule Ball is announced.

Love,

Alicia


	70. Chapter 70

A/N- Here we are with another chapter, y'all. I can't believe we're already at chapter 70. It seems like just yesterday that I started this story. However, it freaks me out just a little to realize that we aren't even halfway through this story. Hope you guys are still down for the long haul! I know that you guys are all really hating Ginny right now and this chapter is only going to make that worse. However, the end of Ginny is in sight, promise. Well, the end of Ginny with Harry. Just hang tight until Christmas. Anyways, enough for now, I'll get started on the chapter so you get your fix and I can get started on the next chapter (:

Disclaimer: I own nothing about this story except the plot twist. The original story line belongs to Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle and the characters go to our queen, J.K.R. Since I literally have twenty-six cents in my bank account right now, it's safe to say that I haven't made any money from this story or any other.

Chapter 70

December 1, 1994

Hermione picked at the fruit on the her plate at breakfast while she listened to Juliet explain what she was learning about in Transfiguration despite the throbbing in her head. She had learned from her father that he had offered her sister Madam Cambridge as a tutor, that she could study through the mail like Harry, Hermione and Draco did but she had declined. She was more than content to learn at the speed of the rest of the Hogwarts students. While Hermione was appalled, she supposed that she understood. Juliet hadn't been raised in an environment where it was learn as much as you could or take the chance of missing something that could save your life later.

Harry was sitting on the other side of Draco and he and all the boys were embroiled in a conversation about the quidditch match coming up between the Tornadoes and the Balleycastle Bats that evening. They were planning to listen to it on the wireless and they wouldn't stop talking about it. Even Juliet and Daphne were excited to listen to it. A huge group of them had made plans to gather in the Great Hall and listen to it together. She had been invited but she didn't think she was going to go since it was so low on her interest scale that it wasn't even funny. Not to mention that if she didn't feel better soon, there was nowhere but the Hospital Wing in her future.

Life since the first task had been awkward. Uncle Luci now knew exactly how she felt for Harry; it hadn't taken much for him to figure it out, but then again he knew her like he knew himself. He had comforted her when Harry had told them how he had snogged Ginny for the cameras, told her that Harry would never be good enough for her and that she deserved a wizard that would look at her as though she were his sun and moon. While she agreed with him wholeheartedly, it hurt that Harry wasn't that boy.

Hermione had taken his advice and hardened her heart to her feelings for Harry while he was around. While she was alone or around Draco, she could let her hurt out but when she was in public or around Harry, she was to act as though nothing was wrong. He told her to not give Harry any power over her because it was dangerous to give someone power over you if you couldn't trust them with it. If there was one thing that she knew without a doubt, Hermione didn't trust Harry with the power over her heart.

From the day of the first task, she had acted as though nothing was wrong. Things were stilted at first but that was to be expected. Harry had asked her what was wrong and just what it was that she was angry with him for but she had lied and told him nothing. She couldn't very well tell him that she was angry with him for not being the boy she wished him to be.

It was very clear that he didn't believe her but he never came out and said it. Instead, he went out of his way to be nice to her. He sat with them all the time, which she wouldn't have minded under normal circumstances, but now it was wearing on her nerves. Just the night before, she had exploded on him at the dinner.

*Flashback*

Hermione sighed when Harry sat down next to her for the sixth meal in a row. He was trying to be nice to her because he knew that she was lying to him about why she was angry at him. She knew that she shouldn't lie but there was no way that she could be truthful about it right now. To give him that much power over her would be a disaster.

Everyone greeted Harry happily, Juliet grinning at him and shoving a plate at him. Draco grunted at him before he continued eating his beef pot pie. Harry threw an arm around her shoulder, smiling at her and wishing her a good day. He had just started to spoon up his dinner when she could no longer hold her tongue.

"Why don't you go back to the Gryffindor table before they start blaming me for turning you against them? They already hate that you're over here, they're just going to start blaming us for you being over here all the fucking time now." She could see confusion cloud over his eyes and then anger. He laid his fork down and stood up and she could tell that he was going to make a scene.

"You want me to leave pretty badly, Hermione. Why is that? I'm pretty tired of people trying to tell me what to do. Now you're doing it? I don't think so." There was a call from down the table and Hermione recognized the voice immediately.

Pansy Parkinson.

"She has hurt feelings because she likes the Boy-Who-Lived and he doesn't like her back. Aww, poor Hermione." Hermione turned to look the girl in her eyes and she could see the truth shining there. Pansy looked triumphant and Hermione wanted to barf. She turned back to Harry.

"You've been messing around with her, haven't you?" Harry turned red and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. She didn't bother to wait for an answer. She brushed her curls back behind her shoulder and held her pain back ruthlessly.

"I enjoy that our houses are getting along. Finnegan is a loose canon and you know it. He's probably throwing a fit that you haven't sat over there and you know he's blaming us, probably me specifically. I don't want our houses to fight. For the love of Merlin, go sit with your own house for the good of house unity. There is no underlying reason for me to send you over there except to keep peace." Complete lie but he couldn't prove anything. Even though she hadn't ate more than three bites, she gathered her things and threw them over her shoulder and stalked out of the Great Hall.

Hermione knew that if she didn't hurry, Draco would chase after her to make sure that she was alright. What she really wanted was time alone to just consider things and read. The fact that Harry was spending time with Pansy shouldn't have surprised her but it had. She wasn't sure who was worse, Ginny or Pansy. There were footsteps behind her, alerting her that she hadn't been fast enough to get away from her cousin. The hand on her elbow gently turned her and she was mortified to see that it wasn't Draco but Harry. She tried to turn her face so he wouldn't see the tears that dotted her cheeks but it was futile.

Harry pulled her into a hug and buried her face into his chest. Hermione couldn't help but think that he smelled amazing. His fingers carded through her curls and she knew that she needed to end this before she couldn't pull away. As politely as possible, she stood and pulled back, her fingers wiping under her cheeks, no longer caring if he saw them. His hand reached out and helped her, wiping away one that she had obviously missed.

"I'm sorry, Mia, I didn't realize that house unity meant so much to you." Hermione snorted.

"In general, it doesn't. I don't like Finnegan being mean to Daphne and even though I know I can handle him, I don't like it when he's mean to me. He broke my fucking hand, Harry. He crushed it on purpose. I don't know why he would be upset if you weren't over there since he made quite the show of believing that you were a liar and a cheat but now that you're a hero, things are different." Harry sighed and snagged her hand, the one that Seamus had broken. His hand traced the bones that he had broken ever so gently before he gave it a squeeze.

"You're right, I'm sorry. I promised you that I was going to do my best to help with house unity. I'll make sure that I sit there enough to keep the natives from getting restless. For the record, I'm sorry that he broke your hand. I had told them to not to hurt you anymore and he did it anyways." Hermione couldn't help but to smile at him.

"Thank you. I really appreciate it, Harry. For now, though, you better get back to dinner. Go sit with the lions and make them happy. Besides, I bet Ron would like to sit with his best mate." He caught her hand and tucked it in the crook of his elbow, escorting her back towards the Great Hall. Her heart started to speed up.

"Only if you go sit back down and eat. You literally had three bites. That isn't enough to keep a bird alive." She chuckled a little since her stomach decided that moment would be a great time to growl.

Hermione allowed him to escort her back into the Great Hall. Once they were inside, all the students fell silent and she knew why. Not only had she only been seen with Viktor since the school year started, Harry never escorted anyone anywhere. He met with girls in private and dated none of them, courted none of them. While it made her feel just a little bit special, she knew that he didn't mean it the way that it looked. He just wanted her to eat a good meal.

Once she was in her seat and he was on his way to the lion's table, she sighed. Tomorrow was going to be an interesting day.

*End of Flashback*

Hermione pushed her food away, her head still pounding. Juliet must have seen that she didn't look right because she leaned forward and laid a small hand on Hermione's.

"You okay, sissy?" Hermione squeezed her hand and smiled softly at her.

"I just don't feel very good, Jules. I'm going to get through classes and then go see Madam Pomfrey." Draco must have been paying attention because his head whipped around and he glared at her.

"If that's your plan, we can go see her now." She shook her head.

"All she's going to do is give me pepper up. I took some before breakfast. I took some that Uncle Sev and I made. It's better than what she makes." Harry leaned over now, worried look on his face.

"Let's just go before class. She can give you another dose." Hermione shook her head.

"I'll be fine. Besides, the bell is ringing now. I'll go after classes if I'm not feeling better." Draco rolled his eyes at her but nodded, knowing full well that that was as good as he was going to get from her.

They gathered their things and Hermione gave Juliet a quick hug before sending her on her way to Charms. The three of them headed for Potions and Hermione had a feeling that Draco was going to try to get Uncle Sev to bully her into seeing the meditwitch too. They were almost there when Ginny sidled up next to Harry. He looked pissed at her but allowed it. She stood on tip toes and whispered something in his ear, something that he smiled faintly at and then finally nodded at. She smiled and then bounded off, most likely for her next class.

Hermione felt her heart clench and she fought it like Uncle Luci had told her. Bury it deep in his presence. Act like it doesn't hurt, hide it until she was with just Draco. It was so hard to do sometimes, considering the level of publicity that kiss with Ginny had gotten. Her father had been livid, of course, especially when Arthur and Molly Weasley had contacted him and demanded a betrothal contract. Her father had laughed in their faces and told him that Ginny had initiated the kiss, just like she initiated everything between them. He had all but called their daughter a whore but had most certainly implied it. After Hermione had heard, she had scolded him heavily. He had merely told her that it was a luxury of being rich and powerful, telling the truth, and not caring if it hurt someone that was hurting his little girl.

Hermione had froze at that; had her father guessed at her feelings for Harry? He was usually pretty clueless about all emotions except anger. She couldn't decide either way so she had been quick to abandon the conversation to think on it further at a later time. The Weasleys hadn't been pleased, that much was fact, but Ginny was still dogging Harry's every step so they couldn't have been too offended. It really did disgust Hermione, wanting money and a title so much that you would let your daughter act like that.

Hermione was disappointed in Harry that he had let her back into his life after just a few days of being angry with her. Now, she just soaked up the attention at being the one that Harry was almost certainly going to court and he just tried to ignore the attention that he had been caught snogging a bird on camera. She had heard a rumor that the other girls were angry with him but she had tried not to listen to that one. The less she knew, the less angry she would be.

Draco wrapped an arm around her at the sight of Ginny even though he hated being around sick people. She shook her head at him, indicating that he didn't have to, that she was fine. He released her instantly, for once listening to her. He went to Harry's side, though he remained silent as a show of support.

They entered the Potions classroom and took their usual seats at the tables, Harry and Daphne joining them. Hermione felt like she could just lay her head down on the table and take a nap but knew that it would be folly in this class no matter how she was related to the professor. She dragged out her parchment and quill and prayed that he would teach something that she would need to take lots of notes on. Harry, Daphne, and Draco were doing the same beside her.

Professor Snape entered the classroom, his robes billowing around him, and he wasted no time starting his lecture on fairy wings. While the lecture was extensive, Hermione wanted to groan. She had probably twenty pages of notes on fairy wings since not only had he covered it in potions, Madam Cambridge had covered them in Care of Magical Creatures. She would just have to do her best to stay awake.

By the end of class, she knew that she had failed miserably. Hermione knew that she was going to have several blooming bruises on her ribs were Draco had elbowed her, trying to get her to stay awake. Harry had stomped her feet several times but it hadn't mattered. She knew that her godfather had seen her. After their things were stowed in their bags, he called out for the whole class to hear.

"Miss Black, you'll stay behind to discuss your inattention in class with me." She could feel her cheeks burning and she wasn't sure if it was due to her embarrassment or her fever. Draco didn't say anything, just shook his head in exasperation. She supposed she couldn't blame him; he had told her to go to the Hospital Wing. She still had every plan to go to the rest of her classes. All the students were snickering at her as they filed out of the classroom and she went to stand in front of her godfather's desk. She waited there in silence for almost five minutes for him to acknowledge her. When he did, his voice was hard and she could tell that he was disappointed.

"That will be fifty points from Slytherin for falling asleep in my class. How dare you disrespect me like that? I understand that you're upset over Potter's love life but that's no excuse to act like a petulant child." Hermione felt tears prick at her eyes at his words so she looked at the floor, holding them back ruthlessly. He turned his attention back to whatever he was working on at his desk.

"Detention tonight with me. Come at six." She spoke meekly.

"Yes, sir." She picked up her bag and knew that she was going to have to hurry since she had Transfiguration next and it was clear across the castle.

Hermione tried to walk fast the whole way but ended up having to run the last three corridors. By the time she made it, Professor McGonagall was already in the classroom and Hermione was so out of breath she could hardly breathe. The animagus was clearly worried about her but she waved her worry off.

"Miss Black, are you well?" Hermione nodded.

"Yes, maam, I just had to stay and speak with Professor Snape. I had to run the last three corridors." The woman narrowed her eyes at her, knowing full well that Hermione ran every single morning. She didn't give the woman a chance to say anything else though, she took her seat and started to ready herself for class.

Professor McGonagall began her lecture on the serpensortia spell. Hermione made sure to employ a straight spine the whole class period and to reread every single line of notes that she had written down. They ran out of time to practice the spell so they could do that next week but she had managed to stay awake for class. Lunch was next which meant that she was halfway through her day.

Hermione hurried from the classroom towards the Great Hall, both boys following after her. They both clearly knew that she was hiding something and she really wasn't too keen on sharing it. No, she hadn't told Uncle Sev that she wasn't feeling well but he hadn't really given her a chance to. She wasn't sure why he frightened her when he was angry; Uncle Luci was never angry with her and her father didn't frighten her at all, probably because their anger was so much alike. Uncle Sev, though, was very unpredictable and she never knew what to expect. Draco finally caught up to her and grabbed her elbow so she couldn't escape.

"What did Uncle Sev say?" Hermione sighed as they entered the Great Hall.

"He took fifty points from Slytherin and gave me detention tonight." Draco stopped in his tracks.

"Did you tell him you were sick?" Hermione started to pull him forward. Hermione shook her head.

"No, he didn't really give me a chance. He was mad, took the points, assigned the detention, was mean about it, and sent me on my way." Draco narrowed his eyes at her.

"How was he mean about it?" Hermione cast a glance to Harry but shook her head.

"It doesn't matter." Draco caught her meaning and hugged her close.

"He can be such a bastard sometimes. Let's eat and you can go during dinner to the Hospital Wing." Hermione shook her head.

"No, I know you're going to want to go. I'm not going to make you miss dinner. I'll go after detention. It'll be fine. What's another couple hours?" Her cousin rubbed his forehead, clearly irritated.

"I'll agree on one condition. You sleep during Defense." Hermione sagged in relief. She hadn't be sure how she was going to survive having spells thrown at her.

"You've got a deal."

-O-

Harry was worried. Hermione looked like death warmed over and she was refusing to go see Madam Pomfrey. He knew all about hating to go to the Hospital Wing but she clearly needed something more than a pepper up potion. He smiled to himself at Draco making a deal with her to sleep during Defense so she would go see the mediwitch after her detention.

Truthfully, he was pretty certain that she didn't eat a single bite for lunch. She had her head propped up on her hand and she looked like she was staring down at a book but he was almost positive that she was asleep. He didn't dare ask Draco because he didn't want to wake her up accidentally when she was so clearly exhausted.

Harry couldn't help but wonder how Severus had been mean to her though. He knew that the man loved her more than anything. To hear that he had been mean to her was almost hard to believe. He could believe that he had taken fifty points and assigned her detention but he just couldn't believe being mean. If he had, he wanted to have stern words with the man because Hermione adored him and it was killing her to not get to spend time with him as she did every other year.

The bell rang and he had been right. Hermione jumped and her book fell shut, telling everyone that she had been sleeping. Draco helped her gather her things and wrapped an arm around her waist to help guide her to the Defense classroom. Harry took her bag from Draco and watched as she leaned heavily on him. He couldn't help but be jealous in that moment; he wanted to be the one that helped her, that she depended on, that took care of her.

Remus was waiting for them and he gave them an odd look when he saw Hermione almost asleep on Draco. Harry set their bags down and was quick to conjure and pillow and blanket for her to lay on, then another one to cover her up with. Draco helped her get settled while Harry explained to Remus.

"She's sick but refuses to go to the Hospital Wing until after classes. She fell asleep in Potions and Severus took fifty points and assigned her detention tonight. He didn't let her explain. Now, she won't go until after detention. We told her if she was doing that then she was sleeping during Defense. Honestly, she wouldn't have been able to function anyways. She slept through lunch." Remus stepped forward and bent to feel her forehead.

"Boys, she's burning up. She's really sick." Draco growled at him.

"I know, but you don't know her that well. Getting her to do something she doesn't want to do is nigh on impossible. She's the most stubborn person I've ever met and I'm the son of Lucius Malfoy. If she says she won't go to the Hospital Wing until after detention, she won't go until after detention." Harry turned to Remus.

"Do you know how to spell potions into a person?" Remus nodded. Draco understood immediately. Harry spoke.

"Dobby." The little elf appeared before him.

"Can you bring my a fever-reducing potion?" Dobby nodded emphatically and disappeared to reappear only seconds later with a potion in his hand. Remus took it from him and laid it on Hermione's belly. Remus pointed his wand at her belly and just moments later, the vial was empty. They waited a few seconds and Remus felt her forehead again.

"Her fever is gone for now. Let's hope that it holds until she gets to the Hospital Wing. You boys make sure you tell Poppy what we did." Dobby took the empty vial and disappeared again.

They started their lesson, dueling practice. It was mandatory that Harry get better and Draco was the best. Harry had learned early on that Hermione and Draco were the best he had ever gone against but in different ways. Draco had the reflexes and offensive spells out the arse. He was like a blur and had beat him so many times that it wasn't even funny. Harry dueled more like Draco and he was honing his own technique the more he went against his friend.

Hermione was the complete opposite. She favored defense; her shields were second to none and nobody could break through them. While she was still fast, she wasn't as fast as Draco or Harry. However, if she landed a spell on you, you were toast because her spells were ten times more powerful than anything anyone else could produce. The only exception was when Harry felt that Hermione was in danger. He had proven time and time again that when he thought Hermione was injured or the like, he was capable of producing spells just as powerful or more so as Hermione did. It made him confident for the first time since coming to Hogwarts that he could really defeat Moldyshorts if he really ever did come back from the dead.

They went at it hard against each other for a good three hours. For the last hour, Draco and Remus had teamed up against him and really worked him out. He wanted to whinge that it wasn't fair but neither Hermione or Draco ever did over the summer when it was all the adults against one of them. They were determined to be ready when the Dark Lord came back so he was determined to be ready with them. The goblins had assured Sirius that Voldemort wasn't dead and he wasn't stupid enough to not take them at their word.

At the end of their lesson, Harry went to Hermione and gently shook her awake. He noticed that her cheeks were rosy with fever once again and he couldn't help but wish that she would just go to the fucking Hospital Wing. However, he knew she wouldn't. Like Draco said, she was the most stubborn person he knew. She groaned as she tried to sit up and he was quick to help her. He helped her to her feet and she leaned heavily on him. He really didn't even think that she was completely awake but Draco gathered all their things so they could head back to dinner. Hermione was hot against him and Harry looked to Draco.

"She's burning hot again, Drake. She needs to go." Hermione mumbled against his neck. His arms tightened around her waist as she stumbled slightly.

"I'm going to dinner and then detention. Then you both can take me to the Hospital Wing." Harry sighed and looked to the heavens for deliverance. Draco chuckled at his actions but remained silent. It was slower going than usual, trying to get her to the Great Hall, but they eventually got there. Once again, the Great Hall fell silent when they arrived.

Harry could feel all eyes on him when they arrived. The first set of eyes that he met were Viktor Krum's. They were clearly angry but he didn't care. Hermione was sick and if he couldn't see that then he was a fucking idiot. He wasn't escorting her in a dating capacity but in a familial capacity because she was a stubborn witch who didn't have a lick of sense sometimes. The second set of eyes he met were Ginny's and he could see the fury there as well. He was supposed to meet with her in a broom cupboard during Hermione's detention but that might change now. He supposed that he would see. Just as they sat, and Hermione settled against him, her head on his shoulder and leaning heavily against him, Viktor stomped down the table and spoke harshly for the whole table to hear.

"Miss Black, vhy are you laying on Potter vhen I escort you?" Hermione was clearly asleep on him and didn't hear a word he said. The rest of her friends were silent so Draco stood and faced him, clearly unafraid to face him down.

"Watch how you speak to my cousin, Krum. Potter is family and if you must know, Hermione is deathly sick but refuses to go to the Hospital Wing until after her detention. My family won't tolerate this treatment of her. Potter was to be raised as her brother and you will treat him as such." Viktor instantly backed down, bowing his head.

"I apologize, Mr. Malfoy, I mean no disrespect. I hope she is vell. I check on her tomorrow." Draco just glared at him while he retreated. He took his seat again and the food appeared before them.

Harry spooned up his plate and then one for Hermione, putting only a little bit of her favorites on it. Daphne watched in amusement, as did the rest of the Slytherins. Finally, he reached out and shook her slightly, brushing her curls back from her face. She groaned a little but opened her eyes. He felt her forehead and winced when she was still burning up.

"It's dinner time, you need to eat a little. I spooned you up just a little of your favorites." She grimaced.

"I'm not sure if I can. I feel as though I might throw up." He pulled her curls all the way behind her shoulders. She tried to sit up on her own but in the end he had to help her. It was strange to see her weak as a kitten.

"You need to try, Mia. You are determined to go to detention. You need strength." She leaned on him again but picked up her spoon and started to slowly eat the soup that he had given her. After a handful of bites, she put her spoon down and gave him the most pitiful look he had ever seen.

"If I eat another bite, I'm going to throw up on you." He chuckled and kissed the side of her head.

"Alright." She struggled to sit up and he gave her an odd look. When she saw it, she grimaced.

"All your girls are going to be angry with you for letting me lay on you like that, don't even try to tell me different. I appreciate it but I don't want mess your life up. I'm good now." Harry reached out and pulled her curls away from her face.

"I don't care about those girls, Mia. I care about you. If you need to lean on me, you do it." She shook her head.

"I'm good. I don't like interfering in your life. You deserve to be happy." He frowned at her words. He was far happier when he was with her then when he was with all those girls combined. To her credit, she sat up on her own the whole rest of the meal. Just as the meal was about to dismiss, the Headmaster stood up and made an announcement.

"Just a short announcement for everyone. For the champions, your golden egg that you retrieved from the dragon nest, it holds the clue for your next task. Best of luck to you figuring it out and being prepared since the second task has been scheduled for February twenty-fourth. The second announcement is that this year we're going to bring back a time-honored tradition that we haven't seen in almost two decades. The Yule Ball will be held on Christmas night and will be available to students in fourth year and above, though third years will be able to attend if invited by an older student. However, if you return home for the holiday, you won't be able to attend. I'm sorry to say that champions are required to open to Ball so are required to have dates." Harry wasn't sure who the hell he was going to ask to the Ball. There were so many girls that would want to go with him and none of them because they genuinely liked him. The only girl that he would want to go with would likely want to go with Krum.

The same said girl that was falling asleep against him again. He smiled at her again and sat her upright again. This time she shook herself and stood, not saying a word about the Ball.

"I'm going to head to detention. I know it's a little early but maybe he'll let me start a little early so I can finish a little early. I promise to go to the Wing, though, you guys stay and listen to your match." Harry had forgotten about that. He could see that Draco really wanted to stay and listen. He answered for the both of them since it was clear that they hadn't decided.

"We'll think about it." She smiled at them and hugged them both from behind.

"Thanks for being so good to me today." They both nodded and watched her leave, albeit very slowly. Viktor also watched her leave and Harry was startled to see that it was a hungry sort of look. However, when he turned back to face them, it was gone.

Harry only dallied just a little while longer. Draco had his own plans, which he was quite sure included the little French girl from Beauxbatons. Harry headed for the broom closet that he was supposed to be meeting Ginny in, sure that she was already waiting for him there. She was sure to be pissed at him but he didn't care. If she didn't like that he was helping Hermione while she was sick, she could fuck off. He still wasn't the happiest with her but who was he to turn down free blow jobs? He entered the broom closet to find that she was indeed there waiting for him and that she was indeed pissed as fuck. As soon as the door shut, she shoved him as hard as she could in the chest. He stumbled back a step or two.

"What the fuck are doing letting Miss Goody Two Shoes hang all over you?" Harry felt his magic flare at her words and he did his best to tamp it down.

"She's bloody sick, Ginny. I was helping her. She's my family, what was I supposed to do?" Ginny shoved him again.

"Let her inbred cousin help her, that's what!" Harry could feel his magic bubbling just under the surface and it was getting harder to control it.

"I don't answer to you, Ginny, and we aren't dating. I don't owe you any answers and if I want to escort Hermione to class every single day you don't have any reason to say anything about it. I made very clear that we weren't exclusive. I'm not even dating Hermione, we aren't courting. We're family and I care about her. I'm not a monster and I'm going to help her if she needs it. Or would you have me just let her collapse because she's so bloody weak she can barely walk?" Ginny shoved him again.

"I would have you pay the girl sucking your cock the proper attention she deserves. Hermione Black does nothing for you except make you feel like you aren't good enough. You deserve better than that." Harry shoved her up against the wall and did everything he could not to hit her.

"If I did that, I would have to pay numerous, numerous girls proper attention then. You're not the only girl that sucks my cock, Ginny, not even close. Hermione makes me want to be better, you make me feel like I can't do any better. If you insult my family one more time, we're through here. I won't listen to it anymore. Hermione, Draco, and Juliet are my family now and if you can't get over it, then fuck off, Ginny." Harry released her when she pushed against him.

Quick as a snitch, her hand reached out and caught him against the cheek. It wasn't hard enough to bruise but he was sure that there was a red handprint there. The funny thing was that after a few days, she would be dogging his footsteps and acting as though nothing had happened. He was stupid enough that he would probably take her back and start fooling around with her again. He wasn't sure why he couldn't stay away but he was going to make a concentrated effort to just be done with her after this. He didn't need her brand of crazy. There were plenty of other girls that would give him what he wanted after all.

-O-

Hermione was almost to the Potions classroom. It was slow going since she had to keep stopping to catch her breath. She could now fully admit that she had been stupid in having too much pride. She should have gone to the Hospital Wing before breakfast instead of thinking that she could fix the problem herself with pepper up. Although, she knew that she was right; if it was just the standard cold, the pepper up would have been exactly what she would have been given.

Just a single corridor away from her uncle's classroom, Hermione heard footsteps behind her. Figuring that it was one of the Slytherins heading for the common room, she didn't give it a single thought and didn't turn around. This was a mistake since she felt a spell hit her in the back of the head. The impact of it showed that it had been close-range and it threw her into the wall. She was thrown to the ground and her ears were ringing.

Hermione could have sworn she caught a flash of red hair but she couldn't be certain. Her mind went instantly to Ginny, knowing that she would be livid since she had came in the Great Hall leaning on Harry. Just as she was getting her bearings enough to try to stand, Hermione realized just what the curse had done to her.

Her beautiful black curls were falling out all around her.

Knowing that she needed to get to detention before she got another one for being late, Hermione forced herself to stand and gather as much of her hair as she could, she started for the Potions classroom once more. There were tears streaking down her cheeks now and her nose was starting to snot up, making breathing even harder. She was trying to catch her hair as it would fall so it wouldn't leave a mess for Mr. Filch. When she reached her uncle's door, she knocked and waited a full three minutes for him to bid her to enter. She went in and stepped in front of his desk, and stood there for a full five minutes before he lifted his head to pay attention to her.

By this time, she was almost entirely bald. She had been gathering her hair into her hands so it wouldn't make a mess and she had been crying silently. The bump on her head from hitting the wall was standing out prominently and it ached something terrible. Her godfather came around the desk and cupped her cheeks in his hands, only to realize that she was burning up.

"Princess, you're burning up." She nodded.

"I've been sick all day. Draco's been trying to convince me to go to the Hospital Wing but I wanted to wait until after classes." He gathered another handful of hair as it fell from her head.

"Did you go?" She shook her head and lowered her eyes.

"I had to come here." He lifted her face by her chin and met her gaze.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She walked over and threw all her hair into his trash can. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand.

"You didn't give me a chance and you were so angry at me. You scare me when you're angry. Uncle Luci is never angry at me and Daddy gets angry like I do. I never know what you're going to do and you make me feel like I'm the worst person in the world when you're angry at me." Her godfather pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly.

"Baby, I would never hurt you. I'm sorry I scare you, I'll try to not do that anymore. How long have you been sick?" She buried her face in his robes and inhaled the scent of potions ingredients. It had been so long since she had been able to hug him.

"I woke up and felt terrible. I just thought I was getting a cold so I took a pepper up that we had made. It helped a little but after an hour or so I felt terrible again. The boys made me sleep all through Defense." He kissed her forehead.

"Fifty points to Slytherin for being honest with me." She smiled against his chest. He pulled her away from him to look in her eyes.

"What happened to your hair?" Her eyes started to prick with tears again. She was completely bald now.

"I was almost here when I heard footsteps behind me. I just assumed that it was a Slytherin headed to the common room. A spell hit me in the back of the head and threw me into the wall. I got up off the floor and could have sworn that I saw red hair but can't be sure. Then my hair started falling out." He kissed her forehead again.

"You're beautiful bald as well." She smiled at him but still felt a few tears slip free. He brushed them away and continued.

"We need to have you seen at the Hospital Wing like this but I have a potion that will restore your hair as good as new. It will only a few minutes. How about we floo there so nobody sees you?" She nodded gratefully.

Uncle Sev wrapped an arm around her waist and helped her into the floo, whooshing away in green flame. They stepped out to find only Madam Pomfrey in residence. She gasped when she saw her and ushered her to a bed. Uncle Sev took over telling her what was wrong with her and what had happened. The mediwitch drew a curtain around her and started casting spells on her, diagnostic ones she was sure. Once she was finished, she tutted softly.

"Miss Black, you should have been in here hours before. You have Wizard's Flu, it's no wonder you feel terrible. I have the potions you'll need but you're going to have to stay overnight." She gave a miserable nod but didn't complain. Honestly, at this point, she didn't care. The curtain pulled open to reveal Harry and Draco, both clearly worried. Their mouths dropped at the sight of her without hair and she rolled over and hid her face.

"Get out! Just leave!" The last thing she wanted was to be stared at like a freak of nature. Uncle Sev tried to help her out and shuffle them out but they weren't having any of it. Draco took a seat on her bed and tried to get her to pull her head out from under the pillow.

"Miney, come out here and talk to us." She shook her head but realized they couldn't see it. It would do no good to tell Harry that she thought it was Ginny since he had hadn't believed her the last time.

"No, I don't want to be stared at like a freak. Just go away." Harry reached down and took her pillow while Draco pulled her up to a sitting position. He moved in so she could lean on him since she was still sick. Madam Pomfrey was still gathering the potions she would need.

"Miney, you're still beautiful even without hair. Seriously, though, tell us what happened." Harry reached out and stroked her cheek bone and nodded but Hermione turned away from him and buried her face in Draco's shoulder. His hand fell to her shoulder and rubbed small circles on it.

"I was almost to Uncle Sev's and someone cursed me from behind. I couldn't have moved fast enough even if I had wanted to because I'm sick." She felt Draco hold her impossibly tighter.

"Did you see who it was?" She shook her head.

"No, not really." Uncle Sev just had to open his mouth.

"She isn't sure but she thinks she saw the little bitch Weasley." Hermione was quick to reiterate.

"I can't be sure. I hit my head. I'm not sure enough to accuse her." Harry leaned over and pulled her gently from Draco's shoulder so he could look into her eyes.

"Mia, was it Ginny or not?" She glared at him.

"I just said I didn't know. Besides, would it matter either way? You didn't believe me last time. I know she threw that rock at me and you still don't believe me. The twins are her brothers and they believe me. So, really, does it matter? This way is better for everyone. You can still mess around with her with a clear conscience and when she has Finnegan or Ronald give her an alibi for this evening I won't look like I'm just trying to start shite." Harry looked like she had just slapped him in the face but it was all true. Rather than snuggle back into Draco, she took her pillow back from Harry and laid back down on it. Madam Pomfrey bustled back over and and handed a single vial first.

"Your hair potion first. Every witch wants her hair first." Hermione smiled weakly and drank it down. It literally took two minutes for her hair to grow back, luscious, sleek black curls that reached her hips now rather than her waist. Both Harry and Draco reached out and fingered them softly while Madam Pomfrey handed her six other potions. Uncle Sev watched her drink them all down

It was instantaneous, the feeling better. However, right on it's heels was the feeling exhausted. She could barely keep her eyes open. Her godfather stood and waved her wand at her clothes, turning her uniform into a long nightgown that she usually favored at school during the winter. He made sure that she was tucked in and she clutched at his hand tightly.

"Please stay until I fall asleep. I miss you so much." He chuckled and kissed her forehead again.

"As you wish, Princess." Draco stepped up and kissed the top of her head and promised that he would come get her in the morning. She hummed her agreement squeezed his hand. Harry stepped up and took a chance, kissing her forehead. Her eyes were almost closed.

"I'm sorry, Mia. I never meant to hurt you." She smiled at him.

"Sometimes you didn't. Sometimes you did. I still forgave you." She felt him brush curls away from her face again but said nothing else. Uncle Sev sat down next to her and took her hand in his.

"I love you, sweetness." She rolled towards his voice.

"I love you too, Uncle Sevvie." She heard him groan at the name and she laughed inwardly before letting sleep pull her under.

-O-

Harry wasn't sure what to think of what Hermione had said. She was right, he had meant to hurt her sometimes but he hadn't always meant to. It was nice to hear that she had forgiven him. However, he didn't think that he should take that as her forgiving him. It was clear that she was drugged and not in complete control of her tongue.

He wanted to ask Ginny if she had cursed Hermione. Never in a million years did he think that she would admit to it but he did want to know if she would use Seamus or Ron as an alibi. Hermione had been correct, he hadn't believed her when she had said that Ginny had thrown that rock at her. Although, it was news to him that the twins had believed her. He had always assumed that they thought their sister was innocent like Ron did.

He and Draco had separated outside of the Hospital Wing. The Slytherin had decided to go find Pansy and spend a little personal time with her, something that Harry did from time to time. She wasn't his favorite girl to spend time with, mostly because she was so obsessed with Draco, but she was a way to pass the time. He could admit that she gave a pretty good handy though. He was headed for the common room, deciding to give the wireless of the quidditch match a complete miss.

Ron, Ginny, Seamus, Dean, Neville, the twins, Lee, and Colin were sitting by the fire playing exploding snap, all laughing as they blew each other up. They all greeted him loudly he approached, even Ginny. It was as though their time in the broom closet hadn't happened, even though it was only a couple hours ago. She gestured for him to take the seat next to her but he just glared at her. She gave him a confused look that in turn got the attention of everyone around them. His voice was hard when he spoke.

"What have you been doing since you left the broom closet, Ginny? And don't fucking lie to me." Her eyes flashed with fear but she hid it almost instantly. Ron got indignant but seemed to realize almost instantly that there was something else going on there.

"I came here and started playing with Seamus. Everyone started showing up and adding players to the game. I wouldn't lie to you, Harry." Ron glared at him.

"What's this about, mate?" Harry turned to glare at him now.

"Your sister begged me to meet her to fool around. Instead, she threw a little hissy fit because I helped Hermione to the table because she has the Wizard's Flu. Even though I informed her that we aren't dating, we aren't courting, that Hermione is my family, she slapped me. Somehow, Hermione was cursed from behind on her way to detention. Seems awfully coincidental if you ask me." Ron started to sputter and so did Ginny. However, Harry didn't give them a chance to get started because they wouldn't shut up for an hour.

"Just remember this and it goes for everyone in this school. Hermione Black, Draco Malfoy, and Juliet Black are my fucking family. They are mine. I will protect them as such. I will treat them as I see fit. If you don't like it, fuck off. If you hurt them, you will regret it. I don't give a shit how many house points I lose and detention means nothing to me. Don't think for second that I'll be expelled. After all, do you really think they're going to expel the Savior of the world? The godson of Lord Black, the nephew of Lord Malfoy, the scion of House Potter? You hurt my family, you'll fucking pay. Spread the word." It was Neville that spoke.

"Is Hermione okay?" The twins were nodding, showing they were worried too. Harry smiled at them. They were such good friends to her. He loved when they got together in the library and had study hour.

"Yeah, it was a spell that made her lose her hair. Jokes on whoever cast it though. Professor Snape made the potion that fixed it and it was so good that her hair came back longer and far more beautiful than it was originally." Fred whistled.

"Merlin, it was already the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen." Harry laughed.

"I know. Now Krum really isn't going to be able to keep his eyes off her." George narrowed his eyes at his words.

"Harry, have you heard the rumors about him?" Harry blew his breath out.

"Yeah, but she isn't going to believe it from me. I've already made clear that I don't like her with him. She told me in not so many words to butt out." The twins laughed.

"That sounds like Mina." They turned more serious.

"Maybe we'll try talking to her next time we get her alone." Harry clapped them on the shoulders.

"Thanks boys. I really don't want her hurt. I think she's a romantic at heart." They nodded. He continued.

"It's been a long day. I'm going to head to bed. See you both in the morning. You three want to eat with the snakes with me in the morning?" They nodded eagerly; it had been a couple days since they had ate with Hermione since the twins had gotten girlfriends.

Harry bid them goodnight and headed upstairs to his bed. After he quickly changed, he crawled into his bed and let his mind drift for just a few minutes. Hermione had been right. Ginny had used Seamus and then everyone else. Of course, this proved nothing but he wasn't going to trust Ginny blindly anymore. He was surprised that she hadn't hounded him to ask her to the Yule Ball already. However, he was left with the problem of who he could ask. Hermione was out of the question since he was sure that Krum was going to ask her. Juliet was too young.

He was going to have to put his mind to it. He considered Chang but he remembered how upset Hermione had gotten over him watching her. Were there any girls in the school that she didn't get upset over when he talked to them? He smiled to himself when he realized that there were two. She really didn't like Parvati but she didn't seem to hate her as much as she did the other girls, probably because he wasn't messing around with Parvati. The Indian girl was strictly his friend, though he couldn't say the same for her twin.

The other girl was her cousin, Luna Lovegood. The girl was quirky and odd, but strangely smart. They didn't talk much but she was friendly and seemed to genuinely like Hermione and Draco. Draco had explained the situation to him just a couple weeks before. He wondered if the girl would be open to attending the Yule Ball with him. Of course, he would never dream of messing around with a girl that was related to Hermione so it would mean no fun at the Ball but he could live with that. It would mean that she wouldn't get angry at him and they would have a good time even if she was with that goon Krum.

The idea had merit. He would run it by her as soon as he got the nerve. Without further ado, he rolled over and let sleep pull him under.

A/N- Omg, I hope you guys like the idea of Harry taking Luna to the Ball because it's totally going to happen. I was going to wait until fifth year to introduce her into their dynamic but I think it's going to be a slower intro starting now. Hope you don't mind. Anyways, hope you liked the chapter. As always, thanks for being such awesome readers and thanks for the follows, favorites, and reviews, you guys are seriously the bomb. Leave me your thoughts and let me know what ya think.

Next chapter, an argument breaks out and Hermione gets a date.

Love,

Alicia


	71. Chapter 71

A/N- Here we are with another chapter, friends. This story is just moving right along, even though I was seriously riding the struggle bus with this one. I've lost quite a few readers after the last couple chapters so to those that are still hanging tough, thank you. I warned everyone that this is an ULTRA-slow burn. Harry isn't going to pull his head out of his ass until sometime just after school starts next year. Hermione is going to move on, in the next couple chapters, so please stop telling me that she needs to. Please? Anyways, enough of that business since I really want to get this one published for you. Hope you enjoy!

**Shout out to Midnight Little One for being my 3200th reviewer! You're freaking awesome!**

Disclaimer: I'm already so tired of leaving these here. Y'all know that this doesn't belong to me and that I haven't made any money off this story or any others, right? If not, well, it doesn't and I haven't. Nuff said.

Chapter 71

December 18, 1994

Harry nudged Ron at the table, reminding him that the bell had rang and they needed to get to class. He had promised his friend that they would sit together in Potions this morning and he refused to disrespect Severus by being late to class. Ron crammed one last slice of toast in his mouth before standing and gathering his things.

"Ahh kshh jfkall liilll." Harry just rolled his eyes.

"You can't possibly think that I understood that." Ron chewed for a full minute before finally swallowing.

"I can't stand Potions." Harry snorted now.

"You remind me every day we have the class. Just do your best and keep your mouth shut." Ron groaned but didn't complain further.

Hermione and Draco were just a little further up the corridor from them, laughing about something, just the two of them. Sometimes he was jealous of the bond they shared. He should have been included in that bond if only Dumbledore hadn't meddled in his life. It was hard to not hate the old man for that.

His eyes fell to Hermione's arse and he couldn't help but harden at the sight of it. Her hips swayed slightly, not overly so like some of the girls he saw in his free time, and her cheeks were rounded like a ripe peach. He dreamed of taking a bite out of it almost every night. Ron cleared his throat next to him and Harry was quick to avert his eyes, thanking Merlin that he had his robes on, hiding his erection.

Once inside the classroom, he took his seat at the table with Ron, Seamus, and Dean. He had been growing closer to Neville but he seemed happy to sit with Hermione, Draco, and Daphne. Honestly, Harry was starting to grow closer to Neville and the twins then he was to Ron. He hated to admit it but it was the truth. Ron seemed to know it too and he was latching on even more than normal.

Professor Snape appeared and instantly started his lesson. He lectured for just a little while on the Wide-Eye Potion before they split up into pairs and began to brew it. Harry had always been terrible at brewing before but since the summer when Severus had started brewing with him, he had gotten better. Not up to par with Draco and Hermione, mind you, but good enough to get an E on his assignments.

Ron paired with him and instantly started complaining that Harry was doing everything wrong. Harry let him bitch but continued to brew like Severus had taught him. Harry was just about to add the billywig stings but realized that Ron had brought him skin. He sighed.

"I need the stings, Ron, not the skin." Ron argued back.

"No, it's skin, I read it." Harry snapped back this time.

"Ron, I've made this before. It's bloody stings. Just go get them before the potion is ruined. You can check afterwards." Ron sneered at him.

"That's right, you made it with your perfect family. How could I forget?" The potion was getting ready to be past the point of no return.

"Ron, just get the stings before it's too late!" Ron rolled his eyes.

"You're so bloody dramatic." Harry watched as the potion went from the brilliant green it was supposed to be to the lavender shade that indicated it was past saving. He raked his hand through his hair and sighed, knowing that he would be receiving a failing grade today. He turned angry eyes to his best mate.

"Thanks, mate, now we both got a failing grade because you wouldn't listen." Ron mocked him.

"Now we both got a failing grade because you wouldn't listen." Harry didn't get the chance to answer because Professor Snape stepped up and clamped a hand down on Ron's shoulder, his tone icy.

"I do believe that Mr. Weasley will be the only one receiving a failing grade today. I clearly heard Mr. Potter tell Mr. Weasley more than once to retrieve stings rather than skin and he refused. Therefore, I will reward Mr. Potter with his average grade in my class, an E. I think a detention is in order, Mr. Weasley, for wasting potions ingredients." Harry sighed. While he was thrilled that he hadn't failed the assignment, he knew that Ron was going to be pissed at him that he had not only failed but got a detention out of the deal. After Snape stalked off again, Ron glared at him.

"I can't believe you just let that happen." Harry sneered at him, a habit that he was quickly picking up from Draco.

"You should have listened to me. You know how smart Hermione and Draco are and you know I've been studying with them. Why would you not think that I know what I'm talking about? It was your fault that the potion was ruined." Ron just glared for a second more before turning his head and ignoring him for the rest of the class.

Once the bell rang, Harry gathered his things and headed for the door, headed for Divination. Hermione and Draco were ahead of him and he watched as Hermione playfully shoved at Draco, laughing softly. She caught sight of him and waved merrily before heading off in the direction of her Magical Theory class. He wasn't sure how she stood that class; it would bore him to tears.

Harry caught up to Draco and started the trek to Divination together. Neville caught up with them a few corridors down and he was happy to walk in silence as well. They were almost to the North Tower when Neville finally broke it.

"Ron really is an idiot sometimes, isn't he?" Harry snorted.

"He really is. It's so frustrating sometimes. But he's my best mate so what do you do?" Draco snorted, making his opinion quite clear. Harry just left it at that. Ron was nowhere near them so Harry wasn't sure where he was. He was in Divination as well and it was one of the few classes that he never wanted to skip since it was easy.

Once they arrived, Harry realized that Ron was already there. However, he was at a table with Seamus and Dean rather than one he usually sat at with Harry. He just rolled his eyes inwardly, wondering if Ron really thought that this was hurting his feelings. He just sat with Draco and budged over so Neville could sit with them. Professor Trelawney appeared from her office and the smell of incense intensified as if wafted in through the open door.

Their lesson continued to be over crystal-gazing. Harry thought it was the dumbest thing he had learned so far, even more so than palm-reading, but there was no getting around it. As usual, the professor predicted his death while she looked in her crystal ball. Harry was a little surprised to see Draco's hands tighten at her words. Maybe it had happened before and he just hadn't noticed. Harry would hate to see what Hermione's reaction to Trelawney's predictions would be; nobody could deny that she was protective of those that she cared about.

Since they couldn't take crystal balls with them for homework, they escaped with only a short essay for homework. Harry was able to get it finished in class since Trelawney didn't pay attention to what you were working on. It seemed as though Draco and Neville were doing the same. When the bell rang to dismiss them to lunch, they were quick to head for the Great Hall.

The three of them were chattering about quidditch and the upcoming match between Puddlemere and the Cannons. Just a corridor down from the Great Hall, they found Hermione outside the girls loo, the very one that the troll had destroyed clear back in first year. She was standing in front of Luna and looked livid as she stared down Ginny.

Draco had explained about Luna Lovegood when he had found Hermione conversing with the Ravenclaw one evening in the library. The girl had once been close with the cousins, related to them in fact. Her mother, now passed, had been Lucius' and Erise's first cousin. When Pandora had died, Xenophilius had pulled away from the family, citing that he was a light family and wouldn't have ties to the dark. Even though Lucius had been offended, he had been saddened that he wouldn't see Luna anymore. He wasn't near as close to her as he was to Hermione, but Pandora had always been his favorite cousin. Since Luna had never made any moves to talk to them until this year, Hermione and Draco had just gone with it. Draco hurried to her side, his wand sliding into his hand from up his sleeve. Harry sighed, wondering just what kind of shite storm Ginny had caused now. Draco didn't take a second to look at Hermione.

"What's happening here, Mia?" Hermione took a step closer to Ginny and Harry could see that it was going to escalate if he didn't step in. He took a step in the middle and he could see the look of betrayal in Hermione's eyes. Her voice was hard when she answered her cousin.

"I was in the stall and I could hear Ginny talking to Luna. She was complaining about me, apparently, they've been friends for years since they live so close. Luna asked her to stop, told her that she liked me. Ginny told her that she didn't know what kind of person I really was, that I was dark. Luna told her that I wasn't dark at all and Ginny told her that she was stupid. I came out and told Weasley that she should just leave Luna well enough alone but she told me that I should just stay out of it. Apparently she missed the memo where you don't mess with my family." Ginny started to sputter and took a step back.

"Luna isn't your family." Hermione took another step forward but Harry laid both hands on her shoulders.

"Please don't. You know she would tell and you'd get detention. That's the only reason I stepped in the middle." She glared for a few moments but finally nodded. Draco spoke next.

"Actually, Luna is our family. Her mother was my father's first cousin. She was at our houses all the time until her mother died. Like Hermione said, you don't mess with family. Don't call her stupid again." Ginny nodded emphatically.

"Sure, of course." She waited a few seconds before running forward and grasping Harry's arm and pulling him towards the Great Hall with her.

"Harry, you saved me. You really are a hero." He brushed her off with a disgusted grimace.

"Ginny, I was saving Hermione from detention. I'm still not convinced you didn't curse her." She sighed heavily.

"Harry, I swear I didn't curse her. Why would I be stupid enough to curse someone who's family is fucking crazy?" He thought that she had a valid point but he wasn't completely buying it. Rather than admit that she had a point, he just didn't answer her. She just continued.

"Want to meet me tonight?" He shook his head. Since Hermione didn't seem to care if he kept meeting her after being cursed, he had continued to see her when it suited him. She was pushing for him to fuck her but he just couldn't bear for her to be his first.

"I can't, I'm already meeting someone else." Ginny shrugged, unconcerned. It always amazed him that she was wholly unconcerned that he met with other girls and received sexual favors but had a meltdown when he walked Hermione to the table and let her lean on him when she was sick. It boggled the mind.

"Tomorrow then?" He gave a nod.

"Sure. I'm going to sit with them since your brother is being a dick." She raised her lip in disgust but said nothing. She flounced off in the direction of the Gryffindor table, leaving him to make his way to the Slytherin table. Once he got closer, he realized that his usual seat next to Hermione was filled with none other than Viktor bloody Krum. He gritted his teeth and did his best to screw on a smile as he went around the table to take a seat next to Juliet. Once he was in the seat next to her, she leaned over and gave him a side hug.

"Harry, guess who's going to walk Hermione to class, clear out to Care of Magical Creatures? Viktor says that she's worth the walk in the cold." He kept the smile screwed on and ruffled her hair.

"Of course she is, little one. She's our Mia, after all." Juliet grinned at him and launched into a conversation about her Transfiguration class and how she had successfully transfigured her beetle into a button. Harry felt a little vindicated when he realized that Hermione was listening to her sister more than she was listening to Krum tell about his epic catch of the snitch at the World Cup.

Of course, everyone around them was caught up in his words. Hermione seemed quite bored, actually, since he was going on about nothing but quidditch. While Harry knew that he and Draco talked about their favorite sport quite a bit, they also made sure to talk about their homework and classes, what they had learned in Defense from Remus and things of the like so she could be included. So far in the hour that they had been eating together, he hadn't said a word to her about anything but.

The bell rang, dismissing them to make their way to Care of Magical Creatures. Juliet raced around the table to give Hermione a hug around the waist and Harry couldn't help but grin at the sight. He looked up to see a flash of annoyance on Krum's face but it disappeared the second that Draco looked up from his plate. Hermione kissed her little sister's head and sent her on her way before taking Viktor's arm and throwing her bag over her other shoulder. The Bulgarian smiled down at her.

"You look beautiful today." She smiled softly at him.

"Thank you, you look quite dashing yourself. Tell me, how has your day been? How are your studies?" he waved his hand in her direction, dismissing her words.

"No talk studies now. My day be better vhen you tell me more about yourself." Hermione smiled happily at him. Harry couldn't help but feel badly. How often did people go out of their way to learn more about her? Everyone just assumed that all there was to her was learning and reading. Was Krum the first person to ever ask her more about herself? Harry was close enough behind them that he could hear everything she was saying.

"Well, as you've already seen, Draco's my cousin but he's also my very best friend. He knows everything about me. I have an Abraxan horse named Bluebell and I love her to pieces, I ride her every day on holiday. I have a kneazle familiar who's brilliant, he's named Tenebris. Daddy got him for me for Christmas a couple years back. I don't really know what to tell you. Why don't you tell me something about yourself?" Viktor put his hand on top of the one threaded through his elbow and started stroking her skin softly. He could just barely see her cheeks flush, telling him just how innocent she was.

"Tell me vhy da school is frightened of you." Hermione lowered her head and Harry could see the shame written on her features. He looked over to Draco to see if he was going to allow it but he was caught up in conversation with Blaise about who knew what. Hermione spoke before he could intervene.

"As you know, I'm the Black heir. We're well-known for our streaks of insanity. I don't know how much you've learned about me from those from around here, but I was blood adopted by my father. My father is really my uncle. When he adopted me, he added another strand of Black family magic. Not only do I have two strands of magic that are known for their insanity, I have three strands total. That makes me more powerful than anyone in this school except for Harry. Nobody knows why he's so powerful but he is. During my second year, I got really angry at one of the Gryffindor girls and I used my magic to put pressure on her chest. I would have killed her if Harry wouldn't have shown up and stopped me." Viktor was silent for a full minute before he finally responded.

"Dey never mess vith you again. Dey bow before you." Hermione shook her head, a frown marring her features.

"No, that's not what I want. I feel bad now, I didn't care that I almost killed her at the time but I would have felt terrible afterwards. I'm glad I didn't kill her. I don't want to be a tyrant." There was nothing else that could be said since they had reached Hagrid's hut and he was staring at Viktor pointedly. Viktor reached out and brushed his hand down her cheek, savoring the softness of her skin.

"Meet me in library to study." She gave him a smile and nodded her head. Harry wanted to curse. She was supposed to study with all of them tonight, they did every night. Of course, he supposed that he couldn't complain since half the nights he begged off so he could meet with girls and get his knob sucked or his fingers wet. Therefore, he bit his tongue. He only felt a little triumphant when Hagrid glared at the girl of his dreams once Viktor was gone.

"Nex' time, leave ya' suitors a' hom'." Hermione flushed in embarrassment and looked to the ground which made Harry feel guilty for his thoughts. He didn't get a chance to make her feel better before Hagrid jumped into a lesson about streelers and how their poison was used against horkalumps. It was a lesson that Harry didn't recall having with Madam Cambridge and judging by the way Hermione and Draco were scribbling as fast as he was, they hadn't either. It was quite gratifying to see them have to actually pay attention during a class.

Since there weren't many streelers left in the world, there wasn't a practical part of the lesson. They were dismissed a little early and Harry could see that Hermione was excited since she had plans to go to the Defense classroom to help Juliet with her lessons. He and Draco were supposed to follow and they were going to work on his French. It had been decided that after he had mastered that that they were going to start on Italian. They were both fluent in French, Italian, and Spanish so he was on his way to following in their footsteps.

Hermione and Daphne were ahead of Harry and Draco, the blonde was caught up in conversation with Greg and Vince about the homework assignment that Hagrid had just assigned them. Just outside the castle, the pair veered off towards the broom shed, though Harry couldn't figure out why for the life of him. Draco seemed to know what he was thinking and smirked at him.

"They fancy themselves joining the quidditch team next year. They're heading off to go practice." Harry merely nodded, still irritated that the boy had let his cousin answer those questions because he had been caught up in conversation with his friend. Draco frowned at his silence.

"What's your problem?" Harry just shook his head.

"Doesn't matter. Just drop it." Draco reached out and grabbed his arm. Harry looked back at him and glared until Draco dropped it.

"Just tell me, fucker." They had just entered the castle and there was nobody in sight so Harry decided to do just that.

"Were you paying attention to what that Bulgarian prick was asking your cousin?" Draco sneered at him.

"No, I wasn't, because I'm not spying on her every single second of the day. You know, if you want to date her, quit being a fucking pussy and ask her out. However, if you do that, I better never catch you with another girl or I will cut your fucking dick off." Harry felt his face flame at how obvious he must be. Therefore, he tried to deflect.

"I don't want to date your fucking cousin. She could never keep me happy, she doesn't put out and I'm pretty partial to getting my dick sucked." Harry didn't see how Draco moved as fast as he did but he knew that he deserved the fist he took to his nose. Blood exploded down his front and his hand came up to try to stem the bleeding. Draco's cheeks were pink but Harry knew that it wasn't embarrassment. His chest was heaving from both exertion and anger.

"You ever say that about my cousin again, I'll set my father loose on you." Harry knew that his friend wasn't kidding. Draco was pretty laid back about everything except Hermione and family honor. Harry was just about to apologize when there was a spell shouted from behind him. A white spell shot past him and hit Draco right in the chest and Harry watched in horror as his friend shrunk down into a ferret. He could hear stomping behind him and Harry rushed forward, scooping Draco into his arms while he slid his wand into his hand. He turned just in time to see Moody approach.

"I saw 'im hit ya, boy, let's take 'im to the Headmaster." Harry shook his head.

"We're not taking him anywhere. You're going to change him back." Moody shook his head.

"School rules say that students aren't supposed to strike one another. I saw Mr. Malfoy strike you. There's blood down your front supporting my claim." Harry was about to open his mouth when the situation got worse. Hermione rounded the corner and saw Harry before she saw Moody.

"Where have you been? Where's Draco? Juliet and I were starting to get worried." Just as she finished her sentence, she saw Moody and her wand slipped into her hand. She moved to stand beside Harry.

"You're not supposed to be near us. Feel free to move on before I go find my Head of House." Moody snorted.

"You mean the Death Eater?" Harry snorted.

"Fine, my Head of House. I wonder what she'll say." Hermione turned to Harry and noticed the ferret in his hand for the first time. Her eyes narrowed.

"Is that…?" He nodded. She reached out and took the ferret, holding him gently against her chest. Just a few paces away, she set him on the ground and made sure that Harry was covering her. She cast silently, waving her wand at her cousin. Draco reappeared, looking far more disheveled than he had before he had been transfigured. Hermione wrapped an arm around his waist and steadied him but it wasn't Draco that worried him. It was Hermione. Once Draco was steady on his feet, she stepped forward, her wand extended and fury in her eyes. Harry stepped in front of her.

"Draco didn't hit me. We're not going anywhere with you. In fact, we're going to take you to Professor McGonagall about using illegal transfiguration on a student." Moody stepped closer and Hermione started pushing against Harry and he was doing all he could to hold her back. He turned to look at Draco, begging him to help hold her back but he was getting no help from him on that front. It was clear that it was a matter of family honor. Harry looked around to make sure that there was nobody around to see what was happening because the last thing they needed was for someone to see what was happening and report it. When he saw nobody, he just let the two of them have their way. If they ganged up on him, he wouldn't be able to stop them anyways.

Once he was out from between Moody and Hermione, she grinned ferally at him. Harry saw a flicker of fear cross his features but it was gone before anyone else could see it. Draco just stepped back and watched, grinning at the scene. Harry wondered if they had a plan or if they were just shooting from the hip. However, he did have to admit that it was hot as fuck to watch Hermione be intimidating and scare the fuck out of Moody.

"Did you not learn your lesson the last time you had a run in with me, Moody? I'm not scared of you and I believe I proved to you that I can best you without my wand. Knowing what families I belong to, did you really think that that wouldn't extend to my cousin and Harry?" Moody glared at her.

"This has nothing to do with you, lassie. I watched your precious cousin clock Potter. You say you value family, you should let your cousin be punished." Harry could feel her curiosity but she didn't spare them with a glance. She just took another step towards the Master Auror.

"If my cousin hit Harry, then it's a family matter and it will be handled in-family. That means, between myself, Harry, Draco, and Juliet. If we can't handle it, we'll owl my father and Lord Malfoy. I'm sure you're well-acquainted with both." Harry could tell that she was giving him one chance to back down and he could see that Moody wasn't going to take it. Moody sneered at her.

"You're forgetting that it's against school rules to handle it in-family. Therefore, it's Hogwarts' business." Hermione didn't even give him a chance to think. Her wand came up and shot a spell at Moody that threw him across the corridor and into the stone wall. She moseyed over to the man and looked down at him just a few moments before she raised her wand again. This time Harry and Draco both walked over to watch her work.

A spell shot out of her wand and hit the Master Auror directly in the chest. It was clear after just a few moments what it was that she had hit him with. All his hair started falling out in handfuls. Harry couldn't help but to start laughing. Draco chuckled for a few seconds before he looked to Harry.

"We need to move him. He can't be found here." Harry nodded and brandished his wand. The pair of them levitated him into the nearest alcove while Hermione vanished the hair that was falling out at an alarming rate. Once he was on the ground out of sight, Hermione gave Draco a meaningful look.

"You have to do it. You're better at it then I am." Draco gave a nod and held his wand aloft. Harry decided that he needed to know what was going on.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Draco sighed.

"Obliviating him, unless you want to have detention for the rest of the fucking year. Hermione will likely go on trial before the Board for expulsion." Harry sighed now.

"Alright, I just want to know what's going on." He watched as Draco knelt before the man and cast a spell that he never wanted to cast in his life. It only took a few minutes before he stood.

"It's done. He doesn't remember seeing us at all." Harry nodded as Hermione reached out and took both their arms and dragged them through the castle to their room. Juliet was still there, practicing whatever spell it was that Hermione had set her to work on. She looked worried when she saw the dried blood on Harry's robes but he made sure to gesture to her that he was alright. Hermione whispered something to Juliet for a few moments before she stepped closer to them, silently casting a silencing charm between themselves and Juliet. Once Juliet was focused on her spell again, Hermione pushed Draco in the chest. He fell back just half a step and glared at her.

"What the fuck, Drake? Why are you punching him in full view? Please tell me you have a good reason?" She whirled quicker than a snitch and she was pushing him next. He didn't fall back far either but he took it, refusing to fight back against her.

"What did you do to make him hit you? Draco hardly ever lets anger get the best of him, you had to really fuck up to make him hit you." Harry could tell that she was near tears; them fighting truly upset her. He reached out and caught her wrists in his hands, pulling her towards him. She fought him for a few seconds but let him pull her into his chest. He hugged her tight for a few seconds.

"It was my fault, Mia. I was being stupid. I deserved what he did. Don't be mad at Draco." She sniffled in his chest but nodded. She pulled away and went to her cousin, who had his arms open to her. He hugged her close and kissed her hairline.

"Don't worry about us, Miney, we're alright. No hard feelings. I promise. I should have waited until we were in private, I'm sorry." She nodded again.

"What were you fighting about?" Draco smirked at her.

"There are some things best left unsaid. Don't worry yourself about things that were said in anger that weren't really meant." She gave him a calculating look but in the end finally nodded.

"You two are truly alright?" Draco nodded.

"Truly, we are, Miney. Go help Juliet and I'll heal Harry then we'll get started on French. We've still got an hour before dinner." She gave them both a small smile before lifting the silencing spell and going back to her sister. Once she was gone, Draco recast it and pointed his wand at Harry's face. He didn't flinch as the blond cast a healing spell on his nose, healing the broken bone. The next spell cleaned the blood from his face and robes. After his wand was put away, Draco's face was hard.

"I'm not sorry I hit you." Harry nodded.

"I deserved it. I didn't mean anything I said." Draco huffed loudly and sat next to him.

"Why can't you admit you're balls deep in love with her? Everyone can see it." Harry heaved a sigh.

"I'm in love with her, alright. I'm not going to do anything about it because she deserves so much better than me. I've done nothing but hurt her and she needs someone that would die before they hurt her like I did." Draco nodded.

"You're right, she does deserve better. That doesn't mean that you can't change. Fucking around with every girl in school and parading them in front of her isn't the way to show her that you've changed. She's never going to consider you if you're seeing every girl out there. She's going to want to feel special." Harry snorted.

"Yeah, well, I'll still not be good enough for her. She's the whole package and I'm not. I really don't want to talk about it anymore. Besides, you're a little hypocritical. I can tell you're half in love with Daphne yet you letting how many girls suck your dick right now? How many are you fucking now?" Draco's cheeks colored but he kept eye contact.

"I'm not fucking any of them yet. I know exactly how I feel for Daphne. The difference is that I know that someday I'll ask her to be mine if someone hasn't beat me to it. My father told me when I was young that I should play the field and make sure that when I met the girl I loved I could be faithful. If I play around now, when I'm older and still want Daphne, I have a better chance of staying loyal. I understand that it's a choice but I really don't think that I would be right now. I don't want to ruin what could be by getting into something serious too young." Harry supposed that it made sense.

"Let's just drop all this. Hermione deserves better. Daphne deserves better while you're being a man whore. You better hope she doesn't find someone else while you're shagging all of Hogwarts. This being said, are we really okay?" Draco nodded and clapped him on the shoulder.

"We're good, Harry." Harry grinned.

"Let's work on French."

-O-

Hermione was trying to figure out just what the boys could have been fighting over while she ate her dinner. She still couldn't believe that Draco had hit Harry, let alone in full view of the public. Of course, she really couldn't believe that the Master Auror had turned her cousin, her brother, her best friend in the whole wide world, into a fucking ferret of all things.

Unbeknownst to Harry and Draco, just before they had departed to dinner, she had sent her Uncle Sev a patronus, knowing that he would be in his office, telling him to make sure that he was out of the potion that he had fed her just a couple weeks before. He hadn't answered her but since the Master Auror hadn't turned up for dinner, she was quite sure that he had done as she had asked. It would require an explanation later but she didn't mind. She was ninety-eight percent sure that she wouldn't be punished since he had turned Draco into a ferret.

She was supposed to meet with Viktor in the library tonight to study and she was excited. They had walked to and from class numerous times and today he had sat with herself and her friends for lunch. It hadn't been the greatest experience but she suspected that he was just trying to show off for her friends. Surely, he knew that he didn't have to show off for her.

Juliet was sitting with them again, still wanting to know what had happened to Harry's nose. Hermione had told her that it was a boy thing and that he had worked it out but it was proving difficult to get her to accept that. Finally, Hermione had just asked her to please accept it and let it go. She had been reluctant but finally done as Hermione had asked.

The bell rang, signalling the end of dinner. Hermione grabbed her bag and stood, the rest of the table following suit. Hermione saw Viktor stand and head her way, a smile on his face. Once he was before her, he bowed and took her hand in his, kissing her knuckles. She curtsied in turn, as etiquette required. He offered her his arm and took her bag to throw over his own shoulder.

Hermione knew that the others were following them to the library but she didn't let it bother her. Harry and Draco were going to help everyone in her stead and Juliet was excited to hear how her "date" went. Hermione was pretty sure that her little sister was more in love with Viktor than she was. Viktor was quiet until they reached the library, which Hermione found odd. The Bulgarian usually didn't share much about himself, just asked after her and her life. She was usually flattered since nobody ever asked after her. She knew that she was boring and everyone found her so but it did make her feel unimportant from time to time. However, she wanted to know about Viktor as well.

Once they entered the library, Viktor led her to his favorite library table for two near the restricted section. She took a seat and instantly pulled her books out and watched him do the same, though she noticed that he didn't pay attention to the words on the pages. Hermione couldn't help but wonder if he was going to ask her to the Yule Ball; she had wrote home to tell her father that she wasn't going to be home for Christmas because she had hoped that he was going to ask her but he hadn't yet. She was scared that he had asked other girls and they had turned him down and she was his last choice but she realized how foolish that was. Nobody would turn down Viktor Krum if he asked them.

Her father had told her that he was disappointed she wouldn't be there but that he understood. He told her that it gave him time to get to know Juliet on his own and hoped that she didn't mind. Even though she felt a tiny twinge of jealousy, Hermione really did feel that that was best. Uncle Luci was heartbroken and swore that he was going to come and crash her date but she found that she didn't mind. Her father would be caught up in Helena and Juliet; Luci would be most welcome to visit at Hogwarts as a governor.

Hermione had wrote her Aunt Cissy for help in finding a gown for the ball and she had come through. In fact, just a few days before, she and Madam Greengrass had arrived on a Saturday to take Hermione and Daphne to Paris to shop for the perfect gown to wear. Draco had laughed at them since neither one of them had dates but his mother had hexed him with antlers that had still been there when they had returned late in the evening. He had been quite contrite as he asked Hermione to help him get rid of them. She had been just hurt enough to make him get down on his knees and beg her.

Little did Draco know that Daphne did have a date. Neville had asked her the day after it had been announced, they just hadn't made a huge deal about telling everyone. Hermione knew that it had hurt Daphne's feelings when Draco had made it sound like she didn't have a date because nobody wanted her, which was exactly how he had made her feel. Draco had asked one of the girls from Beauxbatons, as had Theo. Blaise had agreed to take Pansy while Greg and Vince were taking Tracey and Millie. Fred and George were taking Angelina and Katie, members of the Gryffindor quidditch team. Harry said that he had a date but said that it was a surprise, that she would like it. She wasn't so sure that she would like anyone that he dragged to the Ball but nodded anyways.

That left her as the pathetic one left without a date.

Hermione supposed that if Viktor didn't ask her, she could go without one. There would surely be plenty of boys that would ask her to dance but it just wouldn't be the same as going with one boy. She could cite that she didn't want to tie herself down but everyone would know that it was a lie. She wasn't sure that she could face the stares. Maybe she would just go home and spend the holiday at home. She and Draco didn't have to do everything together, after all. He and Harry would enjoy themselves while she enjoyed herself at Malfoy Manor.

Hermione was pulled from her thoughts by Viktor reaching out and taking her hand over her Transfiguration text. When she looked up and met his gaze, he smiled at her. She gave him a confused smile in return. He leaned forward so he could speak and make sure that she heard him.

"Vould you like to go to ball vith me?" Hermione couldn't hold back the huge grin that split her face.

"Yes, Viktor, I would." He went to his feet and stepped in front of her, her hand still in his. He pulled her to her feet and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close. She was startled since he pulled her closer than she was anticipating. He grinned down at her and she couldn't help but think how handsome he was. Not as handsome as Harry was but he could hold his own.

Hermione could see it coming, she could see it coming from a mile away. She wanted to believe he did it so she could pull away if she wanted to. The truth was, however, was that she didn't want to. Viktor lowered his head to hers and brushed his lips against hers, just the barest of kisses before pulling away. When he saw that she wasn't pushing him away, he bent to kiss her a second time, this time his tongue brushing against the seam of her lips. She gasped softly against his lips, letting him in unwittingly. His tongue brushed hers only for a moment before pulling away and staring in her eyes. Hermione couldn't even focus on him because she was too busy having an internal freak out over her first kiss.

"You taste like honey." Hermione wasn't sure if that was a compliment or an insult so she just nodded. He ran his thumb over her bottom lip before he grinned at her.

"I must go. Haff to meet vith Headmaster." Hermione gave him a nod and smiled.

"I understand. I'll see you tomorrow." VIktor nodded and began to gather his things. It was only minutes later that he was gone. Rather than sit there by herself, she gathered her things and moved to sit across the library with the rest of her friends. Surprisingly, the table wasn't as crowded as she thought it would be. Harry, Juliet, Draco, Daphne, Neville, the twins, and Pansy were the only ones seated at their usual table and they were all laughing softly. Truthfully, the atmosphere there was much more welcoming than the one at the one she had just left. They waved her over, with the exception of Pansy of course, when they saw her approaching. Daphne smirked at her when she took her seat.

"You weren't sitting with Mr. Krum very long. Did something happen?" Hermione knew that she was blushing.

"He asked me to be his date to the Ball." Daphne squealed and leaned over Neville to give her a hug. Hermione laughed and hugged her girlfriend back. Pansy sneered at her.

"The perfect girl gets the perfect boy. How sweet." Hermione glared at her. Before she could say anything, Juliet broke it.

"I'm happy for you, Hermione, Viktor is so dreamy." She gave her sister a smile and she could see that Draco was glaring at Pansy.

"Get lost, Pansy, if you're going to be a complete bitch." Pansy just huffed and went to her feet, gathering her things quickly and leaving. Her cousin turned his attention to Daphne and smirked her way.

"That means you're the only one without a date, Daph. Don't worry, I'll ditch my date all night to dance with you." Hermione watched her best friend's eyes fill with tears, though she didn't say anything. She gathered her things and stood before turning to Hermione.

"Congratulations, Hermione. I'm glad that your amazing dress robes won't go to waste now." Hermione reached out and squeezed her friend's hand before she left. Once she was gone, Draco looked confused. Hermione however, was livid. She went to her feet and slapped her cousin, leaving a tiny red handprint behind. His eyes flashed with fury.

"What the fuck was that for?" Hermione stepped forward and started to drill him in the chest with her finger.

"That's for being a complete prick to Daphne. For one, you never rub it in a girl's face that she doesn't have a date. For two, you made her feel as though you were taking pity on her by leaving your date to dance with her. No girl in the world would want that. It's a fucking insult. If someone did that to me, they wouldn't have any balls left. For three, Daphne has a date, you just didn't ask. You assumed that she was either undesirable or innocent enough to not warrant a date. Guess what, cousin? Not everyone is a fucking man whore. Some men will go with a girl even if they aren't going to get their dicks sucked." Her cousin was stricken silent for several moments. It looked as though his world had imploded.

"Who's she going with?" Hermione shrugged her shoulders.

"Not my place to say. She keeps my secrets, why shouldn't I keep hers? You'll have to ask her yourself. Not that she'll tell you after your horrendous behavior. Aunt Cissy would pull you over her knee and tan your hide." Draco didn't even blush at her words because he was still so caught up in her having a date. However, it was blown away at Neville's words.

"I'm her date. I asked her because I'm hoping she'll give me a shot. Not only is she beautiful, she's brilliant and knows how to comport herself in public. She's a gem and if you're too stupid to spend your time fucking your way through all the girls in Hogwarts, so be it. I'm going to try to get with one of the most beautiful girls in school. She would serve the House of Longbottom well and we would in turn treat her like a princess." Neville didn't seem like he was angry or jealous, just very confident. Nobody could deny that he was a player like her cousin. Hermione was sure that he had had his own fair share of liasons but they were held in private and he seemed to have a genuine affection for Daphne.

Honestly, the whole situation made Hermione a little sick. She knew that Neville didn't like Daphne like that. HIs grandmother had instructed him to pursue her, he had confided in her a few weeks back. She had encouraged him to ask her to Ball so he would have a date. She knew that Daphne was in love with her cousin and she knew that Draco had a crush on her friend. It was all so frustrating. She also knew that Neville was just playing up wanting Daphne to try to get Draco off his arse to go after her himself. Hermione glared at her cousin.

"Go fucking apologize, you arsehole." Draco stood and leaned down to kiss the top of her head.

"Thanks, Miney." With that, he was gone. Hermione thought she saw Harry shoot the twins a look but she wasn't sure until he stood and laid a hand on Juliet's shoulder.

"Come on, munchkin, let's get back to the Tower. It's a long ways away and we don't want to miss curfew." Juliet bounded to her feet and hugged Hermione tight before following Harry out. She was surprised that he didn't say anything to her but knew instantly why when the twins spoke after it was just the two of them, Hermione and Neville left.

"Mina, we need to talk." She narrowed her eyes at them.

"What about?" George sighed and took her hand in his.

"Do you believe that we would never want to hurt you?" She nodded emphatically.

"Of course." Fred sighed now.

"There are rumors, Mina, about Viktor." She scoffed.

"Did Harry put you up to this?" They both raked their hands through their hair.

"Yes but we had already heard the same rumors. He just asked us to tell you because he didn't think you'd listen to him. He doesn't want to see you hurt and neither do we, Mina. You're our little sister." She sighed heavily. They took that as their sign to continue.

"He's good, MIna. It's really hush-hush but he's seeing girls on the side. You're the only one he's seeing officially but there are other girls. I'm afraid he's going to expect more from you than you're willing to give. I guarantee you he's getting more from other girls. Please don't call us liars, Mina." Hermione felt a sharp pain in the vicinity of her heart and wasn't sure what she was supposed to do. Call off a date because of rumors? After a few moments, she sighed.

"Do either of you have any proof?" They shook their heads. George spoke.

"No. He's been very careful. Lee swears he caught him coming out of quidditch changing rooms with a seventh year Slytherin but neither one would provide the proof you want." Hermione shook her head. They really wouldn't. She sighed heavily.

"I can't just ditch him for rumors. If either of you can bring me solid proof or your own eye witness, I'll ditch him. However, I can't take the word of others I wouldn't trust on my own. I'm sure you understand why." Fred sighed and nodded.

"We understand. Though you know he'll never show us that side of him. He knows we're your friends." Hermione nodded her head; she understood the conundrum all too well.

"Thank you for being brave enough to bring it to me at all." They both grinned at her before hugging her between them, making her the cream filling of their twin sandwich. When they finally let her go, they both kissed her on the cheek and George exclaimed.

"We need some brother and sister time." Neville joined in.

"Count me in. Might as well bring Daphne. She knows we aren't compatible for anything more than friends. She's just using me to make Draco jealous and he had to be a complete dick and make her feel like shite." Hermione laughed.

"He did put his foot in his mouth." George nodded.

"He did indeed." Hermione leaned in conspiratorially.

"Do you two know who Harry is taking to the Ball? He won't tell us." Both shook their heads.

"He won't tell us, just says that it'll be a complete surprise and that she's going as a friend." That was news to Hermione. Maybe she wouldn't end up hating her. Going as friends generally didn't mean that they would end up messing around together.

After several more minutes of small talk, Hermione gathered her things together and stood, kissing all three boys on the cheek. They were all three her very best of friends after all, and knew that there was nothing more there.

"I really must get back to the dorms and make sure that Draco apologized and Daphne didn't hex him to death. He could take her any day of the week but he would never fight back." All three Gryffindors laughed and bid her goodnight.

It was with a light and happy heart that she headed back to Slytherin dorms that night even though she had been given disturbing news.

-O-

Harry lay in bed wondering if he had done the right thing. He had thought that he could handle knowing that Hermione was going to go to the Yule Ball with Krum but that wasn't the case. After taking Juliet back to the common room, he had sneaked away to make his meeting with Lisa Turpin.

Truth be told, he had sneaked away from the table to "find a book". In truth, he had been watching after Hermione to make sure that Krum didn't try to take liberties that she didn't want taken. Not that he should have worried. She didn't seem to mind the kisses he had pressed against her lips, in fact, she had seemed quite impressed. He knew that he was just being a jealous prick, that he had no reason whatsoever to hold those kisses against her but it was so bloody hard. He wanted her so fucking much and Krum was sampling her right in front of his eyes.

After he had left Juliet in the common room and he had met Lisa, he had let her talk him into fucking her. It hadn't been all that he had thought it would be. Sure, it had been explosive, it had felt great, and it had been an experience. However, he had expected it to be more. He would never admit it but he was disappointed and for some reason, he laid that at Hermione's feet. He knew that it wasn't her fault and that it was really his own fucking fault but he had only fucked Lisa because he was only so bloody jealous.

He had a serious fucking problem.

The real fucking problem was only to come. Now that he had opened the can of worms, it was only going to get worse. Where he had only been getting blow jays from girls so far, now he was going to be fucking them. Where he had been undeserving of Hermione already, now he would never deserve her no matter what he did to redeem himself.

It was a hard pill to swallow but he knew himself and he knew that he was going to fuck most of the girls at Hogwarts. He could only hope that he could keep Hermione's friendship. He could only hope that she would care for him as family.

After all, family was what mattered most in his world.

Family.

-O-

Augustus squinted into the setting sun as he contemplated his life. It hadn't been easy in the past six months but it was coming along. The World Cup had brought him a servant that he had promptly sent to Hogwarts, not that he knew how precarious his position was. He thought that it was all fun and games. Rookwood was just waiting for him to get caught. Then he would be the one to suffer his Master's displeasure.

His master had been present for Crouch, Jr.'s report the last time. He had most interested in how precious Hermione had thrown him against the wall after he had baited her about her mother dying, then taking the truth serum to prove that he had had no part in it. Rookwood had had fun torturing the complete fool for his complete idiocy. If they had had the foresight to ask him his true name, the gig would have been up.

In truth, the whole situation was a little humorous to Rookwood. Most of the Death Eaters thought that it was the Order of the Phoenix that killed Erise Malfoy, it was said that Dumbledore himself believed it, that members had taken little Hermione to St. Mungo's. Most members of the Order believed that it was Death Eaters that attacked her, meaning that nobody really knew anything. Rookwood, however, knew the truth.

He had been at the Dark Lord's side the day that Gordon Travers and Rabastan Lestrange had apparated to their master's side, bloody and triumphant. Rookwood had faded into the background to make sure that he wouldn't be seen, therefore he could learn a few secrets. The tale he heard had surprised him.

*Flashback*

Augustus heard the telltale crack of apparition and knew that someone had come in to report to the Dark Lord. Therefore, he stood and faded into the shadows and made sure that nobody could see him as they stepped forward to report. He knew that the Dark Lord knew he was there but that was all. If the others weren't smart enough to cast privacy charms, that wasn't his problem. Travers and Rabastan Lestrange appeared and bowed before Lord Voldemort. Travers began.

"We followed your instructions, my Lord. We tried to question Erise to see if Regulus was a traitor but when we blasted the door open because she wouldn't answer, a shard of the door went right through her chest. Her kid was bawling over her, her magic was going crazy. We tried to save her but we couldn't get near her because of the kid. We ended up having to stun her. By that time, it was too late. We had to transfigure ourselves and drop her at St. Mungo's." The Dark Lord hissed in anger.

"You took her to St. Mungo's where they'll leave her for Black to claim. You should have just taken her and handed her over to Lucius. He and Narcissa adore the girl. She has superb breeding, she shouldn't be raised by a blood traitor." Rookwood watched in glee as his master cast the Cruciatus on the two men before him

*End of Flashback*

Of course, now Hermione was on the Dark Lord's radar. He wanted to know all about her. Just knowing that she has three strands of family magic running through her core made him want her. The fact that she was beautiful made him want to wait until the end of the year so they could return him back to his younger self so he could take her for his bride and make her the mother to his heir.

This didn't set well with Rookwood's plans; he wanted her for himself. He had wanted her since the first time she had fed him at Hogwarts. He thought that they had really had a connection but he wasn't in a place to really tell the Dark Lord that he couldn't have the most powerful witch to come out of Hogwarts since Rowena Ravenclaw herself. It was no secret that the Dark Lord would tell Bellatrix to get hanged if he could sink his claws into Hermione.

However, there was nothing he could do about it. He could only do what he could behind the scenes to makes sure that Hermione wanted him over Dark Lord. After all, what would a pretty girl like Hermione want with a crazy psycho like Lord Voldemort?

It was going to be a long few years to come.

A/N- There we are, folks, Hermione officially has a date to the Yule Ball. We all know who Harry is taking! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, minus the creepy Rookwood interlude. Trust me, it creeped me out writing it. Anyways, thanks for reading, reviewing, following, and favoriting this story. It means a bunch. Leave me a message after the beep and let me know what you think.

Next chapter, students are sent home for the holidays and Harry gets a tip.

Love,

Alicia


	72. Chapter 72

A/N- Well, I'm back. I'm going to be completely honest and say that I almost said fuck it all and deleted this whole damn story. I am so sick of hearing the same thing over and over and over, telling me how Harry is such a man whore, how he's got STDs, how he's irredeemable, how he's a piece of shit. I get it. You don't like it. You've been telling me this for the last half of the story. If you're still reading it after telling me how much you can't stand it for the last thirty or so chapters, who has the problem? Me for writing it after telling you I'm going to or you for reading it after telling me you were going to quit because you couldn't stand it? I warned everyone from day one that I was going to write this story how I wanted to, not how I was bullied into writing it. If you don't like it, please feel free to fuck off.

Just to clarify. I love the readers that have told me their opinions and even when they don't agree with how I write something, they tell me it was a great chapter and they can't wait to see what happens next. I fucking adore the readers who hate the chapter and know that they can't say anything nice so they don't bother to leave a review. They just quit reading. For those readers out there that truly enjoy the story even though Harry is being a fourteen year old boy, one who has been fucking abused, used as a slave and shown no love, one who has no idea how to deal with anything that smacks of emotion, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Harry has had a fucked up life and it isn't going to get better overnight. Speaking as a child that was abused, that shit just doesn't disappear and for those of you that think that Harry should become some sort of perfect character that never acts out now that he's part of the family, you'll be disappointed. Get over it. Sucks to suck.

I literally told you who killed Hermione's mother and one, ONE, person commented on that. I'm just….well. I suppose it doesn't matter. Those of you that choose to continue reading, I welcome you and warn you that this story still isn't halfway over. It's going to be a hot minute before there's a happily ever after so you're going to have to hang tight. I know there are a few of you with me until the end. You know who you are and I love you for it. For those of you that can't go on, I understand. I wish you the best and hope that the next story catches your fancy more so than this one did.

-For those of you who love this story, you owe me not deleting it to Frinasteri. His email saved it all.-

**I want to give Lady Firemane the credit from the last chapter about Riddle returning to his previous appearance. We had discussed it quite a while ago and after deleting messages, I had completely forgotten who had given me the idea. It was all her brilliance.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. I've made no money. Just in case y'all didn't catch that in the 71 chapters that came before this one. Bhahaha!

Chapter 72

December 22, 1994

Hermione could tell that her sister was nervous about going to Black Moor by herself. She wished that she could have been there the first time that she went, that they could have explored the corridors and rolling hills together but that wasn't possible. The Yule Ball was a once in a lifetime thing and there was no way that she was going to miss it.

Juliet understood; she had even gone so far as to tell Hermione that if she even thought about coming home just to be with her, she'd hex her six ways to Sunday. Of course, they all knew it would never happen, but the sentiment meant a lot to her. Hermione had swore to her that they would explore together that summer and she would show her why Black Moor and Malfoy Manor were the best places in the whole wide world.

Juliet had no interest in horses so that would remain something that only Hermione and her Aunt Cissy would share. Secretly, she was happy. Her aunt was already quite taken with her younger sister, another girl for her to pamper and spoil, another child of her own family line. Hermione didn't feel replaced in the least but she was happy to have just one thing that Juliet hadn't taken an interest in.

There were times that Hermione felt terrible to say she was glad that she was still the most important in her Uncle Luci's life aside from Draco. She didn't hold it against her father for loving Juliet and putting her on the family tree but her uncle had made her an heir when he didn't have to. He had always shown her that she was important and that she was loved.

Harry and Draco were on either side of her, both reassuring Juliet that she was going to love it at Black Moor. Harry was trying to tell her that the quidditch pitch was the best he had ever seen but Draco was trying to sell her that Malfoy Manor's pitch was better. They were arguing goodnaturedly and Hermione was almost certain that they were doing it for the sole purpose of distracting the young Gryffindor.

The students were all supposed to be boarding the Hogwarts Express to go home to their families in just one hour. Juliet, however, wouldn't be taking the Express since their father insisted on bringing Helena to retrieve her. Hermione suspected that it was less about Juliet and more about her father wanting to meet her date for the Ball. Her Uncle Luci had sent her letter warning her that he planned to ask to meet the young man escorting her her as her date. Draco had just laughed at her when she had complained to him, absolutely no help to her at all.

Hermione was pulled from her thoughts by a hush falling over the Great Hall. Some of the students had been heading for the exits so they could gather their things and start for the carriages that would take them to Hogsmeade. She turned to see what had rendered everyone silent only to see her father and Helena searching the Slytherin table for them.

Her father looked every bit the part of an ancient pureblood lord; his robes were ridiculously expensive and Candy always made sure that they were pressed perfectly. Even though he was thirty-five, he was still extremely attractive and considered a young man. He was proud of the fact that he turned heads on a daily basis.

Helena, on the other hand, looked the part of the half-blood witch who worked her tail off in the muggle world to make ends meet and put her daughter through school. She looked comfortable in a tight, but not-too-tight, pair of denims and a jumper. Hermione had never seen anyone but Harry wear them in her house before but she supposed that there was a first time for everything. Honestly, she wondered how comfortable the denims were. She bet they would be good for riding.

It was Helena's demeanor that bothered her. It was clear that the half-blood was uncomfortable and that wouldn't do. Juliet was on the opposite side of the table so Hermione was able to beat her to her. She rose and curtsied to her even though etiquette called for Helena to curtsy to her. Helena's cheeks colored and Hermione just smirked at her.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, Miss Bardon." Helena laughed at her as her daughter rounded the corner of the table.

"Call me Helena, Miss Black." Juliet threw herself into her mother's arms and buried her face in her chest. Hermione smirked again before moving onto her father.

"Call me Hermione. We're basically family after all. Family is the most important thing to Blacks." Hermione didn't want for a response. Instead, she floated into her father's waiting and open arms. He held her close and kissed her head numerous times before holding her at arm's length. Even though it had only been a month since he had seen her, he grinned.

"You've grown." She snorted, albeit softly.

"You're so full of it. I'm exactly the same size. All my clothes still fit the same. I'm beginning to think that I'm never going to get bigger." Her father chuckled and hugged her to him again.

"Good. That way you'll stay my little girl forever." Hermione rolled her eyes at him but said nothing. It wouldn't do to start a conversation about it in front of the whole Great Hall. Draco and Harry both stood after he released her and shook his hand, exchanging greetings and smiles. There was small talk about nothing too important; after all, they couldn't give away that they were facing the tournament as a family. Hermione could feel all the eyes in the room on them and she hated that they were intruding on their private family moment since this was the only time that she was going to get to see her father for Christmas. Not to mention, she could see how some of the purebloods in the hall were sneering at how Helena was dressed.

"How about we take this somewhere else? I detest being stared at." Her father nodded and they were all quick to stand and follow her out of the Great Hall. She wasn't sure where she was going to take them but really, it didn't matter. Anywhere but under the gaze of everyone in the Great Hall was great. Just before they reached the door that led to the Entrance Hall, Cho Chang crossed paths with them. She sneered at Helena and the French woman shrank behind her father. Hermione sighed. If her father ever won her affections again, they were going to have to work on her confidence. Hermione lifted her chin and hoped that Harry kept his chin off the fucking floor and his tongue in his bloody mouth.

"So now you consort with muggles, Black? Why am I not surprised?" Hermione took a step forward to throw the girl off balance. To her surprise, Juliet was right next to her, her eyes dancing with fury. Hermione laid a calm hand on her sister's shoulder, smiling down at her.

"Let me handle this, Jules." She saw her father wrap an arm around Helena's waist and it led credence to her belonging with the Blacks. Hermione arched an eyebrow at the Chinese girl.

"Do you know how stupid you sound or do you just not care? Honestly, your parents are going to start getting embarrassed if you don't start handling the problem." Chang started to sputter, her hands clenching.

"You're the ones with a bloody muggle. Can your father not do any better?" Hermione let her wand slip down into her hand and the Great Hall fell silent again. She took another menacing step forward.

"If you were smart, you'd take that back right this second and apologize not only to my father but to Miss Bardon, who happens to be half-blood. Much like yourself, Miss Chang, if the sources in the Ministry are to be believed. Just because you immigrated here doesn't mean you can claim to have pure blood and have nobody question it." Chang lunged at her but she stopped just inches from Hermione. She smiled at her.

"I suggest you apologize or I'll hand you over to Professor Flitwick, who I assure you has been watching this whole scenario." Chang was suddenly released and she glared at Hermione.

"I apologize, Lord Black, for my slight on your character. Miss Bardon, I apologize for assuming you were a muggle." Hermione smiled sweetly at her.

"That was most sweet of you, Miss Chang. We'll just be going now. Good day." Without a single word or look back, Hermione flounced out of the Great Hall. Once they were out in the Entrance Hall, her father threw an arm around her shoulders and laughed deeply.

"Poppet, I have missed you. Have I ever mentioned what a devious and vindictive little minx you are?" Hermione shrugged her shoulders delicately.

"Maybe once or twice." Everyone around her chuckled. She linked arms with her father and began to stroll the corridors while the others fell in behind them. Draco and Harry were close behind while Juliet and Helena were conversing quietly while they brought up the rear.

"Is it just going to be the three of you? Uncle Luci said that they were going to give you space to make connections this year." Her father rolled his eyes.

"I told him that they didn't have to stay away. I think it's just his excuse to come up here and see you in your dress. Not that I mind, I know he'll keep you safe." Hermione groaned. Couldn't she have a single date without anyone looking over her shoulder? Her father continued though.

"We won't be alone though. Andie and Ted are back from Germany. Dory is finally done with training." Hermione squealed with delight. Nymphadora had graduated Hogwarts in the June before Hermione and Draco had started. She had dreamed of being an auror but had been unimpressed with all that Britain had to offer in way of training. Truth be told, after seeing Master Auror Moody in action, Hermione wasn't impressed either.

Therefore, Dory had decided to look elsewhere for training in the auror corps. Since she wasn't looking to stay where she was training, she was having to pay her way. However, her father was handling the cost so it gave her the freedom to learn exactly what she wanted at the pace she wanted. It had taken her four long years but she had finally done all she could in Germany and had returned home.

Since the training had been so intense, Dory wasn't able to return home very often. That meant that she wasn't able to see Aunt Andie and Uncle Ted too often at all. They missed each other terribly after the first few months so her father had packed them up and sent them on their way to Germany after finding them their own flat somewhere in Berlin. Nobody in the family had seen them in just over four years but they still exchanged letters. To say that Hermione was excited to see her cousin would have been an understatement.

"Of all times for them to return, the one holiday that we're staying at Hogwarts!" Her father reached out and ruffled her hair softly.

"I know, sweetness. Maybe I can convince her to come to Hogwarts for the Ball with Lucius and Cissy. I'm sure that they would bring her so you can see her. She used to be your best friend after Draco." Hermione nodded eagerly.

"That would be amazing, I've missed her so much. How has her training gone?" He leaned closer though she knew that Harry and Draco could still hear.

"She's officially a trained Hit Witch now. How the fuck that happened, I couldn't tell you. I've never met a witch or wizard as clumsy as Dory." Hermione laughed and hugged her father's arm to her chest. He kissed the top of her head.

"Is that your wizard heading our way, poppet?" Hermione looked to the direction that her father was pointed and saw that Viktor was headed in their direction.

"Yes, daddy." He tugged on one of her curls.

"Introduce us, princess." Hermione sighed inwardly because she was fairly certain that this is what he was after from the start. Viktor stopped in front of them and bowed in front of her father. Lord Black bowed slightly in return but not enough to show too much respect. Viktor seemed to expect that, however.

"It is pleasure to meet you, Lord Black." Her father nodded imperiously.

"I'm thrilled to meet the young boy who has caught my daughter's interest." Viktor reached out and caught her hand, bending to press his lips to her knuckles. Her father watched closely, his eyebrow arched.

"Why do you like my daughter so?" Viktor dropped her hand and met her father's gaze, unafraid.

"She is frighteningly smart, loyal to friend and family, and beautiful vitch. She vill make vonderful vife and mother someday." Her father frowned at his words. Hermione frowned as well. She had plans for her life and while they did include becoming a wife and mother, they also included becoming a spell mistress and a potions mistress and however many other things she decided she wanted to do along the way. Her father also needed to teach her how to manage the family accounts along the way.

"So you're interested in my daughter that way?" Viktor didn't even look at her when he answered.

"I tink every pureblood in school is interested in her dat way." Hermione drew her eyebrows downward at his words. Is that all she was to him? As if he sensed her rising ire, he turned to her and smiled.

"Dis does not mean dat I vant you only for babies. I vant you because you be boon to any man lucky to haff you." This made her feel a little better. Her father still looked a little irritated but he refrained from speaking. He kept his chin in the air.

"Make sure you treat my daughter with the respect the heir of an ancient and noble house is due." Viktor bowed again.

"I vill, sir." Her father nodded, showing Viktor that he was dismissed. Hermione watched him leave but she could see the looks on Harry's and Draco's faces. They didn't look pleased. She turned to her father and expected to see him frowning at her so was surprised to see that he was grinning fit to bear. She cocked her head to the side, questioning him silently.

"You are going to chew him up and spit him out, sweetness, if he doesn't treat you right." Hermione cracked a small grin at him. Before she could respond, her father turned to Harry and Draco.

"Promise me that you'll both watch over her at this Ball." Draco gave a single nod while Harry nodded vigorously. Hermione just rolled her eyes.

The six of them strolled the corridors for the next hour before Helena finally caught up with the rest of them and smiled shyly at them.

"I have to work at two so I really need to go." Hermione smiled at her before nodding. She turned to her father and floated into his arms. She hugged him tightly and breathed him in, committing his scent to memory.

"I love you, daddy."' He kissed her head and smoothed a hand down her curls.

"I love you too, poppet." As soon as she pulled away from her father, Juliet threw herself into her arms and hugged her tight.

"I'll miss you, sissy." She brushed her hand down her shoulder-length hair.

"I'll miss you too, Jules. You have fun and I'll make sure we take pictures at the Ball." Juliet nodded and stepped back to take her mother's hand. Her father smiled softly at her but offered Helena his arm. She took it reluctantly and playing the proud pureblood lord, escorted her and Juliet down the corridor and out of sight. Hermione did her best to keep her tears at bay and mostly succeeded. Only one escaped the confines of her eyes and Draco smiled softly at her before wrapping an arm around her shoulders and hauling her into his side.

"It's going to fine, Miney. He isn't mad." She chuckled wetly, tipping Harry off that she was upset.

"I know he's not mad. I just feel like we're missing so much by not going home this year. Aunt Andie and Dory are going to be there, Juliet is going to be there for the first time ever. Your parents are going to be by themselves for the first time in over a decade. All because we want to go to some bloody dance. I feel really selfish right now." Draco kissed the side of her head as he laughed softly.

"Your father isn't upset that you're staying. I bet he's thrilled that he'll have a chance to convince Helena to give him another chance. Aunt Andie is probably going to end up over at Mother and Father's anyways, she isn't going to want to watch him try to woo Helena. Dory is going to be at their house if there is a chance in hell at coming to Hogwarts to see you. The only person who is going to stick around Black Moor is Remus and even that's debatable. He's still pretty sore about your father telling him that there was no chance at them reconciling their relationship. He might just follow Aunt Andie to Malfoy Manor. While I doubt my parents would be thrilled, they would allow it. They know Sirius considers him family." Hermione nodded against his shoulder before she sighed.

"I know. This is just the first holiday I've missed willingly." Harry tried to lighten the mood.

"Well, by the sounds of it, you're going to have a good portion of the family at Hogwarts to meet Krum anyways." Hermione hated to admit that it had worked but it had. Therefore, she smiled at him.

"You're right. I should probably hate that, but I don't. Thanks." Hermione tried not to let the fact that she wouldn't be at home for the holidays bother her further. Even though classes were officially over and term was over until January, the bells still rang, telling them when mealtimes were. Hermione took both boys by the elbow and started to drag them towards the Great Hall. Both boys allowed it with small smiles on their faces, amused to no end at her enthusiasm for the meal.

Once they were seated at the Slytherin table, Hermione was surprised to see how many students were staying behind. All the seventh years, most of the fifths and sixth years, all but a few of the four years and even a few of the third years were staying. Hermione was most surprised to see that Luna was sitting by herself at the Ravenclaw table. It saddened her that her cousin was so lonely but chose not to seek herself or Draco out. They had once been close as children; Xenophilius had put a stop to Luna spending time with them when they had only been nine years old, Luna eight. At the time, Hermione hadn't understood why, though her father had tried to explain. It had been hard to get past her own hurt feelings. It was the same now. Her father wasn't around to know that they would be friends. Hermione settled next to Draco and Harry across from them so she didn't have to whisper to make sure that nobody heard them since nobody else was around them.

"Why doesn't Luna want anything to do with us? I just don't understand it. We were all so close and now she would rather sit by herself than with us. What did we do wrong?" Even Draco looked perplexed at her words.

"I don't know, Miney. I suppose she has a good reason. She didn't seem to hate you when you stood up for her to Ginny." Hermione shrugged her shoulders.

"I suppose not. She thanked me and then walked off. I just don't understand. I guess we can't make her be our friends." Harry was surprisingly silent but Hermione didn't mind; he really couldn't have much opinion on this since he didn't know Luna like they did.

Lunch was well on it's way before Daphne and the other Slytherins showed up. They had been down in the dungeons, that much was clear. Pansy was hanging on Theo's arm, thinking that she was making Draco jealous. Theo was glaring at them all, still happy to be on the outskirts of the group, clearly hating everyone that wasn't hating Draco, Hermione, and Harry. The three of them didn't let it bother them and the rest of their friends just let it roll of their backs. Hermione was sure that there was a better way to handle it but they had yet to find it.

Lunch had almost finished when an enormous box came through the open window by four owls. Once they had landed before Hermione and she had detached the box from them, they flew away, leaving her to open the letter stuck to the top. Everyone else was watching with anticipation.

 _My darling girl,_

 _Your dress finally came from Paris today. I couldn't help but take a peek and it's to die for, worth every galleon your uncle paid for it. Pierre really does know what he's doing, darling. Now go try it on and make sure that everything fits as it should. If it doesn't, floo me from Severus' office. We'll have to go to Paris immediately and have it re-fitted. If I don't hear from you by dinner, I'll assume all is well._

 _Trust me, I'll be at Hogwarts on Christmas. I wouldn't dream of passing up the opportunity of seeing you in this dress, though your uncle may keel over and die._

 _I love you, darling, and look forward to seeing you,_

 _Aunt Cissy_

Hermione let out a squeal that nobody else would ever have believed belonged to her. Draco and Harry both looked at her like she had lost her bloody mind but she didn't care. Harry leaned forward and tried to lift the cover of the box but Hermione smacked his hand hard enough for him to yelp.

"What the fuck!" Hermione pulled the box closer to her while the rest of the table laughed.

"That's my dress for the Ball. Nobody gets to see it. The only person besides Aunt Cissy who's seen it is Daphne." Daphne faked swooning.

"Just wait until you see her in it. She is breathtaking in it." Hermione tried to keep the flush from her cheeks but was afraid that she had turned to Daphne and ignored everyone else.

"Want to come make sure it fits with me? Aunt Cissy says that if she doesn't hear from me by dinner, she's going to assume that it fits." Daphne nodded excitedly.

Hermione gathered her box to her chest and both girls were gone before the boys could say a word about it either way.

-O-

Harry sighed as he watched Hermione disappear from the Great Hall with Daphne. He was surprised when he considered that when he had first started hanging around Hermione and her friends he found Daphne extremely attractive, enough that he wouldn't have turned down messing around with her. Now, he couldn't imagine spending personal time with her.

After his crush was gone, Harry sighed again. Ron still hadn't found a date to the Yule Ball and if Harry didn't step in, he doubted that he would. He was entirely alright with letting his friend find his own way but Ron had begged him to be his wingman, to help him ask Parvati. Harry wasn't even sure how the Indian girl didn't have a date, she was beautiful after all, but she was still free. Harry wasn't sure if Ron wanted to go as a real date or just friends but that wasn't his problem. He leaned forward and met Draco's eyes before standing.

"I have to go help Ron with something." Draco snorted.

"You mean help him get a date?" Harry wasn't sure if he was kidding or if he actually knew that was what he was going to go do. Judging by the smirk on his face, Harry was pretty sure that he knew those were indeed his plans. Harry just saluted him and though Draco looked confused, he walked off, heading for the Gryffindor table. Ron was still eating, not really a surprise, but Harry wasn't about to let him make him wait on him. He glared at his Gryffindor friend until he got the hint, causing him to wipe his mouth on his sleeve. Harry shook his head in exasperation.

"Ron, I know your mum taught you better. How are you expecting Pav to go to the Ball with you when you don't even have the decency to use a bloody napkin?" There was a soft gasp behind him and Harry hung his head when he realized that it was Parvati. He blew a breath out when Ron cursed softly.

"You want to go to the Ball with me?" Ron just stared at her, unsure of what to say. Harry elbowed him in the ribs, hard. He cursed out loud but kept his eyes on Pav.

"Yeah, I do. Would you wanna go with me?" Parvati smiled at him but put her hands on her hips.

"I'd love to go with you but you've got work on your manners. They're truly atrocious." Ron gave a relieved laugh before he pulled Parvati into a hug.

"You got it, Pavs. Anything for you." Harry breathed out a sigh of relief. That had ended far better than he had expected. Since they were now speaking quietly between themselves, Harry clapped Ron on the shoulder and tugged Pav's long hair playfully.

"I'll leave you two to discuss your plans for the Ball. I'll talk to you later." Both smiled and nodded at him. Harry was going to head to the quidditch pitch but only made it three steps before he felt a soft hand at his elbow. When he turned and saw Luna standing there, he pulled her out of the Great Hall so nobody would guess that he was taking her. Once they were out of sight, he turned her way.

"What's wrong, Luna?" Her eyes seemed unnaturally large and he could only assume that she got that from her father since the Malfoy side seemed rather perfect. Her voice, while always quite serene, sounded upset.

"I'm not going to be able to go to the Ball with you, Harry. I'm really sorry." Harry wrapped a hand around her elbow as tears came to her eyes.

"Why, what's happened?" She shook her head, telling him silently that she didn't want to tell him. He took hold of her other elbow.

"If it's because you don't want to go with me, you can tell me. I won't be offended, I promise." Luna's eyes went wild.

"Oh, no, that isn't it, I swear. I would love to go with you." Harry sighed, frustrated.

"Then please tell me what the problem is. I can't help if I don't know." Luna looked to the ground and started to scuff the ground with her shoe. It was in that moment that Harry realized that she had no socks on.

"Have you noticed that the rest of the Ravenclaws don't really like me?" Harry nodded, even though he really hadn't. In all honesty, before Hermione and Draco had mentioned that she was their cousin, he hadn't noticed her at all. She sniffled softly.

"I had my dress hanging up in my wardrobe and they pulled it out and destroyed it. My daddy can't afford to buy me another one and there isn't time to get another one from Hogsmeade. That means I can't go with you, Harry. I'm really sorry and I just wanted to thank you for asking me." Harry couldn't believe that those hags were terrible enough to pick on a girl that meant them absolutely no harm. He tried to calm down since judging by the look on Luna's face, he was scaring her.

"Tell me who did this, Luna." Luna shook her head, once again looking at the floor.

"It doesn't matter. I'm just going to owl daddy and tell him to come get me so I can still spend Christmas with him." Harry moved his hands to her shoulders and bent slightly so he could meet her eyes.

"I'll get you a new dress, I'll get you one today. Tell me who tore up your dress." He could see a flare of hope in her eyes and he intended to deliver. However, after just a few moments, he could tell that her house loyalty was crossing her mind. He sighed.

"You can't possibly think that you owe these people loyalty when they treat you like this." She looked guilty, which wasn't what he had been going for at all. He decided to ask her Hermione's question while he had her there.

"Why haven't you started to spend time with Hermione and Draco since school started? They told me that your father pulled you away from the family when your mother died so they've respected his wishes but they've missed you. Why don't you want to be with them? Do you blame them for your mother?" Luna looked horrified at his words.

"No, no, of course not! Oh Merlin, I left them alone because I thought they were mad at me for leaving them when daddy made me. I thought that they would hate me. They never tried to be my friends here so I just thought that they were mad." Harry wanted to groan at the huge misunderstanding. He raked a hand through his hair and sighed. A plan was formulating in his mind and he needed Draco to make it work. He grabbed Luna's wrist and gave her a meaningful look.

"Stay right here. I'll be right back." Harry didn't wait for her to answer before heading back into the Great Hall. He went straight to the Slytherin table and clapped Draco on the shoulder. Even though he was in the middle of a conversation with Blaise, Harry leaned over and spoke just loud enough for his friend and Blaise to hear.

"Sorry to interrupt but I need your help. It's important." Draco shot him a look but after seeing that he was serious, offered his apologies to Blaise and stood. He followed Harry back out of the Great Hall to where Luna was waiting for him. When Draco saw who was they were going to, he hurried his steps. Harry decided to take it upon himself to explain the situation.

"I want you to promise me that you'll keep this to yourself." Draco flashed him a look of annoyance.

"Why should I?" Harry glared at him.

"It's a surprise for Hermione just as much as a nice thing for Luna." Understanding dawned on Draco.

"She's your date." Harry nodded.

"I invited her as a friend. I thought that it would make Hermione happy to see that her cousin got to go and that I wasn't being a complete cad and going with a girl that I was snogging in public. I thought that she would like that for Christmas." Draco laid a hand on his arm and smiled at him.

"She's going to love it." Harry nodded.

"She would have until some Ravenclaw cunts destroyed Luna's dress. She said her father can't afford another dress and Hogsmeade can't get another dress in time. Do you think you get your mother in on the charade and take her shopping? I'll foot the bill but I want this to happen for both Luna and Hermione." Draco was nodding, clearly onboard.

"We need to go to McGonagall's floo. I'd say use Uncle Sev's but we can't take the chance since Moody followed him out of the Great Hall. McGonagall will let us use it." Harry nodded and started for the seventh floor where her office was located.

It was a long trek but Harry didn't mind; after all, he made it several times every day. However, the silence was uncomfortable. Just as they reached the seventh floor, Harry turned to the cousins, raked a hand through his messy hair and sighed.

"Drake, she didn't come around you and Mia because she thought that you were mad at her for ditching you when her mom died. When you didn't come around her when she started school, it solidified it in her mind." Draco's mouth dropped and he turned to Luna and wrapped her in his arms. He hugged her tight and he could hear her crying softly into his shoulder.

"Luna, we were only staying away because Father told us to respect your father's wishes, that we could talk to you if you approached us first. He didn't want us to cause problems unless you started them. That's why we never talked to you." Harry smiled at the sight of them. A misunderstanding was being laid to rest. When Luna pulled away, Harry scowled at them jokingly.

"Mums the word until the Ball. I want to surprise Hermione, okay? Promise?" Draco smiled at him and nodded. Luna did as well, floating into his arms and hugging him tightly.

"Of course we promise, you brought us back together. We wouldn't spoil your surprise. I think it's sweet that you want to do this for her." Harry froze. It was bad enough that Draco knew his secret. It wouldn't do for Luna to know as well.

"It was for you as well, Luna." She smirked at him, completely out of character.

"Sure it was." The three of them continued towards the Gryffindor Head of House's office. They knocked once outside and were quickly bid to enter. Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow at them as they filed in, a mixture of concern and suspicion filling her gaze as they took seats in front of her desk. Harry decided to be honest with her.

"Look, ma'am, I'm going to be completely honest. I asked Luna to go to the Yule Ball as my friend. She's Draco and Hermione's cousin and her father pulled her away from the family after her mother died and I thought that it would be nice to bring her back into the fold. Family is everything after all." McGonagall smiled at him and he could see that she liked his sentiment. He sighed.

"Somebody in Ravenclaw destroyed her dress robes and her father can't afford new ones. We were hoping that you would allow Draco to floo Cissy and let her take Luna and I shopping wherever she took Hermione and Daphne. Hogsmeade can't get a dress this close to the Ball." His Head of House swung her gaze to Luna.

"Who destroyed your dress, Miss Lovegood?" Luna refused to meet her eyes.

"I don't know, Professor." Harry knew that she was lying but gave her points for not snitching. He would make sure that Hermione knew. She would enjoy making sure that whoever was making her cousin's life hell pay. McGonagall seemed to realize that she was lying but didn't push. She looked to Draco and nodded towards the floo.

"Floo your mother and warn her that Mr. Potter and Miss Lovegood will be coming through. I'll send an owl to Mr. Lovegood and explain the situation, telling him that his daughter has left with Mrs. Malfoy to acquire new dress robes." Harry nodded. Draco stood and went to the fire, throwing in a handful of floo powder and going to his knees to stick his head in the flames. After several minutes, he pulled his head out and stood, brushing the soot off, and faced them.

"She's thrilled to take Luna shopping. Go straight to Malfoy Manor. She's making arrangements with Father now." Luna stood and threw herself into her cousin's arms again.

"Thanks, Drake. I've missed you so much." He chuckled at her again.

"I've missed you too, Lulu. You can't sit with us yet but after the Ball, don't be a stranger. Come sit with us. Juliet will love you." She smiled brightly at him and nodded.

"I can't wait." Harry took her elbow and led her to the floo. He took the floo powder and stepped into the flames first. After calling out the destination of Malfoy Manor, he spun away. After stopping, he stepped out of the grate to make sure that there was room for Luna. Cissy was waiting there, excitedly, and pulled him forward to help him brush the soot off. She pressed a kiss to his cheek and pressed his hair down before turning her attention to the floo when it activated. Luna stepped out and Narcissa cried out happily, rushing forward to help her out so she could hug her happily. They held each other for quite some time, rocking softly and whispering who knew what to each other. Harry felt a presence behind him and he realized that it was Lucius watching from the shadows. The blond smiled when he realized that he was there.

"Pandora was both mine and Erise's favorite cousin growing up. Luna was always over here when she was small. We were all heartbroken when Xeno took her away from us in his grief. Granted, he said it was because of our dark leanings. We all knew it was an excuse." Harry was quiet for a moment while both he and Lucius watched the two women reunite.

"Hermione is upset that Luna has never sought her out. Turns out it was a misunderstanding. I asked Luna to go with me as a friend to make Hermione happy, to bring Luna back into the fold. Those cunt Ravenclaws destroyed her dress robes. She tried to tell me she couldn't go to the Ball. I'm sorry for inconveniencing Narcissa but I really couldn't think of anyone else that could help her." Lucius chuckled and clapped Harry on his shoulder, probably one of the most friendly gestures he had received from the man aside from his sending-off before the first task.

"Son, you did the right thing. Luna is a Malfoy, maybe not in name, but in blood. Malfoys look after one another. I know we've not had this discussion but I suppose it's been a long time coming. Sirius is a Malfoy by means of Cissy and Hermione. That makes him family. You're a Malfoy by means of Sirius. That makes you family. As much as I hate that bloody wolf for what he did to Hermione, he's family by means of Sirius and yourself. Don't think for a second that I won't kill him in the most painful way possible if he ever hurts her again, family or not. Severus is both my son's and Hermione's godfather and my best friend aside from Sirius. He would die for my children. He's family. Luna is also family and we protect our own. Calling us was the right thing to do and I hope against hope that you're planning to find out who did this to Luna." Harry chuckled. He was beyond flattered that he was considered a Malfoy.

"Oh, I know she knows who did it. I can't wait to tell Hermione. While I know I would love to handle it, Hermione would take genuine pleasure in it. It's Christmas after all. Who am I to take that joy from her?" Lucius laid a hand on his head and grinned at him.

"I knew I liked you for a reason, son. Hermione will always be the light of my life and the princess of my castle but Luna is family and she's important. Let Hermione handle it. Don't tell her until after Christmas though. She'll be heartbroken to miss the Yule Ball." Harry laughed.

"You think she'd get caught? She and Draco didn't get caught when they memory charmed Moody." Lucius arched an eyebrow and burst into laughter.

"I'll have to get that story out of them at Christmas." He turned serious after a few moments.

"Tell me your honest opinion of Krum. Draco will only tell me what she wants me to hear. He loves her so." Harry didn't want to betray her to her uncle but wanted someone to know what she was getting into. He raked a hand through his hair and turned to Lucius.

"Will this stay between us?" Lucius nodded.

"I won't breathe a word. I have other sources. Krum is well-known in our world." Harry nodded, sure that he was right.

"He looks at her like a piece of meat. He watches her like he can't wait to bed her. Don't get me wrong, most of Hogwarts does, but they know her. He puts on a front, escorting her everywhere, kissing her hand, asking her about herself. He kissed her in the stacks, I heard her telling Daphne about it. He met Sirius today and he told her that she would make a wonderful wife and mother. He didn't care that she wanted to do things with her life, that she was the heir to a house of her own. Oh, he told her that he knew she had dreams, but only after he could see she was angry. I don't want to make her sound desperate because I don't think she is. However, I think she's in love with the idea he's presenting. She's a romantic and he's playing into it. I've heard rumors that he's seeing other girls and shagging them among other things. Fred and George Weasley have heard the same thing. They tried to talk to her but she told them that she couldn't do anything about it until they had proof. I'm just scared that she's going to trust him and he's going to take advantage of her. I'm worried for her." He sighed, knowing that he had probably just tipped his hand. Lucius just raised an eyebrow at him.

"Why do you spend time with half of Hogwarts when you're so deeply in love with my niece?" Harry felt himself flush, hoping that the girls were still caught up with each other. Lucius smirked at him.

"Sirius may be clueless but I'm not. Sure, he knows you're in love with her but he's going to act like he knows nothing. I'm not stupid. Tell me why." Harry knew there was no wiggling out of it. He sighed.

"I've hurt her so much in the past. I could never deserve her. She deserves someone that would never hurt her, that puts her first, that loves her more than life itself. Someone much like yourself or Draco, sir. I do love her, but I would only hurt her." He raised an eyebrow at him again.

"If she felt the same for you?" Harry shook his head.

"She couldn't. I'm not worthy of her love and if she did, I couldn't trust myself not to hurt her with another woman. She doesn't deserve that. She deserves someone that doesn't see another woman when she's around." Lucius stared at him for almost a full minute before he finally nodded. He seemed to be fighting with himself before he finally spoke.

"If you can ever say that you could be faithful to my princess, you would have my blessing. I warn you, Mr. Potter, be sure. If you're ever unfaithful to her, I will cut your cock off and feed it to the wolves that roam the woods that surround Malfoy Manor." Harry blanched at his words but understood the level of trust the elder Malfoy was bestowing upon him. He turned and offered him his hand. Lucius shook it firmly, surprised.

"Thank you, sir. Maybe someday my opinion will change but not right now." He grinned at him.

"I understand, Harry. I gave Draco the same advice before he left for school this year. Don't date Daphne until he was sure that he could commit to her without cheating on her. She deserves no less. Hermione had already told me that he had a crush on her. We really have no secrets." Harry chuckled, sure that Draco had been confused as to how his father had known.

"Good advice, sir." Lucius rolled his eyes at him.

"It's time for you to call me Uncle Lucius." Harry rolled it around silently on his tongue. He finally nodded, just in time for Cissy to chime in.

"I suppose that means you can call me Aunt Cissy like Hermione and Juliet do." He smiled at the woman. Lucius didn't give him the chance to say anything before stepping forward and pulling Luna into a brief hug.

"I've missed you, Lulu. I shall send your father an owl and tell him that we must meet. It's been too long since our families have met." She grinned at him and hugged him tightly.

"I missed you too, Uncle. Harry asking me to this dance has been such a blessing." Lucius trailed a hand down her signature blond curls and smiled at her endearingly. He reached into his robes and set a large bag of galleons into Aunt Cissy's hand and smiled at Luna.

"Harry won't be paying for your dress robes, I will. You're a Malfoy, after all. Cissy is going to take you to Paris. Harry is going to go back to Hogwarts and you can meet up with him later." Harry looked surprised.

"I don't get to go?" Aunt Cissy gave a short little laugh before patting his cheek.

"Oh no, sweetheart. You never get to see the dress robes. You'll see them the day of the Ball." Harry nodded and stepped forward to take Luna by the wrist. He didn't care if the others heard his words.

"I'll allow this without any complaint if you tell me who destroyed your dress robes." Luna instantly started to sputter, trying to deny her knowledge of who had done it. Harry finally decided that he was going to have to get forceful. His voice raised just a little and he hoped that Lucius didn't curse him.

"Luna, for the love of Merlin, don't be stupid. These bitches are just going to keep on doing this. Is that what you want? Do you like being bullied? Or would you like to have something done about it to make sure it doesn't happen anymore?" Luna had tears shimmering in her eyes and Harry felt terrible. He stepped forward and took her hands in his. His voice was much softer this time.

"Luna, nobody deserves this treatment. If you aren't going to tell the professors, then tell me so we can do something about it. If we do nothing, it will continue. I can't allow that to happen." She shook her head.

"I can't allow you to get in trouble after all you've done for me." Before Harry could answer, Lucius stepped forward.

"Just tell him, Lulu. He's going to tell Hermione after she finds out you're going together. That girl is going to love handling the situation." Luna sighed.

"I'm pretty sure that it was Cho Chang and Marietta Edgecomb but I'm not a hundred percent sure." Harry burst out laughing.

"Hermione just called Chang out in front of the whole Great Hall about being a half-blood when she insulted Helena. Trust me, she would love handling Chang." Luna chuckled softly but only for a moment.

"I don't want her to get hurt. She's a terrible person but I don't want her hurt on my account." Harry grimaced.

"I want to say that I can promise that but Hermione is ruthless. Nobody messes with her family." Lucius was beaming but Luna still looked uncertain. Harry decided to distract her.

"Don't you two need to get going? Dress robes won't buy themselves." Narcissa meeped and slid her arm around Luna's shoulders, herding her towards the floo. Once they were gone, Lucius chuckled.

"Go ahead and head back to Hogwarts. Cissy will make sure that Luna makes it back safely." Harry nodded headed for the floo as well.

"I'll see you later, Uncle Lucius." He grinned at him.

"Watch after my girl, Harry."

Harry stepped into the floo and disappeared in a whoosh of green flames. It was already dinner so Harry was quick to bid Professor McGonagall farewell after telling her that Narcissa would make sure that Luna was returned to the school. He hurried down to the Great Hall to get dinner. Since Draco was settled in with Blaise, Greg, and Vince, Harry decided to sit with the Gryffindors. He took a seat between Ron and Ginny, only to find that his best mate was discussing quidditch with Parvati, Seamus, and Dean. The twins and Neville were a little further down the table and were talking about their holiday homework and how long it was going to take them to get it done. Ginny rubbed his thigh under the table and Harry caught her hand, stopping her from grabbing his cock. He glared at her and she just smiled right back.

"Who are you taking to the Ball, Harry?" He should have known that this was what the conversation would be about. He reached down and flung her hand off his leg completely.

"None of your business." She rolled her eyes.

"I don't see why it's a big deal. I'll see when you show up at the Ball." His surprise must have showed on his face because she looked smug.

"I'm going with Terry Boot." Harry nodded, uncaring.

"Congratulations." She frowned at his lack of jealousy. However, he was saved by someone tapping on his shoulder. He turned to see that it was Cedric and he had a sheepish look on his face. Harry gave him a grin.

"Can I speak with you in private?" It was clear that he was unsure if Harry would be disappointed if he had to quit speaking to Ginny or not. Therefore, he wasted no time in standing and gesturing for Cedric to lead the way. The Hufflepuff led him out of the Great Hall and into an unused classroom. Harry noticed that Hermione had just entered the Great Hall as he was leaving, meaning that he would just find her and Draco the next day. After the door was locked and silenced, Cedric ran a hand through his hair.

"Sorry, I wasn't sure if I should interrupt you talking to her. I thought that you were with her but then I remember how you stared at Cho. I decided that it was important enough to tell you anyways." Harry snorted.

"I am most certainly not dating Ginny and never will be. My family doesn't seem to like her at all, though they get along with the twins just fine. As for Cho, well that was just a moment of weakness." Cedric snorted.

"Not sure how you were staring at Cho when you were standing next to Hermione Black. She's the most beautiful girl in the world." Harry chuckled softly.

"She is very beautiful. What did you need to talk about?" Cedric could tell that he didn't want to talk about it so he left well enough alone. Harry appreciated it. His voice became conspiratorial.

"Have you figured out your egg yet?" Harry shook his head.

"No, I haven't really had a chance to look at it yet." Cedric grinned at him.

"I figured it out. I'm not going to tell you what the riddle means, I'm sure that Black and Malfoy will figure it out faster than I did. However, I will tell you how to get to the riddle." Harry couldn't believe that Cedric was going to help him. He had opened the egg only once and heard the worst screaming imaginable. Cedric only continued.

"Put it underwater, you'll hear mermaids singing." Harry widened his eyes, grateful that he had seen fit to share his lead. He held his hand out and Cedric took it, shaking it firmly.

"Thanks, Cedric, I really appreciate it." The badger just laughed.

"I'm only returning the favor. If I hadn't been prepared for that dragon, I probably would have died. I'm just paying back the favor. We're square now." Harry nodded.

"Completely square. Thanks again." Cedric said a quick farewell and was gone, leaving Harry to contemplate just what he was going to do with the information. As much as he wanted to run to the bath and have a listen, he knew that it wasn't big enough hold himself and the egg. Not to mention, Hermione and Draco were going to want to be a part of the solving of the riddle and that would require somewhere that they could all be a part of it, maybe the prefect bath. He was almost certain that they could get the password from Fred or George or maybe one of the Slytherin prefects. Besides, the second task wasn't until the twenty-fourth of February. It would hold until after the Yule Ball.

Harry let himself out of the classroom and decided to abandon his dinner. He wasn't that hungry anymore and he decided that he would need his rest if he was going to tell both Hermione and Draco about his meeting with Cedric. He would also have to hope that the blond would keep his word about not telling Hermione about Luna being his date. With one last sigh, he headed up the steps that lead to Gryffindor Tower.

A/N- Another one bites the dust, y'all. This chapter felt like a monster. I guess after looking at the word count that it is one of my longer chapters. Anyways, I really hope you enjoyed it. I'm so excited to write the next chapter! Now, I want honest opinions...should I write Hermione as Krum's hostage or Harry's? I'm not committing to writing her either way no matter how you feel, I just want some insight. Leave me a message after the beep and tell me what you think.

Next chapter, the Yule Ball.

Love,

Alicia


	73. Chapter 73

A/N- You guys are so good to me, you have no idea how much I appreciate it. All of you had kind and encouraging words for me, begging me to not delete the story. Don't worry, my moment of insanity has passed and I won't be deleting this story any time soon. I'm sorry I freaked out; the resulting stress in real life and the holidays is apparently not a good combination. Anyways, enough of this business since I know you really just want to read about the Ball.

**Shout out to Jessivyy for being my 3300th reviewer! You da bomb diggity!**

**Shout out to leonix 2009 for being my 3400th reviewer! Freaking awesome!**

Disclaimer: I, once again, don't own anything about this story aside from my own personal twist on the plot. The original idea was gifted to me from Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle and the character belong to J.K.R. We all just play with them in the sandbox and create our own little world with them. Since I'm still trying to figure out how to get my son the hoverboard he wants for his birthday, I think it's safe to say that I haven't made any money off this story or any other.

Chapter 73

December 25, 1994

Sirius knew exactly who flung the the curtains back in all their unholy glory. He closed his eyes and tried to put his head under the pillow. Of course, he knew that Helena and Juliet were waiting on him but this year was so different with Hermione not there. There was no Candy waking him up with throwing the curtains back, there had almost always been Hermione and Draco throwing open his bedroom door and jumping on his bed until he agreed to get up and go downstairs so they could open presents. In the later years, they had started to sleep later and they had been replaced with Cissy, which had been even more frightening. Candy jerked the pillow off his head and shot a stinging hex at his arse. He yelped loudly.

"Get ups, Master, Missy Juliet is waiting." Sirius smirked as he sat up.

"And Helena?" Candy frowned. She didn't approve that Sirius brought an unwed mother into the house, even if it was the unwed mother of a Black child.

"Hers waiting with young MIss." Sirius glared at the elf. He was going to have to handle this before it got any worse. He hoped that someday Helena would give him another chance and that would never happen if Candy was mean to her and made her feel like she wasn't welcome. His voice was thunderous when he spoke. Candy was never one to cower, not even to his father, but cower she did.

"I will not have you treating Helena like she is trash, do you understand me? You will treat her like you do Narcissa. She is the mother of my heir, do you understand that?" Candy nodded meekly but couldn't help but to argue.

"Hers loose ways will bring shame to the house of Black. Hers must not become Lady Black, only your heir must. Hers is the only one fit. Yous father would be ashamed to sees it." Sirius was just getting ready to speak when he heard something at the open door of his room, only to look up and see Helena standing there with a robe for Juliet in her hand. Her face was crimson and her eyes were shiny with tears. Sirius went to his feet but she shook her head and backed away. Her voice was weak when she spoke.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to eavesdrop but it was pretty hard not to. Candy, I have no intentions of becoming Lady Black. I'm quite happy where I am. Honestly, I only allowed Sirius to claim Juliet to keep her safe from my father. Have no worries, I won't darken your doorstep again after this holiday. I'm sorry to be such a burden." With that, she was gone. Sirius turned back to his elf and tried to rein his magic in; Hermione would be so upset with him if he hurt Candy. His voice was low and menacing and he could see the fear in Candy's eyes.

"I loved her before I abandoned her to face her pregnancy alone. I left her because I thought that she was a muggle and I was scared to bring her into a war that would kill her. Now I have her back and you're telling me that I can't have her in this house because she's an unwed mother because I made her that way. I'm sure that it never occured to you, Candy, that I've already had this discussion with Hermione. She doesn't mind if Helena becomes the next Lady Black, though I told her that it wouldn't happen. She is Regulus' daughter, the rightful heir to the house of Black. It is her title by right, not Juliet's. She will hold the title, not Helena, not Juliet, not any other child that I bear. Hermione will carry Lady Black until she bears a son and he will carry the title Lord Black as soon as he reaches fourteen years of age." The room was vibrating with his rage and Candy was quaking with fear. Sirius knew that it wasn't going to end well if Candy stuck around.

"Get out of my sight." Candy didn't need to be told twice. She popped out of existence.

Sirius quickly dressed as he considered the time that Helena and Juliet had spent there since Juliet had been released from Hogwarts. It had been both wonderful and horrible at the same time. He had taken the whole time off from the Wizengamot and while he enjoyed getting to know his daughter, he felt horribly guilty. Last summer when Hermione had been home, he had barely seen her. He had been so caught up in Harry and making sure that he got to come to Black Moor that he had literally only seen her a couple weeks for the whole holiday. Here he was, spending that with Juliet for just Christmas, just the two of them. He should have treated Hermione better and he felt so fucking awful about it it made his chest hurt. The fact that she had just forgiven him flabbergasted the mind.

Juliet loved Black Moor, or so she told him. She was still a little offish to him but that was to be expected. She still hugged him and told him that she loved him, she just seemed leery of telling him details of her life. He understood completely. He had always been slow to trust and if Harry's experiences in the muggle world were anything to go by, he wouldn't blame her for being the same way.

When she had arrived at Black Moor, Sirius had assigned Dip to her, allowing the elf to bond to her. Dip had been thrilled and Juliet had been excited to have a friend with her whenever she needed her. Sirius had explained that they were friends but servants as well but Juliet had scowled at him, telling him that servants were wrong, that Dip would be her friend only. Dip had looked heartbroken until Juliet had given her the sweetest look and asked her if she would please take her trunk to her room. Pure bliss crossed her features and they had been inseparable since.

Apparently, Hermione had promised Juliet that she would take her exploring so she hadn't really ventured further than her room and library. Sirius had shown her the river and the stables, thinking that she would enjoy an Abraxan horse of her own, but Juliet had scrunched up her features and told him in no uncertain terms that horses were smelly beasts that would kill her as soon as look at her. He had chuckled at her; it had seemed that the Black gene for loving to ride had skipped his tiniest daughter.

Sirius was now dressed and decided that before presents could be had, they needed to have a family meeting. Only Remus would be there; while he was still upset that Sirius had spurned his advances on getting back together as a couple, he had understood his reasoning. He couldn't very well blame Helena either since it had happened before either she or Juliet were even in the picture.

The Gryffindor found his way to the library quickly, not wanting to prolong the inevitable. This was something that Juliet needed to hear as well. While she would always be family and loved dearly, she would need to accept that she would never be his heir either. Once inside, Remus was laughing softly with Juliet about who knew what while Helena was staring into the fire. Dip was happily pouring them all hot chocolate while Dot ran forward to pat his knees.

"Yous sure our Miss isn't coming homes to us?" He knelt before both Dot and Sipsy.

"She isn't this year but she'll be home this summer. She's got a date with Viktor Krum, the heir apparent to the house of Krum. It's a traditional Ball at Hogwarts that hasn't been held in over twenty years." Both squealed even though he had told them both this same information at least five times. They finally nodded.

"Wes forgive miss and makes sure that Bluebell gets extra treats todays. Hers would wants that." Sirius gave them both pats on the shoulder.

"She would love that. I'll be sure to tell her that you're taking such good care of Bluebell." Juliet cocked her head to the side.

"Who is Bluebell?" Remus snorted.

"Bluebell is Hermione's Abraxan horse. I think she loves that horse more than she loves your father." Juliet giggled.

"No, she doesn't. Hermione doesn't love anything more than her family." Sirius bent and kissed his daughter's head.

"He's close, little one. She considers that bloody horse her family. Abraxans live for a very long time and she's had her since she was four. She'll probably live until she's sixty or so. I just might come in third. Draco, Bluebell, me." Juliet laughed openly now and he could see Helena hiding a smile. He took a seat on the couch and gestured for her to come sit down. He sighed as he pushed his curls back behind his shoulders.

"We need to have a serious talk before we open presents." His daughter lost all traces of happiness and Sirius hated to do this to her on Christmas. However, it needed to be done. Helena refused to meet his eyes so Sirius reached out and took her hand.

"I run this household, not my elf. Hermione likes you, as do I. You know why I left you, I already explained it. I'm not going to quit pursuing you. I just want you to know that it will only take one word from Hermione to make them all understand." Finally, Helena looked up to meet his eyes.

"I don't want to be Lady Black. I just don't understand why they all hate me." Sirius chuckled.

"They don't all hate you. Candy is just a special case. She's the Head of the Household and it's her job to make sure that nothing happens to the family, nothing harms our reputation. To bring an unwed mother into the house and have the Lord Black interested in her could be damaging. It doesn't compute to her that you're an unwed mother because of me." Helena started to sputter.

"Then why does she seem to think that I want to be Lady Black?" Sirius rubbed a hand down his face.

"The Blacks have always been one of the most influential, wealthy, and powerful families in Britain. When I was young, I was a rebel. I was sorted into Gryffindor, the first Black in centuries to be sorted so. I refused to conform to bloody purity. I was burned from the family tapestry and officially disinherited. Sometime in late 1980, Gringotts sent me a letter, telling me that my father had agreed to reinstate me into the family so my son could take my place as heir. Not me, my son. However, my father died before I could sign my end of the paperwork. I didn't know about my brother dying or that Hermione even existed at that point." He heaved a deep breath before continuing.

"I thought that my brother had displeased my father somehow. I learned from Gringotts that he had died, though nobody knew how, they still don't. Since my father was dead and he had signed the papers to make me his heir again, the paperwork wasn't necessary. I knew that I didn't want to be Lord Black but knew that I couldn't let the family line die so I swore to myself that I would make it better and pass to my son someday. Then James and Lily were murdered and I learned that Regulus had had a daughter with Erise Malfoy. Hermione had been born while Regulus was the true Black heir, meaning that she was the true heir to the title." Both women seemed to hang on his words, and truth be told, Remus was too.

"I told Hermione from the start that she was my heir. Last Christmas, I gave her the heir's ring and told her that no matter what children I had after her, she would carry the title and she would pass it to her second son. When she learned that Juliet was my daughter, I reassured her that the title would still pass to her since she had been born to Regulus while he was the rightful heir. I will honor that. Juliet, while Hermione will always be the heir to the title of Lord and Lady Black, you will always be my daughter and I will always love you. You'll always be a part of this family. It changes nothing except you'll be Miss Black rather than Lady Black." Juliet shrugged her shoulders.

"Why would I care about that? It just sounds like a lot of added work for Hermione and people are going to constantly tell her she's doing things wrong when she really isn't." Sirius barked out a laugh, much like his Padfoot form. He hugged her close.

"You're so very right, little one. She'll get the honor of being Lady Black but it's so much work and hassle it really isn't worth it." Sirius turned to Helena and she was giving him a look on understanding.

"Candy wasn't meaning that you would never be married to me. She was meaning that you would never have the title of Lady Black because it could never go to you. It's Hermione's by birth and by right. You would be Mrs. Black if we ever married. If it hadn't been all messed up with her being Regulus' daughter and then me taking the title, it would have been different but I can't help that. It's no slight on your blood status or your status as an unwed mother. Please believe me." She finally nodded, looking down into her lap.

"I believe you, Siri. I still don't think we'll ever work, I could never trust you. But I believe you about this. It's Hermione's birth right and you couldn't take that away from her and you wouldn't want to. No parent would. I get that and I respect it." He laid an arm around her shoulders and nodded. He decided that there had been enough serious to go around for the morning.

"Present time!" Juliet started cheering and dove for the Christmas tree, starting to pass the gifts out. Sirius let Helena go and watched his daughter. He couldn't help but let his mind wander to Helena's words in the bedroom. She had only let him claim Juliet to keep her safe from her father. He would have to look into the situation after the holidays and see what he could do to remedy it.

Once all the gifts were all passed out, he sighed. It was usually Hermione's job to pass out the gifts but he tried to ignore it. New circumstances, new traditions. He dove into his gifts and started to open them, grinning at each one. Draco had sent him the newest book on runic wards that he had been wanting, Harry a new set of robes lined in grey acromantula silk. He had a feeling that Hermione helped his choose the color since they really would look phenomenal on him. Cissy had bought him more clothes, of course, while Lucius had bought him a crate of the finest muggle scotch from 1941. Remus had gone sentimental and had gone through his old photographs and found one of only himself, Remus, and James, all three of them wearing only women's bras and knickers. It had been a dare and Peter had taken the photo. He had had it enlarged and had framed it. Sirius had almost burst into tears when he had seen it. Severus had sent him what appeared to be a year's supply of sober-up potion, knowing full well that Sirius was complete pants at potions. Hermione had spent the most, gifting him with a brand new saddle for his Abraxan stud, Nocte. All in all, it was a good haul.

He watched as Juliet, Helena, and Remus enjoyed their gifts all around him. Juliet was exclaiming over the broom he had gotten her, not a Firebolt like he had gifted Harry since she was still largely inexperienced, but a Nimbus 2001. Remus was thrilled over his ten book set on Defense, the newest one out and he hoped that it would help the man get a job after he was no longer needed to help coach the kids at Hogwarts. Although, when he thought about it, their Defense professors were always shite. It would be worth talking to Lucius about keeping him on full time for the four kids to make sure that they would remain as prepared as they could be for the upcoming war.

Helena was admiring the diamond tennis bracelet that Cissy had insisted that he buy for her, telling him that she would love. It had been ages since he had bought jewelry for a woman other than Hermione and even that had been a more recent thing. She hadn't said a word about it yet but he could see that she liked it. He was just waiting for her to tell him that it was too much, too expensive, and that he needed to return it. He wasn't going to, of course, but he couldn't wait to tell her that. He wanted to see that distressed look in her eyes so he could soothe her worries and tell her that all would be well.

He really hoped that Hermione liked her gift. Well, her gifts. Cissy had told him about her dress and he was glad that he wasn't going to be there to see it. While he had every faith in his cousin that it would be completely modest and appropriate, he didn't want to see the hungry looks on all the boys faces when they saw her in it. He felt bad for Lucius now; he was almost more protective of her than Sirius was. She truly was his pride and joy.

He had sent her a necklace that was a string of diamonds, that alone costing him a small fortune. Hanging just between her breasts, was a sapphire the size of a galleon, shaped like a teardrop. Cissy had gone shopping with him for it and she had almost fainted at how absolutely perfect it would be for her dress. Sirius had only cringed a tiny bit at the price, telling himself that she would wear it the rest of her life and then pass it to her own daughters, telling them that her father had bought it for her for her very first date.

Her second gift wasn't nearly as extravagant but she would probably love it more. He had ordered her a complete set of Magical Encyclopedia Britannica, almost three hundred volumes in total. All the students were forced to share a set at school and while they had a set at Black Moor and Malfoy Manor, having her own set at school would hurry her homework along even faster.

Sirius had felt terrible for spending so much on Hermione but not Juliet or even Harry but Helena had assured him that Juliet wouldn't mind. He hadn't known his youngest daughter well enough to buy her a well enough thought out gift and Harry had told him more than ten times not to spend a fortune on him, that having a family to call his own was all the gift he needed. Maybe next year he would know his godson and youngest daughter enough to spend just as much on them as he did on his oldest.

He was pulled from his thoughts by the floo activating in the entrance hall just outside the library. This meant that it was either Lucius and Cissy or Andie and her family. Just as he was getting ready to stand, Candy meekly entered, head bowed, and announced Andie and Ted with Dory tripping in behind them. Sirius went to his feet and pulled his cousin into his arms, booming a laugh and swinging her into the air. Andie laughed, hugging him tight. It had been four long years since they had seen each other, since they had moved to Berlin. When he finally set her down, he turned to Helena, Juliet, and Remus. He was startled to see an almost feral look to Remus; his eyes were amber like when he turned at the full moon and he was growling low in his chest like when he was protecting someone he cared about. Sirius did his best to act like he didn't see anything, however. His best friend would just be embarrassed later.

"This is Andromeda, or Andie, her husband Ted, and daughter Nymphadora, or Dory. Andie's my cousin. This is Remus, my oldest friend, Juliet, my daughter, and Helena, her mother." Andie's eyes grew wide and she started smacking Sirius on the chest over and over. He ducked and started to try to hide from her blows. Everyone else was laughing at the exchange.

"You didn't marry her like a proper lord?" He finally caught her wrists so she started to kick his shins. He was cursing and Andie leaned out and whispered to Juliet.

"Take notes, dear. You have to take Black males in hand quite firmly." He cursed loudly again.

"I thought she was a muggle and that I was protecting her from the upcoming war. Stop it, you bloody hag. To think I actually missed you!" Andie's face softened and she stopped kicking him. He released her wrists and she smoothed his curls back from his face.

"What am I going to do with you, Siri?" He huffed softly, clearly showing that he wasn't sure what he was supposed to say. Andie released him and turned to rest of the room. She seemed surprised to see that Remus was holding her daughter's hand in his and had it held to his face, sniffing her wrist. Dory was staring straight into his eyes, completely trusting, and Sirius could see the instant attraction there. Remus had always been an attractive man, that much was fact. However, he was going to insist on full disclosure before this went any further. He knew exactly what this was. Remus had finally found his mate. He strode up to his friend and clapped him on his shoulder. Remus growled at him for a moment before realizing just where he was. Sirius was completely dead-panned when he stared his best friend down.

"You tell her everything. No lies and no hiding anything." Remus didn't say anything but he could see his agreement in his eyes. Andie still looked confused but Sirius held up a hand to forestall any questions.

"It's a story that will have to wait until another day. I'm afraid that you're all missing Hermione and Draco. They're at Hogwarts for the holidays. They've brought back the Yule Ball and Hermione was asked by Viktor Krum, the seeker for the Bulgarian national team. She's so excited even though I think he's nothing more than a bloody neanderthal. I really hope that she doesn't choose to marry him because she's going to be bloody miserable with him." Andie chuckled and reached up to tug on his hair just like she had when they were children.

"She's a young girl, I'm sure she's blinded by his good looks and fame. All girls are." He shook his head.

"Really, I think it's good manners. He treats her like a real gentlemen." Dory spoke for the first time.

"Oh, every girl is a sucker for a man like that. They all like a man that treats them like they're the only woman in the world." Juliet nodded emphatically.

"That's how VIktor treats her, like there isn't another woman in the world, at least not that he can see. It's terribly romantic." Dory sighed sadly.

"I wanted to see her so badly." Sirius grinned at her.

"Sounds like you better get to your aunt's then. They're going to go to the Ball later since Lucius is a governor. You could go as a guest." She squealed and threw herself into his arms, hugging him tightly around his neck.

"Thank you, thank you. I've missed her so much since I've been gone. Letters can only do so much." Sirius chuckled as his cousin released him. Remus was still growling in the corner. He whispered in his cousin's ear.

"Go sit by the growly bastard, will you?" She grinned at him and took the seat by the fire instead. He rolled his eyes at her but her meaning was clear. She was going to make Moony work for it. Once she was seated, Sirius re-settled and sipped on his tea.

"How was your schooling?" She smiled, pride settling in her shoulders.

"I'm a licensed Hit Witch now. Britain couldn't turn me away if they wanted. Plus, why would they want to? I'm a metamorphmagus, they're so rare that everyone wants one in their ranks. Germany couldn't believe that they didn't try harder to get me in the Academy. I suppose I should thank you again, cousin. Germany offered to waive all my schooling if I signed with them for only one year." He whistled lowly.

"You must be good, Dory, if they were going to give up that much money for only one year." She grinned at him.

"Well, I don't want to toot my own horn but...yeah, I'm pretty amazing. Couldn't tell it to watch me walk across a flat surface but I can take just about anyone in a duel and I'm pretty stealthy besides." He cocked his head to the side, thinking. He wished that Lucius was here to consider his thoughts but he was sure that he would agree. Madam Cambridge really didn't have time to go to Hogwarts to train the children, she only did it since they had been customers of hers for many years. He was completely serious when he spoke.

"How would you like a job until you can find something more permanent?" Her eyes lit up.

"Sure. What is it?" Sirius gestured towards Remus.

"You're a hit witch. Work with Remus at Hogwarts training Draco, Hermione, Harry, and Juliet. We're working on preparing Harry for the Tournament but also getting them ready for the war. It's going to happen and they're going to need to know all they can. They're Defense professors are shite and they need better than that. Madam Cambridge doesn't really have time to go there, she only goes because we're her oldest customers. Remus goes and trains them but he can't go all the time. Help him; you have the offensive training and he has the mastery. Work together and teach them to survive." Dory looked as though she didn't know what to say until Andie laid a soft hand on her shoulder. She nodded her head.

"Absolutely, Siri, you can count on me. Just tell me when."

-O-

Harry was sitting down in their dorm room with Neville to open his gifts, finding it odd that while he usually spent his Christmases with Ron and his family, this year they were down in the common room with Ginny. The twins had assured him that he would be welcome but he hadn't wanted to egg Ginny on. They had seemed to understand, telling him that they would catch up with him later. He wished that he could have gotten away with sneaking down into the Slytherin common room but since there were so many people staying for the holidays, it just wasn't possible.

Harry and Neville were on the fast track to becoming best friends. While he still considered himself and Ron to be best mates, it was clear that they were growing apart. They were running in different groups of friends now and Ron refused to try to change that. He refused to even try to understand that. He no longer started arguments about it but he still made snide comments about how Harry was friends with the snakes and such. It was frustrating beyond measure but even Harry knew that it would do no good to say anything.

Ron also didn't seem all that interested in doing what Harry did these days. While it was in no way required to get good grades, Sirius had implored to him that it was expected of him to try his best. While Harry had been hanging out with Ron all the time, he had been doing the bare minimum he could to just scrape by. Harry wasn't interested in that any more. He wanted to try his best, he wanted to be noticed for being smart, he wanted his teachers to realize that he wasn't just a famous name. Most of all, he wanted Hermione to realize that he wasn't just a legacy, but a story of his own, something that she could stand behind herself. In order to be that, he had to be his own person and slacking with Ron wasn't the way to do that.

Ron was still angry that he was taking extra classes, angry that he was taking Ancient Runes, angry that he was getting better grades in hard classes like Transfiguration and Potions. Ron just wanted to skate by and do the bare minimum, which was fine for some people, but Harry wanted to be taken seriously, and that was never going to happen if he continued on the path that Ron had set for him.

That meant that they had grown somewhat apart. Not that they no longer hung out, because they did. They still gossiped and talked about girls, compared notes in classes like Care of Magical Creatures and Divination, and took meals together. However, in the scheme of things, that's where their similarities ended. It was both sad and liberating at the same time.

Neville, however, was in the exact same place as Harry. He was in line to take his place as Lord of his house. He was scrutinized by society because they wanted the dirt on who he would end up with. Neville did his best on his school work so he would have options as he got older. He was friends with the older pureblood families in school, much the same as Harry was becoming. What pissed him off about that was that the twins were friendly with all of them as well, it was only the fact that Ron antagonized them all that made them hate him.

Therefore, he enjoyed opening his gifts in the dorm with just Neville for company. Dean and Seamus were down in the common room with the Weasleys, hoping to catch a glimpse of Ginny, Parvati, and Lavender in their sleep clothes. While he didn't doubt that Ginny had tried to wear hers down, he doubted that the others had worn theirs down. While Lavender was a little promiscuous, she wasn't near as bad as Ginny. Pav wasn't like her friend at all. In fact, he had never seen her so much as snog anyone and he suspected that she genuinely liked Ron. Harry only hoped that his friend didn't fuck it up.

He had received so many amazing gifts; Sirius had sent him the newest international racing broom, the Flyrider International. He was so excited to get out the pitch and try it out but knew it would have to wait until another day. Draco had given him a huge box of profession quidditch gear in his colors and number with his name on the back. Not original but appreciated just the same. Uncle Lucius and Aunt Cissy had sent him a brand new set of dueling robes, made of the lightest of armor. Remus had sent him books on dueling while Juliet had bought him a book on warding. Ron had bought him sweets while Ginny had bought him a book on marriage bonds. He had merely rolled his eyes at that and tossed it in the fire. Hermione had given him the best gift of all.

It had been while they were all training for dragon so they had all been on the quidditch pitch. He and Draco had been in quidditch gear while Hermione, Juliet and Remus had been in their uniform minus robes. Severus showed up and in a rare moment of insanity had stripped his teaching robes, much like he had at Black Moor. It had been at the end of the training session and they had all been heading towards the castle at almost dark when Professor McGonagall showed up, their arms thrown around each other. She had snapped a picture of them, all six of them, with their arms around each other in the fading sunlight. It had been a perfect day captured on film and she had given it to him in a frame. To say that he loved it would have been an understatement.

Of course, he had to disillusion it; just seeing Severus in it in such a familiar fashion could get him killed. He still couldn't believe that the man had allowed himself such familiarity that night. It was later that he had learned that Moody had left with Dumbledore to who knew where that night. Still, it had been a huge risk to take but he couldn't be angry after seeing the photo, It meant a lot to him.

After his gifts were put away, he started for the showers. There would be a mad rush later that day before the Ball and he wanted to get his out of the way now. He showered off quickly, making sure that his hair and body were clean, his face shaved smooth. He doubted that Luna cared about such things but he wanted to look good for her. She had assured him that Aunt Cissy had gotten her a good dress for the Ball even if it had been off the rack, unlike Hermione's. She hadn't cared, however. It had fit and it was beautiful, therefore, she had been happy.

After he was dressed for the day, he had headed down to the common room to find that the twins had ganged up on Ron to give him long red curls and pigtails, He was currently screaming at them to get rid of them and Seamus and Dean were cracking up at their friend. Harry gave them a friendly wave before heading for the portrait hole. He still had family to greet on Christmas. He found his way through the corridors until he entered the Great Hall, only to find Hermione and Draco already there, seated with Daphne. Things were still just a little tense between Draco and his crush but they were better. Harry doubted that the blond would ever assume she didn't have a date again. He slid into the seat next to Hermione and hugged her close from the side.

"Happy Christmas." She smiled at him softly as she hugged him back.

"Happy Christmas." He grinned down at her.

"Did you like my gift?" She started nodding excitedly.

"I loved it, I can't believe you found it." Harry chuckled. He had found a first edition, _Art of Magic_ , the very backbone of what magic was today. It hadn't been cheap, in fact, he had cringed when he had signed the slip from Gringotts', but it had been worth it to see the smile on her face right now. Then she frowned.

"It makes me feel like my gift was a complete cop out." He reached out and tugged on one of her curls. When her uncertain eyes met his, he smiled at her.

"I loved your gift. I've never had a real family before. My muggle family hates me so to have a photo of a family that cares for me is worth more than I can say." She reached and hugged his close from the side, burying her face in his chest, sniffling softly. His arms held her close and he buried his nose in her curls. Peaches and cherry blossoms assaulted his senses and it was glorious. When she pulled away, she smiled at him but said nothing more.

They passed the meal in merriment, pulling Christmas crackers and eating more than their fill. Harry got the distinct impression that Hermione hadn't slept well the night before since she was starting to sag against him, almost as though she was exhausted. He really wanted to spend the day with his family so when Ron, Seamus, Dean, Neville, and the twins, ambled over, he groaned inwardly. Ron grinned at him.

"We all wanna do a wizard's chess tournament in the common room. You in, mate?" Harry shook his head.

"Nah, Christmas is a time for family. I think I'll just hang with Draco and Hermione." The twins grinned at them.

"No need to split up. They're invited, of course. Any of the snakes that wanna join are invited." Silence fell over the Slytherin table and Harry knew that this was momentous and truthfully, only the Weasley twins could get away with something this outrageous. It was Daphne that decided for the lot of them.

"Well, I'm in. I love wizard's chess." Blaise and Draco quickly agreed and Harry turned to Hermione and he could see that she was reluctant. He raised an eyebrow at her. She looked ashamed as she whispered to him.

"I know they hate me and they're just going to make your life miserable if I go." He kissed the side of her head quickly before pulling her to her feet.

"Don't worry about me, they aren't going to do too much to me. Let's go." She still seemed reluctant but allowed him to pull her out of the Great Hall and through the corridors.

Once they were standing outside the portrait of the Fat Lady, Seamus whispered the password so the Slytherins wouldn't heard it. The heat engulfed them and they were quickly pulled to the seats next to the fire. Hermione always loved the fire so she quickly took residence on the couch closest to the flames. Draco took a seat at one end and Harry on the other. The rest of their friends were falling in around them, taking seats, and they were trying to figure out who was going to go first.

The twins were arguing over who was going to face off against Ron first and then who was going to face Draco when Ginny came down the stairs with Lavender and Parvati. All three stopped in their tracks and stared at Hermione. Harry felt her tense against him and he reached out to rub the tense muscles of her neck. Ginny's eyes flared with hate but Harry didn't care. He made eye contact with the redhead as he spoke.

"We're having a wizard's chess tournament. If you can't be nice and keep your hateful comments to yourself, then leave. I don't give a fuck who you're related to." The look of hatred left Ginny's face and she plopped down next to Daphne and smiled at Harry. It was clear that it was meant to convey more than it really did. Hermione squirmed next to him uncomfortably.

"I'd love to play. I want to play Hermione Black first." Draco chuckled but nodded his head. Harry took this to mean that he approved. Hermione, however, tensed even more. Harry brushed her hair back behind her shoulders.

"What do you think?" She screwed up her face and tried to speak softly so nobody else could hear.

"It wouldn't be fair. I'd have to throw the game." Ginny, however, heard her.

"Trust me, you wouldn't have to throw anything. Bill taught Ron and I and we're expert level. I'll beat your fancy pants right into the ground. Much quicker than you could even think it too." Harry watched Hermione's eyes harden at her challenge and he had a feeling that Ginny had bitten off more than she could chew. She smirked at Ginny.

"Oh, that's wonderful. I have to go easy on my own father. My Uncle Lucius taught Draco and I how to play and we're quite good. I can't wait to go up against someone who plays at expert level." As soon as Hermione said Uncle Lucius, he knew that Ginny was fucked.

Everyone gathered around to watch the girls play. Since Hermione was comfortable in front of the fire, she had refused to move. Since everyone already assumed she was a pureblood princess, she played the part to the fullest. However, they were seeing a different side of Hermione as she played chess; gone was the soft, pretty, and demure princess. In her place was the hard, savvy, and ruthless chessmaster that was killing Ginny on the board.

Harry had to admit that it was probably the fastest defeat he had ever seen. Exactly seven minutes after they had started, Hermione checkmated, thoroughly embarrassing Ginny and sending her on her way with her tail between her legs. All the boys now had a newfound respect for her, one that wasn't just based on how pretty she was and how strong her magic was. It was clear just how smart she was and how ruthless she could be; Ginny was just the idiot that had been stupid enough to challenge her.

Once she had been soundly beaten, Ginny had slunk off in embarrassment, but not before sending Hermione the most serious look of loathing Harry had ever seen. He would have to do his best to look after her to make sure that she didn't try anything. He wasn't sure she was stupid enough to try anything but he didn't want to take any chances.

From there, Fred faced Draco. It didn't last much longer than Hermione had against Ginny but it had much more good-natured. George had faced Daphne, who turned out to be pretty good. She had lost but had put on a good showing. Harry had just set up to play Ron when he felt Hermione lean against him, her eyes heavy. He laid an arm around her shoulders and she blinked up at him sleepily. He chuckled at her, pushing her head down to rest in his lap.

"Take a nap so you'll be rested for the Ball. We wouldn't want you falling asleep for Krum tonight." She tried to sit back up.

"But, I can't…" He cut her off.

"You can. Between Draco, myself, Neville, and the twins, we aren't going to let anything happen to you." Draco reached out and pulled her feet up into his lap wrapped his hands around her ankles while he watched carefully as Harry moved. Harry wanted to groan and he had to fight the urge to get a fucking boner when Hermione rolled so she could face his stomach. Ron was pretty good at chess, better than anyone in Gryffindor, so he always had to work hard to get close to beating him.

Draco let him play his own game but after every move he made, he gave him advice as to what he should have done and why. By the end of the game, he could see that Ron really wasn't as good as he thought he was. Even though the redhead had won, he wanted to challenge him to another game. He didn't though since there were others that hadn't gotten a chance to play yet. Instead, he leaned back against the couch and buried his hand in Hermione's curls, feeling their texture and silky softness. He could feel her breath just slightly on the sliver of skin on his belly that was showing where his shirt had pulled up. Goosebumps were erupting all over and it was downright embarrassing.

This was how their afternoon passed; Harry taking his turn in chess against numerous other people: Ron, Draco, George, Seamus, and Neville. The others all seemed to enjoy themselves as well, even though there were Slytherins in their common room. Even though Lavender and Pav had stuck around, neither of them said a word about Hermione and neither of them had a single smart comment about the Slytherins being in their common room. To say that Harry was surprised was an understatement. Finally, four o'clock hit and Harry knew that it had come to an end, He reached out and gently shook Hermione's shoulder. Her eyes opened but they were groggy and unfocused.

"Mia, sweetie, it's time to wake up. It's four in the afternoon and I figured that it would be time for you girls to be leaving soon to get ready for the Ball." The unfocused look instantly evaporated and she sat up quickly, only to make her grasp her head as the blood all went rushing there. Harry and Draco both chuckled at her, reaching out to stabilize her while she got her balance. Once she was better, she stood and smiled.

"Thanks for a wonderful time, even though I think I slept for most of it. I didn't sleep well last night and I suppose that I just made up for it on your lap. I really appreciate it and I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." Harry stood and threw an arm over her shoulders so he could start to lead her towards the portrait hole. Draco and Daphne were following behind, though slightly so.

"I wasn't uncomfortable, I promise. I put you there, remember?" She nodded, blushing slightly. He thought that she looked quite beautiful with just a little bit of color to her cheeks. Once they were before the portrait hole, he cupped both her cheeks and smiled at her.

"I can't guarantee that we'll see each other again tonight. You're going to be caught up with Krum and all. I just want you to have fun and promise me that you'll be safe." She glared at him.

"I'll be caught up in Krum? What about you and your date? You're the one always sneaking off with your girls. I've decided to stop caring about it but don't blame me for things you do." He felt his heart clench at her words for some reason. She did care before hand? She didn't now? What had changed? However, he hid his confusion and smirked at her.

"My date and I aren't going as true dates. We're going as friends and nothing more." True confusion rooted on her features now and he could see that she was curious.

"Who are you going with?" He shook his head and kissed her forehead.

"That's part of your Christmas gift. Now get going so you can get ready." She looked thoroughly perplexed, which he found ridiculously adorable. She let Draco step forward and lead her out of the Gryffindor common room. Once all the snakes were gone, just as he suspected, Ginny appeared and she didn't care that they had an audience.

"How dare you let that Slytherin slut sleep on you?" Harry cleared his face of emotion like Severus showed him and took a menacing step forward. Ginny fell back a step. Ron stepped forward but the twins held him back. Harry's voice was low when he spoke.

"You mean that wonderful girl that should have been my sister?" Ginny rushed him and slapped him across the face. Harry caught her wrist the second time and threw her to the ground.

"You touch me again, I'll let Hermione have you. I'm tired of you thinking that you own me." Ginny went to her feet and charged him again. This time the twins released Ron to step forward and catch her. She fought in their grip but they held strong. They looked completely perplexed at their sister's behavior.

"You've been fucking me! The whole world is going to know that I'm having your baby, I'm going to tell my father!" While the rest of the Weasleys looked horrified, Harry just started to laugh.

"If you really are pregnant, it isn't mine. I've been taking the potion to render myself infertile since the summer. Sirius told me that girls would be trying to trap me and have my babies so I would have to marry them. I did what I had to to protect myself. I really hope you aren't pregnant but if you are, you should probably get ahold of the other boys you're spending time with." She was screaming at him in front of the whole common room.

"I haven't spent time with anyone else, you're a filthy liar!" Seamus cleared his throat and looked at the twins.

"She's lying. I shagged her last week. She threw herself at me, told me that she wanted to make Harry jealous because he hadn't asked her to the Ball." The twins looked fighting mad and Harry hoped that he hadn't just ruined his friendship with them. Rather than argue with them, he met their gazes.

"Look mates, I made no promises to her. Ask Lavender, I shagged her two nights ago. I'm not seeing anyone exclusively. If she really is pregnant, I'll offer a test to make sure that the baby isn't mine. I wouldn't lie about being on that potion. There's no way that I would let her bloodline jack me like that." Even though they were clearly angry, Fred finally sighed.

"I really want to murder you right now, she's our baby sister after all, but she's clearly got issues. If she's up the duff and you can prove it isn't yours, then you're off the hook with us. As for dad, we make no promises. We're taking her straight to the Hospital Wing from here though." Harry nodded.

"Just let me know. I'll go down to the Slytherin dorms and get ready if that will make things easier." They both nodded.

"We aren't mad, but this is family. I'm sure you understand. Your family is as tricky as they come about family." Harry chuckled and nodded.

"I understand." He turned to Ron but his face was cold. He didn't even bother. Ron would come around or he wouldn't. However, he turned to Ginny and glared.

"We are done. I won't be fucking you anymore. I won't be messing around, I won't be playing your little games. We aren't dating, we aren't courting, we aren't anything. Our whole house is witness that if anything, anything at all happens to Hermione after today, I"m going to look at you. I know you're the one who cursed her bald. After today, our friendship is unsalvageable. If you go near Hermione with anything less than the purest of intentions, I will curse you until you wish you were dead. Hermione, Draco, and Juliet are my family now and I will protect them as such. Don't think for a second that I won't do so against you." Ron stepped forward, anger clear on his face.

"Is that necessary? Your friend is able to protect herself." Harry turned a stony gaze to Ron.

"Was she able to protect herself on her way to detention when she was so fucking sick with wizards flu that she couldn't fend off a simple spell to make her hair fall out? No. I'm warning your sister because I know that she's the one who did it. I knew it then and I know it now. Stay out of this or you'll end up losing yourself a friend." Ron wisely fell silent but looked livid. Ginny looked furious but remained silent. Harry decided to reiterated his word.

"Stay away from me and my family or you won't like the outcome. Hermione can be quite vindictive." Ginny said nothing more and Harry started for the dorm stairs to gather his clothes. He knew Draco wouldn't mind if he got ready with the snakes. When he realized that Neville was heading after him, he raised an eyebrow at him. Neville looked sheepish at him.

"You weren't the only one who spent a night with Ginny. She sneaked into my bed to try to get me to take her to the Ball. I had already asked Daphne though. I don't feel right staying. I mean, I've had a few witches but I'm ashamed of having Ginny because it wasn't honest. I can't look them in the eye." Harry smiled softly at his friend and threw an arm around his shoulder.

"Come on, mate, let's head to the dungeons. I don't know the bloody password so we're going to have to find Professor Snape first."

Harry laughed and Neville groaned.

-O-

Hermione smoothed her hand over her belly and stared at herself in the mirror. Even though she wasn't a vain person, she could admit that she excruciatingly beautiful.

Her Aunt Cissy had insisted on a custom dress, much the same as Madam Greengrass had for Daphne. Granted, Daphne's hadn't been near as expensive but it was still heartbreakingly beautiful in a baby pink halter dress that dipped between her breasts but showed nothing and had a slit in the leg past the knee. It was sequins and Hermione was the first to admit that Daphne looked amazing in it. Neville was sure to lose his mind looking at her in it.

Hermione, however, had taken ages to choose her gown. Even Aunt Cissy had gone back and forth about what to choose and in the end, knew that when her uncle saw what they had ordered was going to lose his mind and order her back to her dorm room. Not that he could, however, since it was going to be completely appropriate.

It was icy blue in color, to match her eyes. It was strapless, hugging her form like a glove, though it dipped between her breasts clear below them without showing a thing but a spray of diamonds across the expanse of skin. It was very delicate and feminine, something that Hermione liked very much.

Her dress was made of the softest of silk so it clung to her curves, showing the world what she had to offer. The dress hit the floor but the slit in her leg went clear to her hip, showcasing the length of her leg even though she was the shortest thing ever. The four inch heels strapped to her feel made her legs look even leaner and her bottom popped even more than she could imagine possible.

Uncle Luci was going to have kittens when he saw the dress, that much was fact. He had been fine with her New Years dress the year before but it hadn't been anything like this dress. While this dress wasn't immodest or inappropriate, it was definitely mature. It covered all the necessary areas quite well and nobody could say that she was showcasing areas that should be covered. Surely, there would be girls there that would be much more promiscuously dressed. Hermione could only hope that between her dress, her jewelry from her father, and her shining personality, she could keep Viktor's attention. Especially after the twins' conversation with her, she was worried.

Daphne stepped before the mirror with her and took her hand with hers, smiling softly.

"Do you think we're ready?" Hermione shrugged.

"The twins told me that Viktor is seeing other girls on the side. I'm not sure I'll be enough." Daphne squeezed her hand and gave her a hard look.

"If you aren't enough looking like that, like a bloody goddess, fuck him. Let him fuck his fucking groupies while you hold out for Prince Charming. He'll come and he'll slay a bloody dragon. Just remember that." Hermione giggled at her words but nodded.

"Let's do this." The pair headed for the door that led to the common room hand in hand. After throwing it open, they realized that they were hand in hand. Once they reached their door that led to the corridor, they threw it open together again. Viktor and Neville were both waiting for them outside. They both bowed before them, Viktor taking her hand in his and kissing her knuckles. She curtsied in turn, watching Daphne do the same.

"You are beautiful vitch." Hermione blushed when she could feel Viktor's gaze on her breasts, the first time he had ever made her feel uncomfortable. Neville seemed to sense her feelings and stepped forward to hug her close. He kissed the side of her head.

"You look stunning, Hermione. Your date is very lucky." She smiled at him, kissing his cheek in return. When she turned back to Viktor, she could see that he was irritated but she didn't care. She didn't like having her breasts ogled by her date like that, making her uncomfortable. However, he buried it and smiled at her, offering her his arm.

"Allow me to escort you?" She nodded, smiling at his show of gentlemanly ways.

He led her just outside of the Great Hall, where they had been instructed to meet everyone at the beginning of Ball. Harry had told her that he hadn't needed further instruction on dancing, that the twins had helped him in dancing, the one thing they had consented to helping him with. She probably wouldn't have believed him if Neville hadn't told her that it was true, that he had also been helping prepare Harry with wizarding culture and some law. Regardless, it was helpful and she knew that her father would appreciate it no matter what it was that they were teaching him. It would be a few things less that himself, Lucius, and Severus would have to teach him.

Professor McGonagall had been over to make sure that they were ready to open the dance, that they knew the steps to the waltz and they weren't too nervous. Hermione was getting nervous that Harry wasn't going to make it in time but Professor McGonagall just assured her that he was fine. The music had just started and Viktor had just started to pull her through the door when Harry hurried through the door, the least likely girl on his arm that Hermione could ever have imagined. However, he had told her that they were going as friends, not as actual dates, and that it was part of her gift.

Luna.

The opening waltz was lovely. Viktor was a wonderful leading partner and he never let them lose step. He was every bit as gifted as Draco was and that was saying something. That didn't stop her, however, from completely abandoning Viktor on the dance floor to throw herself into Luna's arms on the dance floor. Everyone had turned to stare and when she pulled away she was grinning.

"What? Why? I just don't understand." Luna gave her her trademark serene smile and spoke.

"Harry knew that it was hurting you that we weren't in each others lives anymore so he asked me to be his date as a surprise for you." Hermione turned to Harry to see if he would back up her words so when he nodded she squealed and threw herself into his arms. He laughed and held her tight, spinning her into a circle, before holding her out before him.

"Sweet Merlin, Mia, you're fit for the gods you're so beautiful." She blushed at his words before remembering that she had a date. She turned behind her and reached to take Viktor's hand, pulling her up to stand beside her, grinning at him.

"This is Luna Lovegood, my cousin. She's been estranged until now." She turned to Luna and just gave her a look. Luna knew exactly what it meant.

"I already had to explain what it meant to Harry and Draco when my dress robes were destroyed. I thought that when you and Draco didn't approach me, it meant that you weren't interested in being my friend. I kept my distance after that." Hermione felt terrible after that but had to know what the story was involving Draco. After she had the story involving her cousin, her aunt and uncle, and Harry, she turned to Luna and took her hand.

"You're sitting with us now. Fuck the Ravenclaw cunts. Tell me who tore your dress up." Harry chuckled.

"You better tell her, Luna, you already told the rest of us." Hermione turned a steely eye to her cousin. Luna grimaced.

"I think it was Cho Chang and Marietta Edgecomb but I'm not sure. I don't want you to punish them because I'm not sure." Hermione laughed.

"Before I punish them, I'll make sure. From now on, you sit with us. You don't need those bitches. If they're mean to you, you tell me. You're family, Luna. The only reason we haven't been treating you like it is because we thought you didn't want to be treated like it." Viktor spoke then and it was clear that he was annoyed.

"Enough family now?" Hermione gave him a sharp look.

"If you think so, feel free to go find you another girl to dance with. I"m sure there are plenty. To the Blacks, there is nothing more important than family and if you can't handle it now, you can't it in the future. Have fun, Mr. Krum." Hermione turned her back on her date and started to speak to Luna again.

"Stay with me tonight?" Luna gave an enthusiastic nod. Hermione turned to Harry and threw herself into his arms.

"You are the most wonderful, handsome, loving, and wonderful man." He hugged her close and kissed her forehead.

"You said wonderful twice." She chuckled as she kissed his face over and over.

"That's because I meant it you silly thing. I owe you so much you don't even know." He let go of her and cupped her cheeks so he could look into her eyes.

"Happy Christmas, Hermione." She smiled at him and kissed his cheek one last time.

"Thank you for giving me Luna back." There was a clearing of throats behind them and Hermione was surprised to see that Viktor was still behind them. He appeared quite contrite.

"I sorry. Family important. Let us switch and dance." Hermione was happy with that, as was Luna and she took Harry by the hand and pulled him on the floor.

The song wasn't crazy by any means but it wasn't slow. They didn't move in traditional steps but his hands stayed on her waist. He wasn't sure if this was what he was supposed to do but since it was what Krum appeared to do with Luna he supposed that it was the right thing. Regardless, Hermione felt amazing in his arms and the fact that Ginny was no longer hanging over them felt amazing. However, there were quite a few other girls that were.

After the song ended, Harry left the floor with Luna and Hermione went back to Krum though she looked to be scolding him for something. For once, it felt as though he had done something right. Draco was off in the distance dancing with his Beauxbatons girl, watching Daphne blatantly but she was paying all her attention to Neville. Harry knew that Neville wasn't interested in her like that but it was good for Draco to worry. He understood Uncle Lucius' teachings but he also thought that if he was even a bit interested, he should probably make sure that it wasn't just a fleeting interest before the interest was gone forever.

-O-

Lucius couldn't wait to get inside to see his sweet little Hermione. Narcissa had already warned him that she wasn't going to look like his sweet little girl anymore but the fact remained that she was. He knew that she was innocent; Draco had told him that the only thing she had experienced was a very chaste kiss in the library from Mr. Krum.

Lucius didn't even like to consider this; Hermione was his little girl, his princess. As much as he hated to admit it, he would rather see her with Potter than Krum; sure, Potter was a complete fucking idiot who stuck his dick in anything that moved but he had the right intentions. He had learned from his talk with the boy that he loved his niece so much that he loved her enough to stay away from her because he wasn't sure that he could stay faithful to her. If that wasn't love, he wasn't sure what was.

No, he didn't trust the little shit any further than he could throw him. Lucius remembered the age quite clearly. He had already loved Narcissa at age fourteen but he had been in love with using his cock. He had fucked everything with a pussy at that age, everyone but Narcissa. It had hurt her deeply but at the time he had been so fucking clueless that she couldn't even be mad at him. When he had finally figured it out, two years later mind, she had been so fucking disgusted with him that she no longer wanted him.

Lucius had let all his other girls go, for two years he had gone without sex to prove to Narcissa that he was serious about being in love with her. It had been hell on Earth and he had been tempted so many times to say fuck it and head to the muggle world and hit up the whore house that his father had told him about. However, he had stayed strong because he had truly loved the beautiful woman he now called his wife. It had eventually paid off too.

Narcissa had consented to be his wife and they hadn't consummated their union until their marriage day. Many of his friends had made fun of him but Lucius had never minded. While he had always gotten what he had wanted from many girls, Narcissa had always made him work for what he wanted. She had always made him commit. When he finally laid in their marriage bed and slid inside her, spilling himself inside her for the first time, he knew that all his work and efforts had been worth it.

Potter was still a young boy that wasn't ready to commit to one woman but when he was there, it would be Hermione that he would be ready for. It would be his job to convince his niece that he could make her happy, that he could be faithful, just like he had had to do for Narcissa. It could be done and he would have to sacrifice but it could be done. He hoped for Hermione's sake that he could do it. From what he had heard of Krum already, he wasn't all that impressed.

Dory had shown up at Malfoy Manor a few hours ago with Remus in tow. Sirius had sent an owl along beforehand, telling Lucius that he was quite certain that the man had found his werewolf mate in the metamorphmagus. While Lucius had never been an overly large fan of either one, they were both considered family and he would treat both as such. Therefore, he was happy for both. This also meant that both were now trailing both he and Narcissa to Hogwarts to see the children for the Yule Ball.

They had just came through the floo, Lucius in his dress robes of all black and Narcissa in her robes of dusty pink. Dory was wearing robes colored in all blue, off-setting her now-platinum hair perfectly and Remus looked quite good in traditional dress robes as he accompanied her. Neither had said anything about their situation and Lucius wondered if Dory even knew what their situation was; she hadn't even known him for six hours after all, certainly not long enough to get the story. He was quite sure that she wouldn't be sickened by the thought, in fact, most witches weren't, but she was quite clearly very much not in the know. He grinned quite suddenly. He could count on Hermione to clue her cousin in. He needed some entertainment in his life.

They found their way to the Great Hall, where the Yule Ball was being held. Even though they had arrived precisely on time as to their invitation, it was clear that it had been going for a time already. Lucius instantly looked out among the crowd to try to spot Hermione, quite sure that his wife was trying to spot Draco. After he saw her, his heart almost stopped.

She was heartbreakingly beautiful, her icy blue dress bringing out the color of her Malfoy eyes. The front of her dress showed off her cleavage but not in a way that was trashy and the slit in her leg was fashionable and appropriate. All in all, she looked like a fucking angel and he didn't think even her mother had even looked so beautiful. She was dancing with Krum and he watched them for a few moments. Everyone he had talked to had told him that Krum had mistresses all over the world, that he had been treated several times over for diseases that you got from whores. He was worried about his niece, his heir, dating this man but he knew enough of her personality that it would do no good to tell her to stop. She would have to learn what kind of man he was on her own. He could only warn her. He could see the quidditch star staring at other women over Hermione's head, checking them out in their dress robes even though she was by far the most beautiful in the room. He strolled right up to him and tapped him on the shoulder. When Krum stopped and frowned at him, he spoke.

"I'm cutting in." Krum started to get angry.

"You not cut in, you no manners." Hermione, however, paid no attention to her date. She threw herself into his arms and he twirled her around in a circle. There were tears in her eyes when she finally pulled away and he brushed his fingers under her eyes.

"I've missed you so much. I wish you could visit more often." Viktor huffed loudly beside then and Hermione glared at him.

"I already told you. If you don't like my family, go find you another girl." His whole demeanor changed and Lucius wanted to laugh. It was clear that the man was trying to impress her and he wanted to know why he was so desperate.

"You not tell me dis vas family." Hermione smiled at him, completely oblivious to the fact that this man was trying to control her. Lucius smirked, however, because it was never going to happen. Not only would Draco, Harry, and her father never allow it, he would kill any wizard that ever tried to control the precious flower in his life.

"This is my uncle, Lucius Malfoy. My aunt Narcissa is around here somewhere, probably wherever Draco is." Lucius made sure to put his most bone-chilling smile on and he could see that it did its work. Viktor swallowed hard.

"You Death Eater. You change sides for Hermione." Lucius stepped forward and wrapped an arm around Hermione's shoulders before pressing a kiss to her forehead. He knew that he was laying it on a little thick but he didn't care. If she ended up with Potter he wouldn't be able to. He had already given the little brat his blessing.

"She's the only reason I changed sides. Don't think for a second, Mr. Krum, that I won't hesitate to skin you alive and gut you if you cause her even a second of pain. I made her my heir and she's the light of my life. Remember that when you try to sneak her into an alcove and rob her of her virginity. Ask your classmates from Hogwarts, I'm sure that they'll tell you horror stories about me." Viktor paled slightly but Hermione smiled softly before smiling slightly and burying her face in his robes. He pulled her into his arms and out onto the floor. Once they were away Krum, she burst into laughter.

"You were very convincing, Uncle Luci. How long did you practice that?" He smoothed his hand down her curls and grinned down at her.

"I've been practicing that since your mother first laid you in my arms when you were only an hour old." The smile remained on her face but it softened. She sidled in closer and laid her head on his chest, probably the only person in the place she could get away with doing it to aside from Draco and started humming softly. He let her, just led her through the crowd to the sound of the music, for what seemed like ages. Finally, when the music came to a pause, she lifted her head and saw that there was someone waiting on the sidelines that she hadn't seen in years. She broke free from her uncle at a run and threw herself and her cousin, tears streaming down her face.

"Dory, I can't believe you're here! How have you been?" The metamorphmagus laughed and hauled her into a hug. Hermione laughed into her shoulder, surprised that she had showed up at Hogwarts to see her. Dory laughed and patted her shoulder.

"I'm great though your uncle has made it clear that I need to bring something home to Mother. Any ideas?" Hermione laughed as Draco moved in closer. She hugged her cousin again as her eyes pricked with tears.

"I've missed you so much, Dory. I know you've been furthering your career and I've had Draco but it isn't the same as having you. You're like having a sister and when you're gone it just isn't fair." Dory hugged her close and tried to hush her.

"I know it isn't fair and I'm sorry. However, I can't help it." Hermione smiled at her and nodded. She realized that once again she had left Viktor hanging so she waved him over. He smiled at her cousin and kissed her knuckles. Hermione was surprised to hear Remus growling in the background. Her cousin leaned over and whispered in her ear.

"Do you have any fucking idea what that's about?" She laughed softly at her cousin.

"He's the sweetest werewolf you'll ever meet. I have a feeling you're his mate. I wouldn't go near any men who want to seriously shag you. Sure, all the boys here would love a piece of you but it isn't serious. The first time around a man who wants to shag you, he might just kill him. Hate to break it to you, cousin, where he's classified as a beast, he could get away with it. Don't play with fire." Dory smiled at her before hugging her close. Hermione hugged her close and she heard Remus growl. She finally leaned forward enough to glare at Remus.

"I swear to Merlin if you growl at me one more time for hugging your woman you're going to learn that I will rip your asshole open and make you shit sideways. Don't try me, Moony." He glared at her for a moment before stepping back and standing along the sidelines of the dance floor. When Hermione turned to Dory once more, she was laughing to herself. Viktor was standing off to the side and seemed much more tolerant now that he realized her family was everywhere.

"I want to introduce you, Dory, to my date, Viktor Krum. Viktor, this is my cousin Dory. She's officially a Hit Witch now." Viktor stepped forward and kissed her cousin's hand, smiling charmingly at her cousin. He smiled at Hermione as he cast a glance at Remus, clearly smirking at him.

"You bring pet to party?" Hermione didn't have to worry about holding her magic back. She wasn't the most fond of Remus but he did his best to help herself, Harry, and Draco, to teach them all he could. He was her father's best friend and even though it had gone through the wringer, he really did do his best to help them through the worst of things. Dory stepped forward, wand to Viktor's throat, face serious as a heart attack.

"You ever refer to him as a pet again, I'll kill you myself. He's family and I guarantee you, Hermione won't stand for it. If you want to keep her around, you should probably make an effort to keep her family happy." Viktor looked livid for only a moment before he looked contrite. He turned to Hermione and apologized.

"I so sorry." She floated into his arms and let him hold her tight.

"I'm so sorry about tonight, I know it's been insane. My uncle in a governor and he came to see Draco and I. He brought my cousin, who you just met, because I haven't see her in four years since she went to Germany to enroll in auror training. She wasn't lying; she really is a HIt Witch. The man you were calling a pet is a close friend of the family who happens to be werewolf; he teaches Harry, Draco and I twice a week. Our family is large and insane but it's amazing and I love it. I'm sorry if it's ruined our date." Viktor smiled at her, taking her hand in hers.

"It ruin nothing. I love you family." Hermione smiled at him, clearly surprised at how accepting he was being. She smiled at him.

"Let's go thank Harry for making sure that Luna could celebrate this day with us." Viktor smiled at her but he looked anything but thrilled. Once they were over by where the pair were dancing, Hermione laughed and threw herself at her cousin instead of Harry.

"Switch up." Hermione didn't figure that VIktor would complain about finding himself in the arms of a beautiful young French girl. She snuggled into Draco's arms and let him whirl her around the floor. He laughed as she added strange little steps that weren't usually in the dance.

"I had fun, Drake. I love you." He kissed the side of her head before delivering her back to Viktor. He seemed less than pleased. However, all was made better when he lowered his head to her mouth and caught her lips in a deep kiss, one that she couldn't escape from. She had thought that she would lose her mind, that she would find herself ready to move onto the next step of romance, but that wasn't the case. In fact, she really just wanted to go find her Uncle Luci and tell him she couldn't wait to see him again.

The whole Great Hall fell silent as they watched Viktor Krum snog her; once he pulled away, they all became busy once again. Hermione wasn't sure what she was supposed to say; therefore, she said nothing. Viktor just thumbed her jaw before kissing her forehead and leaving the Hall completely. She couldn't help but feel jipped; he hadn't walked her to her door. Uncle Luci now had Aunt Cissy at his side and they were headed for her side. Aunt Cissy took her hands in hers and gave her a soft smile.

"You're disappointed." Hermione nodded but tried to be fair.

"He didn't bother to walk me to my common room. I can't help but wonder who he's meeting with now. I hate to believe that of him but I can't help but wonder." She sighed. "I suppose I can't blame him. I literally ditched him all night in order to spend time with my family." Aunt Cissy smiled at her and twirled her fingers through her curls.

"Princess, if he can't handle one night your crazy family, he can't handle you." Hermione laughed but realized that she was right. Uncle Luci appeared behind her and started to rub her shoulders.

"If he doesn't like you spending time with your family, princess, he isn't the one for you. You need a boy that is supportive of family." She leaned back against her uncle and smiled.

"He still said he liked my family. Though I do have to admit that Dory almost murdered him when he called Remus the family pet." She watched her uncle chuckle softly. Family were the only ones that could get away with laughing at that joke. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Don't let her catch you laughing at that." He opened his mouth to speak but Dory spoke.

"Too late, Mia. I see all." Hermione laughed softly as she saw a flash of fear cross her uncle's face. He was quick to press a kiss to her head and hug her tight for few moments before pulling Narcissa towards the entrance.

"Love you, princess. I'll see you soon." Hermione laughed to herself and waved, telling them that she loved them as well. Once they were gone, she turned to Luna.

"I wasn't kidding. You're going to start sitting with us. I've missed you for too long." Luna nodded happily. Hermione turned to Harry and hugged him again.

"Thank you again. You've made everything so much better. This is the best Christmas ever." Harry smiled at her, just realizing that she had nobody to escort her back to her common room. He was just about to offer to take her back when Neville stepped forward.

"Hermione, would you like me to escort you back with Daphne? It really wouldn't be any problem." She smiled and nodded before turning to Harry and Draco.

"Be gentlemen and take your dates to their common rooms. I'll see you in the morning." Hermione let her friend take her arm and start her in the direction of the Slytherin common room. Even though there were things that could have been better, all in all, it had been a good night.

-O-

Severus had watched the evening unfold jealously. He hated the position that he had put himself in and he wished that he could take it back. He missed his family and he wished more than anything that he could at least see them in the privacy of his own quarters. No, of course that couldn't happen though, since Albus' lap dog Moody was fucking rabid and insisted on dogging his every fucking step.

Hermione had been fucking beautiful tonight. He wished more than anything that he could have gotten a picture with her, that he could have spoken with her. The only thing that kept him from losing his mind was that she missed him just as much as he missed her. Draco missed him too, even Harry, but they didn't hug him, they hold him close and tell him how much they missed him, how much they loved him. They weren't going to be what kept him on this side of the divide between good and evil. He never doubted how the felt for him but Hermione was the one who ever put words to it and sometimes that was what he needed.

Just the other day he had told Albus that he was considering murdering Moody in his sleep. Truthfully, he thought that the Master Auror had lost his touch. He used to be quite the wand but now, he was nothing more than paranoid. His niece had got the drop on him, in full view in the corridor, with his wand on full display. Either he had thrown it on purpose or he was losing it. There was no other explanation. When he had brought it up to Albus, he had told Severus that Moody never did anything without a reason. However, the Slytherin couldn't find any reason why the Master Auror would let a few Slytherin students obliviate him. It made no sense and Albus seemed to disagree with him.

This was the only reason why Severus hadn't AK'd him. He had gotten over guilt for killing long ago and he would love to be able to spend time with his family once again. However, with Rookwood on the loose, Harry in the Tournament as bait, Karkaroff in the castle, and the second task coming up, there was no way that he could let his family down by taking the easy way out.

He was just going to have to be strong and remember that they loved him. After all, they were the reason he was doing this. They were the reason he was going to be a Death Eater once again.

A/N- Oh. My. God. Longest chapter to date, I'll have y'all know. I really hope you all enjoyed it. Thanks to everyone out there reading, reviewing, following, and favoriting, I really appreciate it. Let me know what y'all think. They're like chocolate and whiskey shots.

Next chapter, everyone's back to school after the holidays.

Love,

Alicia


	74. Chapter 74

A/N- Merry Christmas, my lovelies! This chapter is my gift to you since I have been ridiculously busy with shopping, wrapping, working, cleaning, and life in general. I can't guarantee that you'll get another chapter before the weekend either; my work is having a Christmas party, my husband's job is having their Christmas party, my parents are having their family Christmas, and close family friend's are doing their Christmas as well. Needless to say, my writing time before Sunday has been greatly diminished. Thank you all for being patient. After all, we all know that nothing is more important than family. Therefore, I hope that you all enjoy this chapter and have the best of holidays. Warm wishes from me and mine to you and yours 3

**Shout out to Jamie Theobald for being my 3500th reviewer! You're freaking awesome!**

Disclaimer: This story as a whole doesn't belong to me in the slightest. The whole Harry Potter universe belongs to J.K.R., we merely play around in her sandbox and use her characters to build awesome scenarios and stories. I receive nothing for the stories that I write except the pleasure of writing them.

Chapter 74

January 2, 1995

Harry knew why everyone was ignoring him. It was the same reason that everyone was ignoring Ron, Fred, George, and Percy. He wasn't stupid; they thought that if they ignored the people involved, they wouldn't have to make a choice when it came down keeping friendships. Well, Harry hated to break it to them, but he wasn't the one that was making them make a choice. Ron and Molly were the ones making a huge deal about Ginny and her lies.

True to his word, Harry had made his way down to the Hospital Wing on Boxing Day to be tested against Ginny's hypothetical baby. He had sent a message to his godfather and he had dropped everything at Black Moor to be there, citing that he needed a parental figure to be there for permissions sake. Molly and Arthur had been there as well, turns out the twins had insisted on it.

*Flashback*

Harry couldn't believe what a complete shit show this had turned out to be. He knew that he wasn't the father to Ginny's baby, if she was even pregnant. However, it wouldn't surprise him if she pregnant. He suspected that she had been trying to fall pregnant even though it had only been a week since they had started sleeping together. He figured that she thought he was too stupid to protect himself but he was unsure if she would protect herself when she was with others aside from himself.

Harry had promised everyone in the common room that he would be there regardless and get tested against her "baby" to make sure that he wasn't the father. If for some reason that he was the father, however, he would probably end up killing himself. Having a child with Ginny Weasley was probably the last thing in the world that he wanted to do. Draco had told him in no uncertain terms that if that was the case then he should probably quit sticking his dick in her then.

Madam Pomfrey had glared at him as she cast the necessary blood tests needed to compare against Ginny if she was indeed pregnant. He didn't blame her; it wasn't the high point in his life. He had just been finishing up when Molly, Arthur, and Ginny had arrived, Arthur clearly embarrassed, and the two women spitting mad. Ginny had put her hands to her hips and started in on him.

"I can't believe you're putting me through this, the mother of your child. What are you going to do when the test comes back positive?" Harry snorted and muttered under his breath.

"Throw myself from the Astronomy Tower." He knew he shouldn't have said it. He felt terrible when he caught sight of Arthur's face. The man was already embarrassed and his smart comments weren't helping. He offered his hand to the man and the redhead smiled sadly.

"I'm sorry, Arthur, that was ill-done of me. Please forgive me." Arthur smiled at him and shook his hand. It was Sirius that answered Ginny. His voice was hard.

"You will get nothing, Miss. Weasley. You will get a monthly stipend to raise the child, one set up by the Wizengamot. If you decide to terminate the pregnancy, you will have the pay the house of Potter fifty thousand galleons. If you decide that you don't want to raise the child, you may hand he or she over at any given time but only if you sign a paper stating that you relinquish any and all parental rights to the child. If the house of Potter finds that you have mistreated the child in any way, shape, or form, you will be tried in front of a full trial of the Wizengamot and will face Azkaban. Those are your options if you are indeed pregnant with my godson's child." Ginny was quaking with fear and remained silent. Molly, however, wasn't.

"My Ginny isn't pregnant, she isn't even having sex. Your boy is spreading rumors about her." Harry knew that he shouldn't have opened his mouth about it but he didn't like being called a liar.

"I'm not a liar and I know that at least two other Gryffindor boys have slept with her too. What you want to believe about your daughter is your business but don't call me a liar." Madam Pomfrey put it all to an end because she stepped forward and called Ginny back behind a curtain. Even though Harry knew that he had protected himself religiously since Sirius had told him what the girls were after, he was still worried about Ginny being pregnant with his baby. He still had a fantasy of Hermione being his wife and carrying his child. That would all be ruined by a child with Ginny, though he knew that he wouldn't be able to help loving it anyway, despite who it's mother would be. The pair of them were only gone a few minutes before they reappeared, Ginny looking quite pale. Madam Pomfrey looked downright gleeful. Ginny took refuge in her mother's arms while Harry stood tall and proud, ready to hear his future if need be. The meditwitch's voice never wavered.

"Miss Weasley isn't pregnant." Molly looked far too triumphant and looked ready to start crowing about how right she was when Pomfrey continued.

"However, Mr. Potter was right. Miss Weasley lost her virginity well over a year ago. She's had six sexual partners already and has shown the fortitude to use precautions against pregnancy." Harry figured that she had been full of shite but regardless, he was glad. The last thing that he wanted was to be a father at fourteen.

Sirius had glared at Molly before shaking Arthur's hand, telling him how sorry he was. Judging by the look on the woman's face, Ginny was going to be in trouble for the foreseeable future. Harry had followed Sirius out of the Hospital Wing and even though he had done exactly as his godfather had told him to, he vowed to do better. The last thing he wanted to do was bring his family shame. If it had been any other family, it could have ended way worse.

*End of Flashback*

Ron hadn't been pleased that his sister had been outed as sleeping with six blokes in school. You would think that since Harry hadn't told the results to anyone except Hermione and Draco that nobody would have found out. However, that would have been wrong. He wasn't sure how anyone knew but he had a sneaking suspicion that Ginny herself had told people for attention. The more attention that was on her for sleeping around, the less that was on her for not being pregnant and telling the world that she had told the world she was having the Savior's baby.

He wasn't thrilled about it and he knew that his family was even less so. However, they had let it go at his insistence. This was what had surprised him. He had really expected Hermione to lose her shit and go after Ginny. However, things had been different between them since Christmas.

Hermione had been upset that Viktor hadn't escorted her back to Slytherin the night of the Ball and he hadn't blamed her. He had built up the image that he was going to give her the date of the lifetime but it had ended quite lame. He felt bad for feeling giddy that the Bulargian hadn't followed through and given her the date of a lifetime. If he had taken Hermione to the Yule Ball, he would have made sure that she would have known that she was his priority and whatever she wanted to do would have been just fine with him.

It was no secret that the Bulgarian hadn't been able to handle meeting and spending time with her family. In that regard, Harry felt pretty happy. Not only would he have been thrilled to spend time with her family, they were his family as well. Granted, he had never met Dory before but she seemed to fit in with the rest of them and seemed just as hex-happy as Hermione. She was spunky, hilarious, happy, and more than ready to stand her ground if she thought her family was being threatened or insulted. All in all, she was a perfect fit to Hermione and he loved her. He hoped that Dory loved him just as much.

It had been the talk of the school the whole day after the Yule Ball; nobody could understand why Krum had disappeared on Hermione the way he had. The whole school knew just how special she was and they were unclear as to why he would bail after meeting her family; they wished they were so lucky. Hermione hadn't held it against him, of course. She had made excuses for him as to why he had left even though he had yet to hear one that he believed. However, he had yet to call her out on them.

Of course, it had been days later that she had received a letter from him from Bulgaria. Not shortly after he had left her in the Great Hall, he had left Britain to travel home to Bulgaria to spend the remaining holiday with his family. He hadn't told her, of course, but that had been beside the point. She had forgiven him instantly since it had been for family. Harry wasn't quite as forgiving since he was sure that he had a dozen girlfriends in Bulgaria that were more than happy to service the famous seeker. He had no proof but that was his theory. He just hadn't gathered the balls to put words to said theory.

Draco seemed as impressed with the quidditch player as he was. He kept his mouth shut too, neither one of them would ever dream of upsetting Hermione for no good reason, but they were sure that he was up to no good. There had been a whispered conversation two days after Christmas before Hermione had arrived to breakfast; it had lasted all of four minutes and that had been long enough for them to realize that they were in agreement and there was nothing that they could do about it but know that if it all went south that they could all lean on each other and hope that they were able to be there for Hermione and she wouldn't hex everyone to pieces. The girl really could be volatile when she wanted to be.

Harry supposed that what seemed as the most confusing moment of his holiday so far was Hermione in general. He had started feeling confused as to why Hermione could be upset as to why he was caught up with so many girls; there was just no way possible that she was jealous. Christmas rolled around and suddenly she acted like she didn't care a fig anymore; literally, nothing phased her. He had been eavesdropping when he had heard Draco ask her why she wasn't more upset and she had told him that he didn't give two fucks about upsetting her so why should she care about him? Draco had persisted and asked why she wasn't crying at him knocking up Ginny Weasley and she had cried a few tears, telling him that if shagging Ginny was more important, than she wasn't going to waste her tears on Harry Potter anymore.

Harry hadn't known what to make of this private conversation. It had sounded like something that Hermione would say, sure, but he had never in a million years thought that she was interested in his private life. She was too good for him and could do so much better than the boy who had tormented and hurt her when they were young; it just wouldn't do for Hermione to be caught up in a boy like Harry. To learn that she had been interested in his life at least a little had been humbling. It had then turned saddening when he realized that he had already blown his chance.

Since Hermione no longer cared about who he spent his time with, Harry did his best to distract himself from what could have been. He tried not to think about what it would have been like to have her care for him, what it would have been like to hold her close and kiss her softly. Truthfully, it felt as though he was mourning losing her as a girlfriend and he had never even known that she had felt that way about him until it was too late and he had already killed her feelings for him.

Harry was now burying himself in every girl that he could convince to sleep with him. It wasn't his proudest moment and he knew that he would probably regret it later but he couldn't help it. He had had the one person in his grasp that he had wanted since he had first set eyes on her and he hadn't even realized it. Not only had he been too blind to realize it, he had fucked it away with other girls, making her feel worthless and unloved. Honestly, she definitely deserved somebody better than him now.

When he wasn't fucking the population of Hogwarts, Harry had been working on the egg that he had rescued in the first task. He had tried to listen to the egg in the dorm bathroom but the tub just hadn't been big enough. Deciding that he wanted to try to listen to it on his own, he had caught Fred and George on their own the night before and told them the story, begging them for the password if they had it, telling them that he would owe them a favor if they had it. They had instantly told him the password, pine fresh, though they weren't sure as to why they hadn't asked his Slytherin counterparts for help. He had told them that he wanted to surprise them, which was partly true, but mostly he just wanted to surprise them with the fact that he could figure it out on his own. He was tired of feeling like the stupid part of the trio. They had agreed and went about their merry way.

Harry had just thrown the egg in, making sure that the door was locked one last time before crawling into the enormous bath himself. It made him feel like he was cheating the system since he was experiencing this before Hermione and Draco and they were going to be the rightful prefects but there was nothing for it. He needed to be somewhere that he could hear the riddle that the egg contained.

While it was tempting to sit back and relax in the luxuriant water, Harry didn't. He took off his glasses and put them on the ledge, then taking the egg in his hands to plunge it under the water. Once under, he held his breath and followed it. After he was submerged, he opened the egg and instead of hearing the horrid screeching from before, he heard beautiful mermaid song.

"Come seek us where our voices sound,

We cannot sing above the ground,

And while you're searching, ponder this:

We've taken what you'll sorely miss,

An hour long you'll have to look,

And to recover what we took,

But past an hour – the prospect's black

Too late, it's gone, it won't come back."

Harry was gasping for breath when he resurfaced but knew that he would have to go back under so he could memorize the riddle. He had no idea what it meant, that much was certain. He knew that Cedric had said that he was having problems with the riddle but he had hoped that it wasn't going to be that hard. However, he should have known better. Even though Cedric was a known pretty boy, he was still very smart. If he was having problems, it was still a given that it was going to be pretty difficult.

Harry sat there in the water after listening to the riddle five more times. He had since committed the mermaid's song to memory and could only ponder her words now. The only thing that made sense was that their voices sounded in the Black Lake, everyone knew that. Were the going to have to find something in the Black Lake? It said that they would take something that he would sorely miss. What could that possibly be? His broom? His wand? Hermione and Draco? He wasn't sure what the parameters were on the spell and he was sure that it would wear off sooner rather than later.

After he pulled the egg from the water, he dried it off before pulling himself out of the water and dressing himself rather quickly. The Welcome Feast was in less than an hour and he needed to make sure that he wasn't going to be late. After all, Juliet would never forgive him if he wasn't there to greet her after being gone for so long. Truthfully, it was the shortest of holidays he could remember Hogwarts ever having but it had seemed like forever and he could only attribute it to the fact that part of his family had been gone and he hadn't been able to see her.

Without another look back, Harry headed towards the Great Hall. After all, the rest of his family would be waiting there and he had been waiting to see her since she had left.

-O-

Hermione couldn't wait to see Juliet. It hadn't been that long, in fact, it had been one of the shortest vacations since she had come to Hogwarts. However, it had seemed as though she had been parted from her sister for ages.

She knew that in reality it hadn't been that long. She knew that it hadn't been that long in the scheme of things but when it came to splitting her up from her sister, it had been ages. Draco had teased her for the last two nights about how she couldn't get to sleep because she was just too excited to see Juliet; Hermione just couldn't help that it was true.

Hermione had never expected that she would miss her sister like she did. She had certainly never imagined that she would feel for her like she did. Sure, there were plenty of people that acted on such things, that acted like there were relationships there when there really weren't, but Hermione had never really been one for one of the girls that had done so. She didn't hold it against those that did, everyone needed someone after all, but she preferred those that were honest in her life.

Hermione was seated at the Slytherin table waiting for Draco and Luna to join her. It was funny that she considered them family no matter how long it had been since they had spent the holiday together. However, no matter how close Harry was to her family and despite the fact that she considered him family, she had no formal name for him. Cousin? Brother? She really wasn't sure what to consider him now that she had realized her feelings for him and then watched them almost disappear. Hermione still felt her heart clench slightly when she said them but the emotion was almost entirely gone. Harry had made sure to almost kill them off entirely. She knew that she deserved better than what he would currently offer her and under no circumstances would she settle for less.

"I see Mandy Brocklehurst staring at you, Harry. I'm sure you'd rather be spending the holiday with her rather than us." She couldn't help but lower her face to help hide her shame. The last thing she wanted was to show that she was jealous of the beautiful young woman that was covering the shift for the prefects.

Hermione knew that Mandy wanted Harry; she had told Hermione more than once. For some reason she had seen fit to see Hermione as a confidant, though she didn't know why. She had never told the girls secrets past Draco but she had been confused as to why the girl had thought that they were friends. At first she thought that it was a misconception, a misunderstanding that the girls thought that they had to be friends with her before they could be friends of lovers with Harry or Draco. She wished that she could put a flyer in the Prophet that it was not needed. Nowhere was it stated that she needed to be friends or more with the girls that spent time with her family.

It still hurt when she was confronted with the girls that were shagging Harry. She knew that she had given up caring about that aspect of his life. After all, he hadn't cared about hurting her with it in the least. Not once did he consider how shagging one of his slags would affect her life. Therefore, why should she let his life choices affect her? She could do better and she was determined to do so. There were things that determined how good of a man you were that had nothing to do with how many women you shagged.

Hermione still couldn't help but feel a little hurt at the fact that Viktor had left so suddenly without a word about leaving for Bulgaria. In no way did she fault him for leaving for family, she knew the meaning of family after all, but it had been a little embarrassing to have him ditch her after the ball for no reason. Sure, she had made his excuses but he had given her none until days later when he had told her that he had left only a few hours after leaving her at the ball.

Hermione had dreamed of a perfect date, a perfect ball, but she never would have begrudged her date leaving early to leave the castle to meet his family for the holidays. She simply wished that he would have told her so she could have wished him well. It hadn't escaped her that while Viktor had been introduced to her entire family, she had yet to meet a single person in Viktor's family. Was he ashamed of her? Did he think that they wouldn't understand her? Would they look at her differently since they were of a different culture? She vowed to research Bulgarian culture as soon as school started once more.

Luna was seated next to her and gave her a knowing smile. Hermione glared at her, not liking how her cousin knew her so well already after so many years apart. The rest of the Slytherin table was talking amongst themselves about the latest quidditch match between the Cannons and the Bats, something that interested Hermione none at all. Luna took her hand and squeezed it softly.

"Someday, he'll realize what he has in you and you'll be priceless to him." Hermione knew exactly what she was talking about and scowled.

"I'm tired of waiting for him to grow up. I shouldn't have to be the end of a long line of girls. He should know that I love him and would die for him and treat me accordingly. However, I will never act like a complete fool for a man who falls into bed with girls that just want to bed him. I love him and that should mean something. It doesn't though. It doesn't mean anything to him. The only thing that means anything to him is a girl that's willing to show him skin and suck his dick. Makes me feel like I'll never be enough, actually." Luna wrapped her arms around her and held her tight for a long minute before pulling away and smiling at her. The only thing that made Hermione feel better about her words was that she knew that Pandora had passed her Seer blood to Luna when she passed.

"He'll realize your love for him sooner rather than later. Don't give up on him now, Hermione." Hermione smiled softly at her cousin.

"I already have, Luna. I'm tired of hurting every time I look at him. He's free to do as he wishes. I still wish he noticed me but I'm done sitting around wishing that it was me that he spent time with, that it was me he was in love with. I can't change him and I'm alright with that. I've accepted it. It's easier to let him go and let him live then to keep him in my sights and hurt every single time I look at him because I wish that it was me he looked at like he looked at those girls. Luna, I'm realistic enough to know that he'll never look at me like he looks at Cho Chang or Ginny Weasley or Mandy Brocklehurst. I don't like it but I've accepted it. Please don't try to get me to change it." Luna looked contemplative for several seconds before she finally nodded.

"You're right. I understand." They were cut off before Hermione could answer by Harry joining them. Hermione flashed him a smile and laid her head on his shoulder. She had tried to show him more affection, much the same way she did Draco. She tried to tell herself that she was treating him like a brother, much the same way she did Draco. Even though she knew that it wasn't true, she knew that he didn't know that it was different. He smiled down at her and kissed her forehead.

"Excited for Juliet to get here?" She nodded excitedly. She had never thought that she would miss her sister so much. He smiled down at her and tugged on her curls.

"I'm sure she's excited to see you too. I don't think I've ever seen someone love their big sister as much as she loves you." Hermione grinned at him, suddenly thrilled at his words.

"You really think so?" He kissed the side of her head before turning to his pumpkin juice.

"I know so." Before she could say anything else, the doors to the Great Hall were flung open and the younger students flooded the room, filling the tables and their chatter keeping the Great Hall abuzz. Hermione saw her sister and waved, a bright smile on her face. Juliet didn't bother with her own house table even though that was the general rule at feasts. She rushed over to the Slytherin table and threw herself into her sister's arms, Hermione hugging her close and laughing softly at Juliet talking a thousand miles a minute.

Hermione listened goodnaturedly for several minutes before finally shushing her so they could pay attention to the Headmaster wishing them well as they returned. She could see Professor McGonagall shaking her head in exasperation as she watched them but she could see no anger in her features so she assumed that they were free from repercussions.

The feast was wonderful, even though Hermione really wasn't all that hungry. Juliet stuffed herself while filling herself, Harry, and Draco in on what had happened at Black Moor while they had stayed at school. Hermione had felt a mild flare of jealousy when she learned that Dip had bonded with Juliet but Draco had quickly reached out and rubbed her thigh, reminding her that there were more important things. It seemed as though Juliet had left almost all the exploring until summer when everyone would be present so they could all take part in showing her around. Hermione was strangely touched at that; her sister had put off taking part in her birthright to share it with Hermione.

Juliet had reported that their father was trying harder than ever to win her mother over and it wasn't working. Hermione wanted to laugh. Her father had never been told no by the opposite sex before and she felt that it was high time that he had to work for something in his life. Every single last girl he had ever spent time with had just fell at his feet and taken off her clothes, including Helena, which meant that he had never learned what it meant to work for something. Now, however, Helena didn't trust him and she really didn't want to be with him because of it. This mean that he was going to have to do everything in his power to get her to agree to even give him a chance. She found it oddly gratifying.

Juliet, of course, had no idea what things were like before her mother had come along. Sure, Hermione wasn't completely in the know but she wasn't stupid. Her father had thought that he was keeping his private life from her but he had been terrible at it. Not to mention that her aunt and uncle had been quite the gossips and they hadn't been very good at keeping quiet around her and Draco. Where Juliet wanted her mother and father to get together, Hermione was pulling for Helena to make her father work for it. It seemed a little disloyal but she wanted him to have a relationship that was worth having, not just a relationship where he fucked her for as long as it took him to get bored and they he left her high and dry, much the same way he had done to the muggle girls when he had been younger.

Juliet was now distracted with Daphne, telling her about her vacation with her father and mother at Black Moor. Since Daphne had been visiting since she was six years old, she was more than happy to entertain the young Gryffindor with stories of her own. Hermione was still thrilled that most of her friends were happy to befriend her little sister, even if it was for no other reason than it was because she as a Black daughter.

The feast was almost over when there was the ever familiar hush over the Great Hall and Hermione knew exactly what had happened. While she wasn't necessarily angry with Viktor, she didn't want to let him off too easily. Therefore, she ignored the hush and acted like she heard nothing. She heard Draco chuckle softly so she pinched him under the table, causing him to gasp quietly.

"Hermy-own." Hermione hated how he butchered her name but she had to give him props for trying. She turned to him and smiled but didn't offer her hand.

"Viktor, I'm happy to see that you made it back from Bulgaria safely." He had the good grace to look sheepish at her words. She wouldn't have minded him leaving her early to go home if he had just told her.

"I am sorry. I should haff told you." Hermione just shrugged a shoulder at him.

"You don't owe me an explanation. You're a grown man and I'm a fifteen year old girl. The only person on the planet who owes me any explanation is Draco." He played his part perfectly, leaning over and kissing the side of her head.

"That's because you're the light of my life, princess. Well, father would tell you anything you wished." Hermione laughed softly but turned her attention back to Viktor and gave him a soft look.

"Truly, Viktor. You don't have to make excuses to me. I'm not your girlfriend and I'm not your mother. You went home to see your family, perfectly acceptable at Christmas." He sighed and raked a hand through his hair. She could see Harry getting agitated in the corner of her eye but she wasn't sure why.

"You deserve better. I treat you poorly. I sorry and I do better." Hermione gave him an open look.

"I do deserve better. I know that my family is a lot to take and if you were uncomfortable you should have told me. That doesn't mean that I deserve to be left in the Great Hall without an escort on my first date. I'm willing to forgive you, however, since you left to go home. Don't treat me like that again, Viktor. I don't think that I'm better than anyone else but I deserve better than that. Any girl does." He took her hand in his and bent low over it, kissing her knuckles. When he straightened, he flashed her a smile.

"I sorry. I valk you to class in morning?" Hermione smiled at him and nodded.

"I have Defense first thing with my family pet. My cousin will be there so I would suggest not using that terminology again." He grimaced and nodded, clearly regretting his use use of words from the Ball. The bell rang and she smiled at him.

"Goodnight, Viktor." The Bulgarian headed off for his end of the Slytherin table to gather his things. When she turned her attention back to her friends, Harry was staring at her as if he couldn't understand her.

"I don't understand why you gave him another chance." She raised an eyebrow at him as she stood and bent to kiss Juliet on the top of the head. Exhaustion had just hit her and she wanted nothing more than to crawl into her bed.

"I don't understand why you just let him get away with treating you like trash at the Ball." She raised an eyebrow at him as she waited for Draco to stand.

"I gave you another chance, didn't I? Is he so different?" She saw his cheeks flush and his eyes drop and she felt guilty. She wrapped her arms around him from behind, hugging him tight and kissing his cheek before releasing him.

"I'm glad every single day I gave you that chance. I might regret giving him that chance but everyone deserves it." Harry reached up and tugged one of her curls before nodding his understanding. She smiled at him and decided to be playful.

"Goodnight, Lord Potter." He glared at her, clearly hating her calling him that. Then he turned the tables on her and went to his feet, sweeping into a gallant bow, his voice low but loud enough for those around them to hear.

"Sweet dreams, Lady Black. I'll dream only of you." She pulled her wand and hexed him with a stinging hex but he could hear her laughing as she pulled Draco away.

Hermione chuckled as she pulled Draco down the stairs towards the dungeons, the rest of the students chuckling at their antics. It had been a long vacation and she was ready to get back to classes. What better way to get back into the swing of things than with a good night's sleep?

A/N- Boom! This one wasn't near as exciting as the others but they can't all be thrillers, y'all. Regardless of nothing too exciting or catastrophic happening, I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks to everyone out there reading, reviewing, following, and favoriting, you guys are seriously the bomb. Leave me a message after the beep and let me know what you think.

Next chapter, Harry finally comes clean about the clue for the second task.

Love,

Alicia


	75. Chapter 75

A/N- Thank you to everyone out there that sent me a review and a wish for happy holidays. You guys are just awesome. It means a lot that you guys support me as much as you do. I'm not going to keep you long since you've waited ages for this chapter, I just wanted to make sure to tell you all thanks for all the the support you give me. It really is appreciated.

**Shout out to MichalaJ for being my 3600th reviewer. I freaking love you, girl!**

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing about this story; I'm pretty sure that you've all figured that out by this point in the story. If I thought that my O.C.D. would let me get away with not putting this in the following chapters like the chapters before, I would totally do it. Anyways, I haven't made any money off this story or any others either. Promise.

Chapter 75

January 13, 1995

Hermione took her usual seat next to Draco at the Slytherin table and smiled as Luna took the seat across from her next to Juliet. She loved having her cousin back and she had Harry to thank for that. He was taking the seat next to her and reached out to tug on one of her errant curls that just wouldn't stay in the messy bun that she had piled on top of her head. She smiled at him but didn't speak, knowing that he really wasn't much of a morning person until he had at least two cups of tea.

Juliet was enamored with Luna's hair as much as she was Daphne's and loved to twirl it around her fingers. The little Gryffindor couldn't believe that her own house bullied her the way that they did, though that had nosedived when they learned that Luna was Hermione and Draco's cousin. Even Cho Chang had kept her distance, though Hermione planned to make sure that the Chinese girl learned her lesson properly. She just needed to wait enough time for the suspicion to turn from her. She supposed that it was petty and mean of her to be that way but she would be damned if someone was going to be mean to Luna and get away with it, especially when the blonde had done absolutely nothing to justify their actions.

Luna was telling Juliet about some wonderful animal that she had found on holiday with her father to Sweden; Hermione was quite certain that it didn't exist. If it did, she had never heard of it and she had never heard Madam Cambridge speak of it either. She wondered if it was an exotic creature that only locals knew about; she would have to investigate further.

Draco was talking about quidditch with Blaise and Greg while Pansy was fussing over Theo's tie. Hermione had to snicker to herself at how thoroughly unhappy he looked with the situation. Daphne was studying for the Defense test that Moody was having that afternoon and Hermione felt bad for abandoning her friends to that psycho. While they were no longer watching him cast Unforgivables, they were practicing spells that were borderline dark. Being from a dark family, Hermione didn't have a problem with that per se, but she did have a problem with little first and second years doing spells that could cause real damage to someone if it wasn't used properly. However, since she and the rest of her family were no longer in his classes, they couldn't very well complain. Truthfully, she was just waiting for the other parents to figure out that they were taking private lessons and follow suit.

Things with Viktor had been much better since she had told him that she wouldn't stand for him disrespecting her. He walked her to class quite regularly and she had allowed him to give her chaste kisses while they weren't in view of the public. He was always sweet to her and spent time with her friends and family in the evening, studying in the library and she would take walks with him around the Black Lake. He had even asked if he could run with her in the mornings. While she was pleased that he wanted to spend time with her, she had told him that that was time that she spent with strictly Draco. He had seemed to take it in stride so she didn't feel bad in the least.

Harry, it seemed, had gone on a bender, far worse than he had been before. Hermione had ceased trying to get his attention, had stopped hoping that he would ever want to be with her, but it still hurt that he was using women to hide his feelings. She wished that he would just open up but if he were true to any other male that she knew, it would likely never happen. She could count on two hands the number of times the men in her life had done so and most of them had been Draco.

While Hermione knew that he was slowly sleeping his way through Hogwarts, she had to give him credit where credit was due. Harry was being discreet and she didn't hear about the time he spent with girls but she knew that it was still happening; she could tell by the guilty look in his eye whenever he would join them after he left one of his many trysts. She could only hope that since he wasn't interested in her that one of the many girls could turn him monogamous.

Luna and Juliet were making plans for the free period they had during the period that Hermione, Draco, and Harry shared Defense with Remus and Dory. Hermione still wasn't sure how the two had managed to score a free period together but they thoroughly enjoyed it together every week since school had resumed. So far they had spent in strolling the grounds but this week they were going to search the castle for some animal that Hermione had never heard of. She was quite sure that this animal was pure conjecture but if Juliet enjoyed herself, who was she to put a stop to it?

The bell rang and Juliet ran around the table to give her a quick hug before hurrying off to meet with her friends and make her way to Herbology. Luna grinned at her and waved, heading for Divination. While Hermione still thought that the class was a complete waste of time for herself, Draco, and Harry, for Luna it wasn't. She had Seer blood by way of her mother and had been tested as a baby. While her gift hadn't manifested yet, it was only a matter of time. Truthfully, Luna was probably the only person in the school that Divination wasn't a complete waste of time for and even that was debatable considering who the professor was.

Hermione let Draco take her arm and escort her from the table and towards the dungeons, Harry following closely behind. He was speaking softly with Daphne and Hermione felt that familiar clench of her stomach until she turned and saw Daphne shoot her a reassuring glance. While she was over Harry and knew that he would never like her like that, she wasn't sure that she could handle him going after Daphne and trying to date her.

Hermione took her usual seat in Potions and watched as Daphne moved to sit with Tracey and Millie. Harry and Neville took the seats across from Hermione and her cousin, pulling their texts, quills, parchments, and ink out. She wasn't sure what they were going to be doing this class but she was sure that it was going to be interesting. Class with her godfather was always enlightening even if it was over something that she had already learned about.

Her godfather swept in, robes billowing, and called them to silence. The Gryffindors looked as though they had swallowed something sour but she supposed that she didn't blame them. Her uncle wasn't the most pleasant with them, even Harry, but he understood that it was for appearance's sake. Weasley and Finnegan were the ones that were the most vocal about it outside of class but the Slytherins did their best to ignore any slights towards their Head of House. Really, relations between houses had never been better. Letting it all go over a little bad mouthing just didn't seem worth it.

Professor Snape started with a lecture on fire seed, a seed that was used in many potions used in the care of dragons. Hermione was worried that the lesson would affect Harry since he hadn't dealt with the killing of the dragon well but he seemed to be fine with the mentioning of it. After the lecture, they were split into pairs to brew a potion that would help baby dragons digest their food better.

Hermione was usually paired with Draco so she was surprised to find herself with Neville. She smiled at him as she moved her things to sit by him while Harry moved to sit next to Draco. It was true that Neville wasn't that great at Potions but he was nowhere near the abysmal levels that Ron or Seamus reached. Once she was settled, he gave her a sheepish grin.

"Sorry you're stuck with me. I know I'm terrible at potions." Hermione patted his hands reassuringly.

"You're better than you give yourself credit for. You just need to gain confidence." He gave her a look that said that she was full of shite but said nothing. She looked at the ingredients list since it was a potion that she hadn't made in a few years. She sent him to go get them and set the cauldron on the heat, bringing the water to a boil. She saw that Draco had done the same with Harry, sending him after ingredients as well.

When Neville returned, she set him on ingredient preparation. He followed her instructions exactly and she praised him when he was finished. She let him help her add the ingredients so he would gain some confidence and when the potion was the exact color that it should be, the smile that lit up his face was priceless. It was in this moment that Hermione could see why people liked teaching.

At the end of the class period, Neville was happy to turn in their potion, a perfect specimen if she could say so. Neville seemed pretty proud of it and she could tell that it had built some confidence in his potions skills. Draco turned in his and Harry's potion but Harry seemed inordinately pleased. While his potions skills had grown over the summer, he was still learning and had nowhere near the skills that Hermione or Draco had.

After they were dismissed from Potions, Harry and Draco headed towards Divination and Hermione started for Magical Theory. While she didn't have any friends in the class, Hermione was alright with that. Lisa Turpin was the only other fourth year and she tried to spend time with her. She had always blown her off because of Harry but she thought that she had possibly been limiting herself. Maybe it was time that she looked outside of how Harry affected her life and tried to be friends with the girl. Obviously she cared about the class, otherwise she wouldn't be taking it.

She took her seat in Magical Theory and waited for Professor McGonagall to arrive. She started to pull her things out, setting them up as she usually did so she could take notes. Just as she was ready to turn her attention to the front of the room, she realized that someone had sat next to her. Usually she sat at her table alone so she was a little surprised to look up and see Lisa Turpin herself sit next to her. She supposed that it was time to put her money where her mouth was.

"Hey, Lisa. This is the first time you've ever sat with me." Lisa gave her a shy smile before responding.

"This is the first time that you don't look like you want to kill me." Hermione drew up short. Had she really looked like that? Had she let Harry affect her that much? Rather than contemplate it, she gave the Ravenclaw a girl a small smile.

"I've never wanted to kill you. I'm just a very private person." Lisa instantly became very vivacious and Hermione almost instantly regretted being friendly. While she wanted to be friendly, that didn't mean that she wanted to be best friends in the matter of sixty seconds. She did her best to tune her out but could only do so much until class started. In the time it took for Professor McGonagall to appear and start her lecture, Hermione learned what seemed to be the whole life history of one Lisa Turpin.

Hermione was thrilled when the Head of Gryffindor House started her lecture on the theory of how magic affected the ley lines and how they had in turn affected the magic of the land. It was very interesting and Hermione really thought that she could see herself investigating it further even after the assignment was over. Since the lecture lasted the entire class period, they were dismissed with a massive assignment that would surely last them the next three class periods. Hermione was excited to begin and vowed to start that night since it wasn't a partner project. Their assignments rarely were in Magical Theory. She had just gathered her things and started for the door when Lisa fell in step beside her.

"I'm so glad that we're going to be friends now, Hermione. Do you think that we could study together?" Hermione really didn't want to say yes but she couldn't think of a good reason to say no. Therefore, she deflected.

"Well, I would have to check and make sure that it's alright with the rest of the group that I bring another person in. I could let you know tomorrow." Lisa's face turned cloudy and she could tell that it wasn't going to end well.

"You just don't want me around Harry, don't lie to me. Everyone knows you want Harry all to yourself." Hermione stopped and tried to reason with the girl.

"This has nothing to do with Harry. I study with a large group of people already. It wouldn't be fair to bring you in without making sure that it was alright with them first. I would ask the same of them." Lisa sneered at her and raised her voice, making a scene.

"You're such a liar! You just want to keep Harry all to yourself! He doesn't want you, Hermione, he wants me! I know I took his virginity, I'm special!" Hermione had no idea if this was true but she doubted that it was information that he would want spewed across the corridor. She drew her wand and shot a silencing spell at the girl before striding towards her and shoving her against the wall.

"I'm going to let this go as temporary insanity this one time. Don't ever try to sit with me again and don't ever try to study with me. You may be fucking Harry but you're just one of a crowd and you're nothing important to him. I'm sorry to be so harsh but if you can't handle that, move on. He's being a man whore and I can't stop him so either go with it or get out of the kitchen. Don't think that I'm going to put up with you being crazy just because you're shagging my family." Hermione released her and waved her wand, releasing her from her spell as she started to walk away. Lisa, however, wasn't smart enough to leave well enough alone.

"We all know that you want him, Black. You can't have him. He's going to be mine." Hermione turned on her heel, sure that she was going to regret this once she thought about it after her anger had cooled. Her wand pressed into the girl's throat and she felt a sense of power at the flash of fear she saw in the girl's eyes.

"He isn't going to be yours because I'll do whatever it takes to keep him from marrying a crazy bitch like you, Turpin. In case you haven't noticed, I have my hands full with Viktor Krum. I was willing to be nice to you, to be friends with you. You just had to ruin that. Don't worry though, I doubt Harry will be fucking you much longer after he hears about this." Hermione didn't believe it for a second but it was fun to scare the life out the girl. Not only had she ruined her class, she had ruined her lunch since she was already almost ten minutes late. Without another word, she turned on her heel and headed out of the corridor and for the stairs. She was still seething mad and she hoped that she would cool down considerably before reaching the Great Hall.

She knew that Draco could tell instantly that she was livid when she sat down. He reached out and started to rub her thigh, trying to calm her before anyone else even said anything. Luna was sitting across from them and she was the next to realize that something was off, probably from the many years they had spent together as children. She shot her a worried glance, which meant that the only ones that were clueless were Juliet and Harry. Draco cleared his throat and smiled.

"Did you see that Puddlemere were the favored ones to win tonight?" Harry instantly latched onto the topic and started in, not even realizing that Hermione was upset. Juliet seemed to be caught up in an assignment for Herbology so she didn't even seem to notice that she was upset.

She was grateful that they weren't paying her anger any mind; the last thing she wanted was to have to talk about it in the Great Hall. The boys talked quidditch near to death while Luna distracted Daphne, leaving Hermione to try to calm herself down with trying to do her warding homework while she hurried and ate a few bites before they went to Defense. A few minutes before the bell rang, Juliet put her homework away and turned merry eyes to Luna and started chatting excitedly about whatever animal they were going to be searching for; Hermione listened carefully as she explained.

"It's a blibbering humdinger; they're usually in the Forbidden Forest but this time of the year you can find them playing out by the quidditch pitch. They like the wide open spaces." Hermione knew for a fact that she had never heard of a blibbering humdinger and was about to open her mouth to tell her cousin that when Harry stomped on her foot quite hard, stopping her in her tracks. He shook his head slightly and she could do nothing but glare at him. He was saved from her ire by the bell ringing. Luna and Juliet were quick to depart, leaving Hermione with Draco and Harry, the two boys staring at her as though she were going to explode on them.

Even though she was sure that it was childish, she slung her bag over her shoulder and headed for the classroom that Remus and Dory used when they had Defense. She could hear the two boys following her and they were whispering softly. She knew that she was their topic of choice but she tried not to let that bother her.

-O-

Harry wasn't quite sure what had Hermione's wand in a knot but it seemed that he had earned her ire. He had noticed instantly when she had arrived at lunch that she was angry but had had the good manners to not comment on it. However, when he had realized that she was going to hurt Luna's feelings and tell her that her make believe animals weren't real, he couldn't allow that to happen. Luna had done nothing to do deserve that treatment and he wasn't going to stand for it. Hermione could be angry at him all she wanted. It sure as fuck wouldn't be the first time.

Draco was telling him to just keep his distance and leave her alone until she had had time to cool off, that nobody needed a confrontation with a pissed off Hermione. When a Black became well and truly angry with their magic flaring, usually only a Black could get close. Harry had seen evidence of this when Hermione had thought that Moody had killed her mother; Sirius had been able to get close. Even over the summer when she had lost control on his birthday, Narcissa had gotten close but not Severus, Draco, or Lucius. It was quite interesting when he considered it. That meant that since they were headed to Defense that only Dory had hopes of getting past her magic if it flared. Harry had questioned Sirius about that in a recent letter and he had told him that even though Draco was a Black, Malfoys had very strong family magic, hundreds of years old. Dory's father, Ted, was a muggle born so his family magic wasn't nearly as strong so her Black family magic was stronger. It made no sense to Harry but he supposed that it probably would if he had grown up with it.

Hermione was already waiting for them when they entered the classroom, not that he was surprised. She had been ahead of them and hadn't bothered to wait for them like they would have waited for her. Harry couldn't help but think to himself that if he had thrown a fit like that when he was younger he would have been wearing bruises for a week from the hiding his backside would have taken. However, she was a princess in her own right and Sirius, not to mention Uncle Lucius and Severus had indulged her every whim. He knew she could be a spoiled brat some days. Truthfully, it was part of her charm.

Harry watched her throw her bag on the ground and hug her cousin close, wand clutched in her hand. Dory smoothed a hand down her curls and smiled at her, clearly exchanging pleasantries. Remus, however, by judgement of the character or the smell of feelings Harry wasn't sure, knew better.

"What's going on?" Harry shrugged his shoulders.

"No idea. She came to lunch in a huff and I stopped her from lighting into Luna. She's been glaring daggers at me since." Remus heaved a deep sigh. He muttered to himself.

"Great. I see why Siri gave me a raise." Draco started chuckling softly and Harry just glared at him. Remus gave another sigh and spoke loudly to get everyone's attention.

"Let's start off dueling a little." Harry actually wanted to tell them about the riddle he had discovered in the egg but supposed that it could wait until after they were done dueling. Remus continued.

"How about Harry, Draco, and I against Hermione and Dory?" Dory just groaned.

"You know I'm trying to get away from that name. I want to be called Tonks." Remus sighed.

"Fine. Harry, Draco, and myself against Hermione and Tonks." Both girls were quick to agree so they lined up on opposite sides of the room and Remus quickly warded the room so no stray spells escaped and hurt anyone that might entere accidentally. When Remus called for them to start, the five of them went at it, hard and heavy.

Truthfully, it was the best possible pairing and Harry couldn't wait to do this is front of Sirius come summer. Where he and Draco were quick as lightning on their feet and favored offense, Remus was a whiz at defense. He let them handle the offensive side of things and he worked on making sure that all three of them were shielded as much as possible.

The girls, on the other hand, were truly a sight to behold. Tonks, in all her Hit Witch glory, sending a good portion of what she had at them while Hermione watched their backs with her super-powered shields. Every once in awhile she would see an opening and send a spell of her own and it would splinter Remus' shield and they would all scramble to erect another one before she blasted them to hell and back.

It was this very thing that happened right at the two hour mark; they were all hot, sweaty, and not exactly exhausted but tired. Hermione sneaked a spell out that shattered Remus' shield and Tonks hit the floor with a bombarda spell that blew them all backwards that landed them on their arses. Harry's vision went spotty for just a few moments and when it cleared, he caught sight of Hermione and Tonks high-fiving each other and grinning madly. Harry scowled at them as he struggled to his feet, Remus and Draco doing the same beside him.

"Do you two have to look so bloody gleeful about winning?" Tonks was nodding her head like a loon but Hermione frowned.

"Quit whinging and take it like a man." He glared at her.

"I doubt you would be alright with me telling you the same thing when you cried about losing." Her face went impassive and Harry instantly felt terrible. He hated when that happened.

"It's funny you say that. When we first started dueling, I was terrible, complete rubbish. Draco beat me every single time, Uncle Sev and Uncle Luci too. The only person I ever won against was Daddy and that's because he let me win, said I needed it to boost my confidence. Every single win I get now, I earn. Even though I have three times the power of everyone in this room aside from you, I still lose all the time because I don't have the reflexes. I'll never be able win one on one against you or Draco. Don't you dare hold it against me that you got your arses handed to you this one time." Harry felt awful about what he had said but Draco decided to intervene, trying to keep the peace.

"Us blokes will admit that you won if you promise to not tell Father. He'll never let us live it down." Tonks started shaking her head playfully but Hermione pursed her lips together and stared at her cousin.

"What's in it for me?" Since Draco's mouth dropped open in surprise, Harry figured that Hermione wasn't kidding. His anger flared again.

"Really? Are you being bloody serious right now?" She turned to glare at him.

"If I am?" Harry couldn't believe it.

"You have got to be the most spoiled bloody wench I have ever met in my whole life. First you march into lunch in a snit, ready to crucify whoever gets in your way and then you try to ruin Luna's day, telling her that her creature isn't real just because you have to be right. Merlin forbid somebody doesn't bow down before your bloody expertise. You were going to hurt her feelings all because somebody pissed in your porridge and it's complete bullshite. Now, Draco keeps the peace and jokingly tells you not to tell his father and you try to get him to give you something, you the fucking princess of Hogwarts who already has everything that a girl could need or want. What you need is for someone to turn you over their knee and spank your arse until you can't sit for a month!" The room went deathly silent and Harry knew instantly that he had gone too far. Hermione was just staring at him calmly and for a few moments, he thought that he was going to get off easy. When she spoke, however, he feared the worst.

"You're right. I was going to ruin Luna's day but not because I wanted to hurt her. I think that in her grief over her mother she started listening to her father's complete nonsense and she believes that it's reality. Would you have me let her go through life believing that blibbering humdingers are real, that maybe that's part of why her housemates are fucking terrible to her? If she chooses to believe in them, knowing they aren't real, then that's fine, but she deserves to know fantasy from reality. Am I spoiled? Yes, I am. I've always been given everything that I wanted and I rarely was punished. However, I was rarely in trouble. I was a studious child, I always did my homework, I loved my family and cared for my friends. I was never mean to people that treated me well. I care for my servants as family and I don't bully people. I wish that there were more people as spoiled as me. In case you didn't figure it out, I wasn't talking about having everything I wanted. For the record, I wouldn't have been in a snit at lunch if your fuck toys would just leave me alone. If you think I need a spanking, I'd like to see you find a man who could actually accomplish that. Over my dead body, I believe is the term. If there's nothing else, I'd really like to go now." Tonks shook her head and gave Hermione a quick hug, tugging her curl before nodding her towards the door. Harry sighed before he spoke.

"There is something else. I figured out the egg. Well, Cedric did and told me." Hermione stopped mid-step and stopped to face him. Draco beat her to the punch.

"What was the key?" Harry raked a hand through his hair.

"You had to listen to it underwater. I got the prefect password to the bathroom from Fred and George and listened to it in there. It's a riddle and I think I've figured most of it out." Remus looked excited but Hermione looked stricken.

"When did Cedric tell you the clue?" Harry sighed.

"The day you got your dress from Aunt Cissy. I didn't listen to it until the day after New Years though." He could see the hurt on her face and he hated it.

"Why would you keep this from us? I thought that you liked that your family was helping you, that you weren't doing this alone. I don't understand. We wanted to help you." He took his glasses off and rubbed a hand down his face, knowing that his next words were going to hurt her too.

"I did want your help, I still do. I just didn't do anything the last time. You guys came up with the idea and everything, you helped me get ready. I wanted to prove that I'm not just an idiot that can fly a broom." She turned angry now.

"Just what the fuck do you think I did for the first task? It was Draco's idea for you to fly, Daddy's idea to get the simulator, Remus who ran you through it and came up with your game plan on how to get the dragon away from her eggs and you're the idiot who flew the broom. I did nothing but stand in the bleachers and cry my eyes out when I thought you were fucking dead and then leave when you had to be healed. It's a riddle, probably the one thing I could have helped with the most and you didn't need my help. Well, I'm glad you figured it out. It seems I'm not needed here after all." Harry didn't get a chance to speak before she picked up her bag and left, letting the door slam behind her. Tonks let out a little laugh.

"She really is a little spoiled. Dad would have tanned my hide for letting the door slam like that." Draco got in on it and Harry was grateful.

"Sirius just would have said, 'Now, poppet, no slamming the doors. It isn't done in polite company.' My father would have kissed her on the head and told her to slam it harder if it made her feel better after smacking me in the back of the head for letting it fall shut behind me. Uncle Sev would have raised an eyebrow at her and asked her if she was quite finished yet." Harry couldn't help but to snicker at his friend's words. They were all quite true and he didn't know his family as well as he would have liked. Remus was the one that brought them back on task.

"You really should have told us sooner, Harry. We would have let you work on it on your own if that's what you wanted but you're the one who said that you wanted to do this as a family." He nodded, now unsure if he had made the right decision to keep this to himself for so long. Remus continued.

"We aren't going to make a huge deal of this since you are so used to doing things on your own but the point of having a family is knowing that you have people to turn to, people to fall back on. This being said, you get to deal with the lovely girl that just left our company." Draco glared at Remus and Tonks punched him in the shoulder hard enough for him to whimper. Harry glared as well and Remus held his hands up when he realized what he had said.

"I didn't mean it bad, merciful Merlin, you three are barmy." After massaging his arm for a few moments, he turned back to Harry.

"Tell us what it said and what you think it means." Harry sighed and recited it.

"Come seek us where our voices sound,

We cannot sing above the ground,

And while you're searching, ponder this:

We've taken what you'll sorely miss,

An hour long you'll have to look,

And to recover what we took,

But past an hour – the prospect's black

Too late, it's gone, it won't come back." He paused for a moment before continuing.

"I think it was a mermaid singing. I did a little research and there are mermaids in the Black Lake. It sounds as though they're going to take something I'll miss and I'll have an hour to search for it and if I don't find it in the hour, it'll be gone." Remus looked contemplative and Draco was staring off into space. Harry had learned early on that when he was thinking really hard this was what he did. Finally, it was Remus that broke the silence.

"I would have to agree with you. Do you have any idea what it is they'll try to take from you?" Harry shook his head.

"Maybe my photo album of my parents from Hagrid? That's really all I can think of that I can't replace. Hedwig? Dobby? I really don't hold that many possessions that near and dear to my heart." Remus scrunched up his face when Draco spoke.

"How are you going to hold your breath underwater for an hour? I mean, you have a couple options but there are downsides to both." Harry looked to his friend and Draco sighed.

"This is where Hermione would have been best. She's good at this sort of thing." Harry sighed and raked a hand through his hair.

"I know, I'm sorry. I didn't think she would be so upset." Remus and Tonks were staying out of the conversation. Draco tried to explain as best he could.

"Hermione has been brought up to look after you, to help you since she was four years old when Sirius finally told her the truth about everything. She was helping you your first three years at Hogwarts, you just didn't know it. She's considered you family even when you thought she was the enemy. I'm not trying to make you feel guilty but I'm trying to tell you that she was so excited that when things went to shite this last time and you couldn't get out of competing that you wanted her to help you, that you wanted your family to help. Then, when she finally could, you didn't want her help. Her feelings are hurt and she says that she's not going to help but just give her a few hours to get over being hurt and I'm sure she'll jump at helping you. Trust me, she'll explain your options way better than I could." Remus tipped his invisible hat to Draco.

"I'm going to let Hermione have this since I can only think of one option. We'll hope she takes pity of you and we'll discuss it next class in a few days and go from there." Harry nodded and sighed, wishing Remus and Tonks well. Draco called Tonks Dory and she growled at him and he laughed at her.

"I called you Dory while I was in nappies. It isn't easy to break, you know. I notice you didn't scold Hermione for calling you that." Tonks laughed at before ruffling his hair.

"Well, for one, girls have to stick together. For two, she's bloody scary. I'm not going to scold her for calling me something she's called me since she was in nappies." Draco swung at her and hit her in the arm.

"You're right, Potter, that wench is bloody spoiled." Harry laughed and they left the pair together, heading for the Great Hall. The blond nudged him with his elbow.

"Just tell her you're sorry for not wanting to include her and that you didn't mean to hurt her. For the other stuff, you're the idiot that told her she needed put over someone's knee. You're on your own." Harry huffed.

"I wasn't completely wrong though. She was going to hurt Luna's feelings and that wouldn't have been right." Draco nodded.

"No, it wouldn't have. If you had just said that, though, she couldn't have complained. You had to wrap it up in telling her that she's spoiled and needed her arse spanked and that she was a princess who never wanted for anything. I'll have you know that that's a fucking lie. She doesn't have many true friends. It's only been in the last year or so that she's had a real female friend. She and Daphne were never close because she was always best friends with Pansy. She only had me, the twins, and Neville. When we were all busy with quidditch, she had nobody. You may not have had friends your whole life but she hasn't had true friends either. Everyone has always wanted her for her name, her title, or her money." Draco grinned at him.

"You ever tell her she needs her arse spanked again, I'm volunteering you for the job. She won't be kind just because you're family." Harry laughed.

"Yeah, I'm not really sure where my senses took leave to during that conversation." Draco laughed as they entered the Great Hall. They took their seats and even though Harry was sitting next to Hermione, she wasn't even acknowledging that he was there. He tried several times to speak with her but she would just turn and glare at him, showing him that she was most certainly not ready to speak to him yet. Luna and Juliet were both shooting them questioning looks, both clearly wondering just what had happened between the pair of them in the three hours since they had parted. Draco was smirking behind his hand at his lack of progress and Harry knew that he was going to have to make a scene in order to get her to pay attention to him. Sure, she was still going to be angry with him but she was going to have to listen to him.

Harry hated to do it, he could only hear the rumors that were going to fly for the next week. He could only assume what Krum was going to think when he saw this, but since he didn't actually give a fuck about Krum and his philandering ways, he supposed that it didn't matter. He waved his wand around only himself and Hermione so she could no longer carry on the conversation between herself and Luna. Her furious gaze fell on him and there were fire darts of fury shooting at him. He stood and dropped to his knees in front of her, taking her hands in his, so she couldn't escape and run off. Her voice was low as she ordered him to get up.

"What are you doing? Get up, Harry, you're making a scene." He smiled at her.

"I know, it's the only way to make you listen to me, to apologize to you." She just continued to glare at him, clearly unhappy with him. His thumbs were rubbing the tops of her knuckles and he could feel the muscles of her thighs quivering underneath his hands.

"I'm sorry, Mia. I never meant to hurt you or your feelings. I just didn't want you to think that I'm stupid. I know that I'm not smart like you or even Draco. I thought that I could show you that I wasn't a complete idiot that could only fly a broom. I never meant to make you feel as though I didn't want your help at all. I love having you and everyone else in my corner, I just wanted to prove to everyone that I'm more than just an athlete." She sighed and squeezed his hands with hers.

"You're a fucking idiot but I understand. When I was six I wanted to prove to Draco that I was more than just a smart girl and that I could fly too even though I was scared of heights. I took his broom up without asking and lost control of it. I crashed it and broke my leg in three places. He wouldn't speak to me for a week. I think that hurt more than my broken leg." Harry smiled at her.

"Did you get in trouble, you spoiled little wench?" She smiled softly at her knees and nodded.

"Uncle Luci made me apologize every single day until he accepted it and made me save up my book-buying allowance and buy him a new broom." Harry had to admit that it was a pretty good punishment for a six year old.

"What did your dad say?" She snorted but kept her eyes on their hands.

"I don't think he ever knew. He was out shagging everything that had legs and if I remember right it was around Halloween. That meant that I pretty much spent the month with Uncle Luci and Aunt Cissy because he was always so upset that he didn't have you and that your parents were gone." Harry considered her words and filed them away to ask Uncle Lucius or Sirius about later. The way is sounded, Sirius wasn't there for large chunks of her life because of grief either. He sighed.

"I'm sorry for what I said about you being spoiled too. I shouldn't have. I also shouldn't have said what I did about you needing your arse spanked." She cracked a smile and finally met his eyes.

"I am spoiled, I agreed with you. I also told you that it's never been a problem like you made it sound. I never used it to my advantage. I never tried to get out of my punishments and I was never cruel to people that didn't have things like I did. I'm sure the Weasleys would have you believe differently but I met Arthur several times when I was younger and I always found him quite likable. I remember I went to spend the day with my father and Uncle Luci in their booths since Draco was sick and I had gone to the loo. I had gotten lost since I was only eight and he found me. He showed me how to play a muggle game called tic-tac-toe and we played a few games before Uncle Luci came looking for me. He didn't treat him well but I thanked him and he promised that we would play again next time he saw me. I doubt he remembers but I never forgot him. I also told you that if you think I need a spanking, good luck finding someone to accomplish it." He grinned at her and couldn't figure out why her smile dropped.

"You were right. I was going to ruin Luna's plans with Juliet and tell her that her creatures weren't real but not for the reasons you thought. Xeno was always fanciful, believing the most crazy stories. Pandora was always able to keep his head out of the clouds but when she died, he pulled away from the family completely and took Luna with him. I think he truly believes the stories about those creatures and the insane stories his paper prints. If Luna chooses to believe them, fine. I'm still going to love her but I think she needs to hear the truth too. We owe it to Pandora to tell her. She always told us that Xeno meant well, that he loved them more than anything and that meant more than having his eggs all in one basket. At the time I didn't understand what that meant but now, I do. At lunch wasn't the time, though, you were right. I should have known better and I'm sorry." Harry started to rub her knuckles again and made a suggestion.

"I know that you love Luna but not everything falls to you. You're fifteen, Mia. Why don't you write Uncle Lucius and tell him what's happening. Get his opinion and if he agrees, have him help you talk to her. He's an adult and he or Aunt Cissy will be better equipped to handle it than you. I'm not trying to be mean, I just don't want Luna mad at you if she thinks you're just trying to tell her that her dad is a liar. Besides, your uncle grew up with her mother. Surely that will mean something to her." Hermione broke out in a grin and hugged him close. He hugged her back and kissed the side of her head.

"That's a great idea, Harry. I thought you said you weren't smart." He could feel his cheeks color slightly and smiled. There was one last thing he needed to ask her about.

"Tell me what you meant about my fuck toys." She colored herself and he knew that it was because of her crass language. She rarely slipped and used it but when she did and realized it later, she always got embarrassed.

"Lisa Turpin tried to be my friend in Magical Theory. I even decided that I would try and she asked if she could join our study group. I told her I would ask and make sure nobody had any problems. She flipped out and told me that I was just keeping her away from you. She was screaming in the corridor that you had lost your virginity to her and that you were going to be together and I wasn't going to keep you two apart. I had to throw her against a wall. She seriously lost the plot." Harry frowned at her words. Usually Lisa was laid back and never caused a fuss. He wondered if she had been slipped something or hit with a spell. He let go of Hermione's hands and patted her legs.

"I'm sorry. I'll try to talk to her. She usually isn't like that; it makes me wonder if she was slipped something." She looked unconvinced but he just let it drop.

"We still meeting for homework in the library?" She nodded and he waved his wand, releasing the spell. The Great Hall was buzzing around them but neither one of them paid them no mind.

Harry was quick to finish eating since he now had to ask Hermione to help him figure out how to stay underwater for an hour. Since the whole gang was in attendance tonight, Draco did a quick head count on who was coming for homework. Honestly, since it was a Friday night, he doubted that anybody would be taking them up on the offer. However, the twins were quick to join in as was Daphne and Luna. Krum looked as though he wanted to confront Hermione but judging by the looks that Draco was shooting him on the sly behind Hermione's back, the Bulgarian was going to wait until tomorrow when they could have some privacy.

Since the only homework that Harry had was Divination, he didn't need to go back to the common room to get any of his texts. He could definitely say that spending most of his free time with the Slytherins was good for his schedule. Even though he was taking more difficult classes, he spent half the time on homework that he did when he worked with Ron.

Ron was in the library, surprisingly. He was with Seamus and Dean, working on who knew what. While they hadn't spent any time together that week, they were no longer fighting. There were still hurt feelings because of Ginny but it was clear that they were going to pass after enough time had passed. Harry felt immensely guilty for wondering why he even bothered caring about resuming the friendship at all. Neville had stepped in quite nicely and he didn't mind that Harry spent time with the Slytherins, especially since he spent time with them too. Still, Ron was his first friend and Ginny was his sister. Even if Hermione had been stupid, he wouldn't have completely ditched her.

Once they were all seated at their usual table, Harry pulled out his things. He wasn't going to say anything to Hermione until later but Draco had no such compunction. He looked to the twins and glared at them for a moment before speaking.

"I know those two will keep their mouths shut. If you're going to stay and hear this conversation I need your word that you're going to keep it to yourselves." Both Fred and George both nodded eagerly. It was clear that they loved secrets. Draco turned to Hermione.

"Harry figured out the riddle in the egg and Remus agrees with him. However, he has no idea how he's going to stay underwater for an hour. Remus had only one option and I see only two. You want to help him and outline them, give him the pros and cons?" Hermione sighed and closed her book. Everyone leaned closer so they could hear better. Her words were clipped and now he wasn't so sure that he was off the hook.

"Explain."

Harry told her about the mermaid song and how he thought that they were under the Black Lake, how they would be taking something that he would sorely miss and he would have an hour to find it. Fred and George were practically salivating when he had finished and Juliet and Luna just looked worried. Fred leaned over and whispered theatrically to George.

"Bet he doesn't know what they're taking either." Harry shook his head while Hermione was thinking to herself.

"I have nothing that's really that important to me. Photos of my parents but that's about it. My broom I could replace along with everything else." Hermione sighed as she met his gaze.

"Taking your word for the riddle, you have three options that I can think of. Number one is the one that I'm really not that fond of. The bubble head charm. It's an air bubble that you cast around your head and it allows you breathe. It's flexible and will last for however long you leave it in place. The downside to this charm is that the air doesn't recycle. You'll just keep breathing it over and over and eventually it'll make you sick so it isn't good for long-term. It can also be popped. If you're underwater, that can be problematic trying to get it re-cast without water inside it. It can be done but with a time constraint, I'm not sure it would be worth it.

Next, is gillyweed. Absolutely disgusting but fairly cheap. I could get Uncle Luci to pick us some up for next to nothing. It will not only grow you gills so you can breathe underwater, it will grow you webs between your fingers and toes as well which will make you swim faster. The down side to gillyweed is that you have to measure it out and if you start to change back, you have to take more. There's no in between so if you take it, you're stuck in the water until you revert back.

Third, self-transfiguration. I could find a spell specific to change you into a dolphin or a shark so you can breathe underwater. Nobody would be able to perform it for you so we would have to practice it a lot for me to be comfortable with you using this method but it is possible. Then there's the problem of you not having hands to take whatever it they've taken to the surface." Harry raked a hand through his hair for the umpteenth time that day and sighed. Honestly, none of them sounded all that pleasant but he supposed that he was going to have a make a choice eventually.

"I'm leaning towards the gillyweed even though I don't fancy freezing my bollocks off in the water in February for longer than necessary." Hermione chuckled softly to herself.

"Well, that's part of the wonderfulness of gillyweed. It also regulates your body temperature since it gives you gills. Your bollocks are safe until you need air." Harry grinned at her, disbelieving that she had just said bollocks. Instead of giving her hell about it though, he turned to Draco.

"You were right, she was way better at that then you would have been." Draco shoved him goodnaturedly in the shoulder while the others laughed.

The twins had no problems giving Hermione a hard time about her terminology and they teased her relentlessly.

They passed several hours in the library, doing homework and talking and laughing quietly about numerous things. Harry finished his Divination homework and Draco convinced him to work on his warding homework from Madam Cambridge with him even though they were at different levels. Even though it had been a Friday night, there had been arguments with Hermione, he hadn't gotten laid at all, when he fell into bed that night, it had been one of the better days he had remembered in a while.

A/N- Boom, bitches! Another one down, although this one struggled to be written. Thanks again to everyone out there reading, reviewing, following, and favoriting. You guys keep me writing. This chapter is a bonus chapter, by the way, since I've been sick and can't freaking sleep. My body hates me and you guys get a chapter, isn't that great? Anyways, hope you all enjoyed it, let me know what you think. I do love to hear your thoughts.

Next chapter, Hogsmeade weekend.

Love,

Alicia


	76. Chapter 76

A/N- I'm back, guys. Sorry this chapter has taken longer to get to you than usual. I got caught up in Kiera Marcos' newest story Darkly Loyal. If you haven't read it, I suggest you do. It's freaking fabulous. Not going to lie, I went on a reading binge and just recently got back on track. Forgive me? Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter. Just remember, Hermione's judgement in the chapter doesn't last long...

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing about this story. The story idea belongs to Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle and the characters belong to J.K.R. I haven't made a dime off this story or any other. My bank account tells no lies, trust me. Plus my kids are freaking expensive as hell and Christmas just passed us up.

Chapter 76

February 1, 1995

Hermione smiled at Juliet as she was trying to cheer herself up out loud, telling herself that she was going to get all her homework done so she could play in a gobstones tournament with her friends that afternoon. She felt just a little bad for her sister; she imagined that it was hard to be left behind when the other students got to go to Hogsmeade when you had never gone before. She would have to make sure that their father took them this summer so she wouldn't feel so left out next year. Hermione leaned over and gave Juliet a side hug.

"Don't worry, Jules. We'll make Daddy take us over the summer so you won't feel like you're missing anything next year." Juliet grinned at her and nodded excitedly.

"It's going to be so much fun. Do you think he'd let me bring Sandy and Alice?" Hermione smiled at her conspiratorially.

"We might have to enlist your mother or Aunt Cissy. Daddy has only had me to practice on when it comes to girls. You don't want to overload him with too many too soon. We don't want him to run away screaming." Juliet started laughing and Luna laughed softly.

Hermione had taken Harry's advice and sent her Uncle Luci a letter about Luna and her imaginary animals. He had agreed that they needed to do as her mother would have wanted and tell her the truth; what she did with it was her choice. He decided that they were going to leave it until summer when they could do it together. She knew that he was going to hate asking Xeno if they could see Luna regularly since they were no longer following the Dark Lord but he was willing to do it for Luna's sake. Hermione knew that her uncle's pride was unmatched but he would literally do anything for his family.

Draco was going to be accompanying Celeste to Hogsmeade, a fellow fourth year Beauxbatons' student that he had been seeing for just under a month. She was unsure if he was sleeping with these girls that he was seeing, she hadn't actually asked him that personal of a question, but she knew that he was well-equipped to be safe if he was. Not only had he learned the contraceptive charm, Uncle Luci had told her that he had made him start taking the potion every month like Harry did after he heard what Ginny had tried to do to him. Hermione also suspected that her father had instructed Neville to start taking it as well since he had taken it upon himself to instruct her friend in things that his grandmother just couldn't.

Neville was going to Hogsmeade with Harry, she thought. Neither were going with dates since Daphne was going with Millie and Tracey to shop and Hermione had told Viktor that she would allow him to escort her as his date, the first ever without a chaperone that wasn't to a school event. While she had no plans to do anything wrong or risque, it was still a bit of a thrill to be doing something that some might find to be inappropriate.

Draco and Harry didn't seem to mind, however. If they did, neither had said anything. Not that she really expected them to though; both had learned the hard way that she could take care of herself and had no plans to play victim to a man, no matter how handsome he was. Not that she wasn't above letting him steal a few kisses; that much she had discovered she liked. Nothing too deep or heavy but there had been a couple snogs that had set her heart to racing. None of her friends had heard about them and nobody had seen them since she had made sure that they were done in privacy but they had been very nice.

Hermione finished her scrambled eggs and toast while Draco talked to Blaise about who knew what. She suspected that they were making plans to meet up in the quidditch store and she had a feeling that they would be meeting up there. There was no way that they would be going to Hogsmeade and not stopping by the quidditch store. She dreaded it in truth; she was going to be there with an international quidditch star and she wasn't all that fond of quidditch. It would be forever before they could get out of there.

Just as she pushed her plate away, Draco leaned over and kissed the side of her head. He surveyed her closely, making sure that they passed muster for a date. She rolled her eyes and let him do so. Since it was the weekend, they weren't required to wear their school robes. Hermione had chosen robes in a bright pink; it wasn't usually her first choice in color but Daphne had convinced her that it looked amazing against the stark color of her curls. Her curls were clipped back and she wore only her family ring on her hand and the Malfoy family necklace. Her cousin smiled at her and nodded approvingly. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Do I pass inspection?" He smirked at her and nodded.

"You always do, Miney. This is just the first time that it's been for a date." She gave him a little smile.

"You don't usually choose pink for yourself." She nodded as Harry tuned into their conversation.

"Daphne talked me into it. I think it washes me out and she thinks it makes me look magical." Draco laughed but said nothing, quite wisely if Hermione did say so. She leaned her head on his shoulder as he finished his breakfast.

"Where are you taking Celeste?" Her cousin grimaced and glared at her.

"She's convinced me to take her to Madam Puddifoot's. I can't believe I agreed." She started laughing and kissed his cheek when he started to turn away.

"Don't act like that. She'll love it and I'm sure she'll think you're very romantic." She didn't push anymore since it was clear that he wasn't comfortable with it. Harry, however, was grinning at him over her shoulder and when she turned to see it, she elbowed him in the side. He lost his breath dramatically and she just raised an eyebrow at his display.

"What are your plans? No date?" He took a piece of bacon off the plate in the center of the table and shook his head.

"Nah, no date. I think Nev and I are just going to hit the quidditch store for a bit and then he wants to get the new Herbology book or something. Then we're going to come back. I have enough homework from Madam Cambridge to work on that I don't need to worry about anything else." She smiled and leaned a head on his shoulder now.

"I think that's nice. I know that it's been hard for you since Ronald hasn't been the most friendly. I'm glad that you've had Neville to fall back on. I know that Draco and I aren't always the best for Gryffindors; I guess we're too Slytherin at heart." He put an arm around her shoulder and squeezed briefly before releasing her.

"You two are great, don't sell yourselves short. Besides, Ron and I are better. We studied together last night and played some chess. It just took him a bit to get over the fact that Ginny was wrong. I don't blame him for not ditching her. I wouldn't ditch you if you had made a mistake." Hermione felt her heart warm at his words and she couldn't help but lean over and kiss his cheek. His cheeks colored slightly and she grinned at him.

"Thanks, Harry." She didn't get to see his embarrassment because a shadow fell over them and she was excited to see that Viktor was standing there looking quite handsome in his fur-lined robes. He bowed before Hermione, taking her hands and brushing her knuckles with his lips. She went to her feet and curtsied, swearing that she could feel not only Viktor's eyes but every other males' in the room as her robes showcased her curves.

Aunt Cissy had told her when she had first started developing her breasts that boys would always stare and they wouldn't always be the most respectful about it. It hadn't really bothered her until this past year or maybe she just hadn't noticed the staring enough for it to bother her. It had also been made worse by the fact that her aunt had informed her that she was built much like her mother had been; tiny, petite, and quite curvy. When she wore robes without the school robes over the top of them, all her assets were there for the world to see. Viktor offered her his arm and she took it, smiling at him.

"You ready for village?" She nodded, waving to her friends before letting Viktor pull her away from them.

They fell into step with other boys from Durmstrang and they were all talking loudly in Bulgarian. They kept clapping Viktor on the shoulder and laughing but he would deflect them with a smile. This continued until they reached the carriages, where he helped her into a carriage with two other boys that appeared to be a year or two younger than Viktor. They were both quiet but polite, not really saying much as the carriages started to move.

"What were those boys saying? I hate that I never learned Bulgarian now, or German at least. Maybe I'll tell Daddy I should pick it up after all." He smiled at her and patted her hand.

"Dey should not speak in Bulgarian around vitch who does not speak. Not polite. I tell dem next time. You speak other tongues?" Hermione realized that he had deflected her question but decided that it wasn't important enough to ruin their day over so she let him.

"I speak French, Italian, and Spanish fluently. German was originally on the list to learn but when we started brewing potions at six, it got pushed to the bottom of the list. What languages do you speak?" Viktor threaded her fingers through his.

"Mother taught English and French. Father taught Russian." Hermione liked that he was smart; if he would just talk about himself more, they would have more in common.

"You're very smart. I like that." He preened at her words and the boys sitting opposite them chuckled under their breath. She flushed instantly, forgetting momentarily that they had an audience. She pulled her hand from his and looked out the window, cursing herself for showing weakness like that in front of people she had never met before. It just wasn't done for people brought up like herself. Viktor was silent but judging by the downcast looks the boys were now sporting, he would be exchanging words with them later. Viktor took her hand again.

"I like dat you smart as vell as beautiful." She turned his way and smiled at him, happy that he had made the same mistake as she had if only to make her feel better. She scooted a little closer and was excited that he might tell her more about himself.

"Tell me about your family. You've only told me that you have a brother and a sister." He looked mildly irritated for a moment but it was gone instantly. He picked up one of her curls and fingered it, feeling it's silky length while he answered.

"I haff brother, Aleksandur. He is thirteen. My sister is Anastasiya and she is sefen. She is very beautiful like you." Hermione smiled at the first piece of information she had learned from him that she couldn't have read in a quidditch magazine. One of the boys looked at her strangely.

"Don't you know dis already? His life in quidditch books. Family, school, girlfriends, games. You do not read?" Hermione had never considered that there would be things in there that she should probably know if she was going to get serious about him. However, it wouldn't do for her to go into a relationship of sorts thinking that he would hide his past from her. Therefore, she turned to Viktor.

"Is this why you don't want to tell me about yourself?" Viktor shrugged, now glaring at the boy across from them.

"Da whole world know. Vhy you ask vhat you already know?" Hermione frowned and she pulled her hand back, considering his words. Did he really think that she had gone out and read everything about him just because he had shown her interest? Was his ego really that big? She turned to glare at him and the two boys across from them shrunk back in their seats. Apparently, stories about her anger had reached their ears as well.

"Why in the world do you think I would go out and read quidditch rags just because you came to Hogwarts? I can't hardly stand the sport, I had to be persuaded by my whole family to go see the World Cup that you go on about. I liked you because you seemed like a wonderful person, not because you're famous or a good seeker. The fact that you lump me in with the rest of your groupies is insulting, especially since you've been escorting me all over the castle for months now and giving everyone the impression that you wanted something serious. If you can't bring yourself to even put forth the effort to tell me about yourself, I'm sorry to say that this isn't going to work." The carriage came to a halt and Hermione stood. Viktor grabbed her arm and she glared at him.

"I can see myself off the carriage just fine. Believe it or not, my father raised me to be quite the capable witch." He shook his head regretfully and looked to the two boys.

"Get out." The two boys looked happy to get out of the carriage, probably thinking that they were escaping lightly. He released her as soon as they were alone and he held up his hands to show that he wasn't going to stop her from leaving.

"I sorry, I not mean to offend. I never tink you like other girls. Dey mean nothing." She crossed her arms even though her aunt would be having kittens at the sight of it.

"You've never escorted other girls everywhere and treated them like pureblood princesses, acting like you were courting them? I find that hard to believe. You're a quidditch star and I hardly believe you've been celibate. Don't play me for stupid, Viktor, because I'm not. I'm also not very forgiving if I'm crossed." He raked a hand through his hair, a sign that he was quite upset. His accent seemed to get thicker as he spoke.

"I am not celibate. I haff had many women. I haff not wanted to court any of dem. My father approves of you because of blood and title but I like you. You fiesty and smart. I tought you knew all about me, everyone does. Your friends and family all love sport, why you not know? I tought you angry because of other women." Hermione sighed and turned away, not sure how she was supposed to feel about this. Truthfully, though, he was almost nineteen years old and famous. It really wasn't a surprise.

"Have you been with other women since being here?" She turned so she could see the look on his face to make sure that he wasn't lying to her. There was a slight tinge of color to his cheeks as he finally nodded.

"Yes, several. None since Christmas. Dat's vhen I told father dat I wanted contract." Hermione wasn't sure what she was supposed to say to this.

"You gave me my first kiss knowing that you were shagging other girls. You met my father knowing the same. How am I supposed to feel about that?" Viktor sighed.

"I have no excuse. Father tell me if serious I haff to stop seeing girls. I haff." Hermione sighed as she spoke.

"My father will never sign a contract. He doesn't believe in them, neither does my uncle. You want a contract, you have to convince me. Let's just say that right now, I'm far from convinced. I don't begrudge you your past but those girls were while you were escorting me all over the castle, making me look like a fucking fool." In truth, she was holding tears back ruthlessly, determined to not show him an ounce of weakness. She wondered if he would really give up the girls, make an effort to put her first. She truly liked him. If he had contacted his father, he must be serious to a point.

Hermione decided in that moment that she would see how serious he really was. If could treat her with respect and not see other women, she would consider moving their relationship to a more serious standing. However, that was a long way off for she didn't trust easily.

"I never mean to make you look fool. I never haff serious girl, I not know vhat to do." She sighed, unsure if she should accept that excuse. On one hand it was an excuse but on the other hand, Viktor probably didn't know how to treat a girlfriend if he had never had one.

"Let's just go out there. We're probably drawing attention sitting in this carriage. Not the good attention either." He nodded and opened the door to the carriage. The streets of Hogsmeade were flooded with students and Viktor stepped out first so he could take her hand and help her out. She really wanted to be a petulant child and refuse it but her aunt had bestowed good manners on her over the course of years. She wasn't about the disappoint her now, especially in such a public setting. Viktor offered her his arm and smiled down at her, though she noticed that it was a little strained.

"Vhere to first? Your village, you guide." Hermione sighed. She would feel obligated to take him to the quidditch store because it wasn't in her make up to make him miserable on purpose. Therefore, she felt better when she latched onto the first place that most students chose.

"Let's go to Honeydukes." He nodded his agreement and she gestured with her head the direction that they needed to go. She had been under the impression that they had gone shopping in the little village for the Ball as well but apparently that hadn't been the case. Viktor had told her night before that they had all been instructed to bring their dress robes to Hogwarts with them.

Many students waved to them, some even coming over to say hello and tell Viktor they hoped that he had a good time in Hogsmeade. Most were kind to her as well, the French girls especially were nice. They didn't seem to mind who she was and what her name was, though why she wasn't sure. Draco reported most of the girls he had met to be a little snobby so it was a pleasant surprise. Of course, that could just be that it was Draco and he could be more than a little arrogant at times.

Viktor held the door for her while the entered Honeydukes and the familiar smell of confectionary chocolate hit them in the faces. Hermione had always liked chocolate but had never been as big a fan as Draco. Ice cream had always been her weakness and Dot had always spoiled her ceaselessly with it when she was a child. However, she had promised Juliet that she would get her an array of sweets since she had never had wizarding sweets before. Hermione gave Viktor a smile and gestured for him to look.

"I promised my little sister that I would get her sweets. She's never been here before and never tried wizarding candy before. Feel free to look around. Maybe we have different candy than you do in Bulgaria." He looked as though he wanted to say something but he didn't in the end.

Hermione went on her way and got Juliet an array of different candy but made sure not to get too much. There were several cauldron cakes, some chocolate frogs, choco balls, sugar quills, and the newest candy on display, one that she had never heard of before. She made sure to pick up an extra box for Draco just in case he didn't make it to Honeydukes since he was entertaining his date; he always enjoyed trying the new candies when they came out.

When she was finished with her selections, she looked around to see if Viktor was ready. She caught sight of him in a corner, locked in an argument with a seventh year witch from Ravenclaw. Hermione couldn't remember her name but that didn't matter at the moment. Viktor didn't look happy and it was clear that he was trying to get away from her but she wasn't feeling especially helpful. Therefore, she walked up to the checkout and put her things on the counter in front of Ambrosius Flume. He smiled at her while his wife bagged up her things, making quiet conversation about seeing her father the week before. Hermione smiled. He was probably buying candy for Helena since he was still trying to woo her.

By the time she had paid for her purchases, she turned to see that Viktor was finally getting handsy with the girl, hands on her shoulders and moving her out of his way so he could leave. Hermione waved her wand and shrunk her bag, tucking it in her robe pocket before heading out the door. She had only made it a handful of steps out the door before Viktor caught up with her, hands empty and cheeks flushed. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"You looked busy." He clearly felt terrible.

"I sorry, she not leaf me alone." Hermione needed to ask but was scared of the answer.

"How did I not see this at school?" He looked quite sheepish.

"Dey are frightened of you. Dey not come near when I vith you. Here, dey not tink you cause scene." Hermione snorted softly.

"They're right. My aunt taught me better. I'll just make sure to ruin them socially so you might warn your friends. Tell them to ask Pansy Parkinson. She still hasn't gotten a single party invitation since she crossed me." He cracked a smile.

"Not friends. Way to pass time." That really didn't make her feel much better but she didn't comment. He offered her his arm again and asked her with a smile.

"Vhere to next?" Hermione chewed her lip thoughtfully. She really wanted to go to Flourish and Blotts but she knew that he wanted to go to the quidditch store. He hadn't come out and said it but it was no secret. Maybe they could split ways since they would both be miserable at each other's stop of choice.

"Well, I want to visit Flourish and Blotts. I imagine that the quidditch shop is on your list of places to visit. Perhaps we can split ways for those two stores. You don't enjoy reading and I don't enjoy quidditch so it would make sense." He narrowed his eyes at her.

"You don't enjoy quidditch at all?" She shrugged her shoulders.

"I like watching Harry and Draco play but it scares the life out of me. I'd rather they didn't. I would never tell them to do something that didn't make them happy though." He sighed.

"You come vith me and safe me from girls. I be quick. I go vith you and not complain." She scrunched up her nose. Not even Draco would give her this deal.

"You're aware that I spend hours at the bookstore." He smiled at her.

"I even pay for books. Let me make up for girl ruining chocolate store." Hermione narrowed her eyes at him.

"You can't buy me off. I can pay for my own bloody books." He held up his hands and smiled at her. She had to admit that he was quite handsome when he did that.

"You pay and I still come no complaints." She considered his words and decided that if he was willing to sit in the bookstore for who knew how long rather than the quidditch store he must feel bad. Therefore, she finally nodded and he offered her his arm and pulled her in the direction of the quidditch store. It was quite hilarious that he knew where that was but nothing else.

The quidditch store was packed full of students from all three schools, despite the fact that there was no quidditch that year at Hogwarts. There wasn't enough room for Hermione to stay alongside Viktor so he threaded his fingers through hers and pulled her behind him, looking back every few seconds to make sure that she was alright. When she finally came to a stop, they were in front of a broom case with a new prototype that a crowd was gathered around. He laid a soft hand around her waist and pulled her close enough that he could speak in her ear and not be heard.

"Dat's my new broom. Not dat one, but first one for sale. I get next month to start practicing for next season. You not like quidditch or not like flying?" Hermione looked at the broom in the case. The Firebolt International. It sounded awfully fancy and she wondered how long it would be before Draco convinced Uncle Luci to get him one.

"I don't like either. I've never been good at flying so they just went hand in hand. I stole Draco's broom once when I was six and crashed it. He was so angry with me." Viktor chuckled in her ear and it sent shivers down her spine.

"He vas mad at cute little girl?" She smiled despite herself.

"Cousins aren't that cute even if they are girls. He was more angry about his broken broom."

"He forgave you. Maybe you let me teach you." Hermione shook her head and stepped away, breaking the spell. Heights were a strong no for her, they always had been.

"I've already learned how to fly, thank you. I know how, I just don't like it." He smirked at her and nodded, backing away. He moved to speak with the proprietor and she was left to stare at the broom on her own. She was lost in her thoughts when someone goosed her in the side, causing her to yell out. She turned to see that Harry had approached from behind to scare her and was chuckling at her. When he saw her face, he pulled her into a hug. She could still feel his chest moving with laughter.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist. You were staring at that broom so intently. Have you changed your mind about flying?" She shook her head quite insistently from side to side against his chest and he pulled away, still smiling. He brushed her hair back and grinned.

"Having fun? I see Krum's over there talking to Sanders. I'm betting he's in line for one of these." She nodded.

"He said he gets the first one. I think he's checking on his order. Then we're going to the bookstore." Harry gave her a soft smile.

"Don't make him suffer longer than an hour there, Mia. It's a date. Let him take you to lunch." She looked down and she knew that she couldn't hide everything fast enough. She had always been rubbish at hiding things instantly like Draco could. Harry put his fingers under her chin and made her look at him.

"What's wrong, Mia?" She shook her head and smiled at him.

"Nothing. Everything is fine. It's just been crazy here. I promise, nothing bad has happened." He looked at her as though he didn't quite believe her but finally nodded. She could see that his mouth seemed a little tight but she wasn't sure why. He finally smiled.

"I'm going to go. Nev is meeting me with Ron at Three Broomsticks and we're going to eat there. I'll see you back for dinner. Be safe." She nodded and smiled at him, appreciative of his genuine concern. It was quite nice to know that he cared for her.

"You too." Harry was gone just as Viktor returned and he cast a suspicious look after Harry.

"Vhat did Potter vant?" Hermione narrowed her eyes at his tone. He caught sight of her gaze and tried to sound nonchalant. She was still irritated when she answered.

"He saw me here and just said hello. Told us to be safe and that he was meeting his friends at the Three Broomsticks." Viktor snorted.

"You mean friend of female persuasion?" Hermione crossed her arms, uncaring that her aunt wouldn't approve.

"What does it matter if he is? You're no better. However, do you really think he would be telling me his plans if his 'friends' were female?" Viktor stepped back, a sheepish look on his face.

"I sorry. I need to control mouth." Hermione nodded.

"You do. Harry is my family and I won't stand for you speaking badly of him." He offered her his arm and smiled.

"Let's go to bookstore." Hermione gave a real grin and began to pull him out of the quidditch store. He was chuckling softly as she dodged through the people on the streets. He finally pulled on her to slow her down. She flashed him a dirty look but he didn't let it phase him.

"Book store not leave. Still dere." She grumbled to herself but traveled at a much more sedate pace. She remembered a time not so long ago that she had faced down a pack of dementors in the street just outside of Flourish and Blotts and had finally felt the full effects of a dementor. It hadn't been a very pleasant experience. She dropped his arm as soon as they were inside, the warm atmosphere instantly making her forget her worries of the day. Barney Blott saw her and came around the corner to hug her tight. When he released her, he smiled broadly at her.

"Miss Black, it's always wonderful to see you. Even though you're only here a few times during the school year you're still my best customer." She blushed at his words but nodded.

"Don't ever tell Mr. Flourish but this is my favorite store." He smoothed a hand down her hair and waved her towards the shelf that contained his new releases.

"I recognize your gentlemen friend. I have some interesting books on quidditch he may not have read before." Hermione smiled at the older man and nodded. He went to lead Viktor to where he thought he needed to go.

Hermione lost herself in the sea of titles before her, selecting which ones that she thought sounded interesting and putting back the ones that didn't. After going through the new releases, she browsed the books on wards since she hadn't gotten any new ones recently and made sure to get a few on defense tactics that might help Harry that year with the tournament. Her belly growled, finally causing her to look up and notice the time. It was already past time for lunch, more like mid-afternoon. Viktor had already purchased his books and he was seated in one of the armchairs by the fire, reading quietly. She smiled, despite herself.

Hermione looked at her pile of books to get and saw that there were sixteen of them. She was a little embarrassed when she saw that Viktor was watching her and she supposed that she should put some of them away. It would be so hard to choose though. She bit her lip in frustration only to realize that Viktor had rose and come to her side, probably realizing just what she was trying to do. He laid a hand on her back, between her shoulder blades, and smiled down at her.

"Get dem all. Don't try to impress me. I impress you." She smiled to herself and started to load all her books up. He shooed her away and started to levitate them towards the counter. She stepped forward to pay for them but Viktor shooed her away and she glared. He laughed at her and even Mr. Blott chuckled.

"Dat glare von't vork here. It vork vhen ve leave." He paid for all her book and shrunk them down so he could help her slip them into her robe pocket. Once they were there, Mr. Blott smiled at her.

"I'll see you next time, Miss Black. Enjoy class." Hermione smiled back.

"Goodbye, Mr. Blott. Thank you." The pair struck out into the cold air again and Viktor was smiling at her.

"It time to eat. I find place." Hermione was agreeable enough to that and let him pull her through the streets of Hogsmeade. It wasn't the largest of villages but there were a few establishments to eat at. Hermione had been to all of them at some point in her life. However, it was with mounting horror that she realized that Viktor was leading her to Madam Puddifoots. Hermione dug her heels in and glared at the Bulgarian when he turned to see what was wrong.

"Anywhere but there, please. I'd rather eat at the Hog's Head." She really wasn't a huge fan of the Hog's Head but they did have a decent beef stew. Viktor seemed confused so she felt she better explain.

"It's almost Valentine's Day which means that it will be nothing but pink, lace, cherubs, and confetti in there." This didn't help alleviate his confusion.

"Don't vitches like dat?" Hermione stared at him for a moment before just dragging him off in the direction of the Hogs Head.

"Not this witch. I would usually choose Three Broomsticks but all the boys are going to be in there because they're going to be avoiding Madam Puddifoots. Besides, for as unclean as the Hog's Head is, it has pretty good beef stew." Hermione knew that he still didn't understand but it was high time that he learned lesson number one in dealing with Hermione Black.

If she said that she didn't want pink, confetti, cherubs, and lace, she was going to get her way regardless of how he felt about it.

-O-

Harry laughed as he sat down next to Neville, Ron, and Parvati in the Three Broomsticks. He was keeping an eye out the window since he knew that Hermione would be headed here eventually but he had yet to see her. It had killed him to wish her well on her date but he knew that he needed to get past her being with someone else. It wasn't her fault that he would never measure up.

Just outside the window, he caught sight of Hermione walking with Viktor and he seemed to be pulling her towards Madam Puddifoots. Harry burst out in laughter, unable to help himself. Neville looked at him oddly and Harry was quick to explain.

"Look out the window. Viktor Krum is trying to take Hermione to Madam Puddifoots. Look at that horrified look on her face." Parvati looked horrified herself.

"Why would she not want to go there with the Bulgarian Bon-Bon?" Ron rolled his eyes at her.

"I know that you girls like that place but it's truly death to all things male. It's clear that Black is doing her best to suck up to Krum so he'll like her more." Harry cocked his head to the side and considered Ron's words. She didn't seem like the kind of girl to want to go to a place like Puddifoot's. The look she had given him in the quidditch shop had him a little worried as well. It was as though she was upset but didn't want anyone else to know that she was upset. Harry hated it when she was upset, he always had.

The Gryffindor watched as she tugged on Viktor's arm and pulled him in the direction of the Hog's Head. He could hear Ron and Neville bickering over Hermione and just why she would be taking Viktor there when a familiar head of black curls caught his eye. Harry turned to his friends and threw some galleons on the table.

"Hey, I think I saw Sirius out there. I'm going to go catch him and see if he was looking for me, Draco, or Hermione. It's odd that he would be here on a Hogsmeade weekend and not say anything." They all told him it was fine and that they'd see him back at the castle. Harry hurried back outside into the cold to catch up to his godfather. Just when he thought that he had lost him, he caught a glimpse of him following far behind Hermione and Viktor. Suddenly it all made sense. He was making sure that Hermione's first date went well for her. He went up behind Sirius and goosed him much the same way he had Hermione. He was rewarded with a yell and Sirius turned to glare at him.

"You scared the life out of me, pup." Harry grinned at him impishly.

"Spying on your baby girl on her first date?" Sirius continued to glare but eventually answered.

"Yes, and I'd appreciate if you didn't tell her. She'd hex me blue and then not speak to me for a bloody month. I'm not listening in, I'm just making sure that he's being respectful. He's older than her and quite a bit more experienced." Harry nodded, feeling a bit guilty of it himself. He had been watching for her in the window after all. They watched them go into the Hog's Head and Sirius pulled him towards a little cafe across the road with a view of the road.

"Let's go get something to drink, kid." Harry shoved his hands into the pockets of his robe and followed his godfather. They went into a small cafe called 'Carolina's' and ordered tea and scones. Sirius gave him a pointed look.

"How did you see me?" Harry laughed.

"I looked out the window and saw you. You weren't exactly being stealthy." Sirius muttered something under his breath about channelling Severus and Harry decided to take the opportunity while it presented itself.

"Did Hermione tell you that she and I got into an argument and I told her she was spoiled?" His godfather drew his eyebrows together and shook his head.

"No, she never said anything. Should she have?" There was a slight edge to his godfather's voice but Harry shook his head.

"No, we had an argument and we were both sorry by the end. I tried to apologize for what I said but she told me that I was right. She told me that she was spoiled but she never shirked her punishments. She told me a story about stealing Draco's broom and breaking her leg. She told me that Drake wouldn't talk to her for a week and Uncle Lucius made her apologize every day until he accepted it and then made her use her book money to buy him a new broom. Did you know that story?" He could see that his godfather had truly never heard the story and was wondering where the story was going. Harry knew that it wasn't his place to say anything and he really shouldn't but that story had touched him in a way that not many things had. Therefore, he tried to make it as painless as possible for Sirius.

"I don't want you to think that I'm criticizing you as a parent. I think Hermione is a wonderful person. I wish that you could have raised me. Hermione is the first person to go out her way to do nice things for me even when I was so completely terrible to her that I deserved for her to hate me so I realized after that story that just being in her life has hurt her." He saw that Sirius was going to interrupt and he didn't think that he could bear it if he didn't get to finish so he hurried on.

"She told me that you were off shagging girls left and right then, she was only six, and that when it came time around Halloween, you would leave her with Uncle Lucius for up to a month because you were so sad you didn't have me and that my parents were dead. She suffered that broken leg and you didn't even know. Siri, you can't do that to her anymore. She deserves to be your first choice. I had parents and they did their best for me. I still have you but you made the choice to be that parent for her. You have to do what's best for her. You ignored her for months because of me and my parents and I can't bear it. Even now she feels as though I'll always come first and she still loves me and has taken me into her family and protects me with everything she is. She deserves better from me and from you. I know you promised her but promise me that you won't make me and my parents first anymore. They wouldn't want that and neither do I." He could see that his words had affected his godfather deeply and that he was struggling to hold back tears. Harry reached out grasped his forearm.

"She still loves you. You're her world." His godfather got himself under control and nodded. He took a drink of his tea and nodded before speaking.

"That was a long time ago, Harry. It hasn't been that bad in years. I know I've made mistakes when it comes to Hermione but I did the best I could at the time. Just when I get things straightened out between us, Juliet shows up and I'm scared I'm going to lose her forever to Lucius." Harry laughed softly and he saw his godfather's eyes flash. He was quick to speak.

"That will never happen as long as you love her. Yes, Draco is her person but you're her dad. She loves you. She was so hurt over the summer because she thought that you were choosing me over her. Once she realized that you weren't, she came back. I know that Juliet showing up wasn't ideal but she's here now and you can't change it. You need to make sure you love her too but don't forget Hermione just because she's older and she should know better." Sirius nodded and brushed his hair back, a nervous tic that Harry noticed he had when he was uncomfortable.

"What brought all this on? It's just because of a story of Hermione breaking her leg?" Harry nodded but shook his head right after.

"It started out that way but I think it's a combination of a lot of things. I've been truly terrible to her and just when we start to get better I fuck up again. It just seems that I'm never going to get it right and this is one thing that I can help get right for her. After all she's done and given up for me, I want something to be right for her." Sirius looked him in the eye, a strange look truth be told, but finally nodded.

"Thank you, Harry. I know that you weren't trying to overstep and while I was mildly offended at first, I'm not now. I'm glad you care for her enough to put our relationship in jeopardy for that." Harry nodded and finished off his tea.

"I really should get back to the castle. I promised Juliet that I would meet her before dinner since she couldn't come today. Pretty sure Hermione has promised her that you'll take her and her friends this summer." Sirius groaned and Harry grinned as he clapped him on the shoulder.

"See you later. I never saw you if you never saw me." Sirius laughed.

"I'll make a true marauder out of you yet, Harry. Deal."

Harry whistled to himself as he left Carolina's and headed for the carriages that led to the castle. Even though Hermione had gone on what appeared to be a successful date with Viktor Krum, the most famous seeker in their world, he had a bloody good day.

-O-

Hermione laid in bed and considered how her day had ended. She had ended up studying in the library with her friends, Harry, and Draco after dinner, everyone trying to wind down from their day spent in Hogsmeade. Viktor had wisely left her after their date and hadn't tried to spend any further time with her, probably showing that he had a modicum of good sense. She needed to process everything and that would never happen if he was there hovering over her.

Draco had instantly known that there was something wrong of course. She hadn't planned to tell him; in fact, she had planned to consider it on her own and come to a decision regarding her what she was going to do before telling him but she should have know that he would never be satisfied with that, much the same way she would never have been satisfied had it been the other way around.

He had pulled her into their own little corner of the common room and silenced it from everyone, not something that was highly irregular. He had hounded her until she had finally given in and told him everything that she had learned. Draco hadn't taken it well at first; he was of the opinion that Hermione deserves the best and that meant nobody that was fooling around at Hogwarts. However, when she considered it, she thought that maybe he had been holding out hope for Harry. He had made the comment to her once that they would be good together but she had snapped at him that he just didn't feel for her like that.

Eventually, he had calmed down and admitted that even Krum had behaved somewhat admirably in admitting his dalliances and the fact that he had given them up because he was serious about her. He still stood by wondering why an almost nineteen year old man was with a fifteen year old girl but she didn't look at it like that. She had always been far more mature than anyone else her age. She easily would have passed for eighteen if not for still being in school. Draco was just being protective, not that she faulted him for it. Uncle Luci would have had his hide if he had been any other way.

While he had commended Hermione on giving the Bulgarian a chance, he had cautioned her as well. Men like Krum were used to getting their way often and if Hermione had told him that she wouldn't accept him getting his jollies elsewhere, eventually, he would expect them from her. She wasn't so sure, he just didn't strike her that way, but he was a man. He would probably know better than she would.

It had been with a heavy heart that she had made her way to bed. She had felt fairly well about giving Viktor a chance to prove to her that he was serious until Draco had told her that she needed to be cautious. Now she was full of doubt once more. Would Viktor really expect those things of her? Yes, it was true he set her blood on fire. No more than Harry did but remembering his deep chuckle in her ear made her belly ache down deep inside her. She had slipped her hand down into her knickers more than once in the last few months to not only Viktor but Harry as well. She was no stranger to wanting more; however, she had no intentions of letting her hormones making a colossal mistake for herself. While men would surely bring shame to their houses if they impregnated a witch outside of wedlock, it was the worse mistake imaginable for a witch to get pregnant outside of marriage. While she was sure that her father and Uncle Luci would weather the storm and still love her, it would be hard. The double standards of the wizarding world were complete shite but it was all she had ever known.

No matter what Pansy, Ginny, or any of the other girls her age were doing, she refused to make her family ashamed of her. While those girls did have families counting on them, it was more to make a favorable match, not to actually carry on an Ancient and Noble bloodline. While she didn't buy into the tripe about blood purity like so many others did, she did believe in family honor and duty and she had known what hers was from the time she turned four years old. It wasn't something that she took lightly. Any man that she was with was going to have to be alright with the fact that while duties to his family would be important, duties to the House of Black would be just as.

All she could do was hope for the best. She was going to give Viktor a chance to prove himself even though she had reservations about it. Any man she ended up with would probably end up being more experienced than she was since she was determined to remain chaste until she was sure that she at least loved the person that she was with. Her aunt had always told her that their world was very sexist and that most witches went wild with it. She had implored to Hermione that she should do what she felt right but to make sure that she felt something for the person that she was sharing it with. While she liked Viktor, it was going to take a bit for her to even get close to feelings like that for him, no matter how many books he bought her.

Turning off her brain for the night, Hermione rolled over, started employing her occlumency from so many years before, and let sleep pull her under.

-O-

Sirius swirled his firewhiskey in his glass and he looked into the flames. Lucius was sitting across from him and they were getting drunk together. While Sirius indulged in getting drunk quite often, only once they were in for the night, Lucius rarely did. Tonight, however, had called for it.

He had called his friend when he had returned from Hogsmeade even though he had considered not doing so. He had had to hurry and do so before he lost his nerve. While he had acted as though things were better to Harry, they really weren't. It was just that Hermione was now in school and nobody was there to witness his depression but Lucius now that Severus was away teaching.

His friend had come and had known instantly that something was wrong. It had taken him ages to tell Lucius what and there had been a few tears shed. He wasn't sure why the story affected him so, much like Harry had said, but it did. It broke his heart to picture his six year old daughter laying in the quidditch pitch at Malfoy Manor, scared and crying for her daddy only to realize that he was drunk and shagging a random witch because he couldn't have the boy he really wanted when he had adopted her.

It was fucking heartbreaking.

He had questioned his friend ruthlessly, wanting every last detail as he remembered them. Lucius had spared him none, telling him how Hermione had cried in pain, begging for her daddy and for the pain to stop. How she had cried for the whole week that Draco had been angry with her, scared that her very best friend hated her because she had been trying to impress him and crashed his broom. Lucius had held her tight every night because Draco had refused to sleep with her, drying her tears and telling her that she was loved and that Draco was just angry and that her father was just upset.

It was at this point that Sirius had started sobbing.

It wasn't his proudest moment. Far from it. However, it was somehow cathartic to release years of pent-up pain and misery and realize that he wasn't alone, that he had shared that complete fucking shit show with the one person he was supposed to protect from it. To say that he felt like the lowest life form would have been overstating it.

"You should have taken her and I should have went to Azkaban. You were more a father to her than I ever was, Lucius. I can't tell you how sorry I am." Lucius turned angry eyes to him, something that he didn't do often.

"Enough." Sirius wasn't sure what to make of that. He turned confused eyes to his friend.

"I'm serious. You should have had her. You loved far more than I ever did." Lucius stood and threw his glass of whiskey into the fire and it flared dangerously. Sirius was reminded of just why people feared his friend. While he was a soft mushy mess with his daughter, that was not the case with anyone else.

"This is what Harry was talking about. You're being pathetic. Get it together, man. Hermione deserves better than you wallowing in self-pity, just like you did her whole childhood mind you, blaming yourself and feeling sorry for yourself so you can once again play the fucking victim. Your friends are dead. They trusted the wrong man. They made a fucking mistake. Their son has realized that they made the best sacrifice they could for him and he loves them for it. You need to do the same and move the fuck on. Are you so pathetic you can't live a life that doesn't have James fucking Potter in it?" His chest was heaving and Sirius could tell that his friend was livid. Honestly, it felt like it had been a long time coming and the fire whiskey probably hadn't helped.

"That girl deserved a father. I wasn't all that fond of your brother. He got my sister pregnant and didn't fucking marry her but it was because he was protecting her. He loved her and he protected the both of them as best he could. I respected him and he was an amazing father. You could see the love he had for Hermione shining in his eyes every time he looked at her. You saw a way out, a way to get to Harry and for years I resented you for that, for what you made her. You made her second best when her own father would have died for her, killed for her. My sister would have sold herself on the corner to keep Hermione safe. You just left her with people that you barely knew, people that you thought to be Death Eaters at the time, so you could get drunk and go shag as many women as you could. You didn't care for her. Sure, you loved her, anyone could see that but you didn't care for her. I did that, Narcissa did that. We fucking cared for her while you were so drunk that you couldn't even remember that you had a daughter." Sirius really didn't think that he wanted his friend to continue.

"All these years, you've been plugging along, telling Hermione your story and taking her along, knowing full well she'll help you because she loves you so fucking much. I've watched and I've helped because I knew that once she was involved, my son would be involved. They're two halves of the same whole. They'll always be that way and I could no sooner abandon her to save Draco than the other way around. I helped you in your plan, I even agreed. Then you cast Hermione aside for Potter.

Don't get me wrong, I've made my peace with Potter. I've even given him my blessing to date her is he could ever pull his head from his arse long enough to do so. His reasons for not doing so are purely unselfish though so I can't be angry even though it hurts her. He wants better for her. I will back that boy to the end but Sirius, make no mistake. This isn't about you. This is about that boy begging you to quit being a fucking selfish arsehole and making Hermione your number one priority for once in your life." Sirius knew that every single fucking world his friend had spoke was true and it fucking hurt. He hung his head as he spoke.

"I have Juliet now. She can't be number one all the time." Lucius let out something that was close to growl at that.

"A travesty to the Black name. That poor sweet girl is going to suffer the indignity of being in this family and knowing that she wasn't born in wedlock. The older children shelter her now but what of later. All because you couldn't keep your cock in your pants. Hermione has had the protection of the Malfoy family to help her." This ignited Sirius' anger like nothing had yet. He was on his feet in a flash and his wand in his hand. His eyes were sparking dangerously and Lucius' were matching.

"Pretty hypocritical words there, Lucius. Your sister had a child out of wedlock. I suppose if we apply the same logic than Hermione shouldn't be here either. Or is Juliet's blood status you have a problem with?" Lucius advanced, his wand sliding into his own hand and his lip forming into a sneer.

"I gave young Harry permission to court my heir. He's a half-blood, same as Juliet. Do you think I have a problem with blood status? My problem lies with the fact that you fathered her and left, didn't give a fuck and then foisted her on the family to handle while you did nothing but try to get in her mother's robes. Hermione is the one fostering that girl's trust, not you. If you had gotten her mother pregnant and married her, brought her into the family at birth, it would have been different. You left her and we don't do that to family. Now, once again, Hermione is paying the price, along with an innocent little girl that knows no better." Sirius deflated once again, dropping his wand and falling into his chair. He raised his eyes to see Lucius still holding his wand.

"If you're going to kill me, do it already." Lucius snorted.

"Hermione would kill me. She loves your fucking arse too much." The spell was broken when Sirius started laughing and Lucius took his seat once more. They both poured another drink and stared into the fire. Unsurprisingly, it was Lucius that spoke again.

"I think that Harry is Hermione's soul mate." Sirius dropped his glass of whiskey to the ground and it shattered, splashing whiskey everywhere. He winced; Candy was going to hex both him and Lucius bald tomorrow when she saw.

"What?" Lucius took another swallow, completely uncaring of the mess his friend had just made.

"I think they're soul mates. Cissy and I are soul mates, you know. I remember what it felt like when I was around her but we weren't together. My father was urging me to sow my wild oats and every time I sank my cock into another girl, I pictured the hurt on Cissy's face when she would find out. I remember her finding out about every single girl and crying her eyes out, feeling like she wasn't good enough and how I wanted to rip my heart out and give it to her to make hers better. I know you weren't there for the conversation I had with Harry, but I saw that in his eyes when i asked him why wasn't with Hermione. I could see the utter heartbreak reflecting back at me when he told me that he had hurt her too many times and he didn't trust himself not to hurt her again, that she deserved better.

I talked to her after he was injured by the dragon and that Weasley slut kissed him. She was so upset, so heartbroken, and she could think of nothing but his welfare and how he would never think of her as someone that he would eventually court. All she cared about was that he was well and that he would eventually be happy. Even though it pains her, she says nothing because she thinks he's happy. The pair of them remind me of Cissy and myself so much it's scary." Sirius considered his friend's words and wished for the thousandth time that Severus was there with them to weigh in. Finally, he decided to just go with it.

"If you're right, what do we do?" Lucius snorted and threw back the last of his whiskey.

"We do nothing. They'll find their way to each other eventually, soul mates always do. Besides, can you picture trying to force Hermione into doing something that she didn't want to do? Even as a child, you had to convince her that eating her peas was good for her. Simply telling her to do so never worked." Sirius snorted, happy to remember that.

"That much is true. I've never met a witch so fucking stubborn. Not even Helena. She'll marry me before Hermione does something she doesn't want to do." Lucius nodded and stood, calling for Snitch. The elf appeared before him and Lucius held out his hand.

"I find that I can't apparate or floo safely. I would hate for Cissy to throw me from bed because I wasn't safe coming home." Sirius snorted before turning to his friend.

"Thank you. For everything. I'm going to be better from here on out." Lucius clapped him on the shoulder and nodded.

"I'm holding you to that and it sounds like Potter is too." Sirius snorted as Snitch turned on the spot and the pair disappeared. Candy, unlike Snitch, wasn't so obedient and had no problems telling him to find his own fucking way to bed if he was going to be a drunken idiot. She would hide the sober-up potion from him in the morning too, bloody elf. Even though she had been like this from day one, Hermione's influence had only made her worse.

Sirius grinned at the thought. He was turning over a new leaf in life when it came to his daughter and remind her from here on out that she was important to him no matter what mistakes he had made when he was younger.

What mistakes they had been.

A/N- Jesus Christ, this chapter was originally going to be light and fluffy, a date where Hermione learned the truth, but that was about it. Kind of a filler chapter. Then it snowballed and things just felt right so here we are. I hope that you all enjoyed it. Anyways, leave me your thoughts after the beep and let me know what you think. They make me smile.

Next chapter, the second task of the Tournament.

Love,

Alicia


	77. Chapter 77

A/N- Here we are again, folks, another chapter. Everyone has been waiting for this chapter and I'm hoping that it meets your expectations. If you gave me advice on what to do with this chapter and I didn't take it, I thank you anyways. I got so many different suggestions and most of the reasonings made perfect sense. However, I had to make a decision. Thanks to everyone for reading, reviewing, following, and favoriting. You have no idea how much your support means to me. Anyways, enough for now.

**Shout out to thoupetty for being my 3700th reviewer! You da bomb, girl!**

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing about this story, in case you haven't figured that out from the 76 chapters that have come before this one. I haven't made any money from this story or any other; I only wish that I had since I'm a broke bitch. I guess it sucks to suck.

Chapter 77

February 24, 1995

Harry was nervous; not quite as nervous as he was for the first task but nervous nonetheless. He knew that he was as prepared as he could be, there was nothing else that he could do to be more prepared. Remus, Hermione, and Draco had made sure that he knew what to do in case of emergency in all instances today.

Severus had gotten him numerous bundles of gillyweed, tied off in different sizes so he could judge how long they would last. He had sneaked into the prefect bath with Hermione and Draco and timed each and every one, labeling each size and putting them in a bag that he was going to carry in a waist pouch at the task today. His wand would be up his sleeve just in case he ran out of gillyweed, ready to cast the bubble head charm if need be. It wasn't the way he wanted to finish the task but if had to happen that way, he would be ready.

He still had no idea what he would be rescuing from the depths of the Black Lake. It was supposed to be something that he would sorely miss but beyond that he was clueless as to what it would be. He didn't really hold material things in high regard; he had never had them to hold in regard growing up. It had seemed stupid to start just because he had learned that he was wealthy. Even though this should reassure him, it actually made him more uneasy.

He was walking through the corridors to a brunch; Hermione and Draco had insisted that he sleep in and get plenty of rest and Juliet had told him that if he didn't do exactly as they told him to that she would tell on him. He had laughed and ruffled her hair playfully, calling her a little snitch. Since it was a Saturday and there would be families coming, the meals would be served most of the day. Therefore, he would be just fine eating at eleven before the task started at two.

Harry entered the Great Hall and waved at his friends at the Gryffindor table. He wasn't going to be sitting with them today since the family would be there but he wanted them to know that their support was appreciated. The twins and Neville, though they had been invited to sit with the snakes, had decided to stick with the lions that day to give the family their privacy. They were quick to wave and start cheering and Harry knew that his cheeks were coloring.

He turned to the Slytherin table and found that Draco, Luna, and Juliet were already there eating. All three looked nervous but excited. The rest of the Slytherins were smirking as he approached, probably well aware that he was nervous as fuck but doing his best not to show it. As he took his usual seat across from Luna and Juliet, he narrowed his eyes as he pulled his plate forward so he could start to load it down.

"Where's Hermione? It's not like her to not be out here for something like this." Draco shrugged, still intent on his breakfast.

"I don't know. I sent her off to bed last night but haven't seen her. I figured she was taking a nap after her run this morning. She wouldn't miss this for the world. Don't worry." Harry sighed, figuring that Draco was probably right. Hermione got up and ran every morning like clockwork and showered afterwards.

He started in on his own breakfast, piling his plate positively high with pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausages, toast, beans, and tomatoes. There was chatter all around him, about the upcoming task mostly. Viktor was sitting with the seventh year Slytherins at the end of the table and Harry just scowled at him. Draco hadn't come out and told him what Hermione's problem had been that day in Hogsmeade but he had dropped enough hints for him to gather the gist of what it had been.

Harry didn't pretend to be perfect; he knew that he slept around and he knew that he didn't deserve Hermione. However, he wasn't trying to court her either. Maybe it was just the jealous arsehole side of him coming out but he couldn't help it; he didn't want Viktor Krum anywhere near Hermione. If she wanted to date a nice boy, why didn't she let Neville take her out? Sure, he played around too but would never treat her badly and would never go around behind her back. Neville would do right by Hermione. Sure, it would kill Harry to watch it, but he would much rather see that than Krum.

Cedric was seated with the Hufflepuffs and looked pretty sure of himself. Cho was at his side and even though Harry still found her quite attractive, since learning her actions towards Luna and hearing what she had to say to Helena, he wasn't too interested in her anymore. When she spoke in his vicinity now, he just tuned her out.

Hermione had finally gotten her revenge on Cho and Marietta just a week before for what they had done to Luna. He still wasn't quite sure how she had managed to do it, hell, she wouldn't even admit that she had done it to Draco, but he knew that it had been her. It had been a Saturday as well and both girls had been forced to come to breakfast in their bathrobes. When a furious Professor Flitwick had questioned them as to why, they had told him that someone had cut up every set of robes they owned. They had instantly blamed Luna, of course, but Hermione had been too smart for the two Ravenclaws. Luna had had a solid alibi all night long, spending the night in the infirmary with Madam Pomfrey for her monthly cramps.

Draco had laughed for hours and Harry had had a few chuckles at the girls' expense as well. Juliet hadn't been quite sure what had been happening but had just gone along with it. Luna had acted clueless but Harry knew that she had to know just who had done it. There was no way that she didn't. He had to give her props for her amazing acting skills; probably a Malfoy trait when he considered it carefully.

The food started disappearing and Hermione still hadn't appeared. Harry started searching the Great Hall and he nudged Draco. He couldn't believe that the blond wasn't more worried than he was. Hermione was usually the first person he worried about when something went wrong. Draco looked at him and saw how serious he looked, his own face falling serious now too.

"She's still not here. You're sure she was alright? This isn't like her." Draco started to search the Great Hall now and Harry realized when his eyes stopped that they were on Severus. He wondered if he could connect minds with his godfather from that great of a distance; his question was quickly answered when Draco turned frustrated eyes to him.

"We need to ask Uncle Sev. I bet he would know where she is." However, this wasn't meant to be since at that moment, Dumbledore stood up and went to his podium, catching the attention of everyone in the room.

"Today is the second task of the Triwizard Tournament. Guests and spectators will be arriving soon so I ask that students start heading out towards the Black Lake and finding seats. It could take a bit for everyone to get settled and nobody wants to miss this task." Harry could tell that they weren't going to get anywhere near Severus. The whole Great Hall stood as one and started for the exit that led out to the grounds. He hoped that they had all packed cloaks since not many of them appeared to have them on.

Just as the room was starting to clear, the doors opened and the families of the champions were once again ushered through by Professor McGonagall. Harry was relieved to see not only Sirius, but Uncle Lucius, Aunt Cissy, Remus, Aunt Andie, Uncle Ted, and Tonks. He had learned quickly to not call Tonks Dory. It seemed that the only one who was given any leeway in the matter was Hermione.

Juliet went to her feet and raced to her father and Harry was just able to make out Helena behind Sirius; she had been hiding behind him. It seemed like so long ago that he remembered hearing Sirius tell her that her mother had promised to be there for the second task. The first year hurled herself into Helena's arms and hugged her close, the rest of the family smiling indulgently. Harry didn't bother with greetings, he just stood and headed for the group and didn't stop until he was in front of Sirius and Lucius.

"We haven't seen Hermione all morning. We haven't been able to get close enough to Severus to ask if he knows where she is." Both men's gazes sharpened and focused on Draco.

"When did you last see her?" Draco clenched his hand together but showed no other signs of being upset.

"I sent her on her way to bed last night. I watched her go up the stairs but have no idea if she stayed there. I went to bed right after she did." Lucius took a deep breath and looked to Sirius.

"We need to get Harry out to the tent for the champions. Notice how Moody hasn't left Severus' side? We won't get any answers from him today. If Minerva knew anything she would have already told us. Why don't you go see if you can get anything out of Dumbledore?" Harry watched as Sirius nodded. His godfather turned to him and put both hands on his shoulders, meeting his gaze.

"I know that you can do this. Hermione is probably fine, she probably just fell asleep in the library or something but we need to make sure that she's safe. I'll be out there to watch you compete just as soon as I can." Harry nodded, unworried about his godfather watching him compete.

"Just find her, Siri. I don't care if you see me compete." Uncle Lucius clapped his hand down on his shoulder and spoke in a soft tone.

"Your godfather will find her, son. Let's get you down there. Blacks, Malfoys, and Potters are never late if they can help it." For some reason, this imperious lesson in etiquette made him feel better. Harry nodded, squared his shoulders, straightened his spine, and allowed his uncle to lead the way.

The rest of the family followed after him.

-O-

Sirius wasn't sure what the fuck was going on but he knew that his daughter was in the middle of it and he knew that it had to do with the second task of the Triwizard fucking Tournament. He hadn't noticed anyone else in particular missing from the crowd of students as they were all leaving but that really meant nothing in the scheme of things. He could never claim to know all the students in Hogwarts and recognize if they were all present and accounted for.

Lord Black scanned the Great Hall for Dumbledore, coming up empty. It seemed as though he was no longer present but he hadn't seen him leave towards the Black Lake yet. That meant that there was only one place left. His office. After being in trouble for his entire school career, Sirius had no problems finding the Headmaster's office in record time after Lucius had led his godson and the rest of his family out of the Great Hall for the lake.

He traversed the corridors quickly, not taking the time to greet anyone that he passed. He recognized a few school governors but truly paid them no mind. His mind was running through possible places that Hermione could be if Albus had no idea where she could be. He truly hoped that she had just fallen asleep in her dorm after her morning run or in the library researching last minute spells for Harry to use. When he reached the gargoyle that guarded the Headmaster's office, he didn't bother trying to guess the password, he just waited there impatiently for the stone being to move. After only a few moments, it did, the stone staircase appearing before him and guiding him upwards.

He hurried up them, taking them two at a time until he was at the top. Sirius didn't bother knocking once he was at the top; he didn't really care what Albus thought of his manners anyways. The Gryffindor flung the door open to find not only the Headmaster but Moody, Severus, Minerva, Karkaroff, and Headmistress from Beauxbatons. He didn't let this stop him in the least. He glared at Albus and he knew that the old man knew something the second he sighed.

"Tell me where my daughter is right now." The Headmaster sighed and Sirius felt the softest brush against his mind, signaling that Severus knew where she was and that she was safe. He felt better at that but still wanted information. Albus gestured to the chair but Sirius just stared at him.

"She was summoned here last night by Severus. The Heads of Houses were told to come up with something or someone that we felt our champions would miss most. Mr. Diggory was quite simple. He seemed attached to Miss Chang, his date to the Ball. Mr. Krum loves his little sister to no end, same as Miss Delacour. Both Lord Krum and Monsieur Delacour gave their permission." Sirius wasn't liking the sound of this. His magic was stirring within him and Minerva took a step forward. Severus shook his head at her but Sirius paid neither one no mind.

"All the teachers thought that Harry would miss either Hermione or young Juliet most. I called her here to ask her her opinion. She volunteered, saying that she didn't want to frighten young Juliet. She told me that she would allow herself to be put in a state of stasis to be placed under the Black Lake as long as Minerva was the one who did it. Apparently, she didn't trust my spellwork." At this point, Sirius felt Severus' mind brush against his and he relaxed further. This meant that it had really been Severus to spell her, not Minerva. This was part of his cover in front of Moody and Karkaroff. Sirius raised his eyebrow at the Headmaster.

"I didn't need to give permission for this?" Albus smirked at him and Sirius knew that he was fucked, probably by way of his daughter.

"I insisted that I get permission and she told me that you would give it, that you had utmost faith in Harry to save her. Minerva assured me that she was telling the truth." Translation meant that Severus had backed her up. Sirius cursed inwardly. The little wench had used his faith in Harry to bypass him and now she was stuck at the bottom of the Black Lake.

"Is she at least attired properly?" At this, Dumbledore started to squirm.

"Minerva cast the spell on her in her nightgown; there was no time to waste for her to change." Sirius knew what she slept in at school. Long satin or silk nightgowns; not conducive to keeping her warm. Severus sneered at him.

"Not to worry, Lord Black. Your daughter was given a potion to regulate her body temperature. She won't freeze to death." Sirius was comforted just a little; however, she would still give the world a show when she emerged from the water with her thin nightgown clinging to her body. He supposed that it would be better in Harry's arms than in Viktor Krum's.

"Are there any dangers below the Black Lake that I need to be concerned about?" Albus shook his head.

"The merpeople have graciously agreed to guard the hostages. They won't allow harm to come to them." Sirius had no other choice but to accept it and chew his daughter's arse later. Therefore, he bowed his head ever so slightly to the room.

"I will find my way to the Lake."

Sirius cursed Hermione the whole way to the Black Lake. Once there, he searched the crowd for his family, quickly finding them in the part marked for family of the champions. He noticed that Lord Krum was trying to strike up a conversation with Lucius but he was steadily ignoring the man, clearly unimpressed with the man while his niece was seemingly missing.

Sirius hurried up the steps until he was in the middle of his family and they all looked quite on edge. Dory waved her wand around them and he shot her a grateful look. He felt Helena's tentative hand on his back and he gave her a comforting smile. Draco wrapped his arm around Luna and glared at Sirius.

"Where the fuck is she?" He raked his hand through his hair.

"I'm going to beat her arse. She's at the bottom of the fucking Black Lake." Sirius didn't even get a chance to explain; Lucius was standing up and heading for the Lake. Narcissa stood and grabbed his arm, hanging off him and pulling him back. Once he was seated again, he glared at Sirius.

"Explain." Sirius gave a dark chuckle.

"They called her to the Headmaster's office after curfew last night. They told her that they had all talked and decided that the thing that Harry would miss most would either be her or Juliet. She volunteered so Juliet wouldn't get scared. When permission was broached, she told them that it was unnecessary because I had full faith in Harry rescuing her." Lucius sounded angry when he spoke.

"We raised her to be smarter than that! Just letting the enemy cast spells on her to put her in stasis!" Sirius shook his head.

"Albus told me that Minerva cast it on her, she insisted on it but Severus brushed against my mind. He cast on her." His friend was still snarling.

"She knows better than to put herself in danger like that." Sirius wanted to agree with him. He had at first. He watched Narcissa rub his thigh softly.

"She does but she also knows that she's supposed to protect family. What did you expect her to do, Lucius, when told that they want to put her little sister down at the bottom of the Black Lake?" Sirius saw the fight leave his best friend as he slumped forward. It was Dory that spoke and Remus had to choke back a chuckle.

"Are you sure she isn't a bloody Gryffindor?" Cissy glared at her and shook her head at her sister.

"Andie, control your spawn." Andie just shook her head imperiously.

"There's no controlling her when she's like this. She's her father's daughter." The rest of the family laughed and Remus waved his wand, cancelling the silencing spell. Dory looked put out but snuggled into Remus' side. He lifted his arm and let her, scenting her neck openly. Sirius turned nervous eyes to the Lake as he spoke, lifting an arm around Helena's shoulders.

"Now I just wish we could have warned Harry about finding Hermione down there." Draco snorted, hiding laughter. When everyone turned curious eyes towards him, he turned defensive.

"What? You know he gets all powerful and mighty when he thinks she's in danger. What do you think he's going to do when he sees her tied up and unconscious down there?" Sirius did the only thing he could think of doing.

He groaned.

-O-

Harry had done as he had bid upon arriving at the tent provided for the champions and changed into the wetsuits provided for them by the school. He wasn't sure if it was provided by the school or the Ministry but he supposed that it was a good idea considering it was the end of February and the water was beyond freezing cold. While, he, Cedric, and Viktor were all wearing the suit they had been given, Fleur was not.

She had appeared out of the changing room in a silver one-piece swim costume and though the pureblood wizards in the room looked completely scandalized, Harry knew that in the muggle world it was considered quite modest. He raised an eyebrow at her and she smiled at him and he was surprised to find that his heart didn't flutter in the slightest like many of his classmates' did.

"I veela. Our blood run hotter. I be fine in vater." Harry smiled at her and nodded, wishing her well quietly. It wasn't that he thought she wouldn't do well in this task, it was just a well-known fact that other creatures tended not to like veela, just like they weren't fond of werewolves. If there was anyone at more risk down under the murky waters of the Black Lake, it was Fleur. He couldn't in good conscience not tell her.

"Fleur, most of the creatures down there don't like veela. Be careful." She let out a tinkling laugh and patted his cheek.

"I vill, Harry. I used to tings not liking me. Vomen in general not like me. Sad, really, I vish for female friend." Harry drew his eyebrows inward.

"Why don't they like you?" She cocked her head to the side as though she couldn't believe he was asking.

"Dey are jealous because I am beautiful. Dey tink I vant deir men." Harry scowled at her.

"That's really sad. You should sit with Hermione sometime. I know she'd be nice to you. She likes everyone. She'd never think that of you." Fleur gave him an odd look that seemed as though she were peering into his soul. Her hand landed on his chest and he was oddly uncomfortable with it there. She seemed to sense it and removed it instantly.

"Someday, you be good man for her, Harry Potter. I meet Hermione Black after task. Tank you." He wasn't sure what to make of her words so he just nodded and left her alone. Cedric was grinning at him.

"Never know how to take a veela, right?" Harry wasn't sure how to respond to that either so he just nodded. Soon enough, Dumbledore, arrived into the tent and gestured for them all the gather around him. He noticed that Moody, Severus, McGonagall and Crouch Sr. were all standing close but they were letting Dumbledore speak. He laid his wrinkly, spindly arms around Cedric and Fleur's shoulders.

"The second task has arrived boys and girls. I'm sure that you've worked out what the riddle meant and you know that you'll be retrieving something important from the bottom of the Black Lake today. You'll have an hour to retrieve it from start to finish so I suggest you don't dawdle." It was Cedric that spoke.

"Headmaster, how do we know where our possession will be?" Dumbledore grinned at him.

"Now, my boy, this lake is far too large to expect you to find it by luck. For one, your possession isn't a possession at all. It's a person. The person you would miss most in this world should you lose them." Harry felt his world go spotty and he hoped against hope that it wasn't going to be what he thought it was. Dumbledore continued.

"Your hostages have had tracking charms put on them, very very weak ones. I'm going to apply the matching ones to you. It's your job to follow them, find your hostage, and retrieve them to the top in an hours time. Is everyone understood?" Harry had to know. He needed to know just who the fuck he was rescuing because if it was Juliet versus Hermione versus Draco, it would make a huge difference.

"Who are our hostages?" Dumbledore shook his head, indicating that he wasn't going to tell them. Harry spoke over him.

"You will tell us. I'm telling you right now, if you put Hermione down there as Krum's hostage and Ron as mine, I'm leaving Ron and saving Hermione. She's my fucking family. You better tell me who the fucking hostages are." He could see Fleur's eyes gleaming in triumph but he had no idea why. Dumbledore sighed and he got the impression that he was disappointed but Harry didn't care.

"Hermione is your hostage. Cho Chang is Mr. Diggory's hostage, a Miss Gabrielle Delacour is Miss Delacour's hostage and Miss Anastasiya Krum is Mr. Krum's hostage." Fleur gave no warning; she simply turned to her harpy self and started spitting fireballs at the Headmaster. Since nobody was expecting it, they all dove for cover and dodged the fireballs. Harry finally ran from his cover to put himself between the two, his arms up in front of her so he could speak to her softly.

"Calm down, Fleur. You can't save her like this." Slowly, Fleur started to calm and she started to transform back from the harpy to human form. Everyone began to emerge from their hiding places and Cedric grinned at her, trying to break the ice.

"You're awfully scary when you're mad." Fleur shot him a dirty look.

"Nobody uses my little sister and gets away vith it." Dumbledore spoke before anyone else could.

"Your parents agreed to it, as did Mr. Krum's. Miss Chang's parents gave permission as well." Harry groaned.

"Sirius didn't? He's going to kill you." The Headmaster chuckled.

"He would if Hermione hadn't told me herself that he would approve because he would have faith in your saving her. It seems that young lady believes in you." Harry wanted to scoff in his face but didn't dare. Not in their current company. This just meant that Hermione was counting on him and there was no way in blue hell that he was going to let her down.

"It's time to begin. We're all going to go out and stand along the the pier. Once the cannon sounds, you will all dive into the water and the timer will begin. You will have one hour to retrieve your hostages." They all nodded resolutely.

Harry made sure that his waist pouch was tightly tightly around him and his wand was strapped tightly to his wrist. He wasn't sure that he was going to need it since he was going to be swimming like a fish but since there were semi-dangerous creatures in the Lake, he wouldn't rule it out. Even though his feet were already numb, he left them bare. The others had put their boots on so they cast him odd looks but he paid them no mind. Flippers would be little use if they were encased in boots.

The bleachers were packed full of people and Harry strained to see if he could find his family from across the Lake. They were lined up across the pier as Professor Flitwick came down the line, pinning something to all their robes. It looked like a little square box and if he didn't know any better, it looked like a tiny recorder. Harry snatched his professor's wrist.

"What is this?" His pint-sized professor jumped.

"A camera. It won't be much fun to sit and stare at a lake for an hour. They rigged up some sort of smoke screen or something to watch each of you as you get to your hostage. It won't interfere, I promise. I designed it myself." Harry decided that it wasn't worth arguing even though it didn't seem as though he had signed up to put on a show for the audience when he was underwater. Hadn't he done enough of that when he had killed a dragon?

Harry was mentally psyching himself, telling himself that he needed to get himself in the mode to go and get Hermione, that his family was counting on him to rescue Hermione. It was probably pretty ridiculous but he knew that he had to compete to the best of his ability and this was the only way that he could do that. He knew that he had to rile himself up to get the best results. Even he knew that he fought back best when he thought there was a threat against Hermione. That had been learned the hard way.

The cannon sounded in the distance and Harry waited a few moments to dive into the water. He was sure that the audience thought that he was mad. He took out one of the longer timed balls of gillyweed and shoved it into his mouth, swallowing it down without chewing. As soon as he heard it taking effect, he dove it and let the effects pull him under.

Being able to breathe underwater was a whole new experience that had taken some getting used to. It hadn't been easy, that was for sure. It was a good thing that Severus had gotten him numerous balls of gillyweed because it had taken several just to get used to the effects. After he was successfully underwater and breathing, he allowed his hands and feet to start propelling him in the direction that the faint tracking charm was leading him.

The funniest thing of all was that Harry could barely feel the tracking charm. It was only the tiniest niggle on his magic and it wasn't reliable at all. Rather than use it, Harry was able to focus on Hermione alone, focus on how she smelled, how she felt, how she looked, and just hold it in his mind. He held it in his mind as though she were the most precious thing in the world, as though she were the last thing he would ever want to see if he were sitting on Death Row facing the electric chair. Of course wizards knew nothing of this but Harry did. He knew all about it and it made sense to him.

He could feel Hermione more than he could ever feel anyone before. It made no sense and he couldn't explain it and frankly, he didn't care to. If he had to explain it, it was likely that he would have to put a name to exactly what he was feeling and that probably wouldn't end well. Honestly, though, he knew what it was. He loved her, more than anything else in life, and that love was leading him to her right now whether she loved him back or not. If he ever admitted it and she never loved him back it would likely destroy him.

Harry passed several swarms of grindylows, numerous clusters of merpeople, armed with tridents, and even the Giant Squid, usually so friendly, looked positively murderous. He remembered his lessons from both Madam Cambridge and Sirius and Remus and realized that they couldn't do anything to him if they couldn't see him. Even though he had only done it successfully twice, he pulled his wand and cast a disillusionment charm on himself so nobody could see him. It seemed to work like a charm, shimmering him out of sight before the squid and everything, the only sign that he existed being the small waves he left in the water behind him.

Harry wasn't sure how long he went on in this way. Even though he was invisible he had to dodge several merman and their tridents, not to mention several grindylows, trying to pull him further into the depths. He continued to follow the pull of Hermione and wherever it was that she was leading him. It was clear that it wasn't anything that he had ever done before but he didn't care. He was following his heart and so far it hadn't yet led him astray.

He knew that he was getting closer. The merman were getting more aggressive and he could swear that some of them could see through his masking charms. None of them attacked specifically so he was content to just continue on disillusioned. He could just see Cedric ahead of him, swimming as quickly as he could with a bubble head charm wrapped around his face. There was no sign of Viktor or Fleur but he was sure that they weren't far off.

Just off in the distance, he could see four figures floating in water, clearly tethered to the bottom of the lake. Harry sped up and decided to let his disillusionment fall. He wasn't sure what the merpeople were going to do to him once he got there but he was going to meet it head on, not try to sneak around and end up getting Hermione hurt in the process.

Cedric approached first, carefully, and the merpeople allowed him. He didn't seem to realize that Harry was behind him. He pulled a knife and cut the weed that was holding Cho to the bottom of the lake. Rather than float to the surface, she hovered where she had been and Harry realized that he was going to have to pull Hermione up. Cedric headed for Fleur's little sister, knife in hand, ready to free her. One of the mermen appeared next to him in a flash and put his trident to Cedric's throat. Harry decided that he should probably go and help the Hufflepuff. He swam over quickly, pulling his wand and shooting a spell towards the weed holding Hermione to the ground.

Cedric turned to see who had arrived and when he saw Harry he shot him a smile. The merpeople didn't seem too happy and he made sure to take hold of Hermione. He was less thrilled with the fact that she seemed to be clad in a thin nightgown that clung to her body and was now trying to float up around her waist. Harry could see that the merpeople weren't going to let the Hufflepuff take the other hostages so he shook his head at Cedric. The boy looked around and then shook his head, telling him that the others weren't coming for them and they couldn't leave them below the surface.

Harry sighed. Cedric wasn't going to let this go and there was no way that he could let him face these merpeople alone. He was just getting ready to turn his wand to the merpeople when someone came zooming through the water with a human body and a shark head. With his sharp teeth, Krum attacked the rope holding little Anastaysiya to the ground, ripping it in two. Fleur appeared right behind him with her bubble head charm and headed for her sister. The merpeople all stepped back but Krum seemed to lose his focus on his sister when he saw Hermione.

Harry hadn't released her so he pulled her closer to her and started for the surface when Krum lunged for her. The merpeople tried to get in the middle of it but they weren't quick enough; Harry held his wand up but since Krum's head was a shark's head, it didn't phase him. He saw Cedric and Fleur start for them but he didn't give them a chance to help him. He took the chance to blast Krum in the chest with a banishing spell and he howled in rage.

Harry sped to the top as quickly as he could, quite sure that Krum would be after him as soon as he recovered. He wasn't sure why he was coming after Hermione like he was; maybe instinct since he was partly animal? He could see the sky through the water, meaning that he close to the surface. He could also feel the gills in the side of his neck starting to disappear, making it hard for him to breathe. He was slowing down since his webbed fingers and toes were beginning to disappear.

Krum was behind him, he could hear him cutting through the water, but he didn't dare turn to look behind him. He was sure that Cedric and Fleur were behind him, both had seen what he had done. Although, thanks to the cameras on their wetsuits, everyone else had seen what had happened as well.

The gills were now completely gone, as were his webbed appendages. There was only ten feet or so left until the surface of the water so Harry put his hands under Hermione's bum and put her on his shoulders. With one mighty heave, he shoved her upwards as hard as he could, hoping that it would be enough to send her clear to the top. Once she was well on her way up, Harry turned to see that not only was Viktor directly behind him, his little sister being dragged behind him, Cedric and Fleur were struggling to follow.

Even though his lungs were about to burst, Harry started to shoot spells at Viktor, nothing that would hurt him, just first years spells that would slow him down enough for Hermione to get to the surface. He couldn't take the chance that her stasis spell would wear off before she reached the surface and she drowned. Harry realized that just a few feet from himself, Viktor seemed to lose grip of his sister and the shark doubled back to go get her. He took this opportunity to head back to the surface and make sure that Hermione made it all the way to the top.

His vision was starting to get spotty and he was getting slower as he got closer and closer but he refused to eat another ball of gillyweed. He couldn't feel the rest of his body since his body temperature was no longer regulated. However, he persevered and finally burst from the water to suck in a deep breath, a sweet breath, and revel in the fact that the applause was making the water vibrate around him.

Hermione was only a few feet away from him. Her eyes were open, her lips were blue, and she was trying to swim unsuccessfully to the pier where everyone was yelling at her to join them. Harry, even though he was numb, swam over to her and wrapped an arm around her waist. She wrapped an arm around his neck and smiled at him, her teeth clicking together. Viktor burst through the surface of the water and changed instantly, his head becoming human again. Hermione caught sight of his reaction and questioned him.

"W-w-what's w-w-wrong?" Harry tried to smile as he pulled them both towards the pier as both Cedric and Fleur surfaced with their hostages.

"I'll tell you later. Too fucking cold right now." She gave him a nod, telling him she understood.

Even though she was freezing cold, Hermione felt wonderful in his arms. She was soft and pliant and even though he couldn't feel his lower half, he was sure that he could feel his cock getting hard. There was a bug stuck to the side of her neck that he reached out and plucked from her icy skin, tossing it back into the water as they reached the shallows. Off in the distance, he could see his whole family making their way through the crowds to get to them. Professor McGonagall, however, had waded into the water to help them out, her arm snaking around Harry's waist to help him stand on shaky and numb legs.

Harry sighed. The second task was over but he had a feeling that the fun was just beginning.

-O-

Hermione was so bloody cold that she couldn't stop her teeth from chattering. She was ensconced in the tent that was serving as the Hospital Wing out by the Black Lake, wrapped in a robe with hot chocolate in her hands. Both she and Harry had been given a pepper-up potion, which had caused them to steam out the ears for a few moments, but it hadn't done much for the long run. Hermione's silk nightgown hadn't done much to hold her body heat once it had been dried and her bare feet had been freezing even during the steam-induced warmth.

Madam Pomfrey had told her that there was no better way to warm up then with body heat. Her father was extremely angry, about what she wasn't sure yet, so he was off yelling at the Headmaster. Therefore, she had Uncle Luci and Aunt Cissy on either side of her and Harry was in his own bed with Remus and Luna on either side of him. Draco was pacing in front of their beds, his hands raking through his hair while Juliet and Helena watched with wary eyes. Finally, he exploded.

"I can't believe you did this, Miney, and you didn't fucking tell me. We always tell each other." Hermione knew that he was going to be mad when she did it but there hadn't been time to tell him.

"I wanted to tell you, Drake. There wasn't time. They needed to spell me then. I couldn't let them do it to Jules." Draco snorted but said nothing, just kept pacing. Uncle Luci kissed the side of her head, his arm like a branding iron around her shoulders.

"You do that again, I'm going to put you over my knee." She chuckled softly and leaned into him.

"You will not. You would never hurt me." He sniffed at her and tugged one of her curls hard enough to make her cry out.

"I would hurt you if it was to make you learn a lesson." She glared at him until he kissed her forehead.

"You're right, however. I wouldn't hurt you in this instance. You protected your little sister and as much as I hate it, I understand it." She smiled at him, instantly forgiving him for pulling her hair. Draco, however, didn't sound so warm.

"I don't understand it and I never will." Hermione sighed and stood, her feet still frozen from the water. She stopped Draco from pacing anymore by stepping in his path and hugging him close. His arms went around her and held her tight, his face hiding in her now dry curls. Her voice was soft as she spoke.

"I'm sorry, Drake. I never meant to scare you. There was literally no time. I promise that if there is time to tell you, I will always tell you." He nodded into her neck. His voice was equally soft.

"I was so scared when Harry told us that you still hadn't showed up. I thought that something bad had happened to you." She pulled away and smiled at him.

"I'm fine. I'm right here, Harry saved me and all is well." Draco snorted.

"No thanks to Krum. What the fuck happened to him?" Hermione returned to her seat between her aunt and uncle and took the chocolate her uncle handed her.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Please explain." Harry was regaining his color and Hermione had a feeling that Remus with his werewolf heat was helping most with that.

"I don't know what the fuck happened. Cedric got there first and he wanted to get Fleur and Viktor's hostages. He was worried that they wouldn't show up in time. Viktor showed up and he was a half-shark. He released his sister but then he realized that Hermione was there and he went after us. I don't know if it was instincts because he was half animal or what. I pointed my wand at his chest and banished him, nothing major. Took off for the surface and shoved Hermione to the top. I shot a few first year spells at him to keep him distracted so she would get to the top. The only thing that stopped him was he lost grip on his sister. He was fine when he got to the surface and changed back to his human self. I really have no good explanation." Hermione couldn't believe that Viktor had went after them. Could it have been animal instincts that sent him after them? She knew that he wanted her for himself; could that be enough to make him think that she was his in animal form? Did sharks even have mates?

Everything was left when her father stormed back into the room, his expression cloudy. He didn't seem to be in a much better state of mind than Draco and she felt bad for worrying him. Her voice was small when she got the nerve to speak.

"I'm sorry, daddy. I didn't mean to worry you. I couldn't let them use Jules." Her father strode over to her and kissed her head.

"I'm not angry anymore, sweetness. I know you had faith in Harry, just like we did. You did well having Severus spell you." She smiled at him.

"Why do you look so angry?" He raked a hand through his hair.

"Just got done dealing with Lord Krum. He thinks that you cast a spell on his son and made him lose focus on the task." Everyone around her started to shout, everyone righteously angry for her. Hermione remained silent, knowing full well that it would do no good to say anything. Everyone was going to say that she knew what the task was because she had been helping Harry and it would have been the perfect opportunity to sabotage Viktor. She waited until everyone quieted enough that she could be heard before she asked her father her question.

" Where is everyone?" He cocked an eyebrow at her. She cocked one right back and he sighed.

"The rest of the champions and their families are with the judges and Dumbledore. It's becoming quite the argument. They're just outside the tent." Hermione stood and made sure that her robe was closed tightly. With a wave of her wand, she conjured herself a pair of slippers. Uncle Luci sighed and stood so he could follow. Harry was right on her heels and she couldn't blame him. Not only was she being blamed for cheating, he was by extension. She straightened her shoulders and raised her chin and she could hear Tonks in the back of the crowd of their family crowd whispering to Jules.

"Watch out now, that Hermione's arse-kicking stance. Just watch."

Hermione didn't wait for anyone; she showed herself out of the tent to find that everyone was indeed standing outside discussing quite loudly how Viktor had been cheated, how Hermione had cast a jealousy spell on him or fed him a jealousy potion. Just hearing the family that wanted her to sign a betrothal contract say these things about her made her want to let her magic loose. What angered her the most was that Viktor looked quite sullen and was saying nothing in her defense. Finally, she cleared her throat when nobody seemed to realize that she and her family had arrived. Everyone turned to face them and Uncle Luci stepped forward. Hermione, however, wanted to handle this herself. She laid her hand on his arm and gave him a sweet smile while shaking her head no. He smoothed her curls and nodded.

"You all think I fed Viktor a jealousy potion so he would forget his hostage." His father angrily stepped forward, his hands clenched at his sides.

"You vill address him as Lord Krum. You not given permission to address him as friend." Hermione raised an eyebrow at him.

"Very well. I would like to know why you think I would feed Lord Krum a jealousy potion. I had no idea that people would be what was under the lake until last night." Lord Krum was spitting he was so angry and she couldn't help but wonder if this was how Viktor was when he was angry.

"You, Miss Black, lie. Everyone tell us how smart you are, how sneaky you are. You lie to make sure Potter vin." Hermione let her magic swirl around them like a wind, lifting their hair.

"You may call me Lady Black. After all, I'm the heir to not only the Ancient and Noble House of Black but also the Ancient and Noble House of Malfoy. I hate to point out that you failed to show the proper respect. Now you call me a liar." There was a slight pink tinge to the man's cheeks but he didn't stop.

"Viktor vould never leave sister for girl he vas sleeping vith. Family is everything." Hermione let her magic hit the man in the chest and knock him to the ground. Crouch, Sr. stepped forward but Moody reached out and held him back. Uncle Luci was grinning and her father looked as though he wanted to rip the man limb from limb. Tonks was humming softly, a huge grin on her face while her mother was softly scolding her.

"I assure you, Lord Krum, we weren't sleeping together. We won't be either. Considering he told me that you wished a betrothal contract between our families, I can tell you with every assurance in the world that that will never happen. I would never tie my family to one that would accuse me of such horrid actions." She turned to Viktor and glared at him.

"You let him say these things about me. You know we haven't slept together. You also know that you haven't been celibate either." Hermione probably shouldn't have said that but she was hurt that he wouldn't stand up to his father for her. She turned her attention to the Headmasters and the officials of the tournament.

"I swear upon my magic that I used neither potion nor magic again Viktor Krum or any other champion to sabotage them in the second task of the Triwizard Tournament. I have no idea why Viktor acted as he did when he was half-transfigured. So I swear it, so mote it be." Dumbledore clapped his hands together happily.

"Well that settles that. We'll chalk it up to animal instincts gone wrong like Minerva suggested and score the champions like we originally had." Everyone nodded and the Headmaster faced the four champions.

"Harry, you reached the surface with your hostage first so you receive the full forty points. Viktor, you were second, therefore, you receive thirty-eight points. Cedric, my boy, you were third, so you get thirty-six. However, since you wanted to save all the hostages, the judges agreed to give you an extra two points, tying you with Mr. Krum. Fleur, you were last and are awarded thirty-five points." Hermione could hear Karkaroff grumbling to himself but she ignored him. Everyone else seemed quite happy with their scores so they all nodded. Knowing full well that she was just getting colder standing out in the cold air, she turned to head back into the tent. Viktor, however, reached out and caught her arm. Every man in her family stepped forward to tell him to bugger off but Hermione just stared at him until he realized that she wanted him to release her. His face was sheepish as he spoke lowly.

"I sorry, My fazzer make mistake and I do try to tell him he vrong. I not believe you cheat." Hermione gave him a sad smile. She took his hand in hers, mindful of their audience.

"I really like you, Viktor. I can't sign a betrothal contract with someone that accused me of being a cheat and told me that I was a liar. I come from two proud families and neither would stand for it. You have to understand that." Viktor nodded sadly.

"I know. You still spend time vith me? I like you." Hermione smiled at him and finally nodded.

"Yes, I'll still spend time with you. We're definitely friends." Viktor's father was glaring at her but she paid him no mind. She allowed her father to take her arm and lead her back into the tent. Rather than sit in the bed and let her aunt and uncle snuggle her, Hermione opted to get dressed instead. Harry followed suit and when they were dressed appropriately and ready to face the school, Hermione floated into his arms and hugged him close, her head resting on his chest.

"Thank you for saving me, though I knew you would. I didn't doubt you for a second." He kissed the side of her head and chuckled.

"It's a good thing you did because I was scared to death that I wouldn't find you. I could barely feel that tracking charm they put on you." She chuckled against him before pulling away and putting an arm around Juliet's shoulders.

"You didn't seem to have any problems finding me." Harry chuckled as her father threw his arm around him and ruffled his hair, leading them out into the air once more so they could face the rest of the school.

"I'm glad that you think it was so easy." Hermione laughed again and stopped short when Fleur Delacour stopped before her, her family behind her, all smiling widely.

"'Ello, 'arry tought tat you would be friend wit' me. You family eat wit' mine?" Hermione gave Harry a questioning look and he laid a hand between her shoulder blades so he could whisper in her ear.

"She said that she had no female friends because girls think she's going to steal their men. She's veela." Hermione grinned at Harry and nodded before glancing at the rest of her family. They were all married aside from Tonks and Helena and Tonks was clearly Remus' mate and her father was doing everything he could to win Helena over. She saw no reason why they couldn't eat with them. She turned back to Fleur and nodded.

"Oui, we'll eat with your family."

Hermione could only hope that this friendship went better than the last one with a family not from Britain did.

-O-

Lucius watched his niece from a distance as she interacted with the children her age. They were in the Great Hall and they were all seated at the Slytherin table, eating what was supposed to be dinner. He wasn't all that hungry, truth be told, but that wasn't surprising. He had never liked it when Hermione was in danger. While he knew that Hermione wasn't in danger under the surface of the Black Lake, he didn't like her being there where he or Sirius couldn't watch after her.

Now, she was seated at the end of the table surrounded by her friends and family and she was laughing about who knew what. She was sitting between Draco and Harry and Juliet, Luna, and Fleur were sitting across from her. Daphne, the Weasley twins, Neville, Blaise, Greg, Vince, and Fleur's little sister were seated around them and they were all listening closely to whatever they were talking about. Since it was Harry and Draco talking, there was a good chance that they story was about quidditch.

The adults around him were talking pleasantly; it was a nice way to spend the evening. Lucius loved spending time with his family even though Dory drove him barmy most of the time and he couldn't hardly stand Remus. He still wasn't all that close to Ted but he could admit that the man was quite intelligent and was always good for a stimulating conversation. The only person missing was Severus and Lucius would be the first to admit that he missed him.

The Delacours were delightful companions. Apolline was also a veela and had been the one to tell them that it had been especially difficult for her daughters to make friends with girls since they were always so jealous. Sirius, the most proud man on Earth, had told her that that would never be a problem with Hermione since he knew that he had the most beautiful daughter in the world. Even though Lucius agreed with his statement, he had rolled his eyes at his bold words.

Apolline was now discussing French fashions with Narcissa and Andie while Pierre was talking Wizengamot orders with Sirius. Lucius had been a part of the conversation to begin with but had fallen out of it as he paid more attention to the children. He couldn't help but let his mind go to the argument he had had with Sirius that night at Black Moor; the conversation they had had regarding Harry and Hermione possibly being soul mates.

Lucius was still convinced that it was possible. Just watching them was enough to make him think it possible. They were drawn to each other though neither one realized it; when one reached out and touched the other, even casually, the other would lean into the touch and revel in it. He could see the adoration shining in Harry's eyes every time he looked at Hermione and though it wasn't there when Hermione looked at him, he could feel it. She had far more practice with hiding her feelings than he did.

He wondered if either one of them even realized that the other felt the same way as they did; he would never dream of breaking Hermione's trust and telling Harry but it would probably make life easier for the pair if someone did. However, it would also likely make things uncomfortable between the pair of them. Right now, things were right between them; they weren't fighting, they weren't jealous, and there was love, even if only familial at the moment. If Harry couldn't commit to her and be faithful, this was the best that it could be until that time arrived.

Lucius sighed. Eventually, they would figure things out and pull their heads from their arses. Who knew how long it would take and how damaged their relationship would be by that time? He had taken his father's advice and sowed his oats before marrying Cissy, who had been his soul mate. It had hurt her deeply since she had known what he was to her and saved herself for him. While he didn't think that Hermione would save herself specifically for that reason, he did think that she would save herself for someone that loved her. While she had been raised to respect the pureblood ideals, she had been told that if she loved someone, there were always exceptions to rules. Truthfully, he just hoped that Harry didn't hurt her too badly.

Hermione deserved the best and while he believed that Harry could be that, he still had a ways to go before that happened.

A/N- Alrighty, folks, another chapter is done. I hope you enjoyed it. You all gave me so much advice on how to go about this chapter and I appreciate it all. I finally decided to go about it this way for the simple fact that I could make her wonder later on if there were really feelings there and he could also say "oh, she was just family". Anyways, let me know what you thought after the beep.

Next chapter, girl's day!

Love,

Alicia


	78. Chapter 78

A/N- I thank you all for the support you've shown me throughout this whole story. I would never have made it this far without you. I want you all to know that I'm glad you approve of the changes that I'm made to the second task. Thank you again for being the best readers in the whole wide world. Anyways, enough for now, I'm going to get on with the show.

*Side note* I'm not sure when I'm going to update next. My grandpa is dying and I have no idea what the time line for that is. It could be days or it could be months. His condition is already very bad so I'm doubting that it takes long but please don't send me messages begging me to hurry and update. I love this man and he deserves my time and respect. I'm still going to write when I can but I'm also going to spend what time I can with him before it's too late. Thank you all so much for understanding.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything aside from the personal plot twist on this story. The original story line belongs to Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle and the characters belong to our queen. Since I'm still struggling to make ends meet, I assure you that I haven't made any money from this story or any other.

Chapter 78

March 31, 1995

Hermione pushed her breakfast plate away from her with an excited smile. It was a Hogsmeade weekend and Hermione had been talked into a girl's day by her aunts and Dory; apparently, they were dragging Helena along and they expected not only Luna and Daphne to join them but had gotten special permission from Professor McGonagall for Juliet to attend as well.

Draco and Harry just watched all the girls with amusement on their faces. They had no urges to have anything to do with this day and were going to stay as far away as possible from whatever the girls had planned. Both boys had already told her that they had plans of their own with their friends. Hermione had taken that to mean plans with their girlfriends but Draco had told her that it truly meant plans with the twins, Neville, Blaise, Greg, Vince, and Cedric. She hadn't asked what those plans were but she knew for a fact that she wouldn't find them interesting. She barely found her girl's plans interesting aside from the fact that it involved most of her family.

Juliet was vibrating in excitement across from Hermione while Luna did her best to calm her down with a hand running through her hair. Harry and Draco were on their third plate of food and Hermione was just waiting for everyone to finish so they could all catch a carriage together. The only thing that Hermione felt bad about was that Madam Greengrass couldn't be there with Daphne since she was on an extended shopping trip with her sister in Paris. However, Daphne had been there with Hermione through most of her childhood, even though they hadn't always been the closest, so hopefully having Aunt Cissy there would make it a little less lonely for the blonde girl.

Luna, who was the only one who would truly be without a mother, was the one that Hermione worried for the most. Of course the Seer had known that she was worried and had soothed those worries, telling her that she was happy to be attending with family and her mother would be thrilled that she was there with Hermione, Juliet, and her Aunt Cissy. It made the Slytherin wonder just how much Luna knew about Juliet before she had ever shown up. She had never questioned the Ravenclaw about how her visions worked; her father and uncle had warned her and Draco to never do so, that it was highly inappropriate, so they had followed their instructions to a letter. She would never begrudge Luna not sharing the information, especially considering that she thought that she and Draco had turned from her completely at one point.

As the others finished their plates, Hermione made sure that her cloak was next to her so she wouldn't have to worry about gathering it before leaving. She had told Juliet to make sure that she did the same since she would have to go clear back to Gryffindor Tower. As she fretted with the warming charm on the rich blue material, her mind wandered to the second task as it had done for the week since it had occurred.

It was true that the Headmaster had given her the chance to be Harry's hostage, he had let her take the spot so Juliet wouldn't have to suffer the position. This being said, she couldn't help but feel that the hostage still had to fit the riddle left in the egg. Was she the thing that Harry would miss most? Could it be true that he held her above all others? She knew that he cared for her, he made that quite obvious every single day, but she had never doubted that it was more than how a man felt for a sister. Was it possible that he cared for her like a man cared for a woman? Or was it just hopes and dreams on her part?

These thoughts kept her awake at night and she hated it. She had let these things go after Yule and she had accepted that she would never occupy his mind or his heart. It had hurt to let them go but she had accepted Harry as he was for that was all she wanted of him. It would be cruel for her to let him go only to let herself hope just a little. Though she refused to let herself think of it in the light of the day, she couldn't help but let her mind wander in the dark of the night, especially when her hands wandered beneath the covers and into her knickers.

Hermione was drawn from her thoughts by Draco pulling one of her curls and smiling at her. Harry threw an arm around her shoulders and tickled the side of her neck with his fingertips, making her laugh. Draco leaned over to make sure that only their group heard him.

"Is everyone ready to go? It appears that everyone in our party is ready to go." It was true. Even the twins and Neville had finished eating and they had been the last to arrive. They looked oddly excited as well so Hermione really didn't want to know what they were going to do. She just hoped that it wasn't something that would embarrass their family. There had been hints that her father and uncle would be there but that didn't make her feel any better. They could be quite the bad influence if they wanted to be.

As a group of twelve they rose and started for the exit, Hermione throwing her cloak over her shoulders and making sure that Juliet did the same. Luna and Daphne seemed to be just as prepared while the boys all seemed to need to summon their cloaks. The rest of the students were quick to follow their lead, all heading outside to get seats in the carriages that would take them the Hogsmeade.

Since they were all determined to head that direction together but were too great in number to take just one carriage, Fred was quick to suggest that the girls just sit on the boys laps, leaving enough seats since there were eight seats per carriage. Hermione wasn't sure that she was comfortable with that since she wasn't sure who she would be sitting on but didn't want to throw the whole plan out of whack just because she couldn't handle a little discomfort for a mere ten to fifteen minutes.

As they all climbed into the carriage, Harry stayed out last to hand all the girls inside. Hermione let Juliet go first, then Luna, followed closely by Daphne. When she took Harry's hand and stepped up into the carriage, she saw that Juliet was seated on Fred's lap and he was was plaiting one side of her hair while George did the other; all three were laughing. Luna was sitting on Neville and they were whispering softly to each other, about what though, she had no idea. Much to her chagrin, Daphne was seated on her cousin's lap, Daphne's cheeks slightly pink and her arm wrapped loosely around Draco's neck with his arm looped around her waist. Hermione sighed since this left her with Blaise, Vince, and Greg. Deciding that Blaise was her best bet, she started in that direction and hoped for the best. She didn't get far, however.

Hermione felt a hand around her wrist and found that Harry had taken the last seat. He was pulling her into his lap, clearly unhappy with her sitting on the three Slytherin's laps. She allowed him to pull her onto him; while she was thrilled secretly, it scared her to death. The last thing she needed was to get false hope based on one single occasion that only occured because of one circumstance.

Hermione settled in his lap and his strong arms settled around her waist, pulling her tight against him. Her arm looped around his neck and she couldn't help but play with the fine hairs at the nape of his neck. She could feel the goosebumps erupt from his neck down his shoulders but she didn't remark upon it. In response, the thumb that rested on her waist slipped barely under her robes and rested on the bare skin of her waist like a branding iron.

Hermione felt her pussy clench in response to his touch on her bare skin in such an intimate manner. Her knickers were damp and it was embarrassing. Of course, she was sure that it was no more embarrassing than the erection she felt pressing into her bum.

Rather than act like she felt nothing, Hermione decided to embrace the situation wholeheartedly. Since she knew that she could trust everyone in the carriage to at least some degree, she laid her head on Harry's shoulder and relaxed into his chest, much the same way as she did numerous times before while sitting in the library or in the Great Hall. She could smell his inherently male scent, citrus, mint, and sandalwood, and she could feel him toying with the very ends of her curls at her very lower back.

There was soft conversation around them about quidditch and just what they had planned for the day. She had caught a whisper of what she thought the boys said was a "show" but she couldn't be sure. There was no way that Neville's gran and Arthur Weasley would give permission for their sons to go to the kind of show that she was assuming that they were seeing. Then again, who was she to judge? She simply put it out of her mind and enjoyed the short amount of time she had in Harry's arms and snuggled into his warmth, unable to help thinking that she fit there quite well.

Hermione couldn't help but notice that Daphne was settled quite nicely against her cousin as well. Draco was twining her long blonde locks around his fingers and was whispering in her ear, making her laugh softly. After remembering the things that he had said to her before the Ball, it made her a little angry that Daphne had capitulated so quickly to her cousin, but she had never had the iron will that Hermione had had. She only hoped that when Draco finally turned his attention to her that he was honorable in his attention to her since it was clear that she wasn't going to make him work for it.

Luna was snuggled quite happily into her very good friend Neville. It was a real eye-opener, something that she had never thought of before. It was clear that they were quite compatible just by looking at them together. She wondered if her cousin had seen the two of them meet but she knew that she would never ask her; therefore, she vowed to support any relationship that Luna wanted despite what her father decided was best for her. After all, her father could be quite mad at times.

They reached the edge of Hogsmeade and this time Draco stood, Daphne standing in the carriage so she could be handed out first. Since Hermione and Harry had been last in, they were last out. As much as she hated that she had such a reaction to his touch, she loathed to separate from him. Finally, they were the only ones left and she reluctantly pulled her hand from his hair and neck to lean away from his chest. She felt one last stroke of her skin by his thumb before he helped her stand and she then made sure that her clothes were straight before she approached the door of the carriage.

"Mia." She turned to see that Harry had rose to his feet, his obvious erection from before hidden behind his robes. Even though it was depraved and she shouldn't take pride in it since he was a bit of a man whore, she couldn't help but feel a bit of pride at the fact that she had gotten that reaction from him. It let her know that he wasn't completely immune to her charms.

"I know that I've let you down, that I've hurt you. I know you deserve better. I wish that I was the man you deserve." Hermione couldn't help but to smile sadly at him, knowing exactly what he was saying to her. He did have feelings for her but he couldn't be the man that she deserved. Therefore, she needed to move on and that was brave and heartbreaking at the same time. She rushed him, going to her tiptoes, wrapping her hands in his long hair so she could turn his head and press her lips precariously close to his lips. It felt deliciously hot and dirty at the same time.

"I do deserve better. Maybe someday you'll be that man but not right now. You're too interested in the rest of the female population of Hogwarts and I'm not interested in a man who wants other women. I have very deep feelings for you, Harry, but they will never be more than friendship as long as you're entertaining other women. You warned me against Viktor but really, you're cut from the same cloth. You're no better. At least Viktor told me that he was going to stop seeing the girls. You aren't. What's sad is that even if you said you were, I'm not sure that I could believe you. You've come to depend on sleeping with them. I'm never going to be that girl for you, Harry. While I'm not opposed to a physical relationship, I'm not going to sleep with you just because you wink at me and look handsome. I suppose what I'm trying to say is that if you're ever serious and think you can prove it, come find me. If not, don't waste my time by hurting me and tearing our family apart. My father and I wouldn't survive it." There were tears shimmering in her eyes and she knew it. Harry stepped forward and cupped her cheeks in both his hands and she could see that Draco was watching them through the small door of the carriage. He drew close enough that she could feel his breath on her cheeks.

"I will never turn your family against each other. I can't promise that I'll ever be a man worthy of your attention but if I ever decide that I am, I won't ever do you wrong. I swear it." Hermione smiled sadly at him as she nodded resolutely. She wasn't stupid. She knew that he wasn't telling her that it was happening now or anytime soon and there was no way in hell that she was going to wait around for him. Even though she technically wasn't courting Viktor, there was nothing saying she couldn't let other boys escort her and court her. Honestly, this conversation needed to happen.

"Thank you, Harry." He released her face and offered her his hand so he could hand her down to her cousin. She smiled at him and as she stepped down out of the carriage, Draco gave her a worried look. She hugged him close and made sure to whisper in his ear.

"We're alright. He's promised not to tear our family apart." Draco smiled at her understandingly and she knew that she wasn't going to have to explain. Nothing more was needed since as soon as he released her her Aunt Cissy, Helena, Aunt Andie, and Dory were waiting there to hug her. It seemed that Juliet and Luna had already been passed around and they were only waiting on her to conclude her business with Harry.

As soon as she had been passed around and her hugs been given freely was she allowed to see that her father, Uncle Luci and Remus were standing off to the side. Once she realized they were there, she waited no time to bound into their arms. Her father first, followed closely by her Uncle Luci. Even though she didn't consider herself close to Remus, she gave him a perfunctory hug since he was Dory's mate. Uncle Ted was noticeably absent, though it was explained that he had had to work. Her father was the first to speak to her.

"We decided to make it a boy's day as well." She snorted and Uncle Luci laughed.

"I'm scared as to what that could mean." Uncle Luci smoothed a hand down her curls and smiled at her.

"I would never take your friends somewhere unsavory, princess." She raised an eyebrow at him.

"My friends, no. What about family? We all know that you're related to the Weasleys through marriage several generations past and the same goes for Neville, Blaise, Greg, and Vince. You could get away with considering them all family." He chuckled and kissed her hairline, speaking into her curls.

"Would you rather we be good?" She knew that her face clouded over since she was sure that she didn't have the right to tell them what they could and couldn't do. Her Aunt Cissy was decidedly neutral-looking so she just did her best to emulate her look. Her uncle caught her look immediately and frowned. He cupped her cheeks and frowned.

"What's bothering you, princess?" She shook her head.

"Nothing, Uncle." He stared at her face and she knew that he knew that she was lying. He leaned his head down until his forehead rested against hers.

"After all these years, you're still a horrid liar. If it weren't for your ambition, you'd never have made a snake." The rest of them watched as he brushed her hair back from her face.

"Stop lying to me." She sighed and turned her face to the others. They all sighed and turned to start looking in the other directions of the village. Even Aunt Cissy and her father gave them privacy. Uncle Luci raised an eyebrow at her.

"I don't care what you do with the boys. I told Harry that until he ditched the girls that he would never deserve me. He agreed. I just worry that you're teaching these boys to embrace that same behavior. Harry makes me feel like I'm not good enough, like I'll never be enough for him. You taking these boys for whatever carnal delights await them feels like you're teaching them to expect more than what girls from Hogwarts are willing to provide. I can never live up to live dancers, to live performers of sex rituals. I know that men like watching those, like participating in them. How can I ever compete with a woman that does that sort of thing? Frankly, I'm surprised that Aunt Cissy doesn't feel the same way I do. How does she not feel like she isn't enough for you compared to the girls you watch?" For the first time in her whole life, shame crossed her uncle's face. He pulled her further from the others and even her father didn't balk at giving them the space.

"I want you to understand, sweetness, that I don't visit these things regularly. It's a matter of tradition in a pureblood family. The paterfamilias takes the son or the ward to women like these to make sure that they are made men. There are no sex rituals, no viewing, just private encounters for those that are still virgins. I know for a fact that Draco and Harry are no longer virgins, neither is young Neville, as he is your father's male ward. However, both Vince and Greg are in need of this visit, Blaise says that he isn't, and the twins say that they are without need. How do I only take two boys without making them a spectacle without teasing?" Hermione sighed and hugged her uncle close. His arms closed around her.

"I think this practice is disgusting. I hope you know that. What would you say if I wanted a professional male to relieve me of my virginity?" Uncle Luci pulled her from his chest abruptly so he could hold her cheeks tightly, making sure that she had to look at him.

"You know that it would devastate me if you did that. I don't care if you enter your marriage a virgin. We've had this discussion, princess. I know that it's traditional if you do but I don't care. I just want you to love the person that you give yourself to. I want the person you give yourself to to not sell you out. I want this more than anything, sweetness. Please don't resort to something that boys do." She huffed angrily.

"Then why do you teach them that it's acceptable to do so?" Her uncle seemed so perplexed that it made her uncomfortable. She laid a comforting hand on his arm while he tried to explain in to her after they had both appeared after the superior ward had disappeared.

"I understand, sweetness. We won't go if it vexes you so." Hermione shook her head.

"I don't want to ruin the boy's good time." He snorted, an inelegant sound that her posh and polished uncle rarely made.

"The only boys that know are the boys that don't need it. Vince and Greg's fathers can handle their sons. I doubt that Draco and Harry will be upset." He smoothed a hand down her hair.

"I don't ever want to see you look at me like you're disappointed. I really don't like it." She stepped forward and hugged him again.

"I was more disappointed that you would do that to Aunt Cissy." He chuckled into her hair.

"I haven't touched another woman willingly since the day she consented to be mine." Hermione caught the use of the willingly but decided not to comment on it. She smiled at him and tugged on one of the locks of his hair much the same way that he always did to her.

"You should go. The girls are all waiting impatiently for me. I think they intend to go to the spa." He chuckled and kissed her head before shooing her towards her aunt. She caught Draco and Harry's eyes as she started for the other women of her family and they shook their head in exasperation. Draco called out to her as his father joined him.

"Only you can get your way when you aren't even going to be with us." Harry smacked him in the arm while her uncle smacked him in the back of the head. Her father laughed and threw an arm around both Harry and Draco, pulling the boys in the opposite direction of where they were headed.

Helena was chatting softly with Juliet and Aunt Andie was talking animatedly with Dory. Aunt Cissy slipped her arm around Hermione's waist while Luna and Daphne took up her other side. She smiled down at her and squeezed her waist softly.

"The ability to get your way with your uncle astounds even me sometimes, sunshine." Hermione frowned.

"I wasn't trying to get my way. I just didn't like how disrespectful it was to you and the other girls." Her aunt grinned as she pulled them into a spa that was on the edge of the town.

"I know and I thank you for it. I'm not sure what they'll get up to now but I'm sure they'll find something fun to do." Hermione watched as her aunt stepped up to the woman running the spa and was thankful that they were able to make it a family affair. Dory stepped forward and threw her arm around her shoulders and Hermione grinned at her.

"Isn't this experience pointless for you? You can change your appearance at will and now you're going to get your hair and everything done." Dory smiled at her.

"It is pointless but I still get my natural hair done." Juliet rushed up to stand next to them, dragging her laughing mother along with her.

"Can they make my hair longer? I want my hair long like yours, Hermione." Aunt Andie laughed and nodded as they attendants appeared and led them towards the back.

"They can, dear, but our hair will be almost last. First, we soak."

Hermione had done this numerous times growing up; she and her two aunts and Dory had always gone several times a year and at least once on holiday during the summer. It was no new experience for her or Daphne but it was definitely new for Luna and Juliet. Both girls looked excited and had no shame in stripping down to crawl in the bath filled with oils and potions.

Hermione ended up in a bathtub between Aunt Andie and Helena. Daphne and Luna were directly across from them and both were content with their eyes closed. She watched listened as Dory discussed what she was going to do to her hair with her Aunt Cissy and she settled in to just relax. She was just on the verge of dozing when Helena spoke.

"Would you be angry with me if I let your father take me on a date? He told me that he's spoke to you but I wouldn't feel comfortable saying yes without talking to you first." Hermione sighed, unsure of how to say what she wanted to say.

"I don't want you to get offended when I say this and please don't think that I'm judging you. I'm not. I dearly love Juliet and she's family." Helena nodded and even though everyone else was acting as though they couldn't hear what they were discussing, Hermione was well-aware they they could. Aside from Daphne, they were all family.

"You've made clear from the beginning that you couldn't trust my father again after what he did to you and I don't blame you a bit. Are you only giving him a chance now because of the situation with your father?" Even though everyone else was confused, Helena wasn't. Hermione saw that her questions angered the woman.

"After making clear that I didn't want your father for his money, you would begrudge my daughter the safety your father's name would offer? You would think that of me?" Hermione could see that her Aunt Cissy was starting to sit up and Hermione arched an eyebrow at the woman.

"I don't begrudge Juliet anything. She's my sister and I would give her anything." Hermione said nothing else since that really didn't answer her question. Helena sighed and slumped.

"No, it has nothing to do with my father. Sirius has already given her all the safety she needs from my father just by giving her his last name and the protection that comes with it. I've always harbored feelings for your father; I was devastated when he left me. I hoped that he would want me back but had to make sure that he was serious about it. I can't put my heart in his hands again if he isn't serious." Hermione smiled at her and nodded.

"You have my blessings. Just know that if you ever betray him I will hunt you down and make you pay." Helena gave her a jerky nod and Aunt Andie laughed.

"Now that that unpleasantness is over with, you girls tell us what you want to do with your lives. I haven't seen you in so long." Hermione listened as Daphne told them how she wanted to open a new ward in St. Mungo's specifically for werewolves and the like and start her own charity. Luna told them that she wanted to become a magizoologist and see the world. Juliet told them that she had no ideas what she wanted to do other than finish her schooling. They all turned to Hermione and she couldn't help but blush a little.

"I want to do lots of things I want to get a mastery in Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Arithmancy. I want to create my own spells, I want to change the laws in the Wizengamot for magical creatures, I want to practice magical law. I can't even say everything that I want to do because I haven't decided everything yet." Dory whistled lowly.

"You got a lot of dreams, Miney." Her aunts chuckled proudly but Hermione just shrugged her shoulders.

"I can't help it."

Their conversation was cut short by the attendants returning to move them along to the massage room. Hermione laid on a table between Daphne and Luna and made sure that she was appropriately covered. Several witches filed in and covered their hands in a special scented potion that would make sure that their skin would be soft as silk for days. Their massages lasted for an hour and Hermione almost fell asleep while the witch worked her way down her body, working the potion into her whole body.

After the witches all filed out, Hermione and her family all dressed and started for the next room. They all took seats in the chairs that lined the room and witches came in to start on their toenails and fingernails. She enjoyed the attention that the witch showered on her cuticles and nails, leaving them a shiny crimson color when she was finished. Juliet especially seemed pleased to get her nails done, though she decided to go with matching nails with her mother.

Finally, they moved to the salon part and Hermione wasn't sure what to do with her hair. Her Aunt Cissy was going to do the same thing she always did while her Aunt Andie was going to cut a few inches off her length. Dory let her hair revert to its natural state, long and black with just a slight wave. She had decided to just get it moisturized and a few inches cut off. Daphne was getting a curl put into her hair and Luna was cutting hers to where it was only shoulder length. Helena agreed to let Juliet grow her hair to waist length as long as she agreed to take care of it after deciding to darken her hair just a few shades herself. After much deliberation, Aunt Cissy ran her fingers through her curls and smiled.

"Not sure what to do with your hair?" Hermione shook her head.

"No, I usually don't do anything new to it but I think I want to. I'm tired of being the same as I was when I was six years old." Aunt Cissy fluffed her curls for a few minutes, considering carefully. Finally, she smiled.

"I would like it if you kept the length. It makes you look so grown up and mature. I think that you should put some color in your hair. You're old enough to carry it off now. Put blue streaks in it, or even red. They can make it to where they only last a few months. I would suggest a bright blue, though, to match your eyes." Hermione brightened at her suggestion. It wasn't something that pureblood witches got done very often but she liked the idea. It would set her apart and while she already was set apart, this would be for something that she actually had a choice in.

Hermione sat in the chair and allowed the witch that usually did her hair to come in and start. When she told her what she wanted done, her eyes widened and then she smiled, clearly excited to do something new and exciting on a pureblood heiress. Hermione let her work her magic and enjoyed the attention that she received to her hair. She was one of the last ones finished, but once she saw it in the mirror, she couldn't have been happier.

There were streaks all through her hair of royal blue. It was dark but just bright enough that you could tell it was there in the bright lighting. Kennedy, her salon witch, taught her a spell that would mask the blue if she needed it. It would have to removed at a salon permanently but masking it would last for up to twenty-four hours if needed. Her whole family exclaimed loudly when they saw it, telling her how amazing it looked and how much the boys were going to lose it when they saw it. Hermione knew that she was blushing slightly when she finally waved their compliments away and her aunt paid the bill. Hermione frowned and stepped forward, determined to help her so Uncle Luci wouldn't grouch at her. She laughed and waved her away.

"You're his princess, Hermione. If you're involved, he won't ever complain. You know I'm going to throw you the wedding of a century and he's going to love spending every knut, right?" Hermione just shook her head and chuckled.

"You're hopeless, Aunt Cissy." She tickled her side after signing her name at the bottom of the outrageous bill, authorizing it to be taken from the Malfoy vault.

"Probably so. Now, girls, let's go shopping." There were squeals all the way around and Hermione could only groan.

This was going to be a long day.

-O-

Harry couldn't believe that he had been so bold as to tell Hermione his feelings. He still wasn't sure what had prompted him to do so and even though she had told him that while he was acting as he was he wasn't good enough, he was glad that he had. He felt as if for the first time since they had met, they were on the same page and there was no animosity.

He loved her. He knew it, he just couldn't admit it to her. He had told her that she deserved better and that there were feelings there but telling her that he loved her scared the holy fuck out of him. He wasn't even sure what love was, how it felt. Sure, he knew what getting his cock wet felt like, he knew what having girls tell him they loved him felt like, but he had a distinct feeling that none of that was what actual love felt like.

Harry wanted to throw himself at Hermione's mercy when he learned that she had feelings for him as well. It warmed his heart to learn that she could give him another chance if only he was serious about being faithful. He wanted to commit as soon as she told him but he held back because he was scared as fuck. What if he couldn't remain faithful? What if he cheated on her and broke her heart? What if he tore her family apart and lost his family in the process? He wanted her more than anything in the world but he wouldn't take the chance of making her hate him if he wasn't sure that he could do it. He wouldn't hurt her. Maybe it made him a coward but he didn't care. He would embrace any suitor she brought home if it meant that Harry didn't hurt her or their family irreparably.

Sirius was walking ahead of him with Neville and Blaise, telling them the change in their plans. Harry wasn't surprised to be honest. Hermione was clearly Uncle Lucius' favorite and he was going to do whatever she wanted. He didn't mind. He didn't need professional help to get his cock wet and the afternoon could be spent doing something else just as pleasurable. Besides, after having Hermione's sweet, peach arse pressed into his cock on the ride to Hogsmeade, he didn't think that there was anything that could top that. The entire way to the village, he had struggled with thrusting up against the heat of her core, holding her hips tight enough to bruise while he ground himself into her, causing her to groan, whimper, and moan her orgasm. Even now he could feel his cock getting hard.

Draco was walking next to him while Vince, Greg, Fred, and George were all lagging behind. Uncle Lucius came between them and dropped an arm around their shoulders and smiled down at them. Harry knew what was coming next and he suspected that Draco did as well. It was Draco that broke the silence.

"I swear, Father, you have got to get it under control. Everyone is going to think that Hermione has you under the Imperius or something. You do whatever she wants you to. It's embarrassing. You're our patriarch and you give her orders. She's your heir and she's meant to do as you wish. It's her duty as your heir. She needs to respect that and our traditions." Harry knew that this wasn't going to end well so he was pleasantly surprised when Lucius smiled jovially at his son before turning to Harry.

"Do you agree, Harry? Should I tell Hermione that she should just bow out and let traditions take place no matter how much she hates them?" Harry knew that this was a very important question. He just wasn't sure why. Therefore, he tried to answer as best he could.

"Well, sir, I wasn't raised a pureblood so the tradition doesn't really mean much to me. I don't have any problems getting my cock wet so I don't need professional girls. It makes no nevermind to me if we go or not. It Hermione doesn't like it, why would we make her mad on purpose without a very good reason? I mean, we could just go back to Hogwarts and find any girl we wanted to get the same thing and she wouldn't say a thing." Uncle Lucius turned back to Draco and arched an eyebrow at his son.

"That was the correct answer. Your cousin should be the most precious woman in your life right now, not some random woman you're trying to fuck. I understand you're getting it from several girls at the moment and I'm glad that you're taking my advice. I want you to be sure that when you decide to commit to a girl that you're able to stay true to her, much unlike many boys your age. When a woman gives you her heart, she deserves to know that you're going to treat it like the precious treasure that it is, not toss it about and treat it like garbage. Get your playing around out of the way." He sighed and relaxed his arms further on their shoulders.

"Sirius and I are only concerned with you two and Neville. Sirius took responsibility over Neville in many things when Bellatrix destroyed the minds of his parents. He's been included in many lessons through the years for this reason and this will continue to be so. None of you need the traditional visit to Madam Raoul so we will forego it. Vince and Greg's fathers can handle their issues on their own. Blaise's father and surprisingly, Arthur in a show of good faith, gave permission for their boys to attend today if we went." He sighed and Harry was surprised to see the show of weakness.

"Draco, you are my son and you know you will always be my number one. Hermione will always be a close number two. She has been since she was laid in my arms when she was only an hour old. I fell in love with her, the second Malfoy female born in two centuries. I love her. I don't want to upset her if you three don't need the services of Madam Raoul. I don't like how she was looking at me like she was disappointed in me for enjoying going while leaving your mother behind. She told me that she feels like she isn't enough for the boys at Hogwarts and these traditions only exacerbate those feelings in young girls. How do you want me to respond to that? How do you think young Daphne would feel, Draco?" Harry slumped since he knew that he was the reason that Hermione felt like she wasn't good enough. Well, at least part of it. Draco sighed.

"Not very good. She would hate it if she knew what we were doing. She wouldn't have had as much fun as she did sitting on my lap on the way here." Lucius nodded.

"Exactly. I know you care for the girl. I know you're sowing your oats but don't keep the girl waiting. Someone is going to realize how sweet she is, how beautiful and smart, and they're going to snatch her up. You'll lose her forever." Draco nodded.

"I know, Father, but I don't think I could be faithful right now. My eye wanders too much. She deserves better than that." Lucius nodded understandingly.

"She does indeed. So be it. If she finds someone else, be it on your head." Draco nodded and Uncle Lucius smirked at the pair of them.

"I think I know what we can do that the girls won't necessarily approve of but they won't complain about too much. Shall we give it a shot?" Harry nodded excitedly. As soon as Uncle Lucius turned them down a side street, Remus started laughing aloud and Sirius roared.

"You're sure that my daughter will approve, old friend?" Harry had to give it to Uncle Lucius; he didn't even blush the tiniest bit.

"Maybe not approve but she'll accept it."

They all bunched up together as they approached and then entered the Babbity Bowster, a pub located on a side street that students rarely traveled. It was clearly busy and Harry was excited to see that there were numerous barrels of different ales and countless bottles of whiskey lining the walls. He got the feeling that it was muggle in origin but there were definitely magicals in attendance. He turned to his godfather with a questioning gaze and Sirius smiled.

"The owner is a muggle, the original pub was quite famous in Glasgow. His son, however, was magical, sorted into Ravenclaw a few years ahead of Remus and I. He decided to come to Hogsmeade and open a pub, selling magical brews as well as muggle so his son could help him after he left Hogwarts. This place has made them quite rich and fairly famous for their homemade brews. Everyone in the magical world knows of the pub and it's the only one. Trust me, you boys will find something that you love." Harry loved the idea of blending magical with muggle and making it work. Since it was clear that even the purebloods loved the muggle alcohol, it was clear that the muggle had done something right.

Remus led them all to a table and they were quick to take their seats, Harry finding a seat between Remus and Vince. Lucius and Sirius went off to the counter to find a bar wench and Vince leaned over to whisper to Harry.

"Do you think the girls will be angry we're going to drink?" Harry shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm sure they'll be irritated. They'll get over it quickly though. I bet Uncle Lucius makes us take Sober-Up." Remus chuckled next to him and ruffled his hair.

"Of course he will be. You're going back to school. None of us would dream of sending you back to school in that state. It would be irresponsible." Harry nodded, having no problem with this at all. After all, it was like a ticket to get hammered drunk to not have to suffer any of the consequences.

A young bar wench appeared with a platter of numerous mugs of beer and many little glasses of whiskey. She left the platter on the table and then wandered off, her arse swaying in her short skirt. Harry could admit that it was quite nice but after having Hermione perched in his lap today, it did nothing for him. Even her tits mostly falling out of the top of her shirt didn't get his dick hard. He had just finished his first mug of delicious beer when Sirius looked at Remus.

"Have you told her yet?" Remus looked down into his mug and appeared to be quite busy. He finally answered with an answer so soft it could have been a whisper.

"Told her what?" Sirius laughed though Harry could tell that he did try to be quiet. The rest of the boys were having a conversation about quidditch so they weren't paying any attention.

"For one, that you're a werewolf and that she's your mate. For two, that we used to shag seven ways from Sunday every single day for six months straight." Harry could see that Remus' ears were bright red and he felt just a little bad for the man. It was clear that he was mortified but Sirius didn't care. However, it had been almost four months and he still hadn't told Tonks anything? He deserved some embarrassment. In the end, he looked up and gave Sirius puppy-dog eyes.

"I'm going to tell her, I swear. I just haven't found the right time. I'm not sure how to tell her. How do you tell a person something life-altering like that?" Sirius chuckled and tapped his fingers on his chin as Harry grabbed another drink.

"You just tell her. She's shagged other blokes before. Fuck, I walked in and caught her shagging Charlie Weasley. She was riding him like a fucking dragon, she was. Her hair was long and blood red; if she hadn't been my baby cousin, it would have been bloody hot. The fact that you were fucking me probably isn't going to make much of a difference since I'm pretty sure that she's had a threesome before. As for the werewolf thing, I know Hermione has already told her. Really, you're just insulting her by not telling her now that she already knows." Remus cursed loudly and Harry frowned at him.

"You really didn't think that she would keep her mouth shut for you? She's already stuck up for you more than you deserved." Remus and the rest of the family turned his way. The werewolf almost growled in his direction.

"What do you mean?" Harry sighed.

"At the Yule Ball, Viktor called you the family pet. Hermione told him that he better never do it again if he wanted to keep his tongue. Something along those lines. Tonks said the same thing, that you were family. You don't have any right to be mad at Hermione after she stood up to her date for you." Remus sighed and nodded.

"How I treated her is one of the things I'll regret the rest of my life." Harry clapped him on the back and smiled.

"She wouldn't want you dwelling on it right now. Hermione is having fun with the girls and she would want us to have fun." Sirius laughed at his words.

"Just not too much fun." Uncle Lucius sniffed in his direction.

"She doesn't want us to disrespect the women." Draco raised an eyebrow at his cousin.

"I doubt that Helena would approve of Madam Raoul." Harry chuckled when his godfather's face paled. He decided to change the subject.

"Is she ever going to give you a chance?" Sirius sighed and raked a hand through his hair.

"I think I'm going to give up. She really doesn't want to get back with me. I can't think of any other ways to ask her." Harry snorted.

"It's only been five months. Suck it up. According to you and everyone else, my father asked my mother out for seven years straight. If you really want her, don't give up." A sad smile ghosted across his face before he nodded.

"Alright, Prongslet, I won't give up. I'm not giving her seven years though." Harry laughed as he finished his fourth mug of beer. The other boys were further along in their inebriation that he was but he wasn't jealous. This wasn't the first time he had been drunk and he knew that it wouldn't be the last.

There was small talk amongst the rest of them; Neville was laughing about his time spent with Lisa Turpin and the twins were telling Greg about their latest prank. Draco was leaning into Sirius and Harry had a feeling that he was almost asleep; he wondered if he had ever sneaked into his father's supply of firewhiskey or if Hermione had stopped him. Harry was just about to jump into the conversation with Vince and Remus about the latest quidditch match when there was a commotion behind him. He turned to see Viktor Krum stumbling slightly with a very attractive tavern wench on his arm. He turned from the scene, disgusted. Viktor could have had everything that Harry wanted and he had thrown it away. However, he could hear that man approaching. Neville was the one to greet him.

"What can we do for you, Krum?" His voice wasn't exactly pleasant but it wasn't cold either. Viktor's voice was slurred slightly but seemed happy.

"Tatiana, meet Harry Potter and his family. He is competitor in tournament. He is first place." Tatiana stepped forward and hugged him tightly, pressing her breasts against him. He thought that she was just going to kiss him on the cheek but at the last second, her lips found his. Her tongue shoved it's way into his mouth, plundering his mouth ruthlessly. She tasted of whiskey and cigarettes. The other boys in their group cheered but Harry couldn't help but find that his stomach turned. He finally grasped her shoulders and pushed her away. She smiled at him in a sultry manner.

"Pleased to meet you, Potter." He glared at her and remained silent. He turned his attention back to Viktor.

"I see you're taking advantage of the fact that you aren't courting Hermione anymore." He shrugged his shoulders.

"She is one who called it off between families, not me." Harry knew that the man was drunk but that didn't make him want to hit him any less.

"Your father called her a liar. My godfather would never call a woman I was courting a liar unless it was meant to be the end of the relationship. Unless that's exactly what happened here." Viktor's eyes flashed but he didn't deny it. Now Sirius stood and faced the Bulgarian, his eyes curious.

"Are you saying that your father wanted your attempted courtship of my daughter to end? Why is that, young Krum?" Viktor was just drunk enough to answer.

"My father vas quite smitten with her power but vas less than enamored with my inability to control her. I vould have given her loyalty and made sure that she vanted for nothing but I couldn't say the same once I told her my true love of the dark arts. She vould have used power against my family and there nothing that I could have done to stop her. My father refused to let her destroy us." Harry noticed that Sirius and Uncle Lucius smiled proudly. It was Draco that spoke.

"Mia will never be controlled by a man. Her whole family will make sure of that. It's just as well that you left when you did. Trust me, between her father and mine, she will never want for anything. She doesn't need you." Viktor chuckled darkly.

"No, she doesn't. She's already a spoiled girl. I just wish could have experienced her once before setting her free." Harry surged forward to hit the Bulgarian but Remus was there, holding him back with his werewolf strength. Lucius was holding Draco back in much the same way. It was Sirius that spoke, his voice cold as ice.

"I suggest you leave, Mr. Krum, before I set these boys free. Since the lot of them are all scions to ancient and noble houses, I think that you would find yourself hard-pressed to find someone sympathetic in the Wizengamot. Might I remind you that all their fathers are members?" Sirius smirked at him as Viktor began to sputter.

"Good day, Mr. Krum. Stay away from my daughter." Viktor clearly wanted to stay and trade more words but Tatiana dragged him away. As Harry took his seat again, he felt someone throw an arm around him. He was surprised to see that his godfather had switched seats with Remus. He hugged Harry close from the side before releasing him.

"That bastard better stay away from my daughter." Harry nodded.

"Draco and I will make sure he keeps his distance. I'm sure that Nev and the twins will help." The three of them nodded but George looked perplexed.

"We aren't a noble house and we don't have a seat in the Wizengamot. You were lying." Harry watched as Sirius and Uncle Lucius exchanged glances with each other before speaking carefully.

"We weren't lying, per se. There are some things that we can't discuss right now since they aren't set in stone and we haven't discussed them with your father. He's the head of your family, correct?" Both Fred and George nodded their heads.

"He just gained that status a year ago when his older brother died. He wasn't too thrilled with the status change but he's getting by. He doesn't like the strain on his magic that it takes to uphold the family magic." Harry watched as Sirius nodded understandingly.

"I bet it gets taxing with so many of you. Your father was never the strongest magically." Fred shook his head.

"No, it tires him out more now. He gets frustrated. Mum keeps telling him he'll get better with time but I don't think he will. What's it like for you, Lord Black? You carry Hermione, Juliet, Lady Malfoy, Mrs. Tonks, and Tonks. Is it as taxing as Dad says?" Harry was as interested as the twins.

"It can be. It depends on what's going on around them. Normally, not so much since my magic is so strong. I know that many people look down on inbreeding; I do to an extent. My parents were cousins and my magic is stronger that an average wizards. I can easily handle my family's magic. Hermione is the only one that taxes it and that's when she has an emotional response to something. When she takes my place as Lady Black, she'll have no problems handling the strain on her magic since it's so strong." George turned to Uncle Lucius and raised an eyebrow. Harry had a feeling that their questions were considered private and probably rude but since Hermione considered them family, he answered them.

"What about yours, Lord Malfoy? You only carry the strain of yourself and Draco, right?" Uncle Lucius shook his head.

"I did, since Narcissa kept hers with Sirius after he retained his title. However, when I made Hermione my heir, I carry her magic on my line as well. Not her Black family magic, that's impossible, but I carry her Malfoy magic. It isn't as strong as her Black side since there is only one strand versus two strands of the Black, but it's still extremely strong. She and Draco are both already as strong as myself and they are only fifteen. When Draco takes over as Lord Malfoy, he will carry both my magic and Hermione's. He will have no problems. I have no problems with muggle borns in our world but this is why I think that some are of weaker breeding. Granted, there are some that are superior. Take Lily Potter for example. Excellent witch and much more powerful than any pureblood witch I know, aside from Hermione. She excelled against even my wife. I believe that these muggle borns are born from squib lines." Harry considered his words.

It made sense. Magic couldn't just appear out of nowhere, it just wasn't possible. Magic had to come from somewhere and it made sense that it came from dormant genes. The stronger muggleborns probably came from the stronger of the pureblood lines. Uncle Lucius probably hated to admit it but it was most likely the truth. He wondered briefly why nobody had ever investigated it. He cocked an eyebrow at his uncle.

"What's the most powerful redhead pureblood family?" He cocked his head to the side and considered his answer for several seconds before answering.

"Either Bones or Prewett." Harry knew that this conversation was much too heavy to have for being as drunk as they all were.

"Do you think that we could use a sample of my blood and compare it to Susan's or Fred and George's to see which family my mother came from?" Uncle Lucius cocked his head to the side.

"I'm not sure that can be done." Harry chuckled darkly.

"Well, Uncle, just one of the ways muggles are ahead of wizards. It can be done in the muggle world. Maybe we can get it done there." Uncle Lucius looked at him as though he had lost his mind. Harry just laughed at him.

"I'm not explaining it today. Maybe another day." It was a fair enough assumption and it was at this point that they decided that they needed to start heading back towards the carriages.

Uncle Lucius and Sirius went to go pay their tab and Harry could admit that he was quite drunk. He wasn't stumbling like Draco and Neville but his head felt light and his stomach queasy. They all followed Remus out into the sunshine and Harry was the first to say that it hurt his eyes. As they lined up outside the Babbity Bowster, Remus handed out Sober Up potion to every one of them. Harry downed his quickly, instantly feeling better. Once his godfather and uncle reappeared, they started back to where the carriages were normally parked.

Harry couldn't remember a time that he had such a good time with just the boys. He was glad that he had been able to spend time with just his family and friends. They were laughing about numerous different things as they made their way through the streets. As they drew closer to the carriages, Harry could hear laughter and he was almost sure that it belonged to the girls.

They turned the last corner and saw that they girls were indeed waiting for them. They all seemed to be in different clothing than they had started out in and Harry couldn't help but notice that Hermione's hair looked different. He couldn't place it from a distance but he could tell that there was something different.

As they approached the girls, he could hear his godfather start laughing. Harry turned to see what was so funny but he could see that his eyes were riveted on his daughter. Lucius was glaring at him but Sirius just laughed at his gaze. Harry couldn't help but laugh at the open amusement in his voice.

"You can't deny her Black blood now, Malfoy." Lucius sneered at him.

"You're lucky I think it's adorable." Sirius laughed.

"Sure you do."

Harry understood what they were talking about almost instantly. As they approached Hermione, he could see that there were blue streaks in her hair. Nothing else had changed about it but it was considered drastic by pureblood standards. The next person he noticed was Juliet; she had lengthened her hair to where it reached almost as long as Hermione's. He smiled at Hermione and tugged one of her free curls.

"Wow, I like it. Very rebellious. Is there something you haven't told me yet?" She laughed and looked to the ground.

"No, actually, it was Aunt Cissy's idea. I couldn't decide what to do with it." He glanced at Lady Malfoy and smiled.

"It looks great. You're going to blow everyone away." She smiled brilliantly at him but said nothing else.

Harry was passed around to give hugs and he was happy to see that Helena was smiling. Aunt Cissy was smiling as she pulled him into a hug, smoothing his hair down even though it was hopeless. She kissed his cheek and smiled sweetly at him.

"I'm going to take you to the spa next time. We need to get your hair under control." He laughed and tugged on her hair.

"I don't think so, Aunt Cissy. I'm just not sure that's my scene." She laughed as she passed him on to Aunt Andie. The woman gave him a far more reserved hug than Aunt Cissy had. He still smiled at her and hugged her back. Eventually, they would be as close as they were with Hermione.

After Harry had hugged everyone, he watched Hermione bid everyone goodbye. It was clear that her father and uncle didn't tell her about meeting Viktor and weren't planning to. He was going to follow their lead and he had a feeling that Draco was going to as well unless she specifically asked him about it. He could only hope that the other boys kept their mouths shut.

Hermione hugged her father and uncle close, kissing their cheeks and telling them how much she would miss them. Harry was even surprised to see her hug Remus and kiss his cheek briefly before turning him over to Tonks. Harry watched all the boys file into one of the carriages like before and he was no different. Uncle Lucius and Sirius were standing on either side of the carriage to make sure that the girls had someone to hand them in.

Harry was clear at the back of the carriage with Draco next to him. He watched as Luna stepped into the carriage and took a seat in Neville's lap as she had before. Juliet entered with a laugh and plopped herself down in Blaise's lap this time. The Slytherin was snickering about something the small Gryffindor had said to him and Harry was trying not to laugh himself. Daphne came next and she looked undecided as she considered Harry and Draco as seats. As much Harry understood her taking himself as a seat, he hoped that she would use Draco as a seat again. It seemed as though his prayers were answered because she finally turned to the blond and took a seat in his lap.

Hermione entered with a smile on her face and he could tell that her father had just made her laugh about something. When she caught his eye, he held his hand out to her and she was quick to take it. He let her sit on his lap and he shifted her until she was comfortable on top of him. He looped his arms around her waist tightly and she relaxed into his chest. Harry couldn't help but to finger the ends of her curls and smile against her forehead as he spoke.

"I really do like your hair, Mia." She nuzzled further into his chest and relaxed even more.

"Thank you. It really was Aunt Cissy's idea but I really like it. The witch who did it taught me a spell that would mask it for up to twenty-four hours if I needed it hidden. If I needed it done permanently, it'll have to be done professionally." He kissed her forehead and let her rest against him. He refrained from stroking her bare waist like he had before but he enjoyed the feeling of her shapely arse and hot core against his cock.

There was soft conversation amongst them all but Harry didn't pay attention to it. Hermione was like jelly against him and he feared that she was falling asleep against him. He hated that they were wasting what little time they had together but it was also a wonderful thought to know that she trusted him enough to know that she could sleep against him and know that he would make sure nobody or nothing would harm her. Therefore, he rested his cheek against her forehead and let the rhythm of the road relax him as well.

They were almost back to the castle when there was a soft gasp on the opposite side of the carriage. Harry turned his attention to the offender. Luna was the one who had caught sight of something outside the window of the carriage. Juliet had rose from Blaise's lap and peered out after her friend and gasped loudly, jolting Hermione out of her doze. Harry tightened his arms around her, making sure that she didn't slip out of his lap.

"What is it, Jules?" He knew that his voice was urgent but he didn't want Hermione upset. He liked that she was relaxed and sleeping against him.

"There's somebody laying on the ground out there. They aren't moving." Hermione sighed against him and he could have sworn that she took one last deep breath of his scent at his neck before sitting up. Her hair was ruffled but he didn't think she had ever looked sexier.

"We should go check on them. Who knows who it could be?" Harry put his hands on her hips and boosted her up; she flashed him a thankful look before he stood to follow her. There was no way that he was going to allow her to approach a random person laying on the ground outside with nobody with her. Draco was right on his heels as they left the carriage.

As they rounded the corner of the carriage, Hermione let out a distressed yell. Harry wasn't sure what had caused it but he was instantly on high alert. His wand was in his hand and he was scanning the countryside along the carriage. Draco appeared to be doing the same. Hermione dropped to her knees at the man's body.

"It's Barty Crouch, the Ministry official. He's dead." Harry hurried to her side and was quick to put his hands under her arms so he could pull her to her feet. Once she was upright, he put her under his arm and protected her from the wind as best he could. Draco waved his wand, his dragon appearing and then disappearing soon after. Harry could feel Hermione trembling ever so slightly so he wrapped her fully in his arms and stroked her spine. He couldn't take his eyes off the body of Crouch and was the first to meet Draco's gaze when his dragon disappeared.

"I sent it to Uncle Sev. I didn't tell him anything for sure, I just told him to send the Headmaster and Madam Pomfrey, that we came across Mr. Crouch on the way back to the castle." Harry nodded and continued to rub Hermione's back. She spoke into his neck.

"Should we run diagnostics, make sure that there's nothing that we can do to save him?" Harry had no idea what she was talking about. She pulled away from him and knelt before the body and raised her wand. He laid both hands on her shoulders and started to rub them softly, making sure that she knew that he was there with her. The spells flew from her wand and she seemed to be reading them just fine while he was confused. After several minutes, she rocked back on her heels and leaned against his legs. He could tell that her voice was thick when she spoke.

"He's been dead for several hours. There's nothing that we can do." Draco stepped forward and pulled her to her feet and back towards the carriage. Even though they weren't going to be leaving the scene, nobody wanted to continue staring at the dead body. Harry was quick to jump alongside her and wrap an arm around her waist and snug her close to him while Draco gave him a grateful look. Once they were on the other side, Draco took off his cloak and threw it around Hermione. All three settled on the ground against the carriage. Daphne stuck her head out of the carriage and gave them a questioning glance.

"What's going on?" Draco stood and took her hand in his.

"It's not good, Daph. We're waiting on the Headmaster to get here. Just keep everyone in there for us, alright?" She gave him a grave nod and Harry had to give it to her for not freaking out. Hermione leaned further into him and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Her voice was soft as she spoke.

"I know I shouldn't be getting this close to you and I'm sorry. I don't want to be alone." He kissed the side of her head and rested the side of his face against her hair.

"I know. We'll start fresh in the morning. Right now, none of us want to be alone and deal with this. I'm here for you just like Draco is. You're here for me. We're family, Mia. It doesn't need to mean anything other than that." She lifted her head and smiled at him. She kissed his cheek before laying her head back down on his chest as they waited for the Headmaster and whoever else he thought to bring with him when he appeared.

What a clusterfuck of a day.

-O-

Albus wasn't sure what the fuck was going on. How Barty had been murdered, he wasn't sure. The fact that it had occurred just outside of Hogwarts grounds was disturbing to say the least. He wasn't sure how the Ministry official had come to be outside the school grounds outside of the tournament but that meant nothing now. He would likely never know. However, he had suspicions that there had been foul play at work from inside the castle.

It wasn't something that he could prove and it wasn't something that he could say in front of the D.M.L.E. It was something that disturbed him greatly not only because it had taken the life of someone involved deeply in the tournament but it had happened where the rest of his students would see it, where they would find his body. Where they had found his body.

Severus had received the patronus from young Malfoy saying that there was something wrong with Mr. Crouch. Of course, he had to know that he was dead; he had been so for hours. It was evident not only by the spells but by the ice cold feeling of his skin. It was clear that Miss Black was aware when they had arrived; it was also clear that she had told at least Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy her findings.

While he didn't personally have anything invested in Barty Crouch, Sr., he was worried about what this meant for Harry. Barty had been the only person from the Ministry that had been against Harry competing in the Triwizard Tournament. With him gone, it was hard to say what stance the Ministry would now take. Sirius and Lucius could only do so much in the Wizengamot.

Moody had been acting oddly since the beginning of the year; he wasn't sure what had happened to his oldest friend. He was still paranoid and still wanted to put every precaution into place but he still seemed off. It was becoming more and more obvious but Albus couldn't quite place it. It just didn't make sense since Alastor was seriously the most paranoid wizard he had ever met in his whole life. Severus had been telling him the whole year that it wasn't Moody but he couldn't believe that he wouldn't know the difference; would he? Surely he could tell his friend from someone that was potioned into someone that was different from their friend? If that was the case, how had he not noticed the difference between his friend and the fake?

Regardless if Moody was the real one or the not, there was nothing that he could do about it now. To investigate it now would bring unwanted attention to him if it was indeed someone that wasn't' welcome in the castle. However, it was much more likely that Karkaroff was behind it all since he was a confirmed Death Eater and he hadn't repented at all. It was much more likely that he was just trying to win at the tournament and doing what he could to make sure that it ended the way he wanted. He doubted that young Viktor even had any idea.

The news of Barty's death would be announced to their world at large the following morning; Amelia had made sure to disseminate the information as needed. The Daily Prophet would be printing the story the next morning and make sure that the story would follow the picture that had been snapped of the carriage in the background. Frankly, he could have done with the rest of the world never knowing but he knew that would never happen. Therefore, he took what he could get. Keeping the names of the students that had discovered Barty out of the story would be considered a win.

Albus sighed. It had been a long year and he didn't see it getting any shorter even though there was only one task left. It was the most important task and the most difficult. Truth be told, he worried about Harry most in this task. He wanted to warn him more than anything but knew that Harry and Hermione wouldn't allow it. Therefore, he could only drop hints where he could and hope that they caught them and study as they needed.

With one last sigh, Albus rose from his desk and brushed the rest of his correspondence away from him for the next day. It would be another shite day but it could only get better. After all, there was no other choice.

Right?

A/N- Lordy, I swear, I never imagined that this chapter would end up this long. It was just supposed to be a filler chapter. However, that just didn't happen this time. I'm sure that you aren't complaining, haha. Anyways, let me know what you think about this chapter and leave me a review. Tell me what you think. Don't worry, I'm sure I can handle it. (:

Next chapter, Viktor takes things a little too far.

Love,

Alicia


	79. Chapter 79

A/N- Well, I'm back, y'all. I have to say that I have so much time at Hospice House that I know all the nurses and aides there. You guys should be happy to know that I've completely outlined a new Harmony a/b/o and Charmione marriage law story while I was sitting there. Not much else to do while your loved ones are sleeping. Anyways, thanks so much for being understanding of my situation and I thank you all for the thoughts and prayers you have all sent me and my family. It means a lot to me, y'all. Thanks to everyone who continue to read, review, follow, and favorite. You guys are the bomb. Enough of the depressing now, let's get on with the story!

**Shout out to MichalaJ for being my 3800th reviewer. Once again, you're freaking awesome girl!**

Trigger Warning: Attempted rape and sexual assault.

Disclaimer: I haven't made a single red hot cent from this story or any other. I'm still a broke bitch. I don't own anything from this story except the personal plot twist. The original story line from Part One belongs to Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle and the characters belong to our queen.

Chapter 79

April 28, 1995

Hermione smiled at her cousin as she finished her breakfast. It was beautiful Saturday morning and she had made plans with Daphne, the twins, Neville, and Juliet to go spend time out by the Black Lake. It was something that they hadn't had a lot of time for this year but she had missed it. She wasn't blaming Harry in the least but since he had joined their family, Hermione hadn't had as much time to spend with just her friends. Everyone had been just as excited as she had been and Juliet had been thrilled to tag along. She loved her friends even more that they didn't seem to mind that she did.

Draco had plans, though she was pretty sure that they were of the female persuasion. Hermione had rolled her eyes at his secrecy but since it wasn't being blasted all over school, she kept her mouth shut. The girls from Beauxbatons were actually quite discreet, something that she found that she appreciated. Fleur had told her that just a few days before during their walk around the grounds that sex in France was regarded as natural and much more acceptable than it was in Britain. Of course, Hermione had known this, but it was odd to see it in play before her.

Surprisingly, she and Fleur had become quite close. Not as close as herself and Daphne, but she joined them for meals here and there and they were able to discuss just about anything. They had discussed Fleur's veela heritage quite extensively and what that was like growing up. Even though Hermione wasn't envious of the girl at all, she found it interesting and confessed to wanting to know as much as the girl was willing to tell her.

Fleur held little as sacred and told Hermione whatever she wanted to know; there were veela covens that would protect their traditions and such but since Fleur was only a quarter, she wasn't pure enough to join. Therefore, Hermione learned that she was a very sexual being and had already had several lovers. Fleur didn't consider herself promiscuous since she claimed to feel something for each man she took to bed but her heart still yearned for the one true mate that her instincts told her was out there, waiting for her. The veela had made quite clear that as soon as she discovered her mate, nothing would come between them and there would never be another man for her.

Hermione wasn't sure what to think of the woman's words. She knew that the Brits were far more reserved and that meant herself as well. She couldn't imagine having more than one lover at the age of seventeen but if it worked for Fleur, who was she to judge? The veela seemed quite happy so Hermione wished her the best in finding her mate and told her that if she ever needed assistance, to let her know how she could help.

Daphne finished across from her so they were only waiting on Juliet to finish. Hermione know that Harry had plans with Ron this morning and then quidditch match this afternoon. All her friends had begged off from doing anything with her that afternoon so that left her with hours of free time that she planned to spend in the library so she could work on her homework that was due for Madam Cambridge. They were now at the end of their sixth year curriculum; it had taken them quite a long time to get through this year since there had been so much going on and they had been more focused on the practical side of things this year.

Hermione wasn't going to complain; she felt like she was more prepared in Defense than she ever had been. While Remus and Dory were extremely hard on them, they were also exceptional teachers. Remus had the mastery and the theory that they needed to know to get through the exams that they would face next year but Dory knew every spell they would need to know, plus some. Hermione now had quite the repertoire of spells that she could fall back on if she were ever attacked. As much as she loved that she had the power to fall back on if she needed it, she liked remaining in control at all times. That meant making sure that her magic was under control. It was nice knowing that while her magic still wasn't fully matured, she could do some damage without falling back on her considerable power.

Hermione was drawn from her thoughts by a sharp tug to one of her curls. She turned to see that Fred, George, and Neville were standing behind her, ready to go whenever they were. She smiled at them and stood, Daphne following suit. Juliet hurriedly wiped her mouth and shoved her plate away even though it had only been her first one. Draco smiled up at her and Harry tugged her sleeve. Her cousin was peering over the heads in the Great Hall as he spoke.

"Have fun, Mia. Don't cause any trouble." Hermione snorted.

"I'm with Fred and George and you're telling me to not cause any trouble?" He laughed as Harry just grinned at her.

"I was going to tell you to keep them out of trouble. We're planning a quidditch match for next weekend and we need our beaters." Hermione chuckled.

"I'll do my best but I make no promises." Fred and George threw their arms around her shoulders and started to drag her through the Great Hall towards the door that led towards the Black Lake. Daphne, Neville, and Juliet were following behind, all laughing at the scene before them.

The three of them caught up to the twins and they headed across the grounds together. It was brilliant green and even though it was the end of April, the air was still crisp and cool. Hermione cast a warming charm on her day robes, doing the same for Juliet. She caught the others following suit. Since they had made no plans, Hermione led them towards her favorite tree; it was the one that she always stopped at to catch her breath after her morning run.

They settled around the tree and Juliet sat behind Daphne so she could brush her hair and practice plaiting it. Hermione had been surprised that Luna hadn't wanted to come with them but she had insisted on going to look for some imaginary animal somewhere in the castle. Hermione sincerely hoped that her uncle could get through to her over the summer but she supposed that if this was the Luna that was there to stay, she would count herself lucky. She just knew that her cousin Pandora would have been disappointed.

Hermione laid down and rested her head in Neville's lap while Fred put her feet in his lap. George was shooting small pieces of plant matter into Daphne's hair and Juliet was shooting him dirty looks. It was only a matter of time before she lost her temper and tried to curse the redhead. Fred slipped Hermione's shoes off and started to rub her foot slowly, his shaggy head leaning back against the trunk of tree while his eyes closed.

"This is nice. We haven't done this all year. I've missed this." Hermione could feel that Neville was playing with her hair but she didn't say anything. They both understood that they would never be more than friends.

"I know, it's been crazy this year. I'm glad that we got a chance before the last task and the end of the year." Hermione decided to ask a question that she had been wondering about since they had gone to Hogsmeade at the end of March.

"I thought your family hated mine. I mean, you've never been allowed to come to mine or Draco's birthday parties. Why did your father agree to let you go to Hogsmeade with my father and uncle?" Fred shot her a look but answered in the end.

"I'm not a hundred percent sure but I think that he's tired of fighting. Mum's crazy, don't get me wrong, but Dad has never held anything against your father. He hasn't so much liked your uncle but that was more because he followed You-Know-Who. Now, it's out that he hasn't for years. I really just think that he wants to try to mend bridges for the shite that Ron has done through the years. If that makes any sense." Hermione nodded.

"I suppose. It's nice of him. It'll be nice to know that you two can come see Draco and I over the summer now. We have quidditch pitches at both Black Moor and Malfoy Manor. I bet that we could get all the boys together so you could play a real match. I would watch." They all laughed and George quit tormenting Daphne and Juliet long enough to speak.

"It would be nice. I mean, I love the Burrow, but Mum has always believed that we needed to stay close over the summers. We never get to see friends over the holidays. Luna was the closest and she was the exception, though that was mostly for Ginny. I don't think Ginny ever really liked her that much because she can be a little strange at times." Hermione nodded.

"I know she can. I think my uncle is going to talk to her over the summer. Her father is to blame for that." Fred nodded and looked her way.

"Do you know what your uncle and father have planned for our family?" Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. Sure, she had an idea but what they were asking was basically asking her to tell them family business. Fred kept her gaze though, not shying away at all.

"I know what I'm asking you but I want to make sure that my family isn't in any danger. I know what my family has done to yours. They would deserve it. Ginny alone has earned your family's ire for her false accusations against Harry." Hermione sighed because she did understand that. She would want to make sure that her family was safe as well.

"I do know what is going on with your family but it isn't bad. It's going to be a tough decision but if your family decides to go through with it, it would help you immeasurably. However, I can't tell you because the important conversation can't be had until after your brother shows up from Egypt. Am I correct that he's going to be here for the last task of the Tournament?" Both their eyes looked confused but they answered in the affirmative.

"That's the plan. He plans to spend half the summer here since he only got a few days of holiday for the World Cup and that's it since he started for the goblins. He might have to do a bit of training while he's here but they're happy to give him what he wants." Hermione smiled at them.

"He's quite powerful, yes?" Both were quite proud as they nodded.

"Yes, he's the best curse breaker they have. He's the strongest in magic of all us." Hermione smiled.

"I'm glad you'll get to spend some time with your brother. Family is important. I can't imagine not being able to see my family. It was terrible not being able to see Dory for four years while she studied to be a Hit Witch in Germany." George groaned and readjusted himself in his pants.

"That woman is fit and fine, let me tell you. Professor Lupin is one lucky man." Hermione eyed his hand in distaste.

"George, please don't adjust your genitals in reference to my cousin again. At least not in my presence. Wait until I'm not looking." All three boys burst out laughing and even Daphne was hiding a grin. Juliet looked a little confused so Hermione dropped the conversation.

Fred and George shared stories of their girlfriends and Hermione inquired as to what they thought of the redheads spending time with herself and Daphne. Much to her surprise, they told her that they were alright with it. Hermione found herself quite pleased with that; maybe she would get along with the girls after all. It was nice to not have someone hate you outright and think that you were trying to steal their boyfriends, even though Hermione and Daphne had been friends with Fred and George for four years now.

The air warmed around them gradually and before she even realized it, the bell rang in the distance, signalling that it was time for lunch. Hermione was quick to put her shoes back on and let the boys pull her to her feet and lead her back towards the castle. George was giving Juliet a piggyback ride and Daphne was being escorted by Neville. Fred had his arm thrown around her shoulders and was giving her a hard time about spending a beautiful Saturday afternoon in the library to work on homework. Hermione just let it roll of her back since she knew that being by herself, she would get so much more done than she usually would.

They entered the Great Hall to find that it was already full. She couldn't help but notice that the Bulgarians were still glaring at her whenever she came near; it was getting quite annoying that they couldn't just let it go that she had turned their national hero loose. Of course, she hadn't learned until after the second task that Viktor's father was in fact an Ambassador to other ministries so it was considered even more of an insult to them that she had turned him down in such a public way.

Viktor had been nice about it all, though. They had exchanged words a few times since then and each occasion had been pleasant. He never escorted her anymore but she didn't see him doing it for any other girl at school either. She supposed that he probably wouldn't; it would look as though he were rebounding. If she were any girl that was following after the shit show that had been her dealings with the Bulgarian, she would have ran away as quickly as possible.

The twins, Neville, and Juliet all joined her and Daphne at the Slytherin table for lunch. The rest of the their friends were already there. Hermione frowned at her cousin's hair; it was mussed and clearly hadn't been smoothed after his visit with the opposite sex. She watched Daphne's face fall so she reached out and smoothed it down, alerting her cousin to the fact that he was less than put-together. She gave him a fake smile.

"You're slipping, cousin. Your hair is clearly showing what you've been up to this morning." He was quick to run his hands through his platinum hair and turned apologetic eyes her way.

"Sorry, Miney." SHe shrugged.

"I'm not the one who's day you ruined." He turned to look at Daphne and sighed. She just shook her head, irritated.

"I swear, I'm going to find someone to take her mind off you. You just keep hurting her and she's innocent enough to just sit back and wait for you to make up your mind if she's good enough for you. She deserves better, Drake." He sputtered for several seconds before finally falling silent. He refused to meet his eyes as his voice fell.

"I know she does. I'm not sure I could date her and not cheat on her. I don't want to do that to her." She glared at him, disgusted with his reasoning. He was no better than Harry to be honest.

"When are you going to know? When you're a seventh year and she's wasted her whole school career thinking that you're going to come around and play her knight? How is it fair that you get to fuck your way through Hogwarts while she's told to remain pure by her family? You don't deserve her virginity." His eyes flared.

"You're in the same position. You want Harry so bad it hurts but he's too busy sampling the pussies of every girl in school willing to let him have a go. You're the last thing on his mind. I guarantee you, as soon as he shows that he wants you, you're going to just let him in and he's going to take your virginity just like he has all these other girls. You're going to sleep with him long before you're married and this moral high ground that you preach at me from is going to disappear. What will my father, and yours for that matter, think of you then?" Hermione felt as though she had been slapped in the face. Draco obviously had no idea what her talks with her father and uncle had consisted of; he had no idea that they had never made it a requirement that she be a virgin when she was married. They had only asked that she give herself to someone that she loved.

Sure, she was sure it looked as though she was better than the boys. In truth, she had given up on changing their actions a while back. Now, she was just sad at how it affected Daphne. She had already given up on Harry so while it still hurt her down deep, she had let it go. Daphne hadn't and it hurt her very much to have her cousin's trysts thrown in her face, especially when he admitted to having feelings for her. If he hadn't cared either way, it would have been one thing. He said that he cared and he just kept doing things that hurt her. It made her blood boil. At least Harry had been honest enough to tell her that he couldn't be with her because he couldn't be faithful. She knew that she could count on that.

Rather than start a fight that she was sure would turn quite ugly, Hermione took a deep breath and let her gaze slip away from her cousin's. She turned her attention to her plate and did her best to make herself eat at least a few bites of the roast beef sandwiches and beef stew. Draco let her and said nothing, just turned back to continue his conversation with Blaise and Greg.

The twins entertained everyone with stories from their childhood and pranking Ron. Hermione chuckled in the appropriate places but otherwise stayed quiet. Harry was at the Gryffindor table with Ron and they were laughing over who knew what. She was glad that he was enjoying himself. The Gryffindors were having a quidditch practice to make sure that they would still be in practice the following year. Hermione thought it was completely daft but she kept her mouth shut. If there was one area that she wasn't an expert in, it was quidditch. Ten minutes before the bell rang, she wiped her mouth and smiled at Daphne and Juliet.

"I'm through eating so I'm going to go ahead and head towards the library. I have a lot of work from Madam Cambridge. I want to get this years curriculum finished by the end of the month." They all nodded, waved, and wished her well. Hermione didn't spare her cousin another glance but she knew that it wouldn't last. He would probably confront her by dinner and to be honest, it wasn't something that she was looking forward to.

Draco had hit her right where it counted, right where it hurt. She hated that he could do that, hurt her like that when she made him mad. Although, she should be used to it since her father could be much the same way. It was very frustrating and even though she always wanted to throw things back in his face, she could never quite make herself. Just imagining his face when she told him that he would never measure up to Uncle Luci, that he would never be the man that her uncle was, broke her heart. It was a low that she refused to meet and she didn't believe it for a second.

Hermione traveled the corridors quickly and for a brief moment considered saying fuck it all and finding a spot outside in the beautiful weather where she could just read for pleasure. However, she had set herself the goal of finishing her sixth year coursework and that was what she was going to do. She only had three assignments for Transfiguration, one for Charms, two for Warding, and two for Magical Theory.

Even though she had turned all her Potions work into her godfather, she missed him terribly. She had managed ten minutes with him the night before Moody had come calling but it was wearing on her. Truth be told, she thought that it was wearing on him as well. He had held her close, hugging her tightly, and they really hadn't gotten anything else accomplished. She had given him a brief synopsis of her life but that was all that she had managed before the dinging of his alarm on his door to his quarters started going off. She was only glad that she had had assignments that she could turn in to make her visit legitimate. In short, she couldn't wait for summer so she could just spend days on end with her godfather. She missed spending time with him, brewing with him, and everything else in between. He had even turned over brewing Remus' wolfsbane to her at the beginning of the year.

Hermione entered the library and took her usual seat at her table, spreading her books and work out like she wasn't usually able to. Since everyone else had plans, it was a luxury that she was planning to take advantage of. She decided to start with Warding first since it was the most difficult for her.

Hermione worked through her assignments steadily, Warding first, then Magical Theory. After they were finished, she started on her Charms and was finished in a trice. She knew that Draco still had quite a few assignments to do so she wasn't sure if she would turn them in yet or if she would wait for him to finish them. Truthfully, she would give him until the end of the Hogwarts to get them done before she got tired of waiting and left him behind in the dust. It was clear that girls were still getting in the way of his studies; she just hadn't been riding him about them.

By the time she was finished with Charms, she only had an hour left before dinner but she only had Transfiguration left. It was by far her easiest subject and she knew that she could at least get them started before it was time to head to the Great Hall. After dinner, she was sure that Draco would want to talk to her, something that she really wasn't looking forward to. As if she needed someone else to throw in her face that she felt something for Harry.

Hermione managed to work the next three-quarters of an hour on her assignments and got two of them finished, leaving her only one left. However, since the bell was about to ring and she didn't want to miss dinner, she started to gather her things together so she could head in the direction of the Great Hall. With a wave to Madam Pince, she left the library, humming her aunt's favorite song to herself under her breath. Out of nowhere, just three corridors from the library, a hand reached from an alcove and pulled her inward. Thinking at first that it was either Fred or George playing a prank, she started to chuckle. It was when the smell of firewhiskey hit her in face full force that she realized that this was serious.

Viktor was looming over her and his hand was in her inner pockets, filching her wand in the time it took her to realize that he was indeed a threat. Her heart rate quickened and she was hoping that keeping calm would keep the situation under control. Judging by the unkempt look about the seeker, he had been drinking for quite awhile.

"Hermy-own. How nice to see you." His hand was still ridiculously tight on her wrist and it only tightened when she spoke.

"Viktor. What are you doing? You know that it's dinner time." He looked genuinely confused and she laid that at the fact that he was clearly drunk.

"I not hear bell. Ve spend time together." Hermione shook her head as he pulled her closer until he was leaning against her fully along the wall.

"No, we decided that we wouldn't court, remember? We ended it as friends." His eyes flashed and Hermione wasn't sure what to think of it. Sure, he was drunk but he wasn't violent. Was he?

"You decide, not me. I vant you, just not marry you. Father say you not be controlled and you not like dark side." Hermione knew that she wasn't going to like what he had to say after that but couldn't help asking.

"Your dark side?" Viktor leaned down and nipped her throat, chuckling softly. His hand traveled over her breast and Hermione fought to keep control.

"I like dark side. I like control vitch and haff her pleasure me. I like everything dark has to offer. I vould bind you to me in dark ritual." Hermione was horrified. She started to struggle against him.

"Let me go, Viktor. I don't want this and I don't want you. Stop now." He chuckled again against the skin of her throat and pinched her nipple roughly before pulling her robes open roughly, exposing her breasts. Hermione remembered her lessons with Remus and Dory, them drilling in her that she needed to keep her magic under control at all times. She did her best to summon her wandless magic and stop him. His hands had now pushed her robes up over her waist and were pushing her knickers down to her knees. She could feel the panic crawling up her throat and it was getting to be too much to bear.

"Viktor, if you don't stop, my father and uncle will kill you. They won't stop until you're dead." He openly laughed now as he fingered her dry folds, trying to find her entrance. He pinched her clitoris brutally, bruising it, she was sure. She tried to throw him off her but he leaned of her even more heavily. She could hardly catch her breath and when his arm laid across her throat, her vision went spotty.

Hermione could hear the unzipping of his trousers and his fingers trying to force her to spread her legs. His finger jammed up inside her and she cried out in pain. Just as she felt him shove her head clear to the side roughly and her neck tearing, she couldn't stop her magic anymore.

There was a presence above her but it wasn't looming. If anything, it was comforting. When she had enough presence of mind, she realized that it was Harry. She had sank to her knees, her robes were open and her breasts were bared to the world, her knickers gone and her skirt flipped up to show her womanly attributes to the world. Her neck hurt more than anything and she felt something trickling down her thigh. There were tears leaking down her cheeks but she was silent.

Viktor was stirring across the corridor, blood down his forehead. Hermione knew that when he came around completely, he was going to be furious. Harry was at her side and was trying to pull her into his side but she couldn't handle it. It was overload and she couldn't help what happened next.

Hermione started to scream.

-O-

Harry felt amazing. He had had a great afternoon, he had spent most of it in the air. Gryffindor's team had decided that they needed to have a team practice even though there was no quidditch that year. They also discussed possible replacements for the people that would be moving on. Since Oliver had left last year, they would need a new keeper; they hadn't held new tryouts but Harry knew that there were at least three people that were interested in trying out, Ron included.

It had been nice to get out on the pitch, flying in the warm spring air and forgetting about everything else that mattered. Sure, he had homework but he had pushed it all off until tomorrow so he could enjoy the warm weather. He needed a day to just enjoy to himself and he had to admit that it had gone well.

As a team, they had discussed the three people that had shown an interest in trying out for the keeper position. Harry was happy to see that they were all most receptive to Ron. While they admitted that Cormac had talent, he was also the most egotistical brute in Gryffindor. Nobody wanted to deal with him and that included Harry. He could admit that the third year that wanted to try out had talent but he needed a few years of honing that talent before he joined the team.

After he had practiced with the team, he had showered off and met with Mandy in an alcove outside of the library. She wasn't his favorite by any means but she was a pleasant way to pass the time. He couldn't help but picture Hermione every time he fucked her, but that was every girl. The only difference was that Mandy had the same peach arse that Hermione had so he liked to fuck her from behind so he could pretend that it was her easier. He knew that it was fucked up but the girls didn't seem to mind. In fact, they sought him most of the time.

Harry had sent Mandy on her way with a warning to keep their coupling to herself and to leave his family alone. She hadn't been happy about it but had agreed. He hadn't liked hearing that Lisa had bothered Hermione and thrown their time together in her face. Now, he made them promise to keep their time together to themselves. They were never happy but they always agreed.

As Harry left the alcove, pretty happy with himself, he heard a faint cry and a moan that sounded somewhat familiar. However, he couldn't figure out where it was coming from. However, out of nowhere, Viktor came soaring out of an alcove and hit the wall across the corridor, sliding down it with a thud. He instantly feared the worst, knowing from the weekend in Hogsmeade that Viktor wanted Hermione more than anything. He stepped into the alcove and wanted to cry at the sight he saw.

Hermione was on her knees, her robes torn open and her breasts bare. There was bruise blooming on her left nipple; the skirt of her uniform was pushed up and her knickers were gone. There was a trickle of blood running down the inside of her right thigh. There were no bruises on her face but she was favoring her neck, not wanting to turn it to the left. He dropped to his knees beside her and tried to pull her into his arms but she shied away from him, whimpering softly. He didn't blame her; she would naturally assume that any male would want to hurt her after an attack like that. He released her instantly and cupped her cheeks in his hands. He made her look in his eyes and waited for her to focus on him.

"Mia, I swear on my magic that I'm not going to hurt you. I'm going to help you, alright? Let me help you. Come on, let me get you covered up and we can get your dad down here." She seemed to realize who he was and nodded, tears pouring down her cheeks. He took off his school robes and wrapped them around her tightly, latching them to make sure that nobody could see anything they shouldn't. He felt dirty enough seeing parts of her that she didn't want him to.

While he was helping her cover herself, Viktor had rose to his feet and started to stumble back towards them. He could feel Hermione trembling in his arms and when he turned to realize why, Harry lost his temper completely. He made sure that Hermione was seated on the ground and strode forward to meet Viktor, letting his fist fly like he had wanted to weeks ago in Hogsmeade.

Since the Bulgarian was drunk, he wasn't able to put up much of a fight. Harry took one hit to his eye, probably resulting in a black eye, but well worth it if you asked him. He pinned the seeker to the ground and beat him until he was bloody; he stood and stunned him, casting an incarcerous on him to make sure that he wouldn't get away. Harry knew that Hermione needed to see this. He went back into the alcove and pulled her to her feet, mindful of her injuries. He tucked her under his arm and pulled her into the corridor so she could see Viktor, a bloody, bound mess in the middle of the corridor.

"Look at him, Mia. Look at him. He will never do this to you again. If he tries, I'll kill him." Harry could feel magic swirl around him and he was certain that he had just made a magical oath. She leaned into his side and tried to smile at him. It just looked sick and Harry hated that it was on the love of his life.

"Thank you. I tried to keep my magic under control like Remus and Dory have taught me. He took my wand. I tried to use wandless magic. I guess I wasn't strong enough." Harry bent and put an arm under her knees so he could sweep her up and hold her close to his chest as he carried her towards the Hospital Wing.

"You're the strongest witch I know, Mia. You did well." She snuggled into his chest and even though he felt slightly sick at the fact that she was finding comfort in him after he had thoroughly shagged Mandy, he was glad that she no longer feared him. He hoped that it would hold true for the rest of the males in her life. There were a lot of them. He paused briefly at the end of the corridor and pulled his wand from his pocket. Hermione looked up at him but said nothing, still clearly traumatized. He hadn't cast the spell since being taught but knew without a doubt that he could cast it. He sent a patronus to Severus, Draco, McGonagall, Sirius and Uncle Lucius, telling them that Viktor had attacked Hermione and that they were needed in the Hospital Wing.

After Prongs disappeared, Harry hurried along to make sure he beat them there. Hermione was unnaturally still in his arms. He feared that she was going into shock and he knew that he needed to get her to Madam Pomfrey as soon as possible. He burst through the doors to find the wing empty. Thank Merlin. The mediwitch appeared and sighed when she saw him. However, the complacent expression disappeared when she saw who was in his arms. Harry carried her to the bed closest to the office and laid her down, still making sure that the robes were covering every square inch of her. Madam Pomfrey was casting spells on her even as he laid her down.

"She's in shock. Her system is shutting down though I determine only minor injuries. What happened?" Harry felt her grab his arm and refused to move away from her. Just as he was about to answer her, both Severus and Draco burst through the doors. Both stepped forward to embrace her and she cringed away from both of them. They turned their stare to him and he could feel the weight of it; it was heavy as fuck and he knew that they were blaming him. Madam Pomfrey, however, saw her reaction and started shouting.

"Everyone away from her. I won't have you making her situation worse." This wasn't even able to be carried out because Sirius and Uncle Lucius arrived, frantic as they searched for her in the empty ward. They were warranted with the same treatment and after seeing the same clutching of Harry's arm, they turned to him for information. Professor McGonagall was the last one to arrive with the Headmaster and neither one looked happy. Madam Pomfrey looked to Harry and waited impatiently for an answer.

"I want to know what happened." Harry sighed and raked a hand through his hair. Hermione was still clutching his hand in his but wouldn't let anyone else approach.

"I'm not sure what happened. I was in an alcove with Mandy Brocklehurst and I left. I saw Viktor Krum flying across the corridor. I went into the alcove across where he had been thrown from and found Mia. She was on her knees, her robes torn open, her breasts bare, her skirt flipped up and knickers gone. She was bleeding down her thigh. She shied away from me but I swore to her on my magic that I wouldn't hurt her, that I wanted to protect her. Viktor started to get up so I covered her with my school robes and pinned him down and beat him bloody. There was blood everywhere and I don't think he was conscious before I stunned andI bound him and left him in the corridor. I sent you the patronus and carried her here. She hasn't let go of me since. All she told me was that she tried to keep her magic under control like Remus and Tonks taught her but he had taken her wand. She tried wandless magic but she had to let her magic take control." Madam Pomfrey started to shuffle everyone out but it was clear that wasn't going to happen. Her father, uncle, and godfather all stepped forward and Hermione cowered further into her pillow. Harry glared at them all for making her more apprehensive. He leaned down and smoothed her hair back from her forehead.

"Mia, Madam Pomfrey needs to examine you. Who do you want to stay with you?" She buried her face in her pillow before eeking out an answer.

"You." He shook his head and kissed her temple.

"I can't, baby. I'm a boy and they won't let me stay for that exam. Your dad, Uncle Lucius, and Severus would never hurt you. They would sooner die than hurt you. You know that, right?" She nodded and he could see the tears leaking from the corners of her eyes. Finally, she met his eyes.

"I want Aunt Cissy." There was a sound in the background and it sounded as though someone threw something. Lucius' voice was haggard as he answered.

"She can't, princess. She's in Italy with Blaise's mother. Some retreat. What about Andie? Dory?" She met Harry's eyes as she answered.

"I want Aunt Andie. I love Dory but…" He bent and kissed her forehead.

"Your father and uncle will have Andie here in just a few minutes." He paused for just a few moments before speaking again.

"Can they come talk to you?" She nodded. He let go of her and backed away while Sirius approached first. He took her hand and they spoke quietly. Hermione seemed to keep it together fairly well and he fell back to stand with the others. He noticed that Draco had an extremely tortured look on his face but he wasn't sure why. He put his arm around his friend and tried to make him feel better.

"She's here now. It'll be better." Draco nodded but said nothing else. He didn't try to approach his cousin's bed and when Sirius hugged his daughter, there was a collective sigh of relief. Severus went next and Harry was happy to see that they spent almost ten minutes together. Before Uncle Lucius could speak to her, Andie arrived, clearly hurried and unsure as to where to go. McGonagall pulled her aside and explained as to what had happened and when she pulled away, she approached Hermione with a smile on her face.

"Hello, sunshine. I'm here. Let's say we get this out of the way and never have to deal with it again." Hermione nodded and Harry could see that McGonagall turned to the Headmaster.

"You better call the aurors. If you don't, I will." He gave a nod and disappeared, clearly off to do just that. The rest of them decided to wait out in the corridor outside of the Hospital Wing to give Hermione some privacy. It was clear that they were all on edge and ready to hex someone. For this reason, Harry hoped against hope that every single person in the castle stayed away from that corridor tonight.

Draco was unnaturally silent while both Uncle Lucius and Sirius paced. Since they were out in the corridor, Severus had to appear as though he didn't care, that he was only there because it was a student of his house that had been injured. McGonagall seemed just as upset as the family and Harry wasn't sure if she was just that invested or if it was because it was sexual in nature. Halfway through their wait, Professor Flitwick appeared, levitating Viktor into the Wing. The rest of their group started to roar their anger but Harry just stepped in front of the half-goblin.

"I think you should take him to his ship. If you bring him here, it's likely that you'll only find a body for what he did. Not a single one of us will out anyone here. That will be the safest place for him." After Professor Flitwick disappeared with Viktor in tow, Draco slammed into Harry and shoved him against the wall.

"What you do that for? He deserves anything we give him." Harry shoved him back, doing his best to hold in his temper.

"Yeah, he does. However, doing it in front of a professor will do nothing but land you in a cell in Azkaban. Use your fucking brain." Uncle Lucius stepped forward and pushed them apart. He glared at them both but Harry didn't care. He was more worried about Hermione, not how her family was handling it.

"Let it go, boys. There's no sense in fighting now." Both nodded grudgingly and they returned to their previous spots.

Harry couldn't help but let his mind wander as to how it could have been prevented. He had promised Sirius that he and Draco would look out for Hermione, that they would watch out for her and make sure that they weren't letting her around the Bulgarian. Clearly, they had both failed. Sure, he had had quidditch plans but he had then met up with Mandy afterwards and buried himself inside her. It had been a pleasant way to spend the afternoon. He wasn't sure what Draco had been up to but he knew that he had been meeting one of his honey pots from Beauxbatons that morning.

Once again, Harry was left feeling guilty that he had shagged Mandy instead of watching after Hermione. He knew that ultimately it wasn't his fault but that didn't matter when it came down to it. He had been busting his nut and Hermione had been being forced to do things she didn't want to. It made his stomach turn just thinking about it. Not only was he not good enough for her because he couldn't keep his cock in his pants, now he wasn't good enough because he had allowed her to be hurt because he had been too worried about getting his cock wet.

It was almost an hour before they were joined by several aurors, Amelia Bones amongst them. Harry was happy to see that they had seen fit to send at least one woman. They had only been waiting for a few minutes before Madam Pomfrey exited the Hospital Wing and gave them all an exhausted look.

"I'm done with Miss Black. Mrs. Tonks is sitting with her and she's calm. I've dosed her with a calming draught and she's trying to act normal. Last I heard, she was discussing homework and the assignment she still had left to do for a Madam Cambridge. Mrs. Tonks is keeping her well distracted until we can return." Sirius stepped forward and cast a spell around the aurors, silencing the area around them. They looked put out but didn't negate it.

"Tell us about her." Madam Pomfrey nodded.

"She wasn't raped. As far as I could learn from her, Krum appeared and pulled her into the alcove, immediately taking her wand. She tried to stay calm and keep her cool. He pushed her against the wall and felt her breasts. She ordered him to stop but he didn't. He told her that he wanted to do dark things to her, she didn't go into detail, and then ripped her robes open. He pinched her nipple and then pulled her knickers away. She fought him when he pushed his fingers inside her and he laid his arm against her throat, cutting off her air supply. At some point, he shoved her head clear to the side and tore the muscles in her neck. Aside from that, the bruised nipple, and the slightly torn passageway, she's fine. Just shaken up, rightly so. Her barrier is still intact." Harry wasn't sure what Sirius threw but something crashed against the wall. He turned to Harry and Draco, seething in anger.

"You two told me that you were going to watch after her, that you were going make sure he stayed away from her. What the fuck happened?" Harry couldn't keep the look of guilt from his face and he knew that Draco was no better. For the first time since he had known him, Sirius looked at him in disgust.

"Pussy. You ignored my daughter's safety for pussy. She was almost raped because you two were too worried about getting your own dicks wet. What the fuck do you think would have happened if she hadn't let go of the rubbish teaching that Remus and Dory are teaching her? She would have been laying there, in her own blood, in a pool of that arsehole's semen, crying her bloody eyes out. You both promised me and you fucking failed!" As much as Harry wanted to deny his godfather's words, he couldn't. That could have been a reality, so easily.

Draco didn't seem to be bearing his words any easier. He stood there, stoic as ever. His chin was raised, hands behind his back, and back ramrod straight. Harry knew that he should take it like Draco did but he couldn't. Yes, he was guilty. He would never forget what his actions had done to Hermione but he wasn't going to let all the blame be put on himself and Draco. Therefore, he felt no guilt when he rounded on his godfather and spat the words right back at him.

"You're just feeling guilty because you know that you drove him to this with your fucking questions that weekend in Hogsmeade. You want to blame Draco and I, that's fine. We are to blame. But so are you and you know it." Uncle Lucius was just standing there, ready to go to war for his niece, but unsure as to what to do in the situation. It was Severus that shoved Sirius against a wall and Harry against the opposite one. The only thing that saved his cover in front of the aurors was the fact that they were under a silencing charm.

"All of you are horrible. Every single last one of you are worried about yourselves and your guilt. Not one of you is concerned with my goddaughter in there, crying her eyes out and scared out of her mind from being sexually assaulted. You're all despicable. If you would all pull your heads from your arses, you would realize that the only one at fault was the arsehole that forced himself on the light of my life. Now that everyone has arrived, I can't even go in there and spend time with her. Get your fucking shite together and go make HER feel better or I swear to Merlin that I will fucking kill you all. That girl is my world and I won't rest until there has been retribution." Harry knew that he was right so he nodded.

"You're right, sir. I'm sorry." Severus growled at him but it didn't seem near as harsh.

"Don't tell me. Go take care of her." Harry nodded and paid no mind to everyone else that there. He waited on nobody else before making his way through the doors of the Hospital Wing. Once inside, he found that Hermione's bed was no longer private and Aunt Andie was sitting next to her and they were conversing quietly. When Hermione saw him, her eyes lit up and she held out her hand for him to take. When he did, she smiled softly at him.

"Thank you. I'm sorry that I was scared of you at first. I didn't want you to think that I thought that of you." He moved into the spot that Aunt Andie had left him when she moved. He moved a curl from her face and once again admired the blue streaks in her hair.

"It was understandable. I wasn't offended at all. Please don't apologize." She smiled softly at him and he could tell that she was drugged. She was stroking the top of his hand with her thumb and as nice as it felt, he didn't deserve it. However, before he could pull away and move so someone else could move into his spot, she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Stop it. Right now." He cocked his head to the side.

"I don't follow." She almost growled at him and he wanted to laugh it was so fucking adorable.

"You're blaming yourself. It isn't your fault. You helped me at the end. I should have realized that keeping control meant for when I had my wand. It's nobody fault but Viktor's and he was drunk. I don't think he would have done it sober." Harry shook his head and refused to meet her eyes.

"Don't make excuses for that useless excuse for a human being. He tried to rape you and no matter how much alcohol he drank, that isn't acceptable. Never tell yourself that it is." She smiled at him.

"I know it isn't, Harry. I'm just saying that this wouldn't have happened if he had been sober." Rather than argue with her about it anymore, he raised an eyebrow at her.

"You realize you're not going anywhere without any of us now, right?" She chuckled softly but dropped her gaze.

"I figured. Listen. I'm not sure that Drake will come see me since we fought but will you tell him that I'm not angry? I just want him beside me." Harry didn't pry but he wanted to. Was that why his friend was being such a cocksucker?

"Absolutely, Mia. Anything." He pressed a kiss to her forehead and stood.

"I'm going to let the others come see you. I know that the aurors are here. Prepare yourself. I know that Amelia Bones is one of them. She'll treat you right. If you need me, you know I'll be over there." She squeezed his hand and smiled at him.

"Thanks, Harry, for everything." He didn't say anything else, just stood up and moved, letting the next person move into position. He saw that it was Uncle Lucius and they were getting quite emotional. The aurors were hanging back for the time being and Harry took a seat next to his friend across the room. He looked over at Draco.

"She just told me that you two fought and that you wouldn't come see her. She wanted me to tell you that she isn't angry and she just wants you beside her." Draco bent in half and he was quite sure that he heard a sob escape from the blond but he couldn't be sure. After several minutes, he sat up again, completely in control.

"She deserves better than me, Harry." Harry threw him a dirty look.

"You're going to ditch her when she needs you the most? What are you two fighting about?" Draco looked at the ground and in that moment, Harry could see that he was vulnerable.

"She told me that how I made Daphne feel was unacceptable and that I deserved for someone to come along and scoop her up because I basically didn't care how she felt. It's true but I was a cock. I threw her feelings for you in her face and told her that she was going to throw herself at your feet and sleep with you the second you wanted to and then she couldn't act all moral to me anymore." Harry couldn't believe that the blond had said those things to her but knew that this was more important.

"She deserves someone better than me to stay with her." Harry shoved him, anger finally surfacing.

"Fuck you. You treat her like that and hurt her feelings, then try to ditch her when she needs you most. You're going to get your fucking arse over there, you're going to stay with her all fucking night long, you're going to hold her fucking hand and tell her how much you love her, and you're going to deal with it once she's out of the Hospital Wing and better. Don't you dare make this shite about you." Draco met his eyes and nodded. He offered a tremulous apology.

"Sorry for earlier. I feel even worse after what I said to her because I had no plans this afternoon. I could have been with her in the library but I was too angry at her to join her. If I had, this would never have happened." Harry shook his head.

"Not today. No more blame."

Harry sat and watched the events unfold. Uncle Lucius and her father joined her on either side and she seemed happy that they were both there. Madam Bones stepped forward and took the lead on the questioning as to what had happened between herself and Viktor. Harry's blood boiled when he heard the story come from her own lips. Even though Madam Bones was taking notes, the rest of the aurors were as well. Once they all fell silent, Harry knew that he wasn't going to like what came next. Madam Bones sounded quite apologetic when she spoke.

"I have recorded everything that I can. Unfortunately, there is nothing that I can do since Mr. Krum's father is an Ambassador. It gives him diplomatic immunity. As much as it doesn't serve what we wish it to, those are the facts of the matter. Until his father gives us permission to try his son as a British citizen, there is no way that we can charge him in front of the Wizengamot." Harry watched as Hermione buried her face in Uncle Lucius' chest and started to cry softly. His heart ached for her and he was going to do everything he could to make sure the Bulgarian paid for what he had done to his family.

"The best advice I can tell you to do is to ruin him socially. Between the Blacks, Malfoys, and Potters, you have the ability to do a significant amount of social damage to their family, even if they aren't from Britain. Blast this story in the Prophet; nobody in Britain would ever dream of calling Miss Black a liar. She wasn't raped so she would be saved from being ruined for a traditional marriage if that was what she wanted. Tell the Board of Governors, the Ministry, make sure that everyone in the Tournament knows just what Krum is capable of. If you're lucky, you might even get him kicked off the national team." Harry groaned in frustration. There was nothing else that they could do to get to Krum? Draco, however, along with his father, were smiling. Therefore, he refrained from comment until the aurors had taken their leave and departed. When it was just family, Harry couldn't keep quiet any longer.

"What are those smiles for?" Uncle Lucius turned to Hermione.

"How do you feel about being the beginning of a movement?" She arched an eyebrow at him but ultimately snuggled further into his chest.

"At this point, I don't care. Everyone in school is going to know anyways. They're all going to think what they want. I'm sure that most of the girls are going to think that I led him on and then told him no. I'm going to be the villain." Her eyes went downward at that and her father threaded his hand through her hair.

"None of that matters, sweetness. We're Blacks and we withstand all. Don't worry about me or Juliet. We'll be behind you and you know the rest of the family will be as well. If we do what I think Lucius has planned, it could be the start of the end of his career." Harry could tell that she felt guilty for what it was going to do to him long-term. Therefore, he made sure to speak up.

"You can't feel guilty. Who knows how many other girls he's done this too who didn't have a powerful family to back her up and make sure that she was taken care of? You need to make sure that he doesn't do this again." She looked to the sheets of her bed and nodded.

"I know. I just hate thinking that I'm the cause of something that could ruin someone's life." He smiled at her and her father hugged her close.

"You aren't the cause, poppet. He is. Now, Lucius, tell us the plan." Harry listened, clearly dumbfounded to the plan that was so wrong but so right at the same time.

"Hermione goes front and center with her story. She tells the world everything. Of course, everyone is going to tell her how she's just trying to get over how he cast her aside and such. Except everyone at Hogwarts can attest that isn't the case. Then comes the part that ruins him. I'm willing to pay whoever I have to to have their daughters come forward with stories of Krum pushing himself on them. They didn't use veritaserum on Hermione, why would they on the other girls? Bones all but told us to ruin him socially; she had to know that we would do something like this." Harry wasn't sure how he felt about this plan but Lucius looked straight at him.

"I may be on the straight and narrow now but I would do anything in my power to keep my family safe. Lying about a quidditch star pushing himself on a young girl is the least of the bad things I've done in my life." Harry could see his point and had to agree to a point. However, he still couldn't help but think that it was wrong. It was Hermione, however, that mattered and he would follow her lead. Her eyes were hard as she agreed.

"Do it. I'll tell the paper whatever I need to if you can get others to back me up. If he can't get punished by the law, he might as well get punished somehow." It was at her statement, her way of looking at things, that he realized that he agreed. It wasn't fair that Viktor get away with no punishment and that was exactly what would happen if they did nothing. He looked to Lucius to see what else he had to say.

"I'll set up an interview. Yes, Hermione is going to catch some shite from the school and everyone else. I expect the family to be at her side. I will find others to come forward and we will take him down until no team will sign him for the rest of his life." Harry knew that Lucius and Sirius had Slytherin and most of the purebloods covered but he thought that he could help further.

"What if I could help further? You have Slytherin covered. What if I could get some girls from the other houses to agree to it? I'm sure that I could get Neville and the twins to get them to agree with me." Both Sirius and Lucius gave him an approving nod.

"That would be great. A variety of witches would be nice. They should all claim that they were too scared to say anything, that he had threatened them against saying anything. As much as I hate to say it, the more purebloods, the better." Harry hated it as well but nodded. It made sense.

This whole situation was pretty fucked up but he was going to do his best to make sure that Hermione was safe and would continue to be so. Their conversation continued on far into the night and it was late when Harry finally excused himself. He knew that Juliet would be waiting for him, wanting the full story of what had happened. Sirius had given him full dispensation to tell her everything. It wasn't a conversation that he was looking forward to but knew that it needed to happen and it was better from him than from the Prophet in the morning.

Besides, he had a few witches to talk to before breakfast.

-O-

Lucius wasn't sure what he was supposed to be doing right now. The Headmaster had given both himself and Sirius permission to stay the night with Hermione. Draco had tried to stay with her and while his son looked completely miserable, he had allowed himself to be shooed away to his bed in his dorms to inform their friends that Hermione was indeed alright.

He was heartbroken that he hadn't been able to help his heart when she had needed him. She had cried for her Aunt Cissy and he had been unable to produce her. It had killed him to tell her that his wife was in Italy. Andie had filled in wonderfully but it was a dagger to the heart to know that her family had left her hanging. He couldn't blame her; Dory wasn't an acceptable companion in something as serious as what had happened to her.

Lucius watched her sleep besides him and he vowed to make sure that Viktor never worked in the quidditch industry again. He regretted his time as a Death Eater but he would never regret doing all he could to make sure that the seeker never worked again. Petty as it may seem to some families, his heir's safely was far from.

Draco had been acting oddly from the time he had arrived; he hadn't once spoke to Hermione and he had expected more from him. It was Harry that had stepped in and taken the lead rather than Draco. It was perplexing and confusing but he had a feeling that it was also private. Neither one would tell him if he were to ask the stipulations behind why the boy hadn't spoke to his cousin. Regardless, if it wasn't resolved in a few days time, he would step in and do his best to help it along.

He was now waiting on Cissy to send him an owl back since she couldn't send a patronus. He was hoping that if she showed up tomorrow that it would make Hermione feel better. Rita Skeeter was going to be coming to the school the following day to meet with Hermione and even though he and Sirius were both going to be there with her, he figured that having a woman there with her would make her feel better.

Lucius couldn't help but notice how she felt quite at home with Harry despite what had happened to her. Sure, he had told them that he had had to swear on his magic that he wouldn't hurt her but when it came down to it, that wasn't all that ridiculous. Not many women would have trusted a man after being sexually assaulted. After carrying her to the Hospital Wing, Harry had seemed as though he were disconnected from life in general. They probably should have made sure that he was alright before he went back to the Tower but it was too late for that now.

He hated what this had done to his family already and he hadn't even seen the reactions of Juliet, Dory, or Remus. The latter two would surely feel guilty and would probably beat themselves up extensively for trying to teach her magical control. They had both been right but they had also both been wrong; it was a clusterfuck, that was the easiest way to put it. Lucius watched as his niece stirred and opened her eyes. He smiled down at her and stroked her cheek softly.

"Go back to sleep, princess. I'm here making sure that you're safe. Your father is on the other side." She reached out and took his hand, squeezing his hand softly.

"I know that, he's been asleep for hours. You need to sleep too. Set wards and sleep, Uncle Luci. I love you and don't want you miserable. Please." He smiled down at her and brushed another kiss against her forehead.

"As you wish, princess. Get your rest. Tomorrow is going to be a long day." She pulled his arm until he was laying in bed with her and she curled into his side, her head on his shoulder. He wrapped her up and held her tight, not having held her like this since she was a small child.

"Daddy is already asleep. Lay with me, Uncle Luci. Let me know that I'm safe." He knew that she was manipulating him with her words but he didn't care. They were the only words that would do it. He made sure that the blankets were tucked around her but not himself, creating a barrier so nothing inappropriate could be accused of him. He turned his head to rest his nose in his niece's hair and he inhaled her scent. Cherry blossoms and vanilla. She snuggled further into his chest and he could tell when she dropped off.

With one last deep breath, Lucius let himself fall asleep too. After all, he had to deal with quite a bit in the morning as well.

A/N- Lordy, another long ass chapter. I can't believe there are two in a row. I hope you all enjoyed this last one. Let me know what you think since I know this chapter was hard to write. It has to be hard to read. Leave me a message after the beep and tell me what you think.

Next chapter, the fallout.

Love,

Alicia


	80. Chapter 80

A/N- Thank you all for being so understand about my grandfather. He's still hanging on, stubborn old bastard. God love him. He prided himself on just that, being a stubborn old bastard, haha. Anyways, you guys are awesome. Another chapter for your reading pleasure, just taking a little longer to get to you and a little shorter than usual. Hope you all enjoy.

**Shout out to Saki-Hime for being my 3900th reviewer. You're freaking awesome!**

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing. If you haven't learned that after the last 79 chapters, we have serious problems. I haven't made any money off this story or any other. Swear, I'm still a broke bitch.

Chapter 80

May 17, 1995

Hermione's life was hell. She knew that she was going to regret going after Krum like she was but she had no idea how much. When Uncle Luci had told her that going after him would be hard, she had no idea that she would be ridiculed by the whole school. She had expected a little teasing, a little telling off at the fact that she had brought his attention on herself. She hadn't expected the level of attention to the situation and she hadn't expected the amount of people that would instantly hate her for vilifying their hero.

It was insane. She hadn't thought that people would instantly think she was a complete slag because of what she had accused the Bulgarian seeker of. That wasn't the case, however. As much as it sucked, however, it was nice to learn that she wasn't alone. Sure, she knew that the other girls were hired but it was still nice to know that being ostracised wasn't just limited to her.

There were numerous girls that had stepped forward on her behalf, taking her side and claiming that Krum had done the exact same thing things to them as he had to her. Of course, Hermione knew that they were lying but that didn't matter to her. The fact that they were willing to lie at all touched her down deep. She had never had friends growing up so to see proof of it up close and personal was nice. Sure, she knew that they weren't her friends but it was a show of loyalty all the same.

Much to her surprise, Daphne was one of the witches that had come forward. Draco had been livid and had thrown a fit of epic proportions. He had tried to stop Daphne from telling everyone her lies but she had told him to fuck off. It had been poetic justice, to be honest. Not only had Daphne claimed that Viktor had touched her, Tracey and Millie had done so as well. It touched Hermione more than she could say.

Harry had come through as well. She wasn't sure just what he had said to the girls that he fucked but they had come through. Lisa Turpin, Mandy Brocklehurst, Cho Chang, Lavender Brown, Padma Patil, and Marietta Edgecomb all came forward and claimed that Krum forced them to do things that they didn't want to do. It was never specified as to what but since they couldn't bring a legal case against him, it didn't matter. The twins and Neville even got in on it and got their girlfriends to agree to it. Hermione was eternally grateful that they sullied their reputations for her.

While the school hadn't taken the other girls confessions well, they hadn't turned on them as they had her. It was as though they knew that their confessions weren't real. However, it still made a difference to the Daily Prophet. The publication had taken Hermione's story and run with it, every single last detail, Once the other girls had come forward, it had become a sensational hit.

Overnight, the wizarding world had learned that Viktor Krum was not only a one-time offender of pushing himself on a woman, but a many time-offender. It was what they wanted but it still turned Hermione's stomach. Every time she passed him in the Great Hall, he glared at her but she just ignored him as though he didn't exist. She had heard from girls in Beauxbatons that he was telling everyone that he had been led on. It pissed her off to no end but there was nothing she could do about it.

So far, there was no far-reaching damage to Viktor's reputation but it hadn't even been a month. She was going to give it until the end of the year until she decided what she wanted to do after that. She was just grateful that her family had had her back since that day; Harry had followed her to every single class they shared together and hadn't complained once about losing time with his girls. Draco had done the same and Hermione appreciated his gesture, trying to assuage his guilt at what had happened to her.

*Flashback*

Hermione started for the Great Hall after being released from the Hospital Wing. Going there wasn't the first thing she wanted to do but she had to show that she wasn't weak, that she could hold her own against anything life threw at her. Harry was on one side, Draco on the other. Juliet was sure to join her, as was Daphne. If she were being completely honest, the twins and Neville would support her as well, especially after what had happened to her.

Hermione had loved that her father and uncle had spent the night with her but had been devastated that her cousin had distanced herself from her. It was clear that he didn't want anything to do with her, that he found her disgusting now that she had been violated. As must as it saddened her, it angered her as well. How could Draco ignore her as he had? Did she and her suffering mean nothing to him?

Harry didn't leave her side through breakfast, none of her friends did. Draco kept an eye on her but didn't say anything. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to say or do so she just kept her mouth shut. Her friends all took her silence as trying to cope with what had happened; especially once they saw that Viktor had sat down to eat breakfast at the other end of the Slytherin table.

Hermione wasn't able to eat much; she was supposed to meet with her father and uncle in an hour to do an interview with the Daily Prophet. It wasn't really something that she was looking forward to but it needed to be done to get the plan underway. Harry had promised her that he would be there with her and while it was assumed that Draco would be there too, he hadn't confirmed it either way. Juliet finally broke the silence.

"I think we should just kidnap him and beat the fuck out of him. He's been healed from where Harry hit him." Hermione laughed softly but chastised her sister anyways.

"Language, Jules." Her little sister rolled her eyes.

"You swear all the time when you're angry. I'm really angry right now, we all are. What happened isn't right." Hermione sighed but before she could speak, Draco did.

"It isn't right, Juliet, but we have a plan that's going to see him fired from his quidditch team and never hired again." Luna and Daphne raised their eyebrows at him. Draco smirked at them.

"We're going to tell the whole story and Father is going to get other girls to say the same thing. Harry said he can get other girls to do it too. We can't file charges against him but we can ruin him socially." Daphne instantly leaned forward.

"Count me in. He cornered me and touched me under my skirt because he wanted to get back at Hermione for not accepting his suit." Hermione wanted to smile at her friend's show of loyalty but Draco shook his head vehemently.

"Absolutely not." Daphne glared at him.

"I'll do whatever I want. You have no say in it." Hermione snorted her amusement and Draco glared at her. The bell rang, telling them that breakfast was over. The rest of their friends rose and Hermione smiled at them.

"Thank you for your support. I'm going to go meet with my father now but I'll see everyone at lunch." Jules ran around the table to hug her and Luna joined her at a much more sedate pace. When they pulled away, Hermione shooed them on. She sighed as the two boys pulled her back towards the classroom that her father and uncle had told them to meet them in. Draco reverted back to his silent and sullen self. Hermione felt tears prick her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Drake. Next time I'll keep quiet about you and Daphne. Just please don't hate me." Draco stopped and stared at her incredulously.

"Is that what you think? That I hate you?" She lowered her eyes and shrugged her shoulders.

"You won't talk to me. You wouldn't even look at me last night. What am I supposed to think?" Her cousin stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her close in the empty corridor.

"I'm so fucking ashamed of myself, that's why I won't talk. You were right yesterday and I knew it. I had no plans yesterday afternoon and could have gone to the library with you. I just didn't because I was angry with you. You getting attacked was my fault." Hermione sighed into his chest.

"It wasn't your fault, Drake. If it hadn't been yesterday, it would have been another day. I'm not mad at you, I promise you. It's Viktor's fault, not yours." She could feel the shuddering breath that her cousin took as he hugged her tighter.

"I'm still sorry, Miney. You deserve better." She breathed in his comforting scent and let it wash over her. He kissed the side of her head as she spoke.

"I deserve for my cousin to not ignore me when I need him most. Don't do it again, arsehole." He chuckled softly and nodded.

"You've got it, Miney."

*End of Flashback*

The bell rang, dismissing them to Charms. Luna headed to Care of Magical Creatures while Juliet started for Transfiguration so Hermione stood and let Harry and Draco pull her towards Charms. The stares in the corridor were heavy on her back but she tried to let ignore them. Daphne, Neville, and the rest of their Slytherin friends fell in around them.

They took their usual seats in the Charms classroom, the table of two being taken by herself and Draco. Harry sat with Ron since he had been ignoring him quite a bit for the last month. Neville took the seat next to Daphne and Hermione appreciated that her friends were all boxing her in to keep those that wouldn't be kind to her away from her. Professor Flitwick entered the classroom with a bright smile on his face.

"Good morning, class. Today, we're going to learn how to cast a spout of water from the tip of our wands."

Professor Flitwick lectured for half an hour on the spell, showing them the correct wand movements and incantations. Hermione and Draco had learned the spell ages ago so she let her mind drift just a little. When the lecture was finally over, Professor Flitwick pointed his wand at the board and split them into pairs to practice.

Hermione groaned inwardly. She was paired with Theo Nott; she hadn't had any serious interactions with him since last year but she hadn't missed the hateful looks sent her way since she had put him in his place regarding Harry. Her cousin was paired with Pansy and Harry was paired with Lavender. Hermione refused to leave her table so when Theo finally moved and took Draco's seat, he had a sour look on his face. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"You can go first. I can already do the spell." He sneered at her.

"I can too. No need for either of us to even practice." He smirked her way.

"Bet you're glad daddy and uncle dearest bought off all those girls that came forward and accused Krum. There's no way that he attacked all those girls." Hermione knew that he had no idea for sure that was what happened. Therefore, she just raised her eyebrow at him again.

"Are you accusing my family of telling young girls to lie about sexual assault? If so, you should very careful of your words." He glared at her but remained silent for the rest of the class period. When the half-goblin came around to see their spell work, they both performed beautifully and earned Slytherin five points a piece.

After they were dismissed, Hermione was quick to reassure everyone that she would be fine while she was in Magical Theory and they went to Divination. She promised to meet them at lunch and started for the class with Professor McGonagall. Since her last run-in with Lisa Turpin, the girl had kept her distance and kept her mouth shut. Hermione would admit that she liked it that way.

Since they had been assigned a large research project the class before, Hermione knew that they would be working on that the whole class period. She took her usual seat at the front of the class and didn't let the stares of the rest of the students bother her. Head of Gryffindor House swept in and began class with no fanfare. She started her work on her project and ignored everyone else until the bell rang dismissing them to lunch.

Hermione slowly gathered her things to make sure that the other students would be gone before she went to leave. She was the last student out and headed directly for the Great Hall, humming softly to herself. Before she realized what was happening, Viktor Krum stepped in front of her, causing her to walk into him. She bounced back but caught herself before she fell to the ground. He smirked at her as she stared at him impassively.

"Excuse me, Mr, Krum, I believe you forgot your manners." She started to go around him but he reached out and grabbed her wrist. She stared at him with cold eyes until he let her go and back away, holding his hands up in surrender.

"I no hurt you, I vant to talk." She started to walk away again.

"I have nothing to say. If you feel the need to say something, contact my father." He snorted at her.

"You vicious bitch. You got me fired from team. I know you pay all dose girls to say I rape dem." Hermione smirked at him this time.

"I did nothing of the sort. It sounds like you got what you deserved." His face darkened with fury and he lunged for her again. Surprisingly, it was Parvati Patil that stepped in front of her. Hermione couldn't have been more surprised.

"You won't be touching her again. You'll have to go through me and since you already assaulted my twin sister, I'm sure that the school governors would be most displeased to hear it. I'm sure Lord Malfoy would love to hear another reason to bar you from the castle completely." Hermione wanted to snort at her words. Her uncle had been trying to find a way since she had been assaulted. Viktor just glared at them for several seconds before stalking off. Parvati turned to stare at her for several seconds before speaking.

"I don't like you, Black, and I never will. That doesn't mean I agree with what happened to you. Nobody in Gryffindor does. When it comes to that fucking wanker, we have your back." Hermione would have never expected this so she bowed her head to show her thanks.

"Thank you, Patil. If you ever have need of something that only I can help you with, you only have to ask." She smiled and nodded before turning and walking away.

Hermione made the rest of the way to the Great Hall a quick trip. Once she was seated at the Slytherin table once more, she caught the eye of both Draco and Harry since they were shooting her worried glances. She sighed and just told them, knowing that there was no way that she could keep it a secret.

They took it surprisingly well, knowing that Viktor had been kicked off the Bulgarian team. No, they weren't happy that he had confronted her about it, even less happy that he had grabbed her wrist, but they were both thrilled that Parvati had stepped in and told him to bugger off and offered her her support. Nothing of import happened at lunch so they ate quickly, Hermione eating almost a full serving of shepherd's pie before the bell rang to dismiss them to Care of Magical Creatures.

-O-

Harry walked slightly behind Hermione and Draco between Ron and Neville, listening to them go on about the latest match between Puddlemere and Ballycastle. Harry had listened to it on the wireless and while it had been a good match, he just wasn't that invested at the moment. He had received a note during lunch from Dumbledore that he was supposed to meet the rest of the champions out by the quidditch pitch to discuss the third task that evening. It really wasn't something that he wanted to do but since it was the last task, he just wanted to get it over with.

His eyes drifted down to Hermione's arse and watched her hips sway in her uniform skirt. She had left her robes behind since it was warm outside. Her legs were long and lean, and he couldn't help but wonder how they would feel wrapped around his waist, holding him tight against her heat. Neville nudged him in the ribs and Harry moved his gaze immediately. He could feel a blush coloring his cheeks but he kept his eyes forward now.

They approached Hagrid's cabin and he came out to meet them. His old friend started to lecture on nifflers and Harry found himself bored. He actually had notes to compare the lecture to and found that they weren't lacking. It was nice having Madam Cambridge's teaching to fall back on.

Hagrid brought the nifflers out and told them that he had hidden leprechaun gold around the grounds. Each person was given a niffler and it became a contest to see who could find the most gold. In the end, it was Ron that won the contest and Harry could see that Draco had to bite his tongue to not make a caustic remark. As much as he understood that they blond hated his best mate, he was glad that he didn't make matters worse.

After they were dismissed with an essay on nifflers as homework, they started across the grounds for Herbology. Draco was walking with Daphne now and his head was bent to hers, whispering something in her ear. She was smiling softly so Harry moved up to walk next to Hermione. She smiled at him but remained quiet. He could hear her humming softly, tipping her face up to let the sunshine warm her skin. Harry reached out and tugged one of her curls.

"What are you looking forward to most this summer?" She grinned at him.

"Riding Bluebell. It's been almost a year since I've seen her." She turned a shy gaze his way.

"What are you going to do this year?" Harry sighed.

"I'm not sure. The Headmaster hasn't seen fit to discuss it with me yet." Hermione's face clouded over but she didn't get a chance to say anything since they reached the greenhouses.

Since the tables in Herbology seated four, Harry and Neville sat with Hermione and Draco. Daphne sat with Tracey, Millie, and Pansy while the other boys took a table together. Professor Sprout breezed in and didn't waste any time starting her lecture on stinksap. The whole class was spent on lecture with promises of practical uses next class period.

They were dismissed to dinner and Harry decided to sit with his Gryffindor friends at the lion's table. Once he was seated between Ron and Seamus, he piled food onto his plate and listened to his friends banter back and forth about quidditch and homework. He threw an arm over Pav's shoulders when Seamus stood to go talk to Dean and smiled at her.

"Thanks for having Hermione's back today. Really means a lot to me." She rolled her eyes at him and shrugged out from under his arm.

"I did what I did because no woman should be violated like that, not because I like your girlfriend." Harry stuttered.

"She's not my girlfriend." She snorted before she moved between himself and Ron so she could slide under the redhead's arm.

"Yeah, I know." Lavender was glaring at him but he refused to meet her gaze. He knew that she wanted to date him but he had never told her that he would date anyone, let alone her. Ginny was still lurking further down the table, making eyes at him, but he paid her no attention. It was of no consequence to him now that he had quit fucking her.

It was a good time, catching up with all his Gryffindor friends. At the end of the meal, he wiped his mouth and rose, starting for the quidditch pitch. He knew that he was meeting the other champions there and most likely the Headmaster as well. He wasn't looking forward to seeing Krum again, especially since the last time he had seen him alone, it had resulted in him beating him bloody.

Fleur and Cedric were already there, talking quietly amongst themselves. Harry approached quickly, sure that Viktor was shortly behind him. He wondered who from the Ministry was going to be there, for surely there was going to have to be one. Once the pair realized that he was there, Cedric clapped him on the shoulder.

"Potter, good to see you. How's Hermione?" Harry wanted to scowl. It was clear the Hufflepuff had a crush on her but he supposed that he couldn't say anything. He had started shagging Chang just a few months beforehand when she swore to him that she and Cedric weren't exclusive. Instead, he screwed a smile on his face.

"She's alright. Hanging in there. Krum just told her today that he lost his place on the national team because of what he's done to all the girls here." Cedric smiled at him.

"That's good to hear. He definitely deserves it." They were cut off by Krum arriving with a scowl on his face. He didn't say a word, just stood off to the side and waited impatiently for the others to arrive. Cedric and Fleur started speaking of quidditch and Harry almost started laughing when he saw the scowl on Krum's face deepen.

They didn't have long to wait before the Headmaster arrived with Ludo Bagman trailing behind him. Harry stood there, silent, between Cedric and Fleur and waited for them to approach. After the niceties had been tended to, the Headmaster turned to Bagman and indicated that he should begin. Bagman smiled jovially and started.

"Champions, brave champions. In just one months time, you'll be facing your third task right here on this very quidditch pitch. We're going to grow hedges and make it a maze. It's going to be a contest for the four of you, to see who can get to the middle of the maze first and get the Triwizard Cup." Harry looked quite skeptical.

"That's it? A maze?" Bagman started to laugh.

"No, Harry, my boy. We're going to put some obstacles in the maze to make it more difficult. You'll be entering the maze in the order that you're placed in the tournament. From there, it's just a matter of who gets to the middle first." For as simple as it sounded, Harry knew that it wasn't going to be that easy. Dumbledore spoke.

"I think that's all we need from you. You four are free to go." Harry nodded and turned to leave. Bagman called him back.

"Harry, my boy, can I have a word?" He sighed and turned to face the portly man. Bagman grinned at him, throwing an arm around his shoulders.

"I was wondering if you needed any help. You're the youngest competitor and I would love to give you a few tips." Harry shook his head in the negative.

"No, sir, thank you though. I want to do this on my own. Whether I win or not, I want to be able to say that I did it all on my own." Bagman laughed but Harry could tell that he was irritated with him.

Harry made his excuses and found his way back to the castle. He knew that his friends would all be in the library so he started in that direction. He had almost made it that far when someone reached out and pulled him into an alcove and kissed him hard. Harry couldn't help the hardening of his prick as he pulled away, only to realize that it was Ginny. He pushed her up against the wall and glared. Before he could speak, she was crying.

"I'm so sorry, Harry. I know that you hate me and I understand that. I never should have said that about you and I never should have gotten so angry with you. Please, nobody in Gryffindor will talk to me." Harry raked a hand through his hair and sighed.

"Ginny, we aren't fucking anymore. That is over. I understand that you made a mistake and you're sorry but I won't make the same mistake twice. I'll be a little more friendly so the others will talk to you but you need to remember that you did this to yourself. As for dragging me in here and kissing me, don't ever do it again. I don't appreciate it. Get it through your head and maybe you can salvage your reputation in Gryffindor." Ginny nodded vigorously and smiled at him gratefully. She hugged him quickly before backing away and thanking him one last time and bolting out of the alcove.

Harry took a moment and sighed at what had just happened. After his moment, he left the alcove and continued to the library. Once inside, he found his friends and took the seat next to Hermione that was still open. He only had the essay from Hagrid to work on so he started it right away. After he finished that, he planned on doing more of the homework from Madam Cambridge.

It was late when they finally quit working on homework, just a half hour before curfew. He gathered his things and pressed a kiss to Hermione's cheek before wishing her goodnight. He threw his arm around Juliet and pulled her to the staircase that was the most direct path to Gryffindor Tower. She chattered the whole way, telling him the latest gossip with all her friends and what she wanted to do when school let out. It made him just a little jealous that she was going to get to go straight to Black Moor while he was most assuredly going to have to go to Privet Drive for at least a short time.

After reaching the Tower, he hugged the small girl and sent her on her way. He waved to the rest of his friends who were all sitting up and playing exploding snap. He nodded his head at Ginny and he could hear the common room fall silent at his actions. He didn't stick around to explain himself, however. He owed none of them an explanation.

Once reaching his dorm, he stripped quickly and performed his evening ablutions before crawling into his bed and closing the curtains. He cast a silencing spell and reached into his pants to pull his cock out. It had been awhile since he had masturbated but since he had refrained from sex for the last couple weeks to make sure that Hermione stayed away from Krum, he felt like he was going to explode.

Harry closed his eyes and pictured Hermione on her knees before him, her lips wrapped around his cock, her eyes looking up at him through her dark lashes. He could feel her tongue dragging on the underside of his cock and he started to stroke himself. He imagined her tits, bare and perky, sliding along his cock as he sped up, making the head weep.

It was sudden when he exploded into his fist, his seed coating his hand and stomach liberally. Harry fought to catch his breath, just realizing that he was panting from his exertions. When his breathing was almost normal again, he reached for his wand and cleaned himself before tucking his cock back in his pajama bottoms. Harry couldn't help but wish that it had been the real thing.

With a sigh, he threw the duvet over himself and closed his eyes. Hopefully sleep would make him feel up to telling everyone what the third task was in the morning.

A/N- Another chapter down, guys. Not quite as long as usual but I really wanted to write a chapter to show the aftermath of Krum's attack. Hope you all enjoyed it. Thanks to everyone out there reading and reviewing, you guys are seriously the bomb. Leave me a message after the beep and let me know what you think. Reviews are love.

Next chapter, the third task.

Love,

Alicia


	81. Chapter 81

A/N- Y'all, all I can say is that this chapter is going to be a monster. I should really split it in two but I hate when authors do that. I would just rather read one massive chapter. So don't get angry when that's what you get. Regardless, I hope you all enjoy.

I want to say just one more thing before I start...I got a few reviews and PMs saying how they were disappointed that I made Viktor the victim because I used false accusations against him. I want y'all to know that I don't agree with this practice at all. However, in this story since Viktor's father is an ambassador, Hermione would have had no justice. In our world and this day and age, things would be different. That's the difference. For the few of you that sent me shitty messages telling me off because I support such things, look at the differences in the story and real life. I wrote about sexual assault. I'm about to write about explicit torture. Does that mean I agree with those as well? Absolutely not. All I'm saying is use your damn heads.

Trigger Warning: Explicit torture.

Disclaimer: Nothing about this story belongs to me except for the personal plot twist I've put on this story line. The characters belong to our queen and the very original story line belonged to Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle. I haven't made any money off this story or any other. I'm still a broke bitch as evidenced by the fact that I have a whopping forty dollars in my bank account. Thank God I'm easy to entertain.

Chapter 81

June 24, 1995

Augustus knew that tonight was the night. On one hand, he hoped against hope that the ritual worked and his master was restored to his former body and he was young and whole again. On the other hand, however, he hoped that it failed and he was sent back into limbo to suffer and wait until another faithful follower came along and came up with another plan to bring him back.

All the Dark Lord had spoken of was Hermione Black. On his visits, Crouch, Jr. had brought him photos that he had taken of the girl, showing him what she looked like. Rookwood would be the first to admit that she was even more beautiful than she had been last year. She had grown and so had her body. She was more mature. Hermione already had a woman's body and Rookwood wanted to get his hands on it desperately. However, that would never happen if the Dark Lord rose. He was determined to have her.

After learning what had happened to her through the Daily Prophet, both the Dark Lord and Rookwood had sworn that they would kill young Krum. Rookwood didn't care so much that she was untouched, after all, she would just know how to please him once he had her, but the Dark Lord was livid. Augustus just wanted her to be willing; Lord Voldemort didn't want her touched by anyone but himself. The fact that the quidditch star had touched her inappropriately and against her will had sealed his fate. He would die and in a most painful way. Rookwood didn't mind; he had always like to watch torture, mayhem, and bloodshed.

Potter was going to be joining them tonight, that was supposed to be Crouch's job. He really hoped that the man would come through on his end of the job but Rookwood had serious doubts. The man's mind was gone, he had clearly spent far too much time in Azkaban. However, his devotion to the Dark Lord was complete so it was a possibility that he could make it work. For the sake of his health and body, Rookwood hoped that he could. He would be the one getting tortured after the Dark Lord killed Crouch, Jr. in a fit of rage.

He sighed as he stood, readying himself to go begin the circle that they would need for the ritual that night. It was going to be a long night no matter how he looked at the outcome. All he knew was that no matter what the outcome was, he was determined to come out on top.

-O-

Hermione couldn't quiet her nerves; she couldn't eat more than a few bites and she couldn't help her feet that were shaking under the table. Luna gave her a knowing smile and squeezed her hand, telling her that all would be well in the end. Hermione tried to smile back and tell her that she knew that she was right but she couldn't. She couldn't help but shake the feeling that something terribly wrong was going to happen at the third task and nothing they did was going to stop it.

All her family and friends were gathered around, eating breakfast and talking loudly. Harry had agreed to eat breakfast with Gryffindor since he would be spending the morning with family and eating lunch with them as well. It had been made clear that most of his lion friends wouldn't be joining them at the Slytherin table. To keep the peace, he had agreed that breakfast across the room wasn't too big of a price to pay. Hermione hated it but agreed that it was a fair compromise.

Hermione and Harry had had a marked argument two weeks before that had lasted a week; neither had spoke to the other but they had refused to sit at opposite tables. It had made for tension-filled mealtimes and their friends were fed up with them by the time they had finally resolved it. Hermione had noticed that Harry had gotten more friendly with Ginny Weasley. He would smile at her, wave at her, even sit next to her here and there to study. The younger girl would beam and just eat up the attention.

Hermione could admit that part of it was jealousy. She knew herself well enough to know that. However, the other part of her that objected to it was the part that knew this girl had done her family wrong and Harry was welcoming her back with open arms like he hadn't learned a fucking thing. She had sat on the information for days, trying to keep her mouth shut, trying not to blow up at the slight to their family, but in the end it had exploded out.

*Flashback*

Hermione was headed for the library with all their friends in tow; they wanted tutoring in Potions and they trusted nobody but herself and Draco to do so. Hermione was still stewing over seeing Harry sit next to Ginny at dinner, holding a conversation with her that had them both laughing uproariously. Her insides burned with jealousy but even more than that, her family honor was being called into question. Harry was her family and that girl had called him a liar, had accused him of getting her pregnant, knowing that it was lie. To see him cozying up to her after that was like a slap in the face.

Hermione was so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn't realize that Draco had taken her arm and was pulling her into an empty classroom. Neville appeared to be doing the same to Harry. Luna, Juliet, Daphne, and the twins followed and Hermione couldn't believe that Draco was allowing this. Family business was just that. Handled within family. She glared at him openly as he locked, warded, and silenced the door. He turned to her and ignored her glare.

"Tell me what the fuck your problem is. Everyone can tell you're about to set something on fire with your eyes, you have been for three days. Just spit it out so we can get past it." Hermione shook her head.

"No, I don't believe that I will. It's family business and last I checked, we aren't all family in this room." Draco snorted.

"You're telling me that Neville and the twins aren't just like your brothers? They love you like their sister. Daphne is your best friend. She's as good as family and you know it. After this summer, all three of those boys are going to be family." Hermione had to grit her teeth to keep from slapping her cousin. Instead, she smiled sweetly at her cousin.

"I'm just fine, thanks. I'd like to go study now." Hermione just glared until Draco sighed and raked a hand through his hair.

"Please, Miney." He never called her Miney in front of anyone but family. It was always Hermione or Mia. Hermione stiffened her spine and let her impassive mask slip over her features before turning to Harry.

"Why are you getting cozy with Ginny Weasley again?" He looked as though he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar; his eyes darted around looking for help and then he looked to the ground for a few moments before finally looking up to meet her gaze.

"Ginny spoke to me a few weeks ago, begging me to take pity on her because the rest of our house wouldn't talk to her. She told me they all hated her because of what she did to me. She didn't ask to shag me, she just wanted me to not ostracize her. That's all I've done, show everyone that I don't hate her. Yet you're pissed about that." Hermione hissed in anger, almost like a snake. She started to advance on Harry but he held his ground.

"I expect you to respect yourself and your family. She insulted you and your family name, not to mention your family, when she accused you wrongly of impregnating her. Not only did she accuse you, she did it publicly. After that, she told the whole school that she was shagging six other men to keep their attention off the fact that she had done so. Just because I don't contribute to gossip doesn't mean that I don't hear it. A self-respecting wizard wouldn't sit there and laugh with her, welcoming her back into his circle of friends with open arms. You should have more respect for yourself and your family. Pansy Parkinson disrespected me and I cut her down, I ruined her socially. Have I once gone back on it and acted like her friend? No, because I know what the little bitch is capable of. She's shown me what she'll do if I trust her. Just like Ginny has shown you. All you're going to do is bring more shame on yourself by being seen with her." Harry took a step towards her and sneered her way.

"You're just jealous that I'm talking to her. You want me and I'm paying her attention that you think should go to you. There are other people in my life aside from you, Hermione." Hermione tried to fight the sting of tears in her eyes but it was so hard. His words cut to the bone, mostly because they were partly true. She waved her wand to make sure that nobody could hear her words, casting a silent silencing spell.

"I know that I'm not the only girl in your life. I'll never be the only girl in your life. I'm not that important and I have no illusions that I am. It would be nice to feel as though I meant more to you than the person who threw rocks at me, threw me into a lake, and cursed me bald. I would protect my family at any cost. You won't even protect yourself." Hermione angrily swiped an arm across her eyes and turned to leave. Harry reached out and grabbed her arm, stopping her. His voice was hard when he spoke.

"She swears she didn't throw those rocks or throw you into the lake. I believe that she cursed you bald but she was jealous." Hermione just smiled softly at him.

"I guess that makes it better." She pulled from his grasp and waved her wand at the door, cancelling all of Draco's spells with only one sweep.

*End of Flashback*

The week that followed had been quite painful for Hermione. She had tried to keep her distance from Harry but since he refused to leave the Slytherin table, it had been difficult. She had stayed away from the library as best she could but since she still needed a few books that she didn't have in her collection, she couldn't stay away permanently. Harry still insisted on escorting her to and from classes, though she noticed a marked absence of him after the meals. She had assumed that he was off sleeping with all the girls that he passed the time away with.

It had all finally come to a head a week later when Draco had locked them in a classroom together, just the three of them, and told them that he wasn't letting them go anywhere until they worked it out. Of course, that only served to have Hermione tell Harry exactly what he wanted to hear, mostly because she couldn't bear to be in there with him any longer than necessary. The thought of him fucking Weaselette again made her physically sick. Therefore, she had told him that she hadn't meant a word of it and if he wanted to her friend, that was fine with her. She'd stay out of his business and he'd stay out of hers.

She had thought that it was a hell of a deal but Harry had groaned. After groaning, he had glared at her, telling her that she wasn't going to get off that easy, that she was going to admit that she was wrong. Hermione very much didn't think that she was wrong, in fact, she felt that she was a million percent right, Draco had glared at her, however, and she had finally met Harry's eyes, told him how right he was and how wrong she was, told him that she would stay out of his business from there on out, and went about her merry way.

Hermione had cried herself to sleep that night.

She didn't understand how she could mean so little to him when he meant the world to her. She would kill for him, die for him, and he couldn't stop talking to one single girl. She hadn't demanded that he quit sleeping with all the other girls. She hadn't even demanded that he stop having anything to do with Pansy, her enemy in Slytherin house. All she wanted was for him to respect her and her family and he couldn't even do that.

Since her fake apology, because they both knew that's what it was, things had been strained. Sure, there were smiles and laughs, they had joked around, but everyone knew that it was an act. Everyone in school knew that something wasn't right between the two and they could only speculate what it was. Hermione had wanted to throw up when the latest rumor had been that it was because she had given herself to Harry and not Krum, that that was the reason she and Krum had really fought. Harry had never acknowledged the rumor but it caused her to cry herself to sleep more than one night.

They still weren't alright. They still weren't okay. Hermione had no idea when they would be. However, today was the final task and if things went wrong, Harry could get hurt or die. It was the last thing she wanted because no matter how big of a git he was, or how stupid and arrogant he was, she was still stupidly and completely in love with him. She had accepted that they wouldn't be together and that she deserved better than him, but It made her sick to realize it but she couldn't change the truth. It was what it was. It was better to accept it and just deal with it as best she could.

Therefore, Hermione did her best to finish her breakfast and put on a brave face since Harry was going to be facing a maze full of obstacles. Since they hadn't been sure what those obstacles would be, they had spent their time brushing up on just about every kind of spell they could. Since Hagrid was on the grounds, it was given that there would be creatures of some kind involved. Hermione just hoped against hope that Harry could at least get through it alive; she didn't even care if he won or not. According to Draco, he didn't care either.

Everyone else at the Slytherin table seemed tense. While the upper and younger years weren't that close to Harry, they were used to seeing him at their table and had mostly gotten over their animosity towards him. There were still a few that grumbled when they saw him coming but they were few and far between. Slytherin House as a whole wouldn't be upset if Gryffindor's Golden Boy won the Triwizard Tournament that evening.

Viktor had left her alone since the last run in she had had with him. Not for lack of trying, however. Blaise had run him off while in the library just a few weeks before and Daphne had told him to bugger of last week in the Great Hall before everyone else had arrived. Hermione had appreciated it since the last thing she wanted to do was to speak to her would-be rapist any more than she had to. If he never showed up at Hogwarts again, she wouldn't feel bad in the least.

The bell rang to dismiss the students from breakfast, which meant that the families and the champions were due to arrive any moment. They would spend the morning with their champion, then lunch, and then head to the stands to watch the last task with the rest of the students and those invited to watch. Hermione was just excited to see her father, aunt, and uncle. It had been three months since she had seen them and she missed them all terribly. At least this time, Aunt Andie, Uncle Ted, Uncle Remus and Dory would be included as well.

The Great Hall cleared out and Viktor made sure to move to the Ravenclaw table so he could have privacy with his own family. His were the first to file into the cavernous room, his father shooting Hermione a deathly glare while his brother stared at her with lustful eyes. There was hatred in his sister's eyes but his mother watched her with understanding; it made her wonder if she suffered the same fate as Hermione would have under Viktor's thumb. It saddened her to think about, especially when she considered what Viktor told her about binding her to him in a dark ritual.

Cedric's family came next, his mother and father holding him close and kissing him numerous times. He was the only child so it was only the three of them. Hermione knew that Amos Diggory was well-known in the Ministry so she wasn't surprised when her father and Uncle Luci waved at him when they came striding in with Aunt Cissy and Helena on their arms. Remus and Dory were next with Aunt Andie and Uncle Ted bringing up the rear. Harry was the first to be pulled into their arms so Hermione took the chance to watch the exchange between Fleur and her parents.

Pierre and Apolline almost dragged Gabrielle in they were moving so fast, eager to get to Fleur and hug her tight. They flashed a smile her way and waved and Hermione could feel her cheeks color slightly. She turned her attention back to her own family to find that while Harry had been thoroughly hugged by everyone, she, Draco, and Juliet had not been.

Everyone took their turn, holding her close and telling her how happy they were to see her. Hermione was most pleased to see her father's arm around Helena and how happy he looked. He raised an eyebrow at her but she just stared at him, silently challenging him for her observing him. Finally, he smirked her way and broke eye contact, indicating that she had won the battle. Everyone seemed to be talking at once and it was complete mayhem. Hermione was pulled out of it by an arm around her shoulders. She didn't have to look to know that it was Uncle Luci.

"Are you angry with him?" She shook her head.

"No, not angry. I want him to be happy and I can imagine how lonely Black Moor gets when I'm gone. When Juliet is gone. Merlin, I have to get used to saying that. He needs someone. I guess I'm just scared that he'll forget me again, like he did last summer." Uncle Luci hugged her close and kissed her hair line.

"He could never forget you, love. You're his daughter." She smiled at her uncle and had to say the words because they were the truth.

"In name. We both know that Juliet is his daughter. I'm his niece. He adopted me to save himself for Harry. I'm not trying to say that I'm not important. I know that I am. I know that he loves me. I know that he'll never take the heir spot from me, he really can't. My father was the rightful heir when I was born, it's mine by right. I'm just scared that the Helena and Juliet will mean more because they really belong to him and I'm just someone he adopted for convenience. Even Harry is his family because he wanted to be. He accepted that responsibility willingly. Don't think I'm not aware of the fact that he hasn't always been enamored with the fact that he's raising a daughter." Uncle Luci sighed and threaded his hands through her hair before hugging her tight.

"He loves you, sweetness. You are the light of his life. Yes, he's going to love Juliet and Helena too but he won't love you any less. In fact, he's scared of losing you because of them." She snorted.

"I wouldn't abandon him because he loved them too. I'm not that type of person." He snorted now, a sound that wasn't often heard from her refined uncle's mouth.

"That's not what your cousin tells me. He tells me that you've all but abandoned Harry because he's started talking to Ginny Weasley again." Hermione growled in response and her uncle laughed out loud in response.

She explained everything in detail and by the end of her explanation, he was planted firmly on her side. Not that she expected any differently, she was the favorite over Harry, of course, but it made her feel better to know that someone could see her side of things too. Draco didn't bother to try, he just told her that he wasn't going to take sides and he wasn't going to be in the middle of the argument. She couldn't ask anyone else to get in the middle because it just wouldn't be right. Uncle Luci tugged her hair to make her look him in the eyes.

"I know it hurts now, Princess, but someday it won't. Someday, he'll admit that he was wrong and he's going to tell you how wrong he was and he's going to tell you how much he wants you. It's going to hurt at first but after awhile, it's going to be the best feeling in the world. You just have to hang in there until then. Don't wait around for him but mark my words. It will happen." Hermione sighed.

"I don't know if I'll want him by then." Uncle Luci shrugged his shoulders.

"If you don't, I'll buy you whatever man you want. If you don't want a man, I'll buy you whatever horse you want. Your father and I will make sure that you're happy." She smiled at him and kissed his cheek softly.

"Thank you, Uncle Luci. That really means a lot to me. You're the only person I can talk to about this. Aunt Cissy goes into the vapors about it and Daddy would have a heart attack. I can't trust Remus with this and Dory would never stop teasing me. Draco is more of a middle ground these days so…" He kissed her forehead and smiled down at her.

"Let's just make this as good a day as we can." Hermione grimaced slightly.

"I don't think that's possible. I have a really bad feeling about this." He smoothed her curls.

"Regardless, there is nothing we can do about it. Therefore, we must support Harry as best we can." Hermione gave a nod before she was swept up in a hug with Dory and Luna, both laughing about Harry sticking it to Krum in the order of entering the maze.

The whole of their family started for the doors that led out of the Great Hall. Apparently, they had decided to walk around the Black Lake and spend their time there. Hermione had no problem with it. She spent every morning there, after all. She still loved running after all this time and she adored how it calmed her mind.

They all settled under her favorite willow tree, conjuring blankets to sit on and pillows to lean against. Hermione found herself between Aunt Cissy and Aunt Andie, both of whom were trying to talk boys to her. Even they both knew what a horrific experience she had had with Viktor, they were trying to convince her that she needed to not give up on boys, that there would be one out there that would treat her right and set her blood on fire. Hermione was quite sure that she had already found that person but she didn't voice that. Instead, she looked up to find that Harry was watching her with an angry expression on his face. She wasn't sure what she had done to earn his ire since she had stayed out his way all morning but she quickly averted her eyes. It wouldn't do to fight before the third task.

She and her family all laughed the morning away, catching up and talking about anything under the sun. She and Luna were given a hard time about finding boyfriends while the boys were teased about finding girls that could keep them under control. Aunt Cissy kept an arm around her shoulders most of the morning, still feelings guilty that she hadn't been there when Hermione had wanted her for the exam she had had to endure. She pulled her in so Hermione could rest her head on her shoulder while the rest of the family fawned over Harry.

"I'm glad you're doing better, Sunshine. I'm sorry I couldn't be there." Hermione squeezed her aunt's fingers and smiled.

"I know. Aunt Andie filled in nicely. If you had known you would have been there and that's what matters. Don't worry, I'm not a hundred percent but I'm better than than I was." Aunt Cissy beamed at her but didn't bring it up again.

After sitting by the Black Lake for hours, the bell rang throughout the grounds, signalling that it was time for lunch. They considering calling the elves for a picnic but decided that they would do lunch in the Great Hall for appearances sake. They all stood and started for the castle, only to meet Viktor Krum and his family on the way in, just a hundred feet from the entrance. The doors were open and it was clear that the rest of the students would be able to hear anything said if they decided to pay attention to anything said. Ambassador Krum barreled up to her father and started drilling him in the chest with his finger.

"You tink you can frame my son for your daughter being whore? Nobody do dis to house of Krum and get away vith it." Her father's anger was building, that much was obvious. Helena was shuffling Juliet back behind her and Aunt Cissy was making sure that the rest of the children were behind her. Hermione refused to be contained, however, much to her aunt's chagrin. She stood side by side with her father and her hair was blowing in a wind that just wasn't there. Her father spoke next.

"I suggest that you leave before you say something that you can't take back and my daughter takes matters into her own hands. I doubt you're aware of the laws in our lands and you will probably end up hurt and without the ability to press charges." Lord Krum scoffed openly at his words.

"I not get in trouble for telling truth. She tells lies about my Viktor. She whore." Even though she knew that her father would have handled the situation for her, she probably should have let him, she didn't. She let her magic free and it knocked him back several feet to land him flat on his back. He was gasping for air, holding his chest, and fear flickering in his eyes. Her father stepped forward to lean over the dark wizard.

"That's my daughter doing that, not me. She's going to get away with it too. You called her a whore and she has certified proof from Madam Pomfrey after she was treated from your son's attack that her innocence is still intact. She could do anything short of killing you and get away with it, ambassador or not. If there are any doubts, she can have the charm cast again right after the third task. Otherwise, we'll make a big spectacle of this only to find that she's right, you're wrong and a complete fool. So basically the normal." Krum glared at him but nodded his head. Hermione let him up but glared at both him and his son when he approached to help him up. Her voice was stone when she spoke.

"From now on, leave me alone. Don't try to talk to me, don't make contact with me, Don't even remember me as anything other than a passing face. It could never have been more and you just had to ruin it by getting greedy when you already had an amazing friend out of the mix." Viktor hung his head in shame but Hermione wasn't touched. Her father pulled her away from the Krums and towards the Great Hall, throwing an arm around her shoulders. He smiled down at her.

"I've spent the morning with Harry and Juliet. Why don't you spend lunch with me?" Hermione was a little surprised but nodded anyways.

They took seats at the Slytherin table, everyone expanding and scooting down to make room. For this meal, Neville and the twins joined them, all happy to be considered part of the family. Hermione enjoyed that her father made sure to ask after her life even though it was Harry's day and one of the most important of his life; it made her feel important like she never had before. Before, he would have found her much later to question her after the fact and after her feelings of importance had fled.

Hermione couldn't help but worry that her little sister was going to get more attention from her father than she was. She was biologically his, for one. For two, she was the baby. They were always the favorites. She supposed that she deserved it for taking the attention from Draco but it hurt to think about. Juliet hadn't shown up until much later in life and it had been with a heavy conscience that she had bid her father to make contact with her.

However, it was all for nothing. Her father seemed to still care what was happening in her life and hadn't mentioned his relationship with Helena until she had asked. It was a nice change and she couldn't help but wonder what had brought the change on. She had wished for it for years but it had never come. Whatever had seen fit to bless her with a father that wasn't going to stop loving her, she thanked Merlin for it every single day.

Sooner rather than later, lunch dismissed and the champions were bid to tell their friends and family farewell. Neville and the twins were quick to wish Harry well and good luck since they knew that they had quite a bit of family behind them. After they were gone, Luna, Juliet, and Daphne took their turns, hugging him close and threatening him as to what would happen if he came back injured. Hermione could only smirk when he laughed at their threats.

Dory reminded him of his training, told him that he was her cousin since she had no idea how else to describe how he was related and that meant that if he was hurt she was going to have to tear the world apart to find out who was responsible. He had laughed but hugged her the same, telling her that he would do his best to come back unharmed. Aunt Andie was next, telling him that he was part of the family and she wouldn't take any part of the family misbehaving and not listening to her when she told them to come home safe. He had pulled her in his arms and kissed her cheek, telling her how much he adored her.

Uncle Ted came next, followed closely by Remus, both telling him that he needed to stay safe. He had promised to do the best he could. When Aunt Cissy stepped forward and wrapped an arm around his neck, she buried her face in his neck and cried a few tears, telling him how he was as good as her own son, that he better not make her put him over her knee and paddle him. He had chuckled, kissed her cheek, and promised to do his best to remain safe. Aunt Cissy had smiled at him before waving him on to Helena. The half-blood hugged him tightly and simply made him promise to be safe since she didn't know him all that well. Harry obliged before letting her go and relinquishing her to Sirius.

That didn't last long since Sirius took him in his arms next, telling him how he was going to do great, how he believed in him, how the family believed in him. Harry appreciated the support and was grateful that he was receiving it from his godfather; just having one didn't mean that he would ever get his approval or anything close to support from him when he learned the truth at the end of third year.

Uncle Lucius stepped forward next and offered Harry his hand but pulled him in close to whisper something in his ear. After a few moments, he pulled away and though Harry looked confused, he didn't look frightened. Hermione decided that she was going to let it go since she had decided to let everything everything Harry Potter related go as a priority. It was just too much torture.

Finally, Harry turned to Hermione and Draco. Draco stepped forward first, offering his hand since he was sure that Hermione wouldn't. Harry took it and shook it, clearly pleased that his friend was supporting him. She heard their words and she wished that her situation with Harry was different.

"You have to stay safe out there, mate. It's just a stupid competition, it doesn't mean shite if you're dead. Promise you'll stay safe." Harry nodded and met Draco's eyes.

"Promise, mate. I don't want to die out there anymore than you want me to. I'm going to do my best to come back to everyone." Draco clapped him on the shoulder and Hermione knew that she was the only one left. She really didn't want to say goodbye since it was only going to be awkward but she couldn't get away with it. Dumbledore was looming and she knew that their time was limited. Maybe he would just skip over her and they could dismiss all the awkwardness between them. However, Harry stepped in front of her and reached up to stroke a finger down her cheek. When she met his gaze, he smiled softly at her.

"I know you're still mad at me. I still don't agree with you but I appreciate you lying to keep the peace even though it wasn't necessary. You could have just told me to fuck off." She refused to meet his eyes at that statement. How was she supposed to take the statement that he thought she was wrong about Ginny Weasley? He was still taking her word over Hermione's? That hurt. She refused to tell him, however. It wouldn't matter even if he knew.

"How do you expect me to feel? You're taking her word over mine. I'm your family and that means nothing. I've given you everything as my family and you haven't done the same. However, this is a life or death competition and I'm setting that aside. Your life is more important. I just want you to know that it hurt me more than you can know to know that you chose her word over mine, then and now. I hope you know that I love you more than anything and I hope that nothing happens to you. I have a terrible feeling about this task so I want you to promise me that you'll be careful." He smiled at her and held out his arms. She couldn't help but float into them, no matter how much he had hurt two weeks before. He hugged her close and felt him breathe deeply of her hair.

"I'm going to do my absolute best to come back to you. I swear it. Nothing could keep me from returning to you." Hermione couldn't help but snort and he laughed. She pinched his side.

"Returning to me, please. We all know your fangirls would be lost without you."

"I want to return to you. I could lose any girl that I'm fucking right now and not be bothered. You, Luna, and Juliet are the only girls that mean a fig to me." She snorted again as she pulled away.

"That's sweet but not true. Ginny means something if you're going against your family honor for her." Hermione knew that she had pushed him too far when he threw his arms up and walked away from her.

"I can't fucking win with you, Hermione. I'm trying to make peace with you and you just can't let it go." Hermione knew that this was going to happen so she just lowered her head and stared at her shoes. She swallowed her pride and did her best to sound contrite.

"I'm sorry, Harry. You're right. Everyone has the right to a second chance. I'm glad that you're giving Ginny one, I'm just jealous." Hermione felt a little bit of herself die inside but she buried it down deep. This wasn't the time to deal with it. Harry still glared at her but nodded. He didn't approach her again, instead, turned from her to follow after the Headmaster as he led the champions out of the Great Hall. Her father stared at her but Uncle Luci was who approached her and laid an arm around her shoulders.

"You're a much better person than I, sunshine." She snorted softly.

"It's better to just let him have what he wants. He doesn't really care what I think." Her uncle kissed the side of her head as they started out of the castle towards the bleachers that were there for spectators.

"He does. He cares what you think most of all. That's why he reacts so strongly." Hermione couldn't help but disbelieve it but remained quiet.

The whole family took seats in the bleachers once they found seats. Hermione found herself between her father and Draco with Uncle Luci on the other side of her cousin. The rest of her family was all around them and she felt like it was a block of support for Harry. She found that Neville and the twins were seated with them, along with Fleur's and Cedric's family. It was nice to see that most of the champions' family were able to work together just fine.

It was almost thirty minutes after they had seated before the champions had arrived before the crowd, Harry being the most popular. Everyone was chanting his name and Hermione could see that there were girls in the crowd waving banners that had his name on it. It was quite disconcerting. She did her best to ignore it and just tune it out but it made her sick at the same time. Her father put his arm around her shoulders and she felt a little better. At least Harry wasn't his sole focus.

Dumbledore appeared and gave a bunch of lip service about the tournament and what an honor it was to participate. After telling the world the order in which the champions would enter, said champions moved closer and lined up before the maze. Hermione couldn't help but be nervous for Harry. Even Cedric and Fleur since they were friends. This maze was no joke and the last thing she wanted was for a friend to die.

Hermione listened as the blast went off, sending Harry into the maze. Then five minutes later, Viktor entered. Five minutes after that, Cedric followed. Finally, Fleur twenty minutes after Harry had and there was nothing to do but sit there and wait.

-O-

Harry was as prepared as he was going to get. He had spent the last month with Hermione, Draco, Remus, and Tonks doing anything and everything they could think of to prepare him for this maze. There had been hours and hours of hard work so while he still worried about what was to come, he felt very prepared for just about anything the Ministry could throw at him.

He had just spent the morning with his family and he loved that they were all showing him so much support. It was a stark contrast as to what his life had been like before embracing the Blacks and Malfoys into his life and he still couldn't believe that he had resisted Hermione and Draco's hand in friendship for so long.

Hermione.

His mind turned her way as he changed into the robes that the Ministry had provided them with for the task. He knew that she was still angry with him and truth be told, he was angry with her. While Draco was used to her telling him what to do, used to her reminding him daily what was expected of him and what was proper, he wasn't. He may be the last of his house and he may be the next Lord Potter but he hadn't been raised that way. He was still learning and the last thing that he needed was to be henpecked by her when he did something that she didn't agree with.

The truth of the matter was that he felt terrible for throwing words about her jealousy in her face. It was low and they had been said in the heat of the moment. He wished that he could take them back. However, he couldn't apologize for them until she realized that she couldn't bully him into acting like she wanted just because she thought she knew better. Draco had already chewed his arse out over telling her that, had had no problems telling him that his words had hurt her deep, but he refused to get in the middle of their arguments anymore. He had tried to make them fix it and after it didn't work, he had called it quits for good.

Harry didn't trust Ginny; he knew that she could be spiteful and hurtful, especially to Hermione. He still didn't believe that she had thrown the rocks at her, he hadn't been seeing Ginny at all then, and he surely didn't believe that she had thrown Hermione into a lake. He faintly remembered hearing something about that last year but didn't remember the details. After asking Draco, he had been told that if he wanted to know that he needed to ask Hermione. Since that would just cause them to argue again, he wasn't going to bring it up.

Even though he didn't trust Ginny, he felt bad for her. He remembered what it felt like to have no friends back when he was in muggle school. It was terrible and lonely and awful all in one. Yes, Ginny had done it to herself but he couldn't be as cold and heartless as Hermione and just not care. Even now, she didn't care that the girls in Slytherin barely spoke to Pansy. She didn't care that the girl had no friends. It was as though she was playing God and was completely alright with doling out these punishments if her standards weren't met.

This was the part of his new family that he struggled with. Sirius and the Malfoys were just as bad. They all acted as though they were owed something because of their money and titles. He knew that part of it was an act but the other part of it wasn't. Even Neville, to an extent, acted the same. He just wasn't sure how to take it and often wondered if his father acted the same way. He was almost positive that he had and that was why his mother had put him off for almost seven years before finally agreeing to date him.

Even as he strode out onto the pitch in front of the maze and listened to Dumbledore talk about the tournament, he couldn't get his mind off Hermione. She had tried to get one last comment in and he had lost his temper. She had known that she had pushed him too far, that much was obvious. It was the first time that he had ever seen her bow down to him, truly contrite about something that she still clearly believed. Hermione had let go of something that she believed to be hurting him and her family, something that had hurt her personally, because he wanted her to.

She was a strong woman and he didn't think that she would ever bow to a man. He would never forget watching her go toe to toe against Sirius, telling him that she couldn't stay there with him any longer, telling him that she renounced her name and her title. Yet, Harry had watched her bow her head, apologize, and admit her most embarrassing feelings of jealousy out loud. She had been reduced to a woman who looked broken, just waiting for the next insult to her pride.

Harry had done that to her and he felt like complete shite.

The Gryffindor was forced to push her from his mind as they were called to the entrance of the maze. Moody stood before all four of them and Harry silently promised himself that he would apologize to Hermione and make things right even if they couldn't agree. They had both been wrong and while he had been offended, she had been hurt.

"You all know the point. Get to the middle and get the Cup. First one there wins." Apparently, Moody was a man of few words and Harry appreciated it. He gestured for Harry to step forward.

"You're first, Potter. On the blast, you're free to enter." Harry stepped forward and nodded. After only a few seconds, the cannon blast sounded and he hurried into the maze. Hermione had taught him a handy spell called the "Point Me" spell, which would tell him whatever direction his destination was. He would stop every few turns and cast it, making sure that he was at least heading in the right direction.

He didn't run into anything for the first several minutes. Harry was actually quite surprised. The first thing he did run into was something that just wasn't possible, which instantly told him what it was. Hermione was laying on the ground, still and unmoving, her lifeless eyes staring up at him. Her Hogwarts robes were askew and pushed up over her waist. He started to run towards her but stopped a few feet away, knowing that he had left her with family. Sirius and Uncle Lucius would never have allowed this to happen so that left only one thing possible.

A boggart.

In this moment, he was glad that Professor Flitwick hadn't decided to utilize the cameras on their robes again. Hermione would have been mortified to be seen this way before the entire school and then some. He raised his wand, gave it a short jab, and banished the boggart into nothing before focusing on the form again. It was quite telling what his biggest fear was, however. He could justify it and tell everyone that he was scared that Krum was going to kill her but it would have been a lie. It was his greatest fear because it was Hermione.

After the boggart was gone, Harry rounded another corner to find a thick mist covering the entire passageway. He wasn't sure that he wanted to walk through it since he had no idea what it did but this had been the only turn that kept him going in the direction of the Cup. Deciding to just reach out and barely touch the mist to see what it did didn't matter in the slightest. He still ended up upside down, suspended in the mist, and completely unable to see.

Harry couldn't see any other dangers coming for him. He was vulnerable and needed to right himself immediately. It wouldn't take much for another beast or something of the like to wander into his space and gobble him down. Getting down poste haste was most important at the moment. He tried several spells, racking his brains for things that he had learned from his family and Madam Cambridge. It was several minutes before he thought of one that might work. The anticharm dropped him painfully on his left shoulder but since he was right-side up again, he wasn't going to complain.

Harry continued on and wondered how the other champions were faring. He had yet to see any of them and couldn't imagine that he was much further ahead of them. The Gryffindor had just rounded a corner when he heard a scream, one of the female variety. He knew instantly that it was Fleur and he started in her direction, knowing that he had to help her if he could. Over the course of the year, he had grown friendly with her, not quite as close as she and Hermione had become, but close enough to not want her to come to harm. He had to backtrack several minutes but finally found her, bound and screaming through a gag as roots were attempting to drag her under the hedges. Harry was quick to blast at the roots, severing them in half so they couldn't pull her under any further. He pulled her out and cast an all-around "finite" to remove the gag and the bindings around her. She was gasping for air.

"You saved me. Tank you, Harry." He brushed the rest of the roots from her legs.

"What happened?" She shook her head and cried out in pain as he touched her ankle.

"I vas valking down path and hit from behind. I vake up and am bound and gagged. Plants dragging me under. I scream." Harry was doing a very basic diagnostic charm on her ankle and grimaced when he saw the result.

"Your ankle is broken, Fleur. You can't continue. You need to shoot up sparks so nothing comes along and attacks you." She nodded and pulled on his shirt, bringing him down to her level. She pressed a kiss to his cheek and smiled.

"You are good man. You must win dis for both of us. Make your vitch proud." Without waiting for a response, she released him and shot red sparks into the air. He waited until he saw Professor McGonagall flying above her before heading off again. Since he had backtracked to find the veela, he had to make up all the time and make sure he took the right turns again.

Harry finally made up his time and started new again, wondering just who had stunned Fleur in the back. He had his suspicions that it had been Viktor, Cedric was just too bloody Hufflepuff, but he wasn't going to point the finger without proof. As he turned the closest corner to go right, he ran into a herd of animals that seemed to be fighting amongst themselves. They were unlike any animal that Harry had ever seen or even heard about and for a second, wondered if these were the animals that Luna was always looking for. However, once they realized that Harry was there, they focused on him and started shooting flames his way.

Harry knew that he didn't want to kill them in case they were endangered; therefore, he tried stunning them. That had no effect whatsoever. He tried shooting water at them and freezing it but their fire melted it far too quickly. Finally, he shot a severing charm at one of them and caught it across the chest. While it didn't cut it deep enough to kill it, it was bleeding enough for the others to smell the blood and attack it instead. Harry shot a few more to make sure that they were preoccupied long enough for him to get past.

Once he had slipped past them, Harry cast the Point Me spell again. It told him that he needed to head to the left so he took the next one available to him. However, screams rent through the air ahead of him and he was forced once again to race ahead to help who he assumed was Cedric. As he rounded his third corner, he caught sight of the Hufflepuff on the ground, twitching violently and trying to get to his wand that was a few feet from his hand. Harry skidded to a halt and picked up the wand, thrusting it into the older boy's hand as he tried to help him sit up. Cedric could barely hold himself up and just as he was about to speak, Harry realized that they were about to attacked by acromantula.

There were ten total, all running towards them down the path. Cedric was trying to lift his arm to cast but whatever had happened to him was making it impossible. Harry let him fall back to the ground with a thud, determined to apologize later, and recalled a night clear back in second year when he and Ron had sneaked out of the castle and into the Forbidden Forest. They had ran for their lives from the enormous spiders and Draco had saved them, shooting flames at them while he raced after. Harry pointed his wand at the oncoming beasts and shouted his spell as loudly as he could so the flame would be massive.

"Incendio!"

Flames almost twenty feet long burst from his wand and flared in the direction of the spiders. Cedric buried his face in his arms, trying to hide from the heat, but Harry didn't notice it. He powered the spell for almost a minute before letting it die out, only to see that he had fried three of the beasts crispy. The others had managed to escape, though how, Harry wasn't sure. He dropped back down to Cedric's side and the Hufflepuff tried to speak again.

"I c-can't c-continue. Use m-my wand and s-send up s-sparks. K-krum used the C-cruciatus on m-me." Harry couldn't even begin to tell the boy how honored he felt at the trust he put in him. Letting another witch or wizard use your wand was like letting them use your arm. It was only done with those that you trusted more than anyone else in the world. Harry had never let anyone else use his wand and at this moment in time, he didn't plan on ever doing so. Even between Hermione and Draco, he had only seen them exchange wands once. However, he supposed that he didn't have a choice in the matter since if he had used his wand it would signal that he was the one withdrawing from the tournament.

Harry shot the sparks in the air and put Cedric's wand back in his hand and let him lay back, conjuring a pillow for him to rest his head on. The man smiled at him as best he could but really couldn't say much. When Severus appeared, Harry tried to look as though he hated him but he wasn't sure that he pulled it off.

"He said that Krum hit him with the Cruciatus. I used his wand to call for you." Severus raised an eyebrow but after seeing the violent twitching in his patient on the ground, he gave a curt nod.

"It will be dealt with after the task, believe me." Harry nodded and stood. Cedric reached out and squeezed his hand and stuttered out only four words before he was carried away.

"W-win this for H-hogwarts." Harry gave him a determined nod, now more than determined to beat Krum at the eternal glory of winning this event. There was no way that he was going to let him win it after he cursed not only Fleur but Cedric as well.

Harry took off again with renewed vigor, now determined to win. He used the Point Me spell on the run, not wanting to slow down at all. Since he had started running those years ago, he was in excellent shape and had endurance abound. After several more turns, he reached another obstacle and wanted to groan.

A sphinx.

The beast was large enough to block the entire passageway and it just grinned at him as he approached. It's tail flicked around as if it was annoyed and he wondered if Viktor had already come through. He walked right up to the beast and to his surprise, it spoke.

"What you seek is just past me. If you can answer a riddle, I will step away and you may pass. If you don't answer, you may walk away. If you answer incorrectly, I will attack." Harry weighed his options. He wasn't the best at word games and while he knew that he was smart, he wasn't smart at things like that. However, what did he have to lose by listening? He could still walk away and find another way around. Besides, this was the fastest way through and he wanted to win this before Krum.

"Tell me the riddle though I can't promise that I'll answer." The sphinx gave him a nod and spoke.

"You can carry it with you everywhere you go but it does not get heavy. What is it?" Harry considered his riddle closely, knowing that this was his chance to get past and to the Cup quickly. There weren't many things that he carried with him everywhere that he went. His wand maybe? That was too obvious. His legacy? That never left him. His name? As much as he liked to say that neither of those things got heavy, that was fucking lie. It was so much work being Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived. However, he couldn't come up with anything else that he could say that he carried with him absolutely everywhere that he went. He wasn't sure which to say though so decided to go with the one that everyone had.

"Your name." The sphinx bowed before him and moved to the side.

"Correct, young champion. You may pass." Harry bowed back, mostly because he wasn't sure if this was the correct etiquette.

Harry hurried past to see that the Triwizard Cup was in the distance. However, he saw Krum emerging from another path that led to the Cup. As soon as he saw Harry, he took off running. Harry grinned to himself before taking off himself.

Wizards were inherently lazy. This was why he had been so surprised to learn that Hermione ran back in second year. They relied on their wands far too much and had no physical stamina. Sure, quidditch players had a bit more than the average witch or wizard but even they were diminished compared to Harry, Draco, and Hermione. Therefore, it was no surprise that even though Krum had the head start, Harry surged forward and it soon became a true race as to who would reach the Cup first.

Just as Harry reached the Cup and reached out to snatch it out of Krum's reach, he did the same. In an instant, Harry felt the ever-familiar pull behind his navel, indicating a portkey. He spun for what seemed like forever and even though he couldn't see Krum, he imagined that he was just as confused as he was. When they landed, it was with a thud. Krum, the more-experienced wizard, landed on his feet and that was his undoing.

"That's the wizard that tried to take her purity." There was a sickly orange curse that flew through the air and Harry heard Krum scream. He wasn't able to do anything because a spell hit him right in the chest and his world went dark.

-O-

Hermione wasn't sure what she was going to do. Dumbledore had just came and gotten Amos Diggory and his wife, quietly telling them that Cedric had been put under the Cruciatus Curse but Harry had saved him from the acromantula. They had been quick to vacate, just as Fleur's family had. It seemed that things were getting quite terrible in the maze and she worried for Harry. She worried that Viktor would curse him while his back was turned or he would end up dead by some other means. Draco had his arm around her shoulders, telling her that Harry would be fine, that all would be well, but she knew that it was lie. She had been feeling it all morning and now it was playing out before her. Luna reached over several people to take her hand and smile softly at her.

"I know that he'll survive. I've seen it, Hermione." Hermione looked to Luna and gaped. Had her sight finally come active? Could she tell her more? Just as she was going to open her mouth, Luna shook her head.

"That isn't how it works. I don't see things that I want to see. I only see certain things, not always things that I need to see. I saw that you would argue with him. Not if you would make up. I see that he'll survive. Not how. Not what. I see that darkness in the distance wants you but I can't tell you what or who or why. Don't ask me questions I can't answer." Hermione gave her cousin a tremulous smile and nodded.

"Thanks, Lulu." Luna released her and turned her attention back to Neville and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Hermione briefly wondered if there was more there than she knew about but decided that if either of them wanted her to know they would tell her. Just as she turned her attention back to the maze, Professor Cat appeared before them.

"It appears that somehow the Cup was a portkey. Harry and Krum reached it at the same time and it portkeyed them away. We have no idea where and Albus is getting the Ministry on searching for their magical signatures. Moody is shipping out aurors to all the hot spots in the wizarding world to see if they're spotted." Her father reached out and grasped her hand tightly, willing her to hold it together. She took a deep breath and nodded inwardly, getting herself under control. Remus and Dory stood, Neville, the twins, and Daphne with them.

"We're going to go station ourselves at Hogsmeade. Tell the aurors to go elsewhere. We'll handle that area. Direct family should stay here in case they return." Luna stood to follow them but Hermione reached for her hand. Luna smiled at her.

"If I see anything else, I'll send it with Professor Lupin. You'll get the information." Hermione nodded, hating that they were splitting up. Draco stood and bent to kiss Hermione's forehead.

"I can't sit here and just hope for the best. I have to go, Miney. You have Sirius and Father here." She nodded, understanding completely about hating to sit still and just wait. However, she couldn't abandon her father to the sitting and waiting by himself. However, Aunt Andie and Uncle Ted stood, followed by Helena.

"We'll come with you, Draco. We'll all take the southern end of Diagon Alley. Minerva, will you see that any magic cast on Draco's part is overlooked by the Ministry?" She nodded and allowed them to leave. Helena bid her father to look after Juliet, and Hermione had to admit that she looked terrified. Since Uncle Luci slid over and rested his arm over her shoulders, she didn't begrudge her father for doing to the same for her sister.

Hermione wasn't sure how long they waited like that; her leaning into her uncle's side and breathing in his comforting scent while he told her over and over that everything would work out, that it would be alright. Her father seemed to be doing the same for Juliet, trying his best to keep her calm. It seemed as though at least an hour had passed before out of nowhere, Harry appeared before the masses on the pitch, clutching the Triwizard Cup in one hand and Viktor's robes in the other. Hermione let out a cry at the sight of Viktor; he was half-flayed and was clearly dead. Harry was wailing, though she couldn't understand him. As soon as he realized that he was back at Hogwarts, he let go of the Cup and jerked away from the body of Viktor, his body spasming harshly and clearly in pain. Hermione lurched to her feet and started for the pitch but it was impossible to get to the bottom of the stands.

It was complete bedlam.

-O-

Harry came to slowly and his first thought was that his back ached. As he became more aware of his surroundings, he realized that his back ached because he was strapped to a stone cross. There were screams not too far away and he tried to focus on who they belonged to before determining where they were coming from.

Just when he gained the strength to lift his head, he caught sight of movement out of the corner of his eye. Viktor. Viktor Krum was lying supine on the ground a few yards off and there was a wizard standing over him with a knife. There was blood everywhere and the screams were echoing off the gravestones. When the man stood completely, not only could Harry tell that it was Augustus Rookwood, he could see that he was holding a strip of Krum's skin in his hand. He dropped it in a pile of discarded skin and Harry wondered how long they had been torturing the man. As much as Harry had wished the man dead, he would never have wished this on him. His movement caught the attention of the man and when he turned to see Harry watching, he gave him a feral grin.

"This is what happens to those that seek to harm the Black Heiress." Harry only had a moment to worry about what that meant before a green spell shot out the end of his wand and hit VIktor in the chest. Honestly, it was probably mercy at this point. He approached Harry and grinned ferally again before speaking.

"Welcome, young Potter. I'm glad that you decided to grace up with your presence." He watched as the man completely ignored him then, going instead to where an enormous snake was sitting with a bundle laying between it's coils. There was an enormous cauldron off to the side and he had a sense of dread as to what it was for. Rookwood checked on the bundle and Harry wondered briefly if it was a baby. Then he moved to the ground before Harry and pulled his wand from his sleeve, casting at the ground below. An enormous crater appeared and Harry watched as Rookwood reached in and grabbed a large bone from the grave and cast it into the cauldron.

"Bone of the father, unknowingly given. You will resurrect your son." It seemed as though Rookwood was gathering courage for whatever came next because his wand turned into a knife and he put it to his wrist. He took a deep breath and sliced his hand off and into the cauldron so he could haltingly speak.

"Flesh of the servant, willingly given, you will revive your master." Harry had a feeling that his part was next and that he wasn't going to like it. He watched as Rookwood tried to stem the bleeding momentarily but gave up as he approached him. His knife cut away the material of his robes, exposing his wand arm clear to his armpit. He knew that it was a fit of pique that made the man slice him clear from his armpit to his wrist, probably hoping that he would die of blood loss. He gathered a pool of blood on the flat of the blade and dropped it in the cauldron next.

"Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken. You will resurrect your foe." Harry already felt woozy; the cut was deep. He watched Rookwood pick up the bundle and unwrap it, showing that it was indeed a baby. He dropped it in the cauldron and Harry couldn't help but hope that it drowned. He knew exactly what this was; Rookwood was resurrecting Voldemort.

After almost a minute passed, the cauldron bubbled radically and a figure rose from the bowl, a man this time, a handsome man if Harry had to be completely honest. He looked exactly like an older version of the Tom Riddle that had come out of the diary. He stood before Rookwood and held out his arms.

"Robe me." He sounded like a perfectly normal man but Harry wasn't fooled. Rookwood put his master's robes on him, leaving a large bloodstain on them. He smiled at his servant and held out his hand for his wand. After the man handed it to him, he held it up and gave it a wave, silently creating a silver prosthetic in the place of his missing hand.

"You've done well, Augustus. You brought me Potter and you have gave me a form that young Hermione will appreciate. She will grow to love bearing my heirs." Harry felt a surge of fury. If Voldemort thought that Hermione was going to marry him and have his children, he had another thing coming. He would do everything in his power to make sure that didn't happen. He would die before he let Hermione have sex with that monster, no matter how good looking he thought he was.

"You'll never have her. I'll die before you have Hermione." Tom Riddle laughed at his words but didn't respond. He gestured for Rookwood to hold out his arm and when he did, he pressed his wand to his mark. Harry watched as numerous Death Eaters appeared, all falling to their knees before their master in his younger form. There were almost sixty gathered around them when Voldemort deigned to speak.

"Thirteen years, I've been gone. Thirteen years, none of you have searched for me. It took Augustus breaking out of prison to find Peter to accomplish the ritual that would see me back in my body. What do you have to say for yourselves?" One of the Death Eaters spoke, though he didn't sound confident.

"There wasn't a whisper that you had survived, my lord, we would have searched if there had been." He hissed at them in anger and Harry couldn't help but remember Hermione had sounded the same when they had argued over Ginny and his renewed friendship with her.

"There were signs. Pettigrew found me. You were lazy and happy to see me gone." He wasted no time in ripping the masks off his followers so he could see their faces while he tortured them. Harry watched for ages while he crucioed his followers, listening to their screams echoing off the empty graveyard. When he finally finished, he turned to Rookwood.

"Where is Lucius?" Rookwood bowed his head in deference. 

"He won't return, my lord. He has changed sides along with Lord Black. He dotes upon Hermione Black, his niece. He named her his heir alongside his son." Harry heard him hiss in anger again and he could hear him saying something to his snake softly enough that he couldn't understand it.

"Traitors are not tolerated. Lucius is now a kill on sight order." Harry laughed outright.

"If you're looking for a way into Hermione's heart, you won't find it by killing Lucius. She loves him more than anything." Riddle cocked his head and appeared to be considering his words.

"Thank you, Potter. I'll just have them capture him and she'll marry me to keep him alive." Harry regretted his words but said nothing more. There was always a chance at escape if he was still alive and captured. With a wave of his wand, Voldemort released his bindings and he fell into the hole in the grave beneath him. Harry felt something in his ankle snap but he was forced to ignore it as he did his best to scramble out of it.

As soon as he appeared, Riddle shot an orange curse his way, hitting Harry in the thigh. It dropped him like a rock and Harry got his first taste of the Cruciatus Curse. He had no idea how long the man held it on him but judging by the lack on control he had being worse than Cedric's he had a feeling that it was quite a while. His wand landed on the ground at his feet and Riddle chuckled.

"We shall duel. Nobody will say that I beat you in an unfair duel. Now bow, that's proper." Harry couldn't even stand but dragged himself to his feet somehow. However, he didn't think that he could bow. Therefore he wasn't surprised when the wizard before him glared at him and shot another curse his way, landing directly at his feet. He felt his foot explode and he was knocked behind a gravestone in the process.

Harry was still feeling quite woozy from the blood loss but knew that if the Cup was what had brought him there, it was the only chance of making it back to Hogwarts. The Death Eaters were now spreading out, looking for him. There was no way that he could get to the Cup without attracting some attention.

It was a Death Eater, it looked like Nott, Sr., sneaking around behind him that sent him running as fast as his ankle and foot allowed him through the graveyard through spellfire that he didn't even stop to consider. One spell hit him in the shoulder and it felt as though something tore but he just kept going. Just when he caught sight of the Cup, Riddle stepped out in front of him and raised his wand. When he heard him cast the dreaded killing curse, Harry called out the first spell that he could think of.

"Expelliarmus."

The spells hit each other in the air between them and Harry was floored at what he saw. The beam turned golden and people started to fall out of Riddle's wand. A woman that Harry had never seen, an older muggle man that Harry recognized from his dream before school had ever started, followed by his parents. Seeing his mother come from Riddle's wand almost dropped him to knees. His father followed close behind and they both gathered around him. His mother's voice was soft in his ear.

"Let go, darling. Just let go." Harry listened to her.

He let go.

He jerked his wand upwards, sending the connection skyward. All the people that had come out of his wand rushed him, converging on him. Harry raced for the Cup as fast as he could while the Death Eaters raced to their master's side to aide him. Harry decided at the last second to take Viktor back with him since his body was right next to the Cup. Personally, he didn't care but he imagined that his mother would. She deserved that much because he was sure that she hadn't had a say in how her son was raised.

As soon as the Cup was in his hand, he felt the portkey activate and it whisked him away. He landed with a thud and he didn't know anything other than he was laying on a cooling body and there was a loud hum behind him. As soon as he realized that he was laying on top of Krum's body, he threw himself off it, only to land on his ankle and his shoulder. He cried out in pain but quickly quieted when he realized that he wasn't alone. His head was spinning but did his best to pull himself to his feet.

Moody and Dumbledore rushed him, making sure that he was alive, while the stands went wild and then went silent when they saw the state that Krum's body was in. Harry could barely concentrate on what the Headmaster was saying to him because of the pain and the roar of the crowd behind him. He realized in that moment that what he really wanted was Hermione. He wanted her close, he wanted her arms around him, he wanted to breathe her comforting scent. She made him feel whole and he wasn't sure that after what he saw tonight that he would ever feel whole again.

He felt someone shuffling him along and he couldn't even tell who it was. He knew by the touch that it wasn't someone that he was familiar with but since he had been with the Headmaster, he assumed that whoever was with him was someone that he could trust. Harry really couldn't focus on where he was going, he could only hope that he was being led to the Hospital Wing so he could have Madam Pomfrey heal him.

Harry found himself being pushed into a chair and his vision was spotty. His world was spinning and he wondered where Sirius and Hermione were. He heard clinking bottles and it was in that moment that he lifted his head and realized that he was in an office with Moody. He started to rise but found that he couldn't. His ankle was screaming in protest and he couldn't lift his wand arm any more. Moody bent in front of his face and Harry could barely focus on his face.

"What was it like, standing in his presence? What was he like? What did he do to the others?" Harry tried to focus on his words but it was getting increasingly difficult.

"What you talkin' bout?" Harry wasn't even sure that Moody could understand him but it was clear that he did.

"The Dark Lord. What was he like?" His last question was a shout and Harry paused. Moody was supposed to be an auror. He would never call Tom Riddle the Dark Lord. He was sometimes called that in the Black household but that was because Uncle Lucius and Severus had both been Death Eaters and they had been conditioned to do so. This was the first and only clue he had to show him that he was likely in danger. Harry drew on his last reserves to pull his wand left-handed and stun Moody into the wall. He collapsed to the ground and the last thing he saw was the door blasting open and Sirius, Hermione, and Uncle Lucius were standing there, ready to do battle for him.

After seeing that, Harry let the darkness take him under, knowing that they would keep him safe.

-O-

Hermione was sitting next to Harry in the Hospital Wing, watching as Madam Pomfrey treated him as best she could. She had refused to leave and her father had told the mediwitch that Hermione could stay. Harry wasn't to be left alone at any time and nobody in Hogwarts had the balls to disobey him.

Even though Hermione had almost completely stayed at his head and out of the way, there had been a couple times that she had been told to help heal him. Hermione had helped seal the wound on his arm, casting the pain relief spell as Madam Pomfrey sealed it and then again with his shoulder, helping the mediwitch remove debris from the wound left behind from whatever blasting curse had hit him.

It had been ages since she had been there; she had long expected the rest of her family to be recalled but she honestly didn't know if they had been told. Of course, they could be locked out of the Hospital Wing until Harry was healed. Regardless, she hadn't seen her father or Uncle Luci since they had found Barty Crouch, Jr. stunned against a wall when they had found him with Harry. Dumbledore and Severus had shown up moments later and they had insisted on questioning the man themselves before handing him over to the Ministry. It wasn't something that Hermione wanted any part of and to be honest, she would rather be with Harry anyways.

Madam Pomfrey eventually laid a hand on her shoulder and told her that there was nothing else she could do at the moment, that when the spell wore off that was keeping Harry sedated that she would come around and give him a dose of Dreamless Sleep. Nobody had any idea what had happened while he was gone but Hermione could only imagine. Harry had obviously gone up against one of Voldemort's Death Eaters, otherwise he wouldn't have looked as bad as he did.

Her fingers stroked his hair rhythmically, more for her sake than his. She had been terrified that he was dead or dying when he had appeared and she hadn't really calmed since then. She hadn't required a calming draught yet but she was sure that she would need one before she could sleep. It was clear that Harry had almost died and every single last problem she had with him before that moment he returned had blown away with the wind. It was no longer important. He stirred lightly beneath her fingers and she stroked his cheek softly.

"Harry? You're safe. I'm not going to let anyone hurt you. You just relax and go back to sleep." He reached up with his good arm and caught her hand with his, his eyes opening just a crack. They were such a brilliant green without his glasses on and she fell in love with them all over again.

"Mia?" She nodded and smoothed hair back from his forehead.

"It's me, Harry. Daddy and Uncle Luci are taking care of things and I'm here with you. I think Draco is outside the Hospital with the rest of the family. Madam Pomfrey wouldn't let them all in. Don't worry about us, we're all fine. You just rest." He reached out and cupped her cheek, stroking her skin softly.

"You're beautiful. Have I told you how much I love you?" Hermione had a feeling that he was high on pain potion so she just smiled sweetly at him.

"Of course you have. You told me before the task. Don't worry about that." His eyes clouded over.

"I'm so sorry for that. I was an arsehole. I never wanted to hurt you and that's what I did. You looked broken and I don't like you looking like that. I would die without you, Mia. I love you." Hermione felt her heart clench at his words but knew that she couldn't take them at face value. He had so many potions in his system there was no way they were his own words. Therefore, she smiled at him and put her hand over his on her face.

"I love you too, Harry. Don't worry about me. You need rest." Harry shook his head from side, overly exaggerated movements.

"You and Uncle Lucius need to be careful. Voldy is back. Rookwood brought him back from the dead and they want to kidnap Lucius to make you marry Voldy. He wants you to have his babies." Hermione felt dread settle in her stomach and her heart clench. How could this be true? She knew that it was coming, her father had told her that the goblins had forseen it, but she hated to believe that it was true. Harry was so young. How was he supposed to beat Riddle now? He wasn't ready. Even more disturbing was that the Dark Lord wanted her to birth his heirs. How did he think that she would be amenable to this? Did he care? Is that why he needed Uncle Luci? Rather than worry Harry further she bent down so could kiss his forehead, brushing back his fringe away from his scar. He gave a contented sound.

"I hate it when girls touch my hair to look at my scar. I love it when you do. I don't feel like you're looking at the scar but at the man." Hermione smiled softly at him.

"Your scar didn't make you the man you are. I love the man you are, Harry. Please, take this potion and we can talk about everything in the morning." He took the vial and fingered it for several seconds before meeting her eyes. His pupils were dilated and she doubted that he would remember this conversation.

"You promise you'll be here when I wake up?" She nodded and smoothed his hair back again.

"I promise. Have I ever lied to you?" He shook his head, once again with exaggerated movement. She watched him drink back the Dreamless Sleep and she took the vial from him. She watched as his eyes grew droopy and she pressed one last kiss to his forehead as his eyes slid shut. Just as she had settled down once more, her head on his chest to make sure that his heart was still beating, the doors flew open to the Hospital Wing and the whole family poured in. Hermione mourned the loss of silence but was glad that she was no longer alone in her vigil. Her father was first by her side, his hand heavy on her shoulder.

"Did he wake, poppet?" She nodded.

"Yes. Tell me what you found out from Crouch." Uncle Luci joined them on the other side, Draco next to him. The rest of the family gathered around with the exception of Neville, the twins, and Daphne. Hermione assumed that they had been shuffled back to the dorms with the rest of the students. Her father glared at her but Uncle Luci gave in like he always did.

"He told us everything once Severus gave him veritaserum. He kidnapped Moody and has been taking polyjuice the whole year, keeping him in a vault in his quarters this whole time. He put Krum under the Imperius Curse and made him stun Fleur and let the hedge take her under, the put Cedric under the Cruciatus. He placed the Cup in the middle of the maze and made it a portkey that would take you directly to the Dark Lord. He also put Harry's name into the Goblet of Fire under a fourth school so it wouldn't be rejected since it was the only name. He was crowing about the Dark Lord returning and I have to admit that I believe him. My Dark Mark burned for the first time in thirteen years." Hermione buried her face in her hands and let a few tears slip free. Her father reached out and rubbed her shoulders, relieving a little bit of her stress.

"What happened with him? You were gone for ages." Uncle Luci heaved a sigh.

"Fudge arrived with a dementor in tow. It was told to guard the prisoner but he promptly kissed him. The only people who heard his testimony were myself, your father, the Headmaster, and Minerva. I doubt that anyone will believe us." Hermione let a sob free, but only one. She buried her face in Harry's chest and she felt Juliet hug her from the side. Knowing she had to be strong, she took a deep breath, wiped her eyes and lifted her head, meeting the gazes of her family.

"Harry woke up long enough to tell me that Voldemort has returned. He was high on potions but he told me that they plan on kidnapping Uncle Luci to make me comply with marrying Voldemort and birthing him heirs. That was really all he could get out because he was so worried about the two of us being safe." She heard a strangled sound from her aunt and she knew that it had upset her. Juliet had snuggled into her side and she could hear her little sister sniffle just a little.

"I don't understand any of this." Hermione wrapped her arm around her sister and smiled softly.

"That's for the best, Jules. Let us worry about this. It's nothing you want to know about anyways." Hermione glanced to Helena and the woman took the hint in her gaze. She held her arms out to her daughter and gave her a smile.

"Come, Jules. Show me your dorm. I'll stay with you until your father is ready to leave." Juliet seemed just as eager to leave and Hermione couldn't say that she blamed her. In her shoes, in her first year, she would have left too. Once they were gone, the rest of the family pressed closer. Her father was finger-combing her hair as he kissed the top of her head.

"What were his injuries?" Hermione sighed.

"I had to help heal him. He had a deep cut from his armpit to his wrist on his wand arm. He lost an extremely large amount of blood. His shoulder had been hit with some sort of blasting curse and I helped Madam Pomfrey repair that. His ankle was also broken, in several places. She wasn't sure what kind of spell hit his foot but she had to repair it and give him Skele-Gro for that as well. We have no idea how these injuries occurred. He wasn't awake long, only to tell me that Riddle was alive and the plans he had for Uncle Luci and myself." She cocked her head to make sure that her father could see that she was looking at him.

"How are the Krums?" He kissed the top of her head again.

"Grieving. Not terribly so, they have another son after all, but they're grieving. His mother and sister seem most upset. The body is being taken back to Bulgaria for the burial." Hermione nodded, saddened that it had come to that for Viktor. He had started the term as such a sweet wizard and she had wished better for him.

"It was kind of Harry to bring him back." Nobody said anything to that and Hermione didn't blame them. What were you supposed to say to something like that? Just as they lapsed into silence, a voice in the back spoke up, letting them know that they had been there all along. The Headmaster hadn't even seen fit to announce his presence, something that irritated Hermione to no end.

"Might I meet with Lord Black?" Hermione rose to her feet and glared at the old man.

"This is a family affair. You didn't see fit to announce your presence? Snooping for information that we otherwise wouldn't tell you, old man? I'm tempted to obliviate you myself." Hermione knew she shouldn't say it but she was pissed. He knew better than to cross her family. The Headmaster's eyes narrowed at her and while her father's hands tightened on her shoulders, Uncle Luci chuckled.

"Now, Albus, I think that would be fair. You didn't see fit to play fair listening into family talk." Her father rolled his eyes but glared at the Headmaster as well. The Headmaster rolled his eyes and glared at them all.

"I just arrived in the last couple minutes. I would like to speak to Lord Black." Hermione turned to look at her father to convey her disapproval, hoping that he would pick up on it. Uncle Luci, however, reached out and tugged her hair.

"No worries, princess. I'm going to be right beside him. Family sticks together. He wants your father, he's going to have to convince me too and I won't be putting any of us on the line for nothing." Dumbledore was now glaring at her uncle but Hermione beamed at him.

"I love you, Uncle Luci." He bent and kissed the crown of her head.

"I love you as well, poppet. You guard Harry. Get some rest. We're all staying the night so get comfortable. We'll return." Hermione settled further in, settled in the fact that her uncle wouldn't let the Headmaster convince her father to do anything stupid. At the last moment, she heard the Headmaster beckon Remus to follow as well. She had no idea what it was about but she didn't care. She was next to Harry, he was safe and well, and he was alive.

It hadn't been a good night at all but Luna had been right. Harry had survived.

-O-

Sirius followed the Headmaster into the closest empty classroom and watched as the old man silenced, locked, and warded the room behind himself, Lucius, and Remus. Severus was already inside waiting. He raised his eyebrows, clearly not liking what this was going to entail. Albus wasted no time in opening the conversation.

"Voldemort is back. Severus has confirmed it." Sirius flicked his gaze to his best friend and frowned. There were tremors in his hands, clear signs that he had suffered from the Cruciatus. Sirius started to shake his head.

"You're going to give up this game, Sev, I can't watch this for the duration. You don't deserve this." The dark man scowled at him and there was hurt in Remus' eyes. He had never seen proof of his friendship with Severus but that didn't matter. He hadn't pulled punches with the werewolf so far and he wasn't going to start now.

"I will do what I must to keep my family safe. Not only Hermione, but Draco, Harry, yourself, Lucius, and Narcissa. You're all my family and I love you all. Hermione just holds a special place in my heart." Sirius cursed.

"She doesn't want you to do this. She wants you with her. This year has killed her, not being able to see you. Do you know how many times she has written me telling me how much she hates not being able to see you, talk to you, brew with you? It's killing her." Severus shook his head.

"I don't care if it kills her not seeing me as long as she lives to see the end of the war. She is precious to me and as much as I love Draco, it was Hermione that got me through the last war. I need to know that she's safe. If I have to endure torture to bring information for that to happen, I will do so." Sirius couldn't handle it. His own failings as a father had recently been thrown in his face and to hear these words regarding his daughter was just too much. He threw his arms around the man he had long ago proclaimed as his brother and let out a sob.

"I fucking hate you for it but Merlin, man, I love you for it too. I don't care if I die, I just hope she and Juliet live." Severus was stiff but eventually returned his hug. After they separated, Dumbledore spoke.

"I want to reform the Order of the Phoenix. I want you in it." Lucius raised an eyebrow.

"Not myself, though. Very curious." The Headmaster glared at him.

"You have a reputation of being dark. I trust that you have left it all behind but they have not. They would never accept you." Sirius wanted to laugh. He wouldn't join if Lucius wasn't welcome and he was sure that Remus would follow. Minerva had already shown them more loyalty than Dumbledore in the past year and come summer, he was sure that the Weasleys would back them as well. He was quite sure that they could persuade Augusta Longbottom and at the very least the Greengrasses as well. Therefore, he smiled at the Headmaster.

"I'm sorry, Headmaster. If Lucius isn't welcome, I can't find it in myself to join either. You see, my daughter is Lucius' heir and I consider him not only my family but my brother. I lost one brother in the last war and won't make that mistake again. Severus is making his choices based on what's best for my daughter. Make no mistake, he's my brother as well. I don't need to be a member of the Order of the Phoenix to fight Riddle." The Headmaster looked flabbergasted. He was sputtering as he spoke.

"You can't mean that. You were a member last time." Sirius raised an eyebrow at him.

"I was. So was James and it killed him and Lily. They put their faith in you and not only did you let them down, you let Harry down by sending him to those atrocious muggles. I've done more to prepare him for this war than you have in the three years you had him before he came to me. That's unforgivable. We are willing to work alongside your organization if it suits us but make no mistake. We won't be members of the Order of the Phoenix." Dumbledore started to try to convince them.

"The Weasleys are members, you know that Harry is close friends with them. They're going to want to spend summers together." Sirius shrugged.

"Are you sure that the Weasleys are going to be members come the end of summer? You have no idea what's going to happen and I have first hand knowledge that you are not infallible. You can make mistakes. Like I said, form your vigilante group. If it suits us, we will work alongside you. However, we will not needlessly sacrifice ourselves for nothing. We all have too much to lose and I have long since learned that the Gryffindor way of leaping before looking is highly overrated." Dumbledore looked like a thundercloud of fury. His next words were ones that would start a war.

"Severus swore an oath last war to serve as a spy to me. He won't be able to help you at all." Lucius stepped forward now, his Death Eater persona front and center.

"It's true, we can't keep Severus from telling you anything. However, if you keep him from telling us as well, you're going to have a very pissed off Hermione Black on your hands. What do you think she's going to do the first time she realizes that you're the reason that her godfather, whom she loves and adores without reason, is being tortured every time he turns up before the Dark Lord? She's going to learn that you swore him to spy because I'm going to tell her. I'm telling you right now that she's going to bury you and I'm going to help her hide your body. If you haven't learned one thing from her yet, it's that you don't fuck with her family. Severus has been her family since day one. We all know she's more powerful than you are." The Headmaster sighed in defeat.

"Fine. I'm not happy with it but I'll take what I can get. I'll work alongside you when I can. I'll make sure that the members I assign to working with you are able to trust you." Lucius snorted but Sirius nodded, quite happy with the outcome.

"That's acceptable. I think that's enough for tonight. It's been horrid and Harry's in the Hospital Wing. I want to be there with him." Remus clapped him on the shoulder but stayed near as Severus approached. He listened to the quiet words exchanged and Sirius couldn't make himself care.

"Tell Harry that I hope he heals quickly. As soon as he's back at Black Moor, I'll cast a more invasive diagnostic on him to make sure that all is well, Even Poppy isn't able to cast it. I was scared sick that he was seriously hurt." Sirius nodded.

"I don't know how soon I'll get him this year but as soon as he's at Black Moor, you'll know. You're going to be around this summer, right?" Severus nodded.

"I should be able to occlude well enough to hide it. I have more lessons to impart on Harry and I miss Hermione and Draco. She needs more tutoring if she is going to achieve a mastery before her N.E.W.T.s." Sirius snorted.

"You two and your goals." Severus barked a laugh before sweeping away, leaving just Remus, Sirius, and Lucius. Sirius raised his eyebrow at Remus.

"I hope we didn't speak out of turn for you. Are you wanting to go with the Order? If so, I'm sure that he'll still take you." Remus shook his head, an irritated look on his face.

"No, I can't believe you even have to ask. I told you that I was with you for the long haul. Even if you come with a few Slytherins now, you're still my oldest friend. I have your back, Siri, like I should have then." Sirius gave him a heartfelt smile.

"I'm glad, Remes, because this is going to get shitty and real. This summer is going to be awful. I hope you can handle a bit of drama." Remus barked out a laugh of his own.

"I survived you and James fucking the same girl for two months and not knowing it. This will be nothing in comparison." Sirius clapped his friend on the shoulder.

"I"m glad. We're going to need all the help we can get."

A/N- Holy fucking balls, I'm pretty sure that this is the longest chapter to date in this story but you really had to expect it. It was Voldy's return chapter! Anyways, thanks to everyone for supporting me and taking the time to review every chapter. It really means a lot to me. Let me know what you think, I love to hear your thoughts.

Anything you recognize doesn't belong to me but was taken from Goblet of Fire. An extra sorry to everyone out there if there are tons of errors. I'm still babysitting and editing is difficult with a two year old constantly asking you questions and telling you no. Forgive me?

Next chapter, the aftermath.

Love,

Alicia


	82. Chapter 82

A/N- Thank you to everyone out there that left me such amazing comments and reviews. You guys are seriously awesome. The support you guys have shown me through this whole story has been humbling and I can't tell you how much it means to me. Enough fo now, let's get started!

**Shout out to Black Banshee for being my 4000th reviewer! You da bomb, girl!**

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing about this story. Everything you recognize belongs to J.K.R. The original idea for the story belongs to Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle. I haven't made any money from this story or any other. I'm still poor as hell.

Chapter 82

June 25, 1995

The world was hazy but he could feel it slowly coming back into focus. There were soft voices all around him and he knew that he was safe. There was someone holding his hand and also someone rhythmically stroking their hand through his hair and Harry had to admit that it felt quite nice. While all the girls he fucked were quick to suck his cock or anything of the like, true affection to the rest of him was something that he had yet to come across.

He knew without a doubt that it was Hermione sitting so close to him, stroking his hair, and making him feel as though he was the most important person in the world. The voices around him were becoming more defined and he could recognize Sirius, Draco, Uncle Lucius, and Severus. There were others but they were further off in the distance and he figured that his visitors were being kept to a minimum. He had no idea what time it was, or even what day, and his curiosity was piqued. He cracked one eye and groaned just a little when the bright light hurt. The fingers tightened around his hand and the hand in his hair tightened down so he couldn't turn his head. It should have worried him but he wasn't. He instinctively knew that it was Hermione.

"You're in the Hospital Wing, Harry. Father, Uncle Lucius, Draco, Uncle Sev, and I are here. Everyone else is sitting outside the Hospital Wing or have gone home." His eyes fluttered completely open and he saw that she was smiling down at him. She no longer looked broken but the familiar weight of guilt was there on his chest. He squeezed the hand that was threaded with his own and gave her a semblance of a smile.

"Mia, you have to be careful. Riddle wants you bad." She nodded her head and started to brush the hair off his forehead. Normally he hated this but he didn't feel as though she was making him a spectacle. It was all a measure of comfort. Though if it was hers or his he wasn't sure.

"I know, you woke up briefly last night and told me that Riddle was back that he wanted to kidnap Uncle Luci so he could force me to marry him and birth him babies." Harry didn't remember telling her that at all so he narrowed his eyes at her.

"How long was I awake for? I don't remember that at all." She continued to stroke his forehead with a small smile.

"Maybe a couple minutes. I got you to take a vial of Dreamless Sleep and you were out after that. You really didn't tell me anything else except that Riddle was back." Harry worked on clearing his mind, knowing that he needed to get his shit together before he faced the rest of the world. Everyone was sure to want an explanation as to why he had shown up with Viktor's body but he doubted that they would all be happy with it. Therefore he sighed.

"How many people want to talk to me right now?" His godfather reached out and laid a comforting hand on his shoulder but Harry was the first to admit that it wasn't near as good as Hermione.

"Several is a fair number. There are numerous that hope to speak to you, only few that will actually get to. I don't think Hermione is going to let just anyone near you right now." Harry leaned further into the touch that was still carding through his hair.

"That's fine. I don't want to tell a bunch of people but I need to tell someone. I think that we need to get the right people here so I can tell everyone what happened." His godfather sighed and removed his hand while Harry struggled into a position that was more upright. Once he was settled against the pillows, he met Sirius' eyes.

"I'm going to go get the Headmaster. I'll tell him that you're only telling the story once, that anyone who needs to hear it better be there. I'm sure it will be long enough for you to take a shower if you need to so you can make yourself presentable." Harry flushed slightly, sure that he was complete mess. Hermione smiled down at him.

"Neville brought you fresh robes and your toiletries a couple hours ago. Draco can go in there with you if you need help. Madam Pomfrey said that you would likely suffer for a few days from the aftereffects of the Cruciatus Curse. It would be safer for him to be in there, just in case." Harry flushed, not realizing that she had any idea what had happened to him. He gave her a quick nod before turning to Draco. His mate gave him a nod, telling him that they best get started.

Harry sat up, regretting the lost of contact with Hermione. The floor was cold on his feet but while he still found himself twitchy, he could make himself stand. Draco followed him into the infirmary shower room and sat on a stool outside his stall, making small conversation with him while Harry washed himself clean of suffering, hurt, and guilt. Draco sounded almost smug as he spoke.

"Hermione wouldn't let anyone near you last night; she was almost feral. Nobody aside from family has been around you since you were brought here. The Headmaster tried to sneak in under privacy wards but when we noticed that he was there, she threatened to obliviate him. What's funny is that we all know she's capable of it if she put her mind to it. Hermione has been quite your staunchest protector." This just made Harry feel even worse about how he had treated her before the third task. He should have at least told her goodbye but after she had apologized, he had walked off without another word. It was horrid and rude and he hoped to change that as soon as met Hermione again. He looked to Draco.

"I've done your cousin an enormous disservice. I know you don't think it's just from last night. It's from many nights ago when she lowered her pride to apologize to me." Draco nodded his head.

"You did. You hurt her. She also assumed a lot about you and didn't ask your opinion before she started telling you what to do. You have the right to be friends with whoever you bloody well please. Miney is spoiled and used to getting her way in just about everything she does. I usually give in because it's easier and that's how it's been done since we were tiny. She was older and I listened to her because she was older and in charge. Now I just listen because it shuts her up quicker some days. Not my proudest moments but that doesn't mean that you have to give in either." Harry nodded, feeling a little bit better about still wanting to rebel against her. Not in everything, like before, but only in the things that he felt strongly about. Not being a bully like Dudley was one of those things.

"Thanks, Drake." Draco chuckled as he stood when Harry turned the water off.

"Don't thank me now. Wait until it blows over. Right now, she'll tell you that she isn't angry but deep down, she will be. You were right, she is jealous and she feels betrayed. Personally, I think she's right. I think Ginny did do those things to her but that's an argument between the pair of you, not me." Harry nodded slowly, sure that his friend was trying to keep the peace between them.

Harry hurried and dressed as quickly as he could into trousers and a uniform shirt. They weren't the most comfortable but they were proper and he didn't want to embarrass his family. After he was dressed, he followed Draco out of the Hospital Wing shower room and back to his bed. Hermione was still sitting there next to his bed, though she was conversing softly with her father and uncle now. When she saw him approach, she smiled gently at him.

"Feel better?" He gave her a soft smile.

"Much." He settled back in the bed and she took his hand in hers again. Harry wanted to tell her that he was strong enough for her to leave him be now but he didn't. He enjoyed her attention and he didn't want her to stop. Therefore, when her hands started stroking his hair once more, he made no move to stop her. He leaned into her touch and sighed happily. She smiled at him.

"Feel good?" He nodded happily and she grinned at him.

"I'll do it as long as you like." Once again, he didn't respond, just let her keep massaging his scalp. He knew that it wasn't right but he couldn't quite help himself. Dumbledore showed up at the Hospital Wing and both Sirius and Uncle Lucius stood to go over and talk to him, telling Hermione and Harry that they would return momentarily. Harry knew that this was his chance to apologize and he was determined to take it. He reached out and took Hermione's hand in his, stilling it in his hair. She gave him a concerned look that almost broke his heart. Rather than respond, he gave her a sad smile.

"It isn't right for me to continue to accept this sort of affection. We both know how we parted ways before the last task and it isn't right for me to pretend that that didn't happen." She shook her head vehemently.

"You were right and I was wrong, I told you so before the tournament began." Harry reached up and stroked her cheek with his thumb. Her skin was baby soft and he would give anything to see if it was that soft everywhere. She leaned into his touch and he smiled at her.

"I was right to an extent. You shouldn't have been trying to tell me who I can talk to. However, I hurt you more than I ever dreamt of doing so as I told you I would do as I wished. That was never my intention. I was offended that you would dare try to tell me what to do but I hurt you and you never deserved that. You deserve far better than what I gave you." Hermione met his eyes for a few moments before pulling him into a hug and laughing softly.

"It did hurt at first but after I realized that you were facing death, it didn't matter anymore. I don't want you to think that I'm holding it against you. I already told you that you could do what you wanted, that I would leave you alone. If you want to be friends with Ginny, I can't stop you. I can tell right now that she won't be welcome at Black Moor and she won't be welcome at the Slytherin table. If you want to be friends with her aside from that, I can't stop you." Harry could tell that the subject hurt her and he tried to tell her that he wasn't going to hurt her anymore. However, before he could get much further in their conversation, she turned cold eyes his way.

"I don't care. Just drop it. I got the point and I don't want to talk about it anymore. If you want to talk to Ginny Weasley, you made clear that my opinion on the matter wasn't welcome. I've accepted that you believe her over me. Just drop it." Harry stared at her for a few moments before finally nodding. There was nothing else that he could say that would sell her on his opinion; likewise, he wouldn't be sold on her opinion either. They would just have to agree to disagree and it was going to be hard to agree to that. He didn't like bullying and she didn't like handing out second chances to hurt people she cared for.

Even though her words had been harsh, she had never let go of his hand. Her grip was soft even though she refused to meet his eyes. Harry couldn't help but feel a bit guilty. He knew that if it were the other way around, he would be the first one to drop whoever had dropped him along the way. There was one thing he valued most and it was loyalty; it saddened him to realize that he liked a girl that cared for him immensely despite what he valued. In fact, it made his heart hurt.

He was going to reply but he realized that people were gathering around his bed, far more than the few he had assumed that it would be. The Minister of Magic was off to the right, Cornelius Fudge, and his disbelief was already clear on his face. There were a few school governors that he recognized by sight if not be name. They were standing closer to Lucius and seemed open to what he was going to say. All the Heads of House were there and they seemed quite protective of him. McGonagall in particular was glaring at those that were whispering behind her. Amelia Bones, as the Head of the D.M.L.E. was there, as well as the Head Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt. Harry wanted to groan. That was the man that had given Hermione such a hard time almost every time he had met up with her. After waiting for everyone to quiet down, Harry took a deep breath and Hermione squeezed his hand in support.

"I know that you aren't going to like what I have to tell you. You're going to hate it as much as I do. I wanted to beat Krum more than anything. I had found Fleur and she had been stunned from behind. The hedges were pulling her under and I knew that someone had done it to her. I really didn't think that Cedric would do a thing like that, he's a Hufflepuff for Merlin's sake, they live to be fair. Fleur's my friend and I didn't like that she had been sabotaged like that. Next, I came across Cedric. He was suffering from the aftereffects of the Cruciatus Curse and told me that Krum had hit him with it. I was livid and beyond determined to win just to show Krum that he couldn't." Harry took a deep breath before taking a sip of the water at his bedside. Hermione held his hand in both of hers and her thumbs stroked his knuckles softly. It was quite comforting.

"Krum and I entered the clearing the Cup was placed in at the same time. We raced for it and grabbed it at the same time. I was sure that it was going to be a match of who could hold on the longest but it was portkey. It teleported us away. After we landed, I could see that Rookwood was there and he was advancing. There was a strange baby off in the distance and he told Rookwood that Krum was the "wizard that tried to take her purity" and Rookwood cast an orange curse at him. I was hit in the chest with a spell right after that and the world went dark." He looked down at Hermione and kissed the top of her head when he saw the look of horror on her face. He bent to whisper in her ear.

"It wasn't your fault." She nodded, her hair ruffling against his cheek. He kissed her head again before sitting up again to continue.

"I woke up and realized that Rookwood was still torturing Krum. He had flayed most of his skin from his body. When he saw that I was awake, he shot the killing curse at him and I have to say that I was relieved. Krum was still awake. There was a cauldron full of a potion and Rookwood threw the baby inside it, then tore up the grave below me and put a bone into it. He said that it a bone from Voldemort's father. He then cut off his own hand into the potion, saying it was the sacrifice of a servant. He cut my arm open and took my blood, saying something about blood unwillingly taken, blood from an enemy. After he dropped it in, the cauldron started to bubble and then Lord Voldemort stepped out of the potion." Hermione started to hyperventilate and Harry tugged on her hand until she was sitting next to him on the bed. He dropped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to his side. He could feel her trembling and he felt terrible, especially since he was going to have to continue. He knew that she wouldn't appreciate him asking her to leave. She was already going to be pissed that she was showing weakness.

"Riddle pressed his wand to Rookwood's dark mark, calling his followers to him. He gave Rookwood a silver hand and once all his followers had gathered, he started torturing them for leaving him in his uncorporeal state for so long, told them that none of them were loyal enough to find him. They all bore it well, I suppose. Then, Riddle turned his attention to me." Hermione let out a tiny whimper and he pulled her even closer. He could see that his words were affecting Draco and Sirius as well. Uncle Lucius, however, was as stoic and stalwart as ever.

"He demanded that we duel and he forced me to bow. I had injured my ankle when he had dropped me from the grave stone and into the grave so I knew that I couldn't move that quickly. He cast the Cruciatus on me and all his Death Eaters laughed. He told them that he wanted Hermione and since Lucius hadn't turned up, he was a traitor so he wanted him dead. I told him that Hermione would never cave to him if he hurt Lucius, that she loved him more than anything. He laughed and told all his followers that they were to capture Lucius so they could use him to get Hermione to do what he wanted. I realized my mistake almost instantly." Hermione's arms snaked around his waist and Harry wanted to smile as she caused him to lose air.

"I tried my best to duel Voldemort but I was injured, severely weak from blood loss and not sure that I was going to make it out of that graveyard alive. He cast the killing curse and I cast the disarming spell. They met and the spells seemed to hold each other. A woman came of the golden haze, then a muggle man that I recognized from my dream before the school year. Next were my parents. My mum whispered in my ear that when she told me to let go, I needed to let go. When she told me, I did just as she said. I threw the connection upwards and the spirits threw themselves at Voldemort. I hurried as fast as I could through the graveyard, trying to find the Cup, knowing that since it was the portkey it was my only chance at returning. I was injured in the shoulder as I did so. I finally saw it close to Viktor's body and decided that I would bring him back for him mother. As much as I hate his father, his mother seemed like she had nothing to do with how he was raised. I would never deprive a mother of burying her son if I had another choice. I collapsed on the ground outside the maze." Hermione's face was buried in his chest and he started to shush her softly. Uncle Lucius came up on her side and started to rub her shoulders, giving her the comfort she needed. Her hand came up to rest on his and Harry could see that she appreciated the gesture. Harry started to stroke her hair.

"I couldn't really feel anything when I returned. I was barely conscious. I felt someone leading my away from the noise and I could only assume that the Headmaster had sent me away with someone he trusted. I had just assumed that they were taking me to the Hospital Wing. However, this wasn't the case. I realized that I was in Moody's office with a man that I wasn't supposed to be anywhere near. He kept asking me about the Dark Lord, wanting to know that it was like to stand in his presence. I realized then that there was something wrong. Only Uncle Lucius calls Voldemort that and that's because he was conditioned to do so. He's turned his back on the Dark Lord, you see. I took a chance and left-handed stunned Moody. Just as the door blew open to show that Sirius, Hermione and Uncle Lucius had arrived, I passed out. I woke up this morning in the Hospital Wing. Hermione said that I woke up for a few minutes last night but she gave me Dreamless Sleep and I've been out since then."

The Heads of House looked completely convinced. There was no reason for them to disbelieve him so he hoped for the best. The governors looked suitably outraged, probably because the students had been dragged into it. The Minister of Magic looked quite flustered and his family had tears in their eyes, even Draco. Hermione was quietly sobbing into his chest and he could only hug her tightly, hoping that his love wasn't shown outwardly. He had his face buried in Hermione's hair, hiding his emotions, when the Minister's voice broke the silence.

"This is all a lie. Just a lie told by a boy who has had no love and attention. He's trying to get attention and affection. None of this is true and you will regard the whole story as a calling for attention." Hermione flew out of the bed and pointed her wand at the Minister, right against the hollow of his throat. Her eyes were blazing with fury and Harry never thought she looked more beautiful.

"You ever say that tripe in front of me again, I'll curse you until you can't find your bollocks for a year." Fudge started to sputter.

"Y-y-you can't t-t-tell me what's going t-t-to h-h-happen." Hermione grinned at him, almost feral. It was easy to see how Draco had said that she had almost been feral the night before while guarding him.

"I can. You betray my family and I'll make sure that you regret it. I'll obliviate you before you even realize that you have something to hide. Don't think I won't, Fudge. Family is everything to me and I'm far more powerful than you could ever dream of being. You're lucky you're not being crushed beneath my bootheel right now." Harry couldn't help but feel turned on. However, he received a slap in the face when Hermione turned his direction.

"He's clearly shown where his loyalties lie. Shall we give him a second chance? Give the chance to stab us in the back? Give him the chance to kill you and silence me?" Even though Harry understood her lesson, he didn't appreciate her method. He glared at her before turning away. He refused to answer. She sighed in defeat and he couldn't help but feel that she was disappointed.

"I suppose we'll just let him do as he will. Maybe when he finally tears my character to pieces and makes me into nothing, you'll understand. Some people don't deserve second chances because they feel no remorse. I'm not against second chances, Harry Potter, don't think I haven't guessed your thoughts. I'm against second chances for those that will continue on with their horrid treatment of others. Pansy would still be doing everything she could to try to trap Draco if I hadn't acted. Ginny will continue to do so. Now I've truly said all I ever will on the matter." He glared at her, clearly irritated.

He refused to comment on her words. He would likely just hurt her and he had to admit that she had made her point. There was no way that Harry could dismiss her worries now when she put them that way. He sighed softly and she softened her gaze.

"I'll leave it alone but don't think I'm heartless. I couldn't bear it if you did. I do everything for a reason and I protect those that I care for." Harry nodded and he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Her face was buried in his chest when he turned his attention to those still gathered around his bed. He sneered at them all.

"If you don't believe me, feel free to get lost. I have nothing to say to you if you don't. Dinner has been served for family and friends so those that fit in that category, I hope you enjoy." Madam Pomfrey appeared and started casting diagnostics on him. After Hermione stood there for all of them, he turned to the girl and smiled.

"Let's head towards the Great Hall. It has to be better than here." Hermione smiled at him and Harry could tell that it was heartfelt. She allowed him to gather his wits while she conversed softly with her family. It was clear that Sirius and Uncle Lucius were going to go down with them, probably the rest of the family that was still there as well. Harry really didn't have anything to gather so once he was upright, he was ready to go. With one last glare to the Minister, Hermione took his hand and breezed past him, showing Fudge that his opinion meant absolutely nothing to her.

Sirius, Draco, and Uncle Lucius followed after them. Once outside of the Hospital Wing, Aunt Cissy, Remus, and Dory were waiting outside. They all watched him warily but said nothing, rather falling in step behind them as they headed for the Great Hall. He was happy to see that Neville, the twins, Luna, and Juliet were waiting at the Slytherin table for them; it felt as though he was coming home to those that cared about him. Once they were all seated and focused on Harry himself, he spoke.

"I know that you're all wondering what happened. I don't want to talk about it. I'm sure there will be a statement about it later on and those that heard my story can tell you. Just please don't ask me." It was Blaise that spoke next.

"Don't worry, mate, we're all too scared to ask because Hermione is glaring at us. You won't hear a thing from us." Harry laughed and Hermione blushed. He reached out and tugged one of her curls, making her blush an even deeper crimson.

The meal progressed and Harry could tell that his Gryffindor friends were barely waiting their turns to make sure that he was alright. He knew that Hermione didn't have much use for Seamus and Dean but since last year, they had gotten much better. Yeah, they still hated her but that was likely to never change. He couldn't judge his friendships on that matter. Ron looked most anxious to speak with him and Harry vowed to make his way over to the lion's table after lunch was over. However, when the meal was almost over, a shadow fell behind Harry and he felt a soft hand on his shoulder. Arms wrapped around him from behind and a soft kiss pressed to his cheek. Harry instinctively knew that this was Ginny just by the look on Hermione's face.

"I'm so glad that you're alright, Harry, we were all so worried for you." Harry knew that she wasn't welcome here so he tried to brush her off.

"I'm fine, promise. Why don't you go back to Gryffindor and I'll be over there after a while?" Ginny furrowed her brows at him.

"I just wanted to make sure that you were alright. Surely, that's allowed?" Harry could see that Sirius and Uncle Lucius were glaring at not only Ginny but him as well. He realized that Hermione was right; they would never understand his need to offer his protection to Ginny. Harry just sighed.

"Ginny, I'm fine. Just head over to the lions and I'll be there shortly." Ginny sighed and kissed his cheek again. Harry could see Hermione fuming but she kept her mouth shut. Ginny stayed another minute, fussing over him and making sure that he was put together. He could see that the whole table was on edge and when Ginny finally left, he was surprised that it was Daphne rather than Hermione that exploded.

"I can't believe you just allowed that, Harry! All the disrespect she has shown not only you but your family and you just sat back and allowed it. I know you don't know our ways but that was like slapping your family in the face." Harry couldn't help but to lash out.

"I don't like that my family is keen on bullying people. I'm not okay with that at all." Hermione made a sound that clearly alerted to him that she was distressed. However, Daphne was not to be beaten down. It was perhaps her first show of complete independence and Harry had to admit that she had chosen her stage well.

"You're not okay with bullying. That's rich. Your best mate did nothing but bully Hermione for three years and you were completely okay with it. You never told him that it was unacceptable for him to act that way. You never told him that it wasn't okay for him to be mean to Hermione, to make fun of her, to hit her in the face, just because he was jealous of her power, prestige, and money. You're a fucking hypocrite, Harry Potter and it makes me want to sick up on you. You're lucky that the Blacks and Malfoys have taken you in and you just spit on them like this. They deserve better, especially after how you yourself have treated Hermione. Never bullied yourself, have you?"

Harry felt as though someone had punched him in the gut. It was true, every word, but when he heard it from Daphne's mouth, it was much clearer than it was in his own mind. He knew that he owed everyone an apology since he was preaching no bullying but he was saved by Hermione, once again. His heart clenched at her words and she was that broken woman once again. It killed him to know that it was his fault.

"It's alright, Daph. Harry has apologized for bullying me. He doesn't owe me an apology for what Ronald has done. Eventually, Ronald will pay for what he's done. If Harry wants to be friends with Ginny, he's entitled to make his own decisions. We'll respect them. He needs to learn to make his own decisions, after all. While Ginny most certainly won't be welcome at Black Moor or the Slytherin table, we can't stop him from being her friend. He's old enough to make his own choices." Harry could see that every word was a concession for her, that they cut her deep. He tried to reach out for her but she pulled away, her eyes distant. She leaned into her uncle since her father was seated across from her, Juliet snuggled into his side. Harry got the picture loud and clear and while he wasn't happy about it, he couldn't blame her. As much as he was entitled to make his own decisions, she was as well. It hurt that she pulled away from him but he supposed that that was his own doing. Daphne gave him a reluctant nod before turning back to her food.

The rest of the meal was eaten in silence and once it was finished, Sirius, Uncle Lucius, Remus, Tonks, and Aunt Cissy told them that they must go. Harry watched as Hermione cried silent tears into her father's robes, telling him how much she loved and missed him. She moved on to her uncle and he smiled to himself to see the man dote on her, kissing her and telling her all the wonderful things they were going to do over the summer. Harry was pulled into his own fair share of hugs, his family ignoring his words about how they bullied others. Of course, after Daphne threw his own bullying in his face, he didn't feel like he could make any case that meant anything without sounding like a complete idiot. After his family was gone, Hermione flashed a quick smile to everyone.

"I think I'm going to go take a nap. I'll see everyone at dinner." Harry reached out and grabbed her arm. She gave him a tight smile.

"I'm not mad at you, Harry. I just want to go sleep. Why don't you go reassure Ginny that you're fine. She seemed worried. I'll see you at dinner." Harry felt as though he had been punched in the gut. It was what he had said he had wanted since the beginning, when he and Hermione had first started arguing. Now, it seemed as though their interactions were fake. He hated it. Rather than say anything, he gave her a short nod.

"Alright. I'll see you at dinner." She smiled softly again and nodded before walking off on her own. Daphne just glared at him. Harry sighed and gestured for her to say whatever it was she wanted to. She just shook her head slightly at him.

"You don't even know what you're losing right now. She loves you and you're kicking her aside for nasty Ginny Weasley. You're dumber than I thought possible, Potter." Harry smiled wryly at Daphne.

"We've discussed our feelings for each other. We both decided that she deserved better." Daphne snorted.

"You're right. At this rate, you'll never be good enough for her. Step it up, Potter, or you'll lose her forever to someone who actually gives a fuck about her." Harry watched as she stood and stormed off in the same direction as Hermione. Harry sighed and shot a look at Draco. He met his eyes and shrugged, showing that he wasn't going to get in the middle of it. After all, he had already told Harry that he thought he was a fucking idiot. Harry stood and with a wave, headed for the Gryffindor table.

Once there, he was bombarded with questions from everyone as to what had happened. He told them the barest minimum, that Riddle was back, but they seemed incredulous. Ginny seemed truly shaken and Harry attributed it to the fact that she had been possessed by the man for almost a whole year. There were quiet tears tracking down her cheeks when Harry finally hugged her close. It was in that moment that he realized that Ron was missing.

"It's alright, Ginny. You're going to be safe, I promise. Your family won't let anything happen to you." She hugged him tight and he couldn't help but make comparisons to Hermione. Ginny felt like nothing compared to the Slytherin girl. She looked up into his face with sad eyes.

"Will you protect me, Harry?" Harry let go of her and started to back away, not liking where this was going. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"I'm going to do my best to protect all my friends, Ginny. I really need to go find Ron." She smiled brightly at him and nodded. Harry was just happy to get away with no other words.

Harry hurried on his way, quick to find his best mate, hoping that all would be well with his family and friends in the long run. He hated seeing Hermione like she was and he hoped that Ginny stayed away so he wouldn't have to see it again. In fact, that night before bed, he would request it of Ginny to stay away from the Slytherin table and Hermione in general. He was sure that she would comply since he was doing her such a huge favor.

Of course she would.

-O-

Hermione wanted to barf. She hated being so nice when it came to

Ginny but she realized that it would get her nowhere to argue with Harry over it. He was going to do as he pleased and if that meant Ginny, that's what it meant. She had already decided that she didn't want to lose his friendship and she wasn't going to make him choose, especially since she doubted that she would win that choice. She would just grin and bear it, hiding her feelings of jealousy, self-doubt, and disgust down deep where nobody knew that it was there. Even Draco was pulling away from her and seemed to be less in tune with what was going on in her life these days. She didn't blame him, of course, it had always been inevitable. It just saddened her to realize that eventually she would be alone unless she found a boy that could handle her strength and personality which she had to admit was highly unlikely.

Hermione really was tired but decided to stroll the corridors for a just little while to stretch her legs first. She had been cooped up in the Hospital Wing all night long and she was the first to admit that she was stiff and sore. She was on the third floor, near the door where Fluffy had been housed their first year, when a redhead appeared around the bend of the corridor, a scowl on his face. Hermione sighed inwardly.

Ronald Weasley.

He already hated her, of that she was certain. After summer, he was likely to hate her even more but honestly, it wasn't up to her. Her father had made the decision and since he was Lord Black, it had been solely his decision. Mind, she hadn't been against it, but her father had left her out of the discussion because he knew that she would get caught in the middle and it could potentially start trouble for her. The redhead just sneered at her.

"You aren't with Harry?" She shook her head, casting her gaze to the floor so he didn't see how upset she was at the situation.

"No, he went to go talk to your sister. I'm just stretching my legs before going back to the common room to sleep. It was a long night." Ron nodded and looked happy.

"Well, at least he's gaining some sense. Ginny made a mistake but she isn't all bad. She would be perfect for him if they would both just admit it." Hermione really had to bite her tongue since she was sure that Ron was just saying this to hurt her. She nodded her head instead.

"Perhaps someday it will happen." Weasley scoffed at her.

"Like you and your family will let him be with Ginny. You'll do all you can to keep him away from her. It's clear to everyone that you're in love with him. You won't ever let him go to Ginny." Hermione gave him a cold, hard stare. She could see when the redhead started to squirm.

"You don't know anything about me, Weasley. Trust me, if Harry really wants to be with Ginny, he won't let my family come in between them." It killed her to say it but she needed to to protect her heart. The last thing she needed was to have Gryffindor making fun of her as a whole for her feelings for Harry. It was bad enough that he threw them in her face whenever he was angry with her.

"Besides, you should be focusing on being there for your friend. He just faced down Voldemort and was tortured for it." Ron scoffed.

"I'm sure he made the story more elaborate than it was. He probably wanted the attention." Hermione glared at him.

"If you're going to spout that nonsense, get the fuck away from me, Weasley. You're despicable and you don't know your friend at all. He deserves better." Now she really didn't feel bad for what could be happening this summer. She lifted her chin and started past him. He reached out and snagged her wrist, squeezing it tightly. She did her best to keep a handle on her magic, easier said than done since she had faced down Viktor.

"You don't just walk away from me, Black." Hermione was about to say something in retaliation but Harry was walking up behind them and he called out angrily.

"Ron, let go of her. You don't ever grab her." Weasley let go of her instantly and Hermione didn't bother with him. She kept right on going, right past Harry. He reached out and caught her hand gently. His eyes were worried when she met his gaze.

"Are you alright, Mia?" She gave him a short smile and nodded.

"Perfectly fine. I'm going to go lay down now." He nodded and she could feel his eyes on her as she rounded the corner of the corridor and headed for the steps that lead to the dungeons. Once she was safely ensconced in the the dorms, she let her face go slack and her emotions flooded her features. She had just crawled into her bed and let her tears start to flow when her curtain pulled back and Daphne appeared. She crawled in next to Hermione and wrapped her arms around her. The dark-haired girl buried her face in her friend's chest and let her tears flow. Daphne remained silent while she held her, slightly rocking her until she was quiet. When she was almost asleep, her blonde friend finally spoke.

"The men we love won't ever realize what they do to us. We deserve better, Hermione. I, for one, am tired of being ignored while your cousin shags everyone in the school willing to spread their legs for him." Hermione nodded. She felt the same but was saddened still.

"I know. You should find someone that will honor you and appreciate you for what you have to offer. I need to do the same." Daphne chuckled.

"You should see if Cedric is interested. He always stares at you when you aren't looking." Hermione chuckled softly and considered it.

"Maybe next year. I need to get my head together before I can consider another boy. Besides, after Viktor, I might not want to have a wizard for my own. I never want to be touched like that again. It scared me." Daphne nodded and slid down to lay next to her.

"You say that now but you'll grow past it. Take your time, there's no rush. You're only in your fourth year, there's plenty of time to figure that out. I'm in no rush but one thing is sure. I'm not waiting around for Draco to pull his head out of his arse anymore." Hermione smiled and pulled the duvet up over the top of her. She smiled at her friend as she let her eyes fall closed.

"I really hope you don't. He doesn't deserve you, Daph. I'm so tired right now, I need a nap." Daphne threw the blanket over herself too.

"I'll take one with you. See you for dinner." Hermione smiled to herself. It had been ages since she and Daphne had had a sleepover where they had slept in the same bed. It made her feel young again, back when times were simpler.

Hermione cleared her mind of all her problems and all they would have to face in the coming months and let sleep pull her under.

A/N- Nothing too catastrophic here, just a little sneak peak of how the school is going to respond to Harry and his story. It isn't going to be pretty as I'm sure you can remember from canon. Anyways, leave me a message after the beep and let me know what you think.

Next chapter, heading home from Hogwarts.

Love,

Alicia


	83. Chapter 83

A/N- Here we are again, y'all, with another chapter. Not quite as long as usual but I'm not going to feel too bad after that 17,000 word chapter, haha. Anyways, thanks to everyone out there for reading and reviewing, you guys are just so awesome. Your support is overwhelming. Enough for now though. Enjoy this chapter!

P.S. I did have a few problems with responding to some reviews. I haven't had problems in a hot minute so I was a little surprised. If you didn't get a response, I apologize.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything about this story. The characters belong to our queen and the original story line from Part One was gifted to me by Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle. I've simply twisted it and made it my own. I haven't made a single knut from this story or any other. Someday, I'll publish an original work and make millions…(don't crush my dreams, people).

Chapter 83

June 30, 1995

Hermione watched as all her friends finished their breakfast around her. Of course, since she ate half the food they did, she had finished long before they had. Even Daphne ate more than she did and the blonde was quick to point it out almost every meal time. Hermione assured her every day that she was healthy, that her health scans proved it. She had just never been a big eater; she considered herself more of a grazer when it came to food.

Harry was sitting with them, clearly upset that he had to return to the Dursleys. Hermione was still unsure as to why that was but her father had reassured her that as much as he hated it, the muggle abode gave Harry protection that Blackmoor could never give him. While she hated that he would be miserable there for the month he would have to stay, she wanted him to be safe from Voldemort, especially since he had now returned. Harry said that he understood but she was fairly sure that he held it against the Headmaster. Truth be told, she didn't blame him.

They were heading home today. Another year had come and gone and it had been a rough year to say the least. Harry would bear scars from his ordeal with Voldemort for the rest of his life and she was sure that he would never forget the things that he had witnessed. It was horrifying to think of and she didn't blame him for wanting to never speak of it again. However, he was dealing with it all in familiar Harry fashion.

There were rumors all over school that even though nobody believed his story about what happened the night of the third task, Harry was still sleeping with every girl that he could convince to do so. She hadn't asked her cousin about it, or even spoken to him about it, since he was more of a common ground rather than just taking her side. Truth be told, she missed her cousin and the closeness they shared but she supposed that growing apart was natural. She tried to reassure herself that it would get better once she finally got over Harry for good. Maybe then Draco wouldn't feel like he was constantly in the middle.

Harry never said anything about the girls he spent time with but he didn't really need to. Lisa Turpin had cornered her and told her that he was spending time with her several times a week, probably just trying to make her jealous. She had seen him sneaking off with Mandy Brocklehurst and Daphne had told her that she had seen him heading to the quidditch locker rooms with Lavender. It hurt down deep but she refused to let it ruin her friendship with him. If she couldn't have him for herself, she always wanted his friendship.

Their argument about Ginny was all but forgotten. Hermione had told him several times to just let it go, that it wasn't important anymore. In truth, that he believed her word over Hermione's hurt more than anything in the world, even him being with other girls. She had done nothing to make him disbelieve her but he still took her word. It was frustrating and hurtful all at the same time. This was something that she would have discussed with Draco before but now she kept it close to her chest. She didn't even speak of it to Daphne since it would really do no good.

Hermione made sure to keep her silence to her father. It would do no good for her to say anything to Severus either since he was now spending time with Harry as well as herself. While she was thrilled that she was able to see him once again now that Moody was gone, she couldn't help but hate that she now had to share him with someone that held her in such little regard.

Uncle Lucius was the only one that she could tell her true feelings to. Aunt Cissy would have been sympathetic, but she would have wanted to scheme on how to get Harry to court her. Hermione wasn't interested in that. She deserved better than what Harry would give her and she didn't want to be with someone that thought so little of her word. As much as she loved him, she would never allow him to court her while he believed Ginny Weasley's word over hers. It was a slap in the face and a blow to her honor and ego. She didn't ask that he be perfect but she would certainly ask for loyalty and that was something that he clearly couldn't give her.

The rest of the school was acting horribly. They clearly disbelieved Harry and his story that the Dark Lord had returned. It didn't surprise her in the least, people would believe the story that made them feel safest, after all. However, that didn't excuse the fact that they were slandering his name and spreading enough rumors about his sanity to make even a healer question it. Hermione had defended him on countless encounters but it never did any good.

What surprised Hermione the most was that Ron Weasley was now his staunchest supporter. He had told Hermione that day in the corridor that he didn't believe Harry, that he believed that he was seeking attention, and here he was defending Harry at every turn. She supposed that she should be grateful that someone else was loyal to him but she didn't think that that was the case. To be honest, she thought that the red head was just biding his time until he knew what course of action to take.

Everyone stood from their tables and stretched slowly. Hermione was worried about making it to the train on time. Their trunks had probably already been delivered and since they had all agreed to meet and eat late, it was time for them to head to Hogsmeade. Hermione made sure that Juliet was close behind her as they started for the doors that would lead them to the front gate. Since they had a little bit of extra time, they were going to walk to Hogsmeade, if only to savor the companionship of their friends for a little while longer.

Hermione was glad that the compartments on the train were quite large. Their group had all decided to sit together, though Harry had promised the Gryffindors that he would sit with them for a little while. Hermione couldn't help but find it funny that he made a show of being loyal to the lions but Neville and the twins didn't worry themselves. They did as they pleased and told everyone else to fuck off. Harry was much more likely to try to keep everyone happy. It was for this reason that she had told him to go sit with the lions and feel free to spend time with them. Even though she hated it with a passion, she could revel in the fact that she had been the bigger person.

The air was warm and the breezy was salty. Hermione wasn't sure how far from the coast that Hogwarts was but judging by the smell of the ocean, it wasn't far. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back, letting her mind go blank while they walked, sunshine warming her face. Once outside the gates, Juliet let go of her hand to go walk by the twins. She loved them, that much was certain. Hermione wasn't sure if it was hero worship or something deeper but her little sister did seem to prefer their company to almost everyone else's.

They strolled the ten minutes to Hogsmeade in blissful silence. Hermione didn't want to talk and have someone ruin it since it was the last day that they would all be together for a month. She and Harry were doing better but she knew that he wasn't fooled. He knew that she was hurt and though he felt bad, he wasn't willing to do anything to correct it. She simply linked arms with Daphne and the two of them leaned against each other, both savoring the sunshine on their faces. It was quite amusing to see that both Draco and Harry looked quite put out.

Once they reached the train station, Hermione was quick to board with her friends. They found a compartment that was completely empty and they were quick to commandeer it for themselves. All their things appeared in the storage above their compartment and Hermione still shook her head in wonder at the elve's magic. Truth be told, she was excited to see Dot and Sipsy. It had been ten months since she had seen them last and she missed them.

Hermione couldn't wait to be home. That was it in a nutshell. She felt bad that Harry couldn't return with them but that didn't stop her from being thrilled to return to Blackmoor and Malfoy Manor; both were equally her homes. Not to mention Bluebell was at home and she hadn't rode her Abraxan in ages. She was sure that her horse missed her as much as she missed her horse.

Since there were so many of them crammed into a compartment, there was very little room for them to move around. Juliet quickly found a spot on Fred's lap and Luna sat in Neville's. Hermione, however, would rather be uncomfortable than sit in Harry's lap. She needed to put space between them since they would never amount to anything more than friends; it was easier said than done but it was needed nonetheless. Daphne also seemed just as resolute to stay away from Draco; instead, she planted herself on Blaise's lap and Hermione noted with an internal smile that her cousin looked quite put out.

After the train was well on its way, Harry leaned forward and reached into his robes. He pulled a large sack out of it's depths and cleared his throat. He faced the twins and held out the sack. When Fred took it, a confused look on his face, Hermione understood completely. She had to admit that she loved her friend for it.

"It's my winnings from the Tournament. After Viktor and Voldemort, I don't want to win. I tried to give it to Cedric but the Ministry wouldn't hear of it. Therefore, I'm giving you my winnings, boys. One thousand galleons. I want you to open the best joke shop in Britain with me as your financial backer. With what's coming, the world is going to need more smiles and laughter. I'm leaving how that happens up to you." Fred looked at the bag in his hand with reverence. George caught the Gryffindor's eyes.

"Are you sure, Harry?" He nodded at the twins and smiled.

"Absolutely certain. I have no need of the money and not only would I be seeing to the laughter of a nation, I would be helping out friends. If you feel the urge to pay me back, you may. If not, just give me a discount on goods. I'm happy with either or." The twins grinned at him and reached out to shake his hand. It was Fred that spoke, the more outspoken of the two of them.

"We appreciate it, Harry. You've just given us the money we need to start a shop of our own. We already have enough products to start, we just need to mass produce." He grinned at them.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" The twins started laughing and Harry was happy to see such joyous looks on their faces. Hermione smiled his way but was surprised when his gaze caught on hers. She felt herself blush but turned her attention back to her book before he could say anything. It wouldn't do for him to embarrass her in such an endeavor.

The journey to King's Cross was long. Juliet had long since fallen asleep against George's chest and Fred was snoozing with his head against her chest. They looked very comfortable and quite happy. Hermione wished that she could feel that level of comfort with those that were simply friends. She was sure that there was something deeper between the three of them but Juliet was far too young for any of that. If the twins wished to pursue that at a later date, she wouldn't have a problem with it as long as she was a decent age.

Daphne was sleeping against Blaise's chest and while he looked quite smug, her cousin was seriously angry. She tried to keep her amusement to herself but it was hard to do when she considered it. Neville and Luna were the most serene of the bunch and she was quite sure that her friend was smitten with her cousin. Not that she minded; actually, she felt they were well-suited for each other. Not that she would ever tell them that.

Hermione had dozed on and off but not enough to miss anything that had gone on while she was sleeping. Draco tried to hide the fact that he was jealous of Daphne and Blaise but Hermione just glanced at him knowingly. However, since he had remained silent on the fact about herself and Harry, she returned the favor. However, that spell was broken when they returned to King's Cross.

Her father, Remus, and Uncle Lucius had spotted Harry's uncle and taken him aside to speak with ihm. Hermione knew that it was to warn him against mistreating Harry but the others might not gather that. Hermione tried to keep that in mind as she went to face him for the last time before going their separate ways. Harry sent her a grimace in her direction. She walked up to meet him face to face while her family administered their threats.

"I'll miss you this summer. I know that it's only a month but it seems like forever." Harry nodded and refused to meet her gaze. He sighed and kept his eyes on the ground.

"I haven't treated you right, Mia. You deserve much better and I'm sorry that you have to deal with me while I'm surely breaking your heart. I want to thank you for sharing your family with me. I know that you and Draco aren't as close as you were because of me. I shouldn't be happy about that but I'm glad that I've become a part of you." Hermione wanted to cry at his words but withheld them ruthlessly.

"You're right, we aren't as close. I don't tell him anything anymore. He's become more neutral than anything. I suppose that it was just a matter of time before it happened. You aren't to blame." She floated forward and hugged him close. She breathed in his scent one last time before they parted for a month.

"Stay safe, Harry. Use Hedwig and if the need is great, use a patronus. We will come." She felt him kiss her forehead and she pulled away, noticing the look of pure hatred on Ginny Weasley's face from a distance. After this summer, that was sure to get worse. Harry smiled down at her. Hermione pulled away and headed for her Uncle Lucius; he was waiting for them now that the threats to the Dursleys had been issued. Once she reached him, he put an arm around her shoulders and she turned to smile at Harry. His uncle clamped a meaty fist down on his shoulder and with that, they turned and were gone. Hermione sighed and Uncle Lucius smoothed her curls.

"Don't worry, sunshine. We'll get him back in a month. Keep your mind busy until then." Hermione sighed.

That was easier said than done.

-O-

Harry hated that he was being separated from his family. He absolutely hated that he was going to the Dursleys and despite the fact that Sirius, Remus, and Uncle Lucius had threatened his muggle relation, he was still desolate.

Harry had done nothing but try to bury what had happened in the graveyard. It was a horrible truth that he tried not to acknowledge now that his truth had been told. However, this was easier said than done. He was responsible for Lord Voldemort; if his blood hadn't been used, he would never have returned. It was a tough pill to swallow and he hadn't dared tell anyone his feelings since he had first woken up in the Hospital Wing. He was sure that they would guess his feelings the second he let them show in the least. That was something he couldn't stand.

Therefore, he buried his feelings of guilt in other girls. He had fucked more girls since the return of the Dark Lord than he had all year long. He kept trying to bury his problems in them, kept trying to act like he could fix everything as long as he was burying his cock in random women, but that wasn't the case. In truth, he felt even worse about himself after he had fucked another girl. Nothing filled the void and nothing made him feel better. Honestly, the best he had felt since he had returned from the graveyard was when he had been in the Hospital Wing and Hermione had been lavishing him with attention. It was quite telling but he wasn't ready to admit that she was the answer to everything.

Harry had vowed to fuck all the muggle girls that he could through the summer while he was at his muggle relatives. He hated that he was burying his problems, not dealing with them, but sex was the only thing that made him forget for even the tiniest amount of time that he had been responsible for the return of the greatest dark wizard of their time. It wasn't his proudest moment but he felt that it was excusable. He was sure that anyone he knew aside from Hermione would allow him that weakness.

Hermione was just so bloody strong that it made him ache. He wished that he could be like her, that he could stand up to those that would stand against him. He knew that he would have to before it was all said and done, but he wanted the comfort of knowing that he could bury his pain if need be. Hermione never allowed herself that and he respected it. He knew that she and Draco weren't as close as they were and he was partly to blame. As much as he loved being a part of their friendship, he felt guilty for taking her sole confidant away from her. Now Draco was more of a middle ground and she had turned more to Daphne. It was sad and Draco had yet to realize it. He just hoped that the blond would accept it with grace when he realized that Hermione no longer wished to confide in him like she once did.

He was in his uncle's car and they were on their way home to Privet Drive. Uncle Vernon had yet to speak to him but in Harry's opinion, that was a good thing. He kept his eyes out the window so his uncle wouldn't think that he wanted to talk. The last thing he wanted to do was have a serious conversation with his muggle uncle who not only thought that he was a freak, but had no idea what he had been through in the last month.

The trip was just over an hour. They were pulling into the garage of number four Privet Drive and his uncle had just put the car in park. He turned to face Harry and he was just waiting for the abuse to start. It was inevitable; it started every year. However, his uncle seemed to take his godfather's and uncle's warnings seriously.

"Will they really torture and kill me if you're mistreated?" Harry couldn't believe that he was actually asking him. He gave the enormous man a resolute nod.

"They will. Neither have been good men for the whole of their lives and both have done questionable things. I would believe them if that's what they said." Uncle Vernon met his eyes briefly before he nodded. It was the most respectful he had ever been to Harry.

"You will still do your chores but you will not be confined to the house. You may come and go as you please as long as it is within the hours of curfew that Dudley abides by." Harry knew this was the best deal that he was going to get so he nodded immediately.

"I'll be in before ten every night. All my chores will be finished before I leave." Harry wasn't sure if he should leave the house but he wasn't going to worry about it. If he wasn't supposed to leave the house, Dumbledore would have told him so. His uncle opened his door abruptly and got out, leaving Harry to open the boot to gather his things and cart them inside. He lugged his heavy trunk into the house and he wished for the thousandth time that he was at Black Moor so he could do magic. His Aunt Petunia was clearly in the kitchen, cooking dinner, but Dudley had no qualms of stepping forward and kicking his trunk out of his grasp. Enduring his fat cousin's brays of laughter was all his patience could take. Harry pulled his wand and shoved it under his cousin's chin and he instantly went silent. He could feel his magic swirling just under the surface and he fought to keep it under control.

"You will leave me alone this summer, Dudley. I've watched a full grown man be tortured and killed and rest assured, I'm not concerned about missives from the Ministry about the use of underage magic. Don't fuck with me." Dudley's eyes widened and he scurried off, quick to disappear. Aunt Petunia appeared before him, confused.

"Where did Duddikins go?" Harry smirked at her.

"I told him if he fucked with me this summer he would regret it. He scurried off to go hide from the big, bad freak." His aunt would never have taken his attitude before. He wasn't sure if he was just scarier now or if Uncle Vernon had somehow warned her before coming home. Either way, she gave him a nod and turned back to the kitchen. Harry turned to go up the stairs himself, eager to put his trunk away and let Hedwig out of her cage. He could hear his aunt and uncle conversing softly as he left them but he didn't worry about that. He found his room exactly as he had left it the summer before; it hadn't even been cleaned. Not that he was surprised, really, but it was disgusting all the same. He vowed to clean first thing the next morning if Dobby hadn't gotten it done before then. The little elf did have a thing for cleaning.

He let Hedwig out of her cage and told her that she could come and go as she pleased from the window. Harry bent to scribble out a quick message to Sirius and tell him that the muggles were going to treat him better. Once it was written, he attached it to Hedwig and bid her to deliver it. After she was gone, he was quick to unpack what little of his belongings he would actually use there. Once that was finished, he threw himself on the bed to contemplate just what he wanted to accomplish that summer.

First, he needed to get his homework finished. He didn't want to show up at Black Moor with all his homework to do. Once he got there, he wanted to focus on his dueling and other schooling. He wanted to try to catch up to Hermione and Draco. He needed to finish his wizarding culture tutoring and needed to further his studies in languages. He had lots of things on his list to do and none of them could be accomplished there except his homework. Therefore, he vowed to start it the following day after his room was clean and his chores were done. He wasn't going to distract himself with muggle girls until his work was done.

Due to the large meal he had had at Hogwarts, he wasn't all that hungry. Therefore, he laid back on his bed and let his eyes fall closed, trying to remember every last detail of Hermione and what she was wearing before they had parted his ways. He didn't think that he would ever forget how she smelled, how she had smiled at him, how she had wished him well. He knew that it was selfish of him but she was going to be what got him through this month-long stay with his relatives. He hated it, he hated the weakness that she represented to him, but he could never hate her.

Harry worked on clearing his mind, trying to rid her from his thoughts at that moment. However, he was too successful at his endeavor and ended up falling asleep, dreamless for the first night since the third task.

It was bliss.

-O-

Sirius was on edge after leaving Harry with his relatives. Sure, he, Remus, and Lucius had threatened the poor man until he had almost pissed himself but that didn't really make him feel any better. He was sure that Harry would be treated better, not like a slave, but he knew that he would never receive the love that he deserved from his horrid relation.

Hermione had been quiet since they had returned to Black Moor. Juliet had been bouncing with excitement at returning, said she couldn't wait to explore her family home with her sister and Draco. Sirius suspected that she had a small crush on Draco but Hermione had told him that he was wrong. She had intimated that the twins were her crush and he wanted to groan at the thought. He loved the boys, they were just as he had been in school, but that was what scared him most. He hadn't been kind to women, played them when it suited him, and he didn't want that for his youngest daughter, especially when the objects of her affection were so much older and experienced.

Draco and Lucius had traveled to Black Moor with them and he had seen immediately that things were different between his daughter and her cousin. She had excused herself as soon as she had arrived, telling everyone that she was tired and would see them for dinner. He knew that Draco was planning to stay for the first couple days before the pair would go to Malfoy Manor. He and Lucius had already discussed it. Draco looked just as confused as he was so once she and Juliet were out of earshot, he turned to his younger cousin and questioned him.

"Did you and Hermione have an argument?" Draco shook his head.

"No, I haven't argued with her since she and Harry fought before the third task. I tried to get them to make up and when it didn't work, I gave up. Told them that I wasn't going to take sides between them." This was the first that Sirius had heard of any of this. He turned to see that Lucius wasn't surprised at all. He glared at his friend and his blond counterpart just smirked at him.

"She didn't feel that she could confide in you because she didn't want you to have to choose between herself and Harry." Sirius sighed and supposed that he had deserved that. He had put Harry first for years so of course she would assume that he would take Harry's side. Rather than remain silent, Lucius glared at his son.

"You realize you have lost her trust? She told me that you're more of a middle ground so she doesn't feel that she can confide in you anymore." Draco started to sputter.

"She never said anything. I would have changed how I acted if I knew that it bothered her." Lucius raised an eyebrow at his son.

"She didn't want to make you choose between herself and your friend. You should know that Hermione would never want you to be in the middle. I'm not angry, son. I'm just sad at the fact that you two will never regain that bond you once had. She has already accepted that she has lost you in that way." Draco shook his head, his features determined.

"I won't let her think that. I'm going to make sure that she realizes that we're just like we were. I just hate having to be in the middle of them when she's demanding things of him that he's never going to concede on. That's her problem, she thinks she's always right. True, Harry was wrong for throwing her feelings in her face but she should have never told him that he couldn't be friends with Weasley." Sirius cocked an eyebrow at his cousin.

"Explain." Draco sighed.

"Harry said that the rest of his House were refusing to be friends with Ginny Weasley. She begged him to act like her friend so they would accept her again. He agreed. Hermione told him that it was disgraceful, that he was dishonoring not only himself but his family. Harry told her that he didn't like that she was a bully. I agree that she shouldn't tell him what to do but she doesn't see herself as a bully. She's nice to everyone until you cross her. He told her that he didn't believe that Ginny had thrown stones at her or cast her into the Black Lake. Of course, last I knew, I thought that Ronald had thrown her in. He fucking gutted her when he took Ginny's word over hers. I tried to get them to make up and Hermione told him what he wanted to hear but they both knew it was a lie. You heard them at the third task. She's let it all go, told him he can be friends with whoever he wants, but I know it still hurts. I just didn't want in the middle of it because until one of them gets over it, they're just going to be at odds." Sirius groaned and raked a hand through his hair. He wasn't the most pleased that his godson was talking to that whore of witch again. However, Draco was right. He couldn't force him to do anything he didn't think was right and neither could Hermione. However, Harry had hurt his baby girl and he hated it. He remembered how broken she had looked just before the third task. He felt that he needed to make a point to Draco, however.

"You say that she thinks she's always right. When's the last time she wasn't?" Draco sighed and closed his eyes for a few moments before nodding his concession.

"I'll go talk to her. Can you keep Juliet busy while I do so?" Sirius smirked at his cousin and nodded. He looked to Lucius and he grinned outright. After Draco had disappeared up the stairs that led to his daughter's room, his too for that matter, he let out a short chuckle.

"Those two are ridiculous. What the fuck are we going to do if they really do ever argue?" Lucius was saved from answering by Severus flooing in. Sirius grinned at his friend and was quick to throw his arm around him.

"Good to finally see you, Sev. I know you were keeping your distance to keep the fact that you were recovering from torture from us. Hate to break it to you, friend, we aren't stupid. You have to know that we're here and we want to know what you're going through. You're doing this for our family and we want to do our part." Severus stiffened up but finally nodded.

"It was bad. I couldn't move for several days afterward, I was confined to my bed. The Dark Lord was most displeased that Harry escaped. Please don't tell Hermione. I can withstand her begging but I would rather not." Sirius nodded, knowing that it would kill his daughter to know what her godfather was going through.

"I won't lie to her but I won't volunteer the information." Severus nodded, his relief clear on his features. They settled before the fire and Candy poured them firewhiskey. After several sips, Severus spoke again.

"Where's Hermione? I figured that she would be the first one to greet me once I got here." Sirius snorted and took another drink.

"She ran off to hide in her room the second she got here. I'm sure she'll be out for dinner and then to the stables." Severus raised an eyebrow at his words.

"What's wrong with her?" Lucius answered his question.

"She didn't agree with Harry and Draco told them that he wasn't going to be in the middle. She hasn't started any trouble, she's just stopped confiding in Draco. I truly think she was tired but he just charged up there to make things better between them." Severus cursed under his breath.

"Idiot. He chose Potter over his own cousin?" Lucius shook his head.

"He didn't choose Harry. He just didn't want in the middle. He didn't realize that she would take it like she did and he also didn't think that it would result in her no longer confiding in him." Severus sighed and Sirius agreed with him. It wasn't something he wanted a part of either. Rather than comment further, he smiled at his friend.

"It's good you're back home, Sev. Hermione will be down for dinner and she'll be just as thrilled to see you as we are." Severus grunted his agreement and then turned his attention to his whiskey.

Sirius sat back and nursed his whiskey. It would get better once dinner arrived and Hermione and Draco worked out their issues. Juliet would make sure that all would be well, she couldn't stand for it to not be. He heaved a sigh and hoped that Draco would work his magic.

-O-

Hermione heard the knock on the door of her room and sighed. She knew that it was Draco and that they were finally going to talk about the distance growing between them. She called out for him to come in and he cast a look around sheepishly.

"Can we talk, Miney?" She heaved a sigh and nodded.

"You realize that this was going to happen eventually. We were always bound to grow apart." He sat on her bed next to her and took her hand in his.

"I never wanted you to think that you couldn't confide in me." She sighed and leaned into his side. His arm went around her shoulders and she smiled into his chest.

"I don't want you in the middle of things. You shouldn't have to choose between me and your friend. I'm not going to be that person. I've just started talking to Daphne more." Draco gave her a pained look.

"I want you to confide in me. I want to be the person you run to. You're my best friend, my sister. Losing you like this would kill me." Hermione sighed again and nodded.

"I know you have my back, Drake. I just didn't want you to be hurt because of me. It seems that that's all I do to those I care about." He pulled her hair hard enough to make her squeal. She sat up and glared at him. He gave her a serious look.

"No more feeling sorry for yourself. If Harry is too stupid to see what a treasure he has in you, he doesn't deserve you. Move on and find someone else. I'll still be his friend but you're always going to be come first for me, Miney." She smiled at him and nodded.

"You'll always be first for me too, Drake." He threw himself backwards on the bed and pulled her back with him. He wrapped his arms around her and they just laid there for a long time together. She snuggled into his side and was seconds away from falling asleep.

"I love you, Miney." She threw a blanket over them and laid her arm across his chest. He pulled her closer and she was happy that they had cleared the air. She let sleep pull her under, sure that short nap before dinner would make her feel better.

A/N- Just a short filler chapter to transition to summer, y'all. Nothing too exciting so I hope that you enjoyed it all the same. Anyways, drop me a line and let me know what you think. Review are love (:

Next chapter, dementors attack and the Weasleys are given the choice of a lifetime.

Love,

Alicia


	84. Chapter 84

A/N- Sorry this chapter took so long coming to you guys. I needed an extra couple days to write it and then my internet went down. I just got it back, for once the electric company had their shit together, and here we are. I hope you all enjoy. Thanks to everyone out there for reading. I really appreciate the support.

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing about this story aside from the personal plot twist. The characters belong to J.K.R. and the original story line belongs to Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle. Unfortunately, I haven't made any money from this story or any other. I'm still a broke bitch even though I was just paid yesterday. Sucks to suck.

Chapter 84

July 19, 1995

Harry wiped the sweat from his brow as he shoved the lawn mower back into the shed after mowing the backyard. Since it was a large yard, it was listed as his only chore for the day; not that he was complaining. He had been back at Privet Drive for almost three weeks and while it hadn't been pleasant, it had been better than it usually was.

He was usually assigned a few chores in the morning, nothing too terrible considering. It was usually dishes, vacuuming, and some dusting, maybe some laundry thrown in. Nothing too taxing. His relatives rarely deigned to speak to him, not something that really bothered him, truth be told. In fact, it was rather relaxing. It was much better than being screamed at and told how much of a freak he was and having punches thrown in his direction.

He had never been fed well at Privet Drive. While that tradition still held, he had been fed better. He was allowed a small meal three times a day. Sure, it wasn't enough to keep even Hermione alive, but Dobby still brought him food from Black Moor every day to make sure that he stayed a healthy weight. Harry appreciated it more than he could say. His relatives no longer questioned how he stayed so healthy, not after last summer when Sirius told them that Dobby was responsible for him.

He hadn't come out and told them that Dobby was still with him but he assumed that they knew. In truth, the less they knew about the magical world, the happier his relatives were. Therefore, he carted his things up to his room and when he needed to do his homework, he made sure to tell his family not to disturb him because he would be working on unnatural things. They had caught him meaning immediately and had always left him alone, even when they needed him to do something.

Harry had finished his homework for Hogwarts quickly, after just a few days. Hermione had told him how proud she was of him. Of course, she had still beat him but that was no surprise. He had been able to do some of his homework from Madam Cambridge since some of it didn't require books but for the most part, it would have to wait until he got to Black Moor. For now, he was being sent books by Sirius and Severus to finish his wizarding culture class and he couldn't wait until he was done. It was easily the most boring class and it threatened to put him to sleep every time he opened one of those books. He also started on Italian now, having mastered French by the end of the school year. It was a feat that he was quite proud of, though he was the first to admit that he would never have done so so quickly if it hadn't been for Fleur making him converse with him daily in French. Draco told him that he was going to learn Italian just as fast since Blaise was going to do the same for him with his native language.

After the mower was put away, Harry moved to the hose coiled in the flower bed and turned on the water, taking a long drink of the cool water. He didn't want to go in the house where it was always a possibility that his Aunt Petunia would put him to work at another task. He really wanted to go for a run, something that he had only managed to do a handful of times since being back in the muggle world. It was nearing dinner time so it was starting to cool off so it would be the perfect time to go for a run.

Harry didn't bother to tell his aunt that he was leaving; she would be happy if he was hit by a car or was snatched off the street by a serial killer. He did a few stretches before rolling his sleeves up to show his shoulders and starting out down Privet Drive at a punishing pace. He kept up that pace for several miles even though he was out of breath from not doing it every day like he did at Hogwarts.

After running for two hours straight, he decided to take a breather at the local park just a few blocks from Privet Drive; it was one that he had spent a fair amount of time at when he was younger and hiding from Dudley. He settled on one of the swings and let his mind wander while he caught his breath.

He had heard from numerous friends this summer but had only replied to his family, the twins, Neville, and Ron. He wasn't sure why the random girls that he fucked through the school year would be writing him when he had made clear that there was nothing special between them but most of them had wrote him all the same. He hadn't answered a single one of them, hoping that they would get the hint that while he was happy to be friendly with them, it was by no means serious between them. He didn't want to give them the wrong idea and make them think that there was hope that he was going to date them. It just wasn't going to happen.

Ginny had wrote him several times and while Harry thought that the letters were innocent, he couldn't help but worry that they weren't. She never flirted with him directly and she never asked him to have sex with her but he knew that she was still attracted to him and that if he were to want to fuck her, she would jump all over it. It made him uncomfortable but he didn't want Gryffindor to turn their backs on her. She was trying to be a better person and he didn't want to be the person to ruin that for her. Therefore, he hadn't answered her letters but he planned on continuing to be her friend once they returned to school in September, despite knowing that it upset Hermione.

Neville, Ron, and the twins all wrote him often and he answered them as best he could. They were there for him, told him that he could talk to them if he needed to. He appreciated the gesture but they couldn't understand what it had been like; not that Hermione or Draco did either but it was easier to talk to them. He just told them that he appreciated the offer and that he could keep it in mind if he ever wanted to talk, then skillfully (he hoped) changed the subject to quidditch or what he was learning in his lessons.

Sirius wrote him every other day, Remus too for that matter, making sure that the muggles were treating him well. His godfather made sure to tell him that as soon as the month was up he was coming to stay the rest of the summer with them and he would make sure that he had a better summer than last. Truthfully, it wouldn't be hard to make sure that this summer was better than last. Last summer had been terrible since Hermione had hated him and had felt that he was taking her place in her home.

Harry had wrote Draco and told him that he was sorry for putting him in the middle of his and Hermione's argument. In hindsight, it probably hadn't been an easy spot for the Slytherin to be in. He felt bad that he had come between Hermione and Draco, more so that he had left Hermione with nobody to confide in but he supposed that there was nothing he could do about it now. He simply apologized and hoped that it would be enough. Draco had replied and told him that he and Hermione had mended fences and worked out their problems and though he wasn't sure if things were one hundred percent back to normal, they were much better than they had been at the end of the year.

Hermione was who he conversed with most. It was surprising to him that she even wanted to talk to him after what had been said between them, how he had hurt her. He knew that even though she told him to drop the fight about Ginny, that she was over it, he knew that he had hurt her deeply. He hadn't meant to but he couldn't help how he felt. He couldn't help but believe that Ginny wasn't capable of throwing her in a lake. Sure, she was jealous of Hermione but she would never try to kill her. She just wasn't that type of person. Sure, he believed that she cursed her bald, possibly even threw the rocks at her like she thought, Ginny wasn't above trying to embarrass her but she would never seriously hurt her.

Harry wasn't sure why Hermione was so sure that Ginny was that type of person. He knew that she was jealous of Ginny, she was jealous of the relationship that he had with the redhead. However, he didn't think that Hermione was that petty of a person to let that affect what she thought of a person. She didn't seem like a very emotional person but he supposed that she could just hide her emotions that well.

Regardless, he took the most comfort in her letters and words. It was her that he looked forward to seeing at the month's end. He had seen his fair share of muggle girls this summer and they made him feel better for the duration of the time for him to come; then it was gone. He was beginning to think that sex wasn't going to work to make him feel better. It was starting to scare him to realize that only Hermione and her words gave him any lasting comfort when he thought about Voldemort and what he was going to have to do if Sirius and the goblins were to be believed. He hated to think that he relied on Hermione for anything; she deserved better than that but he was starting to realize that she gave him the only comfort that was lasting. Truthfully, sex seemed pointless now.

Harry watched as Dudley and his gang of malcontents strutted up to where he was swinging softly in the breeze. He would have been scared in the past but now he just raised an eyebrow at them as they approached. He could see the fear in

Dudley's eyes, it was clear that his cousin didn't want to start anything but he had to follow through for reputation's sake. Harry smirked in his direction, making it clear that he wasn't going to take pity on him and let him win the fight just because he wanted to continue to look cool. Piers was the first one to speak and Harry just wanted to laugh at him because he used to fear him but now he genuinely wasn't shite.

"Potter, why don't you bend over so we can just start kicking your arse?" Harry started laughing, not chuckling, but full on belly laughing. The whole gang looked quite affronted. When they finally tapered off, he was smiling at Piers.

"I won't be bending over and you won't be kicking my arse. In fact, I'd like to see you try to make me." Dudley stepped in the middle of them and looked at Piers.

"I promised my mum that I wouldn't bother Harry this year. We can go find some little kids to pick on." Harry chuckled at his cousin's words. They were so typical that he really couldn't even comment on them. He let them wander off from the swings until they were at the entrance of the park. At that moment, the setting sun clouded over and the humid warmth turned icy cold. Harry sat up and took notice, as did the other muggles that were passing their time there. The Gryffindor had to give it to them, they had good instincts. They all instantly started to pack up and leave, leaving only him and his cousin's gang behind, wondering just what was happening.

Harry stood and started for home, not sure just what was happening. Something niggled at his mind, reminding him of last year. Something about the train ride of Hogwarts and after only a moment's thoughts, it hit him.

Dementors.

Harry felt fear hit him. Even though he knew that he could cast a patronus charm, he had never cast one against a dementor. He would never forget how a dementor affected him, how he heard his mother's screams and how Voldemort had ordered her aside so he could murder Harry and she had refused. It wasn't the most horrid experience of his life so far but it was close.

Harry took off at a sprint, knowing instinctively that they were there for him. He ran right through the middle of Dudley's gang and grabbed his cousin's arm as he did so. Dudley looked confused and started to sputter an argument but Harry just dragged him, using all his strength to pull his behemoth of a cousin with him. Dudley jerked his arm out of Harry's grasp and yelled at him; it would have caused a scene if there had been anyone around to witness it.

"I'm not going with you, Potter, you freak. Just leave me alone." Harry pulled his wand and shoved it under his cousin's chin. Dudley cowered in fear but Harry was past the point of caring.

"Dudley, you fucking idiot, I'm trying to save your life. There are dementors out there. They suck out your soul. If you want to stick around, be my guest. I'm getting the fuck out of here though." All the color drained from Dudley's face and he was quick to follow Harry as he ran from the park.

Harry instinctively knew that the dementors were following him. He was most certainly the target. The cold was getting closer, he could feel it clinging to his skin and the cold sweats were spreading. Dudley was starting to slow down and a haunted look was overtaking his features even though he wasn't being kissed. Harry threw Dudley against the concrete wall of the walkway and stood in front of him, pulling his wand and thrusting it in front of him. He gathered the memory of Hermione sitting on his lap in the carriage on the way to Hogsmeade, telling him that she had feelings for him, her peach arse rubbing on his cock and held it in the forefront of his mind and cast the curse that would save his life just as the dementors showed themselves.

"Expecto patronum!"

An enormous stag burst from his wand, bigger than he had ever seen. It was bright enough to blind someone and he heard Dudley gasp behind him. His cousin's hands were balled in his shirt, holding him close and Harry was filled with warmth and happiness as the stag ran the length of the walkway. His heart was light and he could feel Hermione's hands in his hair and her lips at his temple and he felt better than he had since leaving school.

After Prongs had raced the length of the walkway, driving off the dementors, he returned to Harry and nudged his chest with his enormous head. Harry reached out and rubbed his face, connecting with the one manifestation that made him feel like he was connected to his father. He was reveling in it when Dudley loosened his grip on his shirt so he could speak.

"What is that?" Harry smiled softly to himself, knowing that Dudley could see it.

"That is a patronus. It protects a person from a dementor. Mine is a stag, just like my dad's." Dudley was silent for a full minute before he spoke softly.

"That was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. It made me feel lighter than I've ever felt in my life." Harry turned to face his cousin as Prongs faded away. He gave his cousin a genuine smile.

"I know you think that magic is bad and that we're freaks but not all magic is bad. Some of it are the most beautiful things in the world." Dudley nodded, clearly humbled.

"I believe it." Harry took a deep breath before getting back to business.

"We need to get back to the house before they send more. I'm sure the Ministry will be sending me a message for underage magic. I need to send a message to Sirius." Dudley gave him an incredulous look.

"You're going to get in trouble for doing magic like that?" Harry nodded.

"Probably. I'm still underage. Sure, it was to save my life so it probably won't be huge trouble but I still need to send Hedwig to my godfather. He's on the Wizengamot so he can make sure that I don't get in major trouble." Dudley nodded and started for the house.

"Well, let's go. You don't need to get in trouble for saving our lives." Harry couldn't believe the change he saw in his cousin. Was it possible that this could be permanent? As if he heard his thoughts, Dudley turned his way as they walked.

"I should thank you for saving my life. I still don't think I'm too comfortable with magic, I know nothing about it, after all, but I could feel that you saved my life. I couldn't see what you saved me from but I could feel that it was evil. Thank you. I'll try to ease up on you from here on." Harry tried to hide his soft smile in the fading sunlight. It was something that he had longed to hear for years but never thought that he would. Rather than made a huge deal out of it, he clapped Dudley on the shoulders and muttered a simple thanks.

They entered 4 Privet Drive together and Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia gave them odd looks when they did. Harry didn't stick around to see what was said; instead, he bolted upstairs to hurry and write a short note to Sirius. He jotted out what had happened and sent it off with Hedwig within minutes. He ventured back downstairs to get his meager dinner to find that his muggle relatives were staring at him as if they didn't know him. He stared back for a few moments before finally breaking the silence.

"What's the problem? Yeah, I used magic. Yeah, the Ministry is going to send me a shitty letter. I'll probably get fined. No need to lecture me." Aunt Petunia's voice was somewhat shaky when she spoke.

"Those guards were there? The soul suckers for the wizard prison?" Harry cocked his head to the side. He had never told her that.

"How did you know that?" She sniffled slightly and looked to the floor.

"One of your mother's old friends told us about them when we were little. He told us about dementors because Lily was scared to death of them. Severus told her over and over that they would never come for her." Harry's heart clenched at her words. He should have known that it was Severus that would have told his mother about dementors.

"Yes, dementors were after me. Since Dudley was there, he was lumped in." Aunt Petunia stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, the first time she had ever hugged him in all his almost fifteen years. Harry was stiff and didn't return it; he wasn't sure that he would know how. He had never hugged another female aside from Hermione, Luna, and Juliet. Even Ginny had limited her affection to snogging and shagging. He supposed that Narcissa and Andie had hugged him but it hadn't been enough to consider affection in his book.

"Thank you for saving my Dudley. I know you didn't have to after how we've treated you. You've deserved better." Harry pulled away from her and kept a neutral face. He was sure that Hermione would have been proud of him.

"You owe me nothing. While you and Uncle Vernon did everything you did because you wanted to, Dudley did what he did because he was taught to. He didn't know any better. You're going to go to hell for how you've treated me and I don't feel bad for you. You've chosen to dishonor your sister and her legacy. You've chosen to mistreat me and abuse me. I can't change that and I surely can't forget that. However, I forgive you that. Make no mistake. It won't ever happen again. I may get in trouble but I will always protect myself from you now." His aunt lowered her head and nodded, accepting his word and judgement. Harry headed for the kitchen and took a seat at the table and suddenly, it hit him.

He was no better than Hermione.

He had looked down on her for being a bully, for not forgiving and forgetting. Now, looking at the situation that he was in, he was no better. In fact, he was the exact same. The exact same. He could no longer cast stones. The only difference was that he was willing to try to mend fences while she was not. He was going to try to make things work with Aunt Petunia if for no other reason than to show that he was better than she was. He hated knowing that he was just as flawed as she was. But truthfully, he knew that he was flawed, just in different ways. In the end, he sighed. There was no way around it.

Just as he was about to head back upstairs to his room, an owl came winging through the open window and landed on the couch close to him and offered him the leg that had a letter attached to it. The owl wore an official necklace so he knew that it was a Ministry owl. With a sigh, he opened the letter that the owl left him with before winging out the window.

 _Mr. Harry Potter,_

 _It has come to our attention that you performed the patronus charm today in the presence of muggles. As per Ministry decree, this is against our laws. This will go before the Wizengamot for full trial on August 8, 1995. Until then, refrain from using magic or see your wand being broken. Please arrange transport to the Ministry of Magic for the day in question._

 _If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me._

 _Mafalda Hopkirk_

Harry wanted to groan inwardly at how little information he had gleaned from the letter. There was nothing there and he needed Sirius to look at it to tell him what he needed to do. He could feel his family staring at him so he let his head fall to where it almost hit the table; he really didn't want to answer their questions but knew that it was inevitable. He stood up reluctantly and couldn't help but wonder if a full trial before the Wizengamot was normal for underage use of magic in front of muggles that were in possession of the knowledge that magic existed. He turned and saw that his relatives were indeed staring at him. Dudley was the one that broke the silence.

"How much trouble are you in?" Harry raked a hand through his hair and sighed. It would do no good to keep it from them. Sure, it might give Uncle Vernon the idea that he could still beat him up and he couldn't do magic to protect himself but there was always Dobby, not to mention Sirius, Remus, and Uncle Lucius had threatened him with his very life.

"I have to face a full trial in front of the Wizengamot on the eighth of August. I'm not sure if this is normal or if it's just because it's me. Sirius should be writing me back soon and letting me know what to do. He sits on the Wizengamot, so does Uncle Lucius, and they'll do everything they can to help me." Aunt Petunia cocked her head to the side and narrowed her eyes.

"Lucius Malfoy?" Harry looked at her in confusion.

"Yes, why?" Her eyes widened and her fingers started tugging at the necklace that laid in the hollow of her throat, the tell that she was nervous.

"Your mother spoke of him a few times and said that he was a truly evil man. Are you sure that you should be trusting him? You call him uncle? How can this be?" Harry groaned, unsure of how much he really wanted to explain to his relatives. However, it seemed as though his aunt seemed truly concerned for him. He had no illusions that it wasn't because he had just saved her son's soul.

"He isn't evil. He used to follow the man that killed my parents but he switched sides when his niece was adopted by my godfather. My godfather told them that he wouldn't allow them to be a part of their life if they followed him. She was more important. Therefore, they left it all behind. They are loyal to Hermione and Hermione is one of my best friends. I call him Uncle because his wife is my godfather's cousin. Plus, he asked me to." Aunt Petunia still looked unconvinced but Harry didn't care. Just as he was about to start for the stairs again, Hedwig flew through the window and landed on his shoulder, offering him the small roll of parchment with the Black crest in the wax. He took it quickly and ripped it open, knowing full well that it was from Sirius.

 _Harry,_

 _I can't believe that there were dementors in Little Whinging. What in the world were they doing there? Somebody had to have sent them there. I want you to promise me that you won't leave the wards until we come to get you. Dementors can't cross the blood wards and you'll be safe there. I know it's like a prison and that's terrible of me to ask it of you but I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you. I know Hermione would never forgive herself._

 _As for underage magic use, I got a notice that it had occurred and was informed that there would be a full trial. This is not common practice and I can't help but think that something is going on behind the scenes. Trust me, Lucius and I are going to be doing our level best to discover what it is. As for the trial, since Lucius and I will be sitting in, Remus will escort you._

 _Unfortunately, I can't afford to break your mother's protection early. It keeps you safer than I ever could, especially now that Voldemort has returned. I wish more than anything that you could return here straight away but that just isn't the case. Hang tough for another week and we'll be there to get you. I won't let you suffer there a day longer than is necessary. Trust in me._

 _I love you,_

 _Siri_

Harry sighed and folded the letter up so he could shove it in his pocket. His family was still staring at him and he faced them since it was clear that they wanted an explanation.

"A full trial isn't normal so he's going to try to figure out what's on. I still have to go on trial and I'm still going to be here another week. I can't chance breaking my mother's protection now that Voldemort is back." His aunt's face paled and she stuttered a little as she spoke.

"I-is he wh-who killed your m-mother?" Harry gave her a grim nod.

"Yeah. He used my blood at the end of the school year and returned. He's very much back and is going to start waging war." He didn't give that a chance to settle into the information; after all, these people hadn't given a fuck for him in all the almost fifteen years he'd been alive. Why should he give a fuck about them? He was just about to head upstairs when Uncle Vernon broke the silence.

"Is this Voldy person going to come after us because you're here? Is it you that he wants?" Harry turned and smirked at his uncle. While his cousin had been cruel because he had been taught to and his aunt had been more neglectful than anything, it was always his uncle that had been abusive.

"Oh, you can guarantee it's me that he wants. I'm the loose end, the baby that banished him into the unknown. He's going to want to kill me. Lucky for you, thanks to my mother sacrificing her life for mine, he can't touch me here as long as I call it home. That means he can't touch you here either. Don't worry, your fat arse is safe until I move out." Uncle Vernon lunged at him but Dudley stepped in front of him. While Dudley was still smaller than his father, it wouldn't be that way for long.

"No, Dad, leave him alone. You're safe as long as he's here. He's keeping you safe. You should be nice to him. I never knew any of this but you did. How you could you treat like this?" Harry was surprised to hear Dudley talk like this but shook his head at his cousin.

"It doesn't matter, Dud. I'm out of here as soon as I can be. I don't give two fucks about your dad, I've had too many broken bones and bruises through the years to do so. However, I'm warning you and Aunt Petunia that as soon as I leave for good, you should as well. They won't be long after me." Dudley gave him a grave nod.

"Will they hurt us?" Harry gave an almost shrill laugh, unable to contain it.

"When he returned to life, his minion tortured and killed an eighteen year old man that was competing in a tournament with me. He skinned him alive before finally killing him at the end. The last thing you want to do is be caught by these people, especially if you're related to me." Dudley gave him a serious nod.

"Thanks, Harry."

Harry took this as his leave and started for his room. He closed his door behind him and found his bed turned down. Dobby had been there and laid his pajamas out. He wasn't sure where his companion was now but he wasn't there. He stripped quickly and crawled in bed, vowing to shower in the morning. He laid there with his hands behind his head, trying to decide what to make of the days events. He hadn't gotten very far when a tapping at the window caught his attention and he realized that it was an owl. He rose from his bed and let it in, instantly recognizing it as the owl that Hermione used almost every time that she wrote him. He took the letter and the owl disappeared, letting him crawl back in bed to read her letter.

 _Harry,_

 _Daddy just told me what happened. I can't believe there were dementors in Little Whinging! I know they were after you but I just don't know why. I personally think that somebody from the Ministry is trying to shut you up, they don't want you to tell the world that Voldemort is back, but I suppose I can't be sure. I guess I've been wrong before._

 _I'm so glad that Remus taught you the patronus charm. I hate to think of what would have happened if you hadn't known it; I really can't make myself care about your muggle cousin. He's been terrible to you, don't try to tell me he hasn't. Someday, I hope you'll confide in me everything but I understand your reluctance now. You have a family that cares about you now and you have to understand that that isn't going to stop._

 _As for the trial, I can't imagine how they can even bring you before the Wizengamot. There is no way that they can severely punish you for using magic outside of school; I researched it and the usual punishment is just an official warning or maybe a small fine for the parents. Don't worry too much, I don't think there is any precedent of any major punishment of using underage magic, especially when it was deemed necessary to save your life._

 _Nothing else of note has happened except for the meeting with the Weasleys yesterday. Daddy and Uncle Luci are pleased but I think it's going to cause more problems. I'm not going to explain right now because it's going to take years. I promise to explain everything when I see you in person. I hope you continue to be well and can't wait until you come to Black Moor. I miss you, as do Juliet and Draco._

 _Love,_

 _Hermione._

Harry let her words warm him, let her words sink in touch him down deep. They always did. They made him feel better and even though her words about the Weasleys made him a little wary it was clear that what had happened wasn't her call. Maybe he could write and get Draco to tell him more. While he couldn't always be counted on to tell him more, there was the certain occasion.

Harry sighed and closed his eyes, letting his worries slip away as he practiced his occlumency, silently thanking Severus for teaching him once again. It didn't always keep him free from nightmares but much more than he thought possible. Once his mind was clear, he let himself drift off, dreaming of what the rest of the summer would be like once he was back in the wizarding world.

-O-

Hermione had been sitting with Juliet out on the lawn, reading a book on advanced warding while Juliet looked at the stars. Draco was off a ways in the distance, flying and trying to hone his night vision by catching the snitch in the dark. Hermione thought him quite foolish but didn't have the heart to tell him so. It would just make him mad, after all, and that was the last thing she wanted to do. After the end of their school year, she didn't want to argue with him any more.

Just as Draco swooped down towards the Earth and Juliet rolled over, indicating that she was actually asleep, her father strode out on the lawn. He looked quite angry but she wasn't sure why. She had done nothing aside from spend time at home and Malfoy Manor, riding Bluebell and brewing potions with Uncle Sev.

It was heaven being able to spend time with Uncle Sev again; truthfully, it was like they had picked up like they hadn't spent any time apart. She had missed him so much in the year of Moody and it had been horrid. She could only only hope that the coming year would be better and she could sneak time with her godfather; she truly didn't think that she could take another year like the last. It had felt like she had been denying a piece of herself and she had detested it. The first two weeks had been spent almost solely in his presence. Not even Uncle Luci had protested; in fact, he had even come down and helped them brew several times when he had started to miss her.

She had just returned from a week at Malfoy Manor with Uncle Luci; Aunt Cissy had taken her and Juliet shopping in Paris for a whole day and it had been horrific. No matter how old she got, Hermione still couldn't develop a love for shopping like her aunt had. However, the whole day hadn't been a wash. Since Juliet, Luna, Aunt Andie, and Dory had also gone, it had been a great day; the shopping had just been the worst part.

Hermione was happy to report that Uncle Luci and herself had taken Luna aside and talked to her gently about her make-believe creatures and told her that they were the product of her father's mind, that he had always been fanciful. After explaining that her mother had always been aware of her father's downfalls, but loved him deeply anyways, Luna had broken down and cried. After crying, she had raged. Though she hadn't cast magic, she had said several hurtful words. Hermione had had her feelings hurt but by the end of the situation, Luna realized that her mother had never wanted her to live like her father did. She understood that it was understanding that her father needed. There were still hard feelings between the pair of them but she hoped that they would fade with time.

However, Xeno had agreed to let Luna spend time with Hermione and Juliet at Sirius' house, if not Lucius', which was beyond crazy. Lucius had proven that he wasn't dark but that didn't matter to Luna's father. However, since that was what he had ordered, that was what they had went by. She visited when they were at Black Moor and Uncle Luci and Aunt Cissy were there most of the time anyways. Aunt Cissy took them shopping and Uncle Luci treated her no differently then he had when she was a small child. Ultimately, Luna was a Malfoy and that wasn't going to change. She would be protected until she was properly married and if Uncle Luci had anything to do with it, that wouldn't be until she was in love.

However, that wasn't meant to be. Unknownst to everyone else in the family, Xeno Lovegood had signed a betrothal contract for Luna, sent forth by Augusta Longbottom. While Hermione was secretly pleased for her cousin and friend, she was still horrified on their behalf. Her father and uncle had promised that she and Draco would never have to deal with them unless they wanted them. It was quite horrifying to realize that your parent had sold you in marriage to someone that could better your situation in life. Hermione wasn't sure what Lady Longbottom had gained from the betrothal contract but she knew that Neville genuinely liked Luna. She just hoped that it was enough.

Luna was happy with the situation. It was as though she had known from the start that she was meant to be with Neville. She hadn't had a single complaint in being bound to him as an almost fourth year; however, Hermione had had several. Finally, it had taken Luna telling her to bugger off and mind her own business to get her to leave her alone. On top of the hurtful words that the blonde had spoken to her, it was like salt on a wound. To say that she had taken the hint to leave her cousin alone would be an understatement.

Since Luna had always been closer to Hermione than Draco, he had instantly been affronted that she had hurt Hermione's feelings. She had told him not to hold it against Luna but that hadn't mattered in the least. Luna had already told her that her father wasn't insane, that Hermione was blind and could never hope to see. She had told her that she would never be true family because she couldn't accept her as she was, that she sought to change her. On top of that, hearing that she was too young for a betrothed was just too much. Luna had refused to speak to her for a whole week. It had been excruciating and when she had finally started speaking to her again, it was clear that it would only continue if she walked the fine line.

Draco was pissed at her, of course, for giving in and doing what Luna wanted. He told her that she was better than giving in to little girls whimsical wishes, that she should tell her that things didn't always work out as she wished they would. As Hermione wished that she could, she feared that if she did, it would tear her family apart for good before the war even properly started. After the day they had argued about it, Hermione had refused to speak about it any further. The last thing she wanted to do was experience the heartbreak by day and relive it by night as she wrote it on parchment to Harry as Draco suggested. Therefore, she let it go.

Neville and the twins had come seen her and Draco several times since the end of the school year. It had been nice, to see her friends, but it had been strange as well. She wasn't used to being able to see the Weasleys and she knew for a fact that at the time her father hadn't launched his plan when it came to the Weasleys. However how strange it was, it was nice to see them for a few days in the summer regardless of how long the situation was going to last.

Before Hermione could ruminate on the situation, her father had arrived, his frown quite apparent. Draco landed and Juliet looked worried.

"Harry just sent an emergency letter with Hedwig. Dementors attacked him at Little Whinging while he was at a local park. He was able to drive them off but had to cast underage magic. I received a notice from Mafalda just minutes later that my minor had done so. They're bringing him in front of a full trial on the eighth of August. I know that they're trying to shut him up, I'm just not sure why." Hermione nodded absentmindedly. After a few seconds thought, she spoke.

"I have a feeling that whoever sent the dementors after him didn't want him to tell his story about the Dark Lord. Same why he's being brought before a full trial. You have to find out all you can, Daddy." Her father looked down at her proudly before kissing her head softly.

"I'm proud of you, poppet. You made a far better Slytherin than you would have a Gryffindor." She giggled softly and nodded her agreement.

Her father wandered off, promising to speak to her uncle about who to pressure in the Wizengamot. Her father had told her that they would still need to wait the full amount of time before bringing Harry back but she had a feeling that it was intent. As long as Harry considered Privet Drive home, it wouldn't change a thing where he spent his time. Besides, if his words were anything to go by, he hadn't considered Privet Drive home in years.

However, Hermione wasn't willing to risk her friend's life on that theory. She knew that he hated it there, that was no secret, she knew that he would do anything to get away from there. She knew that they abused him but since it had started mattering, Hermione had seen no proof. She had nothing to take the the Minister, or her father for that matter. If she had no proof, there was nothing she could change and it pissed her off.

After Draco decided to not go back up, they retired for the night. Hermione was quick to go up to her room and jot out a quick letter to Harry. She felt that she needed to send him something to keep him calm because knowing her father, his words hadn't been calming at all. Harry was volatile and could most certainly be most unreasonable at the worst of times. He needed someone to talk to and that's what she would be right now.

After sending Juliet back to her room and making sure that Draco was engrossed in his own interests, though she had a feeling that they were closer to her own, she wrote out a message to Harry and sent it off to him with one of the usual owls hat she used from the Black family owlery. She had never gotten her own so it had made sense to use one of the family's. It had never made sense for her to get a familiar that was an owl, one that would get jealous of the post she sent with others rather than her pet. It was more trouble than it was worth and she would rather have a pet that was truly a pet than one that served a purpose for her life. Tenebris seemed to appreciate her thoughts on the matter.

After she sent the letter to Harry, hoping that it would cheer him up, she dressed and climbed into bed. Once she made the decision to go to bed, she felt a little better. Nobody would bother her with anything unless it was something seriously important. She just couldn't see that happening, although she hated to say so. So much had happened in the last few days, it had been tiring even though she hadn't been a main component of what had happened between the Weasleys yesterday. She had been there, but it had more her father than herself since he was the reigning Lord Black.

*Flashback*

Hermione knew that the Weasleys had been invited over that day to talk about what her father and Uncle Luci had been whispering about for months. While she agreed with it, she was quite sure that it would cause nothing but arguments and they probably wouldn't agree in the end. Meaning that they would be left without an ally. However, her father and uncle would never agree to let Ron and Ginny into the family so it could be no other way.

Hermione was waiting graciously in the one of the lounges of Black Moor; Juliet had once been by her side, but had been sent to her room since she was too young. Hermione had been told to stay, hoping that her fair words and silver tongue would keep the proceedings friendly. Even though she had no fear that her father and uncle would let the Weasleys hurt anyone in her family, she still had no urge to be in the middle of this issue. Making her be there made it seem like she knew what was going on and that she agreed. While she didn't disagree, per se, she also didn't think that what was about to happen was the best way to go about gaining the Weasley's on their side.

Her father and Candy were graciously showing the whole family into the lounge, offering tea and fire whiskey as they were seated. Hermione was happy to see the twins but she could see the displeasure and distrust on Molly Weasley's face. Not that she blamed her; after spending Harry's birthday at Black Moor last year, it was clear that she wasn't welcome in the her home. She was, however, surprised, that the woman was facing the fear head on. True Gryffindor, indeed.

The twins took the seats on each side of her and threw an arm around her shoulders, both kissing her cheek in greeting. Her father smiled at their greeting and the Weasley parents grimaced. It was clear that they didn't approve but they didn't say anything. Ginny and Ron glared at her but their manners prevailed for once, urging them to keep their mouths shut. Percy was too busy looking around him, clearly astounded at the splendor of her home, something that Hermione took for granted every day. In honesty, though, her home had never been important to her. What had always mattered to her was her family.

Bill and Charlie were sitting there quietly next to each other and Hermione was thrilled to see that Fleur was seated next to Bill, her hand ensconced in his own. Her face lit into a smile and Fleur met it with one of her own. Hermione rose from her seat to hug the French girl and the whole room aside from her father seemed surprised; Hermione didn't let that bother her. They exchanged greetings in French and Fleur whispered to her that Bill was her mate and they had met after the last task. Hermione let out an uncharacteristic squeal but she had a feeling that Bill knew exactly what she was squealing about when she hugged her friend tightly. After they separated, her father cleared his throat, urging her to take her seat between the twins again. Once she was seated, he began.

"I know that this meeting is unorthodox, considering the history between our families in the last few years. What I'm going to propose for your family is going to be the hardest decision of your life and while I should be sorry, I'm not. I have my reasons for doing what I'm doing. For those that are included, life will be infinitely better and it will be quite the adjustment. However, it's going to cause hurt. Do you wish to hear more?" Hermione knew for a fact that it was going to cause plenty of hurt, plenty of hate for her family as well. She was actually surprised when the whole family nodded their heads yes. Sirius leaned forward, no longer the affable Sirius that he had been, but the formidable Lord Black that was known to stalk around the Ministry.

"As you know, Arthur is related to Blacks through his mother, his mother actually being one of my aunts. All the pureblood families are quite inbred so it isn't hard to find a way to connect our families. This one is just the easiest." He took a deep breath and met the eyes of Arthur Weasley.

"I was made aware of the fact that you were the head of your family and that you were struggling under the weight of the family magic." There were some angry hisses in the background and she could tell that at least one of them were from Molly. The twins looked like they were very much put on the spot, knowing that they were the sole reason that information was known to the Black family. Hermione could see that their family was going to turn on them and Hermione felt her protectiveness flare up. The only one who didn't seem angry was Arthur himself. If anything, he looked quite tired. After several seconds, he finally nodded.

"You would be correct. I was never supposed to be the patriarch of the family, it was supposed to go to my older brother but he died of the dragon pox before my father passed. My magic has never been strong enough to carry the whole families. I'm powerful but not that powerful." Sirius nodded and leaned forward again.

"I know it sounds crazy but that's been the way of the Weasley family. Those that were powerful, didn't have many children. Those that weren't as powerful, had many children. It's just how your family is. It's not bad. Do you mind if I run a test on your two eldest sons to see if they are powerful enough for my idea?" Arthur raised an eyebrow at him.

"I don't care if they don't. They're grown men and can make decisions for themselves." Sirius gave him a small smile and turned to Bill and Charlie. Hermione leaned into Fred a little and he raised an eyebrow at her. She acted as though she hadn't seen and kept her eyes on her father. Bill and Charlie nodded their acquiescence and her father raised his wand. After casting on both of them, he turned to Arthur.

"They are both equally powerful. This could be an option for either one of them if one of them doesn't want to take the option." Bill and Charlie both raised their eyebrows at him and Arthur stared her father down. It looked almost hateful and it made Hermione feel a frisson of irritation. Their family had done nothing but treat her family like shite and they were trying to help them. The least they could do is be polite. Her father took his seat once more and crossed his ankle over his knee before speaking.

"As I'm sure you're aware, some of the oldest families in our world, have titles in the muggle world as well. I'm the Earl of Blackmoor, Harry will be the Earl of Gryffindor, Lucius is the Earl of Northwood and Draco will someday inherit the title. They don't mean much in our world but they come with land, fortune, and a seat on the Wizengamot. It all comes back to when the magic once served royalty, though it doesn't so much anymore. Do you understand what I'm saying?" There were nods all the way around. George nudged her with an elbow and smiled at her.

"Lady Blackmoor." She glowered at him and pinched his side ruthlessly, hating that title since childhood. This just made the twins laugh and the rest of the family to look at them as if they had lost their minds. Arthur sat forward and kept his eyes on her father.

"This is all well and good but I'm confused as to why you're telling us this. We know you're wealthy and well-connected. What does this have to do with us?" Sirius sat back and stared Arthur down, showing them just why he was a force to be reckoned with in the Wizengamot.

"I have an unclaimed Barony on the Black side that has laid dormant for many many years because it was a stipulation that it must go to a light family. As you know, that hasn't fit anyone in my family for quite some time. Since I'm the current Earl of Blackmoor, it wouldn't make much sense for me to claim the Barony as well. What I propose is to have your family claim it with some stipulations, of course." Hermione saw Ron and Ginny's eyes light up and the greed was there front and center. It pissed her off but if her father went through with what he had planned, they were going to be sorely disappointed. It was going to cause a lot of hatred for her especially but hopefully they would realize that she was still underage and her father was still the patriarch of her family. He made the decisions, not her. Not that she disagreed, but it would be nice to let her father take some blame as well. Arthur wiped his hands down his face and looked even more tired then he had when he had gotten there.

"What are these stipulations?" Sirius called for Candy and asked for more tea and fire whiskey. After she had reappeared and everyone had been served, Sirius turned to Arthur once more.

"I would propose that your eldest son take over as head of your family, essentially taking the role of Baron of Suffield. If he doesn't want to take over the family magic, then Charlie could do so. I'm not too picky. It's clear, however, that both boys are more than capable of carrying the family magic of everyone involved. You would gain an estate, a fortune, a seat in the Wizengamot. There are many on the Wizengamot that are not conducive to keeping Voldemort at bay and we could use another member voting with us. We need to gather allies to make sure that the Death Eaters in the Ministry don't gain more power. Our names and power carry much weight but we are still only two people. However, since your family has shown my family such animosity in the past, there are stipulations." Bill leaned forward and cut keen eyes her father's way. He wouldn't be easily swayed their way if he didn't agree with their opinion; she was sure that he would make that quite clear. This is where her father's voice got hard.

"Your youngest son has struck my daughter; by giving you a Black title, I'm essentially taking you into my family. I won't bring someone who hurts my daughter in my family. Therefore, Ronald and Ginevra won't be welcome in this mix. I know that she cursed my daughter bald while she was sick with wizard flu and she harmed her during her third year at Hogwarts. I don't care if Arthur wants to keep the Weasley last name to carry their magic until they're of age or if Molly wants to keep their magic under the Prewett name, but they won't be welcome under the Black name. I won't require a name change to Black unless Arthur carries their magic as Weasleys. If Molly carries it as Prewetts, then the name Weasley can carry on, linked proudly with the Black name from here on. I'm aware that this is a hard decision for your family but you must understand my position as well. My daughter is precious to me and is the next heir to the Black family. I will not have anyone in the family that wishes her harm or ill will. Your twins have been some of her best friends for years and I welcome them with open arms. I have nothing against your other boys. I have no reason to dislike them, in fact, I've heard nothing but good about them. You've raised a fine set of children. You would do no different than I if the tables were turned. If you find that you can't do this to your family, I completely understand and will bear no ill will towards any of you. Your boys will still be welcome here and Hermione will still be their good friend. Juliet will still adore them as she does now. Nothing will change from how it is in this moment. I just thought this was an option that would help your family and help my cause at the same time." Ron stood up angrily and started to sputter at Hermione.

"You little bitch, how did I know that you would fuck me out of something good that finally comes our way!?" Ginny looked just as angry but wasn't stupid enough to make a scene in front of everyone. Her attack would be once they reached school when nobody was watching. Hermione kept her seat on the sofa and took a sip of tea while the adults all watched warily.

"In case you haven't realized, Ronald, I'm not the matriarch of the Black family yet. Not for another fourteen months. Even if I didn't agree with this decision, I can't overrule my father. He's Lord Black, the Earl of Blackmoor, and his word is law. He is my lord and while in his house, he is your lord as well. You would do well to remember that." He started to sputter again but it was Bill that spoke this time since Arthur and Molly were clearly dumbstruck.

"Ron, shut up. This is what got you in trouble in the first place. Just leave her alone. She has no part in this decision, like she said. She's a fifteen year old girl. While she is the heir to the Black family, she can't do anything about anything until she's seventeen. Back off." Bill turned to her father and bowed his head.

"Lord Black, we appreciate your gracious offer. Would you allow us a few days to consider this between our family and let your know our answer?" He nodded his head as he spoke.

"Of course, I would never expect you to make this decision on the spot. It's a big decision and could be life changing for all of you. I would like to point out that if you were to take this option, your family wouldn't have to physically split up. Ronald, Ginny, and whoever carries their magic would be able to live with them. I'm not asking you to give up your family, just that they not be permanently linked with my family name." Bill nodded and stood, the rest of the family following suit. Hermione couldn't help but think that he would be a great head of the family.

"We'll get back with you soon. Thank you for your generous offer." Hermione watched her father usher them out of the library and towards the floo while she sank further into the couch cushions.

What a meeting.

*End of Flashback*

They hadn't heard from the Weasleys but it had only been a day since they had dropped their offer in their lap. She was fairly certain now that they would take them up on it. Not so much for the wealth because it was clear that that really wasn't important to any of the older children or even the parents, but she thought that they would take it for the position in society, for the respect. They had been looked down on for so long for being poor that she assumed they would want to make it better for their children. Well, the children that they could.

Her father had promised that they would get Harry soon and since the dementor incident, she was even more impatient to get him under their wards. She knew that there would never be anything serious between them but she still loved him and wanted him safe. As much as Dumbledore talked about how great the blood wards were around his muggle home, they couldn't be anything in comparison to those around Black Moor. Therefore, she would start wearing on her father the next day to bring him home early. Besides, after years of mistreatment, Harry deserved better.

Hermione rolled over and closed her eyes, using occlumency to clear her mind and let herself fall into a fitful sleep.

-O-

Sirius was furious. He had refused to join the Order of the Phoenix, as had Lucius and Remus, but Albus had had no other options for Headquarters. However, now that he had offered the Barony to the Weasley family, they were going to be a branch of his family, much like Andie and Ted. They had joined the Order and he couldn't let them endanger themselves when they had so many children that would still need them. Therefore, he had donated his mother's old townhouse to the cause, 12 Grimmauld Place. It was a horrible place, dark and dank, and some of his worst memories were there. Kreacher still resided there and he hated to admit that the little blighter was one of the main reasons he didn't want to go there.

However, Albus was here and they were arguing over where Harry would go when he was able to leave Privet Drive. Since Sirius was his official guardian, he had laid down the law and told him that he would be coming to Black Moor and would be going back and forth between there and Malfoy Manor, just like his own daughters. However, Albus was trying to convince him to send Harry to Headquarters, the place of his nightmares. While he had had no problems telling him to fuck off, Albus had pulled the hole in one that had Sirius doubting himself.

"His best friend will be there. Ronald Weasley, despite his faults, is still his best friend. He's going to want to spend some of his holiday with him. Since you refuse to have the boy in your home for any time longer than a party, that means he would have to go to him. This would ensure that he's still safe. I'm going to cast the fidelius charm on it." Sirius growled at him, his inner grim coming out.

"That ridiculous spell didn't save James and Lily. Why should I put my faith in it for Harry?" Albus cast him a warning sideways glance but Sirius didn't give a fuck.

"I'm not Peter Pettigrew. Do you really think I'm going to hand the only hope our world has over to Lord Voldemort?" Sirius sighed and raked his hand through his hair. This was a complete shit show but there was no way that he was going to send Harry to the Order Headquarters by himself. That meant facing the complete hell of his childhood.

"Fine, we'll spend the last two weeks of summer at Headquarters. However, that means myself, Helena, Hermione, Juliet, Draco if he wishes, and the Malfoys is they wish it as well. Don't forget, it's my home and I will say who's welcome. We won't sit in on your meetings but know that we are going to be there to make sure that he is safe. It will be properly warded so my children can do magic as they please. They have independent studies that they do during the summer and I won't have this interfere with that. Harry is not to sit in on meetings and I won't have him knowing any information yet. I will tell him what's important, not you. You lost that right. I told you that we would work alongside you if our goals were the same and don't think for a second that Harry will choose you over his family. If you want his cooperation, I suggest you follow my rules. I'll be going over all this with him when I get him from his relatives house in a week's time." Albus finally nodded and let his head droop.

"Fine, Sirius, you win. I just want him to be a beacon for the rest of the Order, something for them to hope for. That can't happen if he isn't there. The Malfoys will of course be made welcome but I can't guarantee what kind of welcome they'll receive from the other members." Sirius chuckled.

"Well, if they're rude in front of Hermione, I'm sure she'll give them a lesson in etiquette since it's her house as well. They'll learn." Dumbledore nodded and stood, heading for the floo.

"We'll see you the fifteenth of August. Good night, Sirius." Sirius didn't bother standing as Albus disappeared in a whoosh of green flame.

He swirled his fire whiskey in his glass he contemplated the days events. He was still appalled at the thought that there were dementors in Little Whinging. Thank Merlin that Remus had taught Harry how to cast a patronus, it had proven to save his life. He knew that Remus was proud of him, he had told him so just an hour before when he had left to go home to Tonks.

He knew that Hermione was worried about him but he hadn't expected any less. It had always been that way and he only himself to blame. Both his daughters were in their rooms now, asleep in their beds, Draco as well, and Sirius was happy. Helena was packing up her things this weekend and would be moving in over the coming week and he was excited. He knew that Juliet was pleased and Hermione seemed alright with the development though she still held herself slightly aloof from the situation. Not that he blamed her. He probably would have done the same in her situation.

Lucius was currently at Gerald Greengrass' house, trying to ferret out information on who could have sent the dementors to Harry. Sirius suspected that Fudge was behind it but he couldn't prove it. Hopefully, Lucius and his sneaky, wily ways would turn up some information.

Sirius threw back his remaining fire whiskey and stood, heading for bed. Tomorrow was going to be a long day as well and he needed his rest. Not to mention, he had a feeling that the Weasleys were going to show up with an answer to his offer. While he already knew their answer, he needed to officially hear it from their mouths. With another sigh, he headed for the stairs.

Long day ahead indeed.

A/N- Another long ass chapter, y'all. Hope you enjoyed. Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing, following and favoriting. You guys are my heroes. Leave me a message after the beep and let me know what you think. Reviews are love.

Next chapter, Harry comes to Black Moor and an unexpected visitor.

Love,

Alicia


	85. Chapter 85

A/N- Thanks to everyone out there for reading and reviewing this story. I got mostly positive reviews regarding the last chapter and I appreciate it. I did have a few problems responding to reviews so if you didn't get a response, I apologize. I'm not sure why ffn lets me respond to some but not others. Anyways, on with another chapter. Hope you all enjoy!

**Shout out to Cecily Mitchell for being my 4100th reviewer! You're freaking awesome!

Disclaimer: Nothing about this story belongs to me, nor have I made a red hot cent from it. Just thought I'd let you know in case you hadn't realized it from the 84 chapters that came before this one. I swear, if my O.C.D. didn't demand that I follow through and put one of these at the beginning of every chapter now that I've started it, I would have quit a long time ago.

Chapter 85

July 26, 1995

Hermione breathed in the warm air from atop Bluebell, enjoying the summer sunshine and the light tan that it was giving her. She turned her face skyward and let the sun warm her skin while she listened to Draco cut through the air above her at speeds she didn't even want to consider.

Her father had left with Dory, Uncle Luci, Remus, the real Alastor Moody, and the auror Kingsley Shacklebolt. She didn't remember much about him, only that every time she had met him, he didn't seem to like her very much. Surprisingly, the real Alastor Moody seemed quite taken with her. He loved how powerful she was and adored how mistrusting she could be. It seemed that he thrived on paranoia and spoon fed it to the aurors that he trained for the Ministry. He was less thrilled about Draco but seemed to like him better than most other students their age.

According to her father, they were on a mission to retrieve Harry from the Dursleys. She wasn't sure why they were all going; she was quite sure that her father could have just apparated there and then side-alonged him back home but it seemed that there were other things going on that she knew nothing about. It irritated her to no end but her father had promised them an explanation later that evening when they returned home. While she understood their need to protect herself, Draco, Harry, and Juliet, she had been on the front lines of helping Harry for so long that she didn't think she could be on the sidelines now.

Luna was coming over in just a couple hours; she and Hermione had gotten over their argument. Luna had apologized for being so harsh and Hermione had clarified that she didn't think Luna was crazy and that if she wanted to continue to believe in the creatures her father did, she would love her just the same. Both girls had admitted to being hurt but said that they wanted to forget about it and just move past it. Therefore, they were spending as much time as they could together; Juliet was thrilled since she thought that Luna was the best person in the whole wide world. Sometimes, Hermione wondered if she thought of Luna as her sister as well.

The best part of the whole summer was the time she got to spend with Uncle Sev. He was staying at Black Moor this summer, even though it was the year he would normally stay at Malfoy Manor. Hermione had spent almost the first two weeks of her summer with him, just spending time with him, brewing, talking, reading, whatever they decided to do. It felt like she was finally complete and she was thrilled to get to see her godfather for such long periods of time. Of course, he left several nights a week and always returned late; he didn't think that she knew where he was going but she wasn't stupid. She knew that he was going to the Dark Lord. She knew that he was bowing before him and letting him torture him for not going after him and trying to find him as Rookwood and Pettigrew had.

After the first month, the torture had started to lift but it was still horrid to watch him leave and act as though she didn't know where he was going. He used the excuse of having to go see to something at the school, some mundane emergency that the elves could have seen to easily. Even though she wanted to call him on it, she never did. It would only cause a fight and she didn't want to fight with her godfather; he was one of the bravest men she knew for returning to the evil bastard every time he called, knowing what he had done to those he loved and knowing that every time he went, it could be his last. It scared the life out of her but she supposed that it was his choice and there was nothing that she could do to make him change his mind.

Uncle Luci had been great as well. He had spent a great deal of time with her, making sure that she was alright from her ordeal with Viktor and then making sure that she was alright with the fact that he was dead. Surprisingly, she felt nothing about the fact that he was gone. She had questioned her uncle if this made her a heartless bitch, that she didn't care that he was dead, and he had pulled her into his arms and told her that she was the furthest thing from a heartless bitch that he could think of. Hermione would never admit it to anyone but herself but his words had reassured her that she wasn't a monster because for awhile there, that's exactly what she had told herself that she was. What else could feel absolutely nothing when a person that they had considered a good friend was tortured and killed?

Hermione had probably spent the least amount of time over the summer with her father and that saddened her. She missed him greatly but she was heartened by the fact that it wasn't just her that he didn't see. He didn't have time for Helena or Juliet either. In fact, he spent more time with her than he did the pair of them. He was caught up in meetings at the Wizengamot, trying to get them onboard with believing that Harry was telling the truth about Voldemort, trying to get them to believe anything about the night of the third task really. She tried not to complain that she missed him, she tried to be understanding, but after hardly seeing him at all last summer, she couldn't help but feeling as though she was losing him forever. There had been one memorable night when she had cried to her Uncle Luci and told him her fears and he had soothed her, leaving her after her tears were dried. Her father had stole into her room later that night and climbed into her bed, holding her tight and telling her how he loved her and would always have time for her. She fell asleep hugging him close, only to wake the next morning to find that he had fallen asleep as well.

Things were better between them now that she realized that he was just busy and not ignoring her on purpose. Juliet didn't notice as much that he wasn't paying attention to her since she had grown up without a father. She glowed when he showed her affection but was just as happy when he wasn't there. Hermione was happy that her sister was happy either way; she didn't want her to be unhappy because their father was a busy man.

Helena had moved in with them just a few days before. It had been an adjustment but Hermione had made peace with it. She wanted her father to be happy and she hated thinking of him being lonely while she and Juliet were off at school. Having Helena there would solve his problems; however, if her father was never home, she wouldn't want to stay for long and Hermione had made sure to tell her father that. He had chuckled at her mothering and told her that he would be home at a decent time five nights a week. Helena understood what he was trying to do and promised to let him know if it was becoming too much.

Hermione was getting to know the French woman better now that she was living there and she was discovering that she liked her quite a bit. While she was quiet and shy, the complete opposite of her father, she was also smart, witty, and sarcastic. Her humor was dry and always made Hermione laugh. She was a sweet woman and genuinely cared for not only Juliet but Hermione as well. It was easy to like her. Hermione couldn't say that she loved her yet but it was only a matter of time. She would never call her mum, that was certain, but Helena had assured her that she didn't expect that. It was nice to know where she stood with the woman.

Just the day before, Hermione had returned from a shopping trip to Paris with Aunt Cissy, Aunt Andie, Dory, Luna, Daphne, Juliet, Helena, and Daphne's mum. It had been a three day trip, one that she had dreaded in the week leading up to it, but it was a summer tradition and her Aunt Cissy had insisted. It was Juliet's first and Hermione had to admit that she needed new lingerie. She had outgrown the things she had gotten at Christmas.

It had turned into a girl's weekend and Fleur and Apolline had even met them several times throughout their weekend to get their nails and hair done, for shopping, for dinner and shows. It had been fun overall but Hermione had always been one to complain about shopping. She had even changed the blue streaks in her hair to blood red ones and her father had laughed deep belly laughs at them while her Uncle Luci had scowled, telling her that she was a Slytherin, not a Gryffindor.

The craziest thing that had happened was receiving a letter from Cedric Diggory, inviting her to lunch on Diagon Alley, telling her that he wanted the privilege of having the most beautiful girl on his arm. She had gone a week before to one of the most expensive wizarding restaurants on the Alley and let him seat her and play the perfect date. She had to admit that he was incredibly handsome and had perfect manners. He was extremely interesting and very sweet and attentive. Overall, the date had been a success.

Her father had been thrilled, as had Uncle Luci. Draco had been happy but she wouldn't use the world thrilled. She knew that he was still holding out hope for her and Harry but at this point, she had given up hope on that. Harry was determined to do his own thing and she wasn't going to be the one to try to stop him. She had tried to get him to see reason about Ginny and that had only led to a fight. That was the last thing she wanted so she was just going to try to move on.

She said she was going to try to move on but she wasn't sure how well it was going to work out for her. She liked Cedric and she thought that they would make wonderful friends but she wasn't sure if they connected on a deeper level. She longed for that deeper connection but she didn't think that she could force it. That was the last thing she wanted, in fact. She wanted something natural and fun, something that she didn't have to force. Truthfully, she knew that Cedric liked her on an intellectual level as well as the physical, but she sometimes wondered if he wasn't just a little intimidated by her in every other facet. Most men were so she couldn't blame him.

The Weasleys were settled in their new Manor, having taken the offer that her father had graciously given them. Hermione had known that they would. Bill was now the proud Baron of Suffield and until he had a son of his own, Charlie was his heir. He carried the family magic of his father, Percy, Charlie, Fred, and George. They had all been at the Black Moor several times since bursting with happiness, the twins to spend time with Hermione and Draco and Percy, Bill, and Charlie to use the library to learn what was expected of them in their station. Her father had promised Bill to take him under his wing and show him the ways of the Wizengamot and everything that it entailed, who to trust and who not to. Arthur had cried tears of happiness, telling her father how thankful he was that his boys had fallen in his good graces.

Molly, Ron, and Ginny had taken the name Prewett and Molly was carrying their magic now. They lived in the Manor with the rest of the family but they were in no way associated with the Black family. Any formal invitations that went out to the Baron's family didn't include them, though Molly usually did come along as Arthur's wife. They weren't allowed at Black Moor unless they were specifically invited. It was harsh but nobody in their family seemed to mind. In fact, they deemed it as appropriate punishment for Ron and Ginny's actions. Of course, Hermione expected Harry to object quite loudly. However, since he had told her in no certain terms that she had no bearing on the Potter family and what he did with it, she would tell him the same. He would have to live with it.

Night was drawing nearer; sunset had fallen and the lightning bugs were out. Draco had landed off in the distance and was making his way to her on foot. She had since dismounted Bluebell and was walking her to the stable so the stable hand could groom her and put her away for the night. It wasn't her usual practice but she wanted to be there when Harry came home. This once wouldn't matter. Juliet appeared at her side and gave her a quick hug before turning up her nose.

"You smell like a great stinky horse." Hermione shoved her sister goodnaturedly.

"Don't judge me. I don't say a word when you don't shower for three days because you've get caught up in a book." Her sister's cheeks pinked and Hermione smirked at her. Draco laughed at both of them from behind as he approached.

"You're both disgusting. I've been flying all day and have already showered. I believe in good hygiene and not foisting my stench upon the world." Hermione stood and tackled her cousin to the ground, making sure to rub herself on him as much as possible, rubbing her horse scent on him. Juliet caught on instantly and started doing the same. Draco started to fight back after a few moments.

"I know what you two are doing. You're evil, pure evil." Hermione burst into laughter and let herself be pushed off her cousin. They laid on the lawn looking up at the night sky, something that they hadn't done in quite a long time. After several minutes of silence, Draco reached out and squeezed both their knees.

"Come on, you know they're going to be home soon. We might as well go in and be ready for them." Hermione nodded and went to her feet. In turn, she held out her hand and helped Juliet to her feet but left Draco. He gave an indignant squawk until she raised an eyebrow at him.

"You know as well I do that if your parents knew that you needed help to get up that you would get your arse beat. They would say that you were more than capable, that in fact, it was your job as the gentlemen to offer your arm to any woman in the vicinity." Her cousin glared at her for a few seconds before rising to his feet on his own and following them to the Manor. Once they were safely inside, they met in the library and called Sispy to bring them hot chocolate. Draco snorted.

"I'm not sure why you even bother. You know you're going to end up ignoring it in favor of a book." Hermione reached over and pinched his side ruthlessly.

"I don't want Sipsy to think I don't love her. I haven't had her do anything for me today." Aunt Cissy joined them and chuckled as she took a seat next to her.

"Nobody can say you don't love your elves, sunshine." There was a whooshing sound from out in the corridor and Hermione knew that Luna had arrived. Sure enough, just moments later, the blonde girl entered and gave the room a wave before sitting down next to Juliet and taking a drink of her hot chocolate.

"Dip took my things already, he said he was putting them in the room next to Juliet." Juliet cheered and Hermione smiled at her sister's excitement. Helena entered and smiled warmly at them all, sitting in an armchair before the fire, looking quite a bit more refined now that her aunt had taken her shopping as well. Helena had balked, of course, telling her that she didn't need new clothes, but Aunt Cissy had insisted that if she was going to be with Sirius, she needed to look the part so she didn't embarrass him. It had been an awkward conversation while they were in Paris but in the end, Helena had capitulated and let Aunt Cissy have her way.

Hermione pulled a book into her lap, determined to get some reading done on the advanced warding technique that Uncle Luci had told her about in regards to ancient blood wards when the floo went off again, signalling again that someone had arrived. Since Harry and the others were supposed to be arriving by broomstick, of all things, she raised an eyebrow at her cousin. Draco gave her a worried look but Hermione didn't worry. Nobody who's magical signature wasn't imbued in the ward stones could get through without permission from herself or her father. It was only moments later that Uncle Sev came in, a book in his hand and small smirk on his face. He headed straight for Hermione and sat next to her, waiting for her to finish her paragraph before speaking. When she turned her attention to him, she could see the excitement in his eyes.

"I've been trying to cure lycanthropy for years. I've finally read a text that I think will help me on this endeavor but I won't have the time to donate to the cause like I would like. I was wondering if you would like to help me, Princess?" Hermione stared at him, completely dumbfounded that he would even have to ask. She threw herself into his arms and nodded against his chest.

"Of course, I would. Merlin, to come up with a cure, I can't even imagine!" Her godfather chuckled softly and kissed the top of her head before looking over to Draco.

"Would you like to help as well?" He shook his head, small smile on his face.

"I love potions, don't get me wrong, Uncle Sev. I just don't have the passion for it that Hermione does. Plus, I have quidditch to keep me busy. I have a feeling that this potion of yours isn't going to be invented overnight." Uncle Sev shook his head.

"No, it's going to take quite a while if what I'm reading in this book is true." He turned to Hermione and handed her the book.

"I want you to read this and let me know what you think. Give me what you think a working potion would be. If we can make this work, I'll give you half the credit when it comes time to patent it. It will look extremely good on your resume if you should ever want to apply to gain a Mastery." Hermione couldn't help but squeal again and Aunt Cissy just shook her head ruefully.

"Where did I go wrong? That is how most girls sound when they get their first boyfriend or go to their first ball. Not my sunshine." She brightened considerably when she turned to Juliet.

"That just means that you're going to have to fulfill that dream for me, Jules." Juliet nodded, clearly not unhappy with the thought. Hermione thought it was perfect. Her baby sister was far more girly that she was and actually enjoyed shopping. In fact, maybe she could take some of the shopping heat off of her so she could just spend time with her aunt riding.

There were no further words because the doors that led into Black Moor banged open and there was chatter that couldn't quite be understood. It was odd to think that they entered through the front door since it was rarely used. Family used the floo and when they went outside, there were several side doors that led to the quidditch pitch and the stables, not to mention the lake and forest besides. Truthfully, Hermione couldn't remember the last time the front door had even been opened. Aunt Cissy gave them a bright smile and straightened her shoulders while Uncle Sev settled his arm around her shoulders.

"They're here."

-O-

Harry was thrilled when he saw the contingent arrive to help him back to Black Moor. He wasn't sure why there were so many of them but he wasn't going to complain; the last thing he wanted to do was to stay at the Dursleys. Therefore, he kept his mouth screwed shut and listened to their instructions closely. It seemed as though they were going to fly to Wiltshire rather than floo or apparate. Harry was unsure why this was but he wasn't going to complain. He loved flying and would never turn down an opportunity to do so.

His muggle relatives watched from the sidelines as he received his orders from Mad-Eye Moody, the real one that is. He was quite gruff and very paranoid but after his ordeal, Harry couldn't say that he blamed him. Sirius had seemed to have let him take control of the mission but he had no doubts that if something came up that he didn't agree with, his godfather would step in and take over with no problems whatsoever. It reassured Harry that he could trust his godfather.

Tonks, Uncle Lucius, Remus, and an auror that looked vaguely familiar were also with them. He knew that he had seen the man before but he just couldn't place where. He must have seen Harry staring because he finally smiled at him and spoke.

"I'm Kingsley Shacklebolt. You met me at the World Cup and then again at Peter Pettigrew's trial." Harry narrowed his eyes at the man, remembering him quite well now.

"You were an arsehole to Hermione. I don't appreciate that." The dark-skinned man chuckled softly.

"Very upfront, I appreciate that. No, I wasn't very kind to her but in my defense, I thought that her family were agents of the dark. Would you be kind to those you suspected to be dark?" Harry didn't know how to answer to that so he just raised an eyebrow at him now.

"She isn't dark, not at all. You're going to treat her better or you'll answer to me." Kingsley gave him a small boy and nodded his head.

"I'm going to apologize, I had already decided. Have no fear, young Potter." Harry nodded, satisfied that the man was going to stand by his word. He turned to Sirius and raised an eyebrow.

"Are we going to leave anytime soon or are we going to wait around here? I have everything packed and it's in my trunk." Sirius nodded.

"Call Dobby and have him take your things to Black Moor. I would normally have him do the same with you but there are confirmed Death Eaters watching your residence, Harry. We need to give them a false lead, make them think that you're going somewhere that you really aren't. I'm not worried about them breaching the wards at Black Moor but I don't want to take the chance with Hermione, Draco, Luna, Juliet, and various Weasleys there for the rest of the summer." Harry nodded and took a deep breath.

"So we're going to lead them on a wild goose chase?" Sirius nodded.

"Yes. We don't think they're going to attack when we leave but we think they're going to follow. Once that happens, we'll go all over and make them lose us. After we know they're off our tail, we'll fly to Black Moor. If we were to just floo or apparate, that's exactly where they think we would go. This way, it leaves them questioning." Harry nodded and grasped his broom, hoping that the rest of them could keep up.

With one final wave to the rest of his family, he followed his rescue party out into the back yard. They all mounted their brooms and pushed off, Moody taking point, Siri and Uncle Luci flanking him, while Remus, Tonks, and Kingsley were bringing up the rear. Harry had no idea how long them flew or how many times they backtracked. It seemed as though it was ages, thought it couldn't have been more than three or four hours. However, after only an hour in the high sky above the city at night, it got cold fast.

Sirius finally gestured for them to head towards Wiltshire and he had never been more thankful. He had a cloak on but it had done him no good that far up in the air. Once they had turned direction toward Wiltshire, he was frozen to the bone. It was another hour's flight before they landed in the front lawn of Black Moor, somewhere Harry didn't think that he had ever been last summer. He dismounted his broom stiffly, the others did as well, and started for the door, wishing for nothing more than a warm fire and maybe some hot chocolate.

Sirius led the way and it was clear that the others were in just as bad a way as he was. Remus was probably the best and he attributed that to his werewolf blood since it was well-known that he wouldn't get as cold since his body ran hot anyways. Harry followed his godfather, the second one in the door and sighed in relief as a whoosh of warm air hit him. It was heaven on earth.

He followed Sirius and the others into the library and was pleased to see that not only was Hermione there waiting for their arrival, so was the rest of their family. It was a sight for sore eyes. He didn't wait for the others to find their seats, he threw himself onto the couch next to Hermione and sighed as her elf Dot pushed a mug of steaming hot chocolate into his hands.

"That was a freezing cold ride. I love flying but that was beyond the pale." Uncle Lucius chuckled as he stood next to the fire, clearly warming himself at the flames.

"I would agree. Hopefully, it isn't necessary again." Harry snorted. Of course it would be. The Headmaster would insist that he return to the Dursleys again next year and he would have to rescued yet again. It would be never ending.

There were several minutes of small talk made by everyone but it was clear that it was strained. The family didn't interact well with those that they didn't trust and Harry didn't blame them. FInally, Moody and Shacklebolt stood, starting the floor. Moody laid a heavy hand on Hermione's shoulder and gave her a crooked grin.

"We're still on for later this week, right?" Harry raised his eyebrows at the older man's words. They were almost downright friendly. Hermione simply raised an eyebrow at him and shoved his hand off her shoulder.

"Why should I trust you?" He barked out a laugh and Harry could see that the affection was genuine.

"I'll teach you to take that power and hone it, to make sure that you won't ever be victimized again. I want you make you stronger, lassie. You might not believe it now but you're going to lead this war to victory." Harry didn't like the sound of his words and stood, not wanting Hermione anywhere near the fighting that this war was going to bring.

"She won't be anywhere near the fighting. I'm going to make sure she's safe at home." Moody snorted at him and just shook his head.

"By your own words, boy, the Dark Lord wants her. I'd prepare her and show her how to fight back. You'd cripple her and stuff her away in a home where she'll eventually be vulnerable. Use your head." Moody didn't say anything else to Harry but turned to Hermione and raised an eyebrow.

"Wednesday, here. Noon." Hermione nodded at him, showing that she was agreeing. Harry hated it but after Moody's words, he couldn't help but be thankful. It was true, Voldy wanted her and that was the last fate in the world that he wanted for her. Truthfully, he would rather have her dead.

Moody left quickly, followed by Kingsley, and it was just family that were left. Even though it was family, there was an uncomfortable silence that fell between them. Harry wasn't quite sure what the reason was but he was most interested in finding out what the reason was. Finally, Sirius spoke.

"We need to have a meeting. A family meeting. There are things that everyone needs to know but I also need to be able to know that I can trust those that are present to keep the secrets. Therefore, I need Severus to test the occlumency of Juliet, Helena, and Luna." Helena gave him a shy smile.

"I learned occlumency when I was a child. My father taught me." Severus nodded and stepped forward, meeting her eyes. It was several minutes that went by before Severus sat back and nodded.

"She isn't to the level of the rest of the family but she is proficient. I would suggest practicing with her, Sirius." His godfather nodded and turned his attention to the other two young girls in the room. Harry already knew that Juliet wouldn't pass so Luna gave her a small smile and took her by the hand.

"Juliet and I both need to work on it. We'll practice the rest of summer so we can be let in on the secret by the end of summer. We'll retire for now so you can continue without fear of your secret getting out." Juliet looked ashamed but Hermione was quick to volunteer her time.

"I'll start tutoring you tomorrow." Both girls perked up and started for the door. Once they were gone, the atmosphere got far more serious. Her father broke the silence.

"There were Death Eaters watching Harry's house. Macnair and Jugson. We've known since the dementor attack. It's why we took him by broomstick, so they wouldn't just assume that we took him by floo or apparition to Black Moor. I still have to keep Hermione, Draco, Luna, and Juliet as safe as possible. That can't be done if known Death Eaters know that the Boy-Who-Lived is most definitely here." Harry shook his head and buried his head in his hands.

"I shouldn't even be here. I'm a danger to everyone. I should just go back to the Dursleys." Hermione punched him in the side and shook her head when he met her eyes.

"No, you're family and you're staying here. Daddy was just taking precautions. You can't blame him for that." Harry nodded but tried not to make eye contact with her. After several seconds, Sirius started again.

"At the end of your last school year, Dumbledore took myself and Remus aside, trying to convince us to join his band of renegade warriors. It's a group called the Order of the Phoenix. While I don't necessarily disagree with the group, I belonged to it in the first Blood War, I do have a problem with the fact that he asked us to join but not Lucius. Albus has an agenda and I don't believe that it is the best for anyone but himself. I do think that it will benefit the light in some way but in what way remains to be seen." Harry sighed and raked a hand through his hair. He looked up to meet the eyes of his godfather.

"Remus and I told the Headmaster that we wouldn't be joining and that we would only work alongside the Order if it satisfied a goal that we had in common. That was what this evening was. A goal in common with each other. We both wanted to make sure that Harry returned home safe and that was what we accomplished. Moody and Shacklebolt are both members of the Order. As are the four elder Weasleys." Harry heard Hermione sigh heavily and wondered just what that was about. He knew that there were plans for the Weasleys this summer but had heard nothing about them from either side. Sirius continued with a grim expression.

"I think that the twins are going to refuse joining the Order just as Percy has once they graduate. It's only a matter of time." Percy had in fact pledged himself to their little renegade pack rather than the Order. It hadn't taken him long to figure out that they were far more worried about surviving that doing anything stupid. Harry couldn't help his words.

"Why would the Weasleys join you and not Dumbledore? It just doesn't make any sense." Sirius sighed and raked a hand through his hair.

"By the time I brought my offer to the Weasleys, Arthur, Molly, Charlie, and Bill were already ensconced in the Order. We can't abandon it completely or we would be abandoning family." Harry was still confused though everyone else seemed to understand completely. He raised his voice just a little to make sure that everyone knew he was serious.

"Wait, I don't understand. How would that be abandoning family? I thought that Malfoys and Blacks hated Weasleys?" Hermione groaned next to him and Sirius gave him a sad smile. It was with a sad huff that he spoke.

"Before I explain that situation to Harry, I want everyone to know that this is going to be our own personal war headquarters. I refused to join the Order the Phoenix and that means that the rest of you are kind of thrown in by default. Honestly, I can't just abide by doing things that others order without having any reason as to why. I want everyone to know what happened to their families and I'm not sure that Dumbledore is the way to doing that. Honestly, I wouldn't have joined him anyways, not after James and Lily." Sirius laughed darkly for a good few minutes before quieting down and gaining his composure. Once he was calm, he gestured for Harry to continue.

"I don't why the Weasleys hate the Malfoys. The twins seem just fine with the Malfoys and if Molly and Arthur were willing to let them go anywhere with Lucius, they must be alright with them as well. Truthfully, I think it would be an amazing friendship if they could only make it work. Nobody would ever expect it." Hermione leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, taking him completely by surprise.

"That's exactly the kind of thinking we need right now." Harry was so surprised that he just kept quiet. He didn't want to make himself sound dumber than he really was. Sirius finally interceded.

"We're all family now, even the Weasleys. I know that they pledged to the Order before they were family but that isn't going to matter in the long run." Harry could hear the determination in his voice and he almost believed it. However, he needed to hear the rest of the story, especially how the Weasleys fit into their story. Once everyone was focused again, Sirius started to speak again.

"I don't plan on any of us joining the Order of the Phoenix. Albus cares nothing for its members, only for the end result. I can't abide by that. We will continue to fight the war but on our own terms. We will fight the war on our own terms, not those set by Albus Dumbledore. I want as many of us to live as possible through this war and if we let Albus or Voldemort have control, that will never happen." Everyone seemed to agree with his godfather so Harry nodded his head. The meeting broke up quickly after a promise to tell Harry, Draco, and Hermione anytime that they were involved in something that others had planned. Once they were all focused on their own conversations aside from Harry, Hermione, and Draco, Hermione turned to Harry and smiled.

"I'm so glad you're finally here, Harry. It's been a full house but it still feels empty without you here." Harry smiled at her words but wouldn't be deterred. He didn't even offer a greeting back.

"What happened with the Weasleys?" Hermione sighed and started to explain what her father had done, wishing against everything that he had offered to help explain. She told him how Molly had taken on her maiden name to carry the magic of Ron and Ginny because her father refused to have them related to the Blacks in any way. By the end of the conversation, Harry was fuming mad and she could tell that it was going to be bad. He exploded and Hermione could only stand there and take the brunt of it.

"You're telling me that you gave the Weasleys an ancient Black title but left Ron and Ginny out of it because you don't like them? You forced them to take a different name than the rest of their family?" Hermione could feel herself getting angry but she put a lid on it. She could feel Uncle Sev getting angry next to her and she glared at Harry, wondering how they had gotten off to such a great start this summer.

"For one, I had no part in any of this since it was my father that offered the barony to the Weasley family in the first place. I simply agreed with it. Second, why would I want to be related to people who fucking hated me enough to slap in the face and curse me bald? Family doesn't do that to each other and they have never been nice to me. No, I don't feel bad for them. I don't feel bad for Molly either, she was horrible to me last summer for your birthday party, the party that took place in my own home. You didn't give two fucks about that, though, did you? You have done nothing but throw me over for the Weasleys and I'm done with it, Harry. If you want to be their friends, fine. You made clear that I can't influence what you do and the choices you make for the House of Potter. Same goes for you. I will be Lady Black until I have a son who is old enough to take over the mantle of Lord Black. I will be in charge of my family and you don't get to tell me how to keep my family safe. You told me that you were going to do what you want in regards to Ginny, that's fine. I respected it and let it go, even though every instinct in my body told me not to. Now it's your turn. Get over it because the tables have turned and you don't get to tell me how to run my House." Everyone in the room was silent as they watched the confrontation play out. Harry stared at Hermione and even though he was livid, he couldn't help but think that she was breathtaking while she was angry. Before he could speak again, Sirius spoke.

"It wasn't Hermione's idea to offer the Weasleys the barony, Harry. I was the one who set forth the stipulations, not her." Hermione cut him off with an angry gesture.

"Don't bother, daddy. He always wants to believe the worst of me, just let him continue. I'll never measure up to his precious Ron and Ginny. If it makes him feel better, let him continue. I'm used to never being good enough." Sirius' eyes narrowed at her words but Harry refused to meet his eyes. He knew that she had a point but he couldn't make himself speak right now, not to her. Instead, he turned to Sirius.

"You think it's not bullying to leave them out of something like that, to separate them from their family?" Sirius turned cold eyes to him and for the first time, Harry realized that his godfather was taking his advice and putting his daughter first.

"I won't have the animal that struck my daughter protected by my name and fortune. I won't have the little whore that accused my godson of fathering her nonexistent child sullying my good name. If you want to be friends with them, that's fine. That's your choice, Harry. I won't stop you and neither will Hermione. However, we are protecting our family and they aren't good for our family." Harry sneered at his godfather.

"Good for your image, you mean." Sirius shrugged.

"However you want to look at it. You want to capitalize on my image when you go before the Wizengamot for your trial. You think my image would be worth anything if I brought those two into my family and let them do as they pleased? No, I would be a fucking laughingstock. I think you should also realize that their own family chose to do this to them. They realized that they brought this on themselves and have decided to not punish the other members of the family because the two youngest are fucking idiots. Everything we do has consequences and this is one of theirs. I haven't banned them from the Baron's estate, I haven't told them that they can't live with their family. They're still benefiting from the fortune that came along with the title. They just no longer have the name associated with the Baron or the family in which the barony originated." Harry knew that he was wrong. It was clear that the rest of the Weasleys had made the decision to do this but he couldn't help but feel that it wasn't fair. However, Sirius was right. Every action had a consequence and just because Ron and Ginny were his friends didn't mean that they were exempt. He heaved a deep sigh and nodded.

"You're right, Siri, I'm sorry. It's your family and you have the right to do as you please." His godfather nodded his acquiescence and cocked an eyebrow. Harry was just about to turn to Hermione and apologize when her head turned to the door that led to the library. Sirius was on his feet and Hermione was hot on his trail towards the floo. He raised an eyebrow at Draco and the blond just shrugged his shoulders. He couldn't help asking the next question.

"What's going on?" Sirius looked very sidetracked when he answered.

"There's someone not authorized trying to get through the floo." Harry pulled his wand and followed after the two Blacks, Uncle Lucius, Remus and Severus hot on their trail. Once they were outside the floo, Severus pulled Hermione behind him and she glared at him but let him stand in front of her. Harry slipped his hand in hers and pulled her further back to stand beside him. She glared at him as well but he ignored it.

Sirius was using his wand on the floo and after a few moments, the floo spit out an elderly man that Harry didn't recognize at all. Sirius didn't step forward to help him up, instead, he stood above him with his wand trained on him while he struggled to his feet. Hermione let go of his hand and stepped up next to her father and raised her chin as she spoke.

"What is your business with the House of Black?" The older gentleman finally got to his feet and stared at Hermione, clearly leering at her. All the men drew closer to her but it didn't stop her from raising her wand at him. She stepped forward until she was just out of reach.

"You'll answer or you'll find yourself portkeyed right back out. Trust me, you'll never make it through our wards." The older man cleared his throat and sighed.

"Apolline Delacour told me that you were here. She was describing your family and I knew instantly that your family had stolen mine. My daughter is here, as is my granddaughter. I'm sure you know Helena Bardon." Harry saw Hermione stiffen and he supposed that it probably wasn't good. Therefore, he stepped forward and pulled her back away from the man and let the older men step forward. It was Sirius that spoke next.

"What's your name?" The man turned his attention to Sirius and squared his shoulders.

"I'm Alexandre Bardon, father to Helena. I've been searching for her for more than a decade." Sirius snorted.

"Did you ever think that she was hiding for a reason?" The man's eyes flashed but he said nothing. After several seconds, he spoke again.

"I've come for my granddaughter." Sirius started laughing now.

"You won't be coming anywhere near my daughter. I've already had the paternity tests done at Gringotts and she's legally taken my name. You can't touch her." Anger flashed in the man's eyes and Harry doubted that this would be the end of it. At that very moment, Helena walked out of the library, calling Sirius' name. She froze when she saw her father and started to back away. Alexandre stepped forward but Severus raised his wand and the man walked into it.

"Helly, you need to come home. I've missed you. I've made you my heir, my legacy is your daughter's." Helena shook her head and Sirius wrapped an arm around her waist, calming her.

"Like I told you, Juliet won't be coming anywhere near you. She's my daughter and you won't win against me in court. As for Helena, she's far past the age to have chosen to leave home. She isn't a pureblood heiress so you have no reason to force her home before a court." The man wilted and he met his daughter's eyes.

"I'm sorry, Helly. I just want to make things right before I die." Harry could see that she was faltering and Sirius held her tighter. When she spoke, her voice was soft and small.

"We'll meet you in public, three days from now. Sirius will there and if you try anything, I'll cut you out of my life again and you'll never see me or her again." The man nodded happily and spit out a time and place.

Harry heard them agreeing where to meet and was quick to head back to the library after Sirius had shoved the man back through. Once they were all seated again, Helena sighed heavily and leaned against Sirius.

"I'm going to have to tell her everything. It's going to be horrible." Hermione gave the woman an encouraging smile.

"Juliet is strong. You just might be surprised." Helena smiled at her but said nothing else. Harry took the moment to look at Hermione and could tell that she was avoiding his gaze. He was getting ready to apologize when an owl flew through the window and she jumped to her feet to take the letter from it. Draco rolled his eyes and Harry raised his eyebrows at him questioningly. He leaned over to speak quietly.

"Cedric is trying to court her. They went on a date last week. I'm not sure she's really into it but she's finally gotten the hint that you don't want to be with her. She's trying to get over you, alright, don't ruin it for her." Harry felt his heart clench at his cousin's words.

The thought of Hermione moving on and dating someone else made him want to throw things. He couldn't complain either because Cedric really was a decent guy. He played around a little but as far as Harry knew, he was loyal to girls that he actually dated. There were only two years difference between Cedric and Hermione so they would probably work out quite well. What hurt the most was that he had driven her to this. Rather than say anything of the sort to Draco, he gave him a nod and a strained smile.

"I'll support it until he hurts her." Draco nodded but continued.

"I'm not sure if it'll last. She told me she doesn't really connect with him but she's determined to move on. She did say that he's a great guy and that she hopes to stay friends with him." Harry felt hope blossom in his chest. Maybe if he changed his ways now he could convince her that he did want her. That he wanted to date her.

After the summer spent with muggle girls, he knew that wizarding girls weren't going to serve him any better. None of them made him feel better, in fact, he usually felt worse about himself after sleeping with them. Being around Hermione, talking to her, writing to her, those were the things that lasted, that made him feel as if he could carry on. It was too little too late but it was the truth. It was going to take a long time just to prove to her that he was serious, he had hurt her quite a bit, after all, but if he could pull it off, it would be worth it.

Therefore, he swore to himself that he wouldn't interfere in her relationship with Cedric. He would just be a better friend and start to make sure that she knew that she was important to him. He wasn't going to let her run roughshod over him and his decisions, he was still going to be friendly with Ginny, but he was going to prove to her that she worth the effort. Just as he should have done a long time ago.

Harry watched Hermione take her note and excuse herself to her room and he vowed to give her a heartfelt apology in the morning. He was going to make things right between them and he was going to prove to her that they could be good together. He just hoped that he could remain celibate long enough to make sure it happened. He didn't want to cheat on her and he didn't want to hurt her. He was known for fucking up so it wouldn't surprise him if he did hurt her. Therefore, he promised that he wouldn't tell her until he was sure that he could do it. He wanted to be able to tell her it had been however many months since he had slept with a girl when he finally told her how he felt.

Harry excused himself with a new determination about him. He was going to make it work and he only hoped that she noticed and appreciated it. He loved her and just hoped that he hadn't ruined her feelings for him for good.

A/N- There we are, folks, another chapter down. Hope you all enjoyed it. Thanks to everyone out there for reading and reviewing. You guys are awesome. Anyways, let me know what you think, I do so love hearing your opinions. Reviews are love.

Next chapter, court hearing and a birthday party.

Love,

Alicia


	86. Chapter 86

A/N- You guys are just awesome for supporting this story as you do. Well, most of you, haha. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I'm once again having problems responding to reviews so I apologize again. I'm so tired of seeing invalid message and 503 unavailable...so frustrating! Also, to those you that have asked me about my grandfather, thank you so much for your good thoughts, vibes, and prayers. He's rallied and has been moved to a nursing home and is completely lucid, quite the change from how he was when this all started. Thank you for being patient and understanding, it really means a lot.

**Shout out to Jamie Theobold for being my 4200th reviewer. You're freaking awesome!**

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing about this story or any other that I've written. I suppose that I can claim the personal plot twist but the original idea belongs to Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle and the characters belong to our queen. I haven't made a single knut off this story or any other.

Chapter 86

August 8, 1995

Harry crawled out of bed and couldn't help the sense of dread that had settled in the pit of his stomach. It was the day of his trial and he was scared of what would happen if he was found guilty. Sirius and Uncle Lucius had assured him that there would only be a fine but he, Hermione and Draco had found an old case some forty years years before in one of the old law books in Blackmoor's library and the fifteen year old boy had had his wand snapped, never to practice magic again. Of course, this was the only case like this that they could find but he didn't doubt for a second that Fudge would push for this if he thought that he could get it.

Harry showered off quickly, knowing that the others would be waiting for him down at the breakfast table. Unlike last year where he had to have Dobby show him where everything was so he didn't get lost, this year he knew where everything was and he had no problems finding everything. He dressed quickly in his dress robes, knowing that he would need to look nice for his hearing. Sirius had already warned his as to what to wear and what not to. Hermione had reiterated it.

Harry headed down the stairs in a set of black dress robes with emerald green accents that matched his eyes perfectly. Aunt Cissy had taken him shopping for them and had insisted that they were perfect, that they would blow everyone away because of how perfect they were. Harry had rolled his eyes at the time but now he had to hope that she was right. His future was hanging on this one event and he couldn't afford to get it wrong.

He entered the dining room to find that himself and Juliet were the only ones missing; even the Weasleys were in attendance. At first, he had been surprised at how close the Weasley family had been to the Blacks after they had posed the impossible choice of alienating Ron and Ginny to them. However, it didn't seem as though it had bothered them all that much. When Harry had pulled Fred and George aside to ask them why that was, both boys had shrugged and told Harry that Ron and Ginny had made their choices which meant that they had also made the choices of the Weasley family, meaning that they didn't have to be guilty. Why should the rest of them suffer because the two of them had been selfish arseholes?

Harry could understand that outlook just a little bit. He didn't necessarily agree with it but he could understand it. It wasn't fair to punish the rest of the family for the actions of Ron and Ginny but he still couldn't believe that the rest of the family had thrown their two youngest members to the side so easily. When Hermione had walked in on his saying this to Remus in the library only a few days after being back to Black Moor, she had raised an eyebrow at him and told him that maybe the youngest members of the family shouldn't have made it so bloody easy to be cast aside. Harry hated to agree with her words.

Harry hadn't seen Ron or Ginny since the school year ended but he had exchanged letters with Ron. He had yet to mention the debacle with the name change and such but it was only a matter of time before it was going to be brought up. Later that afternoon, there was a birthday party for all three teens at Malfoy Manor and Ron and Ginny were both invited as Harry's guests. They were both scheduled to attend so they would get a chance to explain there. Since Harry hadn't answered any of Ginny's letters, he doubted that she would tell him anything about the situation but that was fine with him. They weren't friends so much as acquaintances; he was strictly helping out a friend by talking to her so she wouldn't be shunned by the entirety of their house.

His whole family, the Weasleys included, were beckoning for him to sit down and eat. He joined them, sitting between Hermione and Fred, and piled his plate high with Dot's fabulous cooking. Hermione watched as he started to dig into his food and he did his best to remember his manners. He had done his best to act grown up, to show her how serious he was about her, but so far, she hadn't noticed. Not that he blamed her. She was caught up in Cedric right now and he couldn't begrudge her that. He had ignored her how many times for other girls so it was only fair that she put him on the back burner for another boy.

Harry hated it though. He hated coming in second place to a Hufflepuff. He hated Cedric for it even though he really didn't. According to Draco, the boy treated her well. He took her out and treated her right, made sure that she came first in everything. It made him sick to see someone else doing everything that he should have been doing all along but there wasn't anything that he could do about it now except what he was already doing.

Harry had been far more attentive to her than he ever had been. Draco had noticed, of course, but nobody else had seemed to. Draco had told him that Uncle Lucius had noticed but the man had said nothing. He likely wouldn't unless he hurt Hermione. Harry never wanted to do that, he had done enough of that to last a lifetime. Therefore, he watched in silence as she smiled to herself at Cedric's letters and left the house to go on dates in pretty dresses that made her look amazing. It was torture but Harry knew that he had done it to himself.

As he ate his breakfast, the rest of his family kept the conversation light around him. They would all be going to the Ministry as a united front and he was happy to have the support. The twins were joking around, telling him that they would fashion him a wand with his own hair if they snapped his wand, telling him that it was probably more magical than a phoenix feather. Percy was chastising them and Charlie was laughing at them, telling them to stop. Bill was rolling his eyes and telling them all to behave. It was nice to have his Gryffindor friends around as well as his Slytherin friends and he had to admit that Sirius making it happen gave him a bit of hero worship.

Breakfast came to an end and Harry stood, knowing that they needed to head to the Ministry. Sirius came around the table and clapped him on the shoulder and met his eyes. Harry could see that he was worried and he knew that it was because he never discovered who ordered the dementors to attack him. It seemed as though the Wizengamot were getting more closed off as the waters got murkier and Harry didn't like it any more than his godfather and uncle did.

"Remus and Charlie are going to escort you since Lucius, Bill and I are going to sit in on this one. You're going to need our votes. We know that we have the Greengrass and Longbottom votes in the bag. I want you to tell the truth and offer the memory if they'll let you. There are several families that are neutral, they'll vote in your favor if you just show them the truth. Amelia is one of them." Harry nodded and lowered his head, ashamed of the fact that he was frightened. Sirius knew exactly what his problem was though and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"We're going to win this, Harry. Have faith in me. I know I let you down when you were a baby but have faith in me now." Harry gave him a jerky nod and met his godfather's eyes. Before it could get too uncomfortable, Hermione stepped forward and linked her arms with his, smiling brightly.

"We'll be right there with you. You won't be alone." Harry smiled at her, thankful for her optimism. Just as he was about to answer there was a pecking at the window and the owl was unknown to them. Lucius stood and let it in, taking the owl and untying the letter from it's leg. Once the letter was free, the owl flew off through the window, clearly not needing an answer. Uncle Lucius raised an eyebrow and extended his arm to Harry.

"It's for you, Harry. It seems as though it's from the DNA center."

Harry had visited a DNA lab just a few days before with Fred and George in tow, Sirius still unsure as to why he needed to know for sure why this was necessary. However, Harry did feel a need for this information and he wasn't going to stop until it was done. He had given his blood freely, as had both twins, and their DNA had been tested against each other to see if there had been common markers. Basically, Harry wanted to see if his mother had been a bastard Prewett child. It had made sense that muggleborns were spawned from squibs or were bastards of pureblood families. He truly believed that Lucius was onto something with that train of thought. Therefore, he had went and gotten tested against Fred and George since they were both of Prewett descent and that was the most well-known red-headed family that was quite powerful. If it was negative, he would approach Amelia and ask her to give a sample to test against.

Harry ripped into the envelope, eager to read the results. If his mother did prove to be a Prewett, he wondered how closely he would be related to the Weasleys. He knew that his grandmother was a Black, the cousin to Sirius, but it wasn't close enough to make it weird for him to like Hermione. He knew that Ginny still liked him and he hoped that it was close enough that it would end up being too weird for him to continue with her. Not that it would probably stop her but it would be nice to have a genuine reason.

He read the paper quickly and was thrilled and sickened at what he read. His hands shook slightly but he tried to keep them under control. Of all days, today wasn't the day to lose his control. After reading the letter several times over, he smiled and looked up the see the rest of the room watching him. He gave them a smile.

"The muggles tested my blood against Fred and George's. They determined that we were first cousins, meaning that my mum was somehow the illegitimate daughter of Molly's father. He had an affair somewhere along the way with my grandma and had my mum." Silence reigned and Harry wasn't sure how the Weasleys would take the information since he was sure that they put their family on a pedestal. However, it was Charlie that broke out laughing at the information.

"Horny old bastard. No wonder Grandma hated him. I wonder how many other bastard children there are. It would be nice to know so we don't end up marrying them. That would just be disturbing." Harry couldn't help but agree. He shrugged his shoulders and gestured to the Weasleys towards the paper in his hands.

"You could always demand the wife-to-be get tested before you marry. The muggle firm would have no reason to lie. They have no knowledge of magic." Bill nodded and it was clear that he thought it was a good idea. He was no more enamored with the thought of inter-marrying than he was. However, Harry couldn't help but be disgusted at the thought that he had fucked his first cousin. When he turned his attention to Hermione, he could see that she was frowning and she let her arm fall from his, stepping back away from him.

Harry wasn't sure what the problem was until it suddenly hit him. He was closer related to the Weasleys than he was her and she wasn't sure where she stood with him now. In her eyes, he had already cast her aside when it came to Ginny and she was sure that it was going to happen again now that he was related to them. It broke his heart when he realized that he had made her so unsure of herself. Rather than make a big deal out of them being closer related, he reached out and tugged one of her curls before waiting for her to give him a slight smile.

"Well, I already considered you all family anyways so I guess nothing changes there." Harry could see some of the tension leave her shoulders but her eyes were still downcast. He didn't know what else he could say or do without bringing attention to her actions and making her embarrassed. Therefore, he just left it alone and promised himself that he would fix this if it took him ten years. Fred and George were exclaiming to each other how completely awesome it was that they were related to the Boy-Who-Lived, most likely with the express purpose of irritating him since they knew he hated that moniker. The other Weasleys were all shaking their heads in exasperation at the twin's actions. Finally, Uncle Lucius cleared his throat.

"It's time to go. We can't put it off any longer without being late and that would look very bad." Harry nodded and laid the letter from the DNA center on the table, knowing that one of the elves would have Dobby put it in his room. He wondered what the wizarding world at large would think if they knew his mother was actually a half-blood. Sirius was giving Remus and Charlie last minutes instructions and everyone else was gathering by the floo.

Since there were so many of them, they wouldn't be using Sirius' office floo in the Ministry but rather the public entrance in the Atrium. It would be much more crowded but there wasn't anything that they could do about that. Harry knew for a fact that Dumbledore had tried to represent him in his capacity as Head of the Wizengamot but Sirius had refused, telling him that his barrister would be doing so. They needed someone on their side presiding over the whole thing, something that Dumbledore didn't seem to understand. If he didn't preside, Fudge would take his place and that could end up being disastrous. Uncle Lucius had made it clear that Fudge was out for blood and he wanted Harry's.

Without further ado, Sirius and Uncle Lucius disappeared into the floo and were gone in a flash of green flame. Harry took a deep breath and stepped up to the fireplace, letting Charlie and Remus go first. Hermione stepped up and took his hand, squeezing it softly. She gave him a soft kiss on the cheek and smiled.

"Remember to keep your temper and to make sure that your expression is impassive. Don't show emotion, most of the members of the Wizengamot were Slytherins and they'll see it as weakness. Think before you speak and make sure that you can prove everything you say. Above all, be confident. Believe what you say. If you don't believe it, they won't. You can do this. We all believe in you." Harry knew that she was saying this now because she wasn't going to be able to say it once they were there. She had just as much a part to play as he did and she couldn't afford to show emotion either. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed her forehead quickly before releasing her.

"Thanks, Mia." She nodded at him before gesturing for him to get in the fireplace and floo away.

Harry threw the floo powder and disappeared, only to reappear in the crowded Atrium of the Ministry. It seemed as though the whole wizarding world knew that Harry Potter was on trial today and they wanted to see the outcome. Hermione and Draco came out of the floo next and were instantly behind him, clearly watching his back. Fred, George and Percy came through last, meaning that they were free to move towards the bottom floors where the courtrooms were located.

Harry couldn't feel Hermione touching him but he knew that she was right behind him. Charlie and Remus led him through the corridors of the Ministry until they reached the ninth floor. Once they entered the cavernous room that would serve as his hearing room, Harry was met by a man that could only be the Black family barrister, Mr. Jamison Leevey. He held out his hand and Harry was quick to shake it. When he saw Hermione, he reached out and kissed the back of her knuckles, bowing over her hand.

"You look lovely today, Miss Black." She curtsied to him prettily and Harry couldn't help but be a little irritated. He knew that he was only showering her with attention because she was technically his client but it rubbed him the wrong way. After he released her hand, he turned back to Harry.

"You'll sit up here with me. The rest of your family will sit directly behind us. Your godfather was very clear that he wanted to present a united front." Harry nodded and gave his family one last glance before following the middle-aged man to the table at the front of the room. Once they were seated, Harry met the older man's gaze and he leveled with him.

"The prosecution says they have a witness that states there were no dementors in the area. He swears that you must have been trying to send a message to Lord Black, begging for him to come get you early because you hate your relatives." Harry raised his eyebrow at the barrister's words.

"If that's the truth, why wouldn't I just send an owl? Or word with my elf?" Mr. Leevey shrugged his shoulders but kept eye contact.

"It doesn't matter what we say, it's what they believe. You have to prove that there were dementors since it's quite clear that you are capable of casting a patronus and I'm fairly certain you can send a message with one. You admitted to such while in Hogwarts. If you try to lie about this, they will bring that up. Did you actually see the dementors that night in Little Whinging?" Harry nodded.

"They were chasing me and by extension my cousin. He couldn't see them but I could. I sent out my patronus after them." Mr. Leevy let out a sigh of relief.

"This should be cut and dried then. I'll ask for your memory and as long as they don't object, it should prove that there were indeed dementors that were after you that night. They won't convict you if your life was in danger. That would be against the law." Harry wasn't so sure that they still wouldn't try but he didn't voice this since it wouldn't be very helpful. Therefore, he simply nodded that he understood. He didn't get to speak any further because the big doors on the one side that he remembered from Pettigrew's trial last summer opened and the Wizengamot members filed in and started taking their seats.

Harry instantly spotted Sirius, Uncle Lucius, and Bill. He wasn't quite sure which one was Greengrass but he recognized Augusta Longbottom from Neville's photo of her on his bedside table. She was very austere, what one would call handsome, and she had the no-nonsense look about her that screamed fairness. It heartened him. Once they were all seated, the prosecutor arrived and took the table opposite of Harry and Mr. Leevey, though Harry didn't know his name. He gave the pair of them a smirk and even though Harry wanted to flip him the bird, he kept his face impassive like Hermione had told him. Finally, the Headmaster entered in his capacity as the Head of the Wizengamot and took his seat, banging on the gavel before speaking.

"This court will come to order. We are here today to determine the guilt or innocence of Harry James Potter in the matter of using underage magic without cause on the date of July 19, 1995. To be more specific, the patronus charm was used. Mr. Neebil, as prosecution, you have the choice to lead. Your decision?" The prosecutor, Mr. Neebil as it was, stood and nodded.

"I'll lead, sir." Dumbledore nodded.

"You may begin your opening statement." The balding man smoothed his robes and started to speak.

"You all know Harry Potter. You've heard the stories about him. Vanquisher of the Dark Lord, Chosen One, the Boy-Who-Lived. I'm telling you right now, this boy has let his fame go to his head and thinks that the rules don't apply to him. At Hogwarts, he's done nothing but get into trouble. Disregards the rules, gets other students hurt, then gets rewarded for it so it's no surprise that he thinks that's how real life works. I'm going to prove to you all that Harry Potter cast the patronus charm that sweltering night in Little Whinging, not because dementors were after him, but because he was tired of being stuck in the muggle world and he sent a message to his godfather, begging him to come and get him early for his yearly visit." Harry was seething and was glad that his counsel had warned him. He would probably have exploded in anger if he hadn't already known what they were going to say. When the prosecutor took a seat, Mr. Leevey stood and flashed a smile to the members of the Wizengamot.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Mr. Neebil has said some pretty compelling things today. Spoke of a young man who has let fame go to his head. However, when I look at Harry Potter, that's not what I see. I see a young man who has been orphaned and has been without a loving family and guidance for thirteen years. I see a young man that has had to adjust to a whole new world that he should have grown up in. I am going to prove to you that there were indeed dementors that night in Little Whinging and he cast the patronus charm to drive them away, thus saving not only his life and soul but that of his muggle cousin's." There were soft gasps from the audience. Apparently, it had been left out that his cousin had been with him that night even though the original letter from the Ministry had been admonishing his casting the charm in the presence of a muggle. Mr. Leevey took his seat and Dumbledore waved his hand at Mr. Neebil, gesturing for him to begin.

The prosecutor stood and the door opened, a weedy-looking man stepped through to take a seat at the witness stand. He could hear Hermione whispering furiously behind him but he couldn't make out her words. Harry knew that the man looked vaguely familiar but he couldn't place who he was. He heard Draco shush Hermione quietly and though he couldn't hear her anymore, he knew that her anger was still silently raging behind him. Mr. Neebil started to wander the room, making a show of questioning the man.

"I know that most of the people in this room know who you are but could you please identify yourself for the court." The man nodded.

"My name is Lord Thoros Nott." Theo Nott's father, he should have known. He looked just like him, just a lot of hard years on him. Harry knew from Severus and Lucius that he was a Death Eater and he was certain that he faintly remembered seeing him in the graveyard. It was no wonder that he was trying to tell the world that he used magic for no reason. Voldemort would love it if his wand was snapped.

"Please tell us what happened the night of July 19." Thoros Nott crossed his ankle over his knee and smoothed his robes imperiously.

"I was in muggle London visiting a muggle wench for pleasures. Her child was at the park and I went there to retrieve her and the child. Potter was there sitting on a swing. There was a group of boys there conversing with him. They stormed off and he started to walk away. It was as he was leaving the park that I saw him pull his wand and cast his patronus. I was too far away to see what it was but I could see it gleaming silver in the burgeoning moonlight." Harry was gritting his teeth to keep from bursting out in anger. He was using every occlumency shield he had to make sure that he kept his anger firmly behind them. Mr. Neebil, however, seemed inordinately pleased.

"Thank you, Lord Nott. No further questions." Mr. Leevey stood and smiled at Theo's father.

"Lord Nott, you say you were in the same park as Harry Potter and you say you saw him pull his wand and cast a spell in the moonlight. If you saw this, how did the muggles not see it?" Lord Nott glared at him.

"I really don't know. They must not have been paying attention." The barrister gave him a friendly nod, showing that he surely believed him.

"If this is the truth, why didn't you go after your son's friend and admonish him for using magic in public, for using magic at all outside of school? Surely he knew the rules." Lord Nott started to sputter before spitting his words out in anger.

"He is not my son's friend. The rest of the Slytherins may be friends with him but not Theo. He has proper pureblood pride. It's not my place to make sure the whelp doesn't do magic outside of school, it's his godfather's. It's not my fault he can't do his job correctly." Harry clenched his hands together under the table and hoped the Merlin that Hermione and Sirius kept their tempers under control. It was no secret that they both had anger problems and it was likely that Thoros Nott was trying to provoke them now. He was pleasantly surprised when Sirius simply smirked at the man and tipped an imaginary hat at him. Hermione, he was so sure of but he didn't dare look back at her to find out. Mr. Leevey just smiled at Lord Nott and spoke quietly.

"No further questions." Dumbledore waved the man from the seat and once he was gone from the courtroom, he looked to Mr. Neebil.

"Do you have any further witnesses?" The prosecutor didn't look too sure of himself anymore as he shook his head in the negative. Harry tried not to openly grin as the Headmaster turned to Mr. Leevey.

"The prosecution rests. You may present your case, Mr. Leevey." His counsel stood and smoothed his robes, something that would quickly get on Harry's nerves if he had to watch every wizard do it every day like his godfather and uncle did. Harry knew that this was the moment of truth.

"I'm going to call Harry Potter to the stand." Harry stood and started for the seat that Lord Nott had just vacated. Once he was seated, Mr. Leevey winked at him.

"Mr. Potter, I'm not going to mince words with you here today. On July 19th of this year, did you indeed cast the patronus charm?" Harry cleared his throat before answering.

"Yes, I did." Mr. Leevey gave him an encouraging smile. 

"Did you cast the charm in defense against dementors for yourself and your muggle cousin?" Harry nodded as he spoke. 

"Yes, sir, I did." There were whispers in the gallery but Harry paid them no mind. Mr. Leevey reached in his robe pockets and pulled out a tiny bowl before waving his wand at it, enlarging it for the courtroom to see.

"I have here a pensieve. I would like Madam Bones to come down and check it for tampering to make sure that I can't be accused of tampering with it later. I want Mr. Potter to produce his memory of that night." Mr. Neebil was instantly on his feet, shouting his objections so quickly that Harry couldn't even understand what he was saying. Dumbledore, however, could it seemed. Once the man quit shouting, the Headmaster spoke calmly.

"I will allow it. This also means that I will allow Lord Nott's memory to viewed as well. Both memories will be viewed by Madam Bones and she will determine if they've been tampered with." Harry didn't have to have supersonic hearing to hear this hiss of rage coming from Mr. Neebil. He knew exactly why too. Lord Nott's memory would never pass as being untampered and they all knew it. This was why his father had wanted Dumbledore to preside over the trial, not Fudge. He thanked Merlin that his family was looking out for him because it seemed as though Dumbledore had too many things going on in his life to make sure that his wand wasn't snapped.

Harry watched as Madam Bones vacated her Wizengamot seat and inspected the pensieve in her position as the Head of the D.M.L.E. Once she had deemed it untampered with, Mr. Leevey came over and explained to Harry how to put the memory at the forefront of his mind and to concentrate on only that so he could extract it for viewing. Of course, he couldn't let on that he already knew how to do this because of his training with Severus. After the memory was floating from the tip of the barrister's wand, he dropped it into the pensieve and put the memory into a view mode so the whole room could view it.

Harry watched himself grab Dudley and drag him through the park and flatten him against the wall as the dementors drew close. He saw himself draw his wand as the dark figures drew close and he could hear Dudley breathing hard behind him. He saw Prongs leap from his wand as he cast the charm and watched it race up and down the way, chasing off the dementors and then finally come nuzzle his chest while he petted his stag's face. Dudley's question about what the stag was rang throughout the courtroom and it was clear that his cousin knew that he had just saved his life. When the memory went dark, Harry let out the breath he had been holding. Madam Bones came down once more and dipped her finger into the memory and watched for several minutes before pulling out and looking at the Headmaster.

"The memory is authentic. It hasn't been tampered with at all." Mr. Leevey smiled at Harry and looked at Dumbledore.

"No further questions." He looked to the prosecutor and he shook his head.

"No questions, sir." Dumbledore nodded.

"Would Lord Nott like to submit a memory?" Mr. Neebil shook his head.

"No, he declined at this time." Harry wanted to cheer and dance a jig but refrained since it wasn't over yet. Dumbledore looked to both counselors now.

"Would you like to have closing arguments?" Harry stood at Mr. Leevey's hand gesture and took his seat at his table once more. He caught sight of a triumphant look on Hermione's face before sitting and he was happy that she was happy. His barrister shook his head.

"I don't see the need." Mr. Neebil sighed and hung his head, already knowing that the game was lost.

"No, sir." The Headmaster gave them a sage grin and spoke.

"Very well. We'll call for a vote now." He turned to the governing body of Wizengamot members.

"Those who find Harry Potter guilty of using underage magic but for good reason, please raise your wand." Three-quarters of the members wands went up and Harry breathed a sigh of relief for the first time since he had gotten the notice from the Ministry. He noticed that Augusta Longbottom and Amelia Bones had indeed voted his way. Dumbledore gestured for them to lower their wands.

"Those who find Harry Potter guilty of using underage magic for no good reason, please raise your wand." The rest of the members raised their wands and though Harry didn't know who any of them were, one of them stood out. Where most of the members were wearing their formal robes over dark colored wizarding robes, this woman looked like a fat little toad that was wearing her formal robes over baby pink robes. It was an awful color that he wasn't even sure that Hermione could pull off. She was glaring at him with such hatred that it seemed like he had personally done something to her. He knew it wasn't the case since he was sure that he would remember meeting the ugly woman before now. Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling when he turned to face Harry.

"Mr. Potter, your use of underage magic has been deemed necessary and you are free to go. Have a wonderful day and enjoy your holidays."

The Wizengamot instantly broke up and they started for the doors that they had come through. Harry had known that the plan was to go back to Blackmoor before meeting with Sirius or anyone else. He knew that there were friends at his hearing but he didn't want to be stopped and talked to; he wanted to get back to Blackmoor and find out who the woman in pink was and why she hated him so much.

Charlie and Remus took the lead, making sure that Harry was right behind them. He hated feeling that he was being protected. He was the great vanquisher of Voldemort after all. It was Hermione that the Dark Lord wanted, that he wanted to kidnap and impregnate. She should be the one that they were all protecting. Not that she would ever let them. She, Draco, the twins, and Percy fanned out around him and they started for the door, making it clear out of the courtroom before there was a shout of his name. He turned to see Lavender running his way. She ran right through Hermione, shoving her aside, to throw herself into his arms. He caught her by instinct but he felt a flash of anger when he saw Hermione pushing off the wall she had fallen into. Harry thrust her away from himself and glared at her.

"You ran right into Hermione. You need to apologize." Hermione's eyes were wide in surprise and she started to stammer that it wasn't necessary but Fred stepped forward and laid an arm around her shoulders, silently telling her that it was. Lavender gave him an incredulous look that said that she couldn't believe what he was saying to her and he supposed that he couldn't blame her. He had never demanded respect like this for Hermione. Not past telling them that they shouldn't prank her.

"You can't be serious. That little bitch tried to kill me and you want me to apologize to her." Hermione looked to the ground and he could see that she was still ashamed of herself about that incident. She started to pull Fred with her, trying to pass it off as though it was no big deal.

"It doesn't matter, Harry." She walked past him and the others before he could say anything else and once she was several paces ahead of them, Harry grabbed Lavender's arm and pulled her close enough so he could speak low enough to where the others couldn't hear him but she could.

"You will never touch her again. You won't come near her again. She's my family and she's more important than you'll ever be, Lavender. Don't think I'm kidding with you. I'm done with jealous little cunts like you treating her like shite. Be nice or don't come near me. It's as simple as that. By the way, we're done. We're not fucking anymore." Lavender started to sputter at his words and he knew that she had been looking forward to hooking up with him at their party later that afternoon. She had wrote to him about it earlier that week. As had several other girls that were invited. He leaned back and gave her a platonic smile that he knew Draco saw through instantly.

"I'll understand it if you can't make it to the party this afternoon." He didn't wait for her to say anything else, just started again, making Charlie and Remus hurry ahead lest they get ran over. Harry arched an eyebrow at Draco.

"You realize the girl that Voldemort wants to kidnap and impregnate just took off with only Fred for protection, right?" Draco cursed and hurried them all along, both Remus and Charlie shooting them questioning looks. Harry left it to Draco to explain and once he had, they were all hurrying quite a bit faster than they had been. Just as they reached the floo, Draco hit him in the arm and scowled.

"Why did you finally have to pull your head out of your arse when she got a boyfriend?" Harry gave him a sad chuckle.

"Not sure. I'm going to show her I'm serious. I'll prove it to her. I don't think she and Cedric will last but I'm not going to do anything to break them up. I don't think he's a strong enough personality for her. He won't tell her to fuck off when she needs it and you know it." Draco started to laugh as Percy and George stepped in the floo. He clapped Harry on the shoulder.

"You're right, of course. You know, she's only dating him because you're a prick. It's your fault." Harry nodded, knowing he was right. He hit Draco right back, however.

"True. Now you better get your head out of your arse before Daphne starts dating someone else. By the way, she doesn't need someone to tell her to fuck off. She and Cedric would be perfect for each other." Draco growled at him but Harry sidestepped the swipe that was meant for him by crawling into the floo. With a whoosh of green flames, he was gone.

-O-

Hermione sat in front of the mirror in her room at Malfoy Manor, getting ready for their party that afternoon. It was her sixteenth, not really special in the wizarding world, but it meant that in just one more year she would be an adult. She would be Lady Black. No longer a child. While it was exciting, it was also scary. She knew that her father and uncle would always be there to help her with her inheritance and everything that went with it but to eventually handle it on her own scared the life out of her.

Her hair was hanging heavy down her back and her aunt and convinced her to leave it that way, showing off the crimson streaks in it. She had orignially planned to wear crimson robes to go with it but her aunt had talked her into black robes, telling her that it would look good with her hair and it would make the red streaks pop. She had been correct; it was the first thing she noticed when she looked in the mirror, that is, until her aunt had come in and insisted that she wore bright red lipstick as well. Her father and uncle would likely faint on sight but they would have to answer to Aunt Cissy since it had been her idea.

Harry had tried to catch her since coming back to Blackmoor after his trial but she had avoided him. She didn't like that he had seen her weak and embarrassed. He had seen her like that enough and she was tired of being that person. She had disappeared into her room the second she and Fred had gone through the floo even though he had told her that it wasn't necessary, that none of them held her actions against her. It had been sweet of her friend but she didn't want to hear it at that moment. She just wanted to forget that it had ever happened and forget that Lavender had thrown it in Harry's face.

It had been nice that Harry had tried to get her to apologize to her; it was something that had never happened before. He definitely got points for trying. He should have known better, though, especially against Lavender of all people. She was the one person who had a right to hate Hermione. She had almost killed her and at the time that it had happened, Hermione hadn't felt bad. It wasn't until after that she had felt remorse. Still, even though it had been sweet, Hermione couldn't help but wonder what was going on that Harry was demanding apologies for her.

Harry in general had changed since coming to Black Moor. Sure that first night had rough, that was no lie. She would never forget that first confrontation about the Weasleys and how he had thought that he had a right to tell her how to run the Black family.

*Flashback*

Hermione was sitting in her room on the window seat, looking out on the grounds of Black Moor when there was a knock at her bed room door. She called out for whoever it was to come in, fully expecting it to be Juliet or Luna. She knew that Draco had gone back to bed after their run. She was surprised when the door opened to reveal Harry. He looked a little sheepish as he left her door open to come inside and sit opposite her on the window seat.

"I wanted to come apologize for yesterday. I was a complete arsehole and you didn't deserve that. You were right. I was being a hypocrite and had no right to try to tell you how to run the Black family, even if what happened with the Weasleys wasn't your decision." Hermione gave him a small smile and reached out to grasp his hand.

"You were a total hypocrite. But I accept your apology. Just like you accepted mine. Now we're even. Let's just drop it all. I won't tell you how to conduct your family business and you won't tell me how to conduct mine." Harry didn't look too happy with that but Hermione didn't care. She wasn't going to let him get away with telling her anything when she couldn't tell him anything. Finally, he nodded.

"Deal. We'll drop it. Neither one of us will comment further." Hermione could tell he really didn't like it but she didn't either. She really wanted to tell him he was a fucking idiot for even making Ginny Prewett an acquaintance but he was right. It wasn't her business no matter how much it hurt her feelings. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"You're going to help me with my Italian lessons, right?" She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Now the truth comes out. The real reason you came to apologize. You need me to practice. I should just send you to Blaise." Harry laughed at her but held up his hands in surrender.

"You caught me. I can't hide anything from you." Hermione laughed and threw one of her throw pillows at him.

"Alright, I'll help you. Go get your books." Harry grinned at her and she couldn't help but feel her heart beat faster, no matter how handsome Cedric was.

This was going to be a long summer

*End of Flashback*

Harry was much more attentive and kinder than he had been before. He had never been mean, per se, but he had never gone out of his way to do nice things for her. Now, when he wanted a treat, he had Dot bring her her favorite ice cream. When he wanted tea, he had Dobby make a whole pot so she could have a cup as well. He was much more thoughtful and though she acted as though she didn't notice, she had. She just wasn't sure why he was acting this way.

Things with Cedric were going well. He was sweet and handsome and went out of his way to make sure that she was happy. He was smart and got good grades. He wasn't the most powerful wizard out there but he would make any witch out there a wonderful husband. As much as Hermione enjoyed spending time with him, she also knew that he didn't light her fire. Her blood didn't race when he kissed her and her knickers didn't grow damp when he fondled her breasts.

In truth, the whole relationship was moving faster than she usually would have liked. She didn't kiss Viktor for ages and she had told herself that she would do the same for Cedric. However, she was determined to feel something for him, to not feel like she was broken or there was something wrong with her. She wanted to know that there was a man out there that was decent that wanted her and made her feel like a woman, one that was wanted and desired as much as the women in the racy romance novels that her Aunt Cissy sneaked her when her father and uncle weren't looking.

In truth, she was a little disappointed in herself. Hermione didn't want to be one of those girls that was only with a boy to make herself feel good, to feel like she was worth something. Being with Cedric is what that felt like and in truth, she knew that she was only with him because she was trying to forget Harry. While she wasn't opposed to trying to forget Harry, she didn't like feeling that she was compromising her morals to make herself feel like she was wanted. She just wasn't sure what to do about it. After allowing Cedric liberties like touching her breasts, how did she suddenly tell him that she wasn't alright with that without him getting angry with her? Besides, was it fair to continue seeing him when she knew that there was no spark there, no feelings?

Dating was so confusing and she really didn't have anyone that she could ask. She supposed that Uncle Luci would be an option but she wasn't sure how he would take the information about how far she had gone with Cedric. Aunt Cissy would try to give her advice but she wasn't sure that her aunt would give good advice since she had never dated anyone aside from Uncle Luci. She supposed that she could ask Dory but she had a feeling that she would just tell her to shag him rotten and move on. It was Dory's way.

There was a knock on her door and she called out for whoever it was to come in. She was surprised to find that it was her uncle, meaning that he would see her lipstick beforehand. His eyebrow raised when he saw it but he kept surprisingly silent. His fingers fluffed her curls as he watched her in the mirror for a few moments before finally speaking.

"Your father asked me to come and inform you that young Diggory is here. I wanted to send Snitch but he insisted that I come and make sure that you were dressed appropriately. I'm beginning to doubt my wife after seeing the color on your lips." Hermione couldn't hold in her smile as she looked down.

"Do you hate it? I'm not sure I like it but she says it looks great." He bent and kissed her head.

"Of course I hate it on you but it does look amazing. You look too grown up." Hermione let out a small laugh and leaned back against him.

"Is Uncle Sev going to be here or is he keeping his distance?" He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and gave her a small hug.

"He's keeping his distance. Too many students and even though everyone knows he's Draco's godfather, the connection won't be enough for the Dark Lord to excuse it. He won't be able to be that visible. We're going to have to start teaching the Weasleys occlumency if they're going to know that he's around so much." She sighed and nodded, knowing that she was going to be recruited for teaching even though she had taken years to teach.

"You know Draco and Harry would be better to teach them. I'm terrible at occlumency." He chuckled and kissed her head again before releasing her.

"You were but it's good for you. Humility is good for the soul and you're perfect at everything else you do." She chuckled again and he raised an eyebrow at her.

"What's bothering you, princess?" She sighed and decided that now would be as good a time as any.

"Have you ever done something to make you feel something, something that you aren't necessarily proud of?" He narrowed his eyes at her and she felt her cheeks flush.

"Please don't make me explain." He gestured for her scoot over on her bench in front of her vanity and when she did, he sat next to her.

"Tell me. You know I won't be angry." Hermione knew he wasn't lying. He wouldn't be angry but that wasn't to say that he wouldn't be disappointed.

"I'm scared you'll be disappointed in me." He put his arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple.

"I won't be, I promise." She sighed and leaned into his side.

"I think Cedric is a great guy and at first I started seeing him to make myself forget Harry. I'm still committed to forgetting him, I don't want to be the pathetic girl that waits around for a boy that doesn't even know I'm alive. I made Viktor wait ages before he kissed me though. I've already let Cedric snog me, even touch my breasts. I just want to feel something for him, something that isn't there, and I keep telling myself that if I let him do these things, I'll feel it. But I don't and I don't think I'm going to. I'm disappointed in myself for feeling like I need a man to feel like I'm wanted or desired or like I'll ever be whole. It's just so confusing and I'm not sure if it's even fair to Cedric to keep seeing him when I have doubts like this. I just have no idea what to do." Uncle Luci wrapped his arms around her completely and hugged her tightly and Hermione felt tears sting her eyes. When he released her, he cupped her cheeks so he could look directly in her eyes.

"Baby, I'm not disappointed in you at all. You are a young woman who wants to be loved as deeply as you love. That isn't a crime, it's normal. You're wise enough to know that physical love isn't the same thing as what you're wanting, not even close. Sure, the physical is nice but it's not what you want most. You want the connection to another person, same as every other person in the world. As for young Cedric, I can't tell you what to do with him. If you truly don't think that you'll develop feelings for him, you're wasting your time and his. If there's a chance, give it a little more time. You never know what could happen. However, if letting him go as far as you have is bothering you, put a stop to it. If he doesn't like it, he isn't the boy for you." Hermione considered his words for almost a whole minute before nodding and hugging him close again.

"Thanks, Uncle Luci. I'm not sure what I'm going to do about him yet but I guess we'll see. I am going to tell him that it's going to slow down though. I suppose we'll see how that conversation goes first." He kissed the top of her head again and stood, urging her to her feet.

"Well, don't forget that he's here already. Most of the guests are. You're going to make an entrance, that's for sure. I just hope they don't think you're going to a funeral." Hermione laughed and threaded her arm through her uncle's.

"Well, if they do, they can take it up with Aunt Cissy. She chose the robes. If I recall, she said they were flattering." He snorted, a sound she didn't hear too often from her refined uncle's nose.

Hermione let her lead him down the stairs to the ballroom where the party was being held. There were dozens of people there, more than usual since Harry's party had been added in with hers and Draco's. She had been sure that it would be disastrous, putting Gryffindors with Slytherins but everyone had assured her that it would be fine. Probably only because Draco had threatened their friends and Harry had threatened his. Hopefully their threats held.

Hermione saw Harry in conversation with Ron and Ginny and it looked to be quite heated. She was fairly sure that it had to do with the fact that their last name was now Prewett, not that she really cared. Like she had told Harry, it hadn't been her decision and it hadn't been her call, not that she would have disagreed. The Weasleys were her worry now, or they would be when she became the head of the Black family.

Draco was off with Daphne and Blaise, talking about she wasn't sure what. They were all laughing though and she was happy to see them enjoying themselves. She knew that Draco had been on the fence about Daphne this summer. He had told her that he was considering asking her out but was concerned about being faithful. She had wisely told him that she wasn't going to give him advice since the last time it had led to a fight. Although, judging by the way Blaise was eyeing Daphne, it was clear that he was considering more with her friend as well.

The twins were off goofing with theirs friends somewhere by the punch and Hermione swore to herself that she wouldn't eat or drink anything. Groups of students dotted the dance floor while others were taking advantage of the music; overall, it looked like it would be quite the party. Hermione scanned the room to find her father speaking with Cedric. Uncle Luci led her in that direction. Once they reached the pair, it was clear that her father had been tormenting her boyfriend. She quickly saved him, wrapping her arm around his and chastising her father.

"Daddy, you've been being nice to Cedric, right?" Her father cleared his throat slightly and smiled.

"Of course I have, sweetness. Would I be mean to the boy who was dating my beloved daughter?" She arched one perfect eyebrow at him.

"Yes." He clutched his chest.

"You wound me, poppet." She chuckled just a little.

"You aren't wounded. Go find Helena and make sure that Juliet isn't driving her mad by introducing her to all her friends. I'm sure there are only so many eleven year olds that you can meet in one day without losing your mind." Her father laughed outright and tipped an invisible hat.

"Too right you are, princess. I'll see you later." Cedric bent and gave her a quick and rather chaste kiss on the mouth before pulling her onto the dance floor.

"Thank you for saving me. He was detailing how his ancestors would 'take care' of suitors that didn't meet your family's expectations." Hermione groaned and he guided her through the steps of the waltz that was playing.

"You didn't actually believe him, did you?" Cedric gave her an incredulous look.

"Absolutely. You do know that your family is known for being insane, right?" Hermione couldn't help but bristle at his words. Who wouldn't take those words as an insult? He instantly realized that he had offended her and tried to soothe her.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to offend you. I'm just saying that your family did some crazy things back in the day. How am I supposed to know if your dad is telling the truth or telling stories?" Hermione wasn't sure that was a proper apology but decided to let it go since it was her birthday and she didn't want to spend it fighting.

"If my family didn't think that a suitor was up to their standards, they ruined them socially. Nothing else to it." Cedric cocked his head to the side, considering her words.

"Makes sense." She gave him a small smile at how easy it was dropped.

Hermione let him lead her through several dances before Draco cut in and danced with her for a couple dances. She saw that her boyfriend was dancing with her Aunt Cissy and then later Dory. She seemed to be changing her appearance back and forth and he was laughing about it. It was when Harry cut in that she smiled.

"You look amazing, Mia." She could feel the heat in her cheeks but she willed it to fade.

"Thanks, Harry." He led her through the dance beautifully and she grinned at him.

"You did that perfectly. Good job, Harry." He reached up and tugged one of her strands of hair.

"I had great teachers." He cleared his throat and she knew that he was going to bring up earlier.

"I wanted to let you know that I told Lavender that she was uninvited if she wouldn't be nice to you. I'm going to tell everyone that. I realize that I've let people be mean to you and you've always looked out for me. You deserve better from me, Mia, and it's high time you got it. I just want you to promise me that you'll tell me if someone is rude to you." Hermione sighed and started to pull away. Harry's hand tightened on her and he looked confused.

"You don't believe me when I do tell you." Harry sighed and pulled her close again.

"Mia, please don't make this about Ginny. She's not messing with you, she doesn't even want to talk to you. She pretty much hates your family now. Trust me, she's going to keep her distance." Hermione growled in frustration.

"You can't ask me to tell you and then tell me to not make it about her when she has been mean to me. Which do you want, Harry, because I'm fucking confused. Where it stands right now, you can take your sudden good will towards me and shove it up your arse." Harry stopped dancing and shoved his hand through his hair. Hermione took that moment to find Cedric in the crowd and see that he was dancing with Cho. He looked to be having a good time and it was just one more worry as to them not being good for each other. Harry sighed.

"Fine, if Ginny is mean to you, tell me. I want to know." Hermione knew that he really didn't and if she ever did tell him, he wouldn't believe her but this was him trying to do the right thing. Therefore, she didn't want to shite on his efforts. She gave him a forced smile and nodded.

"Alright. Hopefully she keeps her distance like you said and stays away." Harry pulled her back to him and they continued to dance. He eyed Cho and Cedric and it seemed that he couldn't help his words.

"Are you okay with him dancing with his ex-girlfriend?" Hermione shrugged her shoulders.

"I can't really stop him, now can I?" Harry glared at her but didn't say anything else. After that dance was over, Cedric came back over and claimed her again, leading her off onto the balcony.

Her boyfriend took a seat in a balcony chair and pulled her to sit on his lap; it was a position they had been in several times before but it had always ended in them being more intimate than Hermione was now comfortable with. Cedric wrapped his arms around her waist and hauled her in closer, moving his lips to her neck. She wished that she felt the rush of heat in her loins that she felt when she thought of Harry, or even that she had felt when Viktor had done that to her before he had attacked her. However, it wasn't there and it made her sad. However, she wasn't ready to call it quits just yet. She put a hand on Cedric's chest, though, and pushed him away just a little.

"I know this must be confusing and I'm sorry. I've let you go further than I was comfortable and I shouldn't have. I don't feel good about what we've done and I hate that feeling. If we further, I don't want to regret it." Cedric picked her hand up off his chest and pressed a kiss to it.

"I'm so sorry. Why didn't you tell me?" Hermione dipped her head in embarrassment.

"I'm really not sure. I just knew that I needed to say something before it went too far and I ended up hating you." It was a lie but he didn't need to know that. Not yet. If she decided to end things, she would be honest. Cedric brushed her hair back and put a finger under her chin so he could raise her face to meet his eyes.

"We won't do anything you aren't comfortable with." Hermione gave him a small smile and nodded.

"Thank you. You're better than I deserve." He kissed the end of her nose and smiled.

"Nonsense. Now let's get back in there and get cake before the twins prank it too." The pair went to their feet as Hermione laughed and let him pull her back in the ballroom.

After all, what was a birthday party without cake?

-O-

Harry was getting ready for bed in his room at Malfoy Manor. It wouldn't be long before they would be headed for Order of the Phoenix Headquarters and to be honest, he wasn't that excited about it. Especially after the conversation he had had with Ron and Ginny.

They were livid with Hermione and her family, of course. He didn't blame them for being angry but when he pointed out that they needed to blame their family as well, they wouldn't hear of it. He told them that Hermione hadn't had any part of the decision but they hadn't believed him. It was frustrating to say the least; in the end, it had taken him telling them that they were free to go back home if they couldn't get over it long enough to enjoy the birthday party.

Honestly, he didn't blame them for being angry. He would have been angry in their place. However, he thought he would have been more angry at his family for ditching him though, not the people that he expected would turn on him. On the flip side, though, he could see Sirius' point as well. What kind of father would he be if he brought people into his family that meant his daughter harm? If he had a child he would never do such a thing.

It was a quandry to be sure, one that he really didn't want to be a part of but seemed to be regardless.

By the end of the party, however, both redheads seemed to have cooled their tempers a little. Ginny he wasn't so worried about. After all, he didn't consider her a close friend and likely never would again. That ship had sailed. However, he still felt empathy for her as a person. Ron, on the other hand, was his best mate and he didn't want him holding this shite against him when none of it was his fault. When he had told him that "his precious family" had done this to him, Harry had wanted to knock him flat on his arse. He hadn't, however, in fact, he had refrained quite well. Only because he didn't want to ruin the birthday party for Hermione and Draco. He supposed that they would have time to work the problems out further once they were all at Headquarters together.

He knew that neither Hermione nor Draco were thrilled about going to Headquarters. They were livid, actually, but they refused to let Harry go by himself. Therefore, they were sucking it up and going, giving up the last two weeks of their holiday to live with the Weasleys. While the Weasleys weren't the problem, the Prewetts were. He could already foresee that Hermione and Molly Weasley were going to go head to head and it wasn't going to be pretty.

Hermione.

Harry was so conflicted over what he had heard when he had eavesdropped on her conversation with Cedric. How far had she gone with Cedric? Why was she not wanting to go that far anymore? Had he hurt her? Had he pressured her? He didn't think that Cedric was that kind of guy but this was Hermione. After hearing that conversation, he had almost given up his promise to himself that he would be better and prove himself to her. He had almost given in to Mandy Brocklehurst when she tried to drag him into an alcove off the ballroom and blow him. However, he hadn't and he had told her that he wasn't interested anymore. He had stood strong against her, against Lisa Turpin too, and when he had turned to see Uncle Lucius watching him, he had almost been fearful when the older man had come up to his and laid a hand on his shoulder and smirked at him.

"Keep up the good work, son. She'll notice eventually." Harry's heart had lightened at that and it had renewed his resolve. If the man that might even love her more than her own father thought that he could be good enough for her some day, he knew that he could do this. After that, he had shot down every single girl that propositioned him with ease. He had even felt good about doing it.

As he crawled into bed, he let his mind drift to what would likely be waiting at Headquarters between Hermione and Ginny. He knew that Hermione wouldn't start anything but he knew that she would damn well finish it. He would have to take Ginny aside as soon as he got there and make sure that she understood that Hermione didn't play around when it came to her family. She had been saved from the whole pregnancy thing because of the public humiliation but now that he had lifted some of that, Hermione wouldn't stop if she fucked up again. There was no way in hell that he would be able to sway her either.

Truthfully, if Ginny was stupid enough to fuck with Hermione again, he didn't know why he cared about what she did to her. That was his new outlook, to not let anyone fuck with her. Maybe he wouldn't warn her. Let what will be, be. If Ginny was that fucking stupid, it was on her. He had helped her out once, it was up to her to make the best of it now.

That's what he would do. If Ginny wanted Hermione to believe that she meant no harm now, she was going to have to prove it. He didn't think that was too much to ask. Besides, she had cursed Hermione bald and he couldn't blame her for holding that against her since she hadn't done anything to deserve it except lean against him as they walked into the Great Hall.

Harry snuggled under the duvet and let his eyes fall closed. It was going to an interesting two weeks, that was for sure.

A/N- Lordy, another long chapter, y'all. Not sure how these filler chapters keep ending up so long, haha. Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed it. Thanks to everyone out there for reading and reviewing. Leave me a message after the beep and let me know what you think. Reviews are love.

Next chapter, Grimmauld Place and meeting with Alexandre Bardon.

Love,

Alicia


	87. Chapter 87

A/N- Here I am with another chapter, y'all. I hope that you guys like it. Thanks to everyone out there that has followed, favorited, read, and reviewed my story. For those of you out there that are hating on my story, keep on hating. I've decided that if y'all want to complain about my grammar, tenses, and spelling, please let me know. If you're going to bitch about my plot and how I'm bringing my story together, just keep it to yourself. By all means, if you see a plot hole, please let me know. If you simply don't like how I'm writing it, find another story. Since I'm the one putting forth all the effort into writing this monster, it's going to be written the way I want it. To those of you who have been amazing and supported me through this entire endeavor, thank you from the bottom of my heart. It means more than I can say.

Disclaimer: Nothing about this story belongs to me. The characters belong to J.K.R. and the original story idea belongs to a reader who gifted me the idea, Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle. I haven't made any money from this story or any other. Someday I'll come up with an original idea and make millions but until then I'll just continue to play around with fanfiction.

Chapter 87

August 27,1995

Sirius couldn't help but admit how nervous he was about meeting Helena's father today. He and Helena had met with him a week earlier, just the two of them, to flesh out if he was a threat to Juliet and just how serious a threat he was. He liked to think that he was a good judge of character but after remembering that he had trusted Peter, he wasn't taking any chances.

While Juliet was most assuredly family, Sirius considered Helena family as well. He had loved her before, when Hermione had only been a small girl, and it was just as strong, if not stronger, now. It was funny how time changed things. Made things clearer and murkier as needed. While his pain at losing James and Lily had become fainter at times, his feelings for Helena had become even clearer once he had realized that she was still around and not running for the hills after she realized just who he was.

He counted his blessings every day that she had consented to give him another chance.

Life with Helena was wonderful. She was the most infuriating woman; she left her books all over his room, her makeup on his bathroom counter and hair in his bathtub drain. He always managed to find it all before the elves had been through to clean; in fact, he was determined that they did it on purpose. After all, Hermione was the only one that had them wrapped around her fingers. Juliet was a close second and Sirius had always been dead last. Candy's favorite game was to hide his sober-up potion.

However, as much as she infuriated him to end, she was the most loving woman he had ever met. She held him in the dark of the night when the nightmares of the past overtook him, when his fears of the future and what it could hold broke him. She stroked his hair and kept him strong, she made him believe that he could help end Voldemort before the war really started. It was his greatest hope and Merlin willing, he and Lucius would see it done.

Alexandre Bardon had been on the up and up as far as he could tell. He appeared to be an old man that missed his family, that was lonely and was possibly on the brink of losing his mind. Helena had told him what had occured between her and her father and while Sirius was far from trusting the man, knowing that he couldn't legally touch Juliet would temper his actions. He would consider giving the man more access if he saw a mind healer but that was far off in the future. As of right now, this moment was all that he could allow.

Helena had her arm around Juliet's shoulders and the young girl looked a little bit angry. Even though Sirius understood about being angry at your parents more than most children, he knew that it was hurting Helena how she was taking it out on her. Juliet hadn't known any of the information about her grandfather, hadn't even known that he existed, until her mother had told her that he wanted to meet her. It had ended with Juliet screaming at her mother and Helena breaking down in tears after Jules had stormed off in normal teenage fashion.

They were speaking again but the tension was still there. Juliet spend most of her time with Luna now, even shutting Hermione out once she found out that her sister knew about her past and didn't tell her. He knew that Hermione was hurt but she had kept it to herself. Since Sirius had his hands full with Helena and Luna with Juliet, Draco and Harry had been handling Hermione's pain in the matter since coming to Grimmauld Place.

Grimmauld Place. Hell on Earth. The home of his mother, the tormentor of his childhood.

Going back there for the last two weeks of the summer holiday wasn't something that he had wanted to do. In fact, he had dreaded it like he had dreaded nothing else. His mother had been pure evil and had left her evil spawn of an elf behind; of course, the fucking shite stain bastard just loved Hermione since she belonged to Regulus. Of course, she snapped her fingers, ordered his mother's portrait off the wall and burned and for the house to cleaned and in top condition as soon as possible. He even let Sipsy come for as long as Hermione was there and help.

It was like Kreacher was a new elf. Of course, those that had been at Headquarters before they had arrived understood what he was talking about but Draco, Harry, and the others had no idea. Hermione had heard him tell her that his mother had been terrible and her elf just as bad but he had never named him. He was sure that she had deduced which elf this was but being who she was, she was going to take charge and make sure that Sirius was treated well and that he never had to deal with him again.

He loved her for it.

He was pulled from his thoughts by Alexandre approaching and he hated to see the light in Juliet's eyes flare in hope. For his little girl's sake, he hoped that this man wasn't trying to cause problems or try something underhanded. He wouldn't lose her now he had her in his life. He could feel her practically vibrating with excitement but her mother kept her arm around her shoulders. Alexandre took the seat in front of them and gave them a smile.

"Thank you for meeting with me, especially since young Juliet goes back to school in just a few days." Sirius nodded and Helena spoke softly. She had once loved her father very much and it was hard for her to try to deal with the person he was trying to be now and the person he had been when she had left. Juliet, however, was bouncing with excitement and couldn't be contained, much like Hermione had been when she was small and had received a new book.

"You're my grandpa and my mum kept you away from me. I wish I could have known you." Alexandre smiled at her and Sirius could see that he was astounded at her openness.

"Mon tresor, you are so very different than your mother was when she was small." Helena couldn't hold back a smile.

"I had others constantly watching over me while Juliet has been free to learn and love as she pleases." Her father turned sad eyes to her and nodded.

"I regret everything, mon coeur. I wish that I could change everything." Helena nodded and Sirius just let them talk. He had no place in this conversation. He was only there to make sure that Helena and his daughter were safe. Juliet was completely confused and cocked her head to the side.

"What are you talking about?" Alexandre turned calculating eyes to his daughter.

"You didn't tell her?" Helena didn't have to answer. Juliet did that for her.

"She just told me that you got in a fight and she ran away from home. It wasn't right for her to keep me away from you." Sirius reached out and laced his fingers with Helena's hand and she flashed him a grateful look.

"That's all you need to know, Jules." His daughter flashed him an annoyed look.

"Oh, sure, Hermione gets to know because she's your favorite. Don't think I don't see it, we all do. I usually don't care, I haven't had a dad my whole life and she has. I love her enough to not care that she gets more time with you. I've had a mum after all and she never takes time with mum from me. I don't hate her for it. Don't tell me that I don't get to know the truth about my own family but she does. He isn't her family, mum isn't her family. You aren't his family either. I am and I deserve to know." Even though he hated to do it, he couldn't allow his daughter to speak to him like that. He was her father and he was trying to do his job as a parent and protect her. He glared at her and made sure that he had her attention.

"When we are in the privacy of our own home, you may tell me your opinion on things. When we are in public, you will be silent because you are a twelve year girl that doesn't know half of what is going on around her. I am your father and I am trying to protect you from things that you aren't emotionally equipped to deal with right now. Since learning this, you've turned on your mother, making her cry because you've screamed at her like a horrid little hag, not even giving her a chance to explain. You've turned on your sister because your mother told her her story so she could help you to understand when the time came to tell you the truth. I'm sure you don't know or care that Draco and Harry have been making sure that she knows that your words were spoken out of anger, not because you really hate her." Juliet started to speak but her father hissed at her angrily, pissed beyond words at how childish she was being. He knew it wasn't fair to compare her to Hermione but it was hard to know how to handle this behavior after raising her. He turned to Alexandre.

"Time for a hard lesson in life. Tell her what happened between you and her mother. If you won't, I will. You have a right to tell it first." Alexandre looked gutted that he was going to have to tell the story but he was gave just a hint of a smile at Juliet.

"You have such fire, mon tresor. You remind me of your grandmother." He took a deep breath and launched into the story.

Alexandre told him how he had met Helena's mother, a muggleborn that was on the verge of starving on the streets, and how he had offered her a place as his mistress. He was already married and had an heir and had hated his wife. They grew to love each other and had eventually conceived Helena. She grew and they loved her, her the apple of her father's eye. Sirius could see that that much was true just by the emotion shining in Helena's eyes as she listened.

The tale turned darker as Alexandre's heir and Helena's brother came to their home one day when she was only sixteen and tried to kill her. Her mother stopped him but when Alexandre got there, he was forced to kill his only son to keep Helena safe. In his rage and anguish, he killed Helena's mother and also his wife. Helena hadn't come to harm but she had been confined to the house and had been fearful of his intentions for her. He told Juliet how she had drugged him once she had turned seventeen and disappeared, never coming back.

Sirius watched as his small daughter tried to process what her grandfather had told her and in the end, she turned angry eyes to her mother.

"You watched him kill your brother and your mother and you did nothing?" Sirius wasn't expecting this and started to speak but Juliet wasn't done.

"If Dad was trying to hurt me or you, Hermione would have stopped him. Did you even try?" He could see the woman he loved crumbling and his daughter pushed away from her. Her father stood and took his daughter in his arms and for the moment, Sirius let it happen. He faced off with his daughter since he could feel her magic swirling dangerously, probably the first time she had ever lost control like this. He shot a glance to her grandfather.

"Go to the just outside the wards of Blackmoor." Sirius reached out and grabbed his daughter's wrist, apparating her away before she completely lost control. When they landed, her hair was swirling much like Hermione's did but he didn't feel it pressing against him near as heavily as his eldest daughter's. His voice was low as he spoke to his daughter.

"You don't get to compare your mother to Hermione. Hermione has been training for situations like that since she was old enough to speak an incantation. Your mother was just a normal sixteen year old girl that had the normal amount of fear for her pureblood father. Fear you've never experienced." There was a pop behind him as Helena and her father appeared behind Juliet. Alexandre's eyes were wide as he witnessed the power exchange between the two of them.

"She didn't even try!" Helena had her face buried in her father's chest and just as Sirius was getting ready to knock his daughter out with his magic, Alexandre stepped forward, leaving Helena standing alone, tears staining her cheeks. His arms were held out as though he were trying to placate her.

"It wasn't your mother's fault, it was mine. It was all my fault. I knew that Julian didn't like your mother, his own mother had poisoned him against her. I knew that eventually he would try something against her because he knew that I loved her. When I got the patronus of Marguerite telling me that he was trying to kill Helena, I got there as soon as I could. I killed him to save my daughter, my heart. When that happened, I lost my mind. Marguerite tried to step in and help me, to soothe me, but I pushed her out of the way and she fell. She broke her neck and I was heartbroken. In a fit of rage for turning Julian against me, I killed Amelie. I don't regret it. I was so scared that something that would happen to your mother and I would be alone, that she would die too, that I kept her close. None of it was your mother's fault. I don't blame her for leaving, I was suffocating her and I needed help, help that I got years ago. I thought that your mother was dead, I even have a gravestone with her name on it back home. It wasn't until I met with the Delacours for dinner and they told me of your family and lovely Helena that I knew she was alive and I had found her." Juliet's chest was heaving and Helena was sobbing now. Sirius wanted a fucking drink but knew that he needed to get things under control right now. He hated to do it but reached into his robe pockets and pulled out a vial that Severus had handed him before he left. He thrust it in Juliet's hand.

"Drink it, now." She glared at him but did as she was told.

Her magic began to calm as she did and after several minutes she was just staring at all the adults. Helena was trying to stop crying and Sirius held his arms out to her. She moved his way and let him hug her close, breathing in his scent as he knew she did. He was no better. He did the same thing when he thought she wasn't paying attention. Juliet was staring at her grandfather and finally broke the silence in a calm voice.

"You didn't mean to kill my grandma?" He shook his head.

"No, I loved her. I was devastated that I had killed her. Now, my wife I meant to kill but I probably shouldn't tell you that." She snorted at him.

"I'd rather you be honest with me." He raked a hand through his hair.

"I would never hurt you or your mother. I was heartbroken when I killed your grandmother and I was torn up that I had to kill my son. Despite that we weren't close, I still loved him. Now I'm alone and have no family and no heir. I wanted to meet with you to see if your mother would someday trust me enough to let me make you my heir." Sirius sighed. He really should have seen this coming since he knew the man had no other family. Alexandre turned his way.

"I know you have another daughter, one that you claim as your heir. Will you at least consider it?" Sirius raked a hand through his hair. This meeting hadn't gone at all like he had expected.

"I will consider it if things go well in the next year or so. I think that we need to spend some time together and make sure that we mesh together as a family. Like it or not, even if you do make her your heir, she has a sister and she will never stop being a Black. Don't think that this means I won't be watching you closely. I don't trust you and I doubt that anyone will until you earn it. However, our family is quite loyal so once you're in, you're in. Don't fuck us over, Alex. You won't live to regret it and I'm not joking." The man gave him a serious nod before opening his arms to his daughter. Helena rushed into his arms, clearly thrilled at what was happening. After she pulled away and swiped an arm across her eyes, she gave Sirius a soft, pleading look that he just couldn't say no to.

"Could he maybe stay the next couple days with us before the girls go back to school?" Juliet didn't seem to say anything either way so Sirius looked at her, raising an eyebrow as to ask her opinion. She seemed surprised since she was taking his "stay silent" comment to heart.

"It would be nice to get to know him for a few days before I go back to school. As long as he isn't going to murder us all in our beds." Sirius snorted.

"Do you really see Uncle Lucius letting that happen? You know he can be quite scary." Since he knew that his daughter still hadn't quite warmed up the the blond man, it made his point. She gave a conceding nod.

"He's definitely not the sort to care about killing someone. He's made that clear." Sirius saw that Alexandre swallowed hard but he didn't mind. Let the man be nervous about visiting. It would serve him well to remember what his family was capable of. He took the vial from his pocket that Juliet had handed him back and tapped it with his wand, making it a portkey. He handed a slip of paper from his pocket to the older man and let him read it, telling him just where to find the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. Once he understood, Sirius shoved it back in his pocket. With a sigh, he held out the vial and gestured for them all to cop hold. Once they were all holding on, he activated it.

"Let's get back to hell."

-O-

Hermione looked up from the cauldron she was watching to see what her godfather was doing. He was referencing something in the book that she had combed through three times when he had asked her to help him with the cure for lycanthropy. His hair was hiding his face but she could see that he was tense. She knew that he had met with his master the night before, hence, the reason she was stirring and not him. Finally, unable to bear the silence any longer, she spoke.

"Why, Uncle Sev? Why do you go back to him? I know you think you need to get information for the family but I don't want you to get hurt. He's torturing you and it's killing me to know it." He sighed met her eyes, pain hidden in his own depths. He pointed his wand at her potion, it was a failure anyways, and vanished it and the heat beneath it. He took her hand and pulled her to the one sofa off the corner of the room, one where she usually spent hours researching. He sat close enough that their legs were touching and he kept her hands in his when he began to speak.

"You know my story, little one. I was in love with Harry's mother and when she rejected me, I turned to the Death Eaters. Your father was my closest friend and Lucius had recruited us both. However, I realized immediately that it was a mistake." She could hear the heartbreak in his voice, probably for her father. She squeezed his hand and he smiled at her before continuing.

"You know that I went to Dumbledore and started spying. I wanted to make things right, mostly for you and Draco. I knew that Lily would never have me by then, I had become the thing she hated most. However, I promised Dumbledore that I would spy for him if he saved Lily and her family." Hermione had a bad feeling as to just what that entailed. Suddenly, it hit her and she started to shake her head.

"Tell me you didn't." He nodded his head.

"I did. I made an Unbreakable Vow to Albus to spy for him until Voldemort was defeated if he protected Lily. He protected her to the best of his ability, it was their judgement that got them killed. Even if I wasn't bound, princess, I would still spy because I want to keep you safe." Hermione let her magic explode out of her and her godfather couldn't do anything to control it.

"How could he keep you to that Vow? How could he carry it over? It isn't right and you know it." Severus hugged her tightly even though she knew that the magical output had to be hurting him. She willed herself to calm down so she wouldn't hurt him further.

"He does it because he's a manipulative old bastard. I do it because I want to fight this war and kill him. That means we need information and I'm the only one who can bring it. You know I'm right, princess." Hermione let a few tears free in his robes as the doors banged open, Harry, Draco, and Uncle Luci rushing in. It was Harry that broke the silence.

"What has you so upset?" Hermione sniffled softly and pulled her face from her godfather's robes. He smoothed her hair and smiled at her before she faced those that had rushed in to make sure that she was alright.

"Uncle Sev just told me that he's under an Unbreakable Vow to Dumbledore to spy, regardless of what he wants. Even if he wanted to quit, he can't. I really want to go kill him right now." Her godfather shushed her, twirling her curls around his fingers.

"You aren't going to kill anyone, little one. You're going to stay here and let me do this. Even if I wasn't under the Vow, I would still spy. I told you, I want you to make it through this war, you three are why I want to do this. I promised to protect you all, I want to do this for you." Hermione hated it but she supposed that she couldn't stop him. It was his life and she would never want to make his decisions for him, or even guilt him into what she wanted. She finally nodded and swallowed thickly.

"I'm sorry for scaring everyone. Please forgive me." Draco stepped forward and hugged her, wrapping his arms around her tightly.

"We're not mad, Mia." Uncle Luci finally spoke.

"I'm glad you finally know, sweetness. It was Severus' place to tell you but you deserved to know. He's going to go through a lot and he's going to need us all to be there for him." Hermione nodded as Draco released her and she took a deep, steadying breath.

"Alright. I can do that. I will do that." Uncle Sev smirked at her.

"I'm happy to hear that but now I must go. I have to meet with one of my old associates and now I don't have to worry since you ruined the potion." Hermione stuck her tongue out at him but then blew him a kiss.

"Go ahead and go. I'll clean up here." He dropped a kiss on her head before sweeping out of the room. Uncle Luci rubbed her arms several times before kissing the back of head and then leaving. Harry sighed and then spoke again.

"I'll help you." Draco clapped him on the shoulder and grinned.

"I'm going to get back to my book." Hermione nodded as she started to scrub and sanitize the cauldron and the stirring rods. Harry started to clean the counter and close the books so he could stack them carefully. When they were finished, Harry paused next to her and took her hand, smiling softly so he could pull her into a hug. She breathed in his comforting scent and she felt him nuzzle her hair softly. It felt odd that she still felt at home in his arms even though she was seeing Cedric.

"He's a smart man, Mia. He's not going to do anything stupid. You have to trust in him." She nodded against his chest and tried to smile when he pulled away to cup her face.

"He's going to come back to you. You're the most important person in the world to him." She snorted softly.

"Except when he's choosing you over me. Everyone seems to at some point, everyone except Uncle Luci." Harry tugged on her cheeks and made her look up at him.

"They always return to you. I'm a newcomer and mean nowhere near as much as you do." She could see the sincerity in his eyes so she sighed.

"Harry, you're just as important. Like everyone says, I'm just spoiled. Don't mind me." He smiled and leaned forward to kiss her forehead.

"I always mind you." She knew that she had to leave or she wasn't going to be able to keep the proper distance that she needed in order to make sure she didn't throw herself at him. She didn't want to be rude so she reached and brushed her hand against his cheek and smiled.

"Thank you." She slowly walked backwards until she was gone, leaving him there alone. She walked through Grimmauld Place and ignored the hateful stares that she could feel from Ginny and Molly.

Hermione went up to her room that she shared with Juliet. She and her sister were two completely different people, herself neat and tidy and Juliet more slovenly. It would have been more fun if Juliet hadn't currently been hating on her for the last month. She refused to speak to her for anything unless absolutely necessary, only turning to Luna and the twins for friendship, all because Hermione had known about her grandfather. It was ridiculous but she understood. She only wished that she didn't scream her hatred for Hermione every other day or so.

After picking up a book so she could return to the main corridor, there was a window seat there that she loved to sit in and read, Hermione turned her attention to the pages even though she really wasn't reading. Her mind was far too jumbled to comprehend anything that she was reading. Harry had gotten her all out of sorts, holding her close and being sweet. It was disconcerting.

Although, it really shouldn't be. Since the first few days at Blackmoor, Harry had been far more attentive to her than he had ever been. It was like he was finally seeing her, not the things that she was doing for him. She had no doubts that he was still going to be shagging the brains out of just about every girl at Hogwarts when they returned, maybe even Ginny now that they were at Grimmauld, but it was nice to know that he realized that she was there, that she was alive, and treated her like she mattered.

However, Hermione did her best to act like she didn't notice. It was hard since she wanted to squeal and smile every time he did something exceptionally sweet for her like carry her books for her or gently prod her to eat more at dinner when her appetite had left her because the Prewetts were glaring at her. He always ignored the Prewetts in her presence and as much as she hated to admit it, it made her feel special.

She wouldn't give in, however. She refused. Harry had made clear time and time again where he stood with girls in general, then Ginny in particular. She didn't want to fall for him and believe that they had a chance when they really didn't, when nothing had really changed at all. Sure, he was being nicer this year but she supposed that it could be attributed to the fact that he felt guilty for how he had treated her before the last task. He could want to make sure that she stayed on his side and was buttering her up. There were a dozen different scenarios that while they didn't ring true, it was clear that she wanted to believe because what appeared to be the truth was too painful. She didn't even want to consider it and then be hurt.

Hermione hated Headquarters, of that she was sure. Maybe if it wasn't being overrun by Molly Prewett, things would be different. As it was, though, she was there and she thought that she ran the household. The scene from the second day they had been there played through her mind.

*Flashback*

Hermione headed downstairs to the dining room and sat at the table, not the head of the table, but directly to the right, just as she did at home. Kreacher, whom she had had a long meeting with the day before to give him his orders and what she expected of him, was bustling around the kitchen, humming happily to himself, making occasional comments about how nice it was to have his his mistress home. Hermione made sure to smile at him and be kind but she knew that he was the elf that had been so horrid to her father. Of course, never in a million years did she think her father was completely innocent in the relationship. However, as an elf, Kreacher's loyalty should always have been to the heir of the family rather than the wife. It was rather disconcerting and she wondered if there had been compulsion spells cast on the poor being. It just wasn't in a house elf's makeup to treat it's family the way Kreacher had treated her father.

Hermione was reading through one of her books on the potion that Uncle Sev hoped to create for lycanthropy and she was letting her mind drift about the ways that she could manipulate the ingredients to do what she wanted. It was an interesting combination that would be volatile if mixed improperly but could save lives otherwise. She was determined to make it save lives. Truth be told, she still wasn't sure where he had found the book with the barest hint of the idea for the cure; Uncle Sev had just expounded on it and made the idea his own. She was startled from her thoughts and reflections by a banging of the pots and harsh words.

"Elf, you will not be cooking in this house, you were told by the Headmaster. I am in charge of cooking and cleaning. Go take care of your masters, they're the ones that left you here." Kreacher started to swat at Molly with his wooden spoon and she started to shriek. Hermione snapped her fingers and the elf's spoon disappeared. Both Molly and Kreacher turned towards her and she knew that she looked every bit the pureblood lady of the house in her tailored robes and done-up hair that Dot had insisted on.

"Kreacher, we don't harm humans unless they are trying to harm the family. If they are hurting you, I order you to come to me no matter where I am and explain to me what is happening." Kreacher hung his head in shame but she could also see that his back was straighter at her words. She was sure that it was due to the fact that she was charging him with protecting family.

"Yes, Mistress. Your will is mine." She hated that he spoke like that, she wished that he talked like Sipsy, Dot, and Candy, but she had a feeling that her grandmother had brainwashed him. She bent close and took his hands in his.

"You don't have to say that to me, Kreacher. I know you serve me but I want you to be my family as well. I want to know that I can love you as I do my elves at Blackmoor. They were the first ones to cast stinging hexes at my bum when I was small and I love them for it. Don't say that your will is mine. I want you to have your own will. I've seen elves with their own will and I love it." Kreacher looked at her with new eyes.

"Really, Mistress? Kreacher not thinks it possible." Hermione smiled kindly at him before returning to her seat.

"I assure you, it is. Please continue with the meal, Kreacher. I can't wait for some porridge." After Kreacher turned back to the cooking, Hermione turned cold eyes to Molly Prewett.

"Let's not mince words, you and I. You don't like that my family has cut your youngest son and precious daughter out of becoming part of the Black family. It's no secret that the others are flourishing under the fact of having my father for their Lord, even if your son is a Baron in his own right. Everyone knows that an Earl outranks a Baron so never think that you can convince him to overthrow my father or myself." She took a deep calming breath and made herself calm down.

"Right now, I consider most of your family my own. Trust me when I say that's a good thing. Make no mistake, Molly Prewett, I am the next heir to the House of Black. I will be Lady Black until my firstborn son reaches the appropriate age and takes the mantle from me. I promise you, I will be just as fearsome as my father." Hermione paused for effect.

"Make no mistake, Prewett. Grimmauld Place is where my grandmother lived, where my father lived through part of his childhood. This house is my legacy. While you may find it foul and distasteful, I find it enlightening and a learning experience. You are not the lady of this house, I am. Nobody commands anyone in this house before me aside from my father. Trust you me, Dumbledore may run your precious Order of the Phoenix but my father donated this location out of the goodness of his heart. Believe me when I say that it's more than the buggering old bastard would have got from me." Hermione wanted to laugh at the expression on the woman's face. She turned her head just a little to the side to see that Kreacher was starting to serve dishes to the table and once his arms were empty, she reached out and grasped his wrist. Her grasp was soft, as were her words.

"Would you rather not cook and clean, Kreacher?" The elf burst into tears and shook his head.

"No, Mistress, never. I love to serve the Ancient and Noble House of Black. Don't makes Kreacher stop." His words were peppered with sniffling snuffles but she supposed that was the best that she could hope for.

"Mrs. Prewett, you just heard the wishes of my house elf. As Lady of this house, I have ordered him to do as he wishes. He will cook all the meals and will clean with the help of Sipsy, my personal elf from Blackmoor. You are relieved from cooking and cleaning and must fulfill your duty to the Order in some other way until the Black family leaves this residence." Molly started to sputter in her disagreement.

"Y-you can't d-do that. This isn't your house." Hermione let out one small laugh before turning cold eyes to the redheaded woman before her.

"Actually, you're wrong. My grandfather, Orion, hated his wife and gleefully signed over ownership of this home to his wife, Walburga, to make sure that she never returned to Blackmoor where he resided. When she died, it passed to my father Regulus, since she felt that the current Lord Black was a waste of space since he believed in equality in the fight over blood purity. Since this house went to Regulus, when he died, it passed to me. Yes, my father is regent over it since he is my Lord and I am underage but in just thirteen months, I will own this house and can claim my title as Lady Blackmoor. Make no mistake, I can do whatever the fuck I want when it comes to this house." Molly didn't say anything but she could see the hatred in her eyes so Hermione made sure to continue to get it over with.

"In this house, what I say goes. My father made that clear to Dumbledore and if he didn't pass that on, it isn't my fault. You will do as my elf asks because he is obeying my orders. He is doing as he wishes for the Black family and you will not step in the middle of it. While my family is in residence, you will let Kreacher cook, mostly because I don't trust you enough to eat your food. If he asks you to help him clean, you may. Otherwise, stay out of my family's heritage. The warning of a curse probably wouldn't stop you but maybe you should warn your offspring. The Weasleys wish us no harm so we have no worries; it's only your family that poses a threat. Be very aware that you are all being watched. I guarantee you that I own more elves than you own clothes. You will never be without eyes if you mean me or my family harm." Hermione felt just a little high-handed putting it like that but it was what it was. The woman needed a threat and she needed to pass on how serious it could be. To go against a Head of a major House, especially one like Black, while you were under their roof would be social suicide. Rather than argue, Molly bowed her head meekly.

"I will abide by your rules until you leave, Lady Black." She noticed that the truce only held as long as they were in residence together but that was fine. With distance between them, Hermione could hold her own. After all, what could she do her aside from send her a potion or something of the like that would hurt her? Once her family was gone, Hermione could give two fucks less if the Order was taken care of. It probably wasn't fair or right but Hermione didn't care about any of that. All she cared about was that her family was cared for and that her family was safe.

"See that you do. Once I leave, I'll send Kreacher to another property so you won't have to deal with him. Believe me, I don't trust any of the Order to treat him as he deserves to be treated." Molly nodded and Hermione turned back to her reading as Kreacher puttered in the background.

It was about time that she had made clear her position in this house before she left for school.

*End of Flashback*

Since that day, Molly had secretly tried to go behind her back and make decisions that went against the orders of her household. This was something that she wasn't used to since her father generally left the elves to her at home and Helena would never dream of treading on her feet like that. However, since Kreacher was well-aware of his orders, he made sure to never let Molly get her way. It was merely disrespectful and as much as Hermione wanted to do something about it, she didn't. It just wasn't worth it since she was only going to be there for a couple weeks.

Ron and Ginny were just as terrible as their mother but far more disrespectful. Ginny didn't speak to her, rarely ever that is, but Ron had no problems making digs at her when there was nobody else around. Hermione didn't bother to fight back; Ron wasn't worth it and he wasn't worth the magic that it would take to swat him down like the annoying insect that he was. Honestly, his barbs were more amusing than hurtful.

This didn't mean that she didn't hate the animosity. She was used to spending her summers at Blackmoor and Malfoy Manor, places that she loved and that was filled with people she loved and that loved her in turn. Being around just a few people that truly hated her for only a couple weeks were enough to wear on her. It was tiring, that much was certain.

Truthfully, she missed Blackmoor, she missed Malfoy Manor, she missed Bluebell, and she missed feeling like she was welcome in her own home. She tried to keep herself busy at all times, keeping her mind off being there and off the arguments with Juliet but it was getting more difficult. She practiced magic as often as she could, another bone of contention with Molly Weasley. While Hermione hadn't been brought into that argument, she had heard it through the wards one night after the adults had thought the teens had retired.

Molly had been haranguing her father for letting not only herself but Harry and Draco practice magic outside of school while it was against the rules. Hermione had wanted to jump in and tell Molly in which direction she could fuck off but her father and Uncle Luci had simply spoken confidently to her, explaining in better terms than she could come up with.

"This is about to be a war, Molly. I'm not stupid enough to send my children out into a war with no training. I'm also not naive enough to think that they won't be pulled into it. I'd much rather them be prepared and break laws than have them killed and tell their graves that I regret not training them."

Molly had shut up after that and let them train as often as they wanted.

Hermione was getting better every time she practiced. Now that Bill was the Baron of Suffield, he made the decisions for the family. Even though the twins weren't seventeen yet, he granted them permission to train with Hermione, Draco, and Harry, Ron joining here and there as well. While Hermione was far more skilled than the redheads in general, she still learned several spells that would come in handy in a tough spot. If she could say anything about her twin terror friends, they were quite ingenious and had a dab hand at spell creation when they wanted to.

Remus and Dory still trained them but her father, Severus, and Uncle Luci took turns as well. They were paired oddly at times but it gave them insight into how the others fought. Hermione had once been paired with Ron while Harry, Ginny, and Draco faced off against her. She just didn't think that it was fair to put her against the two people she cared most about. Therefore, she only played defensive and let Ron take the offensive. It wasn't a surprise when they were beaten soundly. Once Draco and Ginny had pounded on her shield relentlessly, she had fallen to a stunner from her own cousin. It was quite humiliating and she probably would have lashed out and blamed in on Ron if Harry hadn't lost control of his magic when he saw her fall.

Despite the few times that she had been beaten, she had taken more than her fair share of victories. Usually against the twins or Ron and Ginny, sometimes against Harry and Draco. It was harder to beat her cousin and secret crush. While she had the power behind her spells, they had the speed and agility. If she could get through their shields, she would win every time. It was just getting through that proved to be the problem.

Parvati had come to stay with them just a couple days ago, wanting to spend time with Ron since they were dating. Hermione supposed that she didn't blame them for wanting to spend time together. However, since it was automatically her fault that Ron and Ginny had been excluded from becoming part of the Black family, Parvati had deemed her the newest enemy of the house. Her once support in the face of Viktor was gone and it was so tiring.

Hermione had to give it to Harry; he did his best to keep the peace. He was the one person that Ron and Ginny weren't complete arses to. It seemed as though whatever Ron's problem at the end of the year had been had been gotten over at some point. She wasn't sure if Harry knew what it was or even if it existed but she wasn't going to tell him. The last thing she was going to do was tell him how his best mate had been telling her that he was claiming he had been tortured for attention. The worst part was that she wasn't sure if he actually believed his words or if he was just angry that Harry was getting more attention than he was. It was all so ridiculous that it wasn't even funny.

Cedric was one of the few things that didn't directly stress her out. She hadn't seen him since just before going into Headquarters and she was thankful for the space so she could think and consider their relationship. It was wonderful to be with someone that respected her as much as he did, someone that acted as though he wanted to be with her as much as she deserved. It was nice and even though she was happy that she was finally getting treated as she thought she was due, it just left her feeling flat.

Cedric was wonderful; he was handsome, witty, intelligent, and hard-working. He treated her like a princess and respected her wishes. Since they had talked at her birthday party, they had done nothing more than snog and there hadn't been a single harsh word about it. It felt nice to know that it wasn't being held against her and that being with her physically wasn't the most important thing in his mind. Cedric really was a treasure and would be a wonderful man for any woman that caught his interest.

However, Hermione had finally realized that the spark between them just wasn't there. She had snogged him numerous times, had let him stroke her breasts on several occasions, but none of those encounters had left her breathless. It was as though they were brother and sister that were trying to more, almost like dating Draco. Truthfully, the thought turned her stomach and while being with Cedric wasn't that extreme, it was the same concept.

Hermione knew that she needed to end it. It wasn't fair to Cedric and she didn't want to hold him back. She wasn't stupid; she knew that he was an experienced boy but he was respectful and never made her feel as though she was just a piece of meat. He deserved to be treated with the same respect he gave her every single day.

Hermione hadn't discussed her decision with anyone; likely nobody would care.

Draco had made clear that he wasn't going to get in the middle of her dating life unless she needed him. He told her that he would listen whenever she needed to talk, that he wanted to be there for her, but he wasn't going to give her advice because it would likely be the wrong advice. He was her protective male cousin, one who saw her as a sister, and he would never want her to date anyone. Therefore, he decided to keep his mouth shut and keep her happy in the process. While Hermione appreciated it, it also meant that she didn't really have anyone to talk about her decision with.

Sure, she could talk to Uncle Luci again but that wasn't something that she particularly wanted to do again. It was something that she really wanted to talk to a girl about but with Juliet angry at her and Luna catering to her in her time of need, that really left nobody but Dory. Not that she didn't love Dory to pieces but her cousin would advise her to shop around and try all the boys until she found one that she liked. While that worked for Dory, it wasn't Hermione's way. Aunt Andie was quite old-fashioned and Aunt Cissy would tell her how wonderful Cedric was and what a great husband he would make.

She missed Daphne.

Letters just weren't the same and this wasn't something that she felt comfortable putting in a letter. Therefore, she kept it to herself and was just biding her time until she returned to Hogwarts and could talk to her best friend. She hadn't broken it to her cousin, but Daphne had told her in her last letter that she had agreed to see Blaise for a few dates; so far, the first couple had been quite nice. She had reassured her that he wasn't Draco but she was tired of waiting for the blond to pull his head out of his arse. Hermione couldn't say that she blamed her. It would be hell to pay when he found out that she knew and didn't tell him but she was past the point of caring. She was keeping her friend's confidence and at the end of the year, Daphne had been there for her more than Draco had.

There was a crack in the distance, softer than apparition, and Hermione couldn't help but wonder who had arrived by portkey. She knew that her father had taken her sister and Helena out to meet with Alexandre Bardon but she couldn't imagine him bringing him back here. She rose from her window seat and started for the stairs, taking them deliberately so she could see who had entered her house. So far, she knew all the members of the Order who came and went.

As she reached the bottom of the stairs, she met Uncle Luci, Draco, and Harry as they rounded the corner to see who had arrived as well. Hermione waited until the people who had arrived turned the corner that led from the entrance hall into the corridor they were currently standing in, anxious to see who had arrived. When they finally appeared, Hermione breathed a sigh of relief.

Her father, Helena, and Juliet were making their way to her and there were soft smiles on their faces. Her father hugged her close so she didn't see the reason for the gasps from the others. When she cast her glance to behind the others, she pulled away quickly to pull her wand. Her father was quick to put a hand on her wand and push it down.

"He's going to stay here until you go back to school. He wants to get to know Jules better. Things aren't as we thought they were. I've already warned him that if he tries anything, he'll be dead." Hermione snorted before hugging her father again, holding him close.

"Alright, daddy, I'm trusting you." She heard her uncle snort in derision at her statement but he remained silent. After only a few seconds of silence, Hermione spoke.

"Kreacher." The elf appeared and looked so happy to serve.

"Mistress." She smiled down at him before telling him what she wanted.

"I want you to find Mr. Bardon a room for the duration of our stay. Make sure that he's comfortable please." Kreacher nodded happily and disappeared.

It was going to be a long four days until they returned to school.

-O-

Harry had never been more ready to return to school than this summer. Not because of his family; his family was great aside from Juliet being mad at Hermione for knowing that she had a grandfather and not telling her. Of course, he and Draco knew as well but Hermione hadn't let that slip, which he appreciated more than he could say. The last thing he needed in his life was more drama and right now, Juliet Black's middle name wasn't Rose, it was Drama.

Everything else in his life was full of drama as well and to be quite frank, he was over it. He didn't blame his family; it wasn't their fault and they didn't bring up the issues. It was everyone else that continuously brought up the issues that were fought over and he was beyond over it.

The Blacks in general were issue number one, brought up by Ron, Ginny, and Molly almost every chance they got. He was so sick of hearing them complain about his family that he actively avoided them now and when he was cornered by them, he only told them that they did what they thought was best. When they glared at him and told him that they were insane, he remained silent, knowing that it wouldn't get him anywhere to argue with them. He could never tell his family that he caught this much grief about it from them because it was likely that Sirius, or even Hermione, would kick the Prewetts from Grimmauld Place and tell them to fuck off for the remainder for the war.

Once they learned that he wasn't going to do anything about the Blacks, they had ceased complaining to him about Hermione, only to start about the Malfoys. It hadn't really changed his stance on anything. Harry had finally taken Arthur aside and told him that it made him uncomfortable and asked that he take Molly aside and ask her to stop. He didn't want to break ties with the Prewetts but the Malfoys and Blacks were his family and he wouldn't stand for speaking badly of them in his presence.

Ron and Ginny had cooled off in his presence after that. Now, it was just like last year in the common room; wizards chess and exploding snap among other games that they played every single day. Harry didn't remember playing games every day in the common room but Ron seemed happy enough so he wasn't going to complain. He had tried to get the boy to work on his homework and get it finished, reminding him of his promise to get his work done and such. Ron had made a half-hearted attempt before returning back to wizard's chess, citing a match against Bill as his excuse. Harry had written it off as a lost cause and hoped that his best mate would get his homework done before returning to Hogwarts.

The best part of their time at Grimmauld Place was the time he had spent with Hermione. Since they weren't at Blackmoor or Malfoy Manor, she was much more bored than usual, leaving him to spend more time with her than usual. It was nice to spend time with her and know that there would be no repercussions for doing so since she was the technical owner of the house. Sure, Molly, Ron, and Ginny hated her guts but that didn't matter. What mattered was that he got as close to her as possible so he could make sure that he left his mark on her, same as Cedric.

He had kept his word, not doing anything to keep her from Cedric or to make her break up with him. In fact, he had told her that he was glad that they were together, that Cedric was a great guy that would treat her well. Hermione had seemed surprised that he had spoke those words to her but had nodded her head in the end. Honestly, it was easy to see that she was still in love with him and was trying her hardest to protect herself against him. He didn't blame her in the least; if he hadn't changed his ways, it would have been necessary. Now that he had decided that he was going to change his ways and make Hermione his, there was no need to hide her feelings and the fact that she tried was sweet.

He remembered when they had all gone shopping on Diagon Alley for their supplies for school; everyone had gone and even though they had all split by group and he had been tugged between both groups, he had favored Ron and Ginny since they were by themselves since it was the day before Parvati had arrived. Both were talking animatedly to him of joining the quidditch team the following year and he was trying to encourage them both as he watched Hermione and Daphne ahead of him. They had met up with the blonde Slytherin in the magical pets shop and she had been more than willing to continue on shopping with them through the rest of the afternoon.

Halfway through the afternoon, Hermione had met up with Cedric and she had been laughing through the rest of the day. He had caught them snogging later that afternoon and a blazing hot jealousy had burned through him as he saw the Hufflepuff holding her close and his hands squeezing her arse. He wanted to rip his hands off but he had only cleared his throat and told her that her father was looking for her, doing nothing that would anger her. It had only strengthened his resolve to stay celibate and prove to her that he was serious about wanting her and needing her in his life.

Now, watching Hermione step forward to welcome/protect the rest of the family against the newest addition to the house, he was proud of her. Nobody could ever say that she shirked her responsibility by letting others take over making decisions regarding her house. No, she made all decisions and the ones she didn't, she had a hand in. It was clear that Sirius had made the decision to bring home Alexandre Bardon but Hermione wasn't going to let him be a danger to anyone, hence her sending Kreacher to make his room ready. The elf may hate Sirius but he would never let anyone to harm Hermione, not even close to it. Therefore, he felt alright with the elf making his room ready. He was sure that there would be numerous little booby traps ready for the wizard if they were needed.

The wizard disappeared with the elf and Hermione sighed once they were out of sight. She glared at her father and Sirius winced a little under the weight of her stare. Harry didn't blame him; he had been under her stare a time or two before and it wasn't pleasant. Finally, his godfather sighed.

"I couldn't leave him there, poppet. He saw a mind healer years ago after accidentally killing the woman he loved and his son. He was scared to death that Helena would die as well, that's why he kept her locked up too." Hermione merely cocked an eyebrow at him.

"You believed every word he told you just like that? Are you losing your touch?" Her father chuckled but ruffled her hair like he would a small child.

"I'm not that far gone, sweetness. I warned him that if he stepped out of line that we would let Lucius kill him. It's been a long time since he got to properly kill anyone. I'm sure he's missed it." Hermione started to hit her father's chest repeatedly and though her father laughed at her actions, she was lecturing him.

"How dare you make light of that? He would never kill someone and make light of it like that." Harry caught the look between his godfather and uncle and almost snorted. Sirius nodded.

"Of course not, poppet." Uncle Lucius, however, stepped forward and started rubbing her shoulders, digging deep to massage deep at her muscles.

"Princess, I would kill anyone that dared to threaten you or my family. You and Draco are my heirs and I would do whatever it took to keep the pair of you safe." Hermione turned and buried her face in his chest, hugging him close. Harry barely caught her muffled words when she spoke.

"I don't want you to have to kill anymore." Uncle Lucius smiled softly at her words and kissed the top of her head.

"I know you don't, little one, but if I must to keep you all safe, I will happily. Would you think less of me?" Her head jerked up quickly so she could glare at him.

"Of course not, don't be stupid." Her uncle smirked at her.

"Then stop this. Your father will do as he must and if I must kill him to keep you safe, I will." Hermione deflated and leaned into her uncle.

"Very well. I hope that he's ready for dinner because I'm betting that Kreacher has it ready." Harry chuckled to himself.

"Sounds like Bardon is going to get thrown into the deep end." Hermione chuckled and nodded.

"Suppose you're right." Harry turned and left then, knowing full well that she was going to need to get her composure before dinner and that he wasn't going to help with that.

Harry was well aware that he put her on edge and he revelled in that fact. He liked knowing that he made her just a little uncomfortable; if he didn't, it would mean that she felt nothing for him and that would be a bad thing. This was a good thing so he would happily leave her be for a few moments to gather her thoughts so she could appear completely put together for dinner.

Harry went to the room that he shared with Draco and cast the usual charms to make sure that his robes looked fresh for dinner. He knew that Molly didn't care how he looked for dinner but in the Black and Malfoy household, it was expected that they look presentable for dinner. Harry really didn't mind; after all, it was a long way from having to make every meal and then shove his meager portion down his throat over the sink and then do the dishes before slinking off to bed. Draco came in as he was pulling a set of robes from his closet, wondering just where Dobby had been. Usually he was had his clothes for dinner laid out on his bed so they would be ready to go. Harry was always most grateful since he still struggled with knowing exactly what was appropriate for what occasions and what wasn't.

"So what happened after I left you two alone in the potions lab?" Harry smirked at his friend.

"Nothing much. She told me that she was basically always second to me and then tried to take it back, blaming it on how spoiled she is. She told me not to mind her and I told her that I always did. Her face flushed all over and she hurried out of the room. I let her go; I don't want her to break up with Cedric because of me. I want her to break up with him because she realizes that they aren't right together. I don't want her to hold it against me later that they didn't work out." Draco snorted but said nothing. Harry raised an eyebrow at him.

"What's so bloody funny?" Draco cast a disbelieving look his way.

"You don't think she'll hold it against you when it doesn't work anyways? She's been in love with you for how long and if she breaks up with Cedric, she's going to have to admit it's because those feelings are still there. It's still going to be your fault. You think she won't eventually throw that in your face? Sure, she'll try not to, especially when she's not mad. The second you piss her off, just you watch. It's going to come out, just you watch." Harry sighed. Deep down, he knew that Draco was telling the truth but that didn't mean that he had to like it.

"When it happens, I suppose I'll deal with it then." Draco nodded and continued to dress himself for dinner. Harry waited for him so they could go to dinner together.

Once he was finished, they started down the stairs for the kitchen. Since the kitchen was enormous, there was a large dining table located on one end. It made serving extremely easy and Hermione had told Kreacher that she was fine with them eating there in the kitchen since he was the only elf in residence to serve them. Even though she hated it, it was her concession to make Kreacher's life easier.

Harry and Draco entered together and found that Sirius was already seated at the head of the table, Hermione directly to his right. Uncle Lucius was at the other end of the table since he was the other pureblood Lord in attendance. As Baron Suffield, Bill was seated to Sirius' left while there were spots to Lucius' right and left for Harry and Draco since they were scions to a pureblood house. The rest of the family and the Order members were scattered in between, though Harry had to admit that Dumbledore looked quite put out to be between Molly and Percy. Harry really wanted to chuckle but frankly, he was going to count himself lucky that he was next to Uncle Lucius and Aunt Andie.

Conversation was stunted all through dinner; Juliet did her best to draw her grandfather into a conversation with the rest of the family but nobody seemed to be in the mood to talk. Hermione herself was quiet though Harry couldn't blame her. Juliet had been terrible to her so far over this business with her grandfather and it was killing her. The only people that she would speak to were Luna and the twins, none of who would tell her to pull her head from her arse. Even Harry had been relegated to the back of the pack and while he normally wouldn't mind, it pissed him off that he couldn't help her see sense about Hermione.

Once the meal was over, everyone was excused to follow their own personal pursuits. Since it was clear that Juliet wanted to speak with her grandfather, Hermione offered everyone goodnights and started for her room. Harry hated that she didn't feel welcome, especially in her own house. No doubt that as soon as Juliet entered their room, she wouldn't feel welcome there as well either.

Harry hadn't offered to clear out yet but it was apparently clear that he wasn't expected to. He hated that Hermione had been run off while the others were all just too shy to say anything, to shy act any differently. It was frustrating to say the least. Once they were all settled in the parlour, Harry turned his attention to his Alexandre.

"You've met Juliet now. What's the most surprising thing about her?" It was clear that he wasn't expecting this question. His eyes jumped all over the place but finally found a place to fixate before he answered.

"Her power. I've never seen a twelve year old girl that powerful." Harry snorted before chuckling softly. He had seen Juliet's demonstration of power before and it was nothing compared to Hermione. However, he nodded when the older man gave him an inquiring look.

"Yes, Juliet is powerful. She's a Black and they tend to be very strong in magic, though they can also be insane as well." His eyes grew as large as saucers.

"Are you saying that my granddaughter is insane?" Harry shook his head.

"Absolutely not. It's just a trait of the Black family." The man's hands steepled under his chin and was inquiring about his favorite Black family member.

"Tell me about Hermione. I had understood from Helena that Juliet was quite taken with her sister but had gotten the impression from Juliet that they weren't close." Draco growled softly but Harry laid a warning hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Juliet loved Hermione more than anything until she realized that Helena had told her about you. Now she feels like her sister has somehow betrayed her and is being quite horrid to her. As for Hermione, you don't want to cross her. That's as much a warning as a friendly reminder. If you think Juliet is powerful, multiply her by fifty and you've got Hermione. She is very loyal and she will end you if she thinks that you're trying to hurt her family. I'm not lying about that." Harry watched the man's eyes bug out slightly but saw that he took his words to heart.

"How could she possibly be more powerful than Juliet?" Draco glared at the older man.

"Don't worry about how my cousin is more powerful than your granddaughter. She just is. My family has made you welcome in this house but make no mistake. If you throw that back in their faces, my father will be the first in line to kill you. He adores Hermione so much that he made her his heir and he won't let anyone hurt her, not even her feelings." Harry watched as Alexandre nodded.

"I get the hint, boys. I won't do anything to hurt Hermione or the family. I just want to get closer to Helena and Juliet. They're the last of my family and I don't want to lose them." Harry nodded, satisfied at his words. He flashed the older man a smile before standing.

"I'm exhausted, I think I'm going to turn in. I'll see everyone in the morning for breakfast." Draco flashed him a look of annoyance, probably because he was leaving him there by himself. Alexandre nodded his goodnight and Harry was quick to leave.

He found his way to his room that he shared with Draco and changed into his pajamas. After washing his face and brushing his teeth, Harry climbed into his bed and laid there in the dark. He knew that Draco would be along shortly. He was almost asleep when he finally heard the door open and shut, a wand sending off light to show that Draco had arrived.

"You're a fucker, you know that?" Harry chuckled tiredly.

"I'm well aware. You could have bailed when I did." Draco grumbled but said nothing. Once he was changed and fully ensconced in bed, Harry spoke softly.

"Night, Drake." Draco answered in turn.

"Night, Harry."

It had definitely been an interesting day.

A/N- Here we are, folks, another chapter done. I hope you all enjoyed it. Thanks to everyone out there for supporting this story and reviewing all that you do. It means so much to me. Anyways, leave me a message after the beep and let me know what you think. Reviews are love.

Next chapter, return to Hogwarts.

Love,

Alicia


	88. Chapter 88

A/N- Here we are with another chapter. My internet is back on, my chapter is written, and even though my son is still sick, I'm posting this chapter. Please forgive the mistakes. Thanks again to everyone out there who are supporting this story. It's a massive undertaking and you guys keep me going. Anyways, enough for now. Hope you enjoy!

**Shout out to tezifujilove for being my 4300th reviewer! You're freaking awesome!**

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing about this story aside from my own personal plot twist. Believe me when I say that I have most assuredly made this story my own. The characters all belong to J.K.R. and I haven't made any money from this story or any other. Someday I'll make millions on an original idea.

Chapter 88

September 1, 1995

Harry hated to admit it but he was ready for summer to be over with. If he had been at Blackmoor or Malfoy Manor, it would have been different, but being at Grimmauld Place had been completely different and he was not only tired of the location but also of the animosity in the house. It was so fucking tiring playing peacekeeper and nobody seemed to realize it other than him because nobody else gave enough of a fuck to keep the peace.

That in and of itself disappointed him. He would have thought that Fred and George, even Percy, would have cared enough about Ron and Ginny to try to keep the peace, try to make sure that they were doing alright and they weren't growing to hate everyone around them. However, there was none of that care to be seen and it frustrated him. They were supposed to be family and if it were Hermione and Draco, nothing would have separated them. He had thought that the Weasleys were just as strong a family as his own but apparently he had been wrong.

Even Alexandre had shown more loyalty than the Weasleys and that was saying something. The older man hadn't been at Headquarters long; today would be his last day and it would be day number five. As far as Harry knew, he was returning to Blackmoor with Siri and Helena and would be staying there for he wasn't sure how long. He had a feeling that it would end up being a permanent thing if Helena and Juliet had anything to say about it. Siri didn't seem opposed to it but Hermione still wasn't sold on it. She hadn't come out and said it but it was easy to see that she wasn't thrilled that the man was there. Sometimes he wondered if it was because Sirius was gaining a whole new family that had nothing to do with her. He wouldn't blame her but it would still be pretty fucked up if that was the case.

Harry had to concede, however, that she should be considered before Alexandre was asked to move in permanently. Sure, Sirius was Lord Black, but he was the first to admit that he only held the title by default. It had rightly belonged to Regulus, Hermione's father, hence why the title would go to her no matter what children he had after Juliet. In just a year's time, Hermione would officially become the matriarch of the Black family. While her father would still be considered Lord Black and sit before the Wizengamot until she turned twenty-one, she could take over the rest of the family responsibilities if she chose. He doubted that she would but the fact that she could remained. It would only be right to consult her before moving in a member of Helena's family.

Things between Hermione and Juliet had gotten better. He wasn't sure if the young lion had apologized or if Hermione had just let it go but they were speaking again and she hadn't told her that she hated her in several days. It was a nice change and it was great to see that Hermione wasn't upset every single day because her little sister had told her that she hoped she would die. It had taken all Harry had not to curse the young girl when he had made Hermione cry over her harsh words, especially when she was just acting like a spoiled little brat.

Harry was pulled from his thoughts by everyone gathering around the teens as they started for the floo. During their two week stay, they had all grown close to several Order members, surprising not only Harry but everyone else as well. Even though McGonagall had refused to join the Order, she was a regular visitor and had even told Harry, Hermione, Draco, and the twins that she would start to teach them the basics of becoming an animagus. Ron had thrown quite a fit about not being included until Professor Cat had fixed him with a glare and told him that he wasn't advanced enough in his studies to even start contemplating becoming an animagus. Ron, Ginny, Luna, and Juliet had consoled themselves with an extra helping of ice cream that night.

Surprisingly, Mad-Eye Moody couldn't get enough of Hermione. He liked Harry and Draco but he was quite taken with Hermione. He loved how powerful she was, how paranoid she was, and how willing she was to learn. Moody had watched her train with Tonks and Remus, taking pointers from the pair of them, only for him to kick them both out of the room when they kept telling her that she needed to control her power or she would never be in control of a situation.

Harry and Draco had taken a seat on the sidelines, watching carefully how Moody was going to coach her. It was no secret that the man was known for being a little barmy and they wouldn't let him do anything crazy with Hermione. However, there was no need to worry. Maybe it was knowing how powerful she was that put him on his best behavior but Moody was downright delightful to Hermione. He coached her every single day for the entire two weeks that they had been there and there was already a vast improvement in her dueling skills. Harry could see that she was proud of herself and she had even kissed Moody on the cheek in thanks the night before. He had blushed furiously but hadn't reprimanded her, merely sent her off to bed with a gruff goodnight and a promise to see her off in the morning.

Harry and Draco had managed to learn from the Master Auror as well. Ron had been included in the training as well, though he was nowhere near as skilled as they were. That was to be expected, however, since he didn't practice magic near as often as they did. Not that it was all his fault; Molly was still grumbling about the fact that they were practicing magic outside of school. Harry had tuned her out a long time ago.

Kingsley, who had started out hating Hermione and Draco, had turned out to be quite friendly once they got past the exterior of being the big, bad auror. Hermione still wasn't quite sure of what to think about him but she wasn't opposed to having a debate with him about Arithmancy or Magical Theory. When they did debate, the whole table would go silent and just listen, caught up in the sheer intellect that they would spew at each other. When they would finish, boht would burst out in laughter at each other and others would soon follow. It was nice to see after witnessing the animosity the auror had had for Hermione in the beginning.

Most everyone else was friendly enough with the teens even though they weren't involved in the Order. It was nice to see that while they weren't a part of what was going on at Grimmauld Place, they were still being respected while there. Most of them were, anyways. Harry knew that Molly was trying to undermine Hermione whenever she was out of earshot but Kreacher never let it happen. Harry had to chuckle when he caught the elf locking Molly out of the kitchen one day when she insisted that it was her duty to cook for the Order meeting.

Molly was hugging and kissing all her children, telling them that they needed to write once they got settled into Hogwarts once more. Harry waited because he knew that his turn was coming. After she had smothered Ginny with an overbearing hug, Molly moved onto Harry and pulled him against her considerable chest and hugged him tight.

"You'll do your best to stay safe, Harry. Keep an eye on my children and let me know if they're behaving. As much as I hate that they've been separated from the rest of the family by name, it wouldn't do for them to act out and sully the name Prewett either." Harry gave a jerky nod, not sure he liked having this added responsibility on his shoulders. However, Ron was his best friend and he would help him where he could.

Hermione and Draco were telling their family goodbye, though Severus was missing. He had spent time with all of them at Grimmauld Place and the Weasleys had agreed to work on occlumency to help conceal the fact that he was indeed Hermione's godfather. Surprisingly, the twins were quite gifted at it, something that still irritated Hermione when she heard about it. Draco was teaching them while Harry focused on teaching Ron and Ginny. It wasn't ideal but he would never ask Hermione to immerse herself in the minds of two people that really didn't like her.

Much to his surprise, Ginny was already a fully functioning occlumens; Harry had gone to Severus for an explanation how it could be possible but the only thing he had been able to come up with was that it much have had something to do with having Voldemort in her head for the whole of her first year. Harry supposed that it made sense if he thought about it but it didn't make him feel any better when he stopped to consider it.

Ron was the one that would be the problem in teaching; Sirius and Lucius had taken it upon themselves to teach the older Weasley brothers. Harry knew that they were struggling with it but they were at least trying. Ron just didn't seem to care enough to practice. It was frustrating because no matter how much he told Ron that it was important it didn't seem to matter.

Harry was pulled out of his thoughts by Kreacher appearing in front of Hermione with tears streaking down his face. Hermione knelt in front of the elf and he could see Aunt Cissy cringing at the dust gathering on her robes. Uncle Lucius was standing above her and watching with an impassive face.

"Miss, what is Kreacher to dos while you is gone to school? Don't makes me stay here without yous." Harry watched Hermione look up to her father and it was clear by the look on his face that he didn't want him anywhere near him. She sighed and gave the elf a small smile.

"Very well, Kreacher. If you can promise me that you'll conduct yourself properly, I'll allow you to travel to Hogwarts with me. You may take care of my needs there until summer. We'll figure something else out when that time comes." Kreacher began to sob in happiness and Hermione stood and used a strict tone.

"Kreacher, stop this at once. No such displays, alright?" Kreacher nodded his head happily. Hermione took her shrunken trunk out of her pocket and handed it to the elf.

"This is my trunk. Please take it to Hogwarts and make sure that my things are put away." Kreacher took the trunk happily and nodded his head.

"Yes, mistress." Hermione smiled at him.

"Thank you, Kreacher. You may go now." The elf was gone with a pop and the rest of the those departing just shook their heads. Hermione smiled at the rest of them.

"I think it's time." Hermione started for the floo but stopped in front of Molly before taking the floo powder in her hands.

"I'm leaving and Kreacher is gone. You may now take over the cooking and cleaning as you see fit. Just remember that this is still my house." Molly didn't say anything but Harry didn't think that she would. Hermione obviously didn't either because she took a handful of floo powder, threw it in the flames, and stepped through.

They all followed, one by one, Tonks, Kingsley, Remus, and Moody coming through as well. They were just going to make sure they boarded the train with no troubles. Once they were all on the platform of the Hogwarts Express, they were met with the sounds of a crowd. Friends were hugging their families goodbye and their was excited chatter as friends saw each other after a summer apart.

Tonks and Remus hugged everyone one last time and Kingsley wished everyone a good year. Moody scowled at everyone except Hermione, telling her that they would continue their training come Christmas and that she should read the booklist he gave her. It was comical to see the old bastard with a soft spot, though most of them had one for Hermione.

They boarded the train and Hermione claimed the same compartment as the year before. They all squeezed in with the exception of Ron and Ginny, both of them insisting on going to find their other friends. Harry felt guilty for feeling a little relief at the distance between them. He really was tired of playing peacekeeper and it wasn't needed if Ron and Ginny weren't there.

Neville, Blaise and Daphne all joined them, eager to hear about their summers. Blaise was the only one who really didn't know what all had transpired over the summer so he was quite surprised to hear that the Weasleys were now an official branch of the Black family. He wisely kept his mouth shut when it was revealed that Ron and Ginny had taken the name Prewett. They hadn't made the news public at their birthday parties so it would be a surprise for everyone returning to Hogwarts.

Harry was also surprised to see that Blaise had wrapped an arm around Daphne's shoulders. She leaned into his side and it was clear that they were a couple. He wondered how long it had been going on and when he looked to Hermione he could tell that she had known. He wondered how it would affect the relationship that Hermione and Draco had rebuilt since he knew that Draco fancied the blonde witch.

Draco's eyes blazed with anger but he kept quiet. Harry knew that Draco was getting what he deserved, just like he was. They had treated Hermione and Daphne like shite and it was only right that they had gotten tired of waiting and moved on. He had hated seeing Hermione with Cedric at her birthday party but he couldn't blame her for finally getting tired of waiting on him.

The trip passed pleasantly, Harry catching up with Neville and the rest of their friends that they hadn't seen for the summer. Greg, Vince, Millie, and Tracey stopped in and spent caught up for a short time but moved on after an hour or so. Harry was reading up on wards, almost caught up to Hermione and Draco thanks to the brutal pace he had set this summer. He could also now speak passable Italian but Draco told him that he still needed to practice with Blaise once they got back to school.

The best moment of the whole trip was Hermione falling asleep and leaning against him, her weight warm and welcome. He knew that she was still seeing Cedric and he was surprised that she hadn't gone to find him during the trip. He wondered if she was angry at him and they were fighting. As much as he wanted Hermione happy, he wouldn't be unhappy if they were fighting. He promised that he wouldn't break them up but if they broke up on their own, he wasn't going to let the opportunity to show her he was changing pass him by.

Harry gently shook her awake just a few miles from Hogsmeade station. She gave him a sleepy grin and started to pull her robes on over her witch's robes. Everyone started to follow her example and by the time they pulled into Hogsmeade station, they were all ready to head to the castle.

Cedric was waving to Hermione once they were off the train and he watched as she straightened her shoulders and headed his way, waving to her friends as she went. He figured she would ride with him to the castle and he wondered if that was how she felt every time he had left her to go shag another girl. It wasn't a pleasant feeling and to be quite frank, he hated it.

With a sigh, Harry headed for the carriage that Neville was climbing in. This was going to be a long year.

-O-

Hermione had to admit to herself that it felt nice to wake up against Harry. He had changed so much this summer and she enjoyed it when she let herself. She tried to keep her distance, however, because it didn't make it any easier to remind herself that he didn't want her like she wanted him.

Once they had left the train, Cedric had waved her down. Hermione knew that she needed to break things off with him but she was dreading doing it. She knew that he really liked her and she didn't want to break his heart. Cedric had been wonderful to her and had been very respectful. Even her father hadn't found a single thing wrong with him.

Hermione gave her friends and family a quick wave as she headed off in the direction of Cedric. She silently gave herself a pep talk, telling herself that she could do what needed to be done. However, as she grew closer, she started to tell herself that she could do it tomorrow, that it would be better if she waited until after she had had a good night's sleep. Cedric smiled at her, holding his hand out and waiting for her to take it.

Neither one of them spoke but they got a carriage to themselves and he handed her up into it like a true gentleman would. She knew that her friends were ahead of her and wondered if Cedric was wanting her to eat with him at the Hufflepuff's table. It wasn't that she had something against Hufflepuffs but she wasn't sure how well received she would be there. He helped her sit and took the seat across from her rather than next to her as he usually did. He reached out and took her hands in his with a small smile.

"Hermione, you know that you're a wonderful girl. I really like you and couldn't have more respect for you." She sighed and felt like a complete coward that he was having to do this for her. She squeezed his hand to silence him.

"I can't let you do this, Cedric. You know you aren't the problem. You've been perfect." He gave her a half-smile.

"It isn't just you, Hermione." She felt her cheeks color and tried her hardest not to stutter.

"I didn't want to hurt you. I just don't feel a spark and I'm beginning to think that I never will. It's very disheartening." Cedric chuckled softly.

"I understand. Trust me, you're beautiful and the smartest girl I've ever known but I don't really feel that emotional connection with you either. You're going to meet the right person, I promise." Hermione gave him a half-smile in return.

"Thanks. I know you will too. We're still going to be friends, right?" He moved over to sit next to her, throwing his arm around her shoulder.

"Of course, we're going to be friends. Just because we didn't work out as more doesn't mean that we aren't going to talk anymore." She gave him a genuine smile.

"I'm glad. I'm really sorry we didn't work out." Cedric kissed the side of her head before letting his arm fall from around her shoulders.

"Me too but it's for the best. We're parting as friends and that's what's important." She nodded.

"I'm glad."

Their conversation came to an end when the carriage came to a stop outside of the castle. Cedric offered her his arm and escorted her into the Great Hall so she could join her friends and family. He bowed to her as he left, winking enough for her to see it but doubtful than anyone else had. Everyone else eyed her closely and she finally laughed a little.

"Why is everyone staring at me?" Daphne cocked an eyebrow at her from her seat next to Blaise.

"You just declared yourself quite publicly to be with Cedric." Hermione let out a short laugh.

"Funny since that's quite the opposite of what we just did." Draco raised an eyebrow now.

"What do you mean, Mia?" She shot him a sideways glance.

"Cedric and I just broke up." Hermione refused to meet Harry's eyes and instead let Draco put an arm around her shoulders. His voice was low when he spoke.

"Are you alright?" She smiled at him and leaned in to give him a side hug.

"I'm perfect. We both decided that it wasn't working and we parted as friends." Hermione let him hug her again before Dumbledore stood and started to speak.

"Welcome everyone, to another year at Hogwarts." He continued on with all the standard warnings and greetings before holding his arm out in the direction of a woman wearing pink that was seated at the High Table.

"Before we start the sorting, I want to introduce you to the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Her name is Dolores Umbridge and she is also the Under-Secretary to the Minister. I'd like you all to give her a warm welcome to Hogwarts."

As the applause started in the Great Hall, Hermione began to worry. She had seen this woman around the Ministry and she was bad news. Fudge couldn't afford to go against Harry and her family as publicly as he would like since they were still powerful, despite the other members of the Wizengamot making things harder for them. Hermione had a feeling that she had been stationed at Hogwarts to spy or start trouble. Fudge's lackey would be an appropriate term to describe Dolores Umbridge.

Hermione watched the woman closely during the sorting, not even paying attention to the new snakes that were arriving. She and Draco had been made prefects so it would be important to make sure that she knew which ones they would be leading to the dungeons. When it was finally over and the feast began, Hermione turned a serious eye to everyone that sat around them.

"We all need to be very careful this year. That woman does whatever Fudge wants and I don't trust her any further than I can throw her. I think she's here to cause trouble." She turned to look at Harry.

"You need to be so careful, Harry. Draco and I are protected a little more than you are so we have to make sure that you keep safe." He gave her a small smile.

"I'll do my best, Mia. I'll be careful, I promise." She gave him a nod and left it at that.

The Welcoming Feast lasted over an hour and once everyone had eaten their fill, Dumbledore shooed them out to their common rooms. Hermione and Draco called for the first years to follow them and took them the most direct path towards the dungeons. Hermione recognized Greg's little sister and a girl that looked like one of Juliet's friends from Gryffindor. She wondered briefly if they were related but decided that it probably didn't matter.

Hermione showed them their dorm and the bathroom they would all share. After they were all settled and had their beds chosen, she told them to meet them all downstairs once they were unpacked. Since Kreacher had surely unpacked her things so she went straight to the common room to wait for them. She knew that Draco had told the boys to do the same. Since the Head Boy and Girl weren't in Slytherin this year, it was up to the prefects to give the younger years the House Rules. Hermione waited thirty minutes before the girls started to trickle in, most of them looking exhausted. Draco and the boys joined them almost ten minutes later and her cousin looked irritated. Once they were all seated, Hermione began.

"Since it's our first year as prefects and your first year at Hogwarts, we're going to learn together. The first thing we do after showing you to your dorms is explain the House Rules. I don't know if the other houses do this and it really doesn't matter because we do." She paused for a moment to make sure that the first years were listening.

"There aren't many. Number one is that no matter what, we respect our Head of House. Professor Snape is a Potions Master and has worked hard to get where he is. If you break the rules, he will support you and do what he can for you but you better believe that you won't escape his wrath. Trust me when I tell you that you don't want to feel his wrath.

Second, we all try to do our best in our studies. Salazar Slytherin was a very powerful wizard and a founder to the school. We want to bring honor to his House and win points towards the House Cup. Most of all, we want to be able to say that we're the best. If you need help, you ask your professors or your prefects for help. Failing is not an option in Slytherin House." She sighed and hoped that this last rule didn't scare them.

"The last rule is that we always have each others backs. It's getting better but other houses don't always treat us favorably because of our reputation. I'm not saying that you are supposed to go and start a prank war or anything like that. I'm saying that if someone attacks a fellow Slytherin, you protect them as best you can. You tell a professor if one of us is getting bullied. We all look out for each other here. Do you all understand these rules?" Eleven small faces nodded her way and she smiled at them. Draco stepped forward and finished off the speech.

"Hogwarts is a wonderful place and we want to make sure that you enjoy your time here. Like Hermione said, you can come to us or the other prefects if you're more comfortable with them, for anything you need. If we don't have the answer, we can get it for you. Just follow the rules and make sure that you enjoy your time here." Hermione gestured with her hands that they were to head to bed.

"Off with you, be back down here at 7:30 and we'll lead you to breakfast in case you've forgotten your way to the Great Hall. You'll get your timetables from Professor Snape tomorrow at breakfast." All eleven of the first years scurried off and Hermione watched them with an amused grin on her face. Once they were all gone, Draco hugged her close.

"Are you sure that you're alright? I didn't know that you were going to break it off with him." She wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed him, thankful he wasn't angry at her for keeping Daphne and Blaise from him.

"I'm alright, I promise. I just didn't feel the connection with him, the spark. I really tried but it just wasn't there. He said that he could feel it wasn't there either. Neither one of us were upset. I wasn't trying to keep it from you, I just wanted to do it before I lost my nerve." He chuckled softly and Hermione asked the question that she knew she was scared of getting the answer to.

"Are you angry at me for Daphne?" He snorted softly in her ear before releasing her.

"I was at first but I realized that I've done it to myself. I wouldn't just volunteer something that Blaise had told me if he told me not to tell you. I'm sure that she told you to keep it to yourself." Hermione shrugged slightly.

"She didn't say outright not to tell you but I got the hint that she would rather you not know. She loves you, Drake. Don't give up on her." Her cousin snorted again and she glared at him.

"Aunt Cissy would have your hide if she heard you snorting like that." He laughed at her.

"I know she would. I won't give up, Miney. I guess I deserve it and only hope that she doesn't last with Blaise so I have a chance." She cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Make sure you don't break them up. She would never forgive you for it." He nodded, a smirk in place.

"I'm not a complete idiot, Miney. I'll try to show her that I'm interested without breaking them up. If they stay together long term I have nobody to blame but myself." Hermione nodded, pleased at how mature he was being. She rose to her toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"Good night, Drake. Love you." He tugged a curl before heading for his own dorm.

"Love you too, Mia. Night."

Hermione sighed as she headed for the stairs. It had been a long day and she would need to send a letter to her father and uncle first thing in the morning. It was important that they knew about Umbridge. With one last sigh, Hermione entered her dorm to find it dark. She quickly undressed and thanked Merlin that Kreacher had done everything she had asked. Without dallying over her books for the next day, she crawled into bed and pulled the duvet over her. She closed her eyes and started to clear her mind to ensure that there wouldn't be any dreams.

After all, tomorrow was the first day of classes and she needed her rest.

A/N- Nothing too exciting in this chapter, y'all, except the breakup. I know a lot of you were pulling for Cedmione but this remains a Harmony story. However, I didn't want Cedric to be a dick so they parted as friends. Hope you all approve. Anyways, thanks to everyone out there reading and reviewing, you guys are the bomb. Leave me a message after the beep, reviews are like chocolate and whiskey shots.

Next chapter, first lesson with Umbridge.

Love,

Alicia


	89. Chapter 89

A/N- I'm back, y'all. Real life has been crazy round here so thanks for understanding about the longer than usual wait on this chapter. For those that continue to ask, my grandfather is holding steady but the outlook isn't good. Thank you for the good thoughts and prayers, they're appreciated. My son had the flu but is almost back to one hundred percent. Enough for now, let's get this party started!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story. Anything you recognize belongs to J.K.R. and the plot line, while I have most certainly made it my own, belongs to a reader who gifted it to me. I haven't made any money off this story or any other. My kids would have sucked it all out of me even if I had. They're mooches like that.

Chapter 89

September 11, 1995

Hermione was pressed and dressed, waiting for Draco to come down after showering. They had gone on their run together and split ways to clean up; it never ceased to amaze her that it took him longer to get ready than it did her. She used to walk with Daphne but since she had started seeing Blaise, they usually went to meals together. Not that Hermione blamed her; Blaise treated her well and was always going out of his way to be sweet to her. Although, she was sure that some of it was just to make Draco angry, Hermione could also tell that he really liked her best friend.

Daphne told her that they were getting on well. She was happy to hear that they were enjoying their time together. If anyone deserved to have a boy who treated her well, it was Daphne. Draco was even taking it surprisingly well, not commenting or being hateful. It was this that had sparked the first argument between Hermione and her best friend since they were small children.

*Flashback*

Hermione was sitting on the couch closest to the fire in the common room, reading a book on the four founders. She had finished all her assignments and wanted to finish the book before she started on the second book that Moody had told her to read for their lessons come Christmas. Her cousin was seated across the room, playing chess against a seventh year boy and judging by the expression on his face, he was winning. Daphne sat down next to her and leaned over her shoulder to see what she was reading. Hermione smirked at her.

"I thought you were off playing with Blaise." Daphne giggled softly for a few moments before casting a look at Draco as he declared checkmate against his opponent. She cocked her head to the side and looked curious.

"Does Draco ever say anything about me and Blaise?" Hermione knew she was being snappy but she didn't care. Daphne seemed to realize instantly that she was angry too, her eyes growing wide as Hermione hissed out her response.

"I really hope that you aren't asking me to tell you things that my cousin has told me in confidence?" Daphne gave her head a quick shake in the negative. Hermione narrowed her eyes at her friend.

"I fully supported you moving on and doing your best to find love in someone other than my cousin. Merlin knows that you deserve it. Daphne, I'm warning you though, if you just went out with Blaise to make my cousin jealous, to play some game with him, I'm going to be very angry. Yes, he's been an insensitive prat and he's been a manwhore of epic proportions but he has never once told you that he was going to court you, never once told you that he had intentions to be with you. It isn't right if you're playing games with him because he has never once played one with you. If you want to move on and find happiness with Blaise, I fully support that. However, it isn't fair to Blaise or any other boy you see if you're just using them to make Draco jealous." Hermione could see that her words had struck home because not only were Daphne's cheeks flaming red, there were tears welling in her eyes. She regretted how harsh she had been but not the point she had made. Daphne nodded her head after dropping her eyes to her lap.

"You're right, Hermione, I'm sorry. I shouldn't worry about him when I'm with Blaise. It's hard sometimes to not wonder if he ever saw me as more than a childhood friend though. I can't help but wonder what if." Hermione sighed because she realized that she was just as guilty of that. She hugged Daphne close.

"I understand about that. I still longed for Harry, I can't help how I feel about him, but I didn't date Cedric to make him jealous. I truly want to find someone that will make me forget about Harry." Daphne nodded against her.

"I did too. Draco has shown he isn't ready to date anyone and I'm tired of waiting for him to notice me. That's why I'm dating Blaise. At least that's what I tell myself." Hermione smiled at her friend before letting her go to stand.

"Just forget this whole conversation, Daph. For now, I'm heading to bed." Daphne gave her a small wave as Hermione disappeared to her dorm.

*End of Flashback*

Draco appeared and interrupted her thoughts, offering her his arm like he usually did. She kissed his cheek good morning as he lead her out of the common room and towards the Great Hall. As they entered, Hermione saw that Harry and Juliet were already seated at the Slytherin table with Luna. Her blonde cousin rarely dined at the Ravenclaw table anymore and she didn't blame her. The girls were no longer horrid to her but they weren't very friendly or welcoming either.

She and Luna were much better than they had been over the summer. Time had faded the hurt and anger between them and they were no longer awkward around each other. Hermione missed talking to her as much as she used to, however. She had grown closer to Juliet over the summer, even more so than she had been before. It saddened her to know that she wasn't as close to her cousin but happy for Juliet since she knew that Luna related to her better than even Hermione did. Besides, she had Draco and knew that she couldn't begrudge anyone else having a good relationship if she was happy.

They reached the Slytherin table and took their usual seats; Draco, Hermione and Harry were on one side while Daphne, Luna, and Juliet were on the other. They were joined by the twins, Neville, and Blaise, Greg, Vince and her other girlfriends just a little ways down. Through the years, they had grown a little further apart then they had started Hogwarts as but they still studied together and helped each other in classes. Hermione, however, couldn't help but notice that Greg and Vince gravitated towards Theo most days, Pansy joining them. It worried her that they would eventually turn on her friends and family as Theo had but she tried not to borrow trouble. Harry threw an arm around her shoulders as soon as she took her seat, kissing her quickly on the cheek.

"Morning, guys. Ready for Charms?" Hermione rolled her eyes at him with a small smile. Harry had become quite affectionate with her since she and Cedric had broken up. She tried not to notice and did her best to ignore it when it was out there for everyone to see. She was scared that it would get her hopes up again and that was the last thing she wanted. Torturing herself thinking she had a chance with Harry was the one thing she refused to do this year.

The one thing she had noticed was that girls always seemed to be angry with him. She had come upon him several times in the corridors with witches yelling at him but they always quieted the second they saw her and disappeared. After the fourth such encounter, she had finally gathered the courage to ask what they were angry about. Harry had given her the most beautiful smile when he had told her that he was refusing to sleep with them and they were angry with him. Hermione had been dumbfounded and couldn't believe what he had told her.

Therefore, she sat back and just listened and watched. Harry didn't disappear with girls, he wasn't caught in compromising positions with them, and there were no rumors going around about him sleeping with who only knew what witch that week. It was disconcerting and though she wanted to let her heart flutter at him leaving all the girls behind, she refused to be swayed by only a couple weeks of celibacy. Harry hadn't even told her that he was interested in her so she had wisely left it alone.

"I was ready for Charms almost two years ago. I swear, how are we going to not die of boredom in the next three years?" Harry chuckled at her and Draco snorted, causing Hermione to shoot him a glare.

Hermione dished up her breakfast, porridge, fruit and a slice of toast. Kreacher had served her well since coming to Hogwarts. He kept her clothes in order as well as her books, kept their dorm room clean too. She could only imagine that he told the other elves to stay out of her domain since she had yet to see evidence of any others. Since he kept running out of things to keep him busy, she sent him to tidy up after Draco and the boys in his dorm. None of them aside from Theo seemed to mind.

The conversation around the table was light-hearted and happy even though they all had Defense Against the Dark Arts that afternoon. While they hadn't had Umbridge's class yet, the other years had and it wasn't a good report. There had been a brief meeting in the common room of Slytherin about how she wasn't allowing them to use their wands and how it was going to affect the O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. students. Hermione herself wasn't worried but knew that her friends, including Daphne, weren't as far along in their studies as she was and they really needed the practical side of Defense. Now that Voldemort had returned, their education was crucial.

The entire Gryffindor and Slytherin fifth year age group were dreading the class. Tales of how the woman handed out detention to just about everyone that spoke in her class had reached all houses and they were none too pleased. Nobody said a word about the detentions but it was a general consensus that none of them wanted to repeat them. Not that any detention wanted to be repeated but she got the impression that they were worse than even her godfathers.

After breakfast, the group bid farewell to Juliet, Luna, and the twins. They started for the Charms classroom and Hermione made sure to walk with Draco. She was even more surprised when she realized that her cousin was no longer seeing witches in his free time either; she was sure that Daphne seeing Blaise was the cause but since he hadn't been negative in any way, she couldn't be sure. She hoped that he had taken her advice to leave the Slytherin girl alone and find her own way.

They entered the Charms classroom and took their seats, Hermione next to Harry this time while Draco took the seat next to Neville. Ron sat next to Lavender and looked as though he wanted to speak with Harry. Her friend, however, seemed to ignore him. Hermione leaned over and whispered in Harry's ear.

"Ron looks like he wants to speak with you. Is everything alright?" He snorted and she elbowed him in the ribs. He grinned at her action before looking back down at his text book.

"I told him off a few nights ago, told him I didn't want to hear him whinge about your family cutting him out anymore. I told him I couldn't listen to it anymore. He wouldn't talk to me for a bit but apparently, he has something to say. Maybe he'll find me later." Hermione felt her heart swell at his words. Before she could consider the repercussions, she threw her arms around Harry and gave him a side hug. He looked surprised but pleased at the same time.

"Thank you for showing us some loyalty, Harry. I know you didn't agree but I appreciate it just the same." He reached out and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, hugging her for a few moments.

"Honestly, after I thought about it, I was more angry at the Weasleys for going through with it. You and Draco would never have done that to each other and I just thought that they had a family as strong as yours." Hermione was surprised to hear him say that. She had been sure that he held it against her family that they had cut his best mate out of being from a titled family.

"I guess I never thought about it like that. In their defense, however, do you think it's fair that the rest of the family suffer because of the pair of them?" Harry sighed as he raked his hand through his hair.

"No, I suppose not. I guess I just thought I'd see a bit more loyalty." Hermione let the subject drop since it didn't directly affect her.

Professor Flitwick entered and called the class to order. He started in on revision, the mending spell to be exact. Hermione wanted to groan. They had learned this ages ago and herself even longer before that. However, she kept quiet since it would do no good to complain. She proved in class that she could cast the charm and started the essay that the professor assigned as homework as soon as he realized that she had no need of practice. She was pleased to see that Draco, Harry, Neville, and Daphne had no need of revision either.

After they were dismissed, they made their way to Transfiguration. Since they had started their meditations towards their animagus forms over the summer, Hermione was excited for the subject. However, she was not excited for the subject in school. It meant that she would be thrown back several years in her ability. Her professor gave her an apologetic look as she assigned the revision of the orchideous spell. It was something they had learned last year and nothing remotely new for Hermione. However, it was nice that Professor Cat held their group back after class.

"I know this is nothing challenging for you. I want you to read chapters eight through thirteen before the weekend on animagus transformation and their relationships with nature in your text. We'll meet on Saturday at six." Hermione nodded happily and made sure to link arms with Harry and Draco as they left. She was so excited to work on her transformation that she didn't keep her usual distance from Harry and she noticed the last second. He merely grinned at her but kept quiet.

They made their way through the corridors until they reached the Great Hall. After going inside, Hermione watched Harry split ways and head to the Gryffindor table. Juliet was already over there with a few of her friends so Hermione knew that she would have Luna and Daphne to herself. Hermione turned her attention to the Slytherin table and realized that her best friend was seated with Blaise so she amended her statement. She would have Luna all to herself.

Hermione took her usual seat and gave Luna a smile from across the table. Her cousin returned it but turned back to her food, very intent on the pudding in front of her. Hermione didn't take offense; Luna had always been very serious about her pudding. There was light conversation around her, mostly about classes and homework. Since Hermione was caught up in everything aside from what had been assigned that day, she had no worries and tuned the conversations out.

When the meal was finally over, Hermione shoved her plate away and smiled at Draco. They had Herbology next and she had to admit that she wanted to see the look on Ron's face when attendance was called and he was called Prewett. It annoyed him to no end and it was clear to the rest of the students. Some of them poked fun at him but most just left it alone; nobody wanted to deal with a wound up Ronald Prewett.

As far as Hermione knew, Bill had no problems carrying all the Weasley's family magic; in fact, he had power to spare and would have no problems carrying the next generation as well. Her father had told her that it was as if he had been made to rule an Ancient House but she hadn't commented further. The last thing she wanted was for her comments to further insult Bill or the Weasleys.

To be honest, all the Weasleys were very good to her. The twins always had been aside from that one incident in her first year and Percy loved to talk intellectual things with her. Charlie, after visiting most of the summer, had shared her love of animals and had even gone riding with her multiple times, choosing an Abraxan horse of his own to ride when they went together. He told her all about the dragon reserve and she told him all about their horses; both considered it a fair trade. Even Bill treated her as a little sister who needed to be taught as much as possible; maybe not so much in the ways of her estate but he taught her all he could in the ways of curse breaking. She quite enjoyed what he taught her and looked forward to their lessons very much.

Arthur, while he never meant to snub her, was always very aloof. Hermione didn't blame him, after all. Her family had split his own, making him make the decision to do so. However, what he had never known was that he had never been needed in the equation; all that would have been necessary was Bill or Charlie and those that were willing for him to carry their family magic to come over and swear their allegiance to the Black family. It was quite a humbling experience even if she was the one that was receiving the oath. Of course, they would have probably been required to take the Black name but if it had come to that point, she doubted that it would have mattered.

Draco wrapped an arm around her waist and smiled at her, pulling her towards the entrance that would lead them towards Herbology. Hermione smiled back and allowed him to guide her.

-O-

Harry was at the Gryffindor table speaking softly with his friends there. Ron was sitting next to him but they hadn't spoke yet. Pav was smiling at him, as was Ginny, but it was Seamus and Dean that were carrying most of the conversation. Dean was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Ron's last name had changed.

"Mate, I just don't understand." Harry sighed, hating that their friend was asking this in front of Ron and Ginny. Since when did he become the go-to for information in this sort of thing? He raked a hand through his hair and decided to just answer the question as honestly as possible, not pulling any punches. It would end it quickly and they would leave him alone.

"Ron's dad is related to Hermione's family. Her father offered his family a Barony that was only meant for a light family; since Arthur admits that he isn't strong enough to carry the family magic, they offered it to Bill or Charlie. Since it is still under the Earl of Blackmoor as Head of the family, they were bound to abide by his rules and cast Ron and Ginny out of the family for their treatment of Hermione. They still live with them of course, Sirius isn't heartless, but Molly carries their family magic under the name of Prewett now." Seamus just shook his head in disbelief as Dean was still having a hard time believing his words.

"Why would his family do this if it didn't benefit him and Ginny as well? How could Hermione stand for it?" Harry was already wishing that he had just sat at the Slytherin table; over there, they didn't ask questions. They already understood and didn't ask questions. Harry tried to answer honestly while not offending his best mate.

"I'm not one hundred percent sure but I'm sure that his family went with it because it did benefit some of them. Better some than none, right? Hermione could stand for it because Ron and Ginny have been terrible to her. Ron struck her, remember? She has no outstanding love for him. Ginny at the very least cursed her bald when she was very sick. No, it was never proved but we all know it was true. Besides, none of this matters because it was Lord Black that made the final decision and it had nothing to do with myself or Hermione. We were forced to live with it just the same as Ron and Ginny." He could tell that Ron was listening but he wasn't reacting.

Dean and Seamus turned to their meal and let the subject matter go. Harry refused to start a conversation with Ron; he was sick of listening to his friend whinge to him when it wasn't his fault, when it wasn't even Hermione's fault. If he had such a problem, he needed to take it up with Sirius, yet he hadn't gathered the guts. He doubted that Ron ever would to be entirely truthful. It was in the last ten minutes of lunch that Ron finally turned his way and gave him a sheepish look.

"I'm sorry for putting you in the middle of things. I'm still mad at her and her family and I probably always will be. I also know that it isn't your fault and I'm sorry that I tried to put you in the middle. I know you couldn't do anything about it." Harry sighed, knowing this was probably the best he was ever going to get. His fingers went through his hair and he met his best mate's eyes.

"I have no influence as to what the Black family does. Hermione was pissed as fuck when I started to be nice to Ginny again so Gryffindor wouldn't shun her. I told her that it was my decision and she couldn't make that decision for me. Well, it goes the opposite direction as well. I'm not part of the Black house and I have no say as to what they do regarding their house and it's future. I hate to say it, Ron, but you've made your bed regarding Hermione and now you're going to have to lie in it. Just accept it and be grateful that they haven't made you leave your family. They could have. Instead, maybe you should consider that your family decided that they should cast you out. It wasn't Hermione or Sirius' decision to have your family turn on you. I think you're a fool for laying any blame at all but if you're going to, at least lay it where it belongs. You really have harmed the Black family and you can't possibly blame them for protecting their own." Ron sighed. His voice was whisper soft when he spoke.

"I know. It just sucks trying to live with it." Harry gave him a small smile.

"I'm sure that it does. Just try to make the best of it." Ron nodded and he gave his best mate a grin.

"We better get to Herbology before we're late." Harry glanced at the time and almost groaned. Unless they ran, they were sure to be late.

They gathered their things and hurried on their way, meeting almost nobody on their way. They ran the last leg of the way to Herbology and were just moments before the final bell; Professor Sprout gave them a displeased grimace as they slid into their seats just as the bell went off.

"Now that everyone is here, we'll begin." Harry felt his cheeks color slightly but nothing that he couldn't easily hide. Ron, however, couldn't hide the deep red that spread from the back of his neck up his face to stain his cheeks.

Professor Sprout started her lecture on fanged geranium, all pure review. Harry hated review chapters and understood now why Hermione and Draco had been bored all those years in class now that he was in the same boat. After lecturing half the period, she turned them loose to work with the actual plant. Harry successfully fed the plant and then helped Ron, who's strongest subject had never been Herbology.

Professor Sprout assigned them a short essay, one that he could easily accomplish in a half hour, before sending them on their way. Harry already dreaded the next class and there was no logical reason why. He hadn't had the class yet and hadn't been taught by the teacher yet. Sure, there was nothing good to hear about her yet but that didn't mean anything. Maybe she would be wonderful to their class. However, he sincerely doubted it.

Ron stood and exited the classroom with him, his redheaded friend sighing loudly as they headed back to the castle. Harry raised a questioning brow at him and Ron gave him a slow grin.

"Everyone has told us that Umbridge is horrid. How are we supposed to learn to defend ourselves without our wands?" Harry pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head lightly.

"I know. We're just going to have to play it nicely so we don't get in trouble. I heard her detentions are horrid." Ron nodded and kept his eyes forward.

Hermione and Draco were further behind him so Harry entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom with just Ron for the first time. All the desks were lined up perfectly spaced through the room and the professor was dressed in a hideous titty pink cardigan. She was seated at the large desk at the front of the room. Harry wasted no time in finding a desk in the middle of the classroom. He knew that Hermione and Draco would probably gravitate towards the front of the room but that was fine. He felt if they were spread out more, it would be better.

As predicted, Hermione and Draco took seats at the very front of the class. They quickly unloaded their bags and gathered their parchment, ink, and quills. Harry decided to follow suit, leaving his wand in his bag. If everyone else was to be believed, he wouldn't be needing it. He had just gotten his things out and set up when the woman in the front rose and clasped her hands in front her, pasting a sugary smile on her face before speaking.

"Alright, children, it's time for class to begin. I have your books here. Take one and pass the others back behind you." Harry watched as the woman sent a stack of books to each line of desks and they were forced to take one and pass the others back. When he finally got his, he almost cringed at the title.

 _Basics for Beginners_.

He could almost see the steam coming from Hermione's ears and he hoped that she took her own advice and kept her mouth shut. Umbridge was ordering them to turn to page three and read the chapter on conflict avoidance. Harry turned his eyes to his page and did his best to concentrate on the words. He really did try. However, he just couldn't focus on the words and when he looked up, he saw that Hermione's hand was in the air. He knew that Umbridge had seen it and was merely ignoring it; therefore, after nearly ten minutes of it being in the air, she finally sighed and smiled sweetly at her.

"Yes, Miss Black, is there something that I can help you to understand?" The Gryffindors tittered softly at the slight but Hermione just smiled slightly back at the woman. Harry knew that this didn't bode well.

"Actually, professor, there is something. I've read the syllabus and I'm confused as to how we're going to actually pass the O.W.L.s if we don't learn to cast the spells. Surely you don't mean for us not to practice them?" The rest of the class gasped softly, clearly not having read the syllabus like Hermione had. Umbridge glared at her but finally gave her a nothier sugary smile before answering.

"The Ministry has stepped in due to the irregularities at Hogwarts. They believe that students don't need to practice the spells until the day of the exam. If they understand the theory, they'll understand the practice." Harry could see her jaw drop in disbelief.

"You can't be serious. I understood the theory of the patronus long before I mastered it. It took ages to master. Students must be allowed to practice or they'll fail their exams." Harry could see that the woman was getting angry.

"Miss Black, it doesn't matter what you think. Your failing when it comes to the patronus charm doesn't mean that the rest of your fellow students will have the same problems. The Ministry has stepped in to make sure that Hogwarts is finally doing things as they should have been done long ago." Harry felt his anger flare at her making fun of Hermione. He glared at the woman and couldn't keep the bite out of his tone when he spoke.

"Her failing when it comes to the patronus charm? You're aware that she saved numerous students in Hogsmeade and on the Hogwarts Express last year with that patronus because the Ministry fucked up and sent the dementors around school children. Maybe the Ministry needs to re-evaluate how they do things." Harry could almost hear Hermione groaning at his words. Umbridge was looking at him as though Christmas came early and it made him extremely uneasy. Her grin was almost feral when she met his eyes.

"Detention tonight, Mr. Potter. My office at six." He said nothing, just stared at her.

Umbridge continued with the lesson as though nothing had happened. They were instructed to copy the lesson from the book as though reading it wasn't going to mean that they would learn it quick enough. Harry discreetly used a copying spell when she wasn't looking, not about to do this useless assignment if he didn't have to. At the end of the period, he turned the assignment in and glared at the toad in pink. She merely smirked at him and told him that she would see him in just over an hours time.

Hermione and Draco flanked him as they left the classroom, both of them vibrating with fury. Harry sighed inwardly, not wanting to deal with their anger at the moment. He was already dreading the detention to come; he knew without a doubt that he was going to hate it. They rounded the corner heading for the Great Hall when he spoke, cutting them off before they could speak.

"Don't start lecturing me. Trust me, I'm not excited about this detention but there's nothing for it now." Hermione sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and held her against him tightly. Her voice was soft when she spoke.

"I'm just worried for you." Harry sighed and realized that he couldn't hold that against her.

"I know. It's going to be fine. What's she going to do, make me write a thousand lines?" Hermione shrugged her shoulders delicately. Draco sighed this time.

"I'm not sure. Just be careful, mate." Harry nodded.

"You guys go to the library and I'll meet you there afterwards." Both Slytherins nodded and it was dropped.

The three of them entered the Great Hall for dinner and took their seats at the Slytherin table. They didn't speak of his detention but it was clear that the rest of their friends were just as worried as Hermione and Draco. Dinner was subdued, the conversation quiet and light. He knew that Juliet and Luna were confused as to what was going on but they didn't ask. Just before the meal ended, Neville and the twins came over and clapped Harry on the shoulder. Fred gave him an apologetic look.

"Hang tough, mate. Nobody has given me details on her detentions but they've all said they're terrible." Harry sighed, trying not to get irritated with his friends for showing him support. Instead, he gave them a small smile.

"Thanks. I'm going to be good, promise." He rose from the table and Hermione snatched his hand before he could leave. Her eyes were wide and Harry wanted to fall in them and never come out.

"Remember, meet us in the library afterwards." Harry nodded and dropped a kiss on her head before waving at the rest of his friends. Without a backwards glance, he strode out of the Great Hall, heading for the Defense Against the Dark Arts professors office. He had spent plenty of time there his third year when Professor Lupin had taught there.

It took him no time at all to reach Umbridge's office. He knocked on the door and she was quick to bid him to enter. Harry didn't speak as he took the seat that she gestured to. She slid a long piece of parchment in front of him as well as a quill. She gave a him a sweet smile that reminded Harry of a damn snake.

"You'll be writing lines for me, Mr. Potter. We'll see how many you can write in three hours time." Harry wondered why everyone hated this so much. It wasn't as though he hadn't wrote lines before. Three hours was longer than he had ever wrote them but it wouldn't kill him. He had wrote longer than that in a marathon homework session at Blackmoor. However, he realized there was only one problem.

"You haven't given me any ink." She gave him that same smile that he was starting to grow uneasy about.

"You won't need it, Mr. Potter. You will write 'I will learn to respect my betters.' You may begin."

Harry took a deep breath and put the quill to the parchment. It felt odd to drag the tip across the parchment without ink but did as she asked. He was well into his second time copying the phrase when he felt the pain in the back of his left hand. He pulled his sleeve up and watched the words that he had just wrote etch themselves into his hand.

 _I will learn to respect my betters._

His head came up to see that Umbridge was grinning at him now and Harry just glared. She gestured for him to continue.

"You owe me three hours, Mr. Potter. You're wasting time."

Harry knew that it would do no good to complain. She wouldn't relent and she would just make his punishment worse if he left. He put the quill back to the parchment and continued with his lines. The Gryffindor could feel her eyes on him as he wrote and they were burning a hole in his head.

For three hours, he wrote the same phrase over and over on the parchment. He had no idea how many times he copied it but he supposed that it wasn't important. There was blood steadily dripping from his hand onto the floor and he feared that the cuts were going to scar. He knew that Hermione was going to lose her temper when she found out. He wondered briefly if there was any way to keep her from finding out but knew deep down that there wasn't. If he did, she would think that he was trying to keep her out to be malicious. Finally, Umbridge broke the silence with a breathy little laugh.

"Your three hours are up, Mr. Potter. I hope that you learned your lesson." He stood as calmly as he could and made himself meet her eyes.

"You know that you won't get away with this for long." She cocked her head to the side and gave him another sweet smile.

"I think you'll find that you're wrong. Minister Fudge is tired of having children that are out of control in this school. He has given me official dispensation to do whatever it takes to bring this school under control. For the record, Mr. Potter, there are now ministerial decrees in place that will keep personal tutors out of Hogwarts. The Board of Governors are just a show piece, Mr. Potter. I suggest you learn your lesson this first time." Harry wasn't sure if she was telling the truth or just trying to scare him but either way, he needed to speak with Severus. He pulled his wand and pointed it at his blood on the floor, vanishing it with a small smile. She glared at him but he said nothing. Harry turned on his heel and left.

The Gryffindor traversed the corridors quickly, guarding his injured hand and hiding the blood inside his robe. He found the library quickly and entered without hesitation, finding Hermione and the rest of their friends quickly. He took the seat next to her and she flashed him a worried look. He just shook his head, silently telling her that he wasn't going to talk about it in the library. Draco leaned forward and whispered to him.

"Are you alright, mate?" Harry shook his head. In truth, he felt a little lightheaded. He was sure that it was due to blood loss but he didn't think that it was urgent. Hermione slammed her book shut and shoved her things into her bag. Neville and Juliet were the only ones there with them so she gave them a small smile.

"We need to get Harry to Professor Snape. We'll see you both in the morning." Juliet looked as though she was going to protest that she wanted to come but in the end, didn't. She nodded and let Neville help her gather her things so he could guide her back to the Gryffindor common room. Hermione stood and pulled Harry back to his feet and out of the library. She darted into the first classroom she found that was empty, locking, silencing, and warding it once the door was shut. She turned expectant eyes to Harry and he sighed. Rather than explain, he pulled his hand from his robes and showed it to her.

Hermione stepped forward and took his hand in hers, more gentle than she had ever touched him before. Her fingers traced the words soft as a feather but he could see the fury building in her eyes. Draco's hands were clenched in fists and he could tell that his friend was barely keeping his temper. When he spoke, his voice was restrained and his teeth were gritted.

"A fucking blood quill." Hermione was clearly struggling with keeping her temper under control; her whole body was shaking ever so slightly and he worried that she was going to lose it and catch Umbridge's attention. Seeing her hand cut up would be the worst thing he could imagine right about now.

"That fucking cock-sucking cunt used an illegal blood quill on you. I'm going to have her job by the time I'm done with her." Harry jerked his hand out of hers to put them on her shoulders. He made her meet his eyes and the blind fury in them almost scared him. If it had been aimed at him, he would have been terrified.

"Don't lose your temper. She told me that she has Minister Fudge's backing on this, that he's given her dispensation to do whatever it takes to get Hogwarts under control. She also said that there are now decrees saying that we can't bring tutors in to teach us. We have to be careful, Mia." She hissed in rage and jerked away from him. Hermione started to pace and Harry was at a loss. Draco just shook his head at him.

"Let her pace; she isn't mad at you. This is why nobody has said anything about why her detentions are so bad." Hermione stopped pacing and came forward to grab his good hand. With a wave of her wand, she cancelled all her spells and started for the door.

"We're going to Uncle Sev. Hopefully he can heal your hand. He'll get ahold of daddy and Uncle Luci. We may not be able to do anything but it's best they know what's going on." Harry wound his injured hand back in his robes and let her pull him through the corridors towards the dungeons, Draco bringing up the rear. It took them several minutes to get clear to Severus' quarters but once they were there, he felt better. She beat on the door and dragged him through the door unceremoniously when the Head of Slytherin House opened the door. Once the door was shut, she was hissing her words again.

"That fucking cunt is using a blood quill on the students during detentions. Show him, Harry." Harry held his hand out to Severus and let the man take his hand to examine it. He could see the fury in his expression as well but he controlled it much better than Hermione did. He released it after several seconds and disappeared through a door, returning seconds later with a jar of a putrid-smelling cream. He opened the jar and dipped his fingers in, spreading the cream liberally on the wound. The fire in his hand instantly ebbed and the breath he didn't realize that he was holding released. He tried to smile at the sour-faced man.

"Thanks, Severus." He gave him a curt nod but Harry knew that he wasn't angry at him. He looked up and met Harry's eyes.

"What did you get detention for?" Harry didn't even get to answer. Hermione beat him to it.

"I asked how we were supposed to pass our exams if we didn't practice the spells. She told me that if we understood the theory, we shouldn't need to practice. I pointed out that I understood the theory of the patronus charm long before I could perform it. She then told me that my failing to perform the charm didn't mean that anyone else would. Harry told her that I didn't fail the patronus charm, that in fact I saved numerous students from dementors our third year because the Ministry set them around the school and they attacked." Severus snorted and kissed Hermione on the head before turning to meet his eyes.

"I'm going to go speak with Dumbledore but I'm not sure what he'll be able to do. I want all of you to be extra careful around that witch. She's vile, that's certain, and until we know for sure what their plan is, we need to stay behind the scenes. Promise me that you'll all be on your best behavior around Umbridge." Harry watched as Hermione glared at him but in the end, nodded her head. He and Draco also nodded, knowing that there was really nothing else they could do. Severus met all their eyes.

"Tell the others. It wouldn't do for them to find themselves in detention either, especially since I can't help everyone." Harry nodded.

"I'll tell everyone in Gryffindor to keep their mouths shut." Severus nodded. Hermione sighed.

"We'll spread the word in Slytherin. I'm sure that Luna can tell someone in Ravenclaw and I'll have Cedric tell everyone in Hufflepuff." Harry felt a flare of jealousy at her words. Sure, they were broken up but it was clear that they were still friends. He had no right considering he still spoke with Ginny occasionally but he knew that Hermione genuinely liked Cedric. Severus nodded and started to head for his desk. He jotted out two notes on separate sliips of parchment, handing one to Hermione and one to Harry. His expression was serious.

"A pass for all of you since it's past curfew. Straight to your common rooms. I'll let you know tomorrow what I find out from Albus." Hermione stepped forward and hugged her godfather tight, burying her face in his robes. He knew from experience that she was inhaling his scent since it calmed her. She did it quite frequently to Uncle Lucius as well. Harry gave him a nod once they separated.

"Thanks again." Severus nodded and started to shoo them towards the door. Once they were in the corridor again and the door was shut, Harry turned to Hermione and Draco. He hugged Hermione quickly and clapped his friend on the shoulder.

"I'll see you guys at breakfast. Be quick, I don't know if the note would save us anyways." Hermione nodded.

"You too. See you in the morning."

With that, the pair turned on their heel and started for the Slytherin common room. Harry had quite a bit farther to go so he stayed to the shadows as he traversed the castle. It took him almost twenty minutes to get back to the Gryffindor common room but once he was safely ensconced inside, he breathed a sigh of relief. He noticed that most of his house was still awake and up in the common room. He took a deep breath and spoke loudly.

"I know that some of you know all about detention with Umbridge. I just had my first one and I'm going to let those of you that haven't had the privilege know that it isn't an experience you want to have. I'm not one to take it lying down, however, and I went to a professor. This professor isn't sure that they can do anything since Umbridge seems to think that the Minister is backing this sort of punishment but they're going to see what they can do. I'm supposed to spread the word that until we know what we can do, everyone is to be on their best behavior around Umbridge. Give her no reason to punish you." There were several frightened faces in the crowd and as much as Harry wanted to reassure the firsties that it would be fine, that they would protect them, he couldn't. They needed to be careful because he doubted that Umbridge would care that they were only eleven years old when she forced them to carve words into the backs of their hands. He started for the stairs to his dorm but made one last parting comment.

"Everyone make sure to tell those that aren't here right now. Consider this a House meeting and that the House message. It's important." He wasn't sure how Professor McGonagall would take hearing that they had a House meeting without informing her first but figured that she would understand when she realized just why they had held it. He assumed that Severus would inform her in the morning.

Harry crawled up the stairs to his dorm and dressed for bed quickly. He decided that he would shower in the morning, not wanting to wash the cream off his hand too soon. Severus hadn't told him how long to leave it on but he wasn't going to take a chance. Therefore, he was just crawling into bed and under the duvet when Ron and Neville came up. Ron sat on the edge of his bed and watched him carefully.

"What did she make you do, mate?" Harry sighed, knowing that he needed to tell his friends so they would take him seriously.

"She made me use a blood quill for three hours straight." There was a sharp intake of breath from Neville, telling him that his friend knew exactly what he was talking about. Ron, not so much.

"I'm not sure what that is." Neville raked a hand through his hair and started to explain. Harry interrupted them.

"Neville can tell you what it is, Ron. I'm tired so I'm going to head to bed. I'll see you in the morning." Ron nodded his way absentmindedly. Harry pulled his curtains and settled against his pillows.

He cleared his mind to make sure that all his barriers were in place, not wanting to slip now that Voldemort was back. It was only a matter of minutes before he felt sleep pull him under.

-O-

Severus was livid. While he would have murdered someone if Hermione had been the one with her hand cut up the way Harry's was, he was none too happy to see his charge injured as he was. He would never be as close to Harry as he was to Hermione and Draco but he still held the boy as dear. He was Lily's son, after all, his best friend, the woman he had loved. He had vowed to protect him and seeing him injured for doing nothing more than telling the truth to Umbridge made his blood boil.

He strode through the corridors on his way to Albus' office. He was determined to see something done about this; if Harry was suffering through a blood quill, it was a sure bet that other students were as well. Sure, he wished that he could curse the little brats most days but he would never dream of actually doing it.

Just three corridors from Dumbledore's office, he passed the witch in question. Dolores Umbridge gave him a simpering smile but Severus just kept walking. He refused to stand there and act like he liked her, like he agreed with her methods. Therefore, he continued on as though he didn't see her. She started to say something but he didn't give her a chance; just swept past, his robes billowing behind him.

Severus didn't wait for the gargoyle to acknowledge his presence; he muttered the password of sugar quill and followed the stairs up to Albus' office. He didn't bother to knock since the Headmaster knew that he was coming. If he didn't want him to come in, he would lock the door. When he entered, he saw that Minerva was already there, looking quite incensed. He raised an eyebrow at her but when she remained silent, he turned to the Headmaster.

"We have a problem." Albus gestured for him to take a seat but Severus started pacing instead.

"Harry, Hermione, and Draco just came to see me. Harry had detention with Umbridge and she made him use a blood quill for three hours. His hand was bleeding profusely and needed healing. She told him that Fudge was behind her punishing students like this, that she was to get Hogwarts under control. She also intimated that the governors were going to be useless this year and that there would be decrees in effect that stated that there would be no tutors allowed in the school." Dumbledore nodded his head sagely while Minerva exploded in anger. Her quiet anger was almost as frightening as the Dark Lord's. However, when she realized that Albus wasn't acting surprised, she turned her ire his way.

"You mean to tell me that you knew that this was happening and have done nothing about it?" Dumbledore nodded his head, refusing to meet their eyes.

"Fudge himself came and told me that the Ministry had lost faith in me after the debacle last year involving Krum's death. They aren't acknowledging that Voldemort is back but they can't afford to tell the world that Harry is lying either. No matter what they say, Sirius and Lucius still have an insanely large amount of power in the Wizengamot." He sighed and started to stroke his beard before continuing.

"Fudge told me that he was sending Umbridge to make sure that the students were behaving, that she was going to have permission to use whatever means necessary to make them comply. He made quite clear that he would make her position Ministry-appointed to keep her here. I'm quite sure that whatever she is telling young Mr. Potter is the truth. As for the decree about no tutors, I'm sure it's the truth. I'll check, of course, but it was no secret that Sirius and Lucius used a tutor last year rather than Master Auror Moody. It was an embarrassment for the Ministry and they can't afford that again. As for the Board of Governors, if it's Ministry-decreed, I doubt there is much they can do." Severus picked up a knick-knack off the Headmaster's desk and threw it at the wall.

"You know that if that fucking bitch does that to Hermione I will fucking kill her, right? I won't give two flying fucks about the Ministry. When I justify it to the Dark Lord, I'll just tell him that I was keeping the woman that he wants to bear his heirs safe from harm." The Headmaster's aura flared in anger but said nothing until he had himself under control.

"You mustn't blow your cover, Severus." Severus leaned over the desk and made sure that he was eye-to-eye with the Headmaster before he spoke.

"I think you're confused. Me keeping Hermione safe for the Dark Lord would be making my cover stronger. Just because it offends your sensibilities means nothing to me. I suggest that you do your best to get her under control. After all, you want me as your resident Death Eater spy. Guess what, Albus? Now you've got me." Severus stood and brushed his hair back from his face.

"I'll be writing a letter to Lucius tonight. He needs to know what to expect as the Head of the Governors. Maybe he can still do something. I hope you can do something, Albus, because I truly fear for Umbridge's safety if not." Severus didn't wait for him to say anything else. After all, there was nothing else to say.

Severus returned to his quarters and sat before his desk. He pulled out parchment and his quill, dipping it in ink so he could pen a letter to Lucius. At the last moment, he decided to include Sirius so he wouldn't have to write two separate letters. They were probably together anyways. After a moment to consider how he wanted to word it, he began.

 _Lucius and Sirius,_

 _I'm hoping that this letter finds you both together and well. I wish that I could find the time to leave and explain in person but I must sleep since I have an early class. I've just left Albus' office and am greatly disturbed by what I have learned there tonight._

 _Hermione and Draco dragged Harry in here just a little while ago with an injury to his hand. He had been assigned a three hour detention with the new Defense professor, Dolores Umbridge. I'm sure you know her and just what kind of person she is. It was revealed to me that she made him write lines for three hours with a blood quill._

 _Of course I healed him to the best of my ability. I warned him and the others that I would go to Dumbledore and do what I could to put a stop to her punishments. However, we all know that this isn't going to last for long. They're children and they thrive on mischief._

 _Umbridge also told Harry that Fudge was giving her official dispensation to bring order to Hogwarts. Dumbledore confirmed it. She told him that there were decrees that would keep tutors from being welcome in Hogwarts and Albus also all but confirmed that as well. She also told him that the Board of Governors was going to be useless this year._

 _Lucius, I'm not sure if this is true but Dumbledore thinks that it very well may be. I need you two to see what you can find out and what can be done to get around it. As much as I hate the little beasts, I'm still a professor and won't stand to see my students punished in such a way. I have warned all the children to be on their best behavior around Umbridge but it won't hold. Please advise me as to what I can do since Dumbledore is going to be no help at all._

 _Awaiting your reply,_

 _Severus_

Severus rolled the parchment up and sealed it before sending it off with one of the school owls. He should have asked Hermione to have Kreacher deliver it but it was too late now. He knew that the elf wouldn't respond to him if he tried to call him. For now, he would just have to content himself with a reply in the morning.

With a tired sigh, he wiped a hand down his face before standing and heading to his quarters. He really did have an early class and he intended to be early. If there was one thing that he knew for sure, all rule-breakers in his class would no longer be serving detention. He would have to content himself with point losses.

It would just have to be enough.

A/N- There you go, folks, another chapter in the books. I hope you all enjoyed it! Thanks again for reading and reviewing, y'all are my heroes! Anyways, let me know you think. I do so like hearing your thoughts.

Next chapter, our favorite character gets detention.

Love,

Alicia


	90. Chapter 90

A/N- Big thanks to everyone out there supporting this story and reviewing every chapter. You guys are the bomb. As for how long this chapter took to get to you, I apologize. I have so much going on that it's insane. Thanks for being understanding. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

**Shout out to heeeeeem for being my 4400th reviewer! You're freaking awesome!**

Disclaimer: After 90 chapters, I still don't own much more than the twist on the story line of this story. If y'all need to see who the story idea and the characters belong to, refer back to the 89 chapters before. Still haven't made any money off this story or any other since I'm still a broke bitch.

Chapter 90

September 30, 1995

Hermione had had plenty of unpleasant experiences in Hogwarts since starting her education there. There had been times that she hated it there, times that she wanted to go home because the students were so terrible to her. However, none of these experiences came close to what she now dubbed as the Terror of Umbridge.

Dolores Umbridge was a horrible woman who had no problems with using her place as an authority figure to get what she wanted from both staff and students. She had managed to coerce students against each other, turning on each other just so they didn't have to serve detention with her. Thus far, Hermione had managed to keep her mouth shut in her class but she knew that it wasn't going to last.

Uncle Sev had made clear to her just what would happen if the woman used that horrible quill on her. He had begged her to be careful, to make sure that Draco and Harry were kept in line. She had told him that she would do her best but it was so hard to keep her word when she was constantly targeting not only her family but her friends. Just three days before, Fred and George had spotted the horrible hag berating a pair of first years for being late because they had been waylaid by Peeves. They had started mischief to distract her but hadn't escaped her blood quill in the end.

Hermione had learned quickly the formula for the cream that Uncle Sev had treated Harry's hand with. She made it often and handed it out to her friends and family like it was candy. The twins were always in need of it since they had taken it upon themselves to protect the younger students from Umbitch, which was the name that Daphne had started using for her. When Blaise had found himself in detention with them one day after handing in an essay half an inch too short, she had made sure that he had a supply as well.

The worst part of the whole situation was that there was nothing that they could do about because Fudge was a useless fucking Minister that would rather subdue his subjects rather than make sure that they were safe. He had made Umbitch the High Inquisitor, a title that apparently gave her the right to visit all the classes and make judgements as to whether they were teaching their classes properly or not. If it was found that the classes weren't being taught properly, they would be sacked. As much as Hermione would love for someone like Professor Trelawney to be sacked because she was a complete charlatan, she didn't want her sacked because Umbridge wanted her out of the castle.

Even the Board of Governors were rendered useless. Her uncle had been livid when he had stalked into Hogwarts two weeks before after they had heard about Harry's detention. He had done everything he could to make sure that it couldn't happen again but Fudge had done everything in his power to cover his bases before putting Umbridge in place. Even if Hermione hated to admit it, she had say that he had outplayed them all, which surprised her immensely. Fudge was not a smart man, which meant that someone else was pulling his strings. When it came down to it, she felt that it was Umbridge.

It was well-known that Harry was the descendant of Godric Gryffindor. If he had wanted to claim ownership of the castle, he probably could have. However, this couldn't have happened until he was of the age of his majority. Since the only other heir of a founder that was known was in fact Voldemort, there was little hope of him taking control of the castle and keeping it out of Ministry hands. SInce there was nobody to fight them at the time being, the Ministry had passed numerous bills in the recesses of the Wizengamot, mostly right as they were called for a vote. These determined that the Ministry would ascertain control of Hogwarts and the Board of Governors would step back.

Her father, Uncle Luci, and Bill had been livid. They hadn't even been aware of the bill before it had been put to vote before the Wizengamot. It was clear that it had been engineered that way and it was clear the purpose as to why. Even though they had voted against the bill, Augusta Longbottom, Gerald Greengrass, and Elora Zabini along with them, they were soundly defeated. Lucius had wondered which Death Eater had paid the bribes to the other members since most of them had family in Hogwarts and couldn't possibly have known what it would be like for them once the Board was rendered useless.

Of course, this had caused some tension between herself and some of their friends. Even Greg and Vince's fathers had voted for the Board to be rendered useless and it was clear that they weren't going to try to convince them otherwise. As much as Hermione hated to do it, she started to consider the possibility that they were going to follow in their father's footsteps and continue to serve the Dark Lord. It hurt to consider since she thought of them as her friends but she also knew how hard it would be to go against her family. She wasn't sure if she could ever do it and she thanked Merlin every day that they had the same convictions that she did. Truthfully, it was hard enough not knowing for sure where Daphne's family stood on the war between blood prejudice.

Therefore, this meant that they were stuck with the evil bitch and had to dance to her tune. There was nothing that her father, uncle, or Dumbledore could do about it since their hands were tied politically. As much as her godfather said that Dumbledore was angry, she felt like her father and uncle were the most angry. They had been out-Slytherined and the children were the ones paying the price.

Hermione picked at her breakfast while she waited for everyone else to finish. It was hard to find anything to get excited about now that Umbridge was constantly haunting the corridors. They had Transfiguration first and she was sure that the hag would be there to harangue Professor Cat. Of course, this meant that there wouldn't be any staying after to discuss the lessons on becoming an animagus. It was the one bright spot of being at Hogwarts and she was even stealing that joy. Draco nudged her and gave her a small smile.

"Don't let her get you down. Don't let her win." Hermione sighed, knowing that he was right. She wasn't a quitter and there was no way that she was going to let the toad win. She gave herself a mental shake before nodding her head.

"You're right. Thanks." Hermione felt someone behind her and judging by the look of distaste on Daphne's face, it was clear that it was probably Ronald or Ginny. She turned slightly to see that it was the both of them, along with Seamus and Dean. Ron didn't give the Slytherins the time of day, just met Harry's eyes.

"You still walking with us today, mate?" Harry nodded and wiped his mouth before standing. He dropped a kiss on Hermione's head and squeezed her shoulders before picking up his bag. Hermione gave him a smile and waved, though before she could tell him she'd see him later, Ginny's voice cut into the conversation.

"Isn't that sweet? It looks like Hermione is finally getting her wish. Harry's paying her a little bit of attention." Hermione did her best to control the color that threatened to rush to her cheeks. She hadn't let herself even consider what Harry's attention meant. She had accepted that they weren't meant for each other and she was fine where she was, just being his friend. Harry, however, was livid.

"Really, Ginny? That's rich coming from the girl who begged me to be her friend again so the rest of Gryffindor wouldn't shun her completely. Jealous much?" Hermione couldn't believe that Harry had told her off because she had been mean to her. It hadn't ever happened before, not that she had seen, and it made her heart warm. Ginny's face was scarlet red and she was glaring. Harry laid a hand on her shoulder again and she could feel the tension radiating from him.

"I warned you before, Ginny. Hermione is my family. I won't stand for you being a vicious cunt to her. She's not out to get you, in fact, she acts as though you aren't even around. You should be able to do the same. If you value the tiny shred of friendship we have, you'll back the fuck off and leave my family alone." Hermione held her head high while Ginny was clearly holding back so many things that she wanted to let fly. Rather than stay and fight, Ginny spoke through gritted teeth.

"I'll just be on my way then. Enjoy time with your family." Ginny melted into the crowd and Harry sighed. He kissed the top of Hermione's head again before he followed his friends from Gryffindor out of sight. Once they were out of sight, Hermione sighed.

"We better get to class." Draco rose and offered his arm to Hermione while Blaise put his arm around Daphne's waist. She felt her cousin tense at the sight but he remained silent.

They made their way to Professor McGonagall's classroom and took their usual seats. Harry barely made it to class on time but took a seat with his Gryffindor friends. Hermione did notice that there was less bullying towards the Slytherins and likewise now that he was more onboard with embracing his Slytherin family.

Professor McGonagall entered and began her lesson and Hermione was happy to see that there was no sign of Umbitch. They were now reviewing switching spells since some of the other students were still having problems with them. It wasn't challenging in the least but it was one class that she didn't have to worry about Umbridge. Unlike the next class, since it was with the devil herself.

Class dismissed and as much as Hermione wanted to speak with Professor Cat about her discovering her animagus form soon, she didn't. Umbridge's class was next and she didn't want to take the chance of being late. Draco grabbed her elbow and kept her close, probably because he knew exactly where they were headed. Daphne, Blaise, and Neville followed behind them and Hermione could feel the tension building inside her.

They entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and took their seats. Harry entered right after them and rather than sit with Ron and his friends, he took the seat next to Hermione. Hermione stowed her wand in her bag and made sure that her parchment, quill, ink, and text were ready. She was sure that they would be copying from the text like they always did, which was frustrating. Did she really think that asking Death Eaters not to kill you would work?

Professor Umbridge stormed into the class early and promptly assigned detention to Lavender and Parvati when they walked in a minute before the bell. As much as Hermione didn't like them, she vowed to give Harry a tub of cream for their hands. They were both terrible to her most of the time but nobody deserved to carve words into their hands for being a minute early.

As predicted, Umbitch launched into what chapter they were to read that day and then told them to copy the entire chapter after reading it. Since Hermione had already read it, despite the fact that it was complete rubbish, she started instantly on copying the chapter. Umbridge was wandering the room and stopped directly in front of her to glare at her in disbelief.

"Miss Black, you're telling me that you're done reading the chapter already? I know that you can't read that fast." Hermione set her quill down and met the gaze of the professor. Her voice was flat and lacked anything that resembled anything close to the hatred she wanted to spew at her.

"I read the chapter last night, profess, and then again at breakfast." Umbridge gave her a predatory smile.

"What did Slinkhard say about using counter jinxes in regards to Unforgivables?" Hermione fought the urge to roll her eyes at the pathetic question that was meant to throw her.

"He says that using counter jinxes is hardly ever needed if the witch or wizard properly de-escalates the situation at hand." Umbridge gave her a saccharine sweet smile before she spoke again.

"Detention with me, tonight, Miss Black, for not following directions. You were told to read the lesson, then copy it." Hermione wasn't scared. She was furious. However, she bit her tongue and merely glared at the woman. After a quiet little giggle, she walked off, leaving Hermione to open her book and start acting like she was reading.

By the end of the class period, Hermione had copied the chapter, as had Harry and Draco. When the bell rang, they gathered their things while Umbridge called out to Hermione to meet her in her office at six that night. Hermione didn't acknowledge her, merely walked out of the classroom, head held high. Once they were in the Great Hall and she had taken her seat, she let out a breath that she had been holding. Draco was vibrating with rage and she knew that it wouldn't take much for him to explode.

"I can't believe that amphibious cunt gave you detention for proving that you had read her stupid fucking chapter. You know that Uncle Sev is going to lose his mind." Hermione shook her head, not wanting to consider what her godfather would do. She didn't think that she would be sad if he killed Umbridge but she didn't want him to go to Azkaban. With the state of the Ministry at the moment, it was a very good possibility. Hermione reached out and grasped his hand, Harry's as well.

"We aren't going to tell him. You know that with Fudge wanting to hurt us politically, but not having the bollocks to say Harry is lying officially, he'll do whatever he could to get to us. Uncle Sev would end up in Azkaban. Nobody can know." Harry gave her a serious look.

"Mia, this isn't something that we can hide forever. Maybe once but if it happens again, she's going to gloat to him. He's going to fucking pissed that you lied to him." Hermione shook her head.

"It won't happen again. I'll be careful. Besides, I don't think she's going to have the balls to punish me like she does everyone else. Not only does she know how powerful I am, she knows that our family isn't going to take it lying down." Draco gave her a disbelieving look but said nothing. Harry hugged her close from the side and made sure to speak loud enough for them all to hear.

"You'll meet us in the library before going back to your room." Hermione gave him a nod, knowing that he was going to be livid with her.

She knew exactly what awaited her in detention and she had no urge to tell anyone what happens. It would keep them from losing their tempers and it would also give them plausible deniability when it came to Uncle Sev. She wouldn't allow them to be punished because they reacted to her punishment and she would keep her godfather out of Azkaban.

Even if it was the last thing she did.

-O-

Harry was so pissed. He couldn't believe that Umbridge had given Hermione detention for proving that she had done the assignment. He knew that her hopes were up that she wouldn't be subjected to the blood quill but he knew better. There was no way that the evil bitch would go out of her way to punish her with detention if not using the blood quill was her intention. It just didn't make any sense.

Their group ate quietly, nobody telling Luna or Juliet just what was wrong or why everyone was so somber. He had a feeling that Luna had an idea but she wisely stayed quiet, reassuring Jules quietly that all was well. The bell rang and dismissed them to Ancient Runes, meaning that only himself, Draco, and Hermione were going to be going.

They headed off to Runes, the three of them staying close. Hermione's detention wasn't mentioned since it really wouldn't do any good anyways. They settled in their seats a few minutes before Professor Babbling arrived and started class with no fanfare. They were learning about how Celtic runes related to the Nordics and what impact they had on magic, something that actually interested Harry a lot. However, it was hard to focus since he was now worried for Hermione. It was a crime to even consider marring her perfect skin.

Professor Babbling gave them their assignment and turned them loose a few minutes early, which was greatly appreciated since they had to make their way clear down to the dungeons for Potions. He knew that Draco was feeling just as protective over Hermione as he was so it was no surprise that even though they were in Severus' classroom, they refused to let her sit with anyone else. Neville took the table with them, evening it out at the even four.

Severus was about to start his lesson on moonstone. It wasn't a practical lesson so they were able to just bring out their notes and quills. Harry, Hermione, and Draco already had their notes so they were just going to make sure that everything mentioned in the lecture was written in their notes. However, just before Severus started his lecture, the door to his classroom opened and the pink toad entered, a clipboard in her hand. Harry wanted to groan inwardly. Severus already wanted to murder the woman; having her in his face wasn't going to end well.

Severus didn't let her presence hinder his teaching. He lectured just as he always did, urging the students to take notes as he went. Potions was the one class that nobody fucked off in and everyone had a quill and parchment out in. Umbridge didn't even say anything when she walked past and saw that the three of them already had a complete set of notes that they were comparing the lecture to. Of course, she had no idea that their set of notes had been based off Severus' lecture anyways.

At the end of the class period, they were gathering their things to head to dinner when they heard Umbridge questioning Severus. Judging by the sour look on his face, he was just as unhappy with the situation as they were.

"So you've taught Potions here for more than ten years?" Harry wanted to laugh when he heard the Potion Master's snark.

"You have my employment records. You know exactly how long I've been employed at Hogwarts." The woman gave him an appraising look before setting her clipboard down.

"You seem to have firm control over your class. I have to admit that it's refreshing to see since the other teachers appear to be rather lax." Her godfather just arched a bored eyebrow at her.

"Potions is a dangerous class. It's imperative to keep control of the class lest people get hurt." Umbridge gave an approving nod.

"I'll give you a glowing report when I tell Cornelius how the teachers are doing." Severus gave a curt nod before shooing them out of the room.

Harry and Draco escorted Hermione to dinner and stayed close to her as they sat down to eat. There was tension all down the table and he was sure that word of her detention had spread. He was waiting for someone to let the cat out of the bag around Severus; in fact, he couldn't believe that Umbridge hadn't bragged to him about having her in detention after their potions class.

As the hour drew closer, Hermione grew stiffer and stiffer next to him. Draco was hovering over her, urging her to eat more and telling her that she needed to take better care of herself. She finally brushed him off with a hard smile before standing, her impassive mask falling into place. Harry knew this Hermione; she was a badarse witch who refused to show weakness.

"It's going to be fine, Drake, I promise. Have faith in me." He reached out and squeezed her arm and nodded.

"I have complete faith in you, Miney." Harry mirrored his friends actions and when Hermione met his eyes, he gave her a serious look.

"Meet us in the library afterwards. Promise." She gave him a sharp nod.

"I promise."

Harry watched her leave, for once not watching her arse. He hated seeing her walking off to sit for hours in pain but he supposed that there was literally nothing that they could do. All he could do was be there for her afterwards.

-O-

Even though Hermione was putting on a brave front, she was trembling on the inside. However, she had learned from birth to hide her emotions and put them behind a wall of expressionless impassivity. Of course, it was always harder to do in front of her family, but doing so in front of Umbitch would be a piece of cake.

She knocked on the door of Umbridge's office and was beckoned to enter. Once inside, she remained silent, not sure that she could keep her mouth shut if she spoke. Umbridge gestured for her to sit in the chair next to her desk and Hermione couldn't help but notice that there was a quill and parchment waiting there for her.

"You will write lines for me, Miss Black. Just because your father and uncle are powerful purebloods in the Wizengamot, it doesn't mean that you are above the rules and the law." Hermione remained silent, knowing that she needed to bite her tongue.

"You will write 'I will always do as I'm told.'" Hermione used every last bit of control that Moody had taught her to keep her magic from lashing out. It was funny that she learned how to control her magic better from a half-crazy Master Auror rather than her own cousin and Remus. Hermione picked up the quill, knowing full well what was going to happen and started to write.

 _I will always do as I'm told._

Hermione felt the bite of the quill and knew that it was tracing the lines into her hand. She remained silent as she wrote, carving the phrase into her hand. She wasn't sure how long she sat there, writing her lines, but night had fallen and her hand was dripping blood onto the desk when Umbridge finally called for to stop. Hermione kept her impassive mask on her face as the evil hag took the quill from its resting place on the desk before her.

"You are free to go, Miss Black. Make sure that from now on you follow my directions in class." Hermione pulled her wand and vanished the blood from the desk, making sure that she didn't leave a single drop behind. Her father and uncle had made very clear that blood could be used against you and you should never let someone you didn't trust anywhere near it.

Hermione swept out of the room and made sure to keep her hand hidden in her robes. She had promised that she would go to the library but there was no way that she could show them the bloody meat that was left of her hand. She knew that she had written lines for longer than Harry; truthfully, she would be surprised if it wasn't past curfew already.

The Slytherin pulled the cream she had learned to make out of her pocket and spread it liberally on her hand. The sting instantly subsided and she could feel the skin slowing knitting back together. Knowing that Harry and Draco would come look for her if she didn't show, she started for the library after slipping the cream back in her pocket.

Just outside of the library, Hermione paused and pulled her wand, pointing it at her hand. The words were now just barely visible and couldn't help but hope that they would be gone by morning. She silently cast a disillusionment charm on it, hoping that it would be enough to fool them. She slipped her wand back in her pocket and entered the library to see her family gathering their things in their bag. Instant relief colored their expressions when they saw that she had arrived.

Hermione let them get their things together and then take her by the arm to lead her out of the library. Neville and Juliet started for the Gryffindor common room while Daphne and Blaise headed on their way. Draco pulled her into the same classroom she had taken them to when Harry had suffered detention. Once the door was locked, silenced, and warded, Draco gave her a look that showed he meant business.

"What happened?" Hermione met his eyes and shook her head.

"She just made me re-organize her personal library and clean the shelves. I told you that she wouldn't punish me like that. She's too scared." Draco looked skeptical but Harry gave her an angry look. He reached out and grabbed her hand and Hermione couldn't help but to cry out. She instantly glared at him but Draco just looked hurt.

"Why would you lie to me, Miney?" Hermione started to pace, knowing that Draco was likely to hold a grudge about this.

"I didn't want you to get angry and react. I don't want you in there, Drake. It's horrible. I thought if you didn't know, you would be able to lie to Severus easier." He still looked remarkably hurt but he hadn't turned from her. It was Harry that spoke next.

"What did she make you write? You might as well show us." Hermione sighed and lifted the disillusionment charm. She held her hand out and let the two boys look at her hand. Draco picked up a glass of quills from the desk and threw it against the wall. Hermione turned her eyes to the floor but Harry stepped up and hugged her close.

"I understand why you tried to lie but we're in this together, Mia. We have to be honest with each other." She nodded against his chest and let just a few tears leak out. His shirt soaked them up, hiding her shame. Once she knew that they were gone from sight, she lifted her head to give him a small smile.

"I know, I was just trying to keep everyone from getting angry and getting hurt." Harry leaned forward and kissed her forehead before turning her in his arms so Draco could hug her tightly. She could feel his fingers bunched in her uniform shirt and she could tell that he was genuinely distressed.

"I'm not mad at you, Miney, but don't lie to me anymore. I won't do anything stupid, I promise." Hermione nodded against him and she felt him kiss the side of her head.

"We need to get back to the common room. Once we're there, you're putting on more of that cream." Hermione nodded and pulled away, knowing she got off easy. Of course, Draco might decide to lecture her later once her hand was better and they weren't in danger of getting caught out after curfew. Hermione went forward and hugged Harry once more, kissing his cheek quickly, before letting Draco pull her out of the classroom.

Hermione wasn't worried about Harry; he was quite sneaky when he needed to be. She and Draco were almost caught by Filch but were saved by a quick disillusionment charm. It took them almost twenty minutes to get back to the common room but once they were inside, Hermione relaxed and couldn't help but realize how bloody exhausted she was.

The common room was empty so she took that as a sign that they should head to bed as well. Draco took the cream out of her pocket and applied another dose himself, slipping it back in her pocket before kissing her forehead. His eyes were serious as he met her gaze.

"Promise me you won't lie about this again." She nodded guiltily.

"I promise, Drake." He smiled at her before giving her a good natured shove towards her dorm.

"Go to bed and get some sleep. I'm sure tomorrow is going to be just as terrible as today." Hermione nodded and listened.

After all, every day that Umbridge was there was fucking terrible.

A/N- Not as long as my usual chapters but it still needed to happen. Hermione and her good intentions...smdh. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks again for reading and reviewing, you guys are great. Leave me a message after the beep and let me know what you think.

Next chapter, Trelawney gets the boot.

Love,

Alicia


	91. Chapter 91

A/N- Alright, y'all, I'm back. I have so much stressful shit going on right now that I literally buried it in a chapter, which is good for you guys. I did have a bit of a problem replying to some reviews so if you didn't get an answer, I apologize. Fanfiction hates me some days and loves me others. So fickle. Anyways, special thanks to everyone out there for reading, reviewing, following, and favoriting this story. You guys are just awesome for supporting me like this. Anyways, enough for now, hope you enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: Just the same as before: I still don't own a thing and still haven't made any money off this story or any other. Still a broke bitch. Look up J. Rowling if you want to see who owns this wonderful world of Harry Potter.

Chapter 91

November 15, 1995

Harry raked his hands through his hair as he sidestepped Mandy for the fifth time that week. She still reached out and caught the back of his robes, keeping him from making a clean escape. He sighed as he turned to face her, so tired of having the same discussion with her over and over. Honestly, how hard was it to understand that he didn't want to shag anymore?

"Harry, I just don't understand. What did I do wrong?" Harry growled under his breath, wishing that he could just be on his way to breakfast where the others were surely waiting for him.

"You didn't do anything wrong. I've told you already, I just don't want to sleep around anymore. It makes me feel like shite. It isn't just you I've stopped fucking, it's everyone. Ask around, I'm sure they'll tell you." Mandy sniffed delicately.

"I asked Lisa and she said that you were still fucking her. What does she have that I don't?" Harry groaned loudly. Leave it to Turpin to stir the pot.

"I'm not fucking Lisa. I haven't fucked anyone from Hogwarts since last year. I told you the truth when I said that I wasn't going to fuck anyone anymore. I don't like how it makes me feel so you all need to just get over it." Mandy slowly spread a smile across her features.

"What about if we dated for awhile before we started sleeping together? Then it wouldn't be fucking, it would be making love. We'd have a connection and it would be meaningful." Harry wanted to barf on her shoes but he didn't want to make her cry. He knew that he was a fucking arsehole but he didn't want to make her cry.

"No, Mandy, I don't want to date you. I don't want to date any of the girls I've been fucking. I just want everyone to leave me alone." Mandy's face fell for a few minutes before his words finally registered and she glared at him.

"You want to fuck someone that you haven't been fucking. You want to date her." Harry knew that his face was flaming red but there was no controlling it. Rather than speak, he lowered his head and stared at the floor. Rather than be a complete cunt about it, Mandy reached out and took his hands, squeezing them softly.

"I'm not happy about it, Harry, not a tiny little bit. However, if she makes you happy, I wish you the best. Don't fuck it up." Harry looked up at her and could see that she was genuine. He gave her an honest-to-goodness smile in return before speaking.

"Thanks, Mandy. That means a lot." He considered hugging her but decided against it. He was already suffering because he hadn't had sex in just over three months. While that wasn't a long time for most people, it was a very long time for him. He didn't want to ruin his streak by tempting himself. She gave him an understanding smile before turning on her heel and walking in the opposite direction.

Harry didn't wait around to be accosted again. While he was thrilled that Mandy would now leave him alone, he wasn't holding his breath for the other girls to do so. They were all after him, all of them cornering him as often as they could to try to pin him down and get answers out of him as to why he no longer wanted to spend quality time with them. He tried to be honest with them but it was clear after the fourth or fifth time of answering them that they didn't want the truth. They just wanted him to change his answer and give them what they wanted.

Lisa Turpin was by far the worst of the lot. She was close to stalking him; the only reason he got any rest from her following him was because she was terrified of Hermione. He made sure to name-drop her whenever she cornered him too. It probably wasn't right but he could see no other way out of the situation. Besides, he doubted that Hermione would be angry in this incidence.

The other girls chased after him but usually left him alone once he told them that he wasn't interested. There were a few die-hards that continued to chase after him, Cho Chang being one of them, but they were easily enough brushed off. He felt terrible for doing so but there was only so many ways that he could tell them that he wasn't interested. Besides, he had noticed that Cho was panting after Cedric again since Hermione and Cedric had gone their separate ways. He wasn't sure if the older boy would give her another chance after she had essentially sent him packing to sleep with Harry but he supposed that it was better than chasing after him.

Aside from dodging girls numerous times a day, life at Hogwarts really wasn't much different than it usually was aside from the Toad's Rule. Ron and Ginny were settling in well with their new last name; those in Gryffindor hadn't really asked much about it though Harry knew that Fred and George hadn't made it a secret. Most of their house had refrained from speaking about it in front of them so as not to anger them. While it was clear that the pair of them were still quite angry about the situation, neither one of them complained to Harry about it anymore.

He knew that there was a bit of teasing done by the Ravenclaws and Slytherin but since he never witnessed it first hand, there wasn't much that he could do about it. He wasn't the most thrilled about defending Ginny in the face of her peers but decided that his conscience wouldn't allow him to do otherwise. He wasn't sure why he was acting like that since she hadn't made a single move on him since they started speaking again. Even though she had been a little creepy at times, her actions didn't scream of someone that was stalking him.

Ron seemed to be having a harder time adjusting to the new last name than Ginny. He wasn't sure as to the reason but he supposed that it didn't matter. Harry had made clear where he stood on the matter and since he refused to listen to the redhead complain about his family, Ron instead turned his story to the aspect that would gain him the most attention. Harry normally wouldn't have minded except he was part of that angle that Ron was now working.

Ron told everyone that would listen that he was Harry's first cousin and just how they were related through Lily Potter. Of course, the half-bloods and muggleborns were easily convinced since they were aware of D.N.A. was and what genes were and how they affected you. The purebloods, however, gave him a confused look that spoke volumes as to how they thought he was as stupid as they came, and walked away. Harry probably would have been offended on his best mates behalf if it hadn't been at his expense.

Harry had tried to tell Ron to stop, that it would just paint a bigger target on his back now that Voldemort was back. Ron had openly scoffed at him, telling him that he doubted that Voldemort knew what D.N.A. was. Harry told him that he was a fool if he believed that, telling him that Tom Riddle had been a half-blood, which meant there was a good chance that he was educated in muggle sciences as well.

It hadn't deterred either Prewett; Harry had finally let it go, telling himself that if something happened to them because of their mouths it wouldn't be his fault and there was nothing else that could have been done. Of course, he knew that he would still feel guilty. Therefore, he decided to write Molly and tell her, hoping that she would tell her children to stop capitalizing on his name because of the danger it put them in. It hadn't worked so far but he had high hopes.

Harry was waved over to the Gryffindor table, mostly by Ron and Dean. He gave Hermione and the rest of his friends and family a small wave, showing that he would sit with them at their first class. He took the seat next to Dean and watched as Ron threw an arm around Parvati's shoulders. The Indian witch smiled at him sweetly before turning her attention back to her toast.

"Hey, mate, you going to sit with us in class today?" Harry shook his head.

"Nah, I promised Hermione that I would sit with her during Potions. She said that she has to show me something about the Draught of Peace. Who am I to turn down hints when it comes to Potions?" Ron scowled at him but nodded.

"What about Care of Magical Creatures? It's our first class. She can't possibly need you for both classes." Harry groaned inwardly. This was the worst part of having two sets of friends that didn't like each other. Ron always made him feel like he was choosing his family over him and he hated it. He was sure that Hermione and Draco didn't like him sitting with the lions but they never made him feel bad about it. He wished that Ron could be the same way. Harry nodded.

"Yeah, sure, I'll stand with you during Care." Ron looked so happy about him agreeing to spend time with him that Harry didn't bother getting angry about him almost guilt tripping him into spending time with him during class. Honestly, Harry should want to spend time with Ron and Pav. They were his best mates and he had cared about them since his first year. It wasn't right for him to throw that all away just because he had found his own family and had separate friends now.

Harry ate the rest of his breakfast in quiet; it wasn't hard to do since the rest of the lions were shoveling food in as fast as Ron did. Harry had to admit that table manners were far more prevalent at the Slytherin table. He wished that Ron would gain a few, if only to keep the food from flying out of his mouth when he spoke with his mouth full.

When the bell rang, dismissing them to their first class, Harry gathered his things and waited for Ron and Pav to do the same. Once they were ready, they started outside to head for Hagrid's hut. Hagrid had just arrived, late for the start of the school year, so this would be the first class they had had with him. Harry knew that Hermione was sad that they were going to lose Professor Kettleburn but Harry was still a staunch Hagrid supporter. He knew that his friend made terrible judgement calls about certain things but the fact remained that Hagrid was still his first friend since entering the wizarding world.

The class gathered around and waited impatiently for Hagrid to show. He could see Hermione and Draco on the other side of the circle, Daphne and Neville standing with them. Harry felt a tiny twinge of guilt when he realized that he wanted to be over there standing with them rather than with Ron and Pav. Just as he was about to spiral into his melancholy thoughts, Hagrid appeared out of the Forbidden Forest and started class.

The lesson wasn't anything to get excited about, just a review lesson over nifflers. It was a lesson that Harry would have skipped if Umbridge hadn't been in residence. They were assigned an essay, something that Hagrid rarely did, for homework. Harry could see the surprise on his classmate's faces; Hagrid was more likely to assign a sketch of the beast you were learning about or a diary of what the beast did throughout the day. It just went to show that not only were the students suffering under Umbridge's rule, the teachers were as well.

Class dismissed and Harry bid his friends farewell, hurrying along to walk with Hermione and his other friends. She gave him a soft smile but said nothing; he realized that she rarely spoke after he had spent time with his Gryffindor friends. He wondered if it was because she didn't want to take the chance of them arguing or if she was angry that he had spent time with them in the first place.

Harry watched Hermione shiver in the cold November wind and even though they were close to the castle, he drew his wand and cast a warming charm on her robes. She flashed him a grateful smile and looked up just in time to see that Draco was smirking at him. Sure, the blond knew what he was doing but he hated having him rub his face in it.

They found their way through the corridors to the dungeons, taking their seats in the Potions classroom. Hermione was seated next to him while Draco and Daphne were seated across from them. They had managed to pull their texts, quill, and ink out before Professor Snape entered the room, his robes billowing behind him. Harry quirked an eyebrow at Hermione; even though Severus was rarely in a good mood when he had to teach, he seemed especially bitter today. However, the Gryffindors seemed to have missed the memo since Ron and Pav were laughing softly over something that Dean and Seamus had said.

"Mr. Prewett and Miss Patil, that will be twenty points a piece for laughing at frivolities during class time. I expect you to be focused the moment you enter this classroom, not gossiping with your friends." Both of them flushed with anger and embarrassment and stared at the texts in front of them.

"We are going to be brewing the Draught of Peace today. You have your notes from the last class. Don't show me what complete idiots you are by blowing up your cauldron. Don't be a complete disappointment." Harry hated days like this. He knew that Severus didn't hate him but he was always on the receiving end of his ire because it was expected of him to keep his cover. Didn't mean that it didn't suck for him though. He had already served two detentions with the Potions Master for this very reason. Of course, they were merely spent doing homework and being tutored by dark-haired man, but it was still embarrassing to be on the receiving end of his ire.

He assigned them their potion and bade them to begin. Harry was always happy when he was paired with Hermione. Not only was she brilliant when it came to Potions, she took the time to explain to him if he didn't understand something. Which is what he assumed the lesson was for today. He had told her that he didn't understand why you had to use powdered ingredients rather than crushed. To him, it sounded as though they were the same thing but she had promised him that this wasn't the case.

Harry listened carefully as she explained, teaching him as he knew that she had been taught. They brewed the potion together, mostly her brewing it and him preparing the ingredients and handing them to her when she needed them. It wasn't the best system but it worked for them. He got to see her brilliance in Potions firsthand and get a good grade while at it so he considered it a win.

They turned in a perfect potion and he was rewarded with a curt nod from Severus. There was the lightest of brushes against his mind so he was reassured that he had done well and the professor wasn't angry at him. Daphne and Draco were quick to hand in a potion after himself and Hermione, earning them an O as well.

Harry was still gathering his things when the bell rang, dismissing them to lunch. Once he had his bag slung over his shoulder, he turned to offer Hermione his arm, something he rarely did. She looked quite surprised but took it goodnaturedly in the end. She gave him a small half-smile before acting as though it was an everyday occurrence that they did every day after class.

Harry led Hermione to the Great Hall for lunch; they took their usual seats and he smiled as Hermione started to load his plate with food. Since it was shepherd's pie, she gave him a massive heaping, one that he normally wouldn't have even dared to put on his plate. However, since Hermione had dished it up, he would do his best to eat every last bite. He could barely contain his laughter when she only have herself an eighth of what she had given him and was only nibbling on what she had served herself.

"You're going to waste away if you don't eat more than that, Mia." Hermione smiled at him and shook her head.

"No, I'm just not that hungry. I promise you, I'm completely healthy. I have to practice health scans for Daphne at least once a week because she's convinced I don't eat enough." Harry let out a laugh, one that could be heard clear down the Slytherin table.

"Alright, I believe you. I wouldn't want to wear you out by making you cast one too many health scans." She cracked a smile at him and continued to eat her meal. Draco and Daphne were sitting next to them and even though Daphne was talking to Blaise, he could tell that her attention was on Draco. Harry leaned over and spoke softly.

"Has she shown any inkling of splitting with Blaise?" He gave a firm shake of the head but kept his eyes downcast. Harry knew exactly how he felt. Like a fucking idiot for letting the best thing in the world slip through your fingers because you were too fucking blind and stupid to realize that it wouldn't always be there. Harry clapped a hand down on his friend's shoulder in a show of support.

"She'll figure out what she wants eventually. Just hang tight." Draco nodded but stayed quiet. Harry understood; there really wasn't anything that he could say and if there was, the dining room table in the Great Hall wouldn't be the appropriate place to say it.

Harry turned to watch the rest of his friends interact together; Juliet and Luna were sitting off to themselves, seemingly discussing something important. He was still confused as to their relationship. Hermione had told him that Luna was a first cousin to herself and Draco but had never met Luna until she started hanging out with them again. Yet, she seemed closer to the young Gryffindor than she was to anyone else. It was just so strange that he usually left the relationship alone in his mind.

Daphne and Blaise were whispering to themselves. He wasn't sure what they were talking about but Daphne didn't look pleased. Neville and the twins were laughing with Millie and Tracey, telling them some prank that they had played. He caught Juliet giving them a long stare and he wondered if she was jealous. It was clear that she had a crush on the twosome but they were still seeing Angelina and Katie. Though, from what Harry had heard through the grapevine, those relationships were rocky as well.

Harry sighed as he considered his own predicament. In love with a woman that was convinced he didn't like her like that and he had done nothing but prove it to her. He knew that he should talk to her now that she wasn't with Cedric but he wanted to have more time away from the girls to prove to her that he was serious about her. In time, he would tell her how he felt and just what he was hoping for.

-O-

Hermione gathered her things together as the bell dismissing them to class rang. Harry and Draco had Divination next while she had Magical Theory. Hermione couldn't be more excited; after this year, they would start spell creation, something that she looked forward to.

Both boys wished her well and started off together for Divination. Hermione smiled to herself and started for Magical Theory, held in the Transfiguration classroom since Professor McGonagall was the professor. Today they were going to be learning of how the theory of magic was applied to the muggle world and the things that could be changed just by the knowledge alone. It was probably going to be the hardest class for Hermione yet since she had never been in the muggle world and had no idea about anything to do with it.

She took her usual seat at the front of the class and got her things out to make sure that she took superb notes. Since it was a class that she wasn't the most confident in, she was determined to take the best notes possible. Just as she had readied herself, the door to the classroom opened and Professor Umbridge entered, trusty clipboard in hand. Hermione wanted to groan but made sure to only lower her eyes so she couldn't see the hatred in them when she looked at her. None of her classmates appeared all that excited to see the woman either. It was only a moment later that Professor Cat entered and sneered at Umbridge.

"You couldn't ruin someone else's day, Dolores?" Hermione wanted to giggle at her professor's words. However, she made sure that she remained silent. The last thing that she wanted was another detention.

"This is the last class that hasn't been graced with my presence, Minerva. I would have thought you'd be grateful to be told how you're doing as a teacher." Professor Cat just arched an eyebrow at Umbridge.

"Since you're hardly a teacher yourself, I fail to see how your opinion would matter. You may be here at the behest of Minister Fudge but let's not fool ourselves into thinking it's because you actually know what you're doing when it comes to teaching. If you did, you'd have your students doing more than copying text out of a book." Hermione wanted to fucking cheer but remained silent. She could see that the other students were just as happy as she was but they were practicing prudence as well. Umbridge, however, wasn't pleased.

"You will keep your opinions to yourself, Minerva, or you'll find yourself out of this castle and on your arse." Professor Cat merely snorted at the older woman before turning to her class and beginning her lecture.

Hermione took careful notes and made sure to ask questions when she wasn't sure about a point in the lecture. She usually had no problems in this class but since it had to do with the muggle world, she was very unsure of herself. She could also admit that Umbridge being there was making her a little bit nervous. When the lecture finally ended, McGonagall gave them their assignment before turning her attention to Umbridge once more.

"Shall we go over your problems with my teaching right now or will it keep until there isn't an audience to realize how ridiculous you are?" Umbridge gave her a sickly sweet smile before turning her head to look out at the class and speaking.

"Miss Black." Hermione knew that no good could come of this but there was no way that she couldn't answer. Therefore, she kept her eyes cast downward even though she wanted to let her magic free and disembowel the woman.

"Yes, Professor?" The High Inquisitor gave her just enough of a smile to show her her teeth.

"Do you think that Professor McGonagall is a good teacher? I know that she's the Head of Gryffindor and shows favoritism to her lions over the Slytherins. I'm sure that's quite vexing." Hermione knew exactly what the woman was trying to do. She wanted Hermione to turn on Professor McGonagall and tell everyone that she favored the Gryffindors over the Slytherins. Of course, while that might have been true in her first and second year, it was hardly the truth now. Professor Cat had gone a long ways to changing her ways and Hermione wasn't about to throw her under the bus for it now, no matter what the cost.

"Professor McGonagall is an excellent professor. She's always fair and never favors one student over another. In fact, I think I win more points from her than I do any other professor, including my Head of House." Umbridge's eyes hardened and Hermione knew that she was in trouble. Professor Cat was giving her a saddened look that showed just how much she knew those words of loyalty were going to cost her.

"Detention with me, Miss Black, for your blatant lies. Meet me tonight at six." Hermione felt her stomach drop, knowing that she was going to be subjecting herself to another however many hours to self-torture. Rather than give the woman the pleasure of her unease, she gave her a nod and turned back to her assignment. The rest of the class remained silent until the bell rang, telling them that they were dismissed.

Hermione stood and gathered her things, not really wanting to speak to anyone. Umbridge was gone and the rest of her peers were mostly gone as well. It was Professor Cat that approached her and laid a soft hand on her shoulder. Hermione could hear the regret in her voice and she fucking hated it.

"Next time, I beg for you to lie, Hermione. You know what that hag is going to do to you." Hermione shook her head, hoping to make her lie believable. She couldn't afford for McGonagall to tell Severus and make him think that she was torturing her. Him ending up in Azkaban wasn't an option.

"She doesn't make me use the blood quill. I think she's too scared of my father and uncle." McGonagall narrowed her eyes at her before finally relenting.

"Don't lie to me, girl. I know the truth and I know there a good reason why you lie. I'll keep your secrets for now." Hermione nodded and gave her a grateful smile.

"Thank you, professor." Since there was nothing else that needed to be said, Hermione hurried on her way, sure that she was going to be late for Herbology.

The November air was brisk and cold on her cheeks; it served its purpose to wake her up and make sure that she was in the proper state of mind to deal with dangerous plants. Professor Sprout was standing outside, quick to direct them to Greenhouse Three where the more dangerous plants were held.

Hermione knew that Draco and Harry were watching her closely but she was hoping that she could just attend the detention and not have to tell them. It would be a lot less complicated that way. She followed Professor Sprout's instructions perfectly when it came to the venomous tentacula and proudly showed off the vial of venom that would fetch a pretty penny on the market on Diagon Alley.

They were assigned an essay and released a few minutes before the bell. Hermione was thankful, grateful to spend a few extra moments in the bright sunshine and fresh air before it got too cold to enjoy anything of the sort outside. She felt an arm slip around her waist and saw that it was Draco, looking at her quite expectantly. With a soft sigh, she smiled at him.

"How was Divination?" He gave a short bark of laughter.

"Umbridge was there. I'm pretty sure she's going to sack her. It just sucks because I actually feel bad for the old broad." Hermione nodded and sighed. She understood completely.

"Maybe we can do something to help." Draco shook his head in the negative.

"No, we can't. We aren't going to do anything that will bring more attention to us. Just sit back and stay quiet." Hermione couldn't help but squirm just a little at his words. However, it was Harry that caught onto her discomfort.

"What happened?" Hermione sighed and raked her hand through her hair.

"Umbridge showed up in Magical Theory. She and McGonagall were having gos at each other and she asked me what I thought of McGonagall's teaching. I told her I thought it was fine and she assigned me detention." Harry cursed loudly before throwing several air punches. Hermione cowered back, not because she was afraid, but because she was tired of having to deal with shit like that. Draco wrapped an arm around her shoulder and sighed.

"There's no way to get around it?" She shook her head, already knowing the answer. Draco sighed now, completely forlorn.

"Just get through it as quickly as you can and I'll help you put the cream on afterwards. Are you sure you won't let me tell Severus?" Hermione shook her head vehemently. Uncle Sev had already told her that he would kill her if he forced her to use the blood quill. Azkaban would be the next stop and she couldn't bear to think of him locked away in that horrible prison.

"No, we mustn't tell him. I don't want him in Azkaban on my account." Draco sighed but nodded. He reached out and pulled Harry into their small circle by the shoulder.

"You can't tell Uncle Sev. He'll go to Azkaban if you tell him." Harry just glared at the both of then.

"Somebody is going to have to do something. We can't keep on living like this." Hermione's eyes were blazing in fury, that much she knew as fact.

"It won't be Uncle Sev. He has given up more than enough already and that's not even saying what he's going to have to give up yet. Leave him out of it." Harry finally sighed and looked down at the floor before nodding.

"You're right, I'm sorry." Hermione gave him a stiff nod, telling him that he was forgiven. Rather than say anymore, Hermione pulled them out of the greenhouse and into the cool afternoon air.

They made their way through the grounds to the castle, the three of them taking their usual seats at the Slytherin table. Hermione was sure that Harry's Gryffindor friends were feeling pretty ignored right about now but that wasn't her fault. He needed to get his shit together and handle his own friends. It wasn't her job to do so for him.

Draco dished her up some pot roast, potatoes, and carrots. It was usually one of her favorite meals at Hogwarts but since she had a detention from hell to look forward to, she really wasn't all that hungry. She picked at her meal while the other devoured theirs, Harry and Draco included. She noticed that Draco was hanging on every word that Daphne said since it was clear that she had Blaise were arguing.

As the hour drew closer to six, she pushed her plate away from her and tried to calm her nerves. If there was one thing that her uncle had taught her when he had shown her how to master occlumency, it was how to always meet things with a calm face and to show no fear. It wasn't always easy but it was more so when she knew that there were only so many hours in a day that the woman could punish her.

Hermione wished her fellow Slytherins and family good night and started for Umbridge's office. Once she was outside of her office, she took a deep breath and made sure to fortify herself in case that was what she needed to do. After her knock was answered with the customary 'come in', she made sure to always note how the woman's office was arranged. This time it was different and Umbridge didn't seem the type of person to embrace change. Once again, she was beckoned to sit in the chair next to her desk, quill and parchment in front of her. Her hand was already throbbing and she hadn't even started. Umbridge started softly.

"I can't have you mocking me day in and day out in classes. That's the reason for your punishment. I could care less what you actually think." Hermione remained stoic and silent before picking up the quill and beginning.

"What shall I write today, professor?" She smirked at Hermione.

"I like what we used last time. 'I will always do as I'm told.'" Hermione gritted her teeth but turned her attention back to the parchment in front of her.

This time, the burn of the quill wasn't a surprise. If fact, she was able to tune most of the pain out of her mind until the very end when she was quite sure that she cut through a tendon. Blood once again dripped onto the floor beneath her and it was clear that the woman was going to continue the torture until her hand was completely ruined. However, her inner thoughts were interrupted by the toad herself.

"Please put down the quill and leave. I have a Divination teacher to fire and can't do that while I'm in here with you." Hermione, while she fully believed that Professor Trelawney was a complete sham of a teacher, didn't want her fired by Professor Umbridge. However, that didn't mean that she wanted to stay and continue her detention. Hermione was quick to set down the quill and even quicker to disappear. However, rather than go to Harry and Draco, she hurried to Professor McGonagall. When the older woman answered the door to her quarters, Hermione breathed a sigh of relief.

"Umbridge is getting ready to fire Trelawney. I can't stand the woman and I think she's a complete charlatan but I don't want her fired like that. Can you help her?" McGonagall straightened her spine and nodded.

"I'll do my best. Make sure you go spend time with your friends so she can't blame you." Hermione nodded, already knowing that she was headed for library.

It wasn't a long walk from Professor McGonagall's office to the library. Once she was there, she took her seat between Harry and Draco and pulled the cream out of her pocket while everyone was watching. After she slathered it on nice and thick, she made sure to meet both their eyes.

"Umbridge is going to fire Trelawney. She told me so and I told McGonagall before I came here." They were interrupted by a shrill shriek of irritation. Hermione wanted to laugh when she heard the sound; it was clearly Umbridge and it was also clear that she had thwarted her when it came to firing Trelawney.

The group that had attended the library stood and gathered their things, making sure that they had everything so they wouldn't have to come back. Harry's hand was soothing in hers and she tried not to let it get to her, tried not to get used to what it represented. However, in this moment, his hand in hers wasn't what was important. It was Trelawney and what was happening with her. They rounded a corner and found that they were the last of many students to gather round the scene at hand.

Trelawney was in the middle of the circle, tears down her cheeks, her trunk packed and at her side. She was begging Umbridge not to cast her away, telling her that she hadn't been outside the castle in over a decade. It was clear that Umbridge was enjoying the scene, the power she held over the woman, and the sheer torment she was inflicting. All in all, it made Hermione sick. Umbridge's voice was steady and just barely contained her glee when she spoke.

"If you wanted to keep your job, you should have taught the children as you were charged to do." Hermione glared at her but it did no good. The woman was clearly enjoying herself. McGonagall went to Trelawney and pulled her into a hug, whispering in her ear, though what it was that she was saying, Hermione couldn't say. After Trelawney quieted, Umbridge turned a sneer to Professor Cat.

"You're going to be next, Minerva." This time, it was Minerva that laughed. Her laughter wasn't that of the amused, but more mocking than Hermione had ever heard. It seemed as though Umbridge wasn't expecting it either judging by the look on her face.

"You won't be able to fire me. The only person in this country that could teach Transfiguration like I do would be Dumbledore. Since you're well on your way to outlawing him as well, I doubt that would happen. We all know that your N.E.W.T. score of a D in the subject won't see you teaching it in my place." Umbridge turned red and it was clear that she was furious. However, she was saved from speaking further when Dumbledore arrived and gave a serene smile to those still watching the scene unfold.

"As High Inquisitor, you have the right to banish my teachers. However, you do not have the right to order them from the grounds. That power still lies with the Headmaster." Umbridge gave him a sweet smile before speaking softly.

"For now." Hermione didn't wait for her to say anything else because she knew that she wouldn't. Umbridge turned on her heel and stalked away, leaving a silent crowd in her wake. Hermione couldn't help but want to lash out at the Headmaster for allowing this horrid beast of a woman into their realm. Her hand was no longer twinging in pain but it would be hard to forget just what the woman was capable of.

Professor Cat led Trelawney away, her trunk magicked away by the elves, while Hermione sagged against Harry and Draco. She knew that Neville and the twins were around somewhere since they had been in the library with them. Hermione turned to the pair of them and saw that they were watching her carefully. She gave them both a soft smile before speaking.

"I'm exhausted and I need to sleep. I'm going to head back to the dorms and sleep until it's time for breakfast. I'm not even going to get up and run tomorrow." Harry stepped forward and hugged her close, his arms holding her tight and making her feel safe. He kissed the side of her head while she wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tight.

Once she pulled away, she gave him another smile before linking her arms with Draco. She gave him a hard smile.

"Take me home, Drake." Draco wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gave Harry a wave before leading her down towards the dungeons.

After all, it had been a long day.

A/N- Another chapter done, y'all. I hope you enjoyed it. It seems as though the chapters for year five haven't been as long so far. Not sure why that is. Anyways, thanks to everyone out there reading and reviewing, you guys are awesome. Thank you for taking the time to let me know how I'm doing, it's greatly appreciated.

Next chapter, the idea of the D.A. is born.

Love,

Alicia


	92. Chapter 92

A/N- Again, thanks to everyone out there who are reading and reviewing my story. You guys are seriously awesome. My son is better, I'm no longer sick, and my grandfather is still hanging in there. To everyone that are still sending good thoughts, vibes, and prayers, thank you so much. All are appreciated and my family needs them. My poor grandma is at her wit's end. Hope you all enjoy this chapter!

**Shout out to Snowflake Dazzle for being my 4500th reviewer! You're one of my most loyal reviewers and you're freaking awesome!**

Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story except the personal twist on the plot line. The characters belong to our queen and the original story line belongs to Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle. I'm still a broke bitch so I haven't made any money off this story or any other.

Chapter 92

November 23, 1995

Hermione scooped the last of her eggs onto her spoon and made herself eat it. She could feel the tension at the Slytherin table and even though it had nothing to do with her, it was starting to wear on her.

Blaise had broken up with Daphne just three days before; Daphne wasn't overly upset. It was mutual, after all. However, she was more embarrassed because of how he had done it. Rather than do it quietly and privately, he had done it right before Potions in front of the whole class. To say that she had been mortified had been an understatement.

Of course, everyone tried to stay out of it. Hermione didn't want to take sides but she was supporting Daphne as best she could. She was her best friend, after all. Pansy especially was giving her a hard time about it. Draco had been the one to hex her the first time he had heard it, surprising Hermione and Daphne alike.

Both Daphne and Blaise were both quiet at meal times now. Neither one of them were trying to turn their friends against each other or start arguments; they just simply kept to themselves and tried not to cause a fuss. Hermione knew that her cousin was thrilled that the pair had broken up but was waiting until Daphne was in a better spot in the break up to make his move. Hermione could only hope that he was serious about her friend and wouldn't end up hurting her.

The bell rang, dismissing them from breakfast to their first class of the day, in this case, Transfiguration. Hermione hoped against all hope that she wasn't going to stare Umbridge in the face for this class because she wanted to know if Professor McGonagall thought that she was ready to begin the second part of the meditation to find her animagus form.

Harry was sitting with his Gryffindor friends and for once, the twins and Neville were over there with him. Luna and Juliet were still sitting with them but they were carrying on a conversation about one of Juliet's tests she was going to take that day. Hermione gave them both a smile, happy they were growing closer even though she was just a tiny bit jealous. Draco stood and offered her his arm, smiling down at her as if he could read her thoughts.

"Shall I escort you, Lady Black?" Hermione growled at him using her title but nodded in the end. She stood and threaded her arm through his and let him pull her out of the Great Hall and through the corridors. She could hear her friends behind her, speaking softly about she didn't know what. Vince and Greg continued to pull away from herself and Draco and were starting to hang around with Theo more; it was sad to watch but Hermione knew that there was nothing that she could do to stop it. Who they followed was going to have to be a personal choice and following in their father's footsteps appeared to be what the two boys wanted. Hermione was thankful that Draco still had Blaise since he came from a more neutral family.

After entering the Transfiguration classroom, the Slytherin pair took their usual seats in the front of the class. Harry usually sat there with them but today he was caught up in a conversation with Ron and Dean. They seemed to be arguing animatedly, probably about quidditch, so Hermione paid them no mind. Daphne took the seat on the other side of her and Hermione flashed her best friend an encouraging smile.

Professor McGonagall entered and called the class to order, beginning her class with no fanfare. Hermione liked that about her teaching; she never beat around the bush and she never wasted time. They were learning to turn a dinner plate into a mushroom, something that Hermione had learned ages ago and hadn't used since. More than once, she wondered why nobody had come up with a way to cast spells that would change the object into whatever you wanted that was intent-based. It would be much easier than remembering a million and one spells in the end.

Hermione still compared her notes to those of Professor McGonagall's lecture, finding no new points that needed to be wrote down. Once they were done with the lecture, Professor Cat passed out stacks of dinner plates and bid them to start practicing. Hermione changed hers to a mushroom on her first try, same as Draco. Professor McGonagall just shook her head and smiled at them before taking their plates back.

"You may work on homework while I supervise the rest of the class." Harry crowed in triumphant at the exact same time so she hurried to his side and Hermione watched as she patted him on the shoulder and took his plate from him as well. Professor McGonagall shot a look at her and Draco and spoke softly.

"Stay after class. I need to speak with the pair of you." Hermione gave her a happy nod before pulling her warding homework from Madam Cambridge out of her bag. Draco heaved a deep sigh and did the same.

A half hour later, most of the class had successfully transformed their plates to mushrooms and turned them in. It was almost unheard of for Professor McGonagall to dismiss class early so they were happily surprised when she let them go five minutes early. Since Charms was so close, they didn't even spend it hurrying to the next class. Hermione, Draco, and Harry dragged their feet and were the last ones in the classroom when their professor finally turned sharp eyes their way.

"I think you're all ready to progress to the next stage of meditation. Usually the first stage takes the longest since it's finding your center and blocking out everything but what you're focusing on but since you're all three trained in occlumency, it was far easier for you to accomplish. That is why it is almost impossible to read the thoughts of an animagus. The inner animal clouds the mind and makes it impossible to understand." She paused and gave them a small smile.

"I want you all to start tonight before you retire for the night. Be together or in your beds, make sure that there is quiet and you won't be disturbed. I want you to meditate like you did before, but this time, rather than focus on clearing your mind, I want you to focus on your personality traits. The good, the bad, what makes you the person you are. Dig down deep and let your mind lead you to where it will. You won't discover your form the first night so don't get discouraged. It'll take awhile; I had a Mastery in the subject when I completed my transformation and it still took me a month to discover my form." Hermione nodded, beyond excited to begin learning what her form would be. She could see that Draco and Harry were just as excited as she was. Professor Cat saw their expressions on their faces and gave them an indulgent smile.

"You're going to be late and Filius won't happy. Off with you. We'll meet again next week and discuss your progress." Hermione happily wrapped an arm around both boys' elbows and started to pull them out of the classroom. She looked over her shoulder and tossed one last thank you to her professor before leading her boys through the corridor to Charms.

Everyone was already in place, seated and waiting for Professor Flitwick to arrive. Hermione took her usual seat at the beginning of the class while Harry took the open one next to her. Draco sat between Neville and Daphne, clearly happy to be sitting next to the girl that he planned on asking to court very soon. Just as she withdrew her text, ink, and quill, the pint-sized professor arrived with a smile on his face and a spring in his step. Hermione wasn't sure what he was so happy about until he shut the door and turned to his class.

"Professor Umbridge has fallen ill today. She isn't going to be visiting today." There was a small burst of applause from the Gryffindors and as much as Hermione wanted to join in, she refrained. It wouldn't do for her to show her hand and her loyalties in public for no good reason. She did make a mental note to speak to the twins and ask exactly what they had done to her to make her sick. It would most certainly need to be repeated.

Professor Flitwick started the lecture on the color change charm, a spell that Hermione had had fun with in the past. She remembered changing the color of her father's shoes when she was only ten years old after stealing his wand, making one blue and one black. He had thought that he had mixed them up the first day and changed them. However, when he had the same thing happen a second day in a row, he caught on and then caught her. There had been no punishment, her father had only laughed with her, telling her that he was happy that was taking after him just a little bit.

Harry compared his notes while Hermione let her mind drift. The day after her last detention with Umbridge a week before, the Slytherin had had an epiphany. Nobody else seemed to agree with her but they had finally agreed to it once she wouldn't let it go.

*Flashback*

Hermione sat in the library with her usual group of friends though she wasn't really paying attention to what she was doing, let alone what they were doing. Her mind was still on her detention from the night before and how the hag was getting away with not only giving horrid detentions, she was getting away with not teaching them proper defense. Now that the Dark Lord was back, learning to protect themselves was the most important thing they could possibly do. Suddenly, she sat up straight and smiled, an idea hitting her.

Harry could start an illegal club where they could learn defense. Nobody would ever want to learn from her or Draco, even though it was proven that their fathers were no longer dark, there was still a lot of mistrust between them and some of the other houses. Most of Gryffindor still didn't like them, let alone trust them. Sure, the purebloods in the other houses didn't have many problems with them but there were far more half bloods and muggleborns. Harry would be the one that they would all listen to, even if they didn't believe what he said about Voldemort being back. Draco shot her a look that was clearly questioning, arching a brow at her until she spoke.

"I know how we can get around Umbridge not teaching the students anything." Daphne leaned in closer. While she was one of the better students, she still needed to do the practical work. Hermione knew she had a mischievous smile on her face as she spoke.

"I think we should start an illegal defense club. Run it behind Umbridge's back. See how the toad likes it when we all get O's on our O.W.L.s then." Daphne's eyes widened and she started to shake her head no. Draco looked at her as if she were mad and Harry looked intrigued. Only the twins looked as though they were already on board. Daphne was the first to break the silence.

"Hermione, you can't be serious. Do you know what she would do to us if we were to get caught?" Hermione shrugged her shoulders.

"She's already doing it. She's already putting half the school in detention for the stupidest reasons. At least if it were for this, it would be for a good one." Draco cocked an eyebrow at her and titled his head.

"You really think this would be a good idea? Nobody is going to want to learn from you. According to them, you're just a dirty snake." Hermione cut her eyes over to Harry and the Gryffindor started to shake his head.

"Oh no, you aren't going to get me roped into teaching this thing. I have no idea how to teach. You know that you're a much better teacher, Mia, you teach all of us every single day." Hermione shook her head impatiently.

"That may be but the other houses won't listen to me and you know it. Most of Gryffindor still hates my guts and the other houses aren't much better. Only the purebloods really know me. You know that it has to be you." Harry shook his head, raking a hand through his hair. Neville and the twins were watching with trepidation. Daphne was still shaking her head no.

"They all think I'm a liar, Hermione. None of them believe a word out of my mouth. No, Fudge hasn't come out and said that I'm a liar, that Voldemort isn't back, but everyone knows he wants to. All the articles in the paper imply it. Everyone is saying it behind my back, I'm not stupid. They won't want to learn from me." Hermione shook her head, exasperated.

"That's why they'll want to learn from you. At first, they'll show because they're interested in the real story and they think that you'll tell them what really happened. After a few lessons when it's clear that you aren't going to tell them, they'll realize that they're learning loads and need the class in order to pass the exams at the end of the year and continue on. It isn't just about the exams, Harry, it's about saving lives. You saw Voldemort return. He's going to start a war, he's going to come after all the muggleborns, and he's going to come after me. Those were your words. Would you leave us all without defense?" Hermione knew that it was a low blow but she was determined to do this. Besides, she was a Slytherin and was not above manipulation if it served her purpose. Harry growled at her, anger on his face.

"You're more than capable of protecting yourself. You worked with Remus and Tonks all summer long. You're just as good as Draco and I. More powerful too." Hermione knew that he hadn't mentioned Moody and Kingsley because Daphne and Neville were there. She gave him a beseeching look.

"I know I'm more powerful than Draco but not you. I know more spells, I admit that. You're both still better though because you're faster and more agile. I'm not sure that I would win in a duel against one of the Dark Lord's best. I know that none of the other students in this school would either." Harry groaned and fisted his hand in his hair.

"We have nowhere that we could even hold a class like this. Absolutely nowhere. It would take Umbridge all of twenty minutes to discover us and we'd all be in detention until summer." Hermione could tell that he was weakening. She latched on and dug in like a dog on a bone.

"I'll find us somewhere, I promise. I'll set up the initial meeting to see who's interested and I'll even make the lesson plans if that's what you want. Just please say you'll do it." Harry put his head on the table in his arms. Hermione knew then that she had won but she wasn't going to gloat yet. After almost a full minute, Harry raised his head and glared at her.

"Fine, I'll teach it but you're going to help me come up with material and what needs to be taught to whom. Everyone is going to be at different levels." Hermione nodded enthusiastically.

"I'll do it all, I promise, Harry." She hugged him tightly from the side and let out a little squeal of excitement.

"It's going to be fun, running a secret organization right under the Toad's nose." Harry arched a brow at her this time.

"Are you sure that you were put in the right house? That sounds remarkably Gryffindor." Hermione reached over and pinched his side while the others laughed. Madam Pince shushed them loudly and Hermione leaned her head on his shoulder for just a moment.

"Thanks, Harry. They're all going to thank you someday." He kissed the top of her head before she could pull away.

"I really hope so."

*End of Flashback*

Professor Flitwick called for them to change the hair color of the person next to them to a different color as practice with the spell. Hermione could see that Harry was nervous about it so she offered to go first. In only a moment, his raven-colored locks were a platinum blond much the same as Draco's. It looked absolutely horrid with his coloring but Professor Flitwick was thrilled, jumping up and down clapping his hands.

"Miss Black has done it!" Harry glared at her but she simply smirked in return. However, she should have realized that he would get her back in turn because when he waved his wand and muttered the spell, her hair turned the same vivid red as Ron and Ginny Prewett's hair. It was absolutely awful and she couldn't believe that he had done it to her. She was just getting ready to lay into him when he waved his wand and changed it to platinum blond like his own. It still didn't look quite right but it looked much better than the red it had been. She glared at him.

"It's a good thing you changed that quickly. You wouldn't have liked the consequences." Harry chuckled at her before Professor Flitwick started to croon over his spell work as well. Once he had walked away, both of them changed the others hair back to normal. After the rest of the class had performed the spell to perfection, Professor Flitwick dismissed them for lunch.

Hermione stuffed her things back in her bag and started for the door. Harry and Draco were both right behind her with Daphne lagging just a little behind. She decided to lag back with her friend and tell her that she needed to stop with the moping at meals. Since Harry and Draco were immersed in a conversation about quidditch practice, Hermione took the opportunity to thread her arm through Daphne's and start to pull her with a little more speed. Daphne started to protest but Hermione stopped her with just one look.

"Daph, you have to stop with the moping. He dumped you. It's over and done with. He didn't cheat on you, he was honest and told you that he wanted to see other people. I'm sure it hurt your pride but you have to let it go and move on. Who cares what Pansy says about it? She's only trying to hurt you. The rest of Slytherin doesn't care that you two aren't together anymore. He isn't flaunting girls in your face. What's the real problem?" Daphne sighed and finally met Hermione's eyes.

"I think I'm ashamed of myself. I told myself that I was going to do my best to make it work with Blaise. I was going to move on from Draco because I deserve better than what he's done to me. I'm not sure if I did that. I still thought about Draco and I still wished that it was him that I was with instead of Blaise. I guess I just feel guilty because Blaise deserved better than that. I want to tell him that but I don't want to hurt him either." Hermione raised an amused eyebrow at her best friend.

"Daphne Greengrass, you must be completely blind. Everyone knows that you're in love with Draco, even Blaise. Yet he still asked to see you exclusively. He knew what he was getting into. Sure, he was probably disappointed when seeing him didn't make you forget how you felt about Draco, but he didn't enter into your relationship blind. He knew there was a possibility that you wouldn't end up liking him like that. He broke it off when he realized that you weren't going to change how you felt about my cousin. Sure, he could have done it in a better way, but he did the best thing for the both of you." Daphne gave her a small smile and nodded.

"You're right, of course. Then again, you usually are. Thanks, Hermione." She bumped her friends shoulder as they entered the Great Hall.

"Any time."

-O-

Lunch had been uneventful. Daphne seemed to open up a bit and talk more which Harry laid at the feet of Hermione. He wasn't sure what she had said to the girl but it had obviously worked. Even Draco looked happier as he watched the pretty blonde girl start to smile and speak again.

Next on the list of classes was Divination. He hated it with a passion but wasn't able to drop it until after this year. Draco and Ron were both in it, as was Neville, so he had plenty of people to sit with. He wondered who Hermione sat next to in her Magical Theory class that was held at the same time as Divination. He knew that Lisa Turpin was in that class but as far as he knew, she left Hermione alone now.

He followed Draco and Ron up the ladder that took them to the North Tower. Once inside, he sat on the little cushion next to Ron while Neville sat next to Draco. They were going over reading tea leaves yet again. Harry didn't understand how they could learn the same exact thing year after year and still manage to gain a grade?

The truth was, he was shite at reading tea leaves; in all honesty, he was shite at everything divination. He really wished that he could have chosen something different, something a little more challenging, but at the time during third year when he had chosen his electives, he hadn't been friends with Hermione and Draco and he hadn't realized what a farce Divination really was.

Sure, he believed that some of it was real. There was no way that it was all a lie. The way that Professor Trelawney and now Firenze taught it seemed fanciful and make-believe. It was quite frustrating when he really wanted to learn something that would be useful in his life, something like arithmancy. He had started to learn it with Madam Cambridge, of course, but since he didn't have it for a class, he doubted that Hogwarts would let him test out in it at the end of the year. Without an O.W.L., there was no way that he would ever get into the N.E.W.T. class.

Firenze had them clear away all the chairs and desks so they could lie flat on their backs once the tea leaves were put away. The centaur was making an effort to follow Trelawney's lesson plan but always through his own lesson in as well. They gazed up at the stars that had appeared on the ceiling while Firenze told them to spot the shapes that they made up and tell him what they meant. Harry couldn't see a single shape so he kept his mouth shut. Draco, however, was quite good at this game.

After winning Slytherin thirty points, class was dismissed and they all headed out of the castle as quickly as they could to Care of Magical Creatures. Harry always looked forward to this class because he liked Hagrid as a teacher. However, he knew that Umbridge was out to get his job. She had made that clear the last time that they were in class when he had tried to show them what a thestral was.

Umbridge had lectured him on how irresponsible it was to bring school children down to meet thestrals, that they were associated with death. Of course, some of the students then panicked, but Harry and Draco surprisingly, stayed calm. They had calmed the students and when Hagrid told her that they weren't truly associated with death, that it was only how they were seen, she had growled at him and stalked away.

Hermione was the last student to arrive, clearly annoyed but he wasn't sure why. He knew that she had a long ways to come from Magical Theory but she usually didn't look so irritated. She was quick to pull her parchment, quill and ink out so she could take notes on whatever it was that Hagrid was going to teach them about today. Of course, Hagrid didn't stick with his syllabus, probably giving Hermione a heart attack for a year.

"Today, we ain' gon' learn tha lesson I tol' ya 'bou' las' time. I caugh' me a unicorn." Harry could see that the girls were all intrigued. Hermione looked scandalized. He raised an eyebrow, just waiting to see what she was going to do now. Before Hagrid could even start lecturing, she raised her hand. When he called on her, her question was acid sharp.

"Isn't it illegal to keep a unicorn against its will?" Hagrid reddened slightly before nodding.

"It is. It ain't tied, it's in a pen wit' the gate bein' on'y a coupl' feet tall. Unicorn coul' jump if it wanted ta." Hermione sighed in relief. Hagrid seemed to realize that she was worried about the beast and didn't comment on what she had almost accused him off.

Harry listened to him lecture on unicorns, making several new notes that he didn't have in his notes from Madam Cambridge. After Hagrid had lectured for half the class period, he waved for them all to follow him, taking them closer to the Forbidden Forest. Just on the edge was a small paddock that housed a single unicorn and the gate, as Hagrid had described, was most certainly low enough to jump.

It was absolutely beautiful. It's coat gleamed silver and it appeared to be very soft. It's horn was spiraled and golden, as were the hooves, showing the it wasn't very old. Hagrid had explained that the men were to stay away from the beast, as unicorns didn't like males as a general rule. The girls were welcome to step forward and pet the beast as it allowed.

Harry stood next to Draco and Ron and watched as Hermione approached the silver creature, hand outstretched. The filly stepped forward and nudged her hand, nibbling on her fingers, making Hermione giggle just a little bit at the show of affection. The unicorn let her rub her head and down her neck, standing still and clearly enjoying the attention it was receiving. Daphne stepped forward and started to rub her face as well, then moved down the opposite side of the neck. Harry stood watching, transfixed on the sight before him. He had never seen anything more beautiful than Hermione with a unicorn before.

Finally, both girls stepped away and let the other girls have a turn. The creature didn't seem too fond of Pansy but still let her pet her. The other girls were welcomed just as Hermione and Daphne were. The class time slipped away and before Harry knew it, the bell rang and the unicorn startled, jumping away from Parvati and Lavender, trotting to the other side of the paddock.

Hagrid dismissed them, assigning them a ten inch essay that would be due at the end of the next class period. Harry walked with Ron since Draco started for Daphne and Hermione. His best mate was still staring at the creature in the paddock, eyes glazed over. Harry smiled and nudged him.

"Beautiful creature, huh?" Ron blushed a little and nodded.

"Yeah, I've never seen anything like it. I wish I could have touched it. Too bad they don't like blokes, not even the males." Harry chuckled, for once understanding exactly what his best friend meant.

They made it back to the castle and took their seats at the Gryffindor table. Harry had wanted to sit with the Slytherins tonight but decided that he would just sit with them all day tomorrow. Besides, Ron had gotten better about not badmouthing Hermione and Draco and was seeming to get used to his new last name. They weren't there all the way but it was much improved from the summer.

They took their seats and Ron instantly piled his plate high with chicken and potatoes. Harry laughed to himself, knowing that some things just wouldn't ever change. There wasn't much conversation, which surprised him since all they had been talking about at breakfast was the new Defense Club.

*Flashback*

Harry sighed in irritation, wondering how he had let Hermione talk him into teaching this ridiculous class. He knew that the students needed to learn how to defend themselves but why did that mean that it was his responsibility? Shouldn't it be Dumbledore's? Or their own parents? Sirius was making sure that he was prepared, why weren't their parents?

He glared at the sign that read The Hogs Head over the bar. It was one of the seedier bars in town and he wasn't sure how Hermione even knew where it was. He doubted that it was the kind of place that Sirius or Uncle Lucius would frequent. However, she assured him that the people there kept their mouths shut and it was never frequented by students.

They were off to one end of the bar and there was quite a crowd. Hermione had ordered everyone a drink and the bartender wasn't complaining that there were so many of them. Once they were all settled in the seats and on the floor around him, Hermione stood and called them all to attention.

"I know that not many of you like me. I don't really care about that. Right now, I care about learning defense and passing my O.W.L.. I care about not being killed in the upcoming war. I'm hoping that some of you have the same hopes." She paused for a few moments and when nobody spoke, she continued.

"Harry has agreed to teach you all what he knows. He's faced Voldemort more than most adults; I think that gives him an edge, gives him the right to be able to say that he can teach you something. It's always going to be a risk with Umbridge in the castle but if we let her have her way, we'll all die when outright war breaks out. I, for one, think it's a risk worth taking." Harry thought it was a pretty good speech but those in the crowd didn't look convinced. A Hufflepuff, Zacharias Smith, glared at her.

"Since when are you worried about tests? You're the best student in school. Don't tell me you're worried about test scores." Hermione's eyes flared with anger but she buried it deep.

"I could pass the theory, yes. I need to practice the practical. There's no way that anyone can get it all right on their first try on test day." It seemed the Smith couldn't come up with something to say to that so Lee Jordan spoke next.

"Did you really face him last year? When Krum died?" Harry sighed and raked a hand through his hair. Hermione stepped in front of him and he could tell by her stance that she was livid. He laid a hand on her hip and pulled her to stand next to him, giving her a soft smile. He turned his attention to Jordan, somebody quite close to the twins.

"I did face him but I'm not going to talk about it. I watched a man be tortured and die. The last thing I want to do is relive it." Lee nodded, his dreadlocks moving with him.

"Fair enough. I'm in. Anything to stick it to that old cunt." Most of the Gryffindors agreed straight off. Seamus, however, glared at them.

"How many of the Slytherins are going to be joining us? You know they're going to snitch us out. I heard Nott telling one of our firsties that they're starting an Inquisitorial Squad and it's going to be made up of students that Umbridge can trust. How much you wanna bet that they're all snakes?" The rest of the houses looked suddenly wary and Harry wanted to groan. Hermione was ready to spit fire again and Draco now had her wrist in his hand. Harry stood and held out his hand, trying to placate the masses.

"It wouldn't be all the Slytherins. Hermione, Draco, Daphne, Blaise. Maybe Tracey and Millie. I don't trust the others to keep their mouths shut. As for the ones I just listed, they might not want to join. They might not want to take the risk." Seamus laughed.

"Yeah, because they're bloody cowards." Hermione ripped her wrist from Draco's hand and Harry stepped in front of her as he shot a silencing spell at Seamus.

"If you want to be a part of this, you're going to keep your comments to yourself. I don't want to hear shite about how Slytherins are evil and how they all want to be Death Eaters. Obviously that isn't true. If you don't want to be a part of this because you can't handle that, I'll memory charm you right now so you can't snitch us out and I'll send you on your way." Seamus' eyes widened at his words. Of course, they hadn't discussed this; originally, they were just going to take their chances with those that knew about the meetings and chose not to attend. Now, after Seamus, that didn't seem wise. Finally, the Irish boy nodded and Harry lifted the spell.

"Alright, I'll play nice. I still want in." Hermione took a piece of parchment and laid it on the table in front of Harry. In bold letters across the top were the words "Defense Association". Under those words were the names of Hermione, Draco, Harry, Luna, Juliet, and Daphne. Hermione laid a quill down on top of it and met the eyes of the room.

"If you want to participate, come up and sign your name so I know how big of a space I need to find to practice. For the first meeting, we'll spread the time by word of mouth. After that, I'll have a better method in place that will be far less conspicuous."

The twins and Neville were the first ones up to sign their name, followed quickly by Ron. Ginny and Blaise were next, followed by the rest of Gryffindor. Harry was surprised when everyone signed, giving them a total of over fifty names. He was even more surprised to see that Hermione had included some of his more well-known flings. For a moment, he wondered if she was over her jealousy. After the very last person had signed, she dismissed them, calling out to them that she would spread the word soon as to when and where the first meeting would be. Once they were alone, Hermione sagged and Harry put an arm around her shoulders.

"You know they're all going to clash, right?" She nodded against his shoulder and her words were slightly muffled.

"I know but we still have to try. It wouldn't be right if we didn't." He chuckled softly.

"You know, for such a Slytherin badarse, you're quite the softy at heart." She pinched his side ruthlessly as she glared at him. Before flouncing out of the Hog's Head, she turned and gave him the smallest smile.

"Make sure you don't tell anyone."

*End of Flashback*

Currently, they were still looking for somewhere to practice but Hermione was determined to find a place. One thing he had learned to never do was doubt her when she got it in her head to do something.

Harry finished his meal and told Ron and Pav goodnight and that he'd see them before curfew, he headed over to the Slytherin table to see that his friends were all gathering their things to leave. He threw his arms around Neville and Draco's shoulders and grinned.

"We have to skip the library tonight. We need to do something fun. I'm tired of studying." Neville and Draco nodded enthusiastically but Hermione started to frown. He decided to just blurt out his idea and see what they all thought.

"Let's go find an empty classroom, have Kreacher ward it to hell and back, bring us some snacks, and just lounge around." Hermione arched an eyebrow at him but Draco was nodding vigorously.

"That's a great idea." Hermione sighed but finally nodded her consent.

In the end, they found a classroom on the third floor and they all piled in, Draco and Harry transfiguring the chairs into couches so they could all together. Hermione called Kreacher and had him ward the door and bring snacks for them. The elf was thrilled, happy to serve his mistress and the rest of his family, which mostly meant Draco and Juliet. Harry didn't mind, though, he just accepted that Kreacher didn't like him and moved on.

Once Kreacher had returned with snacks, they all took seats on the couches and got comfortable. Harry found himself between Hermione and Neville, while Luna, Draco, and Daphne were on the couch across from them. The twins and Juliet all squeezed into the loveseat just in front of the fire. Bowls of popcorn were passed around and ice cream was handed to the twins since they had specifically asked for it.

Even with the fire in the room, it was still chilly. Harry saw Hermione shiver slightly and he considered casting a warming charm on her but in the end he didn't. Mostly because she scooted closer to him and settled her head against his shoulder and hugged his arm close to her chest. She gave him a smile.

"Is this alright? I'm cold." He smiled back and nodded.

"It's fine. Why don't you have Kreacher bring you a blanket with a warming charm? It would keep you warm." She shook her head, letting it fall back against his shoulder again.

"What are we going to do now that we're here?" Draco laughed a little.

"I'd say we could play Wizard's Truth but I don't think that's appropriate with Juliet. How about we all ask a question and everyone has to answer it?" Harry nodded, game for anything. Honestly, he was a little thankful that they couldn't play Wizard's Truth. The last thing he wanted to do was spill his secrets about his sex life when he had the girl of his dreams snuggled into his arm. Draco grinned.

"Alright, I'll start." He thought for a moment and smiled.

"We'll start off easy. Everyone will get a question and then it'll be curfew. What's your favorite color?" Daphne smiled at him, dimpling slightly.

"Pink." The twins were predictable with red, Juliet said yellow, Draco was green, Harry was blue, Luna was yellow, and Hermione was also blue. Neville was the one that surprised them all with orange. Luna went next.

"What's your favorite subject at school?" Draco said Potions, Juliet and Daphne said Charms, the twins said Transfiguration, Neville said Herbology, Harry said Defense and Hermione said it was a tie between Potions and Magical Theory. They all pulled a face at that answer but nobody commented. Daphne smiled at them all as she asked her question.

"What's your first goal in life?" Luna cocked her head to the side.

"I suppose either finish Hogwarts or get married to Neville." Draco's goal was the win the Quidditch Cup, Neville's was the graduate and get a Mastery in Herbology, Daphne's was the start a charity wing in St. Mungo's, the twins was to start their own joke shop, Harry's was to defeat Voldemort. Hermione's didn't surprise him.

"I want to finish curing werewolves and then invent a potion that cure the after-effects of the Cruciatus Curse as I get numerous Masteries." Draco snorted in her direction.

"Just outdo us, alright?" She smiled at her cousin sweetly. Neville went next.

"Who was your first crush?" Luna was honest when she said Bill Weasley, Draco said Pansy, Juliet named a muggle boy she had gone to school with. Fred and George had both said Angelina's name, Harry had named a muggle girl he went to primary with, and Hermione had blushingly said Theo Nott. Juliet cocked her head to the side as she considered what her question would be.

"Who do you admire most, your mum or your dad?" Harry felt as if someone had kicked him in the gut but he kept quiet. Hermione's arms tightened around his and he knew that she was trying to support him without bringing attention to his distress.

Neville answered both his parents, Juliet said her mum, Daphne admired her mother, and Luna also said her mother. The twins both said their father, as did Draco. Hermione sighed and looked up to meet the eyes of the room.

"I'd have to say my father since my mother is dead." It seemed to dawn on everyone, Juliet included, just what that question meant for Harry. Her face crumpled and he knew she felt terrible. Before she could apologize, he help his hand up.

"It's fine, Jules. I'm going with the same answer as Nev. Both. They both died for me." George cleared his throat before asking his question.

"What's your favorite quidditch team?" Hermione snorted.

"None. I don't watch unless my friends are playing." Harry nudged her teasingly.

"You went to the World Cup." She snorted again, something she never did.

"I was dragged and you know it." He laughed outright before answering with Puddlemere United. The others named numerous different teams and Harry had a feeling that the team that Luna named wasn't an actual team, though he wasn't about to say so. Fred tapped his chin as though he were in deep thought.

"How many kids do you want to have?" Harry hadn't thought about this and he wasn't sure that he could give an honest number without considering it. However, Hermione already had an answer.

"At least three. I need an heir for the Black name, an heir for my husband's name, and maybe a daughter to enjoy as well." Harry had to say that that sounded just fine to him. However, he croaked out that he had never thought about it and passed it on. Draco wanted two, Juliet four, Luna two, Neville four, the twins with six. Harry knew that it was his turn to come up with a question and he was struggling to think of one. Finally, he blurted out the first one he could think of.

"Do you believe in true love?" Everyone looked surprised and Harry was just as surprised when they all answered yes. It was now Hermione's turn and she looked like she had no idea what to ask.

"Who do you want to grow up and be like?" Harry wasn't expecting such a deep question from her. She met the eyes of everyone in the room and even though she couldn't say the name of her godfather, she still spoke.

"My Uncle Luci and my godfather. They would do anything for family, no matter the cost." Harry nodded, acknowledging that her words were the truth. Draco also said his father, Daphne said her mother, Luna wished to also be like her mother, Juliet wanted to be like Professor Cat, the twins wanted to be like Prongs, Moony, Wormtail, and Padfoot, Neville wanted to be brave like his parents. Finally, it was Harry's turn and he met everyone's gaze again.

"I hope I'm like my parents. They gave up their lives for me, their child. I hope that I'm brave enough to do that if it ever comes down to it." Hermione smiled softly at him and hugged his arm again.

"You are. I know you are." Harry smirked at her but the spell was broken when Draco cleared his throat.

"Curfew is in twenty minutes. We need to go so we don't get detention." Harry sighed as Hermione let go of his arm and levered herself off the couch. They returned the classroom to the way it was and said their goodbyes.

Harry walked in silence with Juliet, Neville, and the twins. Once they reached the common room, they nodded their goodnights and went to their dorms and changed into their pajamas. Ron was already in bed, snoring loudly. Harry gave one final nod to Neville before climbing into his own bed and pulling the curtains around him.

It had been a long day and even though they hadn't done anything exciting in the classroom, he was glad they had played their little game. He could always learn more about his friends and he hoped that they wanted to learn more about him. He made sure to clear his mind and focus on the meditation that Professor Cat wanted them to do before letting the sleep pull him under.

A/N- There we are, folks, another chapter down. Not the most exciting but we're getting there. Hope you all enjoyed it. Thanks to everyone out there for reading, reviewing, following, and favoriting. You're my heroes. Let me know what you think, reviews make me smile.

Next chapter, first D.A. meeting.

Love,

Alicia


	93. Chapter 93

A/N- You guys are just awesome. Your reviews are seriously the bomb and keep me going, even though they aren't always good. The amount of haters have finally went down. I really appreciate those that have stayed on reading and supported me fully. I warned you all that it would be a long and winding road and you have stuck with me like you said. You have no idea how much it means to me. Let me know what you think of this chapter, I really hope it meets your expectations.

**Shout out to Lonelywicked for being my 4600th reviewer. You're freaking awesome!**

Disclaimer: Still don't own the story or the characters. Still haven't made any money from this story. Still broke as hell. 'Nuff said.

Chapter 93

December 1, 1995

Harry took the seat next to Hermione at the Slytherin table for breakfast. She was already there, eating her porridge and chatting quietly with Daphne. The twins were sitting across from her and they were laughing about whatever they were whispering about. Blaise and Draco were on her other side and they were talking about quidditch. It was a normal day at Hogwarts and Harry just basked in it. Their days in the recent months had been anything but normal.

Umbridge was still ruling the castle as the High Inquisitor; Dumbledore said there was nothing that he could do about it. As much as Harry didn't trust the man in some things, he was sure that the wizened wizard was now telling the truth. Sirius and Uncle Lucius had confirmed that the laws had been changed, showing that the Ministry was now in charge at Hogwarts. Harry really wanted to know who was supplying the bribes to get most of the members of the Wizengamot to vote in favor of that.

Harry and Hermione had suffered more than their fair share of detentions so far. Harry managed to keep his quiet so Hermione wouldn't worry; he would get the cream needed to heal his hand from Draco. Hermione, however, had a harder time hiding her detentions since she always had a class with one or both of them. The only class that she was on her own in was Magical Theory and aside from the one time, Umbridge hadn't visited McGonagall. Harry was quite proud of the fact that the Toad avoided his Head of House.

The twins had also suffered under her reign of terror. They were constantly taking the punishments of the younger children and playing pranks on Umbridge. Harry, Draco, and Hermione still laughed about the day that they had slipped a mixture of a laxative and a sleeping draught in her morning tea. Even though none of them had been in her class first period that day, the second year Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws had made sure to tell the whole school how she had fallen asleep at her desk and promptly shit herself. The students still tormented her with fart noises and things of the like, causing her to blush furiously and assign detentions to whoever was present.

Of course, the twins had been questioned ruthlessly. However, due to Draco's coaching and their natural abilities, there was no way for the Toad to break into their mind for the answers if that's what she so chose. Instead, they denied everything and said that it must have been her body's reaction to the new brand of tea. It was one of the only times Hermione could remember ever seeing Professor McGonagall belly laugh in front of students.

Harry served himself some eggs, bacon, and toast, letting his mind drift to later that evening. It would be their first meeting for the Defense Association. He still wasn't sure how they had gotten lucky enough to find a spot so soon after deciding to hold the meetings but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

*Flashback*

Harry was sitting in the library with only Draco and Hermione, studying for their Runes test the next day. He really didn't think that they had anything to worry about but Hermione had insisted, quite certain that she wanted to keep her record of getting a perfect grade on every test. Therefore, he had capitulated, as had Draco. It was a blustery sort of day so practicing quidditch wouldn't have held much appeal. Just as he was about to start quizzing Draco on their latest set of Runes, Neville slid into the seat next to him and grinned impishly.

"I have to show you guys something. It's important." Hermione frowned at him.

"More important than studying for a test?" Neville rolled his eyes, something that he rarely did to Hermione.

"I found the perfect place for the D.A. Believe it or not, Kreacher helped." Hermione frowned again but started to gather her things together.

"How did Kreacher help you?" Harry and Draco followed suit and started to gather their things. Honestly, Harry was grateful for the distraction. He really didn't want to study things that he already knew. They followed Neville out of the library as he spoke to Hermione quietly enough for only the four of them to hear.

"I was visiting the kitchens, I missed lunch and wanted a snack to hold me over until dinner, and I saw Kreacher there. He made me a sandwich and asked if you needed anything. I told him that I didn't think so, that you were studying, that nobody could help with what we really needed." Neville took another breath and Harry could still sense the growing excitement in his fellow Gryffindor.

"Kreacher demanded that he be told what you needed and that he would get it. I didn't really think that he could but didn't see the harm in telling him. I told him we needed a room to practice defense in because the Toad wouldn't let us. He got all quiet and told me to bring my sandwich and follow him." Harry realized that they were now standing in front of a blank stretch of stone wall on the seventh floor, not far from Gryffindor Tower. He remembered studying the tapestry with Barnabas the Barmy in his first year.

"Kreacher brought me here and told me that the other elves are under orders to not tell the students about the Come and Go Room but since he's a personal elf, he wasn't bound by their orders. He showed me how to get in and how to work it. Watch." Harry watched as he paced in front of the empty expanse of wall three times, his forehead creased in concentration. After the third time, a door appeared. Neville was quick to open it and shuffle them all inside.

It was a training room, a large one. It would easily house a hundred people if needed and give them room to practice spells or physical combat if that's what they chose. Needless to say, it was perfect. Hermione was still staring, her mouth hanging a little, and Harry couldn't remember the last time she had been speechless. He looked to Neville to see that he was now beaming.

"How did you get it to work? Is it always this room and just invisible?" Neville shook his head.

"No, it becomes whatever you need at the time. _Hogwarts, A History_ calls it the Room of Requirement. You get it to appear by pacing in front of this wall three times, repeating in your head exactly what you're looking for. This time, I chanted "I need a place to train many students.'" Harry let out a whoop and clapped Neville on the shoulder.

"This is perfect, did good. Now we can get started on the meetings. Mia, you need to give Kreacher some sort of treat. He might spit at me if I try." She tried to glare at him even though she was fighting a smile.

"I will reward him, have no fear. As to spitting on you, he would never embarrass me like that. He might only mildly curse you." Harry and Draco both laughed at her words. Draco threw an arm around her shoulders.

"That elf is still barmy. It's a good thing he loves you though." She stuck her tongue out at him as Harry turned serious.

"December 1, 7:00 p.m. That's our first meeting. Spread the word. Mia, you need to start working on our communication devices that you're going to make. Trust me, we're going to need them."

Hermione's only response was a smile.

*End of Flashback*

Harry stayed quiet for the duration of breakfast, finally letting his nerves get to him just a little. It was one thing to learn and teach at Blackmoor or Malfoy Manor, even Grimmauld Place. He was among friends and family. Now he would be the teacher of more than fifty students and some of them clearly hated him and thought that he was nothing more than an attention-seeking liar.

The bell rang and Harry was quick to gather his things. Hermione had a smile on her face, though she usually did when they were headed to Potions. He knew that she had spent time with Severus the night before, both brewing and just lounging around. She wouldn't give him details but she had said that they had had a breakthrough on the potion they were creating for curing lycanthropy. She had insisted that they were still far from a cure but it had been a nice change from the constant failures.

Harry stayed quiet on the way to Potions, though he noticed that none of them really talked. It seemed as though they were all affected by the nerves for that night. He wondered if the rest of the students were just as nervous. They were breaking the rules too. He followed Hermione and Draco into the Potions classroom and took a seat with them, Neville sitting with them this time.

Professor Snape entered not long after and didn't comment on the somber mood in his class. He knew what they had planned, Hermione had insisted on telling him. He had cautioned them to be careful but knew that they were going to go through with it regardless of what he said. Hermione had told him that he had chosen to support them and try to keep Umbridge busy on their meeting nights to keep them safe. It was a huge help and Harry was eternally grateful.

Harry knew that if they were caught, he was going to catch all the blame. He really didn't think that Hermione had considered that when she had asked him to teach it, but it was the truth. Sure, he knew that Hermione and Draco would never let him take the fall completely but he also knew that he was the reason that Umbridge was in Hogwarts. She would delight in tormenting him. She would get her rocks off on expelling him. He had a bad feeling about this whole idea but he couldn't bear to disappoint Hermione. More than anything, he wanted her to be proud of him for something and to know that he took a chance for her.

Professor Snape ordered them into pairs and he ended up with Draco. It wasn't as good as being with Hermione but that was alright. Draco was still a very competent brewer even if he didn't have the passion for it that Hermione did. They were assigned to brew the calming draught, something that he had brewed his first summer at Blackmoor with Severus. Since he was fairly confident in his abilities with this potion, not to mention having Draco as a partner, Harry didn't worry about his grade for the day.

They turned in a perfect potion and Professor Snape dismissed class. Ron caught up with him as they were leaving, an excited gleam shining in his eyes. Harry tried not to snap at him when he commented on how excited he was for that evening. Ron really was doing better, acting better as well. It was as though being around other people in the castle had made him forget his animosity for the Blacks and Malfoys. Harry was thankful; he hated playing peacekeeper. It made him want to say fuck it more than once.

Even Ginny had done better since he had told her off for being rude to Hermione. He still didn't talk to her much, maybe an exchanged greeting here and there in the mornings. Here and there she would sit next to him during meals and he would talk to her. More often, though, he kept to himself when it came to Ginny. It wasn't that he hated her, it was more along the lines that she made him nervous now. Since learning that she had fully functioning occlumentic shields from her run-in with Tom Riddle, Harry wasn't sure what she was hiding.

Sure, it was possible that there was nothing. It was possible that they were there because Tom had built them up so nobody could see that it was her that was opening the Chamber of Secrets. Severus had told him that that was possible. However, he couldn't help but wonder if she was hiding something behind them that Tom wanted kept hidden. Since Tom wanted Harry dead more than anything, it made him a little leery. He was never mean to her, or even rude, but he watched his mouth and his step around her.

Harry had even sent Sirius a letter telling him about her shields and what he feared. He asked him to offer to pay for the cost of her seeing a mind healer and Sirius had agreed. However, when Lord Black had broached the subject with Arthur, the conversation had turned cool. Apparently, since Sirius had made sure to not include Ginny in his family, he wasn't in a position to demand anything for the Prewett part of his family. Even though it wasn't well done on Arthur's part, both Sirius and Harry admitted that they had no right to demand anything of the Weasleys when it came to Ginny, especially since they said she was the same as she had always been. In honesty, even Harry had to agree with that. Ginny was the same she had been since he met her; it just made him worry that she was now hiding things behind her shields.

Ron was doing a little better with his occlumency than he had in the summer. After realizing that Umbridge could learn the secret of their meetings from his mind if she knew legilimency, he had buckled down and was working harder. He was still far from what Harry would call accomplished but he was getting better. Regardless of the reason why he was working harder, Harry could only sigh in relief. The last thing his family and the Order needed were their secrets getting out because Ron had been a prat and wouldn't commit himself to learning.

Harry entered Ancient Runes with Hermione and Draco, the rest of their friends heading off for a free period. Harry found the Runes were easy for him, much easier than Hermione and Draco found them. He wasn't sure why but he wasn't going to complain. Hermione was especially gifted in Potions and Transfiguration so maybe Runes was just his subject. Therefore, when they were assigned a study period, he didn't bother cracking his book for Runes.

Harry pulled his book from Madam Cambridge on Arithmancy out and started working on it. He knew that he needed to get through at least the fifth year of work if he wanted to try to convince Professor Vector that he could take the O.W.L. He wanted to drop Divination more than anything and pick up Arithmancy, even though it challenged him like nothing else ever had. Hermione and Draco were both tutoring him when he needed it and he was confident that if he kept up the way he did, he would be ready.

Harry found that he was quite advanced compared to the students in his year. While he knew that Hermione and Draco were in their seventh year of study with their tutor, he was about a third of the way through his sixth year. He had worked hard all summer long to get where he was and he had sacrificed a lot of free time. He wanted to catch up to them desperately because he hated feeling like he had been left behind. While he was doing double the school work to catch up to them, he still lagged in subjects like Arithmancy that were especially difficult for him.

As for the rest of his education, he was up to speed. Sirius, Severus, and Uncle Lucius had made sure that his etiquette and wizarding culture was up to par with Hermione and Draco. He would still need training in how to manage his estate but that wasn't a priority at the moment. He had powered through his languages as well, being cleared as fluent by Blaise in Italian. With French and Italian under his belt now, he had started Spanish to be on par with Draco and Hermione. Hermione had promised him that if he could learn it by the end of the year, she would learn German with him over the summer since she had never gotten around to it when she had been a child. He very much wanted that bonding experience so he was pushing himself as hard as he could.

After completing two assignments for Arithmancy, they were dismissed from Ancient Runes. Hermione and Draco had both worked on their own assignments for Madam Cambridge as well, Draco in Transfiguration and Hermione in Magical Theory. Harry knew that she looked forward to Spell Creation next year so it made sense that she would doubly apply herself there.

The three of them headed for lunch in the Great Hall. Since Harry had spent breakfast with the snakes, he broke off from his Slytherin relatives at the door to head to the lions. He kissed Hermione on the temple before leaving, enjoying the light blush that colored her cheeks. She still treated him no different than she had before but it was clear that she noticed his actions. Truth be told, going without sex wasn't as hard as he thought it was going to be.

Harry plopped down between Ron and Seamus. Pav was on Ron's other side and snuggled into his side. He was insanely jealous sometimes of how his best mate had found a steady girlfriend, one that had sex with him on a regular basis if Ron was to be believed. Ron didn't play the field though; he was more than happy to stick with Pav and ignore the taunts of the other boys of how he was missing out on experiencing other witches. Sometimes, Harry wished he was more like his best mate. He wished that he could have been like that. He might have already been with Hermione by now.

The lions were all talking about their meeting that night. He worried that they would be the ones to blow it because they were the ones with the least amount of fear when it came to getting caught. They were all proud of the fact that they were doing something against the rules and had no problems flaunting it. It was maddening but nothing he said made a difference. He would make sure that Hermione would issue a warning that night at the first meeting. He really couldn't afford to be caught if the hag caught wind of their meetings.

Lunch was boring, nothing happening except for chatter about the meeting. Ginny had sat across from him and flashed him a smile when she saw him looking at her. It unnerved him for the fact that when everyone else was preoccupied with their conversations, she had leaned forward and given him a predatory look that made him feel like prey. He wasn't sure why, since it was just a sweet smile, one he had seen before, but it unnerved him.

"I heard that you were worried for me, Harry. Daddy told me that you were worried that I needed to see a mind healer because of what Riddle did to me my first year. I really appreciate it and love that you care so much. I promise you, though, there's nothing wrong with me. I barely remember those times. That's why I've struggled so much in the years following; I can't hardly recall my lessons that year. He blocked everything. I just wanted to reassure you that I'm fine and to say thank you for caring so much." Harry gave her a soft smile and nodded, mostly just to placate her. In truth, it gave him the fucking creeps.

"I just worry about you, Ginny. I don't want you to suffer from a side effects from that sick bastard being in your mind. Those occlumency shields aren't normal." Ginny shrugged.

"I didn't even know they were there. I guess that's a good thing though. Means I can't give away the secrets of the Order or your secrets either." Harry gave her a small smile.

"That's true, Ginny."

He ended the conversation after that. After turning his attention back to his shepherd's pie, she did the same and nothing else was said. Harry only hoped that she was right.

-O-

Hermione ate her lunch at a leisurely pace. In truth, she was nervous for that night but she was trying to keep her attention on other things. The last thing she wanted to do was worry about things and then make them worse. The shepherd's pie was great, as it always was, and Kreacher had appeared to make sure that she found her meal to her liking. After reassuring her that she was pleased, she sent him on his way to help organize the library. She was sure that Madam Pince would be livid but the job was far too big for only one woman.

The bell rang and dismissed them from lunch. They were headed to Defense Against the Dark Arts next, her least favorite class. By this point in the year, she had had numerous detentions with the witch, had carved words into her hand several times. Harry had been right alongside her some of the time. Draco had still managed to stay out of trouble but that wasn't any fault of his own. Umbridge had a hard on for Harry and Hermione, she just wasn't sure why.

The reasons for Harry were obvious, of course. As for herself, she assumed that the problem was with her father personally. She never fretted with Draco even though they were cousins and quite close. It made her wonder if her father had spurned the Toad's advances at some point. It would make sense and even though it made her sick to consider, she was going to have to ask him over Christmas. It wasn't something she particularly looked forward to but she supposed that if it affected her, she deserved an answer.

Hermione had been able to keep her detentions a secret from Uncle Sev so far. She had made her whole house take a vow on their magic not to tell him; of course, due to his Death Eater standing and her father's clear light leanings, it was assumed that it was to keep her out of trouble. They had no idea as to the truth and that was the way she wanted to keep it. She hadn't demanded the vow from her family and friends but she knew that they would never deceive her unless they had no other choice.

Hermione knew that she was a victim of the detention abuse to make a point to the other students that nobody was safe. While she understood the woman's motives, that didn't mean that she was going to take the treatment lying down. Already, she was devising little ways to drive the woman mad so as to drive her from the castle. While she hated Dumbledore with every fiber of her being, he was better than being controlled by the Ministry. She would do whatever was necessary to keep the Ministry out of the castle. Not only was the castle legally Harry's property that he wasn't able to claim yet, it was just plain rude. She wished that her father could claim regent over that part of Harry's legacy but he couldn't. It would have to wait until he was twenty-one.

After lunch dismissed, Hermione locked arms with Daphne and fortified herself for the lesson to come. She could hear Harry, Draco, and Neville talking quietly behind her, with a mix of Ron and his friends behind them. Hermione had detention after almost every class they had with Umbridge. It was as though her vendetta against Hermione was personal.

They entered the classroom and took their usual seats, taking out only their parchment, quill, and ink. They were waiting silently for the hag to appear and Hermione let her mind drift just a little to the past week. They had found the Room of Requirement, well, Neville had, and they had set the first date for their meeting of the Defense Association. She was excited but she knew that Harry was less so. She knew that he would take the brunt of the blame if they were caught but she would never allow that to happen. She had plans in place to make sure that he was safe, that there was nothing that could break what she had planned. It wasn't a perfect plan but she wasn't going to let him suffer for her plan to teach the other students. If it meant an Unforgivable on her part, so be it.

Umbitch took a seat behind her desk and smiled sweetly at them before she spoke. Hermione wanted to stab her in the throat for how fake she was. She could forgive her if she was just honest about how evil she was. Voldemort was. There was a certain amount of respect there, respect you didn't get when your enemy pretended to be your friend.

"I've heard from Cornelius that your parents are complaining about how I'm teaching this class. That means that you're complaining to your parents. Now, we can't be having that. Therefore, you're all going to copy the text from the beginning to our current chapter." There were a few groans but at her raised brow, they were silenced. Hermione sighed internally, trying to tell herself that it wouldn't matter because they had a real lesson that night.

The class worked silently as they copied eighteen chapters. Hermione wasn't sure if this was supposed to make the students complain less or her punishment for them because the Minister had heard complaints. She supposed that it didn't matter since they were still copying the text either way. Only five minutes before class was set to dismiss, Umbridge called for them to send their parchment forward. She inspected how far they had gotten and called for them to go once she had approved their progress. Finally, she had three papers in her hand and she smiled that sickly sweet smile again.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy, and Miss Black, would you like to tell the class how you cheated on your assignment?" Hermione knew that this was just another bullshite reason to give them detention. She sighed, knowing that she wasn't going to let them go without answering.

"We didn't cheat, professor." She hissed in anger.

"I know you did. The three of you made it a full chapter further than the rest of the students. You used to copying spell, don't lie to me." Draco had his impassive mask on as he spoke.

"We didn't cheat. We write quickly because we do twice as much schoolwork as the rest of the students. We still have a tutor even though we're here, we have since our first year." Hermione wanted to stomp on his foot to shut him up but it was too late now. Umbridge sneered at the three of them.

"You will cease seeing this tutor now." Hermione knew that she couldn't let the boys answer so she was quick to capitulate.

"Yes, ma'am." Umbridge still grinned at them.

"I have plans tonight but the three of you will come see me at six tomorrow evening for detention. We can't allow cheaters to go unpunished." Hermione wasn't surprised so she merely nodded. Saying anything at this point wouldn't make a difference.

They were dismissed and Hermione didn't say anything. She didn't know if the others were going to follow her but she was going to the library for their free period. Harry and Draco seemed to have the same idea and they all found their usual table in the library empty. Daphne and Neville had followed as well and they were giving the three of them pitying looks. Hermione rolled her eyes at them and spoke more briskly than she had intended.

"It's just detention. Not like it's our first." Draco shoved her with his shoulder.

"It's my first. I'm rather dreading it actually." Hermione cracked a smile at him but turned back to her text she had just taken out.

The five of them passed their free period catching up their homework. Harry had started to learn Spanish and he was studying that, occasionally asking Hermione or Draco if he got stuck. Hermione and Draco were both working on Charms assignments from Madam Cambridge while Daphne and Neville were working on a Transfiguration essay.

The bell rang, signalling that it was time to head to the Great Hall for dinner. Hermione had caught all but a couple of her assignments up so she was happy with her progress. Harry and Draco were lagging behind, laughing about something. She turned and arched a brow at them but Draco shook his head at her.

"No, we're not telling you. You'll just nag at us for our language." She stuck her tongue out at him before entering the Great Hall.

Juliet was sitting at the Gryffindor table with her friend today but Luna and Blaise were already sitting there waiting for them. They took their seats and started to dish up their plates. The twins joined them and started laughing about the latest joke they had played on Umbridge. Even Hermione had to laugh when they told her that they had levitated a niffler through the window of her office and let it destroy the inside.

Everyone was full of nervous energy, laughing about things that they normally wouldn't. Harry was the only one that was quiet and Hermione finally leaned over and bumped his shoulder with hers.

"You know that I wouldn't ever let you take the blame if we get caught, right?" He gave her a tight smile.

"I'd rather you did. You've had too many detentions as it is. I can take it." She shook her head with a hard look on her face.

"Not going to happen. Get used to it." He grinned at her but said nothing else. Finally, everyone started to slow down on eating and the whole of the Great Hall seemed to be watching their table. Hermione felt a current of excitement go through her body as she stood.

"Come on everyone. It's time."

-O-

The Room of Requirement looked just as it had when Neville showed it them. Harry had paced the corridor to make sure that he got what he had envisioned for their lesson. His friends all filed in after him, exclaiming softly at how amazing the room was. He had planned a simple lesson tonight to start them off; it would probably offend some of the students but he didn't care. If they didn't like his lessons, they could always leave.

In pairs, the other students started to trickle in until they were all present right at the time they were supposed to begin. They were all giving him a look of anticipation and Harry took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down so he didn't fuck up. Hermione and Draco both stepped up on either side of him, a show of support that he greatly appreciated.

"Alright, we're getting ready to begin. I want to say a few things before we do though. First, Hermione spent several hours of her time making galleons for us to communicate through. I hold the master and I'll send a message through the galleon for the next meeting time and date. You'll know there's a new message because the galleon will grow hot until you clear the message. Always clear it after you read it. If Umbridge ever takes it from your pocket and keeps it, she'll be able to see the message just as easily as you can." Harry paused for a second, intending to issue a warning next but Hermione beat him to it.

"This is Harry's show but I want to warn everyone. You have to stay quiet about this out in the corridors and the Great Hall. I heard so many conversations today about tonight and it's going to get us caught. As soon as Umbridge starts suspecting something, she's going to pay attention. Let's just say that if one of you is careless and gets us caught, I;m not going to be happy." Harry gave a quick nod.

"Exactly what she said. If you want to practice or discuss the lessons, your common rooms are the best place. You'll always know when Umbridge is there. Basically, let's be smart about this, people." Harry started to get his groove and his nervousness melted away. He gave the crowd a small smile before continuing.

"I know you guys are going to think I'm crazy but for our first lesson, we're going to start with the disarming spell." There were several groans and it was Seamus that hollered out.

"Are you serious? That's a second year spell that we all mastered ages ago." Harry was surprised that Seamus had even come. He was one of the students in Gryffindor that was usually cold to Harry because he didn't want to talk about the night in the graveyard. Harry decided that he needed to put the whole lot of them in their place.

"If you've mastered it, prove it. Disarm me." Seamus raised his wand and Harry could tell that he was waiting for him to move or cast first. Harry, however, just stood there with his wand in his hand, patiently waiting for the Irish boy to cast.

"Expelliarmus." The spell hit Harry but did nothing. His wand didn't even wiggle. There were several titters in the back of the group and Seamus turned red. Harry, however, ignored them.

"Your wand movements are wrong. Watch carefully. Hermione, disarm me." Harry stepped away from her and she raised her wand, speaking the spell clearly and making the wand movement perfect. Harry felt his wand jerk out of his hand and into Hermione's. She quickly handed it back and he thanked her. He turned back to the students.

"Did you see how Hermione's wand moved? It was a perfect disarming spell. I want you all to partner up and myself, Hermione and Draco will come around and show you the correct movement and pronunciation of the spell." Harry hadn't really discussed having Hermione and Draco help him but it made sense. They were just as skilled as he was and they would be able to teach everyone twice as fast.

Neither one of them complained. Harry was pleased to see that everyone was quick to split up and he started down the center row while Hermione and Draco each took the row to the side. It was disheartening to see that the Slytherins were still paired with each other while the rest of the houses were all mixed together.

The first pair he came to was Alicia Spinnet and Cho Chang. Cho was able to cast the spell perfectly while Alicia just needed to tweak her grip a little. He continued down the line to help Neville and Blaise, helping the pair of them for several minutes. He could see Hermione helping Susan Bones and Mandy Brocklehurst to his right and Draco with Seamus and Dean to his left.

Two hours passed quickly, more quickly than he would have expected. At ten minutes to nine, he called for them all to gather around once more. Hermione and Draco went back to his side and stood next to him in a show of support. He smiled at the students as he spoke.

"You all did great today. Some of you are still having problems so we'll continue with the disarming spell. Don't worry, we'll get past this and move to more exciting spells. Remember, we're doing this so we can pass our exams and protect ourselves." Hermione spoke up now.

"You should all leave in pairs to head back to your common rooms. Harry will send the date and time of the next meeting so keep your galleon on you." Nobody seemed to acknowledge that Hermione had spoken so Harry made sure to nip that in the bud.

"I want you all to know that Hermione and Draco have been instrumental to making this happen. If this class is going to continue, you will give them the same respect that you give me." Even though there were several faces in the crowd that looked unhappy, everyone nodded.

It took almost ten minutes for everyone to leave, leaving Hermione, Draco, and Harry by themselves. After they were alone, Hermione turned to him.

"Don't worry about how they treat me. We need to keep teaching this class." Harry knew that he was guilty of letting people treat her like shite. However, it was going to stop. He should have stopped it a long time ago. He stepped up to her and cupped her face in his hands so she would have to look at him.

"Mia, I know that I was an arsehole in the past and I let people disrespect you. I disrespected you. That's not going to happen anymore. If people are arseholes to you, I'm going to do my best to stop it." She smiled softly and laid one hand over the top of his.

"Thank you, Harry. That really means a lot." He let her face go and hugged her just a moment, unable to help realizing that her breasts were warm and soft against his chest. He released her and gave her a good-natured shove towards the door.

"You two have the furthest to go. You better start towards the dungeons." Draco threw an arm around her shoulders as she smiled and waved to him. He bent to pick up his bag as they left, following quickly behind them. It took him only a couple minutes to make it into the common room. Once inside, he was bombarded with the students that had been there, telling him what a good class it was and that they couldn't wait until the next one. He escaped after only a few minutes, slipping into the dorm to change into his pajamas.

After he was in bed with the curtains pulled and the duvet pulled up to his chin, he let his mind drift over the day. The worse part was that he now had a detention to look forward to tomorrow; he couldn't help but wonder why Umbridge had it out for Hermione so badly. Him, he understood. But Hermione left him confused.

The D.A. meeting had gone better than he had thought it would. There hadn't been any fighting and nobody had stormed out pissed off. He hadn't even been asked about what happened that night in the graveyard. He was sure that someone would eventually ask him but it was nice that they had let the first meeting go by without hounding him.

Harry started to clear his mind and do his animagus exercises before bed. He still hadn't discovered what his form was but McGonagall had warned them that it would take time. After meditating for almost an hour, he stopped searching for his form. The door banged open and he heard the others come to bed. Once it was all quiet again, Harry let himself drift off to sleep.

A/N- There you have it folks, another chapter done. I really hope you enjoyed it. Big thanks to everyone out there still riding this crazy ride with me. You guys are awesome. Leave me a message after the beep and let me know what you think.

Next chapter, Hermione formulates a plan for Umbridge.

Love,

Alicia


	94. Chapter 94

A/N- You guys are just awesome, thank you so much for your wonderful reviews and kind words. They keep me going which means you keep getting chapters! I know you've had to wait a few days longer than usual for this chapter but my kids are on Spring Break and life has been nuts in general. Thanks for understanding! Anyways, I'm going to get started and hope you enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: None of this story belongs to me except the personal plot twist. The original idea belongs to Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle and the characters belong to J.K.R. I still haven't won the lottery or published a book so I'm still broke as hell.

Chapter 94

December 15, 1995

Hermione sighed as she pushed the food around her plate at breakfast. She was exhausted and she knew that there was only one person to blame. Dolores fucking Umbridge. Not only was she in detention at least twice a week, they were staying out of the common room for D.A. meetings until curfew at least once a week. This normally wouldn't bother her but as of late, nightmares had been plaguing her sleep, another indicator that she wasn't sleeping as well as she should. Her occlumency should be protecting her from nightmares but it wasn't and she was beyond frustrated. She was pushing herself too hard and that's all there was to it.

Hermione hated to admit it though; Harry and Draco both had begged her to slow down, to stop working so hard on the homework that was due to Madam Cambridge, telling her that she needed some sleep instead. They had begged her to spend less time with Uncle Sev researching his potion and brewing the variants that they were coming up with. She knew that they were right but she didn't want to disappoint anyone, most especially herself.

Umbridge hadn't let up on the students in any way; in fact, she was cracking down even harder on what she considered to be bad behavior. There were all sorts of ridiculous rules now, rules that had cost Hermione a detention when she had rolled her eyes at them. Boys and girls were no longer allowed to be within eight inches of each other unless classwork called for it and the full uniform was now required at all times no matter how hot or cold the student was. It was infuriating but there wasn't much that she could do about it when it was just her.

After the class where Umbridge had told all the students that Fudge had been getting complaints, nobody was brave enough to send a letter home to continue complaining when one of the Ravenclaws, Marietta Edgecomb, told everyone that she had received a letter from her mother telling her that her job had been threatened if her daughter didn't keep her mouth shut. Since there were many students that had family working at the Ministry, it wasn't hard to figure out that they wouldn't be making a public stand on their treatment anymore.

It was for this reason that Hermione had sent a letter to her father and Uncle Luci with Kreacher. It had detailed the events at Hogwarts and just how ridiculous it had gotten under Umbridge's rule. While neither her father nor her uncle wanted to bring it directly to the Wizengamot for fear that Hermione would be the one to pay the price, they were able to send an anonymous letter to the Daily Prophet.

The resulting article just a few days later hadn't been quite what Hermione had expected but had been better than nothing. It was clear that the reporter, not Rita Skeeter for once, was scared of retaliation, not only from the Ministry but her boss as well. It had reported that Umbridge was taking corporal punishment to a new level at Hogwarts without the permission of parents, that illegal dark artefacts were being used, and that not only the Board of Governors had been rendered useless, but the Headmaster as well.

There had been a public outcry against the Ministry, mostly by parents that weren't employed there. Fudge had put them all off, telling that there was an investigation pending, that he was getting down to the bottom of these accusations. It was all a lie, of course, since Amelia Bones arrived at Hogwarts just three days after the article was printed wanting to speak to not only Umbridge but Dumbledore as well.

*Flashback*

Silence fell over the Great Hall as the door opened and admitted the Head of the D.M.L.E., Amelia Bones. Her face was impassive but Herione could tell that she was livid. Even though Susan was her niece, she paid her no mind as she stalked up to the Head Table and spoke clearly.

"Madam Umbridge, you will follow me to the Headmaster's office. You as well, Headmaster. We all have some questions that need answered." Hermione was dancing and cheering on the inside, hoping against hope that the old hag would find herself inside of an Azkaban cell before the day was out. Umbridge stood and gave the room a sickly sweet smile before following after Bones, her smile turning into a sneer when the older witch wasn't looking. Hermione knew that look promised retribution so she really hoped that she was going to be packing her things after the interview was over.

Since they had Defense next, there was no point in leaving the Great Hall when the bell rang. Professor Cat had told them to just wait for their professor there and that she would come and retrieve them when she was ready for them. Hermione sincerely hoped that that would be never. However, just an hour later, the toad in pink arrived with a smile on her face and gestured for everyone to follow her to the classroom. Once they arrived and took their seats, Umbridge turned to face them, her smile gone only to be replaced with another sneer.

"You were all hoping that I would be gone, I can see it on your faces. You were fools to think that I would leave that easily. You don't grow up as I did and not become immune to the effects of veritaserum. Now all the aurors think that you're all horrid little children that are just looking to start some trouble because you don't like my class. You just made sure that I won't be leaving any time soon. Since you did me such a great favor, I'll only make you copy the first ten chapters of the book, due to me by the end of the day. I don't care what other assignments you don't get done for your other classes. This takes precedence." Hermione sighed, realizing that she was right. Now all the students looked like childish liars and she looked like a hated teacher that they were trying to run out of the school. This left only one thing for them to do.

Take care of the problem themselves.

*End of Flashback*

A few of the parents had arrived and removed their students from Hogwarts, not believing that Umbridge was innocent like the Prophet had claimed. Most were first years that were too scared to hang around, not that Hermione blamed them. Umbridge did seem to have a penchant for picking on the smallest of the students; she often wondered if the woman wanted to be a Death Eater and this was the only way she could prove to herself that she could be accepted.

It had been only a couple of days after that that Hermione had decided on a plan to get rid of Umbridge. It wasn't elaborate, it wasn't fancy, and it wasn't difficult. If anything, it was overly simply but she hoped that that was the beauty of it. Something that the toad could see but not really put together as a plot against her.

*Flashback*

It was the end of another D.A. meeting and Hermione was exhausted. They had just learned the blasting hex and while she already knew how to cast it perfectly, her small group of students didn't. Needless to say, teaching was just as tiring as learning. There were only twenty minutes until curfew and she really wanted to speak with the group about Umbridge so she went up to Harry's side and gestured with her eyes that she wanted to speak. He rubbed a hand down her spine and nodded, telling her silently that the floor was hers. She cleared her throat and waited until all eyes were on her.

"I know that we all had our hopes up when Madam Bones arrived to question Umbridge. I know that I did. It was that day that I realized that the fat toad was right. Nobody is going to believe us now; they see us as errant children that are complaining to get rid of a teacher that we just don't like. We all know this isn't true. It was when I realized that she was right that I also realized that it's up to us to get rid of her. Our parents and the Ministry aren't going to do it. We're going to have to do it for ourselves." A quiet burst of whispering erupted and Hermione let it go on for almost a minute before she shushed them again.

"I know it's risky but look at us already. We're holding secret meeting to learn defense behind her back. We would all be in detention for the rest of the year if she found out. We might as well take it one step further and get rid of the old hag if we can. I know I want her out of here. I want a teacher that's worth a damn, one that actually teaches us. If you don't want in on this, go ahead and go. If you have no idea what we're planning, you'll have plausible deniability. If you want in, stay and listen up to how you can help." Not surprisingly, Fred and George let out whoops of joy and rushed up to where she was standing, linking their arms with hers. Juliet was laughing at them, as was Daphne. Hermione had to admit that she was only a little surprised to see a couple first year Hufflepuffs slink out the door so they wouldn't have to help. Once they were gone, Hermione disentangled herself from the twins and pulled a box out of her bag and passed it around.

"Everyone take one of the crystals from inside and pass the box on. There should be enough there for everyone in the room." It took several minutes for the box to make its way to everyone in the room but she began again when everyone had one.

"As I'm sure that some of you have guessed, these are recording crystals. They're all set to start recording the images and sounds around you at the key phrase 'Umbridge is going down'. Say that phrase and it will record everything that is going on around you. Now that we have these, I want you to do everything you possibly can to piss the woman off. Play pranks on her, call her names, get detention, I don't care. The point is, we're going to record her being a complete hag for however long it takes to get enough proof to get her sacked. If you get a detention, I want the crystal recording the whole time you're using that damn quill. Every time she's berating you for something stupid, like standing six inches too close to the opposite sex, I want you to record it. It might take a little while to get enough proof to show the Ministry that we aren't liars, but we're going to get her sacked." The twins were both hugging her now, both at the same time, and thanking her over and over quite loudly in her ears. She was laughing at them but trying to pay attention to the questions from the others as well. It was Ginny that asked the question she knew was going to come to her.

"So you want us to get in trouble and get punished? That doesn't make any sense." Hermione sighed and then fortified herself. She really hated dealing with Ginny Prewett. She always let Harry deal with her when they were teaching the D.A.

"We get detention anyways, whether we deserve it or not. At least if we do something to deserve it, we know we're going to record her and eventually her thrown out on her arse." Ginny sniffed imperiously her way.

"I haven't had a detention yet. Maybe she just likes me." Hermione couldn't hide her snort, thinking that maybe the two were a lot alike but decided maybe that wasn't fair. Maybe Ginny was just forgettable in Defense class.

"Maybe. Like I said, you don't have to participate. If you see her acting like a hag while punishing someone else, you can still record that." Ginny nodded but still looked skeptical. Hermione turned her attention to the rest of the group.

"Any other questions?" There were several calls of no so Hermione bid them goodnight and to leave carefully and quietly, not wanting anyone to give their meeting times and place away to the toad.

*End of Flashback*

So far, Hermione had recorded two detentions, as had Harry. Draco had recorded Umbridge pulling a first year Ravenclaw to his feet by his hair and shoving him towards a staircase so hard he fell to his knees. The twins had recorded the most, numerous detentions and several occasions where the woman had cursed them with her wand. She knew that Juliet had a couple recordings from her class and Daphne had a recording of her threatening Hermione to tie her up in the Forbidden Forest and leave her there to starve.

It wasn't nearly enough to take to Bones yet but soon enough, it would be. The crystals that she had handed out were the same ones that aurors used when they took down statements of victims of crimes so she knew that there would be no way they could dispute the method of retaining the memories. There was an infinite amount of space on the crystal so that wasn't going to be a problem either. Honestly, the biggest problem was going to be how she was going to get the crystals to Madam Bones and get her to believe her long enough to start viewing them. She had hoped they would have enough by Christmas break but she wasn't sure that they would. Maybe she could ask the woman to meet her in Hogsmeade sometime after the new year and beg her to view them then.

The one memory that Hermione had made sure to record was Hermione sitting in her detention and asking Umbridge how she had become immune to veritaserum. Umbridge had gone on about how her occlumency helped quite a bit and then she had subjected herself to the potion over and over, increasing the dose over time so she grew immune to it. It really was quite genius and Hermione was considering doing it herself. It was no secret that there was going to be a war and there were secrets in her head that absolutely nobody could know. While her occlumency protected them to a certain degree, being immune to the truth serum would further protect it.

The bell rang, startling Hermione from her thoughts. She reached down and grabbed her bag, only to find that Harry was already holding it in his hands, handing it to her with an impish smile on his face. She smiled back and took her bag, throwing it over shoulder. They were growing closer, she could feel that, and as much as she hated to get her hopes up that there was still a chance for them, it was hard not to.

Harry never paid attention to the other girls now and he rarely spoke to any that weren't his friends. Ginny was the one exception but even that was limited. Hermione had been surprised to find that when they got back to school that he had seriously distanced himself from her. Sure, he still talked to her here and there and sat next to her occasionally at the Gryffindor table but it was almost like she unnerved him. She had once asked him (quite tentatively since she didn't want to start a fight) why he acted like that and he had explained about her occlumency shields and where Uncle Sev thought they had originated from.

After hearing that, Hermione couldn't help but be a little creeped out about Ginny as well. It seemed like her father had made the right decision to keep her out of the family now more than ever. While Hermione wasn't sure that the girl was evil, there was definitely a dark streak there, a spoiled child that was used to getting everything that she wanted and if she was refused, she reacted violently without a care in the world. Since Hermione was the person she seemed to hate most in the world, it didn't bode well for her if things ever went bad.

The group of friends made their way to Transfiguration. It was just a review class today so Hermione was excited to continue with the process of becoming an animagus. She had finally discovered what her form was in meditation just a couple nights ago and even though she had swore to herself that she would keep it a secret until she could actually transform, she just couldn't. She had blurted it out, insanely proud of herself.

A clouded leopard.

Hermione had researched them ruthlessly and was quite happy with her form. They were a medium sized cat and considered the most beautiful. They were quite clever and could protect themselves rather well. Hermione decided that it fit her rather well. This was going to be the first class with Professor McGonagall since discovering her form and couldn't wait to tell her.

The group of friends took their seats and Hermione patiently waited for her to set them to studying the last few chapters that they had been assigned. Since she was quite certain she needed no studying of switching spells, she made her way up to Professor Cat's desk and cast a silencing spell once she had her professor's attention. She was nearly bursting with excitement when she finally spoke.

"I met my form two nights ago, professor. I'm so excited!" Professor McGonagall dropped her quill and met her eyes with excitement of her own. Hermione wondered briefly if she had ever guided anyone to finding their animagus form before.

"What is it? Tell me everything."

Hermione spent the next thirty minutes telling her every small detail about her encounter with the clouded leopard and what her thoughts on the matter was. By the time she was done speaking, Professor Cat was grinning from ear to ear and it was as though she had forgotten that she had a class in her room.

"I'm so very proud of you, Hermione. It hardly took you any time at all. All that's left for you is taking the potion and turning for the first time. However, I think we should wait for Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Potter to do that. Maybe they can be done by Christmas and you can all do it together then. It would be a nice project to do over the holidays. Less prying eyes if you know what I mean." Hermione caught her drift immediately and nodded.

"I'll see if I can prod the boys into working harder to get to their forms. I'm so excited to meet her but I do want to wait and do it with the boys." Her professor gave her one last smile.

"Work on them to meditate longer. If we have to wait, we will. We can't hurry it too much or they'll have a set back. That won't do us any good at all." Hermione nodded and smiled one last time.

"Thank you for taking the time to teach us, professor, it really means a lot to me." Professor McGonagall put her hand on her head and smiled softly.

"Who knew this is where we would end up after your first year? Neither one of us could stand the other. I'm so very glad that we gave each other a chance, Miss Black. My life would have been poorer without you in it." Hermione gave her a genuine smile.

"Mine as well, professor. Mine as well." Hermione didn't wait for her to respond, just turned and went back to her seat.

Since there was little else she could do in class, she pulled out a book she was reading for pleasure, one on how ghosts could impact a dwelling if they decided to haunt it. It was quite interesting and it made Hermione wonder if there was a reason that there were no ghosts at Blackmoor. Surely there had been Blacks through the years that hadn't been ready to cross over? There was only one ghost at Malfoy Manor and Uncle Luci had spelled him to where he couldn't leave the dungeon because he was quite inappropriate and had once been caught peeking at Hermione when she was changing clothes when she was only eight. Uncle Luci had been furious, more furious than she had ever seen him, and it was hours later that he had informed her that Shireford Malfoy would never leave the dungeons.

The bell rang soon after, dismissing them to Potions. Hermione picked up her own bag this time but waited for both Harry and Draco to catch up to her. She was a little surprised, however, to see that Draco fell back behind to wait for Daphne. Since it was clear that he was finally warming up to the blonde Slytherin, Hermione hooked her arm through Harry's and leaned against his arm as he led her out of the classroom.

As they turned the corner, however, they were quick to pull apart since Umbridge was coming up the corridor. Before they could say anything to anyone, the hag had swooped in and given Ron and Parvati detention for walking too close together. Hermione could only hope that they would remember to activate their crystals during their detention. As quickly as she had appeared was as quickly as she left.

Hermione didn't dare hook her arm through Harry's again on her way to Potions but they did walk together, discussing the lesson to come. She knew that her godfather was giving them a review lesson, something that he hated as much as she did. Since she was caught up on all her homework and had nothing else to do, she was going to read through the journal that he had given her over the summer and see if she could find a way to tweak the original potion he had come up with to cure lycanthropy to get a better result. She wasn't holding her breath, her godfather was a bloody genius after all, but she was still going to try.

Her uncle swept into class, his robes billowing behind him. He called for the class to come to order and instantly ordered them to review and work on their homework. He rarely gave them these days so when he did, the whole class took advantage. Even Draco was working on Potions work, though it was work from the seventh year curriculum that they were going to test on sooner rather than later.

Uncle Sev had already told her that she was N.E.W.T. ready. Therefore, with her father's permission, she was going to skip the O.W.L.s this year in Potions and take the N.E.W.T.s with the seventh years. She was scared out of her mind but her godfather assured her every single time he saw her that she was ready without even studying. If she was able to pass, he could start apprenticing her, meaning that she would be ready for her Mastery no later than a year after her graduation, perhaps even sooner. It was everything she had ever dreamed of but it scared the life out of her when she thought about it. However, she trusted her godfather and knew that he wouldn't send her off to get slaughtered so she trusted that he thought she was ready. Therefore, she did her best not to worry too much.

Hermione started to break apart the aconite to a cellular level when the bell rang, signalling that it was time for lunch. She reluctantly rose, stuffing her things in her bag. She really could have skipped the meal and stayed to work on her breakthrough but knew that she never would have heard the end of it from Harry or Draco, let alone the twins or Neville. She allowed the pair to escort her through the crowds through to corridor to the Great Hall, where the both let go of her arm so they wouldn't gain another detention.

They took their seats and Hermione listened to the boys ramble on about their quidditch practices and how they were having to practice in the rain and the mud and how unfair it was. Hermione found it a little amusing but decided to refrain from commenting on that. After all, if they chose to play in all those conditions, what right did they have to complain?

Dinner passed with no fanfare, everyone eating their fill and laughing at jokes. There were no detentions assigned and no arguments to avoid. In fact, it was a rare meal at Hogwarts since the peaceful ones were so rare and far between. Hermione had just pushed her plate away when the bell rang again, signalling the end of lunch.

It was time for Herbology, probably her least favorite class.

-O-

Harry led Hermione across the grounds to Herbology, the snow crunching under their shoes. Her hair was blowing softly in the December breeze and the snowflakes were getting caught in her curls. She was beautiful and she didn't even know it. He was pulled from his thoughts by entering the warm greenhouse and taking a seat next to her in his usual spot.

Professor Sprout entered and called the class to attention. Draco and Daphne were settled behind them while Neville was with Blaise to their right. They were listening raptly as Professor Sprout lectured them on the more dangerous plants in Greenhouse Six. It really wasn't anything new for Harry so he just compared her lecture to his notes from Madam Cambridge.

Nothing of note happened in Herbology; they were assigned an essay on one of the many plants and sent on their way. This time, Harry let Draco escort Hermione out of Herbology and across the grounds back to the castle. She had Magical Theory while he and Draco had Divination. He dreaded it but there was nothing else for it.

Once inside the castle, they split ways. Harry and Draco chatted about quidditch practice and the upcoming match between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. They kept the required eight inches away from each other at all times and when they passed Umbridge, she gave them a smug look. They entered the classroom to find Firenze had changed the ceiling had been turned to the starry night sky. Harry sighed again; it wasn't that he disliked the centaur, he just really got nothing out of Divination.

They spent the next hour and a half looking at the night sky, trying to decide what Saturn was telling them about what was to come. At the end of the class period, they were set free with no homework though so he considered it a win. He and Draco made their way to the Great Hall, knowing that it was time for dinner. Just as they were getting ready to enter, Lisa Turpin stepped out from an alcove and gave him a winning smile. She stepped forward and rubbed her hand up and down his chest, her nails lightly scraping his skin through his uniform shirt.

"Hey, handsome, let's get out of here and have some fun." Harry reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling it away from his chest. He gave her a tight smile but shook his head.

"No thanks, Turpin. I told you we were done." She curled her lip in what he was sure she thought was an attractive way but he just cringed.

"Let me know if you change your mind." Harry didn't bother to answer, he just started for the Great Hall again. Draco chuckled under his breath before speaking.

"How long have you gone without sex now?" Harry glared at his friend.

"A couple weeks before I came to Blackmoor. I decided that I had to prove to her that I could go without before I ever had a hope of her saying yes to me." Harry expected Draco to make fun of him or at least have a few laughs at his expense but instead he clapped Harry on the shoulder.

"You'll get there, mate. Good job." Harry smiled just a little.

"It's easier than I thought it would be." Their conversation was cut off since they took their seats and Hermione, Daphne, Luna, and Juliet were already there. The conversation was centered around their plans for the upcoming summer and what they thought they would be able to do with Voldemort now alive. Harry didn't contribute since he never knew what his summer was going to consist of until right before the holidays anyways.

They ate their meal quickly since they had a D.A. meeting that night and they needed to open the room for the other students. It had only been a couple weeks since their first meeting but they had already come a long ways from where they had started. It had only taken two meetings for everyone to master the disarming charm, including the second years. They had made the rule that first years couldn't join since their magical cores just weren't strong enough to handle the magic that they would be teaching. Harry had hated to do it but it was the only option they had that would keep the little firsties from injuring themselves.

Everyone was excited for the meeting and were in a hurry to finish. Harry and his group of friends were the first to leave the Hall but it wasn't long before the other students were right behind them. Harry opened the Room of Requirement and let all his friends in. The twins entered with a whoop, excited to get started.

Harry readied the room while Hermione browsed the bookshelf that had appeared at the back of the room. Draco was talking and laughing with Neville and the twins while Luna, Daphne, and Jules were chuckling softly in the corner about who knew what. Harry stepped closer to where Hermione was browsing and tugged one of her curls. She shot him a guilty smile before turning back to the books.

"You caught me. I can't help reading the titles at least." Harry chuckled at her.

"I'm sure that the Room wouldn't mind if you borrowed a few." She smiled but was saved from having to answer by several Hufflepuffs arriving.

After everyone had arrived, Harry called them all to order and spaced them apart so he could give them each a target. They all looked at him with eager eyes since he had told them at the last meeting that they would be working on the blasting curse. After everyone had a target, he stood at the head of the room and started.

"Today, we're going to start learning the blasting curse. The incantation is 'confringo' and the wand movement is like this. Everyone watch closely." Harry performed the spell perfectly and they all watched as the dummy in front of him exploded. He quickly repaired it before turning to his students once more.

"Practice the wand movements first." Everyone did as they were told and Hermione and Draco went up and down the line to correct the movements that weren't quite right. After he was certain that everyone had it down, he bid them to start practicing the actual spell.

Most of the students had no problems with the spell; they caught on pretty quickly. Some of the second years were struggling, however, Juliet being one of them. Hermione was standing behind her, trying to correct her wand movement and whispering softly in her ear. The girl was still flustered and upset which meant that she wasn't ever going to succeed in that state. Harry went over to her and tugged her hair lightly, catching her attention. He grinned at her.

"What relaxes you, Jules?" She gave him a confused look as she answered.

"Spending time with my friends and family. I love sitting in the library at Blackmoor with hot chocolate while we're all just quietly reading." Harry nodded, taking the place behind her when Hermione moved out of the way.

"I want you to imagine that you're back at Blackmoor and you're sitting in the library. You're relaxed because everyone is there and you're having a great time." He could feel the tension leave her body. He pushed her wand arm up and guided her hand through the movement.

"Say the incantation." Juliet let him guide her hand but she spoke the incantation.

"Confringo." A large blast shot out of her wand and hit the dummy in front of her, completely destroying it. A huge smile broke out on her face and she turned around to throw herself into his arms.

"How did that work?" He smiled at her as he hugged her back.

"You were upset. Once you relaxed and you let your intent be known, your magic took over. Now you've been successful at casting a blasting curse." Juliet was clearly happy and ran forward to repair her dummy so she could do it again.

The meeting went for two hours and by the time the meeting came to an end, everyone in the room could cast the blasting curse. He told them that he wasn't sure if they would have another meeting before the end of the term and that he would let them know. Everyone left in good spirits and Harry himself was feeling light of heart. He threw an arm around Hermione's and Luna's shoulders and smiled at the rest of their friends.

"You think we have time for another meeting before we all leave for Christmas?" Hermione leaned into him and rested her head against his chest. Harry couldn't resist resting his cheek against her head and smell her hair. Her voice was soft, almost as though she were about to fall asleep.

"I don't think we're going to be able to. We leave in a week and we still have exams to study for." Harry kissed her head and smoothed a hand down her curls.

"Alright, no more meetings. Let's get back to our common rooms though, everyone is tired and we don't want the hag to catch us." Harry handed Hermione off to Draco who also wrapped an arm around Daphne's waist. He watched them leave so he grabbed Jules' hand and made sure that Neville and the twins were following closely behind as the exited the room to head for Gryffindor common room.

They made it to the common room easily and after Harry had wished Jules a good night, he climbed the stairs to his dorm. Ron was already snoring and Neville was already changing into his pajamas. Harry followed suit, promising himself that he would shower in the morning. Once he was under the duvet and behind his curtains, he relaxed and started to meditate for his animagus form. Hermione had already found hers and he was so jealous he couldn't hardly stand it.

After meditating for an hour unsuccessfully, he finally gave it up and just let his mind relax. Tomorrow was another day and he was going to have to be rested to make sure to stay ahead of Umbridge. With that last thought, he closed his eyes and let sleep pull him under.

-O-

Sirius was so angry he couldn't hardly see straight. He wasn't fit to spend time with but Helena kept insisting on being there with him. He knew she was bearing the brunt of his rage and he felt terrible but Umbridge was fucking with his kids and that was one thing you just didn't do and get away with it.

He and Lucius had done all they could to thwart Fudge and Umbridge without declaring an all out war in the Wizengamot. If he thought that he would win, he would be all for the war. However, he wasn't sure now that Voldemort had returned and there were so many Death Eaters in the Chambers. Yes, he and Lucius were powerful and had the money to back just about anything but they were only two people. Sure, Bill made a third and Greengrass and Longbottom made four and five but that was nothing compared to the rest of the Death Eaters.

Therefore, they had contacted the Daily Prophet. The journalist had been afraid of retaliation, not that Sirius blamed her. Hermione had told him that Bones had showed up to investigate Umbridge and it had come up empty. While he had been told that Hermione hadn't received any detention, Harry had and the bitch was making him carve words into the back of his hand with a blood quill. The dark artefact was illegal unless it was used for the signing of legal documents.

He and Lucius were still doing all they could to figure out a way to get Fudge out of office. They were actually trying to convince Amos Diggory to run for Minister against Fudge in the coming months, telling him that they would completely fund his campaign and throw their full support behind him. While he wasn't averse to running for Minister, he didn't want to be the Minister to fight the war with Voldemort. He wasn't sure if they would convince him in the end but they were giving it their all.

Alexandre was still at Blackmoor and Helena couldn't be happier. Sirius still didn't trust him completely but he was growing to like the old man. He gave good advice and seemed invested in making it work with Helena and Juliet. Sirius still needed to have a conversation with Hermione regarding Alexandre but it was going to have to hold until Christmas. She was the Black heir and he didn't have the right to make decisions about if someone like Alexandre could permanently stay without her input.

Things with the Weasleys were going well. Arthur still worked at the Ministry in his muggle department but people treated him with more respect. Bill was coming along in with his Wizengamot training quite well; he was picking it up as quickly as Hermione and Draco had. Charlie had transferred from the Romanian reserve to the English one and now apparated back and forth from their estate every day. He was helping Bill with the day to day running of the estate, more work than either one of them had expected.

Fleur was also staying at the estate with Bill since he had proposed to her just a couple weeks before. They hadn't been together long but Bill was Fleur's mate and there was no separating them. They were happy together even though Molly was not. In fact, she couldn't stand Fleur which Sirius found absolutely hilarious. She deserved some strife in her life, if only from the sweet person that Fleur Delacour was.

Severus had just left and he was certain that Umbridge was getting suspicious of the defense class that the children were having. He did his best to distract her on their meeting days but it was getting harder and harder to come up with excuses. The one thing Severus refused to do was bed her. He hoped that they weren't going to have any more meetings before the end of the year because he really didn't have anymore reasons to keep the old bitch from patrolling.

Sirius threw back his whiskey and stood, preparing to head to bed. Helena had left an hour ago and he had promised to follow behind shortly. He would meet with Bill and Lucius in the morning to update them on Severus' words. In just a week, the children would be heading home and he could see for himself that they were well and truly as alright as they claimed.

He trudged up the stairs and tried to be quiet as he entered their bedroom, stripping naked so he could climb into bed. Helena was still awake since she instantly moved to snuggle into his side, wrapping her arm around waist. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight, pressing his lips to her temple.

"Goodnight, love." She kissed his chest and laid her head back down.

"Goodnight." Sirius let his eyes fall closed, let his mind fall silent.

There would be plenty of time for that in the morning.

A/N- There we are, another chapter finished. Hallelujah. Hermione found out what her animagus form is! Go google a clouded leopard, they are freaking awesome looking! Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Let me know what you think, I love hearing your thoughts.

Next chapter, Nagini makes an appearance.

Love,

Alicia


	95. Chapter 95

A/N- I'm back, my lovelies, with another chapter. It's going to be crazy so hope you're ready for a wild ride! Big thanks to everyone that's reading, extra thanks to those that review. Y'all are awesome. Anyways, I'm going to start, I can't wait to get writing!

This chapter is dedicated to rabradley09 for her birthday...it's a couple days early but there's no way I'll have another one ready by then. Have a great birthday, girl!

**Shout out to bexis1 for being my 4700th reviewer! You da bomb!**

Disclaimer: I still don't own this story or the characters. I still haven't made any money off this story or any of my others. Trust me, my bank account tells no lies.

Chapter 95

December 21, 1995

Hermione nudged her best friend in the shoulder and mock glared at her over their roast beef sandwiches and vegetable soup. It was lunch time and even though they had Defense Against the Dark Arts later that afternoon, Hermione was in a great mood. They were going home the next morning and she was going to get to see her family and Bluebell. To say that she was excited was an understatement. Surely she could make it through one more class with Umbitch and not get a detention. Daphne turned wide eyes her way and smirked just a little when she saw the look on her face.

"So, how are things going with Draco? I notice the two of you go everywhere together and he offers you his arm all the time." Daphne shrugged her shoulders and Hermione could see a glimmer of self-doubt in her eyes.

"I'm not sure how things are going. He hasn't said anything and he hasn't asked to court me or anything like that. He's asked if he can escort me and such but that's it. I don't know if he's just messing with me to get me back for going with Blaise or what. It's nice, don't get me wrong, but I hate not knowing where we stand." Hermione rolled her eyes at her friend, an act that she rarely let herself indulge in.

"Why don't you just ask him what's going on? He might appreciate you showing that you want to know." Daphne's mouth dropped open before she shoved her shoulders against hers in laughter.

"The same could be said for you, Miss Black. Don't think the rest of us haven't noticed that Harry has quit seeing all the girls he was sleeping with last year. He's much more affectionate with you this year. He stood up to Ginny Weasley for you. What's going on there?" Hermione felt her cheeks color slightly and hoped that neither Harry nor Draco noticed. She glared at Daphne for real this time before answering.

"He was very clear when he said that we couldn't be together. I've already made peace with it, Daph. As long as we can be friends, I'll be happy." Daphne rolled her eyes now but said nothing else. Hermione's attention was drawn to Harry choking on his pumpkin juice, eyes watering slightly.

"Does that pumpkin juice taste funny to anyone else or is it just me?" Hermione's eyebrows drew inward as she picked up her cup and tasted the juice. It tasted perfectly fine to her. Draco followed suit and shook his head.

"It's just you, mate. Tastes fine to me." Hermione nodded her agreement.

"Me too." Before they could say anything else, the bell rang, dismissing them to their first afternoon class. That meant that Harry had a free period and Hermione and Draco had Arithmancy. Hermione turned to gather her bag, only to find that Harry already had it in his hand and was waiting for her, hand outstretched. She smiled at him and took it, standing to have him hand her her bag. He kissed her forehead and brushed her hair back from her face, giving her a smile.

"I'm going to go work on my Spanish. Remember our deal, Miss Black." She laughed and stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

"I wouldn't dream of forgetting. I'll quiz you when we get to Blackmoor. Though, it is Malfoy Manors turn for Christmas this year." Harry laughed and gave her a gentle shove towards Draco. Her cousin held out his arm and she took it, smiling. She really was excited for the Christmas holidays.

She already had most of her shopping done; there was only one person that she needed to shop for and that was Alexandre. She didn't know him at all so she had no idea what to get an old man that claimed that he was dying. She had planned to discuss it with her father and uncle but that would have to wait until the next day.

Hermione and Draco strolled through corridors until they reached the Arithmancy classroom and took their seats. Professor Vector was already there, seated at her desk and concentrating on whatever she was working on. They were careful to be quiet so they wouldn't break her concentration as they began to unpack their text, parchment, quill, ink, and homework. Even though she was still further ahead in this class than where the rest of her class was, Arithmancy was one of the harder classes for her that Madam Cambridge taught. Where Potions was by far her easiest, Warding and Arithmancy were her hardest. She loved the challenge but constantly worried that she was getting it wrong.

After everyone arrived, Professor Vector rose and started her lesson. Hermione and Draco had already learned this lesson almost a year and a half before so they weren't worried about the assignment that they were given. Once the bell rang, the pair gathered their things and left their professor to whatever she had been working on when they had arrived. Hermione sighed heavily as she realized just what this meant.

Defense Against the Dark Arts was next.

She took a deep breath and promised herself that she would be good. She told herself that she would keep her mouth shut and she wouldn't stand up for anyone in the class, that they could suffer their own punishments, she had suffered more than her fair share after all. Unless it was Draco or Harry. They were the only ones she would speak up for. Draco had his arm securely around her waist and when they entered the classroom, it tightened around her before it finally released her. He shot her a look, a look that told her to keep her bloody mouth shut, before taking her seat and removing her text, parchment, quill, and ink.

Harry and Daphne entered with Neville, Blaise following quickly behind them. They just barely took their seats when Professor Umbridge entered and used her wand to slam the doors shut, barring anyone else from entering. She turned her sickly sweet, evil smile on the class and gestured for them to open their books. Hermione kept her eyes on her book and bit her tongue so would keep her mouth shut when the hag started speaking.

"I want you all to start copying the twenty-third chapter out of your text. If you finish with that, feel free to start reading the next chapter." Hermione did as she was told, copying the chapter that she was bid. It took half the class period but when she turned it in it was perfect. Umbridge just smiled at her as she returned back to her seat to start reading the next chapter. She noticed that Harry was doing the same as she was and Draco was only a little further behind them.

Hermione had always been a fast reader so it took her less than ten minutes to read the chapter that she had already read twice over. Once she was finished, she put her book away and sat quietly, having had no more instruction from the fat toad. Only minutes later, Harry did the same as her but took it a step further and laid his head on his arms. Moments after he had laid his head down, Umbridge walked between them and looked between them and smiled.

"I see that Miss Black and Mr. Potter have once again considered themselves above the rules." Hermione sighed to herself. It seemed as though once again she was going to be in detention. Harry was gritting his teeth next to her and she could tell that he was on the verge of losing control. Therefore, she did the only thing she could to keep him from doing so.

"I'm not sure how you think we consider ourselves about the rules, professor. We copied the chapter, we read the next chapter just as you asked. You gave us no other tasks. It's not our fault that you didn't expect some of us to be overachievers. You should know which students are able to accomplish the assigned tasks by now and which ones aren't." Hermione was sure that it was going to be bad when she saw the look on Umbridge's face. She didn't expect that hand to reach out and coil in her hair, yanking her head back as far as it could so Umbridge could whisper harshly in her ear. She hoped against hope that Draco had his recording crystal recording because she didn't have hers going. Just as she heard Draco and Harry both stand, her magic reacted and blasted the woman away from her. Umbridge hurried to her feet and the look on her face was pure fury. Hermione, however, was having none of her treatment.

"You may be able to force me to cut my hand up in detention but you don't get to touch me. If you ever touch me again, you'll regret it, I'll make sure of that. Not only is that a threat, it's a promise." Umbridge pulled her wand but the magic was swirling around Hermione, lifting her hair with an invisible wind. Hermione made her eyes steel as she faced her down.

"Do it, I dare you. I guarantee you, I'll hand you your arse." Umbridge clearly thought better of her actions and put her wand back up her sleeve before glaring at Hermione.

"You and Mr. Potter will have detention tonight. He will report after dinner, you will report right after class. You won't be needing dinner tonight, Miss Black." Hermione knew that her punishment was going to be bad but she hadn't expected to get that many extra added hours of detention. Not that it mattered; she would endure it silently as she always did and treat herself afterwards.

The rest of the class was silent, watching as they sat on the edge of their seats. Hermione knew that she had just painted a huge target on her back but at this point in time, she didn't care. There was no way in blue hell that she was going to let that hag jerk her around by her hair when she could do something to stop it. Draco was watching her closely, as was Harry. Where the rest of the students looked at her as if she were crazy, Draco's face was shuttered and impassive, a sure sign that not only was he livid, he was scared shitless too. Harry, though, was staring at her, his eyes telling her that he knew exactly what she had done and just why she had done it. She was sure that she would get an arse-chewing later that evening from him.

The bell rang, dismissing the rest of the students to dinner. Hermione remained in her seat while Draco and Harry slowly gathered their things. Daphne looked as though she were ready to cry; even though she had never had detention with Umbridge, she knew all too well what happened in them. Neville was the first to leave, his hand landing on her shoulder as he passed, silently telling her to stay strong and to not let the toad win. Hermione took the moment of confusion while everyone was leaving to turn her recording crystal on; there was no way that she was going to suffer through who knew how many hours of detention without having it on. Draco pressed a kiss to the top of her head as he left, his eyes telling her that there would be retribution. As Harry was getting ready to walk out the door, Umbridge called out to him.

"Don't forget, Mr. Potter, be here by six." Harry didn't even turn to acknowledge that he had heard her, he just kept walking. Hermione was laughing on the inside when she saw how much it pissed Umbridge off. The woman turned her way and crooked her finger at her, indicating that she should stand and follow her. Hermione obliged since she really didn't want to make her situation worse.

Umbridge led her through the door that went to her office, pointing to the chair closest to her. Hermione took the seat and stared at the woman impassively when she sat, watching her, considering if she wanted to say anything. Finally, Umbridge seemed to make up her mind and spoke.

"Why do you fight me so, Miss Black? You could be great under my tutelage, you know. I could teach you things that you haven't even dreamed of. They would give you power that you clearly deserve and Mr. Potter would flock to you once he saw how powerful you were." Hermione reached for the blood quill and held it poised above the parchment before finally looking at the woman who demanded she be there.

"I will always fight you. I already know things that you couldn't dream of. If you're referring to the darker side of things, don't forget who my uncle is and just what he was. My father was also raised to be just like him. Don't you worry about the power I deserve and what Harry does. He is of little consequence to you. We're going to bring you down, Umbridge and when it happens, you're going to be ruined. I'll make sure of it." Umbridge lifted her nose imperiously in the air and sniffed before glaring at her.

"You know what to write, Miss Black. Same as always. You might think I'm stupid and don't realize you're making that healing balm for everyone but it won't work forever. Those cuts will eventually do enough damage to scar your hand. The pretty and perfect Hermione Black will always have 'I will always do as I'm told' scarred across her hand for the whole world to see. You may succeed and eventually get me fired but with the extra spell I put on your quill tonight, you're going to remember me forever." Hermione felt her stomach clench at her words but did her best to show nothing on her face. Umbridge knew, though, and grinned.

"Begin."

Hermione started writing like she had been told and the familiar burn of the words etching into her skin began. She could tell that Umbridge wasn't lying, however. The burn was much more pronounced this time. This level of burning didn't usually occur until she had been writing lines for an hour.

The Slytherin wrote lines all through dinner, the toady cunt sitting at her desk eating a bowl of soup and a sandwich watching her while she wrote. Her hand was already bleeding and the only thing she did about it was conjure a towel to put underneath it to soak up the liquid. She covered her wound so Harry wouldn't see how bad it was when he arrived. It had seemed like ages had passed when he finally arrived, his eyes finding her before he even took his seat. Umbridge noticed and smirked his way.

"Don't worry about Miss Black, Mr. Potter. She's paying for her crimes of disrespect in my classroom. Maybe she'll be kind enough to warn you as to just what can happen if you speak out of turn in my classroom." His eyes were filled with even more worry now but Hermione tried to make it better by not meeting his eyes. There was no sense in letting him see just how much pain she was in.

Hermione tried to concentrate while Harry was told to write the same thing that he always did too. She briefly wondered if his quill had been spelled like hers but decided not to ask. Not only would she earn herself another detention, it would likely clue Harry in to the fact that her quill was giving her more pain than usual. However, Umbridge seemed to realize where her thoughts had wandered and gave her a simpering smile.

"Don't worry, Miss Black. I didn't give his quill the same treatment as yours. If he continues to come see me in detention, however, I just might have to." She could feel Harry's eyes boring into her head but she kept her head down and her hand moving. If she stopped, she would likely not start again. The only thing that made her feel better about the whole situation was that her crystal was recording every single word that hag said. When it came time to expose her, this would be another nail in her coffin.

They sat there for hours, writing lines on the parchment and their hands. Umbridge graded exams from the day before and hummed happily to herself while Harry and Hermione wrote their lines in silence. Darkness had fallen outside and Hermione was starting to feel lightheaded from the blood loss in her hand. She noticed that Harry's hand was bleeding as well, indicating that they had been there at least three hours since Harry had joined her. Finally, Umbridge sighed and cast a tempus charm, showing that it was close to ten o'clock.

"You're both free to go. Let this be a lesson to you. Don't even bother with your cream, Miss Black, it won't work this time." Hermione kept her face impassive but Harry hissed in anger. Hermione shoved her good arm through his and dragged him through the door, moving quickly away from him when Umbridge called out about being eight inches from each other as the rules stated. They turned the corner and started for the classroom they always met in, Harry wanting to say something more than anything but Hermione keeping her hand clenched on his wrist to keep him quiet. Once they were inside the room, they found Draco, Daphne, Neville, and the twins waiting for them. After the door was locked, silenced, and warded, Draco spoke.

"We had Luna take Juliet. The less she knows the better. She's getting better at occlumency but still has a ways to go." Draco held out a jar of the cream but Hermione shook her head. She knew that there was no way it was going to help tonight. The damage was too great and she feared she needed an actual healer. She gestured for him to do Harry's hand and they all watched the words all but disappear from Harry's hand. Draco turned his gaze her way again and she grimaced, pulling her hand out of her robes.

Hermione herself hadn't seen it; she had been too scared to look at it with Umbridge there watching her. She hadn't wanted the witch to see the horror cross her face at seeing the damage to her hand, knowing that it was going to stay on her hand for the rest of her life. The whole room gasped in shock, even Draco losing his iron grip on his emotions when he saw the ravaged mess that was now her hand.

Harry reached out and gently took her hand in both his, bending down to examine it closer. Dried blood was stuck on the edges of her palm, clearly where the cloth had stuck to her hand in the liquid. Fresh blood was still flowing from the words that were literally carved into her flesh. Where the words had been smooth lines before, they were now thick and jagged tears that resembled words. They were obviously deep and Harry had a worried look on his face.

"Can you even move your fingers, Mia? Your hand at all?" Hermione did her best but found that she couldn't make all her fingers work and her hand wouldn't draw up all the way. Harry's magic was swirling on the surface and she knew that it wasn't good. Everyone could feel his magic and the twins, Neville, and Daphne were all backing away, fearful at what they could feel. Hermione knew this was his reaction whenever she got hurt so she moved closer into his side, shooting Draco a look to tell him just what was going on. Harry wrapped his arm around her shoulders and nuzzled her hair was his nose, still gently holding her hand with one of his. Her voice was soft when she spoke.

"Don't lose control, Harry. She'll find a way to do this to you and I couldn't stand for that to happen." Harry was suddenly pulling away from her, his hand like steel around her uninjured wrist. His eyes were dancing with fury, the green so much more vibrant than they normally were. He was yelling at her now and Hermione couldn't help but to shrink back from him.

"I can't believe you did this, Hermione! This should be me and we both know it. You only said something because I was getting ready to lose my temper. You fucking know better and I don't want you doing this shite for me. I'm not an eleven year old kid doing stupid shite anymore, I don't need you to protect me all the time anymore. You've done enough of that." Hermione felt her bravery return and she yelled back, everyone taking a step back as her magic flared to match his.

"No, you aren't an eleven year old doing stupid shite anymore, you're a fifteen year old doing stupid shite. You were going to be the one in my shoes and it was going to be worse because she hates you. She hates what you stand for, she hates that you're good. She offered to teach me things tonight that I had never dreamed of. You wouldn't have gotten that; ultimately, she wants me because I'm powerful and come from a dark family. You're good clear to the bone and knows she'll never be able to turn you. She wants to discredit you and make people believe you're crazy, they just can't come out and say it because of who your godfather is. I saved you from looking like a fucking loon, getting angry and going off on a teacher. Can you imagine how she would have spun that story for the fucking Prophet? The whole world already thinks we all lied because she can beat veritaserum. You would have looked like you needed a bed in the mental ward at St. Mungo's. You don't want me to jump in and save you, don't be a fucking idiot!" Draco stepped forward now and got between them while everyone else stayed back, well out of the line of fire. Her cousin's voice was strong and firm but she could tell that he was scared.

"Both of you need to stop. You're turning on each other and the only enemy here is Umbridge. We need to focus on that and quit fighting each other when it's clear that you both have each other's backs. That's not a bad thing, you two. Please, let's argue about this another time and figure out how we get Hermione's hand fixed." Hermione felt a few tears slip down her cheeks and she dashed them away angrily, disbelieving that she had shown even an ounce of weakness. Harry was known for seeing her weaknesses and using them against her, throwing them in her face to hurt her when he was angry or hurt himself. She put all her walls up and made her face go impassive, trying to reign her emotions back in. Harry saw what she was doing and came forward, his wand appearing and casting a silencing spell around them. She hardened herself for what she was sure to be an attack but it didn't come. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her gently and hugged her close. His words were soft in her ear and she wiped the tears that escaped on his shirt.

"I'm sorry for losing my temper, Mia. I saw what you did there and I deserve it. I'm famous for throwing your weaknesses back at you. I'm not doing that this time. I hate that you did this for me but you're right. I was a fucking idiot and I should have known better. I'm sorry and I feel so fucking guilty it makes me sick. I'm so sorry I made you cry. That bitch made you cut your own tendons, you have to see someone to heal it. It hurts me that you are hurting like this because of me and I yelled at you when I should have just hugged you. Please forgive me." Hermione slithered her good arm around his waist and held him tightly, enjoying his comforting arms around her and how he smelled so bloody good. After almost a full minute of enjoying his embrace, she finally pulled away and gave him a small smile.

"I forgive you. What do we do?" Harry brushed her hair back and let her pull away but kept an arm around her waist as he faced the others.

"We have to go to someone. However, we can't let Severus know. I think McGonagall is our best bet." Hermione nodded against his shoulder, her head a little woozy from blood loss. Draco stepped next to her and said in a worrying tone.

"I think you might have nicked an artery or something. It shouldn't still be bleeding." Hermione nodded and listened as Harry told the twins, Neville, and Daphne to head back to the common rooms before they got in trouble. After only a few minutes, Hermione felt herself being led out of the room and through the corridors of the castle, most assuredly on her way to Professor Cat.

-O-

Harry was so fucking mad he could hardly see straight. However, he was keeping a lid on it because Hermione was right. The last thing he needed was more detention. That was the whole point of giving him detention, after all. Hoping he would lose his cool and then lose it on Umbridge, that way she could claim that he was crazy and everyone would discredit what he was saying about Voldemort being back. While the Ministry wasn't calling him a liar, they sure weren't taking him seriously either, despite the fact that Viktor Krum had been returned to them dead with most of this skin missing.

He refused to let go of Hermione as they traversed the castle; he was exhausted from his own detention but he wasn't going to rest until he saw her getting treatment for her hand. That psychotic bitch had made her slice through her own tendons during her detention and he could only imagine the pain she had been in while she had been sitting there for hours on end. It was no wonder that she had refused to look at him and to stop when he had arrived. It was likely that she wouldn't have started again.

Draco had his arm around her waist on the other side and he could feel Hermione getting slower and slower as they made their way to the seventh floor. He knew that she was suffering the effects of blood loss and he was starting to worry that they wouldn't get her there fast enough. Just as they reached the sixth floor, Draco stopped and gave him a look.

"She's going to need potions. I can get into Uncle Sev's lab where he stores all his extras. His wards won't trigger if I go in. I'm going to go get some blood replenisher and a few others that I think will help. Get her to Professor Cat and start healing her." Harry nodded while Draco slipped back into the shadows. Hermione lifted her head and called out.

"Wait, Drake!" He stopped and turned as she spoke again.

"Kreacher." The elf appeared and he started to fuss over her injury. Hermione was having none of it though.

"I need you to take Draco wherever he needs to go and then bring him back to me. Then you may help me." Kreacher bowed once before taking Draco's hand and popping out of existence.

Harry continued along the way, helping Hermione as much as he could. Even though she was injured, her body was still warm and soft pressed up against him, her breasts in his side sending him into overdrive. He tried to block out those thoughts but it was quite difficult. Finally, they climbed the last set of stairs to find the door to Professor McGonagall's quarters and knocked as loudly as they dared. After only a minute, Professor McGonagall answered in a robe. She saw who was at the door and ushered them in quickly, making sure that nobody was watching. Harry sat Hermione on the sofa and leaned her back, brushing her hair back from her face as he spoke.

"We can't go to anyone else, Professor. She got detention with Umbridge so I wouldn't lose my cool and do something stupid. We were using a cream on our hands to heal them but the old bitch spelled her quill and it's worse. She's cut some of her tendons and Draco thinks she might have nicked an artery. He's sneaking into Severus' lab right now to get potions for her. You have to heal her and Severus can't know. He told Hermione that he would kill Umbridge if she hurt her and Hermione would die if he went to Azkaban. We've been hiding it since school started." McGonagall looked like she had been slapped in the face. It took her a moment to get her shit together and even then it took Harry yelling at her.

"Professor, get it together. We need to heal her before she bleeds out. Kreacher took Draco to get potions but we need you to heal her. Umbridge watches the Hospital Wing and we can't trust Pomfrey to not tell Severus since he's her Head of House. She doesn't know that he's her godfather, that would just make her tell him even quicker." Professor Cat finally got to moving and sat down on the table in front of Hermione to take her hand and examine it. Harry was unsurprised at her language.

"That dirty cock-sucking cunt-faced whore. How dare she do this to a student? Does she not know who she's messing with here?" Harry shook his head, sitting next to Hermione, his exhaustion catching up with him. His eyes were growing heavy and he was trying to fight it.

"I don't think she cares. She knows she has us right where she wants us. We looked like a fool after Bones was here and she beat the veritaserum. Don't worry, we're going to bring her down. She doesn't know about Hermione's plan to bring her down and it's going to work." Harry had thought that Professor McGonagall knew everything that Severus knew so he was genuinely surprised she didn't know.

"Hermione got recording crystals and handed them out at a D.A. meeting. We're recording everything she does and says. We're going to hand them over when we have enough proof. We'll get that bitch thrown out one way or another. She has Fudge's backing right now and she beat Bone's investigation but it won't last after we turn these in. There's no fooling these, they're auror grade. I don't even want to know how much Hermione spent on them." McGonagall gave him another confused look as she pulled books from her bookshelf bearing titles that referred to healing.

"D.A. meetings?" Harry yawned and snuggled closer to Hermione. He could tell that she was asleep or unconscious, one of the two.

"We're teaching everyone defense on the sly. The club is called Defense Association. I think Hermione is unconscious, we need to hurry." Her voice was soft when she spoke.

"Not unconscious, just tired. Professor McGonagall is doing the best she can." Harry nodded even though he was quite sure that she couldn't see him.

He let his eyes fall closed and he heard Professor McGonagall start speaking quietly to Hermione. He heard the soft tones that meant she was casting a spell and then the tell-tale pop that meant that Draco and Kreacher had arrived. Even though he didn't feel completely asleep, Harry could tell that he had dozed off when his mind started to wander and dream.

The dream was pleasant at first, him and Hermione sitting on the shore of the Black Lake and sharing a picnic lunch. They were laughing together about he wasn't sure what and she looked beautiful in the early summer sunshine. Just as he was settling into the wonderful dream, a sharp and horrendous pain struck his mind like a knife, tearing away at his occlumency shields that he hadn't put into place before falling asleep anyways. It continued until it felt as though someone had taken a jackhammer to his brain, his shields finally giving way to see exactly what he was meant to see.

There was a long corridor before him, the same corridor from when he had gone to trial over the summer for fighting off the dementor. Whereas the corridor had been packed over the summer, it was now completely empty. He could hear his footsteps echoing as he walked further down the corridor, eventually taking an elevator down into the very bowels of the Ministry.

Harry got the feeling that he wasn't supposed to be there; not from anything he saw or encountered but just a general feeling. He finally went through a door that saw shelves as high as the ceiling filled with milky white orbs. He wasn't sure what they were but they were all labeled with words he couldn't quite make out. The only thing he could see was the large number marking the row as 97. Just as Harry decided to step closer and get a look at some of the orbs that were on the shelves, a figure appeared on the floor next to him. There was a shock of red hair but he couldn't quite make out who it was since there was an enormous snake attacking him.

The man was screaming and it took several seconds to realize that it was Arthur. The snake kept lunging and even though Arthur was quick to dodge, he eventually slowed and the snake latched onto his neck. It stayed there for only a few seconds before releasing him and slithering off into the shadows. Arthur was twitching on the ground, bleeding from the wound, and fighting to stay awake. Harry wasn't sure what he could do and even though he knew that it was a dream, it felt so fucking real he wasn't sure that it wasn't.

He jolted awake with a scream to find that McGonagall, Hermione and Draco were all staring at him as though he had lost his mind. Hermione, who had no right to be worried about anyone but herself, gave him a worried look as she spoke softly.

"What's wrong, Harry?" He scrubbed his eyes, sure that they would think he was crazy but knowing that he couldn't keep quiet. If it was real, Mr. Weasley was laying somewhere in the Ministry dying.

"I'm not sure if it was a dream or a vision but Mr. Weasley is laying in the Ministry, somewhere with a bunch of shelves filled with milky orbs. An enormous snake attacked him and bit him in the neck. He's dying." He noticed that Hermione's hand was mostly healed, only a tiny scar remained. She looked much better than she had when she had arrived and she gave him a small smile.

"Draco and Kreacher brought potions and Professor McGonagall and Kreacher healed me." He nodded and went to his feet.

"I need to go tell Dumbledore." Professor McGonagall nodded and ushered them all to the floo. Without a second thought, they all flooed to the Headmaster's office. Harry was surprised to see that he was still awake and quite honestly, he didn't seem surprised to see any of them arrive with the Head of Gryffindor. He gave them a serene smile and folded his hands under his chin.

"Is there a problem, Minerva?" She gestured for Harry to explain and he wasted no time in doing so. Dumbledore looked quite worried at the fact and spoke quickly and quietly to a portrait on the wall, telling them to report back. After only a few minutes of silence, the man in the portrait returned.

"Arthur Weasley was found by Alastor. He's on his way to St. Mungo's but it's unsure if he'll live. I think all his children should be sent on just as a precaution." Dumbledore stood and faced Minerva.

"Please gather all the Weasley children. Have them brought here as quickly and quietly as possible. We'll go ahead and send both Miss Blacks and Mr. Malfoy along with young Harry as well. They're all going to go to Grimmauld Place." Harry frowned since he knew that they were bound for Blackmoor and then Malfoy Manor. Dumbledore seemed to know he was going to speak and held up his hand.

"I know that you have other plans but this is to get you out of the castle without Madam Umbridge interfering. If I could send Miss Lovegood I would but her father has not sent in permission. You will travel from Grimmauld Place to your Christmas destinations at a later time." Harry nodded and put his arm around Hermione, pulling her in closer since she had started to shiver.

McGonagall disappeared and Harry began to wonder how long it was going to take her to gather the twins, Ginny, Ron, and Juliet. None of their things were gathered and he was just wondering how they were going to go about getting their things when Hermione seemed to be a step ahead of him.

"Kreacher." The elf appeared again and bowed low before her. She bent down to get on his level so she could explain quietly.

"We're going to leave the castle tonight for Grimmauld Place but probably won't be staying there. I want you to gather my things, as well as Draco's and Harry's and take them to Grimmauld Place for now. Once we figure out where we're going, I'll give you more instructions." The elf bowed low before her before popping away.

Severus strode in moments later, his eyes hopping mad as he ignored the Headmaster and went straight to Harry. He cradled his face in his hands and Harry could feel his mind probing his. Harry let him in, not sure what he was looking for. He made sure to his Hermione's injuries behind his best shields but before Severus had even gotten that deep in his mind, he was cursing. He released him and turned to Dumbledore.

"You have a fucking traitor in this castle. He's been potioned. Somebody gave him a fucking potion that would weaken his shields. It's a long-acting potion so it isn't something that we can just give him a potion to fix. That's how the Dark Lord broke through his barriers, that's how he got the vision through. Your number one suspect is that fucking cunt in pink." Harry could feel Hermione's magic stirring next to him and he hugged her tighter so he could whisper in her ear.

"Stay calm, this won't help anyone." She hissed at him in anger but spoke to the Headmaster and Severus.

"He said that his pumpkin juice tasted odd at lunch. Draco and I both tasted ours and it was fine." Severus spat out in anger.

"It's too late now to figure out who did it. Now we have to deal with the Dark Lord being able to break into your mind again if he so chooses. Harry could inadvertently give away everything that would make sure I end up dead." Harry felt his insides freeze at Severus' words. The last thing he wanted to do was to blow the cover of Hermione's godfather. Not only would she never forgive him, he would never forgive himself. His words were desperate.

"How long does this potion last?" Severus just shook his head angrily.

"I'll have to test your blood to see how long the potion will last. I doubt it's strong enough to last longer than a year but I could see Umbridge having the knowledge to brew one that could last for six months, maybe a little longer. There are several recipes out there that would work." Harry raked a hand through his hair and growled in frustration as McGonagall started to appear with children.

"Is there anything I can do to stop this potion from working?" Severus gave his head an angry shake.

"Enforce your shields even more but there's no guarantee it will work. The potion is designed to punch holes in your shields." Harry nodded and let Dumbledore start to organize them. Juliet came to their side and Hermione wrapped an arm around her shoulders to let her know that all would be well. Fred and George were demanding to know what was going on. Finally, the Headmaster sighed.

"Harry had a vision of your father being injured by Voldemort's snake. He was found quickly and is probably at St. Mungo's by now but they aren't sure if he's going to survive. Everard suggested that his children be sent home. I'm sending you all to Grimmauld Place. Molly won't be there and Bill might be gone as well now but Sirius has received a message by now to meet you all there. Either he or Bill will act as your guardian until your parents return. Please do not make things harder by being immature." All the Weasleys were pale and nodding their agreement. Hermione let go of him to stand between the twins and wrap an arm around each of their waists in comfort. Her voice was soft as she spoke, though the whole room heard her.

"We'll all be there with you until you hear news. Let's go and be strong. Don't give Bill any shite if he's there." Both twins were silent but they nodded. Even though Ron and Ginny weren't being addressed, they both nodded as well. It was a rare show of solidarity that was nice to see.

One by one, they all disappeared through the floo. Harry heard Severus telling the Headmaster that he was going to head to St. Mungo's and see what he could learn so he could bring news to the children. Harry was the last one through the floo and Professor McGonagall gave him a soft smile. He remembered that he hadn't thanked her for rendering aide earlier in the evening.

"Thank you for helping, Professor. We didn't get a chance to tell you earlier." She gave him a brief nod before she gestured for him to get in the fireplace. He threw the powder and the flames turned green, sending him spinning through the floo system until he came to a halt in Grimmauld Place's floo in the library.

Remus, Sirius, and Lucius were all waiting there for them; they were worried and quite anxious. Once they were all there, their faces slackened slightly and they smiled. Hermione eagerly threw herself in everyone's arms while he and Draco shook hands in greeting. While Juliet hugged her father, she didn't seem too enthusiastic to see Lucius or Remus. The Weasleys weren't sure what to do with themselves so they just took seats while their greetings were underway; once that was done, everyone joined them and Sirius tried to make them feel better.

"Severus was going to head to St. Mungo's to see how things were going. He's going to report here and let us know as soon as he knows anything." Fred and George both nodded gratefully while Ron and Ginny were both silent.

They tried to pass the time with small talk but it was hopeless. They ended up sitting there in silence while they waited for news. Hermione was sitting between her father and Uncle Lucius and they both had an arm around her. She had nodded off half an hour ago, not that he blamed her. She had had a rough night and deserved the rest. Draco was sitting by himself in an armchair, the twins were sharing a loveseat, while he shared the other couch with Ron and Ginny. Harry was almost used to the silence when Ginny finally spoke.

"Our dad would have been dead without you, Harry. You saved his life." Harry shook his head.

"I haven't saved anything yet. Let's wait and see what Severus has to say when he gets here." Ginny threw herself in his arms and kissed him right on the lips. Everyone glared at her but everyone remained silent. Harry understood that these actions were why Sirius couldn't allow her to be connected to the Black name. He shoved her back and wiped his mouth as he realized that Hermione's eyes were open and watching him. When she saw him watching her, she turned her head to rest against her uncle's arm and closed her eyes again. His tone was harsher than he meant it to be but he was scared that Ginny had just ruined what little ground he had gained with Hermione.

"I'm glad to have helped your dad, I really hope that he survives. Don't kiss me. I've made clear more than once that that isn't happening between us anymore." Ginny turned a bright scarlet color and he could see that the twins were glaring at their sister. Even Ron was staring at her like he couldn't believe what she had done. It was Fred that spoke.

"I swear, Ginny, Dad would embarrassed by you tonight. We're sitting here worried about him and you're putting the moves on Harry. It's despicable." She gave a huff and stood angrily.

"Nobody understands. I wasn't meaning it like that. I'm going to go see if I can find some hot chocolate. Unless that elf wants to do it." Harry looked over to see the tiniest smile on Hermione's face but when she didn't offer up the use of Kreacher, Sirius spoke.

"I may not like the little cretin but he's my daughter's elf. He doesn't serve the House of Prewett. Until Hermione wants something, you're on your own, Ginny." She glared at Sirius but said nothing else before disappearing down the corridor with a huff.

Ginny didn't return before Harry leaned against the side of the couch and let his eyes fall shut to rest them. Honestly, it wasn't a surprise when he felt himself fall into a fitful doze, waiting on information on Arthur.

-O-

Severus had never been more ready for the holidays to begin in his life. He had just left St. Mungo's and it was well past three a.m. He still had to go to Grimmauld Place and update the Weasley children, the Prewetts too he supposed, before returning to Hogwarts to serve his last day before term ended. What he really wanted to do was floo to Malfoy Manor or Blackmoor and stay in his room there and sleep for the next twenty-four hours.

He stepped out of the floo at Grimmauld Place and sighed when he saw what was waiting for him. Hermione was sitting between Lucius and Sirius and she was sprawled out between them, her head in Lucius' lap and her feet in her fathers. Her face was drawn but she was sleeping with a blanket over her that he suspected Kreacher had thrown over her. Remus was still awake, sitting in a chair by himself reading quietly. The twins were leaning against each other on a loveseat, sleeping; George was even drooling. Draco was also asleep in his armchair, his head leaned down to where his chin rested on his chest.

On the other couch, Harry and Ronald sat on either end, both leaned against the arm fast asleep. Ginevra was in between them and appeared to be asleep but with her head in Harry's lap. He wasn't quite sure if Harry was aware of it so he didn't wake her up and rip her a new arsehole for being improper. Harry had made clear his stance on his friendship with the girl and he wasn't going to get in the middle of that. Both Sirius and Lucius were asleep as well, neither one of them looking too comfortable. Severus sighed and went to Lucius first, shaking him awake. His wand was instantly in his hand but when he saw that it was Severus, he lowered it and shook Hermione softly.

"Wake up, princess, Severus is here." Hermione was groggy as she sat up, her feet moving being enough to wake Sirius. Both men stood and stretched, hoping that the crinks in their necks would pass. As soon as Sirius saw how Ginny was lying, he cursed.

"That disgusting little tart. He told her earlier not to kiss him. Now she's laying in his lap." Severus saw that Hermione was doing all she could not to look at the picture the two of them made, rather she tried to work on flattening her hair and straightening her clothes as he started to wake everyone else in the room. As soon as Harry woke and found Ginny in his lap, he shoved her off of him and glowered at her. She looked quite affronted and confused before realizing where she had woken up at. Her words were soft when she spoke.

"I didn't go to sleep like that, Harry. I must have laid down once I fell asleep." Harry was glaring at her but for some reason, Severus believed her. Once everyone was completely awake, he sat on the arm of the chair that Draco was sitting in.

"First of all, Harry saved Arthur's life. If he hadn't got to St. Mungo's when he did, he would have bled out and that would have been all there was to it. As for now, Arthur is out of danger. Since it was the Dark Lord's snake that attacked him, her venom was very poisonous. None of the conventional ways to close wounds magically were working so they had to revert to the way muggles do it. They literally took a needle and thread and stitched his skin back together. For now, it's holding. It isn't a guarantee that it will but the healers are optimistic. The dangerous part is that he got a full dose of venom from Nagini. The healers are pumping him with every antivenin they have but none of them seemed to be working. I have just spent the last three hours developing a potion that worked specifically against her venom. It will be a potion regime for him for the next month but as long as he sticks to it, he should be fine. He'll be in St. Mungo's for a few days for observation but should be home in time for Christmas as long as nothing else goes wrong." The Weasleys all cheered and as much as Severus didn't care for children, he wanted to smile. Most of the Weasley children weren't that bad and Arthur was a good man. He didn't mind putting in the work for man.

Before he even realized what was happening next, he was caught in the middle of a twin Weasley hug and they were squeezing the life out of him. He squirmed and fought for a few seconds and even though he could have gotten free, it would have hurt them and he didn't want that. Therefore, he stood there and just took it, with a cold glare on his face. Fred (or was it George?) laughed at him.

"You can glare all you want, Professor. Thank you for helping save our dad. To show our eternal gratitude, we promise to never play another prank in your class. We won't let our friends call you the Bat of the Dungeons either." Severus knew this was a deal of a lifetime so he stuck out his hand, even though it was totally out of character.

"I don't care what the monsters call me. Deal, no more pranks in my class until you graduate." Both Fred and George shook his hand and he knew that Ron and Ginny were staring at him in disbelief. Once the twins released him, however, Hermione floated forward and hugged him close and this time, he hugged her back. He kissed her forehead and smoothed her curls.

"Thank you, Uncle Sev. You're a hero." He snorted at her words but didn't dispute them. They would begin an argument and that was the last thing he wanted right now. When he pulled back, she went to her tiptoes and gave his cheek a kiss.

"Stay the night here with us?" He shook his head and smiled at her tired face.

"I can't, poppet. I have to get the students to the Express tomorrow. After all the heathens are gone, I'll be here though. I'll be wherever you are for the holidays. Are we still planning on the Manor?" Hermione turned to her father and he nodded.

"We were at Blackmoor last year so it's only fair." Hermione was now bouncing on her heels.

"You're going to move Bluebell, right? I miss her so." Her father laughed as he kissed the back of her head as he passed by.

"Yes, I'll have Dot start moving her tomorrow. We can go visit Arthur tomorrow, we'll all go. Bill should be back by then and take this brood back home with him. We should see each other over the holidays anyways. After that, we'll head home for a day and then head to Malfoy Manor. You know that Sipsy and Dot are going to want to go with you. They're very jealous of Kreacher." Hermione laughed.

"The problems in my life. Alright, I'll speak with them. For now, I'm going to bed." Severus seconded that statement and watched all the children file upstairs to their bedrooms from the summer. He heard Hermione call Kreacher but didn't hear what she asked of him as she disappeared up the stairs. Once all the children were gone, he met the gazes of Remus, Sirius, and Lucius. Lucius was the one that spoke. Even though he still wasn't the most fond of the elder Weasleys, he had a soft spot for the twins and Bill. Charlie was growing on him as well.

"How bad was it really?" Severus sighed as he sank into the chair that Draco had abandoned.

"It was bad. When I got there, he was spurting blood from his neck like a fountain. They were constantly pouring blood replenishing potions into him just to keep him alive. I had to jump in and help. I didn't want to tell them that though. It would have scared them." Sirius nodded.

"I agree. The twins might have been able to handle it but Hermione would have been upset. She sincerely likes Arthur now that she knows him. Not that she felt that way after the fight he had with Lucius in Flourish and Blotts." There were several chuckles and Severus wiped a hand down his face.

"I've got to go. I'm exhausted and have to get all the students to the Express tomorrow. I want you to keep an eye on Hermione though. She's had numerous detentions with Umbridge this term; she doesn't act like she's been subjected to the blood quill like Harry but I want to make sure that she isn't still tormenting her somehow. I really will torture and kill that vicious cunt if she hurts her." Sirius nodded, as did Lucius.

"I think she would tell us. She knows we have her back." Remus snorted softly but said nothing. Severus glared at him until he finally spoke.

"I don't think she would tell you in a hundred fucking years. You clearly told her that you would kill the hag. She knows that the bitch beat the investigation of Bones and has Fudge's backing. Everyone knows that Severus has the Dark Mark and if he were to kill someone, he would instantly go to Azkaban. Do you think that she would ever let that happen?" There were dumbfounded looks all the way around so he continued.

"I don't. I think she would do whatever it took to hide it and keep it secret. It's no secret that fourth year was hard on her because she couldn't spend time with Severus. How do you think she would feel if he went to prison? She would suffer in silence before that ever happened and you all know it's the truth, you just never considered it." Severus swore and so did Sirius. Lucius just sat there and glared. Sirius turned to his best friend.

"I'll keep an eye on her and see if I can spot anything to show that she's been under that fucking quill. If she has, I'll kill that cunt myself. I've turned her down enough times for her to hold it against Hermione, in fact, I should have warned her that it might be worse for her. That woman has wanted my cock since Hermione was a baby and I refuse to fuck her. She finds the fact that I'm now with a muggleborn a personal insult." Lucius snorted.

"She tries to say she's a pureblood but she's really a by-blow of Selwyn's. Her mother is as muggle as they come. Everyone knows, they just let her have her little fantasy because she's so close to Fudge. Unnaturally close if you ask me." Sirius acted as though he was throwing up and Severus couldn't help but feel the same way.

"Alright, let me know what you find out. I'll keep my ears open at school as well. I've been keeping her busy during their little club hours but that won't last forever. It's only going to get more dangerous." Lucius nodded.

"We'll talk more about it over the holiday. For now, let's end this and go to bed. Severus still has a long day ahead of him and we have visiting St. Mungo's with that herd of children to look forward to. We're going to need our rest."

With that, the group of friends disbanded and Severus headed for the floo. He was met by Minerva on the other side and he quickly gave both her and Albus a quick update on Arthur. He could see that Minerva was acting oddly but put it down to it was late at night and they were all tired. He excused himself and headed for the dungeons, hoping at least for a couple hours of sleep before he needed to be up for breakfast. He consoled himself with the thought that he could go to bed early the next night and sleep in as long as he wished. None of his family would care; Hermione would leave him be as long as he still promised to brew with her.

Severus didn't even bother to change clothes before falling in bed and letting his eyes fall closed. Tomorrow, he would have to worry about testing Harry's blood to see how long the potion he had ingested would last; it really didn't work out for them that the Dark Lord could now breach his defenses if he really wanted. However, he also got the hint that Voldemort really didn't like to do that unless he had to. Something about being in Harry's mind was abhorrent to him, though Severus wasn't sure what it was.

Deciding to think on it later, he let his mind relax and let Morpheus take him in to his care, if only for a couple of hours.

A/N- Holy balls, y'all, one of my longer chapters in quite awhile. A lot going on this chapter though so I hope you enjoyed it and think I did it justice. Thanks again to everyone out there reading and reviewing, you guys are seriously the bomb dot com. Anyways, let me know what you think, I love hearing your thoughts.

Next chapter, visit to St. Mungo's.

Love,

Alicia


	96. Chapter 96

A/N- Again, I can't thank you enough for the support you show my story. Again, your reviews make me smile and I can't tell you how much I appreciate hearing from you all. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. That is all (:

Disclaimer: I still don't own anything. I still haven't made any money from this story or any other. You should know this from the previous 95 chapters by now. If you don't, please refer to them.

Chapter 96

December 22, 1995

Hermione woke slowly, a little stiff from how she had slept on the couch the night before. She stretched for a long moment, luxuriating in how comfortable the bed felt and how much she really didn't want to get up. However, smells from the kitchen were calling and the visit to St. Mungo's was lingering in the distance. As the future Lady Black, it was her duty to see to those in her family when they were ill. Beyond that, however, she cared for Arthur and wanted to see with her own eyes that he would be well.

She rose, hissing slightly at the cold floor when it hit her warm feet. She dashed for the bathroom, relieving herself first before hopping in the hot shower. She washed off quickly, hoping that she wouldn't be the last one down to the table. While she knew that Kreacher was the one cooking and he would save her something so eat, she would never hear the end of it from the twins. It really wasn't worth it to get an extra thirty minutes of sleep because they wouldn't shut up for the rest of the day.

After she crawled out of the shower and used a drying charm on her hair and body, she wrapped herself in a robe and found that Kreacher had already been through her room. Her bed was made and a lovely set of bright blue witch's robes were laid out on the bed. Hermione was quick to shed her robe and dress for the day before sitting at her vanity to style her hair and cast a quick charm on her eyes, brightening them slightly. It was the only makeup charm that she used regularly. After slipping on her shoes, she slid her wand up her sleeve and started down the stairs towards the kitchen where the others would surely gather for breakfast.

Just before she reached the kitchen, she looked down and caught a glimpse of the slight scar on her hand from her time spent the night before with Umbridge. She hurried to pull her wand and cast a glamour spell on it so nobody else could see it. It just wouldn't do to hide the information if she was going to let everyone see the end result of her time spent with the horrid hag.

When she entered the kitchen, her father, uncle, Remus, Harry, Draco, and the twins were already there. Ginny and Ron were the only ones missing. Percy was even spotted down at the very end drinking a cup of coffee while he read the Prophet. She briefly wondered where Molly, Bill, and Charlie were but decided that they must have stayed at St. Mungo's with Arthur; surely, the hospital hadn't denied him visitors all night. She settled in a chair between her father and Uncle Lucius and smiled brightly at everyone before reaching for the tea pot.

"Good morning. How did everyone sleep?" Kreacher hurried to her side and swatted her hands away. She gave him an affronted look but let him pour her her cup of tea. He served her a plate of his food as well but this didn't bother her as much as it should have. She found that she was starving since she hadn't ate since lunch the day before. As everyone assured her that they had slept well, she began to eat the largest meal she had ate in quite a long time. In fact, it was Harry's comical look as she finished off her plate that made her realize that she had behaved quite out of character.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" He just shook his head slightly and gave a small laugh.

"I don't think I've ever seen you eat that much at one time." She knew that her cheeks were pink but she refused to act embarrassed. Just because she was a girl didn't mean that she wasn't allowed to eat a decent meal here and there.

"I was hungry. I got busy and forgot dinner last night, remember? You and Draco both scolded me for it. I forgot about it once we got here too." A dark look passed over both Harry and Draco's faces but they both nodded and remained silent. She pushed her empty plate away and sipped her hot tea while the others finished. It was when everyone was almost done that Ron and Ginny appeared, both looking tired and drawn. Hermione supposed that she could understand; she would feel much the same way if her father was injured and had it had been unsure if he would survive the encounter.

Of course, this meant that they had to wait another forty-five minutes until the pair were done eating before they could even think about being able to leave for St. Mungo's. However, this didn't seem to bother either Ron or Ginny. The twins were both annoyed, that much was clear. They both tapped not only their feet under the table but all their fingers on both hands. Percy glared at them for being annoying themselves but it didn't deter them. Hermione, Harry, and Draco all hid smiles of amusement behind their hands when their snickers caught the attention of the redheads.

After Kreacher was finally able to clear the table, everyone rose and the redheads started for the stairs so they could retrieve their cloaks. Hermione simply turned her attention to Kreacher and called for his attention. Once he was in front of her, she bent to his level and gave him a smile while the others watched in silence.

"We're going to visit the elder Weasley in St. Mungo's. After that, we're going to travel to Blackmoor for a day or two. If you could gather all the belongings of myself, Draco, Harry, Lord Black, and Lord Malfoy and transport them there, I would greatly appreciate it. Once we get there, I will give you further instructions." He bowed low before speaking.

"Am I to clean my mess up here first?" Hermione gave him a solemn nod.

"Of course, Kreacher. Clean up the messes left here and then move our things. I will see you at Blackmoor." He nodded his head excitedly and hurried back to his cleaning. Hermione let Harry take her arm and pull her towards the floo. The redheads all returned from their rooms with their cloaks, even though they wouldn't be going outside at any given point. Harry's hand tightened on her waist and she wondered if it was because Ginny's eyes had locked on how he was holding on to her. She gave a bright smile to the room.

"I'll go first." She stepped up to the fireplace and grabbed a handful of floo powder. She stepped into the flames and threw the powder, turning them green. She spun away, only to step out and find Bill waiting for her on the other side. He held his arms open when he saw her and she didn't hesitate the walk into them and let him embrace her. He kissed the top of her head and cupped her cheeks when she pulled away. She gave him a small smile.

"Your family has been such a blessing through this time. Severus saved his life." Hermione laid her hands on his as the others started to come through the floo.

"They're your family now too." He smiled at her before releasing her so he could hug his siblings as they started to come through.

Harry and Draco went to her side while the Weasleys and Prewetts all went to Bill's, hugging him close and begging him for an update on their father. Her father, Remus, and Uncle Luci were the last to come through and they were quick to usher everyone towards the fourth floor where Arthur was being housed. Bill's words were hushed as they walked but Hermione was close enough to hear perfectly.

"The muggle healing of his wound is holding. It's odd to see the stitches in his neck but he doesn't care as long as it holds. The healer still thinks it's going to scar but Dad says that it's not important. As for the venom, he has to take the potion for ages but it should work it's way out of his system eventually. All in all, he's going to be fine. Don't get too emotional when you get in there, the healers don't want him to get too worked up." Hermione could see the worry on the Weasley and Prewett's faces and she couldn't help but feel badly for them, even Ron and Ginny. She would have been worried sick if had been her father in there.

They all entered the private room that held Arthur and Molly. Arthur was propped up in bed on several pillows and she could see from several feet away that his throat was bruised under the bandage. Ginny rushed into his arms and hugged him tightly while Molly fussed with the blankets that covered him. The boys each took a turn hugging their father once Ginny released him. Once everyone had pulled away, Arthur gave them a wan smile.

"Don't worry, I'll be home for Christmas. I want you all to go home with Bill today. Do your chores and help your mother." Molly started to sputter.

"I'm not going home until you do, Arthur. You're my husband and I'm going to make sure that they take care of you." He laid a hand on her arm and gave her a gentle smile.

"I know and I love you for it, Molly. Our kids need you though and I'm fine. Charlie and Percy are going to stay and keep me company. Make a good dinner so one of them can bring me a plate. You know St. Mungo's food is terrible." Molly smiled just a little and finally nodded her agreement. Hermione decided that now would be a good time to add her well wishes. She stepped forward and gave him a small curtsy, bowing her head slightly.

"I'm sorry to hear that you were injured, Mr. Weasley. I hope that you recover quickly and are able to enjoy the holidays with your family." He gave her a smile and bowed his head in return. While she enjoyed the redhead's company quite a bit, she wasn't close enough to hug him as she would Uncle Luci or Severus.

"Thank you, Hermione. Please pass on to Severus that I appreciate him making that potion for me." She nodded her head that she would do so. Draco, her father, Remus, and Uncle Lucius all passed on their well wishes as well and Arthur received them happily. However, when Harry stepped forward, Molly rushed forward and smothered him in a hug, his face buried in her abundant bosom. Hermione was trying to hide the smile she was wearing at his discomfort.

"You saved him, Harry, how can we ever repay you? If you hadn't told Albus, Arthur would have died in the Department of Mysteries!" Bill was quick to shush his mother but Hermione's mind was already going a hundred miles an hour. Department of Mysteries? Why had Arthur been down in the Department of Mysteries? It was clearly Order of the Phoenix business, meaning that her father probably didn't know either, but she intended to dig around and find out the answer herself.

Her father laid an arm around her shoulders and told Arthur that he was going to let him get his rest. Harry and Draco were quick to move closer to her while Uncle Luci and Remus started out of his hospital room. Hermione gave the twins a final wave as she was led away and towards the floo. Her father put her in first, instructing her to head for Blackmoor. Hermione sighed in relief. It would be nice to go home.

She spun away through the green flames and stepped out of the fireplace as soon as she stopped. Hermione found herself in the main entryway of Blackmoor, also where the main floo was located. It was hooked up to the main locations in the wizarding world while the floo in the library and her father's study were only hooked to private destinations such as Malfoy Manor or Grimmauld Place. Only those that had been added to the blood wards could floo from the public places. Kreacher was standing there waiting for her, as was Sipsy and Dot. The latter two elves threw themselves at her as soon as she saw them, hugging her legs tightly.

"We's missed you so, Mistress! We is happy you is home!" Hermione laughed and went to her knees, hugging them both tightly.

"I've missed you both too. I'm so happy to see you. You know we're spending Christmas at Malfoy Manor this year, right?" Both nodded solemnly.

"We knows. We is getting along with Snitch." Hermione laughed and hugged them again. Kreacher looked like he was going to expire with anticipation so she looked to both elves and spoke.

"This is Kreacher. He's a Black elf but was at another residence. He was left there by Lady Walburga and we didn't know it. Since he doesn't get along with Daddy, he's going to be my elf too. I want you two to show him around and help him when he needs it." Dot narrowed her eyes at Kreacher and glared at him before turning back to Hermione.

"Miss, his was a bad elf. Hims was mean to Master. Dot remembers when Master would comes here and tell us about the elf that would punish hims." Hermione knew that her elves were just trying to watch out for her so she was going to have to go about this carefully. She was almost positive that her grandmother had cast a spell on the elf to make him act the way he did. There was no way to prove it but since he didn't seem to act that way towards her father now, it made sense to her. Kreacher looked like he was about to burst into tears so she gestured for him to come stand next to her while she spoke.

"Dot, I know that you heard about Kreacher from Daddy when he was little. However, Kreacher has been a wonderful elf since I have taken him. He has been loyal and obedient and has never tried to harm me." Kreacher couldn't seem to help himself. He was tugging on his ears as he burst out emphatically.

"Kreacher would never hurt Mistress, never hurt Master. Hims would die to protect them!" Hermione gave him a stern look.

"Kreacher, I told you that you were never to punish yourself. Don't pull your ears." He instantly stopped and she hugged him, only grimacing a little as his snot smeared across her robes. She knew that the others had arrived behind her and knew that they were going to make so much fun of her after she dealt with this.

"Dot, do you remember Mistress Walburga? If so, tell me your honest opinion of her." Dot nodded and started to squirm a little. Hermione waited patiently, knowing that her elf would eventually do as she was told.

"Mistress Walburga was a terrible Mistress. Hers beat us all the time and hers never say thank you. Hers liked to watch us punish ourselves. Hers especially hated Candy." Candy was the Head Elf and had belonged to her grandfather. It made sense that she would hate Candy since she hated her husband with a passion. Hermione nodded at her words.

"Kreacher was Mistress Walburga's elf, just like you're my elf. She was like that to him all the time. You know that it isn't normal for a elf to want to harm their masters, quite the opposite. I think Mistress Walburga spelled Kreacher to hate Daddy, to punish him like he did. He certainly doesn't hate him now." Hermione hadn't even known that Candy had arrived until she spoke.

"Candy can see Mistress Walburga doings that. Hers hated Master." Hermione smiled as she watched both her elves pull Kreacher away from her and down the corridor, to where she had no idea, but they were taking him under their wing and showing him the way things were done in their home. Her father sighed behind her and helped her stand. He turned up his nose at the mess on her robes.

"Now I have to be nice to the little blighter. Why do you have to do things like that, poppet?" Hermione laughed as she pulled her wand to clear away the snot that Kreacher had left behind. The rest of her family were just shaking their heads in amazement at the things she had to deal with on a day to day basis.

-O-

Harry was laughing on the inside at the conversation between Hermione and her elves. Only she would have three elves that were jealous of each other and she would have to set them straight. Although, he did have to agree that Kreacher had probably been spelled. He hadn't seen a single moment of antagonism between the elf and Sirius. The only person the little guy seemed to genuinely hate was Molly Weasley, although Ron was pretty close.

They took their leave to the library so they could sit and relax. He was pleased to see that Narcissa, Helena, Juliet, and the entire Tonks family was already there waiting on them. They were passed around for hugs and it was nice to feel as though he were part of a family. When he had traveled to the Weasleys for Christmas, it was true that he had felt a part of something but it had never felt like it did at Blackmoor or Malfoy Manor.

Remus sat in an armchair and Tonks stood and plopped herself down in his lap; Harry settled on the couch next to Hermione while he listened to her mother and aunt berate her for being improper. Tonks was insisting that since it was just family that it wasn't improper but nobody was buying it. It seemed as though Remus and Sirius were staying out of it, as were the rest of them, though it looked as though Severus and Lucius both wanted to tell the witch exactly what they thought of her bold actions.

Harry let his mind drift to what was to come during their holiday. He knew that they were going to Malfoy Manor the next day. Everyone was staying at Blackmoor tonight, mostly since it was tradition, but would move along tomorrow. He was much more at home there but he loved Malfoy Manor as well. He had his own room there as well, right across the corridor from Hermione and Draco's. Juliet now had one as well, one that she had decided to share with Luna if she was ever allowed to stay there. He knew that Sirius was still working on Xeno to let their cousin spend the holiday at Malfoy Manor but so far, he was holding strong on his rule of not going to the Manor. Harry wasn't sure why the rule was so important but it seemed to be a big deal for the wizard that he had still never met.

Harry knew that Hermione had plans to ride Bluebell every day, something that she loved to do. He had witnessed her love for riding over the summers he had spent at Blackmoor and remembered quite clearly how Sirius had tried to hold her horse over her head that very first summer he had come to stay with them. Harry had tried riding the last summer and while he was fair at it, it wasn't something that he loved doing. He would most assuredly do it for Hermione, but it wasn't something he would do on his own.

He also knew that Hermione had made plans to brew with Severus. They were going to work on their potion for lycanthropy since they had to be especially careful at school. With Umbridge on the prowl, it wouldn't be good for her to discover that Hermione was working in the private lab of her Head of House on a potion that was still in a discovery phase. Not only would Severus probably find himself sacked, Hermione would most likely find herself expelled.

Harry had plans to finally master his Spanish so he could hold Hermione to the bargain she had made him to learn German with him. It wasn't so much that he wanted to learn German, he wanted to spend time with her, just the two of them. He wanted to get closer to her and show her that he was still interested in her. He knew that she assumed that he didn't want her anymore, that he was still finding comfort with other girls. He wanted her to know that he wasn't and that he was changing, growing up.

However, the thing he was most looking forward to aside from spending time with Hermione was Professor McGonagall coming to Malfoy Manor to work with them on becoming animaguses. Since Hermione had met her clouded leopard in meditation, he and Draco had stepped up their time and effort, determined to be ready by Christmas with her. Four days ago, Draco had met his form, a falcon. Harry was thrilled for him but so jealous at the same time. Not only had he met his animagus form, he was a bloody falcon. It just didn't get any cooler than that.

However, the very next night, Harry had surprised himself and met his own animagus form. While it wasn't avian and it wasn't as ferocious as a big cat, it was rather crafty and sly. Overall, he was happy that his form was a fox and he thought that it fit his personality quite well. He was almost put in Slytherin, after all. He wouldn't stand out like Hermione so his form could be used for reconnaissance and he wasn't a bird that wasn't indigenous to the area, immediately telling people that he was an animagus. It was rather brilliant, he thought. He wasn't sure when the Transfiguration Professor was planning to come by and work with them but she had promised that she would at some point over the holidays.

Harry realized that Helena and Juliet had gotten up and left, though he wasn't sure where they were going. Nobody else seemed to comment on it so he assumed that he had missed something while he had been lost in thought. Conversation flowed around him, Aunt Cissy talking to Aunt Andie about something in Paris while Severus spoke to Remus and Uncle Lucius. Ted was quietly chastising his daughter so Harry remained quiet, as did Draco. It was at this point that Harry heard Sirius speak.

"Hermione, I feel that we need to talk about Alexandre. I realize that I'm the Head of House Black but that is rightfully your place. In just nine months time, you'll be able to take up the mantle of Matriarch of your House. You should have a say in what we do." Hermione's eyebrows drew inward and he could feel the tension in her body skyrocket. She leaned forward slightly and clasped her hands together, a rare sign of emotion that people outside of the family never got to see.

"What about him?" Sirius sighed and leaned forward as well.

"He wants to claim Juliet as his heir. His son is dead and he has nobody else aside from Helena. He says that the healers told him he's dying, something about his liver not functioning at full capacity anymore. They haven't given him a time limit but it won't be a hundred and fifty like normal wizards. He also wants to stay here with us, to be close to Helena and Juliet. They're his family and he doesn't want to lose them again. I told him that I would need to see proof that he's not the same person who killed his wife and son all those years ago but from what I've seen so far, he's gotten the help he needed."

To Harry's utter surprise, Hermione's eyes teared up, though she fought letting the tears fall. He couldn't help himself from reaching out and rubbing small circles in the small of her back. She glanced at him quickly and tried to hide the tears. Once again, he didn't blame her. Everytime she had cried before, he had thrown it in her face. Her father looked just as surprised.

"What's wrong, sweetness?" She did a quick swipe under her eyes and shook her head, showing that it was nothing. Draco reached out and tugged her hair while everyone else acted like they were ignoring her so she wouldn't be self-conscious.

"Don't lie. It isn't ladylike." She punched him in the arm and he scowled at her. She finally spoke.

"It just feels as though everyone has a family that wants them but me. My mum and dad are dead. Juliet has you and Helena, now her grandfather. Draco has his parents, I'm just an interloper that stole part of his limelight, he can't even say that it isn't true. You only took me because I kept you out of prison for Harry. I guess I just wish that I could talk to my mum and dad." Harry knew that nobody else was going to be able to make her feel better about this except for him. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his chest. His other hand found the back of her head and held it close. His voice was low as he spoke.

"I wish I could talk to my mum and dad everyday. You aren't alone." She snorted at him.

"Yes, you might want the same things as me but you had my father. He wanted you so much that he took in the daughter of the brother that he hated, that he hadn't spoken to in years. He didn't know me, he didn't want me, I know that. I know he loves me now but it still feels like I'm just a temporary fixture in this life sometimes. He has you and his real daughter now. I'm just here because nobody can dispute the fact that I'm the real Black heir." Harry shook his head against her head.

"That's not what you are at all." It was Severus that spoke next and while his words were harsh, his tone wasn't. Hermione turned her face out of his chest and met his gaze.

"You need to quit feeling sorry for yourself, princess. We all suffer in life. My parents hated me and beat me. My mother was murdered by my father while I was still in Hogwarts and I killed him when I was only a seventh year. Sirius' family disowned him because he didn't follow their ideals and beliefs. Lucius was forced to take the Dark Mark by his father and he grew to love what he did in the service of the Dark Lord. Nobody's life is perfect. You make the best of it and you move on." He sighed as he continued.

"Yes, your father only took you because he wanted to stay out of prison. However, he did the best he could to take care of you and always made sure that you were provided for. He has since apologized for it and tried to make up for his shortcomings. Lucius gave up a whole way of life for you, you know that. He was a devoted Death Eater and he decided that having you in his life was more important. He gave it all up and is now working to rid the world of his Master, all for you. Your father asked me to be your godfather the day you were born and I accepted because the moment I saw you, I fell in love with you. Unlike all the hatred and ugliness in the world, you were pure, beautiful, and wonderful. I wanted that in my life so I said yes and I haven't regretted it a single moment. Juliet, while immature and sometimes quite bratty, is your sister and she looks to you on how to act and how to be. You are her role model and she wants to be just like you someday. She loves you and has loved you since she knew who you were. Draco is your cousin and has loved you since you shared a crib together. Harry is doing his best to mend his ways and show you that he's changed, that he's someone you can depend on. You have all these wonderful people in your life and you want to feel sorry for yourself. Never stop missing your mother and father but remember that they're always with you. Keep your chin and keep moving forward." Hermione just stared at him for several moments before sitting up straight and drying her cheeks. She faced her father and gave him a slight smile.

"As long as Alexandre remains respectful of our home, rules, elves, and guests, I see no problem with him staying. I'm happy that you've gained a father-in-law that has proven to be an asset." Her father gave her a soft smile.

"Thank you, princess." She nodded and stood.

"I'm a bit tired. I think I'm going to go take a nap before dinner." Harry glanced at the clock to realize that it was almost three in the afternoon. He watched as Hermione kissed her aunts and uncles on the cheek before leaving, Kreacher hurrying after her. Once she was gone, Severus sighed in relief.

"I was scared to death that she was going to curse me bald. Could you imagine me teaching all the monsters bald?" Draco snorted, as did Harry. However, it was Draco that finally spoke.

"She adores you. You really think she would curse you bald?" Severus snorted this time.

"She has every right to feel the way she does. I fully expected her to curse me when I said it. However, I'm thrilled she didn't. I just hate to see her when she's so down like that. I hate it when she feels like nobody cares about her. I know that I've contributed to that in the past but that isn't how it's going to be anymore. If I can make it better, I will." Harry nodded and decided that he needed to say his piece as well.

"I've been terrible to her in the past but I'm done with that. I'm not letting anyone be mean to her either. I've already ripped into Ginny once since school started for being a bitch to her. She has every reason to not want to show weakness to me but I'm going to prove to her that her vulnerabilities are safe with me from now on." His godfather gave him a hard look that he knew meant that they better be.

After he spoke, the conversation changed again to lighter topics. He wasn't a part of them and he mostly just listened. Nothing about Umbridge or the school was brought up but he knew that it would at some point during the holidays. It was just a matter of time. Now that Tonks and Remus weren't allowed in the school to give lessons, there was nobody but Severus and McGonagall to give everyone updates on what was going on. Even Harry had to admit that they had limited information.

Dinner was eventually served and even though they all went to the dining room, Hermione stayed in her room. He saw Sipsy retrieve a tray for her so he knew that she was awake. He figured that she was embarrassed about her dressing down and needed time to get over it. He understood that completely. After the meal was over, they dismissed to the library again where everyone pursued their own pursuits.

Harry read but when the clock chimed nine, he closed his book and rose, telling everyone that he was going to go to bed. He was wished a good night and told to make sure that Dobby packed for him for his stay at Malfoy Manor. He laughed since he was sure that the elf had had him packed since he had arrived earlier that morning. He climbed the stairs to his room and paused for a few moments outside of Hermione's room since he saw that the light in her room was on. After only a few moments hesitation, he knocked on the door and waited until the door swung open to reveal Hermione in the shortest shorts he had ever seen and a camisole tank top that revealed she wasn't wearing a bra. It took all the willpower he had to not drool at the sight. His voice caught when he first started to speak and he hoped against hope that she didn't notice.

"I just wanted to stop and tell you that even though what Severus said is true, you have a right to feel what you do. Anything negative you feel towards me is probably deserved too and I want to apologize for it all right now. For everything I've ever done to hurt or embarrass you, I sincerely apologize. I'm working very hard to change so if I fuck it up, please let me know." She gave a short laugh that sounded kind of bitter at the end. She looked at the floor for a few moments as she spoke.

"Thanks. He was right, I need to get over it and move on. You can't heal if you're constantly living in the past." He reached out and took her hand.

"That may be but that doesn't make the past hurt any less." Sh gave a soft nod.

"True. But it is what it is. Like he said, everyone has a part of their life that's shitty. You just have to learn how to get past it. I get that now. I'm going to work on getting past mine. That's what I've been trying to do." He laughed now.

"Did you even take a nap like you said you were going to ?" She shrugged.

"I tried. Does that count?" He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed her knuckles.

"I suppose it does today. I'm going to bed. Is there anything you need before I go?" She finally looked up at him and he could see her vulnerability shining back at him. Without a word, she stepped forward and hugged him tightly, her chest pressed tightly against his. He fought his erection, knowing it would be bad form to have his cock poking her in the belly while he hugged her. When she finally released him, she smiled at him.

"Thank you." He leaned down and kissed her forehead before backing away and taking the few steps to his bedroom. Once his door was closed, he leaned his back against the door and took a deep breath. Walking away from her like that was the hardest thing he had ever done.

This was going to be a long night.

A/N- There we are, folks, another chapter finished. Nothing too exciting but another chapter closer to the end. I hope you all enjoyed it. Thanks to everyone out there reading and reviewing, following and favoriting, you guys are the best. Leave me a message after the beep and let me know what you think. Reviews are love and they make me smile.

Next chapter, Christmas at Malfoy Manor.

Love,

Alicia


	97. Chapter 97

A/N- Here we are again, my friends. I'm not going to lie, this chapter is pure fluff. After dealing with Umbridge and her awfulness, I felt we needed some cotton candy. Big thanks to everyone out there reading and reviewing, you guys are awesome. Your support keeps me going, guys. Anyways, enough for now. Make sure you brush your teeth after this overdose of sugar (:

**Shout out to Black Banshee for being my 4800th reviewer and promising her help in all things French...you da bomb, girl!**

Disclaimer: As usual, I don't own anything except the twist on the plot. The characters belong to our queen and the original story line belongs to Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle. Since I'm still broke as hell, it's pretty clear that I haven't made any money from this story or any other.

Chapter 97

December 25, 1995

Hermione felt the last vestiges of sleep fall away and she woke to find herself in her room at Malfoy Manor. Her fire had died away sometime during the night and the air was cool. She dreaded getting out from under the covers but the fact remained that it was Christmas. She was going to have to get up so she could go open presents with the rest of her family.

Hermione threw her blankets back and didn't bother with her slippers before slipping into her bathroom to shower. Knowing full well that one of her elves would know she was awake, she trusted that they would have not only her bed made but her clothes for the day laid out as well. She showered off quickly, knowing that everyone would be ready to eat and open presents.

After using a drying charm on her hair, she wrapped her robe around her and went back out to her bedroom. Even though Snitch loved to take care of her when she was there, her three elves had insisted on traveling with her to meet her needs. Everyone else thought that it was hilarious to watch them fight amongst themselves who was going to take care of her but she found it tiring. She had spoken to them several times to see if they would stop but it hadn't done any good yet.

Hermione found that whichever elf had cleaned her room had set out an icy blue set of witch's robes that matched the color of her eyes. She knew that it had to be Sipsy because she always favored that color for her. She quickly dressed and decided to just leave her hair down for the day. It wasn't something that she did all that often but it was nice to do around family.

Once she was presentable, she hurried down the stairs to see if anyone else was awake. She knew that her father was famous for sleeping in if they let him so she was surprised to see him awake and drinking coffee rather than tea in the library. Helena and Alexandre were there with him, softly discussing something that she couldn't quite hear. Uncle Luci and Aunt Cissy were standing before the fire together and his arm was wrapped around her waist so he could whisper in her ear.

Hermione heard the floo activate and wasn't surprised to see that Aunt Andie, Uncle Ted, Dory, and Remus stepped out of it. They all wore bright smiles, even Uncle Ted, who usually wasn't the most thrilled about spending time with the family. Hermione found herself in a hug from Dory and she was ruffling her loose hair. She scowled at her but her cousin only laughed harder. Aunt Cissy ushered them all in and found them seats by the fire. After they all had a cup of tea in hand, she turned to Hermione.

"Will you go wake up Draco, Harry, and Juliet? I just don't understand how they could forget that it was Christmas." Hermione grinned, knowing that Draco was probably doing it on purpose. She nodded and rose to her feet, sweeping out of the library to go wake her relatives. She knew that she could get Kreacher to wake them up, he would even pour water on them if she asked, but she wanted to be the one to be mean and wake them up.

Draco was first. Even though she had thought that he would probably just be making them all wait on purpose, she found him fast asleep in his bed, no shirt on. Deciding that she was going to take a page from her younger self's antics, she crawled on her cousins bed as quietly as she could. After edging as close to him as she dared, Hermione started to jump, startling Draco awake and bouncing him right out of his bed and onto the floor. Draco cursed loudly while Hermione laughed. His head popped up above the edge of the bed and he glared at her.

"What the fuck was that for? I would never do that to you." Hermione snorted at him, something she didn't allow herself to do very often. She climbed off his bed with a grin.

"You most certainly would. Besides, it's Christmas and I've been sent to wake you all up." Draco's eyes brightened at her words.

"You mean you're going to do this to the others?" Hermione gave him a smirk as she nodded. He let out a whoop of laughter as she sauntered out of his room and headed to Harry's across the corridor. She let herself in quietly, making sure that he wasn't dressing first. When she saw that he was still in bed, she tiptoed over to the side of bed as she had Draco's. She was even more careful as she climbed onto his bed, not knowing how deeply he slept. After she had gotten as close as she dared, she started to jump, bouncing him off the bed as well. Harry woke with a loud curse and glare while she collapsed on his bed in laughter.

"What did you go and do that for?" Hermione was laying on his blankets and trying to get her laughter under control. When she could finally speak, she was grinning at him.

"I was sent to wake you up. It's Christmas, after all. I already woke Draco and still have Juliet to go." Harry raised an eyebrow at her as he picked himself up off the floor. She felt her cheeks flush when she realized that he was only wearing a satin pair of pajama bottoms that were slung low on his hips. His chest was bare and she could see just how much running and quidditch had done for his physique. He grinned at her when he saw her colored cheeks so she shoved him away from her while she climbed off his bed.

"Don't be a prat, Harry Potter. Everyone is waiting for you to eat and open presents. You better hurry and get dressed." He let her go without another word but she knew that he was silently laughing at her. She made sure to slam the door as she left, hoping that it would hurry him up and warn those downstairs that they would be showing up shortly.

Hermione entered her sister's room last to find that she was already awake and mostly dressed. Dip was with her and they were trying to decide what to do with her hair. It was still far shorter than Hermione's but it was longer than it had been last year. Juliet grinned at her when she entered and Hermione ran her fingers through her sister's pin-straight hair. She looked to Dip and smiled.

"Pin the top half back with comb that Daddy gave her for her birthday. It'll go great with those robes." Jules beamed at her and gave her a quick hug.

"Thanks, Hermione. I'll see you down there." Hermione kissed her little sister's head and left, leaving her to finish getting ready.

Hermione made her way back downstairs to the library to see that both Harry and Draco had beat her down. Harry was still smirking at her when she caught his eye and realized that he had dressed in dark trousers and a soft button-up. It was fancier than he usually went for, especially when it was just family, but she would be the first to admit that he looked nice. Draco was the one that had dressed down, for once, in designer jeans and a turtleneck. He wore them so rarely that Hermione smiled at him and complimented him quietly. He grinned back at her.

"I have to wear them some of the time. It would be nice if you could let loose enough to wear them at times other than riding." Hermione rolled her eyes at the age-old fight. Just before she could get drawn into a conversation with her father and Uncle Sev, who had came down from his room while she was gone, Snitch appeared and gave a slight bow. Uncle Luci liked his elves to be a little more pretentious than usual so she refrained from laughing.

"Breakfast be ready. No presents before a proper breakfast, Sipsy tell me to say so." Hermione bit back a laugh as Uncle Luci turned to glare at her.

"Your elf is taking over my household, sweetness." Hermione let her laugh out and moved to hug her uncle around the middle.

"She is but I can't help it. You know she doesn't listen and I would never punish her. She just wants us to be well-fed, look at it that way, Uncle. She doesn't want us to waste away from starvation." Her uncle snorted before he kissed her temple and gave her a playful shove towards the door.

"No, she's just a bossy hag. Very well, we wouldn't want to disappoint Sipsy. Let's adjourn to the dining room for Christmas breakfast."

Everyone rose and followed Hermione into the dining room. She waited for Uncle Luci to stand before his chair as etiquette demanded, herself and Draco taking the seats on each side of him as his heirs. Aunt Cissy took the one at the opposite end of the table and everyone else filled in as they chose. Once they were all situated, the food appeared on the table and they were bidden to start.

Hermione found herself next to Harry and he was quick to help her serve herself breakfast. There were so many different choices today, it was Christmas after all, and she intended to try all of her favorites. The Malfoy elves were superb cooks and they loved to make her favorites. It was as though Harry knew her as well as she knew herself because he piled her plate high with her most favorite breakfast foods. She quickly forgot her embarrassment from earlier and grinned at him before she piled two cinnamon rolls on his plate.

Hermione dug into her breakfast with relish, watching as her Uncle Luci ate ravenously next to her. Her father was seated next to Draco and he had his arm thrown around the back of Helena's chair while he started on his second plate. Uncle Sev was watching Remus eat with distaste, clearly put off by his ravenous appetite, but Dory just smiled and brushed the hair back from his forehead when he wiped his mouth with his napkin.

Hermione managed to eat most of her plate of food, surprising to everyone who knew her well. She never ate that much but it really had been too delicious to pass up. Her uncle looked over and chuckled, before reaching over to ruffle her hair.

"I don't think I've ever seen you eat so much, princess." She felt her cheeks color again and she glared at him.

"I usually don't. The food was delicious and it's Christmas. Don't judge me." He burst out laughing, as did the rest of the table. It was Dory that spoke first.

"It's about time you had a proper meal. I'm not sure how you keep up with training with that tiny bit of food you live on." Hermione rolled her eyes but said nothing. She supposed that it was true.

Since they had left Grimmauld Place, Hermione had had daily visits from Master Auror Moody. He had continued her training, as promised, though Draco and Harry had joined in each day as well.

Moody hadn't pulled any punches; he had worked her hard, pushed her harder than Remus or Dory ever did, but she felt so much more in control of not only her magic but her body as well. He was pleased that she already had amazing stamina but had recommended that she start taking physical training to protect herself. She wasn't sure where she was going to get that while in Hogwarts, especially under Umbridge's rule, but she supposed that it was something to consider for the future.

More than anything, Hermione felt that her agility was getting better. Sure, she had more than enough power to spare but she was slower than the boys were. She was always the first one to get hit with a spell because she was too slow. This, of course, set Harry off and he would let his power take over and blast whoever had hit her. It was disconcerting to say the least. However, the Master Auror had set her up with drills and exercises that she could do on her own in the Room of Requirement so she could continue to improve.

The boys always ate as if they were starving after training with Moody but Hermione never seemed to. She wasn't sure why. However, after her display today, it was clear that she could put away a decent amount of food when she wanted to.

The thing she couldn't wait for most was the visit that was supposed to come from Professor McGonagall in the next few days. They were going to work on taking their animagus forms and it excited her beyond belief. Her father still couldn't believe that they had already discovered their forms; apparently, it had taken him months to get that far.

Hermione was pulled from her thoughts by her father pushing his plate away, the last one to be eating, which was hard to believe since Remus was there with his werewolf appetite. He gave his belly one last rub and laughed when he saw both Helena and Aunt Cissy glaring at him and his improper manners. Uncle Luci saved him a tongue lashing, however, when he stood.

"I think it's time for presents." Hermione grinned and rose; this was her favorite part of Christmas. She loved passing out the gifts and seeing the looks on her family's faces when they saw what she had gotten them. She had missed it last year and she intended to enjoy every second this year.

Hermione made sure to get out in front so she could be the first one to the tree. It was tradition that she pass out the gifts, though now that Jules was there, she supposed that she should probably let her have a turn. It would make it a family affair, that much was sure, but she hated to give it up. Just as she decided to let her sister have the honor, her Uncle Luci put an arm around her shoulder and smiled down at her.

"While we celebrate here, it will always be your job." Hermione smiled at him before she frowned in confusion.

"How do you always know what I'm thinking about?" He hugged her shoulders tightly to him before releasing her with a smile.

"It was all over your face. You don't hide your emotions well around family, poppet." She cursed herself inwardly as she vowed to work on that.

Hermione took her usual seat on the floor before the enormous Christmas tree. Everyone took seats on couches and armchairs that surrounded it and it felt nice to know that her family was gathered around her. The years that Aunt Andie and her family were gone had been so quiet, with only her father and the Malfoys. They were never lonely but it was nice to finally have some life in their holiday celebrations. Uncle Luci spoke after they were all settled.

"As tradition in the Malfoy household, Hermione will pass out gifts. Let's let her pass everything out before we just go crazy." Her father was pouting as Helena gave a small laugh and smacked him in the back of the head. Hermione glared.

"Daddy, show Jules that you have patience. I know it's buried down deep but try to find it for her." He mock-glared at her while the rest of their family all laughed.

Hermione started to pass out the massive mound of gifts. She had only bought one gift for everyone, as had Draco, Harry, and Juliet. However, she knew that Aunt Cissy hadn't felt the need to limit herself just as her father probably hadn't either. Aunt Cissy believed in buying a whole new wardrobe for you as a single Christmas gift. Though Hermione had noticed that her lingerie was only a tiny bit tighter since the summer holidays so she was probably just about done growing. That didn't do much for her confidence; she was still easily the tiniest girl in their year, even in fourth year. She knew that her uncle had assured her that her small stature came from her mother but it was tiring always having to look up to others.

It took almost ten minutes for her to pass them out completely but was happy to see that everyone had quite a large pile in front of them. After she told them that there were no more to pass out, everyone started to dig into their pile and begin opening.

Hermione had always been one to open her gifts slowly and savor them. Draco always ripped through them as fast as he could and it appeared that Harry and Juliet were the same way. For this reason, she still had half her pile when they had finished. They were all looking over their gifts and shouting out thanks where it was due.

Hermione had received numerous wonderful gifts. Daphne had sent her a beautiful set of hair combs while Neville had sent her a blooming rose bush for her to plant in their garden. The twins had given her numerous trick items that she intended to put to use on Umbridge. Dory and Remus had gone together and bought her a set of defense books that she had been wanting and Aunt Andie and Uncle Ted had bought her charmed set of earrings that would change colors with her outfit.

Master Auror Moody had sent her a gift of an auror-grade wand holster, one that strapped to her inner arm and became invisible. There were anti-summoning charms on it, meaning that her enemy couldn't just summon her wand from her while it was resting in her holster. Juliet had found her a beautiful cloak in a scarlet color, one that would look lovely with one of the sets of robes that Aunt Cissy had bought her. Draco had decided that he would go out of the norm and buy her a beautiful emerald charm bracelet, one that Aunt Cissy had bought half a dozen charms for. Hermione still hadn't had a chance to inspect them all but she knew that she was going to love it.

Uncle Sev had bought her a brand new cauldron and potions set, telling her that hers was several years old and that if she was going to be trying for her N.E.W.T. at the end of the year, she was going to need new equipment. Uncle Luci had asked her over the summer if she wanted to breed Bluebell and she had told him that it would be nice once she was out of school and could be there for when her baby was born. Knowing her luck now, she would be in Hogwarts and miss everything. Therefore, he had bought her the stud time of the best breeding stallion in England for whenever she decided to breed her. She wasn't above squealing in happiness, which is exactly what she did when she read the voucher.

Her father and Helena had decided to buy her a gift together since it was clear that Helena didn't know her all that well. Even though it hurt just a little, she decided to just brush it off. Her father had still chosen the gift, of that she was sure. She was thrilled to see that he had in fact gifted her with a set of ruby jewelry that was much like the sapphire set she had gotten last Christmas. When she met her father's eyes, he gave her a sad smile.

"I found this set deep in the Black vault. There was a notation in the ledger about it and after reading it, I felt it was only right to give it to you. Your father had bought that set for your mother to give to her that Christmas before he disappeared. He just never got the chance. It's been sitting there gathering dust and when I saw that it was meant for your mother, I knew that you needed to be the only witch to ever wear that until you pass it to your own daughter." Hermione stared at the pieces in her hand, admiring the brilliant rubies that lined the necklace, bracelet, ring, and earrings. They were beautiful and they should have been her mothers. It was like a punch to the heart. Hermione couldn't help it when she burst into tears. Her father was instantly at her side, arm around her shoulders, trying to help her handle the rush of emotion.

The room was silent as she brought herself under control. Her tears dried up and she cast a spell to get rid of the snot that was dripping from her nose rather unlike a lady. Her father had her face in his neck, stroking her hair, until she pulled back and gave her family a weak smile.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have reacted like that. It was just actually touching something that was my mother's. I know I have her necklace but that's it. The fact that this came from my father means so much more. Thank you, daddy." He kissed her temple before rising to his feet and taking his seat again. Hermione gave her family a smile before she continued with her gifts.

There were only two left, one from Alexandre and one from Harry. She decided to leave Harry's for last so she reached for Alexandre's. Since she didn't know the man well, she really didn't know what to expect from him. She knew from what Harry and Draco had told her that he was interested in how powerful she was but beyond that, she had never held an actual conversation with him. Maybe she needed to change that over the holidays since she was allowing him to stay in her home.

Hermione opened his gift to find that he had bought her something that a typical pureblood head of family would buy a female member of his family. Rather than choose her clothing for her, however, he had gifted her a voucher to the most exclusive boutique in Paris. When Aunt Cissy saw what she held, she squealed in delight, telling her that they must go shopping before they return to school. It was nice to hear her aunt intended to include Fleur since she was the only friend she had from France currently. Even though it was a very impersonal gift, it was more than she expected so she thanked him genuinely and turned to her last gift.

Hermione could see that Harry was watching her as she opened his gift. Her insides fluttered with anticipation as she carefully opened the paper to reveal what was inside. Since she was the only one still opening gifts, she knew that all eyes were on her. She found a book under the paper, one that looked to be yellowed with age. She carefully set the wrapping paper aside to examine the book. On the cover was a single golden embossed lily. Inside, she found the inscription of Lily Potter inside and her gaze flew Harry's. He gave her a sad smile.

"I found it in my trust vault. Siri says that my mother was just shy of a mastery in Charms when she was killed. This book contains all her notes on spell-making. She apparently loved it but she was most interested in creating charms rather than curses or hexes. I know that you want to create your own spells so I thought this would help you." Hermione felt tears prick her eyes as she stared at the lily on the cover and his mother's girly handwriting on the inside cover. She looked up to meet his eyes and she could see that they were sincere. Therefore, she moved closer to him and pulled him into a heartfelt hug that had her feeling closer to him than she ever had before.

"Are you sure you want me to have this, Harry? I can read it and return it, I know how special it is to find something that belonged to your parents." He gave her a stiff nod as he wrapped his arms around her and put his mouth to her ear so he could whisper softly.

"I trust you to hold it as dear as I do. She would want someone like you to have it." Hermione let out another sob at just how fucking sweet he was and how perfect his words were. He buried his hand in her hair and held her face to his neck, letting her hide her face until she was under control. His other hand snaked around her waist while her hands clenched in the front of his robes. The room was quiet until she finally pulled away and gave him a soft smile, wiping the tears off her cheeks.

"I will cherish it as I do Uncle Sev's books. Thank you, Harry." He kissed her forehead and smiled at her.

"You're welcome. Enough of the sad now. It's Christmas, we should be happy."

Hermione stepped back and smiled, nodding her agreement.

It was Christmas.

-O-

Harry was thrilled with his gifts. He had received so many he had a hard time remembering who had gifted him with what. Uncle Lucius had given him a dueling robe made of dragon skin, one that he couldn't wait to try in training with Moody. Draco had gifted him with a ring that was of the Malfoy line, one that he had needed to get Lucius' permission to give him. It would protect him from any further potions that anyone decided to slip him. He intended to never take it off. Of course, Aunt Cissy had gifted him an entire wardrobe, probably the last thing he needed, but he thanked her nonetheless. He had no idea what to do with so many clothes when he had grown up with three outfits that looked like tents on him.

Remus and Tonks had given him a wand sheath while Siri and Helena had given him his father's journals on becoming an animagus. Even though he was well on his way, he would still enjoy reading about his father's journey. It was more sentimental than a learning piece. Juliet had given him a book on how to snare the right witch, something that he glared at her for but she had just smirked at him. It seemed as though the youngest in their family was also well aware that he had a crush on her sister.

He hadn't known what to expect when he pulled Hermione's gift in front of him; in the past, her gifts had always been great and he only hoped that his compared to whatever she had gotten him. When he opened the box, he found a scrapbook. As he flipped through it, he found dozens of photos of his parents from their Hogwarts days, articles in the Prophet, detailing his mother's success in Charms and her N.E.W.T. scores. There were pictures from their wedding, even photos of all three of them together in the house in Godric's Hollow. A photo of him zooming around on a toy broom, chasing a cat, made him laugh out loud. The best picture was one that had his parents dancing in the backyard of the cottage in Godric's Hollow and he was floating in the air around them. Both his mother and father were laughing so he assumed that one of them was levitating him.

It was the best gift he had ever been given.

Hermione had called Dot and asked her to take her gifts to her room and put them away in safe places, sinking back into the couch that had a seat open. Harry had made sure that it was one that had an open seat next to him. Kreacher made sure to bring her hot chocolate and after a pointed look from her, he disappeared and reappeared with a platter of hot chocolate for everyone. Hermione gave a contented sigh and was staring at the Christmas tree, wonder in her eyes. He reached out and picked up a lock of her hair, twirling it around his fingers. She gave him a soft smile but said nothing about her hair.

"There's something about Christmas that can make anyone feel better. Even if you don't get a single gift, it's knowing that this is a time for family and that those you love are thinking of you." Harry tugged her curl slightly and gave a self-deprecating smile.

"Now that's what it means. It hasn't always been that way for me. I used to hate the holiday." Hermione reached out and took his hand, her thumb rubbing over his knuckles.

"You don't have to worry about spending Christmas with those horrid muggles anymore. You're our family and you'll always be welcome here." Harry smiled at her but reached out and poked her side.

"No more sad. I'm sorry I started it. Only fun for the rest of the day." She smiled at him and reached out to tug his hair. When he glared at her, she laughed.

"You're forever pulling on my hair. It's only fair I get to do it every once in a while." They were interrupted by Juliet speaking from the window closest to the books.

"There's snow. We should go play in it." Draco stood and smirked at them.

"I think that's a great idea. We can have a snowball fight." Hermione groaned next to him and buried her face in her hands.

"Drake, you know I'm not built for the outdoors, especially snow. I'm terrible at snow everything. You always complain I make you lose." Harry reached out and tugged her hair again, making her smile.

"If you go play with us, you can be on my team so Draco can't complain. I bet we can even get some of the adults to play." Hermione smiled at him for a moment before finally nodding.

"Alright, but if you complain I make you lose I'm never playing again." Harry stood and reached down to pull her to her feet.

"I promise I won't complain. Who else is in?" Sirius stood instantly.

"I'm in. Remus, don't even think about not playing." Remus laughed and stood, followed instantly by Tonks.

"Me too, I'm just a big kid, after all." Draco counted.

"That's only seven. If we want to have even teams we need one more." Harry saw Aunt Cissy nudge Uncle Lucius and he glared at her for just a few moments before standing.

"I'll play but I insist on being on Hermione's team." Draco snorted at his father.

"Typical. That's alright, we'll still kill you out there." Harry threw his arm around Hermione and Uncle Lucius and looked to the others.

"Who else wants to be on the winning team?" Tonks stepped forward with a smile and Uncle Lucius groaned. It was no secret that he only tolerated Tonks so Hermione laughed and hugged his arm to her chest, hushing him quickly.

"Alright, downstairs in five minutes. Be ready for the snow."

Harry watched Hermione dash upstairs and wondered just what she was going to change into. He wasn't sure that witch's robes were a good idea for the snow but he supposed that he would see. He didn't bother going upstairs, he just summoned his cloak, gloves, and scarf. He noticed that Draco, Sirius, Remus, and Uncle Lucius did the same. Only Juliet dashed up the stairs with Hermione.

Sure enough, five minutes later, they were all heading outside. Hermione had changed into a pair of yoga pants that didn't look very warm but did indeed look very easy to move in. Her jumper looked to be cashmere but warm and comfy. Her boots reached her knees and he watched her cast a warming charm on all her clothing. Just before the walked outside, Kreacher appeared and waved his hand over her clothing, probably adding his own long-lasting warming charm. Once the cold air hit him, he wished that he had one for himself.

After they found a stretch of hill that wasn't hindered by too many trees or limbs, they split off to discuss strategy. Harry found that he enjoyed hearing Tonks and Uncle Lucius argue about the best way to go about winning. It was after five minutes of listening to them that Harry finally stopped them with a laugh and threw arms over both their shoulders.

"It's just a snowball game, guys. Just go out there, throw snowballs, and have fun. Make sure you hit Siri and Draco in the face though, they deserve it." The other three members of his team started to laugh and finally stopped being so competitive. After their planning session, they all returned to the field of battle and began.

It was an epic battle that ended up lasting hours, far longer than any of them had ever anticipated. It was a battle that went back and forth between both teams, each taking the lead numerous times throughout the time they played. Harry had ended up with numerous snowballs down his back, though to be fair, one of those had been from Hermione and one from Tonks. He had taken one right to the face from Uncle Lucius but he had been quick to return that in kind.

In the end, they had called it a draw. All eight of them were exhausted, cold, and ready for the fire. Not to mention, Harry was starving. In fact, they had only been halted by Sipsy appearing on the field and telling them all that Christmas dinner was almost ready. Hermione was the first one to say that she was done and ready to go inside. Even though nobody wanted to admit it, they were just as ready to go in as she was.

Harry was stripping off his cloak and gloves when Dot appeared and told them that dinner was ready. He was able to cast a drying charm on his clothes and one last warming charm before the little elf was herding him towards the dining room. Hermione seemed to be suffering from the same treatment, only from Sipsy. It truly was humorous how her elves just took over wherever they were staying. Not that Harry minded; he liked that the elves cared enough to take care of them. While Dobby was never as demanding as Hermione's elves, he always made sure that Harry's needs were taken care of. Truthfully, he wouldn't know what he would do without him and he let Dobby know that every single day.

They all took the same seats for Christmas dinner as they had for Christmas breakfast. Harry settled in next to Hermione and as soon as they were given permission to begin, he started serving Hermione her favorites. After watching her serve herself food for a year and a half now, he knew her favorites and what exactly she didn't like. She flashed him a grateful smile but then returned the favor by piling his favorites on his plate. He hated to consider the thought that she had probably known his favorites far longer than he had known hers.

The whole family shared an enjoyable meal together, talking and laughing about their snowball fight and laughing at some of the pictures that the elves had sneaked out and gotten. There was one that Harry was determined to get a copy of, one where Hermione had tried to run around him but he had reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her to where she lost her balance and fell directly on top of him. Their faces had been close enough to kiss and while Harry had been tempted, he hadn't. There was no way in hell was he was going to rush this and ruin it. Therefore, he had smashed a snowball on Hermione's head and laughed when she smashed one in his face before crawling to her feet.

After dinner was over, they retired back to the library to spend quiet time together. Everyone had gotten a book of some sort for Christmas and they were all planning on pursuing their own interests. Harry was reading a defense book he had gotten from Severus while Hermione curled up against him with his mother's charms diary. Everyone in the family settled in with a book and Harry had to admit that it was quite touching to see not only Uncle Lucius and Aunt Cissy curl up together on a couch, but Sirius and Helena as well.

Randomly, they would all call out odd things that they came across in their reading. Tonks was reading about werewolf mating habits and Remus turned bright red every time she shared a fact. Aunt Cissy and Aunt Andie were both reading on fashion trends through the ages so their facts didn't really interest anyone except Juliet. Hermione was the only one who remained silent as she devoured his mother's book, taking in all her intellect.

It was much later in the night, after the fire in the library had started to dwindle, that everyone started to say their goodbyes. Hermione had long since fallen asleep against Harry while Juliet had fallen asleep against her father. Remus and Tonks left with Aunt Andie and Uncle Ted. Uncle Sev shot Harry a hard look before dismissing himself to bed as well. Just as Harry was getting ready to suggest that they head to bed as well, Hermione shifted and stretched out, laying her head in his lap. Dot appeared instantly and placed a blanket over her, taking his mother's journal and marking her spot. She popped out of existence and left Harry with Hermione's head in his lap and his imagination going wild.

Draco was smirking at him as he excused himself, telling everyone how tired he was. Juliet was the next one to go to bed after her father had woke her, her grandfather offering to escort her to her room. Uncle Lucius and Aunt Cissy rose next, his uncle giving him a hard look as he met his gaze.

"I expect her to find her way to her room with no problems." Harry swallowed hard and nodded.

"I promise, I'll make sure of it, sir." he gave Harry a respectful nod before he turned and left, Aunt Cissy on his arm. It was Sirius' turn to stand and meet Harry, even though he couldn't stand.

"I know how you feel about my daughter. I also know I'm trusting you to not take advantage of her. It would tear our family apart." Harry reached his hand out to shake that of his godfather's.

"I would never betray your trust, sir, let alone hers. I want this to work and it will never work if she doesn't trust me." Sirius gave him a nod and turned on his heel, leaving him alone with Hermione in the library. Not for a second did he think he was alone with her; her elves were always watching and would never allow anything inappropriate.

Therefore, he continued to read his book for another hour after everyone had gone to bed, mostly so he could enjoy feeling Hermione so close to him. His hand was constantly in her curls, playing with them, twisting them around his fingers and just enjoying the silky softness of her hair. After his fingers tired of her hair, they moved to her skin. The skin of her cheeks, jaw, and neck were whisper soft compared to his own. He wished that he could kiss them all over, like he had other girls, but the truth was that Hermione was like no other woman he had ever met. Definitely like no other woman he had ever kissed. This was the reason he hoped to never kiss another woman but Hermione for the rest of his life.

Finally, after almost two hours on the couch together by themselves, Harry knew that it was time to head to bed. Rather than wake Hermione and make her walk to bed, he maneuvered out from underneath her and then turned to lift her into his arms. She didn't wake but snuggled ever so softly into his chest when he held her close. He reveled in the feeling of holding her close, knowing that it likely wouldn't happen anytime soon.

He carried her all the way up the stairs and to the door of her room. He paused for a moment, unsure if he should enter her private domain or not. Of course, she hadn't hesitated this morning when entering his but she was a girl. She could have knickers laying around that would later embarrass her. He went ahead and opened her bedroom door and glanced around to make sure that there was nothing that would embarrass either one of them.

When he didn't see anything like knickers on the floor, he smiled and wandered further into the room. Since he had no idea what was normal for her bedtime routine, he called out tentatively for Kreacher. To his utmost surprise, the elf appeared.

"What is master doing with his mistress?" Harry tried not to be intimidated by his question.

"I carried her to bed, Kreacher. I just don't know what I need to do for her. You know her routine better than I do." Kreacher snapped his fingers and Hermione disappeared from his arms and appeared in bed. With another snap of his fingers, she was in her skimpy pajamas as usual. Harry gave Kreacher a smile and turned to Hermione in her bed. He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead and then her cheek before pulling away. He turned to Kreacher and gave him a solemn nod.

"I know you already take good care of her but can you make sure that her fire doesn't die? That way she isn't cold in the morning?" Kreacher gave him a genuine smile.

"Kreacher is not usually in charge of her fire but he will be tonight since Master insisted. Master takes good care of Mistress. Even though Master is not of pure blood, he is good man. He takes good care of Mistress." Harry wasn't sure what to make of this comment but decided to take it as a complement.

"Thank you, Kreacher. I just want you to make sure that she stays warm through the night." Kreacher bowed before him and gave him an almost-smile. The only person who rated a full-on smile was Hermione. Not even Juliet, the same standing as Hermione, rated as much from Kreacher.

"Consider it done, Master. Kreacher will care for yous Mistress. You never hurts my Mistress." Harry knew that was a fucking lie but decided not to bring that up. He needed all the help he could get and having Kreacher on his side would definitely help.

"I love your Mistress, Kreacher. I hope to someday marry her, even though I don't deserve her." Kreacher smiled once again.

"We shall sees, Master." With that, the little elf was gone.

Harry pressed one final kiss to her cheek and left, finding his room quickly. Once he was changed, he headed for his bed, only to find that his own fire had been stoked and was blazing. He couldn't help but wonder if Kreacher had stopped in or if Dobby had checked it later than usual since he had been up later.

Harry changed quickly and crawled into bed, exhausted now that his bed was in sight. He was more than ready to get some sleep. After meditating lightly, mostly thinking about his day spent with Hermione and how well it had went, he let the world of sleep pull him under.

After all, Christmas was a day for family and he had exhausted himself reveling in it.

A/N- There we are, folks, another chapter in the books. I'm ready to drop dead, ready to fall asleep, but I just had to finish this chapter. I hope you all liked it, it was rather fluffy. More of Harry getting closer to Hermione. Anyways, let me know what you think, I do love hearing your opinions. Let me know your thoughts, reviews are love.

Next chapter, return to Hogwarts.

Love,

Alicia


	98. Chapter 98

A/N- Here we are again, my lovelies. Sorry it's been a few days, I haven't been very motivated to write these last few days. Hopefully my mojo will return, lol. Anyways, thanks to everyone out there reading and reviewing, following and favoriting. I really appreciate it. Hope you all enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: Nothing about this story belongs to me. The original story idea belongs to Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle and the characters belong to J.K. Rowling. Still haven't made any money from any of my stories, this one included, since I still have no money.

Chapter 98

January 8, 1996

Harry waved his wand at his trunk, shrinking it. Dobby glared at him, stepping forward and swiping it before he could. Harry just grinned; he knew that it irritated the elf when he did things for himself and he liked seeing the little guy in a huff. He was gone with a pop, meaning it was time for Harry to head downstairs to the dining room.

They were still at Malfoy Manor but they were heading back to Hogwarts today. It had been the best holiday of his life and he was thrilled that he got to spend it with twins and Neville had come by the day before to play a game of quidditch; since Blaise had been there as well, they had played five on five, making Siri, Remus, Juliet, and Helena play as well. Hermione had stayed on the ground with Uncle Lucius, Severus, and Aunt Cissy. Tonks was off doing something with her parents and had joined them later in the day.

Hermione had kept score of the match and everyone on the ground had laughed wholeheartedly everytime one of them made a blunder. It had ended up being a race for the snitch between Harry and Draco, Draco losing out again. However, he had taken it well and they had laughed about it as they warmed up with hot chocolate afterwards.

All in all, it was a holiday that he definitely wanted to experience again.

Everyone was already at the table, eating their breakfast and laughing about he wasn't sure what. Jules waved him over and gestured for him to sit next to her and he ruffled her hair as he did so. While Sirius and Uncle Lucius were sitting there sipping their tea and reading the Daily Prophet, Alexandre was watching the scene silently, almost fondly.

Through the holiday, he had relaxed a little bit around the older man. There wasn't much cause for them to talk but the one conversation he had shared with the man had been about things he could do to strengthen his magic. It had been quite the conversation and while Harry wasn't entirely sure that all his suggestions were legal, he did learn a lot.

Moody had been there almost every day, working with the three of them in the training room. His main focus remained to be Hermione but Harry and Draco both benefited from his teachings. He wasn't sure what it was about Hermione that drew him to her but he wasn't going to complain. He had asked Draco after their last session with the Master Auror and the way he had explained it really hadn't cleared anything up.

"He's a pureblood. Most purebloods aren't used to seeing women in positions of power; sure, Amelia Bones in the Head of the D.M.L.E. but most pureblood witches are more into marrying well and then contributing to charities. I love Daphne and that she's smart as a whip but even she says that her dream is to add a wing to St. Mungo's for magical creatures like werewolves. Clearly a charity. To see Hermione in the position of being the true matriarch of a family as powerful as the Blacks is enough to draw someone like Moody's attention. Add in that she's smarter than he is and more powerful than anyone we know except for you and he's definitely going to want to keep his eye on her. We just got lucky that he wanted to train her. Plus, it's clear he has a crush on her. Not a sexual one, that's obvious, but he definitely likes her. Otherwise he wouldn't allow her to be affectionate with him, he'd treat her just as though it were you and I giving him that hug. He'd cut our balls off and shove them down our throats."

Harry had nodded his head slowly, trying to process his explanation. Since the wizarding world was stuck in the dark ages, he supposed that it made sense. After all, who was he to judge who Hermione was friends with as long as they treated her right? Moody certainly did.

Harry ate his fill at the table, knowing that it would be much later that night before they ate again. He was sure that Kreacher would bring them food if Hermione asked but he would much rather be full to begin with. He knew that Hermione was dreading returning to school, he was too truth be told. Umbridge was still a problem and now that she had made Hermione's hand scar permanently, it was only going to get worse.

He really wasn't sure what they were going to do in regards to Umbridge. He had sneaked into Hermione's room a few nights ago with Draco and talked with her about going ahead and turning Umbridge in. He was sure that they had enough evidence to at least get her fired. Hermione had told him no, not yet, and begged him to just stay out of detention. She wanted enough evidence to put the bitch in Azkaban, not just get her fired. Of course, Harry assumed that it would mean her getting more detentions on purpose but he hoped that he was wrong. He had vowed to get with Draco and attack the crazy bitch if he saw Hermione doing just that.

Harry watched as Hermione, Juliet, and Draco all excused themselves from the table to go and make sure that all their things were gathered and packed away for the trip back to Hogwarts. Of course, Hermione would be sending hers with Kreacher but the others were going to send theirs like every other kid going to school. Draco just said that his elves were always busy doing other things for him so he could live with knowing that his luggage was traveling the peasants way. Juliet didn't care either way.

Hermione returned first, followed by Draco, only for Jules to bring up the rear. It had been decided the night before that Uncle Lucius and Sirius would be the ones to deliver them to Platform 9 ¾ so they were lined up to tell Aunt Cissy goodbye. Juliet went first and Harry could see that even though the girl hadn't grown up with her aunt, they still adored each other. After she was done with her aunt, she moved to her mother and grandfather while Harry himself stepped forward. Aunt Cissy smiled at him and tried to make his hair lay flat. He snorted, knowing full well that it was a lost cause. She finally gave up and wrapped her arms around him.

"I want you to promise me that you'll be careful this year; no needless adventures. With Umbridge there, we can't protect you as we normally could." Harry pressed a kiss to her cheek and nodded, smiling softly.

"I promise, Aunt Cissy. I'm going to be careful. I'll miss you." She stepped back and gave him a smirk.

"Silly boy, trying to charm your aunt. It won't work. However, I'll miss you as well." Harry burst out in laughter and moved so Hermione could step forward.

Harry didn't listen to the goodbyes between Hermione or Draco and Aunt Cissy; he supposed that they deserved a level of privacy when they spoke to their loved ones. Once everyone had stepped back, Sirius spoke aloud.

"Alright, we're getting ready to leave. Everyone step forward and touch the belt please, it'll portkey us to Platform 9 ¾." Harry followed everyone else as they stepped forward to grab hold of the belt that his godfather had produced. With a wave of his wand, Sirius activated it and it jerked them out of sight with a harsh hook around his navel.

They landed right in front of the Hogwarts Express. Students and parents alike filled the Platform and the younger years were all begging their parents not to make them go back. Uncle Lucius and Sirius raised eyebrows at each other at the sight but remained silent on the matter. Of course they knew it was because of Umbridge and her Reign of Terror; they just couldn't do anything about it.

Both had asked himself, Draco, and Hermione what was really going on at school; they already knew from what Severus was telling them but they wanted to hear it first hand. Harry had wanted to tell them exactly what was happening to Hermione at school but she had shot him a warning look and sighed. It was clear that she was determined to continue to protect Severus; he didn't blame her but it was very frustrating that she was getting hurt and wanted it to continue. Harry just wanted the old hag to keel over and die in her office. At this point, he didn't give a fuck about exposing the truth, he just wanted her gone.

The Weasleys were just a little ways down the Platform and it didn't take a genius to see Molly glaring at their family. When she caught him watching her, she gave a him a smile. Harry returned it but turned his attention back to his family. Hermione was in her uncle's arms and they were speaking quietly while Draco was shaking Sirius' hand as he wished him well. They both switched after several minutes and Hermione was wrapped in her father's arms. Once they separated, Harry stepped up to his uncle and held out his hand. Uncle Lucius gripped it firmly and gave him a respectful nod.

"I know my niece all too well and know that when she is determined to do something, she's going to do it no matter what you do. I just ask that you do your best to keep her safe." Harry gave him a nod, agreeing wholeheartedly. That was exactly how Hermione was.

"I'll do my best, sir. She means the world to me, the last thing I want to do is let harm come to her." Uncle Lucius leaned forward so he could whisper in his ear.

"I know she's lying about her detentions. She thinks she hides the glamour on her hand very well. In fact, she does. I've just always been able to see the spell. I'm not sure why she's lying to everyone and why you and my son are letting her, but I expect you to do all you can to stop her from getting these detentions. She's going to be Lady Black very soon so she needs to make her own decisions. It's very hard to sit back and do nothing. However, it makes me feel better knowing that you and Draco will be there if she needs help." Harry felt his stomach drop. All that lying and Uncle Lucius knew anyways. He knew that his voice was unsteady when she spoke.

"Have you told Sirius or Severus?" Lucius pulled away and shook his head.

"No, their reactions can't be trusted. While I want to rip that fucking bitch's head off her shoulders and feed it to a dragon, I am going to bide my time until Hermione has enough information against her. Then, I'm going to do all I can to see her thrown in Azkaban. I just hope she knows what she's doing." Harry nodded.

"Severus told her that if she ever hurt her, he would kill her. She knows he would do it and she can't bear to see him in Azkaban. Therefore, she's hiding it. It's beyond stupid but I understand her reasons." Uncle Lucius nodded, understanding clear in his eyes.

"Let her make her own decisions. Be there to help her if they blow up in her face." Harry nodded again.

"I promise, sir." With that, Lucius stepped back and went silent. Harry moved to his godfather and gave him a manly hug and laughing when the man ruffled his already unruly hair further.

"Be safe, pup. Be strong, don't take any shite, and protect your family. They'll do the same for you. I love you, kid." Harry smiled at his godfather and ruffled his hair back. Sirius squawked in indignation, mostly because his perfect hair was now mussed.

"I love you too. I'll do my best to keep them safe. I always do."

Nothing else needed to be said between Harry and his godfather. With a final wave from all of them, they started for the Express and boarded. Hermione chose their compartment and once they were all inside, they settled. Juliet was seated for all of two minutes before one of her friends knocked and asked her to come sit with them for a little while. Hermione waved her on just as Neville and Luna entered. Since she wasn't allowed at Malfoy Manor, she had spent time with Neville and Lady Longbottom at Longbottom Manor. The Longbottom betrothal ring rested on her finger just like it had before but they seemed closer. His arm was around her waist and he pressed a kiss to her temple after they were seated.

The Express took off shortly after, the twins joining them just before it pulled away. There had been scowls on their faces but since they had just parted from their family, Harry wasn't about to ask what their problem was. Everyone was quiet and he wasn't sure if it was because it was the end of their vacation or if it was because they were returning to the Toad. Honestly, he thought that it was a combination of both.

Hermione was seated next to him and was reading a thick book on who knew what. Draco and Neville were playing chess while Luna and Daphne shared the newest fashion magazine from Paris. The twins were napping against each other so that left Harry alone with his thoughts.

He had used his time over the holidays well in his plan of getting closer to Hermione. She had tested him on his Spanish while he had helped her in the greenhouse to harvest potion ingredients for Severus. They read together in the library and there had been one memorable time where she had smarted off to him and he had taken her to the ground in laughter, tickling her sides. It had been wonderful to see her laughing and carefree because of his actions rather than crying or upset.

There had been a few nights that she had fallen asleep against him in the library; on those nights, he lifted her into his arms and carried her to bed himself. He knew that Kreacher, Sipsy, or Dot would have been thrilled to take her but it made him feel closer to her. He would also admit only to himself that she felt delicious in his arms. It was hard to ignore her scant weight and warmth pressed against him, making it seem like everything was right in the world.

Much like this current moment. Hermione had been reading as she sat on the seat in their compartment. She was now leaning heavily against his arm, drooling slightly. She was clearly asleep and he wondered if she hadn't slept well the night before. He knew that she was worried about Umbridge and having to face her in detention again. However, she was also determined to see the witch ran out of the castle. He was pretty sure that she wouldn't have protested having the bitch's head on a stake.

Harry shifted her to where she was more comfortable. Her head was resting in his lap and Draco was quick to reach down and pull her legs up so her feet could rest in his lap. Harry pulled her hair back from her face and silently played with her curls behind her head so nobody could see what he was doing. Her ebony strands were silky soft and curled around his fingers perfectly.

Harry lightly dozed as the train drew closer to Hogsmeade station. He heard scuffling and opened his eyes to see that everyone was starting to stand. Harry reached down and gently shook Hermione's shoulders. Her eyes fluttered sleepily open and she smiled at him softly. Once she realized just where she was laying, she sprang up and her cheeks flushed.

"I'm sorry, Harry, I didn't mean to fall asleep on you." He reached out and tugged one of her curls.

"You were fine, Mia. If you hadn't been I would have told you." She gave him a shy nod and started to stand herself, throwing her robes over her day robes. They were all getting ready to exit when she spoke again.

"I can't believe I slept most of the way. Now I probably won't sleep tonight." Harry kissed her forehead.

"You've been stressed and we all know that you aren't sleeping well at school. You sleep all you can now." She nodded and stepped off the train.

Since she was a prefect alongside Draco, they were required to help the younger years into carriages. Harry, Neville, and the twins stayed with them so they could all ride together. Once they were ensconced in the carriage, Harry recalled a similar ride that took them to Hogsmeade. Since they were close to overloaded, Harry pulled her into his lap and settled her against him. It was dark but he knew from experience that she was blushing. His arm settled around her back and rested on her hip, holding her in place. After only a minute, she settled her head against his chest and relaxed against him.

The carriage ride wasn't very long, only ten minutes, but it was a wonderful ten minutes. He had rested his cheek against her head and could smell the scent of cherry blossoms on her hair. After the carriage came to a stop, he helped her stand. Since they were the closest to the door, Harry exited first so he could help Hermione and Daphne out of the carriage. The sight of Hogwarts looming above them used to be a lovely sight; however now, it reminded them that they were getting ready to step back into hell.

-O-

Hermione was pulled up the steps that led to the Entrance Hall. Dread settled over her and she took a deep breath. She was going to have to stay on her toes and do her best to stay away from Umbridge. While she did want information to use against Umbridge, she didn't want any further scarring on her hand. Call her vain but she couldn't change how she felt.

They entered the castle and since it was a Welcoming Feast, they were to sit at their house tables. It had never been that way before but Umbridge had deemed it a rule when she all but took over the castle. Harry squeezed her hand and pressed a quick kiss to her temple before he started for the Gryffindor table. Even though she didn't care for Ron, he would have a friend to sit with there. Of course, this also meant that Luna had to sit with the Ravenclaws, the same girls who hated her. She hoped that the rules would go back to normal if they got rid of Umbridge.

Hermione settled next to Draco while Daphne sat across from them. She knew that her cousin planned to ask her best friend to let him court her soon; he had contacted Daphne's father over Christmas holidays to ask his permission. Gerald Greengrass had granted it happily and Hermione could only hope that this meant that the Greengrass family had made their choice when it came to which side they would serve in the upcoming war. It would kill her to lose her best girlfriend because her parents chose to follow Voldemort.

Food appeared on the table after Dumbledore stood and welcomed them all back to school. She knew that he had to notice the lack of response and laughter. Draco piled her plate high with food even though the last thing she wanted to do was eat. She let her mind wander to the Christmas holidays and how they had been so much better than last years. She had spent quite a lot of time with Harry and they hadn't argued at all. In fact, he had been very solicitous of her and it was more than she had expected. Draco had told her that he was changing and she was starting to believe that maybe it was real.

Umbridge was sitting at the High Table, smiling primly and dabbing at her mouth. She wondered if they could get away with poisoning her tea but quickly dismissed the idea. Uncle Sev was a marked Death Eater; he would be the first one that was a suspect. She couldn't bear for him to go to Azkaban, that's the only reason she hadn't let him follow through on his promise and tear the toad to pieces.

She let her mind drift as she started to pick at her food. Hermione was still confused as to just why Umbridge seemed to hate her as much as she did Harry. At least her hatred for Harry made sense. She could only smile when she remembered the conversation with her father a few days after Christmas.

*Flashback*

Hermione was settled on the couch in the library while the boys had gone outside to play quidditch with Juliet. She had plans to go riding in just a short time with her Aunt Cissy but decided that she wanted to question her father about Umbridge. He was reading a book and sipping a glass of firewhiskey. She cleared her throat to get his attention and when he looked at her, he smiled.

"What's wrong, poppet?" She looked at him curiously.

"Umbridge really hates me, daddy. I understand why she hates Harry; he's telling everyone that Voldemort is back and they can't just come out and say that the godson of Lord Black is a liar. It's twisted but it makes sense. Why does she hate me? Aside from not wanting her Dark Lord to return, I'm everything she finds ideal. Pureblood, heiress, powerful, Slytherin. She should love me. I just don't understand." Her father stood and came to the couch she was seated on so he could sit next to her and throw his arm around her shoulders. His eyes were soft and his voice was soothing.

"Umbridge hates you because of me. She's six years younger than me, only a few years younger than you dad. I don't know if she even knew Reggie but I remember my father saying that she had her father send a betrothal contract to him for your dad. He didn't honor it, of course, since he was already involved with your mother. However, when you were six or seven, she started working at the Ministry. She would follow me everywhere and continuously tried to proposition me. I'm sure that by now you know of my extracurricular activities in the muggle world. I stayed to women in the muggle world because I didn't want witches to get the idea that I was going to marry them." He paused and took another sip of whiskey before continuing.

"She propositioned me for years. I finally lost my temper and was quite terrible to her. I told her that I would never have sex with her and that I would surely never marry her. I made her cry, of course, but she left me alone after that. I truly thought that she would hate Juliet since she was born out of wedlock but it seems that you're bearing the brunt of her hatred. I can't tell you how sorry I am for that, sweetness." Hermione leaned into her father's side and smiled even though she knew the torture was just going to continue.

"It isn't your fault, daddy. You tried to be nice for years but she didn't take the hint. Nobody can make you sleep with someone when you really don't want to." Her father kissed the top of her head.

"If she gives you any hell, you let me know. I'll do worse than make her cry this time." Hermione felt her stomach tighten in dread so she made sure to lie again about her punishments.

"I will, daddy."

*End of Flashback*

There was soft conversation going on around her but she didn't listen to any of it. Daphne was quiet as well but she wasn't sure what that was about. If she didn't tell her what was wrong in a few days, she would question her friend. Draco was laughing with Blaise and she couldn't help but notice that Vince and Greg hadn't spoke to them for ages. The pair of them and Pansy spoke exclusively to Theo now and she hoped that they would be smart enough to pull back from Voldemort when the time came. She knew that all their fathers were marked Death Eaters.

Hermione waited until the meal was over and they had been dismissed to think about when she would find the time with their new transformations. Professor Cat had told them that they would have to transform quite often at first since it was a new talent but after their bodies got used to it, all would be well and they could transform whenever they wanted. She still remembered the first time they had transformed; their family had been blown away.

*Flashback*

Her father was standing firm against Professor McGonagall. She was determined to have them transform in private but he was demanding that he be allowed to stay and help. After all, he was an animagus and could help. Hermione didn't blame him; she would want to be a part of it as well. Finally Professor Cat had capitulated and let him stay. However, she put her foot down at Remus and Uncle Luci staying as well.

Professor McGonagall handed them each a vial of potion with a serious look on her face. All three of them waited for her instruction. With a sigh, she spoke.

"You're going to take this potion and it's going to force you into your animagus forms. Once you're transformed, you need to spend a few minutes adjusting. Afterwards, you must meditate like you did when you were searching for your form to transform back." Hermione gave her mentor a sure nod and downed the potion. Harry and Draco followed suit, draining their vials as well.

Hermione felt herself start to get a little queasy but stayed strong. After a few moments, she started to shrink down and her body started to rearrange itself. It was quite disconcerting. Once she stopped changing, she looked down at the floor to see that instead of hands and feet, she was crouched on four paws. Her ears could hear EVERYTHING and her sense of smell was much better too. She took a tentative step and a thrill went through her as she felt the cold floor on the individual pads of her paws.

Off to her side, Harry was already darting around the room in his fox form, clearly curious about everything around him. Draco was hopping around as a falcon and she could tell just by looking at him that he was itching to fly. Her breath caught when she saw him leap into the air and take off, flapping his wings repeatedly. Hermione walked around in her form and sniffed everything. Finally, Professor McGonagall held up a large mirror and she stepped up to admire herself.

Her fur was a darker grey and brown color with black and brown spots all over her body. She looked to be three and half feet or so long but didn't look to weigh more than fifty pounds. Her canines were abnormally large but she had read that the clouded leopard had the longest canines in respect to their body size. She didn't get a chance to admire Draco or Harry before Professor McGonagall took the mirror away and gave them a stern look.

"Alright, it's time to change back. Remember what I said, center your mind and concentrate on becoming human, the changes that will occur to make that happen."

Hermione sat back on her haunches and centered her mind on changing back to her human form. It only took her a few minutes to finally feel herself starting to transform. Much to her surprise, Harry was the next to return to his human form, followed by Draco. They were all grinning broadly. Professor Cat even graced them with a brilliant smile.

"Beautiful transformations! Very well-performed. The first time, you almost always have to have help to transform back. It's why it's dangerous to do this by yourself." Her father stepped forward and hugged her tightly.

"You all did wonderful! I remember when James tried to change back for the first time and only managed to get it halfway. He walked around with antlers until I finally managed to find the spell that would change him back to normal." Hermione shot Harry a glance and saw an amused smile on his face.

"My dad really did that?" Her father laughed and nodded.

"We weren't smart and didn't get help. We did it all on our own. It was definitely an experience. One that was incredibly stupid but I'll never forget it." Harry chuckled softly.

"Well, I'm glad I asked for help. I wouldn't want to walk around with a fox tail until I was able to figure out how to change it back." Draco was grinning broadly at his success.

"I'm a freaking falcon." Hermione laughed at his words, letting go of her father to go and hug her cousin. After a kiss to his cheek, she grinned at him.

"You're a freaking falcon." He laughed at her as Professor McGonagall spoke again.

"Now, I'm assuming that the three of you are going to remain unregistered until after the war, correct?" They all nodded so she continued.

"I must impress upon you all that nobody can know that you've completed your transformation. If they know, they could turn you in. While you probably won't suffer time in Azkaban, you will end up with substantial fines and your reputations would suffer. I know that's important in your circles." Hermione gave her a serious nod.

"We aren't going to tell anyone. You're the only one that knows that isn't family." She gave them a reassured nod.

"Good to hear. Now, make sure you practice together so if you run into problems, the other can get help to get you turned back. Do I have your word?" All three of them nodded.

They were finally animaguses.

*End of Flashback*

Hermione was sure to make sure that all the younger Slytherins were herded back to the common room. Slytherin took care of themselves and she and Draco were going to make sure that their smallest snakes didn't end up in detention unless it was absolutely necessary. She had just ushered them through the common room door when Umbridge herself appeared behind them.

"I see that you returned after the holidays. I really wasn't sure that you would." Hermione kept her face impassive and she felt Draco step up beside her.

"I never back down, Professor. Rest assured, I was always going to return." Something akin to respect shined back at her in the awful toads eyes but Hermione didn't care. She was pure evil. After a moment, she gave Hermione a tight smile.

"I look forward to having you in class, Miss Black." Without another word, she was gone with a swish of robes. Hermione let out the breath that she had been holding. Draco slipped his hand in hers and kissed the side of her head.

"Stay strong, Mia. We're going to bring that bitch down." Hermione nodded against him before stepping into the common room.

It wasn't that late but the room was mostly empty. She was sure that everyone was unpacking and getting ready for bed since there were classes the next morning. Even though she had slept half the day, Hermione still felt tired. She supposed that she should probably just go to bed since it was entirely likely that she wouldn't be getting much rest until Easter break. They planned to hit the D.A. meetings hard now that Christmas was over.

Hermione bid her cousin good night and went up to her dormitory. Of course, Kreacher had come back with her and had all her things unpacked like she liked. She grabbed her nightgown and headed for the shower. She stripped quickly and hopped in, reveling in the hot water. She cleaned off quickly and got out, ready for bed.

She climbed into bed and laid there, contemplating just how they were going to get rid of Umbridge. She hoped that they would have more evidence than they did right now. It seemed that the other students were forgetting to record when they got in trouble. It was highly frustrating. They had to prove that the abuse was school-wide, not just against her and Harry.

Hermione glanced over to see that photo from the Malfoy New Year's Eve ball on her nightstand. It was a wonderful picture, one that she planned to treasure the rest of her life. Even though Hermione had attended on Draco's arm, she had danced with Harry numerous times, as well as the twins, Neville, and Blaise. She had even danced with Bill and Charlie.

The photo was taken of everyone in her family; originally, it had started with just Hermione and her friends. However, she had begged the adults to join them and it ended up being a hilarious photo. Her father had his arms thrown around Helena and Uncle Sev; he had been able to be in the photo since it was after the ball had ended. They were all laughing about a dirty joke her father had told. Dory was under Remus' arm and they were both standing beside Aunt Andie and Uncle Ted. Uncle Luci had his arms around Aunt Cissy from behind, leaning down to kiss her cheek. Alexandre was standing on the edge, laughing at everyone. Hermione was held in Harry's arms bridal style while Draco was trying to tickle her sides. Juliet was standing between the twins and they both had arms thrown around her. Luna, once again not allowed to be at Malfoy Manor, was the only one missing. It was a picture that she had to keep hidden with a glamour, it wouldn't do for anyone to see how close they were to Uncle Sev, but it would remain her favorite for years to come.

Hermione let her eyes fall closed and smiled to herself. It had been a great holiday but they were back at Hogwarts and it was back to business. They had a toad to exterminate.

A/N- Kind of a shorty but hope you all liked it regardless. Just a chapter to go over their break basically. Thanks to everyone out there for showing this story so much love, you guys are seriously awesome. Anyways, let me know what you guys think.

Next chapter, trip to Hogsmeade.

Love,

Alicia


	99. Chapter 99

A/N- You guys show this story so much love and I am just astounded. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, you have no idea how much I appreciate it. This chapter is going to be a crazy one so I hope you guys are ready to hang on for a wild ride! That being said, I hope you enjoy. I'm going to get started so I can hurry and post this chapter, I'm so excited for y'all to read it.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything about this story. The characters belong to our queen and a reader donated the original idea for Part One to me. I only hope she likes what I've done with it so far. Anyways, since I'm still a broke bitch, I haven't made any money off this story or any others. Big shout out to J.K.R. for letting us play in her sandbox.

Chapter 99

January 31, 1996

Hermione took her seat at the Slytherin table and smiled at the obvious excitement of those around her. It had been a long month since they had returned to school and they were all due a day without Umbridge. She felt bad for Juliet since she would be the only one left behind while the rest of them all went to Hogsmeade. Even though Hermione really didn't feel the urge to go, she wanted out of the castle and out from under Umbridge's watchful eye.

The whole group was sitting at the table, everyone laughing and planning what their day would include. Hermione knew that Draco was planning to ask Daphne to let him court her today; he had discussed it with her the night before. She had merely smiled at him and told him that it was about time, silently hoping that Daphne didn't shoot him down. Blaise had plans with some Ravenclaw and she knew that Neville was going to spend time with Luna; there had been little time for them to spend together just the two of them since their betrothal had been announced over the summer.

She assumed that the twins were going to be busy with their girlfriends even though she hadn't seen them in their company for quite some time. She had assumed that Harry was going to be meeting one of his fi-fi's. Even though she knew that he had been turning them down in front of her, she wasn't sure what he was doing out of sight. She supposed that it was his choice. If he wasn't meeting a girl, he most likely had plans with Ronald.

Hermione figured that she would largely be left to herself; while it made her just a little sad, she told herself that there would nobody to complain about how much time she spent at Flourish and Blotts. Even Draco complained that she spent far too much time there. She just hoped that someone would agree to meet with her for lunch; she didn't want to sit by herself in a booth at the Three Broomsticks with only a book for company.

Hermione ate the food that Draco piled on her plate, trying her best to finish the huge amount. Juliet was staring at her own porridge, clearly upset that she wasn't going to get to go. She was picking at her meal and Hermione felt bad for her. She nudged her with her foot under the table and when her sister looked up at her, she smiled.

"I know it hard to be the only one not going but I promise to bring you some sweets from Honeydukes. How many of your friends can say that?" Juliet tried to smile at her.

"Thanks, Hermione. I'm trying not to be a brat." Hermione laughed as she met the eyes of her sister again.

"You're fine. Just remember, we can make Daddy take us over Easter break." Juliet nodded her head, clearly a little happier.

Hermione finished what she could of her meal and pushed it away from her while she waited for everyone else to finish. Harry was on his second plate, as was Draco, and she thanked Merlin that they had better table manners than Ronald Weasley. She had had the pleasure of seeing exactly how he ate over the summer holidays and to say that it left much to be improved would have been an understatement. She looked up to glance at the Gryffindor table to see that he had his arm thrown around Parvati Patil. They were laughing quietly before he kissed her on the cheek and returned to his meal. Ginny was hanging on Seamus' arm, looking quite happy at the attention that he was bestowing upon her. She was pulled from her thoughts by Harry throwing an arm around her shoulders and smiling down at her.

"Excited, Mia?" She gave him a smile and nodded.

"Yes, I'm just hoping that there will be somebody for me to eat lunch with." He frowned at her words and pulled her into his side.

"You weren't going to eat with me?" Hermione took her turn to frown, now meeting his eyes.

"I thought you were going to meet up with a girl or Ron. You're Harry Potter, all the girls want to go out with you." Harry put his arm back around her and kissed her temple. His eyes were soft when he spoke.

"I haven't been with a girl since a week or so before I came to Blackmoor over the summer. I was using sex as a coping mechanism and it wasn't working. In fact, it was making things worse. I realized that I needed to stop so I made the decision to do so. Sure, I want to have sex, but I won't be doing it with anyone except the right girl from now on. As for Ron, he's taking Pav on a date. I wasn't given an invitation to join."

Hermione was dumbfounded. Harry hadn't slept with a single girl since sometime in July? That was a whole six months ago! To learn that he had made the decision to only be intimate with a girl he was seeing exclusively made her cheeks warm. She was happy that he was changing and even though he had told her last year that he had feelings for her, he hadn't taken a step to tell her anything of the sort this year. It wouldn't do to make assumptions and end up hurt again. Therefore, she smiled at him and squeezed his hand.

"I'm glad you're quitting if it makes you feel worse. You deserve better than what you were getting, Harry." He smiled softly at her, lifting the hand she held up to his lips so he could softly kiss her knuckles.

"I'm just trying to prove myself to the right girl. Hopefully someday it works." Hermione felt her cheeks flush. Did he mean her or was he speaking in general?

Hermione was about to respond when Dumbledore interrupted her thoughts by announcing that the carriages had arrived and that they were ready to start ferrying students to Hogsmeade. Since Hermione had made sure that she had the things she would need to go without going back to her dorm, she was ready to head for a carriage. Draco stood next to her and offered his arm to Daphne, who took it with a smile. Since Draco was occupied, Hermione started out on her own. However, Harry stepped forward and offered her his arm. She gave him a soft smile before threading her arm through his and allowing him to pull her forward.

Everyone else fell in step behind them. She stopped briefly at the entrance to the castle so she could resize her cloak and throw it around her. Harry cast a silent warming charm on it and Hermione squeezed his elbow at his thoughtfulness. They stepped out in the winter sunshine and even though it was enough to warm her cheeks, the air was still cold. The carriages were lined up in front of the castle and Harry led her to the same carriage that Draco had claimed. Draco handed Daphne in first and then followed, leaving Harry to hand Hermione up into the carriage next so Draco could help her find a seat.

Hermione took a seat at the back, sure that there would be plenty of room. However, when she realized that the twins came next, followed by Neville and Luna, then Blaise and his little Ravenclaw, it was clear that the carriage got extremely crowded quite quickly. Harry reached over and grasped her hips in his large hands, lifting her up to sit her in his lap. Draco did the same to Daphne in order to make room for everyone that was riding with them. Hermione felt her cheeks color when she realized that she could tell that Harry had an erection and it was pressing against her womanly core.

His arms wrapped around her, locking his hands around her hip since she was sitting sideways. She leaned against his chest, determined to enjoy the closeness that would disappear as soon as they had a carriage that wasn't as full. She could feel him burying his face in her curls and she was sure that he was sniffing them. Most people would consider that strange but Hermione didn't. She thought it was quite endearing.

The trip to Hogsmeade was chatty but no overly so. Everyone was still discussing what they were going to be doing. It turned out that the twins weren't meeting their girlfriends at all since they had broken up. In fact, they were going to be meeting someone at the pub that her father and Uncle Luci had taken them to the year before to discuss business opportunities. Needless to say, Hermione was proud of them. They were determined to make their dream of owning a joke shop come true.

After the carriage came to a stop at the edge of Hogsmeade, all the students began to dismount the carriage. Harry let Hermione go before him to find that while he was handing her down out of the carriage, Fred was there to take her hand and make sure that she made it to the ground safely. Draco and Daphne turned to her and Harry and her cousin raised an eyebrow at her.

"You two want to come with us for a little while? We're going to go to Honeydukes first." Hermione turned to Harry to see what he wanted to do, not sure when she had realized that they were going to be spending their time in Hogsmeade together. Harry smiled at his friend and nodded.

"Sure, mate, we'd be honored. Let us know when you're ready for some privacy though." Daphne's cheeks colored prettily and Hermione just smirked at her. Daphne had no idea what was in store for her since Draco had sworn her to secrecy, not that she would have spoiled his surprise anyways.

Neville and Luna headed off in their own direction, saying something about a store with animals. Blaise and his Ravenclaw date took off on their own, Blaise tucking her hand into his elbow as they went. Hermione wanted to laugh; Blaise was a ladies man through and through and he hadn't stopped sampling them since he had split ways with Daphne. Harry offered her his arm again and Hermione smiled as she took it.

Both couples entered the chocolatey warmth of Honeydukes and split ways. Draco was a huge sweets fan, as was Daphne. Hermione wasn't a huge fan of sweets, though she wouldn't say no to an occasional sugar quill. Harry seemed to be just like her cousin but after considering his upbringing, it really wasn't a surprise. Therefore, she humored him as he shopped through every single aisle, making sure that he got some of everything that he liked. After all, she was going to take her time in Flourish and Blotts.

In the end, they spent three quarters of an hour in Honeydukes. Hermione laughed at the armful of chocolate that both Harry and Draco showed up at the counter with. She carried two packages of sugar quills for herself and some chocolate cauldrons and chocolate frogs for Juliet. Harry insisted that she put her purchases on the counter with his so he could pay for them. Hermione was leery to do so because she didn't want to make it feel like a date if it really wasn't. Neither one of them had said anything officially so it seemed as though it wouldn't be wise. However, Harry insisted for a few minutes which made her finally give in and do as he asked.

After they left Honeydukes, Draco and Daphne headed for the quidditch shop while Harry pulled Hermione in the opposite direction. They promised that they would all meet up for lunch, only two hours away. They had just rounded the bend when Hermione found her voice.

"Where are you taking me?" Harry threw back his head and laughed.

"We're going to Flourish and Blotts, your favorite store in the whole wide world." Hermione felt the smile grow across her face. She jerked him down so she could stand on her tiptoes and kiss his cheek. He seemed flustered so Hermione offered an explanation.

"Nobody ever wants to go to Flourish And Blotts with me." He frowned at her words.

"Why not? Don't you love getting new books?" She nodded.

"Yes, but I can spend hours in there. Nobody really likes to go with me except Uncle Sev and Uncle Luci. Daddy reads but he doesn't love it like I do." Harry gave her arm a reassuring squeeze.

"You love it there so I'll stay as long as you like. Just as long as you agree to suffer in the quidditch store." Hermione let out a laugh and nodded.

"You've got a deal. Are you sure that you shouldn't have been a Slytherin?" His face fell and he looked away.

"Actually, the Sorting Hat wanted to put me in Slytherin. I begged it not to because you were there. I still believed that you were the daughter of the man that got my parents killed." Hermione felt her heart clench. If only he had joined Slytherin, things could have been different. However, it wasn't meant to be so she just smiled softly at his confession.

"The past is the past; there's nothing we can do to change it now." Harry nodded, clearly relieved that she hadn't started berating him.

Harry led her through the streets of Hogsmeade, finally stopping in front of her all-time favorite store. He ushered her inside out of the cold and the warm air made her cheeks feel overwarm. Harry helped her with her cloak, hanging it on the hook just inside the door. There were only a couple people there so when Barney Blott saw that she was the newest customer, he came around the desk with his arms wide open. Hermione let him give her a loose hug while he welcomed her.

"Miss Black, my favorite customer. It's been a few months since I've seen you. I was wondering what was going on at that school up there." Hermione gave the older man a smile.

"Mr. Blotts, school would be wonderful if it weren't for Dolores Umbridge. She's been made the High Inquisitor and she's horrid. I'm surprised she didn't try to cancel today's visit to the village. Since she's taken over, I just use the owl catalogue." He nodded his head understandingly.

"I've heard she's horrid. Professor McGonagall was in just a couple weeks ago and she was fuming that she wanted to murder the woman and feed her to the Giant Squid. I told her that it really wasn't recommended and she told me that it would be worth the prison time." Harry snorted his amusement next to her but Hermione only nodded.

"If I thought I could get away with it…" She let her statement drift off to show how much she hated the woman. She took a deep breath and smiled.

"Enough of this unpleasantness. What new items do you have since I was last here?" Mr. Blotts just laughed and put an arm around her shoulder to guide her to the shelf that housed all his new releases.

Hermione spent almost two hours browsing in Flourish and Blotts. She chose several from the new releases and then moved to the warding and spell creation sections. By the time she was ready to leave, she had eleven books in a pile. She caught Harry giving her an amused look and considered putting some of them back so he wouldn't laugh at her. Her expression must have changed because he stepped up next to her to take the whole stack from her. His voice was indulgent when he spoke.

"You aren't putting a single one back. I knew you were a little bookworm when I came in here. There's no sense in hiding it now." Hermione let out a tiny laugh and was happy to see that he had three books for himself. However, she started to protest when he put them all on the counter together. Her hiss in anger was laughed away.

"Mia, I'm buying your books. I won't get to buy you anything else because you don't shop for clothes during the school year. You won't stop anywhere else for yourself. Therefore, you're going to let me do this." Hermione was desperately trying to retain control of the situation so it wouldn't feel like a date. Even though it wasn't proper at all, she couldn't help what fell out of her mouth.

"Only if you allow me to pay for lunch." Harry was clearly not happy with her words but finally nodded in defeat. Hermione gave him a brilliant smile and allowed him to pay for all of her books. After they were rang up and paid for, Mr. Blotts came around the corner to give her another hug goodbye.

"I hope to see you again before the end of the school year, Miss Black." She grinned and nodded her head. However, the older man leaned down close to her ear and whispered softly.

"That young man is quite smitten. He's going to try to pay for lunch as well." Hermione burst out in laughter and nodded at the older gentleman. She had always enjoyed Barney Blott to his counterpart of the Diagon Alley branch of Flourish and Blotts.

Hermione allowed her not-so-secret crush to lead her out of her favorite store by the hand, her purchases tucked neatly into his robes. He gave her a smile and held out his arm.

"Shall we head for lunch?"

-O-

Harry couldn't believe that he had been able to get Hermione all to himself. Usually she had several people that wanted to shop with her or just spend time with her. However, this time was different. It was almost like a date and Harry wished that he had had the courage to just ask her to accompany him. The unsure nature of the outing wouldn't have been there and Hermione wouldn't have been confused at him trying to pay for everything.

However, he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. This was the perfect opportunity to spend time with the beautiful witch without anyone else around. Since it wasn't a date, there wasn't any of the pressure that would have accompanied them. They were just friends now and even though he was desperately in love with her, they wouldn't take things too far. While he trusted Hermione to not go too far, he didn't trust himself.

Harry had an arm around her waist, his hand resting at the small of her back, as he guided her into the Three Broomsticks. They were to meet Draco and Daphne there and he wondered just what his blond friend was up to. Hermione had acted like there was something special about this visit so he wondered if he would learn what it was at lunch. The blond pair were already seated so Hermione led the way through the pub, taking the seat next to her best friend rather than her cousin. Daphne's eyes were shining and when she saw Hermione, she threw her arms around her and squealed.

"Draco is officially courting me. He asked my father permission and everything. Is your Uncle as happy with it as he implies?" Hermione laughed next to him as she hugged her friend.

"Uncle Luci thinks you're a good match for Draco. He's pleased that he wanted to ask you." Harry wondered if that was the truth but since he had no way of asking right now, he let it go. Draco had a look on his face that looked like that cat that got the canary. Harry had to laugh at his friend while the witches were caught up in their own conversation.

"You look quite pleased with yourself. How nervous were you?" Draco colored slightly but just glared at him.

"I was only a little nervous. Expected her to tell me to get bent but she smiled sweetly at me, told me that she would castrate me if she ever heard of me with another witch, and then accepted. Truthfully, she's quite vindictive; I'm a little scared to even think of another witch while I'm with her." Harry burst out in laughter at his friend.

"I think that's how it's supposed to be, mate. You're going to be fine. You know you've been in love with her for years. Just do right by her and everything will be fine." Draco nodded earnestly so Harry left it at that. He wouldn't want to be teased in his friends position so he left it be. He changed the subject to the Ravenclaw/Slytherin game coming up.

Harry kept his eye on the witches, not that Draco wasn't doing the same. They went to the loo together and returned nearly ten minutes later. Their food was waiting for them and they laughed through the meal as a group. Harry only felt a little guilty when they were mildly making fun of Ron on his date across the pub, clearly putting his awful manners to use.

The four of them spent over an hour at the pub, laughing and eating their way through lunch. However, once the plates had been cleared, the bills arrived and Hermione reached for it quickly. Harry glared at her while Draco just looked on surprised. Hermione stuck her tongue out at Harry before turning to her cousin.

"He insisted on paying for my books so I insisted on paying for lunch. We aren't on a date so it's only right." Draco glanced his way, clearly questioning, but said nothing. Harry gave him a tired look, clearly showing how he was trying to impress Hermione but she wasn't letting him. Draco clearly understood and gave his cousin a disapproving look.

"You would make him less than a gentleman just so you could pay? You know that men in our world always pay for meals. If he offered to pay for your books, that was of his own initiative. Don't make him less of a man by buying his meal." Hermione glared at him for a moment before letting her expression turn to shamed. She turned and handed it to Harry.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to take away your honor. I just wanted us to be equal." Harry leaned over and kissed the side of her head while he took the proffered bill from her hand.

"Thank you. I really don't mind, Mia. I like spoiling you." She gave him a small smile and nodded while Harry threw galleons on the table for their part of the bill. They rose and Harry nodded his head to Draco before bowing slightly to Daphne. Draco repeated the process and the split ways. Once they were outside the Three Broomsticks, Harry looked down at Hermione.

"Anywhere else you want to go?" Hermione looked a little embarrassed but shrugged. Harry nudged her shoulder with his and smiled when she met his eyes.

"Just tell me. Let's get it out of the way since I'm going to make you spend quite a bit of time in Quality Quidditch Supply." Hermione laughed now and steered him down one of the busier streets.

"I just want to stop in at Scrivenshaft's really quick." Harry laughed at her expression but nodded happily.

"Anything you want, Mia."

She pulled him towards the quill and parchment shop, clearly happy that she was going to get to stop at her second favorite store. Once they were ensconced inside, Hermione released his arm and started to browse through the new quills and the different kinds of ink.

Harry had spent very limited time in this shop. When he ran out of ink or parchment, he sent an owl order and they sent it to him within twenty-four hours. To actually browse through the shop showed him how much wasn't in their catalogue. After spending an hour in the shop, Harry found that he had a specialized ink in his hand, one that flashed through all the colors of the rainbow and also had a new phoenix feather quill that was spelled to never get old. It was quite pricey but if he never had to buy another quill it would be worth it.

Hermione met him at the desk with numerous scrolls of parchment, four different bottles of ink and three different quills. He gestured for her to put them on the counter with his and she sighed as she glared at him. She put them up there and waited as he paid for it all. Scrivenshaft bagged them up and Harry shrunk the bag before putting it in his inner robe pockets. He turned to Hermione and offered her his arm so he could escort her out.

Once out in the cold air and sunshine, he smiled down at her. She seemed oblivious to him and what was going on around them. Her face was lifted to the sun and her eyes were closed, clearly drinking in the small amount of sunshine that the sky had to offer. He leaned over and kissed her forehead. She opened her eyes in surprise and he laughed when he saw her expression.

"Are you ready to go to Quality Quidditch Supplies?" Hermione gave him a bright smile and nodded. It was clear that she wasn't going to complain, just as he hadn't in Flourish and Blotts. He led her across the street to enter the most popular shop on the street. He kept tight hold of her hand so they wouldn't lose each other in the crowds.

Harry spent the next two hours in the store; he looked at brooms even though they were the last thing he needed. Sirius had already bought him the best available. He looked over all the new memorabilia and the new gear that had come in from various companies for seekers. Hermione had been right at this side the whole time, not complaining a single time. He knew that she was bored out of her mind but that she was willing to suffer through meant a lot.

Finally, Harry bought himself a set of jerseys and robes that had his number and house colors on it; it was a new thing that they were trying out. At the last second, he purchased an extra jersey for Hermione, hoping that he could convince her to wear it on game days when he wasn't playing Slytherin. Not only was seeing his house colors and name on her back a turn on, it would tell the world just how he felt about her.

They had just exited Quality Quidditch Supply, Hermione still blushing at his purchase for her, when Harry realized that there were screams off in the distance. He pulled Hermione into his side and held her there, not caring a whit about what society would think of it. He was going to keep her safe no matter what was going on. People were running towards them, students clearly terrified as they tripped in the snow as they headed for the carriages that would take them back to Hogwarts. Harry reached out and grabbed a third year, stopping him in his terror.

"What's going on?" The third year was casting glances all around him as he answered.

"There are Death Eaters here, attacking everyone. They want a girl but I couldn't hear who they were saying. I just ran." Harry felt his blood run ice cold. He knew exactly who they were there for and he let the boy go to turn wild eyes to Hermione.

"You have to flee, you have to go back to Hogwarts. They're here for you, Mia." Hermione shook her head stubbornly.

"I won't run like a coward. I'm stronger than they are, I'm going to beat them." Harry jerked her arm and she whimpered. He instantly felt terrible because he knew that he had hurt her. His hand was soft on her wrist now but his words were harsh.

"You are not going near this. They want you. Do you really want to take the chance of them getting you and bonding you to Riddle? Do you want to bear his children? Do you want to be his fucking broodmare?" Hermione looked sick at his words but she wasn't backing down. Even though her father and mother had been Slytherins, he wondered if she didn't have a Gryffindor streak after all.

"I'm going with you. You may accompany me and make sure that I remain safe. However, I refuse to be a coward. He can't have found that many Death Eaters that would openly attack at this point." Harry sighed and raked a hand through his hair. There was no way that he was going to convince her to stay behind so he nodded his agreement to him joining her.

"I'm going with you. You don't leave my side unless I tell you, do you understand?" Hermione gave him a serious nod so he took her hand in his and started for the screams.

They ran two blocks before they came on the scene that they had been looking for. Voldemort was nowhere to be seen but there were still half a dozen masked Death Eaters there in the square shooting spells at people as they ran for safety. They were bellowing about needing Lady Black and that people would die until she was delivered to them. Harry knew exactly what this meant and when he looked up to see that Draco and Daphne were across the square, he met his friends eyes and gave a nod. Now was the time for action.

Harry could see store owners dragging children inside and out of the square. He stepped forward, wand raised, as the students were still streaming past him. Hermione followed suit and he could see Draco and Daphne doing the same on the opposite side of the square. Harry made sure that he was standing slightly in front of Hermione when he called out to the men in masks.

"You should leave now. You won't be getting Lady Black today or any other day, that I can assure you. I'm sure that someone has called the aurors." One of the Death Eaters threw back his head and laughed before speaking.

"Call the aurors, Potter, we don't care. We'll be relieving you of the pretty little lass at your side." Hermione stiffened at the sound of his voice and it was clear that she recognized him. One of the other masked men started the wand fight, shooting a curse straight at Harry.

He easily cast a shield around himself and Hermione but before he could retaliate, Draco and Daphne started to send spells at their backs. A few of them landed before they realized that they were now being attacked from both sides. Hermione didn't wait before going on the offensive; her wand was shooting spells out quicker than he had ever seen. Moody would have been proud of her. He joined in, playing defensive for the first time in his life. Her spells were powerful and they were making the three Death Eaters facing them jump through hoops even with shields.

Draco and Daphne weren't faring quite as well; while Draco was definitely good in a fight, Daphne was not. She hadn't had any training aside from what they had gotten in school so Draco spent most of his time defending the both of them from the onslaught of spells. Harry knew that they were going to have to do something before they ended up hurting Daphne and Draco both. He glanced over at Hermione and saw her completely focused. He spoke just loud enough for her to hear him.

"Draco is trying to protect himself and Daphne. We have to help them. We have to take them all out." He was just about to continue when he saw Fred and George appear next to Daphne and Draco, their wands sending volleys of spells at the Death Eaters to help their friends. Neville and Luna appeared at another corner of the square and started adding their spells to the mix.

Before he could say anything else to Hermione, he watched her lose her footing in the wet snow, crashing to the ground next to him. Harry hurried to help her up but a spell came whizzing past his head and hit Hermione, followed closely by a second one. Blood burst across her chest before she slumped over unconscious. He knew that it was his fault. He should have kept his shield up and let her get herself up.

Harry felt power explode out of him, his wand useless at his side. He wasn't sure what spell he used, it appeared to be somewhat like a blasting curse but not quite. Not only did the spell hit all the Death Eaters, it also hit the ground they were standing on. Most of them were still able to move and quickly grabbed hold of those that couldn't and apparated away. Harry didn't care, he dropped to his knees and reached out to feel Hermione's neck. There was pulse, quite strong, so he relaxed a little. He hoped that the second spell to hit her was just a stunner so he pointed his wand at her, whispering the spell to wake her up. Draco had run across the square, sliding in next to him, to make sure that Hermione was alright.

Everyone else was crowding around them as Hermione's eyes fluttered open and she grimaced in pain. Harry knew that she had to be freezing, laying there in the snow, so he cast a warming charm on her as he leaned forward to help her sit up. His hand touched the back of her shoulder and she cried out in pain again. Harry pulled his hand back and it was covered in blood. He looked to Draco and he could see that he was just as worried about his cousin. Harry glanced up to all their friends and gruffly spoke.

"All of you turn around. Make a circle around her. We need to see how bad her wound is." He could already see Hermione blushing as she struggled to push herself up with her good side. Draco moved to sit behind her, giving her something to lean against. Hermione started to shake her head.

"I'll be fine, I can make it to the castle." Draco pulled her hair out of the way and spoke sharply to her.

"You won't be fine, there is blood everywhere, Mia. We need to see how badly you're injured." She hung her head for a moment before nodding. Harry reached out and started to unbutton her robes and he hoped to Merlin that he wasn't blushing as much as she was. He unbuttoned her robes to the middle of her breasts and then pulled the cloth to the side as gently as he could. Draco helped on the other side and both gasped when they saw her injury.

Hermione had been hit with a piercing charm that had drilled a hole clear through her shoulder. It was just pure luck that it had been high enough to not hit her lung. There were a few tears sliding down her cheeks but Harry pulled her robes shut again, careful to protect her modesty. He leaned over and kissed her forehead.

"They got you with a piercing charm. You'll be able to walk but you're going to get woozy from blood loss. You really need the Hospital Wing, Mia." She nodded as Harry got on her good side while Draco stood behind her. Just as they boosted her to her feet, professors came running up to the square, Madam Pomfrey among them. Students were now slowly escaping the confines of the shops that lined the square, all eager to see what was going on now that it was over. Dumbledore appeared and waved his wand at his throat to make his voice louder.

"All students, make your way to the Three Broomsticks. Transportation to the castle will meet you there. If you are injured, please stay here so Madam Pomfrey can look you over." Now that Hermione was on her feet, Harry watched Draco vanish all her blood from the ground before Professors McGonagall and Snape rushed to their sides. Harry knew that it must be killing Severus to not take Hermione in his arms while there were so many watching. His voice was sharp as he spoke.

"What in the fuck happened here?" Harry knew that ultimately, it had been his fault so he raised his head as he had seen Hermione do so many times before receiving punishment.

"It was my fault, sir. Death Eaters attacked and I tried to get Hermione to go back to the castle but she wouldn't. We were fighting side by side but she fell. I tried to help her up and let my shield fall. They hit her with a piercing charm in the shoulder and then stunned her." Hermione pinched his side but Harry didn't flinch.

"It wasn't his fault, sir. I should have been more careful." Severus sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"We'll talk about this later. You all need to get to the Three Broomsticks. Miss Black, you need to be seen by Madam Pomfrey." The rest of their friends started in the direction of the pub but Harry and Draco stayed stubbornly at her side. Before Severus could say anything, Professor Cat was ushering them on their way. Harry heard her tell him that if Hermione passed out from blood loss, the two boys would catch her.

The next hour was a whirlwind that Harry really didn't know if he recalled properly or not. Madam Pomfrey had given Hermione a blood replenishing potion and Severus had created a portkey to take them directly to the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts. Harry had a feeling that the Headmaster had to give special permission for that but he didn't care. Since Madam Pomfrey wasn't there yet, Professor Sprout was there ordering all the wounded around. She had shooed Harry and Draco away so she could help Hermione undress and get into a hospital gown, one that would make for better access to be healed. She cast a cleaning charm on Hermione and made sure that she was mud and snow-free before ordering her into a bed where she held pressure on the front of her wound. Harry stepped forward to grab his own set of gauze and hold it against the back of her shoulder. Professor Sprout left them there with a promise that Madam Pomfrey would be there shortly. Harry felt his throat close up when he got a good look at the back of Hermione's shoulder. He choked the words out that he absolutely had to say.

"Mia, I'm so fucking sorry, I was stupid. I'm so sorry I let this happen to you." Hermione turned around as best she could and started hitting him over and over in the leg since that was all she could really reach. Harry just let her.

"You idiot, it wasn't your fault. It was theirs. They were shooting spells at me, not you. You didn't do this and it wasn't your fault. You were trying to protect me." Harry was just getting ready to tell her that she was wrong, that he should have known better, but he was interrupted by a low drawl that could only belong to Severus. He waved his wand and curtains came around them and silencing spell fell into place.

"I happen to agree with my goddaughter, Harry. It wasn't your fault. However, this has been a learning experience for everyone. When one of you falls, keep a shield in place until you know that the other person needs your help." Harry felt a little better that Severus wasn't completely absolving him of guilt but was saying that wasn't all his fault either. He nodded his head.

"Yes, sir, it'll be a mistake I won't be making again." Severus laid a hand on his shoulder, as close as he got to hugging anyone other than Hermione.

"You were doing your best to protect her. That's all any of us ask." Harry gave him a small smile before falling silent. The snarky man cupped Hermione's cheeks in his hands and gave her a serious look.

"How are you feeling, poppet?" Hermione tried to smile but it came across as a grimace.

"It hurts. I'm a little lightheaded but that's to be expected. I'm just waiting for Madam Pomfrey." He reached into his robe pocket and produced another vial of potion.

"Another dose of blood replenisher. My own brew so it'll last longer. Drink it down, little one." Hermione did as she was instructed and nodded to her godfather. Her eyes began to droop and she let all her weight fall against Harry. He looked up at the potions master with questioning eyes. Severus gave both him and Draco a serious look.

"Poppy told me that the charm went all the way through. That means she's going to have not only her bone repaired, but skin, muscle, and tissue. It's going to take quite a while and it's going to be painful. I did give her a blood replenisher but I also mixed in a pain potion and a mild sleeping draught. She'll wake up in the morning and feel a million times better than she does right now." Harry wrapped his arms around Hermione's waist as she started to slide sideways. Draco leaned forward to help Harry lay her on the bed on her good side, leaving her bad shoulder in the air so the healer could fix it. Once she was laying down, Severus stepped forward and brushed her hair out of her face and kissed her temple before covering her up with the blanket. He turned to both boys again and gave them another meaningful look.

"I want you both to stay with her until Madam Pomfrey arrives. I'm not sure if she'll let you stay for the healing. You may stay if she does but if she doesn't, I expect you both to leave. You may come back to see her after dinner, though she's still going to be asleep. I want you to make sure that Umbridge stays away from her. I have to go and inform your parents as to what occurred today." Draco snorted as he settled in next to his cousin.

"Good luck with that, Uncle Sev." The older man shot him a look of disdain and was gone.

Harry settled in next to Hermione, taking the side that her back was facing. He reached out and played with her hair, wrapping her curls around his finger. He and Draco were silent, neither one of them really wanting to talk about what had happened. He was just about to say something about how the Death Eaters were determined to get Hermione when the curtains came open and Madam Pomfrey bustled in.

"Thank you for staying with her boys, Severus told me that he gave you permission to. However, I'm going to have to take her top down so I need you to leave her in my hands. You may come back after dinner and see her." Harry hated to leave her but would never want to see her naked without her permission. He rose to his feet, just as Draco did, and pressed a kiss to the back of her head before leaving. After he was out of the Hospital Wing, he turned to Draco and they both groaned in unison.

"We have to go tell Juliet. We better hope Luna is there so she can keep her calm. There's nobody else that could control her magic." Harry groaned again, already dreading this task. He heaved a sigh and started down the corridor.

"Let's get it over with."

-O-

Severus stepped through the floo at Malfoy Manor and was pleased to see that everyone was in the library. He hadn't sent word that he was coming so when Lucius, Narcissa, Sirius, and Helena looked up and saw him, they were instantly on alert. Cissy was on her feet, her hand on her chest as if to catch her breath.

"What's happened? You never come during the day." Severus pushed his long hair out of his face and watched as both Lucius and Sirius went to their feet. He held out his hands, trying to get them to sit back down. When they finally complied, he spoke.

"Six Death Eaters attacked Hogsmeade today while the children were there. Draco was off with Miss Greengrass, he apparently asked to court her today. Hermione was with Harry coming out of Quality Quidditch Supply when they learned of the attack. They were calling for Lady Black, telling everyone that they were going to continue to kill until they had her. Harry tried to send her to the castle but she refused." He paused for a second only for Lucius to urgently question him.

"Tell me that those monsters don't have my niece." Severus shook his head.

"No, they don't have her. She and Harry were on one end of the square while Draco and Daphne were on the other. Harry told them that they were never going to give her up. They attacked. I spoke to witnesses and they said Hermione was amazing. Draco was trying to protect himself and Daphne so they were losing ground. The twins stepped up next to them and started shooting their own spells and then Longbottom and Miss Lovegood came from another side of the square to attack as well. Hermione lost her footing in the snow and fell. Harry rushed to her side to help her up, dropping his shield. She was struck with a piercing charm and then a stunner." Sirius and Lucius were both on their feet, clearly furious. Severus stood too and continued.

"The piercing charm went through her shoulder. I gave her a draught in the Hospital Wing before coming here, she's going to sleep until morning. I left Harry and Draco with her until Madam Pomfrey arrived. I saw the wound myself; it's painful but she will be fine." Both men slowly settled back into their chairs so Severus sat again.

"Harry feels terrible, he's blaming himself. I found Hermione hitting him repeatedly, telling him that it wasn't his fault but the Death Eaters. I told him that she was correct but what had happened was a learning experience. He made a bad choice but I'm positive it's one that he'll never make again." Sirius growled at him.

"Of course it wasn't his fault. Why would he think something stupid like that?" Lucius raised an eyebrow at his friend.

"It is a little bit his fault. He never should have dropped his shield. However, it wasn't done maliciously and like Severus said, he's learned from it. In fact, I bet they all learned from it. As much as I want to tear him limb from limb, I won't. Hermione would never stand for it and she's also right. It was mostly the masked maniac's fault." Severus snorted at his words. Sirius spoke before he could answer.

"Are we going to be able to go and see her?" Severus raked a hand through his hair at his words.

"I'm sure that you could you being who you are. However, Umbridge will hate it. After you're gone, I'm afraid that things would get worse for all three of them. I'm still not sure how your youngest spawn has escaped her attention." Sirius gave a little laugh at his wording.

"I'm not sure either but I'm thanking Merlin for the small things. I hate that she gives Hermione and Harry such a hard time. At least she's giving Jules a break." Helena was nodding next to him. Lucius sighed heavily.

"Very well, we won't go visit. However, I want a letter from her first thing in the morning telling me that she's alright. If I don't get it, we'll both be up there." Severus nodded.

"I will tell her. I won't let anything happen to her while she's there. Poppy is with her by now and she would eviscerate someone that meant Hermione harm. She has quite the soft spot for her. Not to mention I know for a fact that Harry and Draco were going back after dinner to see her." Before anyone else could say anything, Severus felt a burning in his mark. Lucius appeared to suffer from the pain as well, though he wasn't about to answer the call.

"I must go. My other master calls." Cissy spoke.

"Be careful, Severus. Owl us if you need anything at all. If you're injured, come here after." Severus nodded before pressing his wand to his Dark Mark, disappearing from Malfoy Manor with a pop.

He landed in the ballroom of Nott Manor, the Dark Lord's new base of operations. It was dark and dirty, almost like his elves hadn't been keeping up on the cleaning. However, Severus wondered if their master hadn't killed them all. He walked to his master and went to one knee, taking his robe in his hands so he could kiss the hem. He waited there on his knee until he heard the Dark Lord chuckle softly.

"Rise, Ssseverusss. You came quickly. Did the old fool lift the wardsss so you could apparate straight out of the cassstle?" He rose to his feet and took his place in the circle.

"Yes, my Lord. He wants answers about the attack and was very accommodating." This caused his master to laugh out loud, a high-pitched sound that made him want to scrunch up his face. He refrained, however, since he really didn't want to die today. He felt light probing in his mind and he had to grit his teeth to not show the pain it caused. The Dark Lord was never gentle.

"It seemsss that you have the information I wanted, Severusss. I wasssn't going to call you here for this torture sssession but realized that I needed to know if my bride-to-be was well." Severus knew that he wanted an answer as well as what he had seen in his mind.

"Miss Black will recover. The piercing charm that hit her just missed her lung. She lost quite a bit of blood but was given blood replenisher at the scene. I left her in the company of Madam Pomfrey, who told me that the girl would be fine by morning." Voldemort's eyes blazed red with fury as he turned to the six men that had stepped forward.

"What were my explicit instructionsss?" Nott met his master's eyes as he spoke.

"You told us to find her and bring her back to you. We weren't to hurt her." His master's eyes were now dancing with fury as he pulled his wand.

"Why were you shooting ssspellsss at her?" Nott swallowed hard before answering.

"The girl is powerful. She was casting at us and her spells were powerful. Not to mention Potter was at her side doing his best to protect her. The spell was meant for him, not her." Quick as a snake, the Dark Lord waved his wand and Nott was on the floor screaming in agony.

The torture of the six men went on for what felt like ages. Severus was doing his best to not shift his weight from foot to foot as he waited. Finally, when all six men were laying in the center of the circle in pools of their own piss, the Dark Lord tucked his wand back up his sleeve and sat in his throne again.

"We've lossst our opportunity to get her. Dumbledore will cancel the rest of the Hogsmeade visitsss and she will be at either of her family estatessss over the sssummer. It would take massive amountsss of power to bring down the blood wardsss that surround both Blackmoor and Malfoy Manor. We will now have to bide our time until next year unlessss I can figure out a way to sssabotage the Hogwartsss Express. That could be problematic, however." Severus wasn't sure why their lord was telling them this. Had he had a mental break? He had never been one to share plans or his train of thought on anything. His gaze snapped back to Severus and he braced himself for the pain that that look usually brought him.

"I want you to keep the mother of my heir clossse, Ssseverusss. I want her to be sssafe. Potter isss useless but at leassst he was protecting her against their stupidity. Don't make yourself obviousss but make sure no harm comesss to her." Severus bowed his head.

"Your will is mine, Master." The red eyes swung over the whole group of them.

"Get out of my sight. You know your assignments." Severus was quick to go to his knee before his master once again before he walked through the main doors.

He made his way through the Manor to the main door that led outside. Once outside, he traversed the grounds quickly until he reached the ward line. After he was free of the wards, he disapparated, landing outside the Hogwarts gates. It took him much longer to get across the grounds of the castle but breathed a sigh of relief when he walked through the Entrance Hall. Dinner was going on so he sighed. Albus would be in the Great Hall to keep the students calm after the day they had just had.

Severus sighed, resigning himself to sitting through dinner before he reported to the Headmaster. Honestly, he didn't mind waiting, he just wanted to get back to the Hospital Wing and check on his goddaughter. This would just delay that visit.

With another sigh, he pushed open the doors, He would deal with everything as it came. He really didn't have much of a choice in the matter.

A/N- There you are, folks. I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. I hope that this surprised you since I didn't warn you about it in the chapter preview. Anyways, thanks to everyone out there reading and reviewing, you guys are just awesome. Leave me a message after the beep, I love hearing your thoughts.

Next chapter, Slytherin vs. Gryffindor quidditch match.

Love,

Alicia


	100. Chapter 100

A/N- I'm back, guys. I have no good excuse for how long it's taken me to get you a chapter. Mostly, thanks to rabradley09, I've been reading stories that I just can't put down. It's totally her fault (: Anyways, thanks to everyone out there for continuing to read and review, you guys are the bomb. Hope you enjoy this chapter after I've made you wait a whole five days, haha.

Disclaimer: I still don't own this story. I still don't own the characters. I still haven't made any money from this story or any others. Everything you recognize belongs to J.K.R. and the original story idea belongs to Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle.

Chapter 100

February 18, 1996

Hermione was eating her breakfast slowly while she pretended to read a book at the Slytherin table. There was chatter up and down the table, most of it louder than normal, but she wasn't going to complain. It was the day that every quidditch fan waited for: Slytherin vs. Gryffindor. While Hermione was excited for both Harry and Draco, she was dreading it as well. One of them was going to lose.

Since it was game day, Harry and the twins were over at the Gryffindor table with the rest of their team. He had reassured her the night before that if Draco won he wasn't going to be angry. Draco had done the same. Both had said that they were family and that was more important; besides, Hermione had seen both of them win and lose their fair share during the summers at Blackmoor. Now that Draco was sitting atop a Firebolt as well, they were evenly matched, even though Hermione still thought that Draco was a far better chaser. He had confided in her that if he was ever made captain, he was going to give the seeker position up.

The other thing that Hermione was a little nervous about was that Harry had convinced her to wear his jersey for the match. He had ordered it specially for her that last day in Hogsmeade before the Death Eaters had attacked. It was red and gold with his last name blazoned across the back, the number seven sitting in the middle of her back. She had tried it on and it had still been quite large; she had tried to use it as an excuse to not wear it but Harry had just begged her to tie the end at her waist and let it be big, that he just wanted to see her supporting him. She knew that he was manipulating her somehow but she just wasn't sure as to why. However, since it made him so happy, she had agreed.

However, she couldn't abandon her house team completely; Draco was her cousin, after all, and her very best friend. Therefore, since it was February and still freezing outside, she was going to wear her cousin's Slytherin robes. It only seemed fair and even though she knew that it was going to look awful together, she decided that it would be worth it for just a few hours out of the day. She could change out of everything once the match was over.

Daphne would also be wearing a jersey much like her own, only with Draco's name and number on the back of it. It seemed that after he had asked to court her and she had accepted, he had bought her very own to wear for all the matches. Of course, that made Hermione question whether it was proper for her to wear Harry's jersey but both Draco and Daphne had told her that it would be fine. She was still unsure but decided to just go with it.

Hermione was thrilled for her cousin and best friend. It seemed that they had finally worked out their differences and gotten on the same page. Draco had asked to court her and Daphne had been surprised, never imagining that was what he wanted in a million years. He had taken long enough after Blaise that she hadn't been certain that he had still been interested in her like that. Of course, Hermione knew different but she would never break her cousins trust to reassure her friend or vice versa.

Hermione had been the first one to write home with the news and Aunt Cissy had been thrilled. Even Uncle Luci had wrote back and told her that he was pleased that his son had decided to get serious with a proper girl that could keep up with him mentally as well as being beautiful. Really, it was the ultimate compliment from a man such as her uncle. Aunt Cissy was already making plans for their families to get together over Easter break.

The bell rang, interrupting her thoughts and dismissing the players to their respective locker rooms. Draco stood with the rest of the team and the whole table started cheering. Hermione rose and gave her cousin a quick hug before pressing a kiss to his cheek, then stepped back to allow Daphne to do the same. Her best friend had told her that she was going to take things slowly with Draco and didn't plan on going all the way with him until she was sure that they were going to get married.

Hermione looked to the Gryffindor table to see that farewells were being said there as well. The twins caught her eye and she blew them both a kiss, wishing them luck. Parvati and Lavender were both hugging Harry, pressing kisses to his cheeks when she caught his eye. She felt a twinge of jealousy at the sight but decided to just let it be. He wasn't hers and they were just wishing him good luck. He brushed them both off, however, and raised a hand her way. Hermione gave him a smile and blew him a kiss as well. He acted as though he caught it and pressed it to his cheek, making her own cheeks flame red.

Hermione took her seat once more when all the players left, pushing her plate away. They were only to wait twenty minutes before heading to the pitch, just long enough for everyone to change and the captains to give their pep talks. Hermione had fully expected for there to be some detentions handed out since she had openly kissed her cousin on the cheek but it seemed to be her lucky day since the toad wasn't in attendance. Hermione hoped that she stayed away from the match as well; she imagined that only bad things would happen around the nasty hag.

Hermione had only received one detention since coming back from the holidays; she was unsure if Umbridge was scared to keep her now that she had openly threatened her or if she was picking on someone else. Harry had only had one that she knew of as well. The spell that had been applied to her quill had not been in place in the detention since the holidays. The time during detention was also drastically shorter than usual; only a hour that time. Hermione just had a feeling down deep in her gut that the horrid little troll was just biding her time and waiting for something to come up so she could swoop in and do the worst possible damage at the worst possible time.

The D.A. meetings were still a resounding success. The hag still hadn't learned about them and they were averaging at least one a week, sometimes two if they could work around everyone's quidditch practices. They had mastered all the basic spells and had moved onto the more difficult ones. The first and second years were no longer allowed since they wouldn't have the power to produce the spells that they were starting on; Harry had predicted that they would begin on patronuses in the next class or two. While she, Draco, and Harry had accomplished them at young ages, they had also been exercising their magical cores for as long as she could remember.

Daphne nudged her, glancing at the clock, telling her that it was time for them to head to the pitch. Hermione sighed and put her book away in her bag, shrinking it down and sticking it in her robe pocket. She could always have Kreacher come fetch it but wanted to have it in case the match got too boring for her to watch. She doubted that it would since Harry and Draco were both playing but she never knew. Quidditch had been known to take hours before.

Hermione let Daphne drag her out of the Great Hall and out into the icy winter sunshine; the breeze was cold and it instantly caused her to shiver. Her wand appeared and she silently cast a warming charm on not only her robes but Daphne's as well. She wasn't sure where Juliet was so she hoped that one of the older students in Gryffindor helped her out with a charm as well. Warmth enveloped her and she locked her arms with Daphne's and started for the bleachers designated for the Slytherins.

Hermione was happy to see that her father and Uncle Luci were sitting in the bleachers waiting for them; it caused her to rush ahead and throw herself into their arms. Both men caught her easily and held her close, Daphne standing back a respectable distance. When Hermione moved back from her family, she gave them a brilliant smile.

"I didn't hear that you were going to be here. I can't believe you kept it from me." Her father reached out and ruffled her hair and she scowled at him.

"We wanted to surprise you, princess." She sat down between them and Daphne took the seat in front of her while the rest of her friends took seats all around them. Hermione was surprised when Neville appeared and took the seat next to her father, offering his hand in greeting. Her father reached over and plucked at the edge of Draco's robes and raised an eyebrow and the flash of red underneath.

"Are you cheering for lions, sweetness?" Hermione knew that her cheeks were bright red so she sighed.

"Harry bought me a jersey with his name and number on the back and he manipulated me into wearing it. To even it out, I'm wearing Draco's robes. I'm cheering for them both today, I really don't care who wins." Uncle Luci leaned over close enough so he could whisper in her ear.

"I don't believe he manipulated you for a second. You wanted to wear his jersey and you just let him believe that he manipulated you." Hermione buried her face in his arm and groaned. Her uncle laughed heartily, something that garnered a lot of looks around them. He threw his arm around his niece and kissed the side of her head.

"Don't worry, princess, I won't tell a soul. Now pull your head out of my arm and watch. The match is beginning."

Hermione sighed and did just that, despite the fact that she could feel her cheeks were still on fire at his words.

-O-

Harry stood in the locker room and took a deep breath. This was the match that the whole school waited for all year long. It was added pressure but Harry usually did well under pressure. It was the waiting until he got up in the sky that was murder. Angelina was going on and on about watching out for bludgers and making sure to keep their eyes open, mostly saying the same thing she had been saying for the past ten minutes.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Angelina brought her pep talk to a close and they were called to the pitch. They lined up to make their fly-around, Lee Jordan calling them out by name. Harry could hear the cheers when his name was announced and he took his turn flying around the pitch. He caught sight of Hermione sitting in the Slytherin stands between Sirius and Uncle Lucius, two people he wasn't expecting to see that day.

All seven Gryffindors hovered over the ground as the Slytherins appeared and were announced, Draco's cheers being the loudest as he flew round the pitch. Once they were all hovering across from the Gryffindors, Madam Hooch stepped out and opened the box that was sitting on the ground between the two teams. First, the snitch darted out and disappeared. Next went the bludgers, only for Madam Hooch to take the quaffle in hand and blow her whistle. She waited thirty seconds before throwing it up in the air; Harry was irritated to see that one of the Slytherin chasers took possession first.

Harry flew upwards to stay out of the melee that usually came along with the chasers. It seemed that Draco had the same idea, though they stayed to opposite ends of the pitch. Fred and George were flying like mad men, twirling and rolling through the air as they blasted the bludgers back and forth across the pitch. No matter who they were pitted against, nobody could best Fred and George at beating.

Harry kept his eyes to the sky, though he did make sure he kept eye on the score. Angelina, Katie, and Alicia were on fire, scoring one right after the other, and he could see just how pleased all three girls were with their performance. However, whenever they would lose possession of the quaffle, the Slytherin chasers were just as good. Ron was probably their weakest link and since it was his first year, Harry tried not to be too judgemental. He was doing a fair job, definitely better than McLaggen would have been doing.

The match had already been several hours long. The score was in Slytherins favor but not by much, 320-300. It was clear that all the team members were starting to tire and even though Harry hadn't really done much, that meant himself as well. Just as Harry was about to swoop down to get a closer look towards the bleachers, there was a cry from the Slytherin stands. He looked around to see what had angered them in time to catch sight of Ron ducking a bludger sent his way by the Slytherin beater, only for it to slam into Draco's side. It didn't knock him off his broom but it was close.

It was at this inopportune time that the golden snitch flew right in front of Harry's face. Even though he knew it really wasn't fair, he wanted to compete against Draco, not the reserve seeker. There was no way that Draco was going to be able to finish the match. Therefore, he swept after the tiny golden ball and snatched it in his hand before Madam Hooch could call for a time out. The stadium went wild and Lee Jordan could be heard over the screaming.

"Harry Potter has done it, he's caught the snitch! Gryffindor wins 450-320!" The crowd was still going wild and while Harry wanted to celebrate with Ron and the others, he wanted to make sure that Draco was alright. Hermione, Sirius, and Uncle Lucius were already on the pitch, Daphne right behind them, heading for Draco while Madam Pomfrey started prodding at him with her wand on the sidelines. Harry landed next to him and let out a sigh. Draco just glared at him.

"How bad is it, Drake?" Draco just continued to glare and Harry just had to smirk at him. Madam Pomfrey waited until the others were gathered around before she spoke.

"He got lucky since he was able to deflect most of the impact. Two broken ribs and no splinters. I'm giving him a dose of Skele-Gro right now. I'll allow you to go shower as long as you promise to be careful. Since the breaks aren't that bad, I want to check them over when you're through. They should be fine by then but we'll see." Draco nodded and Hermione sidled up next to him to hug his good side.

"You'll still have next year. This means nothing about your skill since you were injured." Harry wasn't sure what that meant but Draco just glared at her to get her be quiet. She simply rolled her eyes but complied with his wishes. Uncle Lucius clapped a hand on his shoulder and gave him a small smirk.

"Good match, son. You'll beat the pants off Potter next year. Nobody can hold it against you if you were injured." Draco nodded dejectedly and stood, heading for the locker rooms. After he was out of hearing distance, Harry turned to Hermione with a frown.

"What was that about?" Hermione lifted one dainty shoulder before choosing a diplomatic answer.

"There are those in Slytherin that think Draco is throwing the matches against you because of who you are. It's not true, of course, but he wanted to show them up when he won against you today." Harry raked a hand through his hair.

"Has he told them that he beats me plenty during the summers when we play?" Hermione nodded slowly.

"Yes, but that makes it worse. If he wins at home, why doesn't he win at school?" Harry blew out a breath and was trying to think of a way to put this right. Hermione saw his thoughts, however, and stepped closer.

"Enough of that. You can't fix this for him. He's a big boy and he can take a lot more than what they're dishing out. It's all just talk anyways. Don't you even tell him that you know. He'll be mad." Harry gave a reluctant nod before smiling softly at Hermione. He turned his attention to Sirius and grinned.

"I can't believe you came and didn't tell me." Sirius laughed and ruffled his hair.

"I wanted it to be a surprise. Of course, we were looking forward to an epic battle for the snitch but this works too. Next year, it'll be better." Harry nodded as Uncle Lucius put an arm around Hermione's shoulders.

"We really can't stay long, we just wanted to come watch. Please tell Draco that he did well and I'll send him a letter in the middle of the week." Hermione hugged her uncle tightly and nodded.

"I'll miss you both. Give Aunt Cissy my love." Uncle Lucius kissed her head and passed her to her father. While she gave Sirius the same treatment, Harry shook hands with his uncle before turning and doing the same with his godfather. He knew that his team was waiting for him to go shower so he kissed the side of Hermione's head quickly before turning to leave.

"I'm going to go shower. I'm going to sit at the Gryffindor table for lunch but I'm inviting all of you to the Gryffindor party afterwards. Please say you'll come." Hermione appeared to be waffling between yes and no so Harry decided to up the ante.

"Nobody should mess with you since you're wearing my jersey." She glared at him.

"What about Draco and Daphne and Blaise?" He made a shooing motion.

"Blaise is a big boy and Draco won't let anything happen to Daphne. Besides, most of the lions have warmed up to you snakes." Hermione chuckled softly before finally nodding.

"I can't speak for Draco but I'll show up for a little while." Harry beamed at her.

"I'll meet you after lunch."

Harry rushed off before she could change her mind. He entered the locker room to many cheers and tried to quell the blush that rose to his cheeks. He held up his hands to quieten them down so he could speak.

"It wasn't even a fair win. I really wanted to go head to head with Draco but ended it as soon as I saw he was injured. Going up against their reserve would just be embarrassing." Angelina came up and hugged him tightly.

"It doesn't matter to me how you won it, a win is a win. You just secured us the Quidditch Cup, mate." Harry laughed a little as he shook her off of him. It was Fred that spoke, a slight smirk on his face. Of course, he paid no attention to the fact that Ginny was there as well in her capacity as a reserve player.

"Don't get too close, Johnson, a pretty little snake is wearing his jersey today. Not quite sure what's going on there but I think he's trying to mark her." There were catcalls and laughter but Harry could see that Ron and Ginny were both glaring at him. Harry just laughed as he he tried to smack Fred in the back of the head.

"You do know that nobody is going to get to mark that witch? She makes her own choices and her dad and uncle let her. It's quite refreshing." Angelina laughed at him.

"Sounds like someone is in love." Harry knew that his cheeks were coloring but he just shook his head as though he was humoring them. As he grabbed his towel, he looked to his teammates with a serious look.

"I invited my Slytherin friends to the party after lunch. I don't want any trouble." The twins started whooping and hugged him together around the neck. Harry shook them off and took the no answer as acceptance and started for the shower.

Harry showered off quickly, spending just enough time to clean himself thoroughly in the water. He knew that the team would wait until they were all finished so they could enter the Great Hall together; it was tradition. He made sure to dress in the shower stall since Ginny was lurking in the changing room. The twins wouldn't care and he doubted that Ron would but he didn't want her ogling him. Since he hadn't slept with any of the girls on the team, he didn't want them to get an eyeful unless it was absolutely necessary.

Unsurprisingly, Ron was the last one ready to go. He always took forever to shower and Harry suspected that it was because he wanked. Not that he was judging, he wanked often enough, but he wouldn't have done it in the quidditch locker room. The team left together and traversed the grounds, knowing that they were holding lunch for them. They entered the Great Hall to loud cheers, Professor McGonagall among them.

Harry took his seat at the lion's table as expected and was instantly bombarded with questions about the match. He answered as best he could but was unsure what kind of epic story they were wanting. It was a matter of opportunity, not epicness. He answered as best he could while he ate, knowing that there would be numerous snacks at the party in the common room; Fred and George always made sure that there were. He was sure that there would be spiked punch as well, there usually was, but he wasn't sure if they would be able to get ahold of the firewhiskey with the toady cunt in house today.

When the dishes for lunch finally disappeared, Harry and the team rose as one and started for the doors to the Great Hall. However, Harry veered off to make sure that Hermione and her friends were also going to come with him. He saw her grimace before standing and dragging Draco to his feet. The blond Slytherin most certainly did not look happy. However, once they were both on their feet, both Daphne and Blaise followed after them. Luna was already trailing behind Neville and since Jules was a Gryffindor, it would be just like meal times.

Harry wrapped an arm around her waist and guided her in the direction that the rest of the Gryffindors were heading, hoping against hope that Umbridge wasn't paying attention to how close they were. She had been letting it slide more than usual lately. He could feel how apprehensive she was and he didn't blame her. He probably would have felt the same going into Slytherin territory. Draco had an arm around Daphne and Blaise was jovially laughing with the twins as they climbed all seven flights of stairs to Gryffindor Tower. As they got closer and closer, Hermione seemed to get more and more apprehensive. He leaned over to whisper in her ear.

"What's wrong, Mia? You teach these people every week in D.A." She nodded, none of the tension leaving her body.

"Yes, but that's on neutral territory. I know they still don't like me. Now I'm going into the lion's den." Harry reached over and kissed the side of her head.

"They know that you're with me." Hermione gave a shaky nod that didn't necessarily say that she thought it was a good thing.

Someone way ahead of him had given the password so there was no fear of the Slytherins learning their password. Harry ushered them into the common room and waited for their opinion. Hermione instantly shrugged out of Draco's robes with only a small huff.

"It's so warm in here. How can you survive with it so hot?" Harry burst out laughing as he took her robes, leaving her in only the Potter jersey that he had bought her.

"Not sure, we just do. I'm sure that it's rather cold in the dungeons?" Of course he knew that it was, he remembered well his trip over Christmas break his second year to spend time in the Slytherin common room. It was the first time he had seen any type of affection between Hermione and Severus Snape. He sent her robes over to a universal stand in the corner that held robes and other such things.

There were tables lining the walls, filled to the brim with snacks and drinks. An enormous punch bowl sat in the middle of both tables and Harry knew that they had been spiked. The twins were nothing if not predictable. He was about to lean down and warn Hermione when there was a loud call from in front of them.

"Snakes in the house!" It was highly embarrassing since these snakes taught them defense on a weekly basis but it didn't stop the blush that rose to Hermione's cheeks. She tried to pull away.

"Harry, I just don't think that this is a good idea." He bent down to meet her eyes.

"I won the game and I want you here. Shouldn't that mean something?" She gave a reluctant nod before starting for the snack table. Draco flanked her, Daphne and Blaise close behind. Harry turned on the students behind him with an angry look.

"You will be nice to them or I'll sit the next fucking match out, am I understood?" The rest of his teammates nodded but that meant nothing for the rest of the house. Before he could continue with his threats, Ron pulled him aside with a furious whisper.

"I can't believe you invited them to a house celebration. You do realize that they lost, right?" Harry glared at his best mate and was once again reminded that Neville had quickly been taking his place.

"I realize that Draco got injured and was unable to put up a fair fight. I would rather have lost fair and square but I didn't. Until next year, we're just going to have to keep playing nice when it comes to quidditch." Harry didn't have the heart to tell his friend that he really didn't give a fuck about who won at quidditch. There were bigger things to worry about. However, it kept the peace and at the moment, it was worth it.

"You won fair and square. It isn't our fault that the silly ponce can't handle it." Harry growled at his friend.

"Don't call him a silly ponce. He's a much better quidditch player than you are. Stop being a jealous git and try to be friends with them. That's why you weren't invited into their family to begin with." Of course, Harry knew that he shouldn't have said it; it was playing with fire. However, at the moment, he didn't care. Therefore, he took off and headed for the snack table where Hermione was laughing softly with the twins. Draco and Daphne had actually taken seats next to each other and they were talking quietly with each other while Blaise was chatting up some sixth years.

Since Hermione seemed occupied, he turned to make sure that everyone else was having a good time. He figured that it was ingrained in him to make sure that everyone was well-served since he grew up with the Dursleys. It wasn't something that he was necessarily proud of but it was what it was. He got caught up in conversation with Colin Creevey, mostly about when the next D.A. meeting was and what they were going to be covered. He found the excitable muggleborn was always super excited to do whatever Harry had planned. He had stated more than once that Harry was his hero.

Before he knew it, more than an hour had passed. Lavender had stopped him to congratulate him and had tried to sneak him into a corner so they could snog. He declined politely before finally telling her that he just wasn't interested. She glared at him as he turned his back on her and tried to find Hermione in the crowd. What he saw didn't make him feel too good.

Hermione was surrounded by a group of girls while Draco was sitting off to the side, completely caught up in whatever Daphne was saying. The girls all had smiles on their faces but Hermione's face was impassive. Not to mention, she had a cup of the spiked punch in her hand. Harry hurried to George's side before he crashed whatever was going on.

"How many cups of that punch has Hermione drank?" George shrugged.

"Three, I think. Not sure. Haven't been keeping too close of track." Harry cursed at himself. He hurried to Hermione's side and found exactly what was going on.

Lavender, Parvati, Faye, Katie, Ginny and another fourth year were gathered around Hermione and they all looked like they were ready to attack. Harry hurried to Hermione's side and glared at his housemates.

"What is wrong with you six? You know better than to act like this. I should kick you all out of the D.A." Hermione chuckled, clearly drunk from her time spent at the punch bowl.

"No, Harry, let these awful ladies continue to tell me just what they think of me. I guarantee you when they're done I'm going to challenge them to a duel and they're going to be embarrassed when they're crying under my wand." Harry stepped up and cupped Hermione's cheeks in his hands. He made her meet his eyes and he wanted to laugh at how open she was when she was drunk.

"Love, as much as I would love to see you put these bitches in their place, I would rather you just let them be and let me deal with them. They aren't worth your efforts, sweetness." He knew that he was channelling Sirius and Uncle Lucius and that's what he was hoping for. Her eyes showed doubt for a moment before her eyes teared up.

"I'm going to be in trouble, aren't I?" He shook his head and kissed her forehead.

"No, baby, you won't be in trouble. These nasty girls will. You go sit with Draco for now. I'll come get you in a few minutes." Hermione dutifully went to her cousin's side while Harry was left to face the six women. His face was hard and he was showing no signs of weakness.

"I don't know why you six are so against Hermione. She's a wonderful person who would make you a wonderful friend if only you would let her." Ginny scoffed openly at him.

"She would never be a friend to me. She's made clear that she's so far against me that it isn't even funny. Why should any of us believe she's on our side?" Harry turned his substantial impassive stare of Ginny.

"She only hates you. The others she didn't hate though I can't say that now. Not that I would blame her. You realize that all of you are poking the most powerful witch in ages because you simply don't like that she's in the Gryffindor common room? Ginny, her hatred for you is far more personal and you've deserved it. The others have not. However, if they continue, she won't shed a tear for them for anything that comes their way. You should all remember who her family is." Lavender scoffed.

"You mean the powerful family that managed to cripple my father but can't do anything about the situation in Hogwarts right now? Yeah, so powerful. I'm petrified." Katie started to look a little fearful but Harry just glared at Lavender.

"As someone who knows just what she's capable of, I consider you the dumbest of them all. You know what can happen and yet you still poke the bear for no good reason. Someday, you'll meet someone who can't handle your stupidity and they'll kill you. I won't be sad." There was a gasp of indignation but Harry didn't care. He had turned and headed to where Hermione was sitting on the couch, leaning against her cousin. Harry took his place and smiled against her head.

"Shall we get you back to your bed, Mia?" She nodded softly, clearly almost asleep. He helped her to stand and nodded to Draco as he started to pull her towards the entrance. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close so she couldn't make any noise. After they were out of the common room, he looked down to see her eyes were sleepy.

"I'm sorry, Mia. I never thought that it would be like that for you." She chuckled softly.

"It's alright. They all hate me which I suppose is expected. They don't like the fact that you talk to me now. I'm supposed to be the enemy. That's what they said, that I'm the enemy." Harry snorted as he helped her down the many stairs to the dungeons.

"You are not the enemy. I decide who the enemy is and you are not it." Hermione leaned heavily against him and allowed him to wrap his arms around her.

"I am though. I'm everything that your friends aren't. There's a reason that we won't ever work, Harry." His heart clenched at her words so he felt like he needed to defend himself.

"I disagree. We'll work when I someday show you how serious I am. It will be someday soon. I won't care who is angry about it because you're all I've ever wanted since I first saw you through the windows of the Hogwarts Express our first year." Hermione chuckled and he wasn't sure if she would remember their conversation.

"I've known you since I was two years old. You can't know me anywhere near as well as I know you." Harry felt the familiar guilt clench his heart. It was going to take a long time to get through this mentality. He listened as Hermione gave the password into the Slytherin dorms. None of the Slytherins gave him a second glance as he entered and he wondered when the lions had become the intolerant house. It made little sense to him.

He guided her to her dorm per her instructions and then pulled out her pajamas even though it was only late afternoon. He hoped that she wouldn't tell her father what had happened; he briefly hoped that she wouldn't remember any of it before he discarded that. He wanted her to remember that he had acted honorably after she had become drunk and left her as safe as possible.

Harry called for Kreacher to help her change and then helped tuck her into bed when her elf had deemed her decent. Hermione had laid under the duvet and Harry had wanted nothing more than to kiss her goodnight, though the circumstances held him back. He would never want to take advantage of her and in her current state, that's exactly what it would have been. Therefore, he covered her up and kissed her forehead, wishing her sweet dreams. Hermione's eyes fell asleep and Harry sighed in relief. Now he had to go back up and deal with the bitches that he lived with on a daily basis.

After giving Kreacher instructions to take care of her if a hangover occured, he made his way back up to the Gryffindor common room. He found Draco first and told him that it was best they leave since he was about to have a come to Merlin meeting with his house. He quickly gathered not only Daphne but Blaise as well, leaving within five minutes time. Once it was only Gryffindors in presence, Harry let his rage out for everyone to see.

"I can't believe that you all would disrespect our guests tonight. I'm sure that none of you are too concerned but the title Lady Black brings alot of protection in our circles. For you all to shun her so publicly does nothing for your future. Frankly, I hope that she refuses to have anything to do with you after this. Most of you were fine but those that are guilty know who they are." Ginny scoffed at him.

"You say that, Harry, but you don't mean it. She wants us all to suffer and die at the hands of Death Eaters." Harry had to refrain from smacking the girl that was raised alongside his best mate. Therefore, he just glared at her.

"You're a fucking idiot if you actually believe that. I will never back that opinion."

With that, Harry had turned his attention to those of his usual group until he saw the twins. He started off their way to begin a lecture of epic proportion on getting people drunk that didn't want to be. Honestly, it was the story of his life. Always cleaning up after someone.

Somebody might as well write it.

A/N- There we are, folks, not exactly the chapter I wanted but better than nothing. I hope you're satisfied and continue to read! Again, thanks for reading and reviewing, you guys are seriously appreciated. Let me know what you think, reviews are love.

Next chapter, The world goes to hell and the crystals get sent to the D.M.L.E.

Love,

Alicia


	101. Chapter 101

A/N- Honestly, guys, thank you for the support you show me every single chapter. Y'all are seriously the bomb. I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint everyone. Just remember that while this chapter does give you a little of what you want, there is more to come. Hope you all stay tuned. Enjoy!

**Shout out to kpop1392as for being my 5000th reviewer! You're freaking awesome!**

Disclaimer: I don't own the story line or the characters. I haven't made any money off this story or any other. I only freaking wish. Maybe someday I'll come up with an original idea and make millions and then y'all can claim that you read my stories before I got famous. Hey, a girl can dream (:

Chapter 101

March 20, 1996

Harry was trying to eat lunch like normal, to show the others that things were fine. However, they weren't fine. They were far from fine and he was sick of it. Umbridge had thoroughly cowed the students and he was sick of it. He was sick of having to make sure that Umbridge wasn't watching if he wanted to hand Hermione her bag, he was sick of Draco and Daphne getting detention because they were caught with their arms around each other. He was sick of the professors not having the power to do anything about the horrible cunt. Mostly, he was just sick of Umbridge.

Sure, they were still having the D.A. classes; the students were learning loads, though the younger years had topped out at what they could do while their cores still weren't strong enough. Rather than teach them spells and such, he set them to work on exercises that would strengthen their core, much like the ones that he had started with when he first learned the truth and went to stay with Sirius. The others, though, were flourishing.

They were still working on the patronus spell; most everyone had mastered it but there were a few that just couldn't get past the mist. Not that Harry judged, it had taken him ages to learn it and it was a very advanced spell. Those that had accomplished it were ridiculously proud of themselves, something that he liked to see, especially since they learned absolutely nothing in the current Defense class.

They were having a meeting tonight and he hoped to clear up the last of the students that couldn't produce the patronus. He really wanted to move onto something else and he knew that the others did as well. He had even decided to show them how to send messages with their silvery animal forms, something that he had appreciated learning a long time ago. Hermione and Draco both had confessed that they were tired or working on the patronus as well but didn't want anyone to feel as though they'd been left behind.

Hermione was reading next to him and he smiled to himself at her actions. She had been livid at the twins after waking up the next day after the party in Gryffindor Tower, berating them for an hour about spiking the punch and not telling everyone that it was. Of course, that she had a headache because she refused the potion from Kreacher was probably the reason that the lecture had been so intense. The twins had bore it well, promising her that if they ever spiked anything around her again they would be sure to inform her. She promptly made them extend it to Jules as well and since the twins really didn't want to face the angry witch on the dueling platform, they agreed.

There were still some sour faces in Gryffindor over his dressing down on his House over their treatment of Hermione. Some had legitimately warmed up to the witch, like Angelina and Alicia, even Katie a little since she had apologized to Hermione following that night. Still, there were others that still saw Harry as betraying their House by being such close friends with her and the other snakes. He briefly wondered what they would think if he ever convinced her to give him enough of a chance to date her. Not that he really cared but he supposed that it could be considered humorous.

The bell rang, dismissing them to Ancient Runes. None of his friends took the class, so it was just himself, Hermione, and Draco. Neville and the others were headed off to spend their free period pursuing their own interests; not that Harry minded. He liked having Hermione to himself, something that didn't happen too often anymore since they weren't allowed out too late at night and they were still supposed to be eight inches apart.

The three of them made their way to Ancient Runes and took their usual seats at the front of the class. They readied themselves for class so when Professor Babbling entered, they were ready to begin their lesson. Their lesson was over Egyptian runes and how they related to curse breaking, a subject they would be on for quite a long time. Curse breaking interested Harry though he wasn't sure that it was something that he wanted to do for a living. Regardless, he found the subject interesting.

Professor Babbling assigned them a handful of translations before sending them on their way. They had Care of Magical Creatures next and Harry only hoped that Umbridge stayed away. He knew that the old hag was sniffing around Hagrid, looking for any reason to get rid of him. He knew that his friend's lessons were unorthodox, sometimes dangerous even, but he didn't want him to get fired. It would kill Hagrid.

Harry guided Hermione out of the castle, Draco following closely behind them, his eyes open for Daphne. Hagrid had told them that they were going to be learning something quite special today and Harry wasn't sure if he should be leery or excited. The last times he had said it had brought them both unicorns and hippogriffs.

The class gathered around Hagrid's hut and they waited for him to arrive. Neville came to wait with them, making soft conversation with Hermione since Draco and Daphne were whispering softly to each other on the outskirts of the group. Blaise was off talking to Tracey and Millie, though he wasn't sure what they were talking about. The two girls weren't as close to the group as they once had been but he wasn't sure if it was because their families followed Voldemort or not. He thought that the Bulstrodes might but he didn't think that the Davis' did.

Hagrid appeared with a side of meat slung over his shoulder, dripping blood down his back. The meat stank to high hell but the half-giant didn't seem to notice. He just greeted the students with a smile and waved for them to follow him in to the Forbidden Forest. Harry felt Hermione stiffen next to him and he knew that she was recalling the last time she had been in the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid. Voldemort had been on the loose and she had had to heal an injured unicorn. Harry tried to keep his voice even as he spoke out.

"Hagrid, are you sure that going in the Forbidden Forest is a good idea?" Their professor turned around and saw just why Harry was asking and just stared for a moment before finally answering.

"We won' be goin' in ta far. Just far enou' ta ge' ta the thestral paddock." Harry wasn't sure that he remembered hearing about thestrals but judging by the look on Hermione's face, she had. He looked down at her with a questioning look and she smiled. Her voice was soft when she answered his unasked question.

"Just a controversial animal to learn about. I doubt that the Ministry would approve." Harry raised an eyebrow at her words so she continued.

"They're said to be visible to those that have seen death. Those that haven't seen someone die can't see them. They're said to be almost like a grim. A bad omen." Harry gave a slow nod at her words.

"If that's right, I'll be able to see these thestrals." Hermione nodded slowly. She was spared from responding by reaching a paddock that they all gathered around.

Harry couldn't keep his eyes off the dark skeletal horses with wings. It seemed that they could smell the meat Hagrid was carrying and they were all gathering closer around him. There was even a baby that got close enough to get a few bites after Hagrid threw the carcass on the ground.

"These are thestrals. Some people thin' they're dark since ya can't see 'em if ya haven't seen death. Tell me, how many of ya can see tha beasts?" Sure, everyone could see that there was something eating the meat that he had thrown on the ground but it was clear that not everyone could see what it was. Harry raised his hand, as did Neville. Blaise did too, followed by Theo. The one that surprised him the most was Hermione. Hagrid went to each of them in turn.

"Who did ya see die?" Harry wasn't sure that this was a proper question to ask students; it could be private. Maybe it was just because he really didn't want to say who he had seen die. Hagrid looked to Blaise first.

"My grandfather." Neville went next.

"My grandfather as well." Theo didn't even wait to be asked.

"My mother." Everyone looked to Harry next so he sighed.

"My mum and Viktor Krum." There were whispers all around him but he tried to ignore them. Hermione raised her chin and her face went impassive.

"My mother." Her voice was low enough that those around her heard her but he doubted that the whole class heard. He wrapped an arm around her waist and hugged her close for several seconds before letting her loose.

Hagrid continued on with the lesson, telling them everything that he knew about thestrals. Really, they seemed like harmless creatures as long as you didn't provoke them or try to harm their young, much like any other animal in the world. He learned that they had uncanny sense of direction and could take a person just about anywhere they needed to go, if only you could see them to mount them. By the end of the class, Hermione had inched closer to the horse-like creatures and was petting them softly, crooning to them softly in the same tone she used on her Abraxan horse at home.

The bell rang far off in the distance and they were dismissed with only a short essay as homework. Harry had been surprised that Umbridge hadn't shown up to ruin Hagrid's day; it was no surprise that she hated him, probably for his half-breed status, much the same as she hated Remus. Harry handed Hermione her bag as she exited the paddock with a bright smile on her face, clearly happy from spending time with the thestrals.

The two of them walked back to the castle with Draco and Daphne, all four of them silent. There was a D.A. meeting that night and they knew that it was getting more and more dangerous for them to continue. Umbridge had been pulling students into her office all week, questioning them about what kind of illicit activities were going on behind her back. It was clear that she had realized that there was something going on but just wasn't quite sure what it was. Hermione was worried that Severus would be implicated in keeping information from her if they were caught but Harry had reassured her that they would do everything in their power to make sure that he wasn't.

The Gryffindors and Slytherins entered the castle and headed for the Great Hall; it was time for dinner and they didn't want to be late. Most importantly, they didn't want to linger in the corridors and get detention with Umbridge. She was giving detention for even more ridiculous things these days. Harry settled in at the Slytherin table like he usually did before a meeting, making sure that he ate as well as he could. He wasn't sure why he still got nervous; he had been successfully teaching the class for months now.

Dinner was a quiet affair. The students had long got over showing their outward excitement in the corridors and at meal times. While they still got quite excited over the classes, they curbed their enthusiasm until they reached the Room of Requirement. Harry ate as much as he could, though it wasn't as much as he usually did. Draco seemed unfazed by the class that night, putting away second helping of his favorites, while Hermione just picked at her meal as she usually did. He still wasn't sure how she maintained a healthy weight; she had to be taking supplements behind everyone's backs. Not that he would ever bring it up; he wanted her to trust him, not think that he was stalking her and mistrusting her on purpose just because he didn't like how little she ate. Besides, he supposed he didn't have the right to worry since her own father didn't seem all that worried about it.

Dinner came to a close and they stood to slowly make their way up to the seventh floor in time to open the room for the other students. Even though the door stayed visible for the other students, nobody aside from those in their group knew how to truly open the room. Hermione had insisted that if they told everyone, there would be other rule breakers in there and they would never be able to hold their meetings. The idea had had merit so they had kept the method of making it appear a secret.

Once they were safely ensconced inside, Hermione headed for the bookshelf like she usually did while Harry moved the dummies around to where he wanted them. He sometimes thought that Hogwarts was playing tricks on him, moving the dummies all over the room so he had to move them. It happened every week without fail, causing Hermione and the others to simply laugh when he grumbled about it.

The other students started to arrive a few at a time shortly there after, shucking their robes and bags to the floor so they would be more comfortable. He had actually gained more members since he had started; some of the older members that had scoffed at the idea of learning from a fifth year had seen just what he was teaching and had decided that their pride wasn't worth missing out on learning the patronus charm. Cedric and a few of his friends had joined, along with Roger Davies and another seventh year Ravenclaw girl. The Gryffindor quidditch team was already present, had been from the start, so he already knew that he had had the lion's support.

This was to be the last class on the patronus charm; they couldn't afford to spend any more time on it. There were only a few students still having problems with it, all of them third and fourth years. Today, he was going to give them a little time to work on it before telling them that they could find either himself, Hermione, or Draco and they would continue to tutor them in private on the spell. He knew that it would probably be embarrassing but he couldn't hold the other students back any longer waiting on them.

Finally, everyone arrived, well, most everyone arrived before seven, so Harry decided to start the class. Marietta was still not present but she had already perfected the spell so if she showed up late, it wouldn't make much different. Hermione and Draco flanked him while he called the class to attention.

"Alright, everyone, tonight is our last night on the patronus charm. I know I said that we wouldn't move on until everyone had it but it's been quite a while. Those of you who haven't mastered it yet, this isn't casting aspersions on your power or anything of the sort. You're all young and it's to be expected. I learned my third year and it took me all year to get it. If you don't get it in the next thirty minutes, you can continue to see myself, Hermione, or Draco for further tutoring on the spell, whichever of us you feel more comfortable with. Really, though, tonight, we move on." There were cheers at the back of the room and Harry smiled.

"For now, I want everyone to work on the patronus for the next thirty minutes, that's all I'm giving you. Practice sending messages if you can cast one already. Something like that could save your life someday." Those that could cast the spell instantly paired up and started sending messages to each other, mostly silly in nature that would make the other laugh. There were three students that still hadn't mastered the spell and Harry, Hermione and Draco headed that way.

Hermione took the little third year girl, a Hufflepuff by the name of Tandy. She was very meek and quiet, probably part of the problem with casting the spell. It took force to cast it properly, feeling, and Tandy cast as quietly as possible, like she didn't want to be heard. Draco took the fourth year Ravenclaw, a sandy-haired boy named Derek. He was clearly embarrassed and frustrated at his lack of ability to cast a patronus so the Slytherin set about calming him down before he even let him try the spell. Harry turned his attention to a fourth year Gryffindor named Ritchie Coote, a tow-headed boy that seemed to remind him a little bit of Fred and George.

They were hard at getting their students to be able to cast the patronus when there was a loud explosion at the entrance to the Room of Requirement, loud enough to shake the walls of the castle. Everyone froze and stared at the entrance, unsure as to what they should do. Harry knew that this was the day, the day of reckoning between himself and Umbridge. He knew the toady cunt was outside, that someone had told her what they were doing. It had only been a matter of time. Now it was going to come down to what Hermione was going to do when she burst in here.

With another explosion, the wall exploded inwards and everyone ducked their heads as rock and rubble blew all over them. Harry had side-stepped in front of Hermione and made sure that she was safe from the bigger pieces of debris. The dust in the air was thick but there was no missing the fact that there was a figure in pink standing in the enormous hole in the wall, her wand raised, and a sneer on her face.

"Mr. Potter and Miss Black, how did I know that you two would be responsible for such an act of treason?"

-O-

Hermione knew that the day had come. It was time to summon Bones and take Umbridge down. She stepped out from behind Harry and smirked at the toad before raising her wand. She cast a patronus silently, her fox leaping from her wand gracefully. She watched Harry activate his crystal and smiled at him as she began to speak.

"Please go to Amelia Bones and tell her that there is a situation at Hogwarts concerning Madam Umbridge. Tell her that I have proof that Umbridge is torturing the students, her niece Susan may very well be one of them. She needs to come quickly." The fox rubbed against her leg and then Harry's before dashing off in a flash of silver. Umbridge was vibrating with fury and Hermione just smiled sweetly at her.

"You are out of line sending for Madam Bones. You know that you won't win this, Miss Black. When she's gone, you're going to spend all night in detention with the same spell I put on your quill before Christmas. Then, everyone here is going to serve the same detention tomorrow night. I can hardly wait." Harry snorted at her.

"You're through here, Umbridge. You're not coming near Hermione ever again." Her wand came up quicker than Hermione would have expected and pointed right at Harry's face as she advanced, her eyes wild.

"There is nothing you can do to stop me, little boy. Just one word, just one, and you will be writhing on the floor in your own pool of piss. I could make you insane with that spell, I heard that Longbottom's parents are. It would be fun." Hermione didn't even use her wand. She let her magic flow through her like Moody had been teaching her, not letting it take control, but letting it flow freely. It slammed into Umbridge and threw her ten feet from Harry, hard enough to land her on her arse. She walked up to the fallen witch and took her hair in her fist to make sure that she couldn't look away. There was a flash of fear in her eyes and that familiar sense of power surged through her again, just like it had when she had almost crushed Lavender in second year. Her voice was low but she knew that most of the people in the room heard her.

"You ever come near Harry again, I will fucking end you. You will not cast an Unforgivable on him, I won't allow it. If you think for a second that you can beat me, then by all means, pick up your wand. Stand up and let us meet on the dueling platform. Witch to witch. Let us make it honorable." Hermione released Umbridge's hair and stood, making it clear that she was serious. However, Umbridge stayed on the ground where she was. Hermione smirked down at her, glad that the recording crystals couldn't catch her expression.

"That's what I thought. You're nothing but a coward. Stay away from me and my family. Keep away from my friends. You will regret ever crossing me." Hermione reached down and plucked the woman's wand from her hand and snapped it in two, dropping the pieces in her lap. Umbridge started to stutter but Hermione wasn't sure exactly what she was trying to say. They were saved from having to go any further with the confrontation by Professor Cat and Uncle Sev running through the hole in the wall, breathless. They both looked at the scene before them and rushed forward, Uncle Sev pulling Hermione from the downed witch. She smiled up at her Head of House serenely.

"Don't worry, sir, I've already sent for the Head of the D.M.L.E." Her godfather snorted put an arm around her shoulders, gesturing for Harry and Draco to come with him as well. He looked to the three of them.

"Is there anyone else that needs to be there for this meeting?" Hermione swung her gaze to Umbridge.

"Who snitched on us? Who told you about the meeting?" Umbridge, who had regained her feet, sniffed her answer.

"I was told my nobody." Hermione laughed softly.

"Sure, you weren't. Don't worry, we'll know by breakfast. I cursed that parchment we all signed. Whoever told you is going to have the word 'snitch' written across their forehead in pustules that won't be disappearing for a good long while. Everyone will know." Umbridge's cheeks were turning red with rage.

"Marietta Edgecomb." Hermione looked to her Head of House.

"She should probably be there too." He sighed heavily and nodded, leading the three of them out of the room. Hermione could hear Professor McGonagall telling the rest of the students to head for their common rooms and since it was before curfew, there would be no punishments. Umbridge was following behind them and Hermione could feel her eyes on her back; it was probably a good thing that she had broken the nasty hag's wand, otherwise, she's have already taken a curse or six to the back.

Hermione realized that Uncle Sev was taking them to the Headmaster's office, not something that she had expected. Dumbledore had been completely useless the entire year; now he thought that he would be of use? It made Hermione want to take her animagus form and take a bite out of his arse but it would likely taste like old rotten meat so she refrained. Uncle Sev muttered the password to the griffin and the staircase appeared, moving them upwards so they could reach the door to the Headmaster's office.

Once inside, Hermione was pleased to find that not only was Madam Bones there, so was Minister Fudge. Madam Bones was yelling at Minister Fudge, telling him what an incompetent fool he was and that she couldn't wait for him to lose his fucking job over the mess that he had created by putting Umbridge in Hogwarts. Hermione smiled inwardly; this was going to be more entertaining than she had originally thought. Dumbledore smiled at the three students and conjured a loveseat for them.

"Please, take a seat. We're waiting for Madam Umbridge and Professor McGonagall." Hermione looked to the Headmaster.

"Actually, you might want to send someone to the other houses to collect the recording crystals that I gave them. They house the proof that Madam Bones is going to need." Umbridge had just entered and Hermione smirked in her direction as her cheeks paled. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he gave her a curt nod.

"Very well, Miss Black. Severus, could I impose upon you to meet Minerva halfway and collect the crystals from all four houses?" He gave a sharp nod and left, glaring at the toad as he left.

Draco put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side so he could hug her close. He was whispering into her ear that she had scared the life out of him and she deserved a spanking from her father, causing her to just laugh at him. When she pulled away from him, Harry pulled her into his side and hugged her tight, kissing the side of her head.

"Thanks, Mia. You've got to stop trying to protect me though." She laughed softly as she laid her head on his chest for a few moments, listening to the beat of his heart.

"It's hard to turn off the instinct of a lifetime." He snorted but kissed her head again. After staying for several seconds, she pulled away and sat properly. After all, they were in the presence of the Head of the D.M.L.E. and the Minister. While the Minister wasn't much to look at, he still held a lot of power. At least, until the rest of the world discovered just what he had allowed to happen to the nation's magical children.

It was almost twenty minutes later that Uncle Sev and Professor Cat returned with boxes of recording crystals. It would seem that every single person that had been given one had turned it in when the professors had asked. The Headmaster gestured for everyone to take their seats and finally turned to Hermione, Draco, and Harry.

"It would seem that there was a disturbance tonight in the castle, including some damage to the seventh floor. Would you care to explain what has been going on? After you tell your side of the story, we'll let Madam Umbridge speak." Both boys gestured for Hermione to speak. She rolled her eyes at them but sat up straighter as she began her story.

Hermione told them how Umbridge had started her class with not letting them use their wands, not letting them practice defense at all, how they were assigned detentions for the tiniest little things. She detailed making cream for Harry and everyone else when their hands were scarred from the use of a blood quill and how the Headmaster and the other professors were rendered useless by the Ministry.

Hermione went on about how Bones came and conducted her investigation by giving Umbridge veritaserum, which she later admitted to Hermione on a crystal that she had learned to overcome. Bones' eyes blazed at her words but Hermione continued, not wanting to give anyone a chance to interject. After Umbridge stepped up the detentions, Hermione came up with a plan to bring her down with proof that the D.M.L.E. couldn't dispute: recordings from their very own recording crystals. She explained that they were passed out to everyone in their secret club to teach defense and every time they saw Umbridge doing something terrible, they would turn on the crystal and record it.

Hermione reached the events of that night and told them that Umbridge had blasted through the wall of the Room of Requirement while they were having their Defense Meeting. There were hard faces all around when she told them that she had threatened Harry with the Cruciatus Curse in front of everyone and then offered to meet the woman on the dueling platform before breaking her wand. Fudge looked horrified by the end of her spiel and Hermione was fucking gleeful. When she fell silent, they all turned to Umbridge who had a look of fury on her face.

"I refuse to speak here. I will speak in court as is my right." Hermione rolled her eyes. Of course she was going to want to speak in court, that way she could still keep her position for now. The case wouldn't go before the court without being investigated and Fudge could get away with keeping her in place. Bones glared at her.

"There will be a full investigation, Madam Umbridge. If I find that even a tenth of this is true, there is going to be major repercussions." Bones didn't look like she was playing around but Umbridge just smirked at her.

"I'm sure that you're going to find that these little monsters are lying again, Madam Bones. When that happens, I expect a public apology from not only them but from you as well." Hermione snorted loud enough for the ugly hag to hear. She was past caring about propriety even though Aunt Cissy would be appalled.

"You won't ever get that apology from me. Madam Bones, if you for some reason find that none of this is enough to put this evil bitch away in Azkaban, you get ahold of me. I have one last card to play that absolutely nobody can dispute." Hermione made sure to give Umbridge a sickly sweet smile, letting her know that the scar left on her hand by dark magic was able to be verified by a healer, more than enough proof for the Wizengamot. Umbridge froze and that flash of fear in her eyes returned. Bones laughed outright, pushing her glasses further up her nose as she watched Hermione.

"I like you, young lady. You're going to go places. I won't ever forget you crushing Pettigrew's balls when you handed him over to the aurors. I don't think my aurors ever will either." Hermione smiled at the woman.

"That man caused my father and family a lot of heartache. I thought that crushed balls were better than killing him." Bones laughed again.

"Indeed, young lady." She turned to Umbridge.

"Now, you need to go pack your things. You won't be staying here." Fudge started to sputter his arguments.

"Yes, she will. Nothing has been proven, it's just Dolores' words against a couple of brats. I won't lose control of this school because there are a few students that don't like her. They need to learn that just because they have powerful fathers they don't run the school or the world." The last words were very pointed and he was staring directly at Hermione and Draco. Hermione gave him a sweet smile in return, one that Aunt Cissy would have been proud of.

"Why, Minister, I don't need to stomp on someone's balls to get my way. Maybe you should remember that just because you hold a powerful title that doesn't mean that you'll hold it forever. Then you'll be back to being nothing." Fudge started to sputter again but Bones paid him no mind. She turned to Umbridge after flashing Hermione another grin.

"Fine, obviously I can't remove you without the Wizengamot since this idiot is willing to commit political suicide over you. For his sake, I hope you're worth it, Umbridge. You'll remain in this castle but you are no longer a teacher here. You have no power, you may observe from a distance only. Oh, I'm sure that the Minister will bluster on about his High Inquisitor but as of this moment, you're suspended. You will not assign detention, you will not teach class, you will not speak to the children, you will not observe classes. You will go to meals and you may wander the corridors. That's the level of your participation and that's only until the investigation is through. Once it's through, you'll be in front of the entire Wizengamot and I can only hope that everything that girl said is true. I can't wait to see you punished, Dolores. If any harm comes to these three children or their family and friends, I'll personally see you thrown into Azkaban. Do you understand me?" Umbridge looked quite stricken as she nodded. Bones gave her a tight smile.

"You're dismissed. Remember my words. You stray from them and you'll be in a cell quicker than you say quidditch." Umbridge shot Fudge a look before departing quickly. Fudge glared at Bones before turning to Hermione. She smiled serenely at him, not sure what he wanted. After several moments, he spat his words out at her.

"I'm waiting for your apology, girl." She raised an eyebrow at him.

"You'll be waiting for quite awhile then. I believe the appropriate address is Miss Black, or I suppose Lady Black would even be acceptable. However, there still won't be an apology coming. You and your stupidity have allowed harm to come to me and mine and that just can't be allowed. You may think you're so smart, Fudge, but you aren't. I know that you're been trying to discredit Harry and his story of Voldemort returning all year, that's why you sent that ugly toad. You're just angry that it hasn't worked, in fact, we turned it on you. Now, when the truth comes out, you're going to lose your position when Britain realizes what you've allowed to happen to their children. Trust me, I've made healing cream for every single house in this school. While you may be Minister, some of the children that have been under her blood quill are heirs to the most powerful houses in Britain." Fudge paled but said nothing else. Hermione looked to Head of House and stood.

"Is there anything else, sir?" His eyes bore into hers, clearly trying to see if she was one of those heirs. She nudged him out of mind with a tiny smirk and he just glared at her. He gave her a sharp nod.

"You are all excused. Go straight to your common rooms since it is now after curfew." Hermione bowed her head slightly in respect; Slytherin house expected no less.

Hermione, Harry, and Draco all left the Headmaster's office, taking several corridors until they reached an empty classroom that they sneaked into and warded closed. Once they were alone, Harry rushed her, pulling her into his arms and then swinging her around, laughing loudly.

"I can't believe we did it, that bitch is going to be gone for good when they finally work their way through everything." Hermione laughed as she swung through the air.

"I know, I just wish she had to leave. Bones left her with nothing though and if she violates it, she's off to Azkaban." Draco threw an arm around her shoulders when Harry put her down.

"Have I ever mentioned that you're a genius, Mia?" She laughed and hugged her cousin close. Her eyes were dancing with happiness, the first bit of happiness she's had at school all year. She realized just what their next step needed to be now.

"Now we need to owl Daddy in the morning and see if Remus or Dory want the position of Defense teacher. You know that they'll give it to anyone now just to try to save face. Fudge knows he's on his way out." Harry laughed.

"I think they would both be great." Hermione laughed.

"I think they would too. However, like Uncle Sev said, it's after curfew. We better get back. Everyone is probably in bed. We'll spread the good news tomorrow and send off a letter after breakfast." All three nodded.

They unwarded the door, said their goodbyes and stole away in opposite directions. Hermione let Draco lead her through the corridors towards the dungeons, not even paying attention to where they were going. It had been a great night, the best night of the year, honestly. Umbridge wasn't gone yet but she would be. As of tonight, she was toothless and couldn't cause any harm, especially now that she was without a wand. Hermione laughed softly to herself as she entered the Slytherin common room to find it empty.

A wonderful night indeed.

A/N- The beginning of the takedown of Umbridge has begun. I hope you guys are approving. Don't worry, it isn't over yet. Thanks again for taking the time to read and review, you guys are just amazing. Leave me a message after the beep and tell me what you think. Reviews are love.

Next chapter, career advice.

Love,

Alicia


	102. Chapter 102

A/N- You guys are just awesome in how much you support this story. I love that you love this story and review every single chapter. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. I really don't have much else to say except thank you again for how much support you show me. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: I still don't own anything. The characters still belong to J.K.R. and the original plot line still belongs to Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle. I still haven't made any money from this story or any other since I'm still a broke bitch.

Chapter 102

April 16, 1996

Harry walked with Hermione's arm tucked in his on their way to Charms; it was nice knowing that he could touch her whenever he wanted and there was nothing that Umbridge could do about it. Of course, the horrid cunt was still there a month after the fact but it was so much better than it had been. She truly was powerless; the professors made sure of that.

Harry had almost groaned when he heard the reason that she was still there. It appeared that Hermione had done such a good job creating a case against her that they were still going over the evidence against her. They were listening to every single crystal from every single student in their investigation to make sure that they charged her correctly and didn't miss a single thing. Since there were so many incidents and so many crystals, it was taking far longer than anyone had anticipated. While the students were anxious for the toad to go, it really hadn't been that bad since she had been relieved of her power base. Now she really couldn't do anything about anything no matter how much she wanted to.

The whole school had cheered the day after the D.A. had been discovered. Breakfast had brought with it the announcement from Dumbledore that Umbridge had been relieved from teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. It had brought a cheer when he announced that Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks would be sharing the professor position until the end of the year. Harry had been pleased for them. He knew that Tonks was working as auror and was only going to be working as her schedule allowed but it was nice to see them work as a team. It was how they did their best work. Remus was excellent with theory and Tonks was superb with practical.

Of course, they were still playing catch up with the students that hadn't been in the D.A.; not everyone was as advanced as the students that had attended their meetings. Therefore, they were still holding their meetings but now the Defense Professors were in attendance and helped host the meetings. It was much more laid back now that they weren't having to hide it. Professor Cat and Severus had even made an appearance or two to help teach them what they knew. Even the Headmaster had given his blessing on the club and told them that he hoped that they learned as much as they could so it would someday save their lives.

Harry led Hermione into the Transfiguration classroom and into her seat. She began to take her things out and was still appalled at how dedicated she was to her school work. He grew bored quite easily. He was nearing his seventh year of study now with Madam Cambridge, he worked extremely hard on his personal studies, harder than he did on his studies for school. He knew that he would pass his O.W.L.s if he were to take them but he didn't put near the effort into his school work that Hermione did. He knew that she held a personal goal of having a perfect score in every class throughout her career at Hogwarts but he just wasn't that ambitious.

Harry took the seat next to her and pulled out his own supplies. The only two classes that he made sure to turn in perfect scores in was Transfiguration and Potions; they had the only two professors that scared the life out of him. Honestly, he still had much to learn in both subjects and didn't fancy pissing off either professor so he did his best to keep them happy. While he was sure that they would be happy with whatever he turned in as long as it was on the higher end of passing, he didn't want to disappoint them. He saved those grades for Trelawney, Sprout, and Hagrid.

Professor McGonagall entered and instantly bid them to start practicing on the doubling charm, the lesson they had learned the last class they had had. Harry remembered practicing this charm with Draco during school fourth year so it wasn't like he needed to practice to know that he could do it. He instantly called Professor McGonagall over to himself and Hermione so they could demonstrate that they had already mastered it. His professor just rolled her eyes and watched them both perform it flawlessly. She gave them both a smile when they were finished.

"You two and Mr. Malfoy are my best students. I should start pairing you with my worst students so you can help them." Hermione snorted, something she rarely did outside of the family or her closest friends. She instantly looked mortified but Harry grabbed her hand and squeezed it to let her know that nobody was going to judge her for it.

"I love Professor Flitwick but that's what he always does. He doesn't have the patience to deal with Crabbe, Goyle, or Prewett so he pairs them with Harry, Draco, and myself to do his dirty work. It gets old after awhile." Professor McGonagall frowned slightly at her words so Harry intervened.

"We usually don't mind. It's just nice to get a break with a professor that teaches her students on her own." Professor McGonagall smiled and laid hands on their shoulders.

"You won't have to worry about it from me. Teaching, after all, is what I get paid to do." They both smiled at her and nodded.

After she moved on, they both started in on their homework, Hermione moved to Potions; he knew that she was trying for her N.E.W.T. this year rather than her O.W.L. Severus had told him over the Christmas holiday that he wasn't worried about it but Hermione was. Therefore, she studied whenever she could. She tried not to prattle on to him and her friends but they were all well aware just what she was worried about. They had all assured her that there was nothing to worry about, Severus had prepared her well, but she wouldn't hear any of it. She was determined to study, unwilling to let her godfather down by getting anything less than an O.

Harry pulled out his warding homework; between it and his arithmancy, they were by far his hardest subjects. His mind wasn't on that, however. It was on Marietta Edgecomb and just how the girl was faring since she had snitched on the Defense Association. He had to admit, the ruthless side of Hermione that he was just a little uncomfortable with had come forward and he wasn't sure what to do.

Harry had spent some personal time with Marietta in the past; he had never pegged her as a witch that would snitch on her friends. However, he had never pegged her as someone that would target someone like Luna as well so he didn't necessarily consider himself the best judge of character either. However, Cho had cornered him a week ago; at first, he had thought that she was wanting to snog him or more but she had burst into tears when she finally had him alone. He hadn't hugged her or anything like that; he didn't want to send out the wrong message, something that happened so easily these days. However, he had patted her on the back and asked her what was wrong.

*Flashback*

Cho was crying, almost hysterically so, as she held him in the alcove that was rarely visited by anyone unless they were snogging. He hoped against hope that nobody saw him here and reported it to Hermione. He had done so good showing her that he wasn't with other girls and it ruin everything if she thought he was meeting Cho now.

"What is wrong, Cho? I hate to sound callous but I can't be seen in here with you." Cho reached out and shoved his hand off her shoulder, quick as snake, a hateful sneer on her face.

"Wouldn't want Miss Perfect to see you in here, would you? Slumming it with the likes of me? Bet she wouldn't give you the time of day if she thought that we were fucking again." Harry gritted his teeth because as much as he wanted to dispute her words, every single last one of them were the truth. Therefore, he just glared at her with a hard look.

"What the fuck do you want, Chang? If you're just going to be a cunt, I can leave. You're the one who dragged me in here, after all." Her gaze softened and he almost felt sorry for her.

"The whole D.A. is being fucking horrid to Marietta. I know she told Umbridge about us but she had no choice." Harry scoffed at her.

"She had a choice and she chose to betray us. She chose to choose Umbridge over the group. We were teaching her to defend herself and she threw that away." Cho lunged at him and shoved him as hard as she could in the chest. Her face was fierce when she spoke.

"You know nothing! Marietta's family is poor, her father is dead, has been since the first war. Her mum is the only one that works and she works at the Ministry. Her mum barely makes ends meet. Umbridge told Marietta that if she didn't tell her what we were doing that she was going to get her mum fired from the Ministry and blacklist her. Do you even know what that means?" Harry had no idea so he shook his head. He was sure that it wasn't good. Cho just glared at him.

"Blacklisting someone means that you put them on a list that is available throughout the country. Murderers make that list. She wouldn't be hired by anyone ever again. She told Marietta that if she didn't tell, not only would her mother lost her job, she would never get another job again. They would eventually be homeless and starve. You have all turned against her and and made her an outcast. She has the word snitch across her forehead because she did her best to protect her family. Tell me, Harry Potter, what would you do for Hermione Black? What would your precious love do for her own family? What has her oh-so-wonderful Death Eater uncle done for his family that has been overlooked that you're all judging my best friend for?" Harry didn't have an answer but he didn't like the way that Cho was looking at him, like he was scum. He glared back at her, making sure that the girl would never approach him again.

"I really don't know. I will make sure to ask though. I think you should leave before you take this conversation further and risk making enemies. I already don't like you, Cho, and you know it. You took a great risk coming to me." She snorted at him.

"You think it would have turned out better for me going to Black? I don't fancy dying, thank you." Harry shoved her away from him, uncaring of the fact that she stumbled a would never have killed her and he resented the fact that she thought so.

Harry left her standing there in the alcove and headed straight for the library, he needed to talk to Hermione. While he hadn't minded giving Marietta the silent treatment and such, he wasn't okay with treating her like that when her family had been threatened. He knew that Hermione could be quite vindictive when her family had been threatened but where was the line? He needed to know.

He found her in the library with Draco, Daphne, Neville, and the twins. They were all working on homework and he hated to interrupt it. However, this needed to be handled now because it was going to eat him alive if it wasn't. He knew that he was being intense when he leaned over and asked to speak with her privately but he couldn't help it. She had given him a strange look before nodding and gathering her things to follow him out and into an empty classroom. He quickly silenced and warded the space so they could speak freely. Hermione gave him a strange look but he disregarded it so he could speak.

"How long are we going to punish Marietta Edgecomb? How long does that spell last?" Her gaze hardened and turned to a glare.

"It's spelled to last a year. Why?" He glared right back at her. Draco may back down and give her what she wants but Harry wasn't built that way.

"Cho just stopped me and told me what really happened. Marietta's dad during the first war and her mum is raising her by herself. She works at the Ministry and Umbridge threatened to not only fire her from her position but to blacklist her if she didn't tell her about our meetings. I'm sure that you of all people know what that means. She turned us in for her family. What would you do for your family, Hermione? What you're doing isn't right and you know it. You need to put a stop to this because I refuse to be behind this any longer. The fact that you are is disgusting. What has Uncle Lucius done for his family that you've written off as nothing when really it isn't?" Harry's rant came to an end and he finally looked at Hermione, surprised to see tears swimming in her eyes, though she refused to let them fall. He stepped forward to comfort her but she stepped back, that familiar impassive look on her face, the look that he hated more than life itself. He just watched her, unsure as to what he was supposed to do now. Her voice was flat when she spoke.

"It's good to see that some things never change. You'll never get over expecting the worst from me, will you?" She gave him a sad look.

"I'll tell everyone to lay off her and remove the hex. Happy?" She didn't wait for an answer before she turned from him and headed for the door. He reached out and grabbed her wrist, turning her to meet his eyes. They were cold and he hated it.

"Don't be like this, Mia, you know I hate it." She laughed a high and cynical laugh.

"Like what? Finally realizing that I was stupid for hoping that you would ever see me in a different light? For realizing that I would never change in how you viewed me? Pardon me if I can't screw on a smile at the thought. If that's what you want, run on back to Cho, she was always quick with a smile for you." He gripped her wrist tighter.

"I don't want Cho, I'm here with you." She gave that same cynical laugh as she jerked her arm out of his hand.

"No, you're not. You instantly assumed that I'm the same evil Slytherin, wanting to hurt someone that you saw as the underdog. You rushed into the library to make sure that you could see justice done, that you could make sure that you handled me and made sure that I lifted the hex. You didn't come talk to me, you didn't think for a second that I had no idea of Marietta's real circumstances. You started yelling at me, telling me that I needed to lift the hex because you finally learned the truth and assumed I already knew and just kept it in place and didn't care. You assumed that I'm an awful person just like you did years one through three. Frankly, I've been waiting for this to happen. These past few months have been too good to be true. Everyone has told me that you really knew me, that you accepted me for who I am, but you don't. You instantly assumed that I knew what was going on and accepted it and continued on happily. Your opinion of me hasn't changed at all. You've just hidden it well." Harry sat there, dumbfounded. While everything she said was a lie, it was also the truth. He had handled the whole thing horribly and it was likely that she would never trust him again. He stepped forward and she took a step back, face still impassive. His face crumpled.

"Hermione, I have never thought that. I've never taken the word of someone else over you. I'm just so angry over this whole thing." She scoffed at him openly.

"Never taken the word of someone over me, don't make me laugh. Who got angry when the Prewetts were left out the Black family inclusion of the Weasleys? That got blamed on me. When Ginny cursed me bald, you not only admitted that she probably did it, you made fucking excuses for her. After she did that and accused you of getting her pregnant, you became friends with her again. When I said something against it, you told me to mind my own fucking business and when I let my emotions show about it, you threw them in my fucking face. You threw them in my fucking face before you went in the Merlin-be-damned maze and almost died. I let it go so we wouldn't fight anymore. Are you really so stupid as to think that you've never taken the word of someone else over me? I told you that crazy bitch threw stones at me and you never believed me. I told you that either she or Ron threw me into the Black Lake and almost drowned me but that was a lie too." Harry stared at her as her chest heaved with emotion.

"Actually, I think it would be more appropriate to name the times when you took my word over someone else's. That would have far more bearing." Harry stood there, silent, realizing that she was completely right. After only a few seconds, Hermione let a single tear fall down her cheek. Her voice was starting to falter as she now spoke.

"You're family and I will always have your back, Harry, but let's not fool ourselves. You don't take my word as crystal and you likely never will. I will always be the evil Slytherin that Ron trained you I am and that's always going to be your first thought. I'm not trying to make you feel like shite but don't sit here and outright lie to me. I won't stand for it. I have never lied to you, Harry, and I do my best to always be honest. This being said, I want to leave. I have nothing else to say aside from I will tell the others about Marietta's situation and I will lift the curse on her forehead." Harry knew that he wasn't going to get any further with her at that moment so he nodded his head jerkily before she stormed out of the room. He had thought that he was going to see justice done but really, he had just fucked his whole entire life up.

Hermione had been completely right and completely wrong at the same time and it was infuriating.

*End of Flashback*

Things were still a tad on the cool side between him and Hermione even though he had pulled her aside two days after that discussion to tell her that he hadn't really thought the worst of her. He knew that she didn't believe him and he didn't blame her. He hadn't presented himself in the best way because he hadn't thought things through. However, she was speaking to him and wasn't ignoring him like she had been. Therefore, he was counting it as a win.

It was true that she was still being slightly aloof but he was determined to break through that; he had once before. Draco had already punched him in the mouth for the damage he had done. Even though Harry wanted to defend himself, he knew that he really didn't have a good defense; he had acted without thought and even though he hadn't meant to insinuate that Hermione knew about her situation and just didn't care, it had come across that way. He had hurt her enough in the past to send them hurtling backwards. It was enough to make him even more determined to make things right between them.

Professor McGonagall dismissed them so they quickly gathered their things to head to Charms. Harry wrapped an arm around Hermione's waist and she gave him a quick smile. It still didn't reach her eyes but he was determined that they were going to get there. Draco and Daphne were right behind them, whispering softly to each other, probably about Hermione and himself. He turned around and glared at the pair, hating that they were discussing him and Hermione. She deserved better than that. Draco just smirked at him. Harry was unwilling to start another argument with the witch about anything so he just let it go.

They settled in their seats and unloaded their bags. Professor Flitwick entered and quickly bid them to split into their usual pairs; of course, this meant that Harry was stuck with Greg Goyle, Draco was with Vincent Crabbe, and Hermione was with Ron Prewett. They were supposed to be learning the locomotor charm, a spell that moved an object through the air, quite similar to the summoning charm.

Harry had mastered it ages ago and did his best to teach it to Goyle; he used to get along with the wizard quite well. However, since Voldemort had returned, Greg had become hostile and didn't want to work with Harry at all. He was sure that it was due to the fact that his father was a loyal Death Eater; he remembered seeing his father in the cemetery that night of the third task. He was sure that there was some family pressure going on and while he wished that the boy would choose the light side, he could only imagine how difficult it would be to go against your family.

Draco wasn't faring much better but he was at least being treated with respect. Whether he followed Voldemort or not, he was still a member of the Sacred 28 and still a pureblood. He still demanded respect just for his place in society and Crabbe was all too happy to give it to him. Hermione, however, couldn't say the same.

Usually, Ron didn't give her the time of day. He ignored her and didn't bother giving her any form of respect because she acted like she didn't exist. However, that just wasn't possible when they were partnered together and she was tasked with making sure that he could cast the spells assigned to them in class that day. His tone always because hateful, his features twisted into a sneer, and Harry hated every second of it.

"Why do you have to be such a know-it-all, Black?" She just sighed and snapped her book shut, clearly finished with the conversation.

"I don't even know why I try with you, Prewett." Ron lunged forward but Harry jumped up to step in the middle. He glared at his best mate.

"I know that you weren't getting ready to start an argument with Hermione when she was trying to help you like Professor Flitwick asked her to." Ron just glared but he sat back down in his seat. Hermione shot him a grateful look but sneered in Ron's direction.

"You can teach him, he doesn't comprehend anything I tell him." Harry sighed as he turned to his best mate. He really wished sometimes that Ron would just break away completely and he could claim Draco and Neville as his best mate.

"Don't even bother, I can cast this spell. Dean taught me a week ago." Harry sighed in relief.

"Great, you should have just told her that. She only tries to teach you because Flitwick makes her. She doesn't like you anymore than you like her." Ron smirked his way.

"I know, that's why I didn't tell her." Harry just sighed. Ron was such an immature dick sometimes that he wanted to scream.

The bell rang, dismissing them to lunch. He gathered his things and headed off in the direction of the Great Hall. Hermione was walking next to him but she seemed occupied with her thoughts. As they entered the cavernous room, he tugged on one her curls and was unsurprised when it didn't garner the smile that it once had.

"I'm going to go sit with the lions. It's been a few days." She gave him a quick nod but was still ready to mother him.

"Don't forget your meeting with Professor Cat for career advice after lunch." He smiled his thanks to her and pressed a kiss to the side of her head.

"I won't forget. I'll see you in Potions, alright?" She gave him a short nod and was gone.

Harry took himself to the Gryffindor table and sat between Parvati and Colin. Neville and the twins had both decided to sit with Hermione so they weren't there to be a buffer. In fact, Neville hadn't sat at the lion's table since the Azkaban breakout three days before. It was no secret, apparently, what had happened to his parents and everyone had started questioning him how he felt about Bellatrix Lestrange being free after torturing his parents into insanity. It had taken one meal of sitting with his housemates for him to not return.

Harry didn't blame him.

Harry had known that Neville's parents had been tortured by the Black family and Sirius had paid his family for reparations. He knew that Sirius paid for all of Neville's schooling, making him almost like a guardian. He knew that Sirius considered Neville family but also that he felt terrible that his family was responsible for so much heartache. Those at Gryffindor table hadn't left him alone about the situation since the story had broke and he felt bad for the man; he deserved peace more than anyone about the subject. He was just as much a victim as his parents were.

Ron and Parvati spent most of the meal snogging, something they usually didn't do. It made Harry wonder if Ron was doing it to show him how annoyed he was with him but he let it go. It really didn't matter; he was only there because he had promised Ron the night before that he would be. Nobody was going to tell him that he didn't keep his promises.

The bell rang quickly, dismissing most of them to their next class. Since Harry had a free period, he started for Professor Cat's office. He had career advice next since it was supposed to help advise him as to which classes to take next year. He wasn't sure what to say since he jumped from job to job, unsure of just what the world would hold for him. One moment he wanted to take his place in the Wizengamot and change the world, changing laws and saving lives. The next, he wanted to become an auror and catch dark wizards, putting them away for life.

He made his way to the seventh floor and knocked on Professor McGonagall's door; she called out for him to come in. He entered and was surprised to find that not only was Professor Cat there, so was Dolores Umbridge. She had been removed from her professor duties but she was still technically the High Inquisitor and could rightfully sit in on their meeting, she just couldn't offer any advice.

Harry took the seat across from Professor McGonagall and she flashed him a look that clearly told him to keep his temper. He had no intentions of losing it, however. His Head of House smiled at his look and started their meeting.

"Mr. Potter, it's nice to be able to meet with you. This is a meeting to start thinking about what you want to do with your future. Depending on what you want to do, we'll get you into classes that will help you along the way as long as you're qualified. I'm sure that won't be a problem with all your private tutoring." Umbridge burst out from the background.

"He gave all that tutoring up." Professor McGonagall turned and gave her a look like she was an idiot child, one that he had never seen her give anyone before.

"His godfather is Sirius Black and he has privately tutored his daughter since she was old enough to talk. I believe she started when she was two. If you were stupid enough to believe her when she said that they stopped, that it your own fault, Dolores. You are supposed to remain silent." Harry wanted to laugh at the expression on Umbridge's face but he just barely refrained. Professor Cat started again.

"Do you know what it is that you're wanting to do with your life, Mr. Potter?" He gave her a nervous look and shrugged.

"Some days I'm determined that I want to be an auror and capture dark wizards but then others I just want to take my seat on the Wizengamot and change the laws. Britain is so backward that it isn't even funny, Professor." McGonagall laughed lightly.

"Oh, I'm well aware just how backward Britain is. Either future would be one to be proud of, Mr. Potter." Umbridge spoke again.

"He won't ever get the grades to be an auror. You know that Severus hates him." Professor McGonagall just turned to stare at her and Umbridge rolled her eyes. After she was sure that the toad was going to keep her mouth shut, his Head of House turned back his way.

"I would suggest continuing on with all the classes that you're taking now at N.E.W.T. level if you want to get into the Auror Academy. I'm sure that you could speak with Master Auror Moody and see what he suggests but you have the best schedule academically. I believe that you're extracurricular activities would help in that endeavor as well." Harry grinned at her purposely being obtuse just to piss off Umbridge.

"Yes, maam, I think that's what I'll do for next year." She marked something on the paper in front of her and smiled at him.

"That's all I need from you, Mr. Potter, you're free to go. Use your free period wisely." He gave her a shit-eating grin before bowing slightly to her.

"Yes, maam. Thank you." He made sure that Professor McGonagall wasn't watching before he threw the finger at the witch behind her, smirking her way as he showed himself out.

-O-

Hermione was heading for Magical Theory since lunch was over and the others had a free period. She had been out of sorts for days and she hated it. She knew that part of it was the Azkaban breakout but most of it was the falling out between herself and Harry.

The breakout, as everyone was calling it, had dominated the papers since it had happened. There had been a full dossier on each and every prisoner that had escaped, detailing their crimes and their punishment. Hermione had known for ages how horrid Bellatrix Lestrange was but now the whole school knew that she was related to her. Not only was the insanity in her family a rumor, it was a bonafide, proven fact. Not only was the fucking lunatic loose, not she, Draco, Harry, and Juliet weren't allowed to come home for Easter break. Both her father and Uncle Luci had to alter the wards to keep her, Uncle Rodolphus, and Uncle Rabastan out. They were family, after all, and would be allowed through the wards, especially through Malfoy Manor.

As for the falling out between herself and Harry, she wasn't sure what to think of it. She had instantly been hurt at his words, thinking the worst of her before he had even spoken to her. He had told her a few days after the fact that he hadn't thought that, that he had just been so outraged that he hadn't thought about how he was coming across. While she did believe that he was impetuous, there was still that underlying doubt, that obvious lie that he told her. Did he honestly think she would believe that he had never put another person before her?

That was all he had ever done until recently and that had been flushed in just a matter of seconds.

Still, something inside her told her to believe him. Something down deep told her that he hadn't meant to wound her like he did. This wounding was different than the other times that he had hurt her; before, he hadn't been her friend and hadn't truly cared what his words did to her. This time, he cared for her very much and was heartbroken that he had hurt her like he did. That much was obvious. However, it was still hard to trust and she wasn't sure what to do.

She supposed that the best she could do was let it go and continue on, letting things play out and see what happened. Hermione hoped against hope that he hadn't meant to hurt her; she had only grown to care for him more and she didn't know if she could bear to know that he hadn't cared for her feelings at all. After Christmas, she had truly thought that things between them had changed.

Hermione hoped against hope that time would prove that Harry did care for her as she thought.

She slid into her seat in Magical Theory; it wasn't long before she was followed by Professor McGonagall. Harry's career advice must have gone well if it hadn't taken long. Their class passed with nothing of note, Hermione wrote down her assignment and left, heading for Potions. She had career advice after Potions, Draco had had it three days before. Her godfather was a busy man so the fifth years were spread out over two weeks time.

Hermione entered to find that everyone was already seated, Draco next to Daphne and Neville next to Blaise. Since she had no urge to sit next to any of the other Gryffindors, she took the open seat beside Harry, letting him take her bag and help her unload her things for class. Just as she turned her attention forward, Uncle Sev appeared and immediately started his lecture on unicorn horn.

It wasn't a practical class so they merely compared their notes to make sure that they didn't need to add anything. Neither Hermione nor Harry added a single thing so when class was dismissed with an essay as homework, they were quick to put away their things. Hermione gave the rest of their friends a friendly wave before she headed up the front to wait for Uncle Sev to finish. After the class had emptied out, he raised an eyebrow her way before speaking so low she almost couldn't hear him.

"Umbridge will be there. Keep your cool. She can't interfere, only listen." Hermione took a deep breath and nodded. Her godfather reached out and smoothed her hair just once before snapping back into the persona of the big, bad potions professor that hated her because of who her father was.

Hermione followed him through the classroom and into his office, seeing that Umbridge was already seated. She took the seat that her godfather waved her to and waited for him to begin.

Umbridge was smirking at her but she had no idea why. There was nothing that the woman could possibly say to her regarding her life goals. Uncle Sev shuffled through some of the parchment on his desk before he finally spoke.

"You're a very dedicated student, Miss Black. What are you planning to do with your life? I know that I've arranged for you to take your Potions N.E.W.T. this year but beyond that. Your plans would be?" Hermione took a deep breath but before she could speak, she was interrupted.

"She's only a fifth year, she can't take a N.E.W.T. It's unheard of." Her uncle sighed heavily before swiveling his head to stare at her with hard eyes.

"You are not supposed to speak. It's unheard of because students in general are idiots. Miss Black is a potions prodigy, I would know since I'm a Potions Master. Are you trying to tell me who I can test at what level, Madam Umbridge? That sounds suspiciously like you trying to tell me what to do." Fear passed over her features and she shook her head vehemently no. Snape just glared.

"Then shut up and allow me to speak to my student." Hermione wanted to burst out in laughter but she didn't. Her uncle turned his attention back to her and she could see the mirth in his eyes.

"I assume you want to pursue a mastery in potions. Is that something you're wanting to do as my apprentice or are you wanting me to help you search abroad for a master?" Hermione smiled at him. He already knew that she wanted to study under him.

"I want to study under you if you'll have me, professor. I'd like to start as soon as possible. After I obtain a Potions Mastery, I'd like to get a Mastery in Transfiguration or Charms. I'm also interested in spell crafting. It's something that I do in my spare time and I would love to see where it takes me." He smirked at her since he knew that Umbridge couldn't see. He knew her hopes and dreams as well as she did.

"I'm sure that Minerva or Filius would just be salivating to get their hooks in you to train you for a Mastery. I notice that you say nothing about the extracurricular classes you take. Do you have plans to further your studies in Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, or Care of Magical Creatures? Obviously Magical Theory is going to become Spell Creation next year." They hadn't discussed this and she wondered where he was going with the conversation. Her eyebrows drew together.

"I would eventually like to study both Runes and Arithmancy but they're further down the road. Care of Magical Creatures is more a class that I take for fun. This is going to sound terribly crass and disrespectful so I apologize beforehand. Care of Magical Creatures is more like my Divination. The others take Divination as an easy pass, that's what Care is to me." Uncle Sev leaned forward and gave her a serious look, one that showed her that she wasn't going to like what he had to say.

"Miss Black, the choice is yours but I want you to seriously consider my words. Your tutor has you almost all the way through the seventh year coursework in all your classes. You're wanting to start your Mastery training immediately, which is quite strenuous. I would suggest dropping all of your extra classes except Spell Creation. You're almost ready for your N.E.W.T.s in Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, and Care of Magical Creatures anyways. There is no need to continue the class here. Honestly, it would make more sense to test out on them over the summer and be done with them. Continue here with the core classes only plus the one extra and focus on your apprenticeship. Otherwise you run the serious risk of burning yourself out." Hermione cringed. She knew that it was sound advice, advice that she should certainly take. However, it made her feel like she was quitting. She gave him a nod and promised herself that she would seriously consider it.

"I will seriously consider it, sir. I didn't think of that." He gave her a small smile that didn't fit with his brisk tone.

"I have nothing else, Miss Black. You may go. Let me know your decision by the end of July so I know what classes to enroll you in next year." She gave him the barest smile and nodded.

"Yes, sir, thank you for your time."

Hermione left as quickly as she could, knowing that the pink toad was watching. She hurried through the corridors to the Great Hall where she found her seat between Harry and Draco. Both raised their eyebrows at her but she just shook her head. She wasn't ready to talk about what Uncle Sev had told her yet.

The meal passed just as lunch had, the table whispering about the Azkaban breakout and just who were going to be the targets now that the crazed Death Eaters were free. Neville remained silent when people brought it up and Hermione was always the first one to tell them that they didn't want to hear about it. She was sure that they probably thought it was because she was embarrassed about being related to Bellatrix but it was to shut them up for Neville. He didn't need to hear about it day in and day out.

After dinner, Hermione assumed that they were going to go to the library but Neville had quietly asked if they could just go spend some time together. She had agreed; her friend needed some time away from people and she was more than happy to give him that. That was how she found herself in the same room as the last time they had just spent time together, all of them piled on couches and chairs once again.

Juliet was once again between the twins, Luna was sitting between Neville and Blaise, while Daphne and Draco shared a loveseat, leaving Hermione and Harry to share the couch that was left. Hermione sat a little further apart than she usually would have but reminded herself that she was going to let it go and hope that Harry really hadn't meant his words like they had sounded. She had caught the hurt look on his face so she kicked off her shoes and promptly put them in his lap; it was something that she would never do ordinarily but she wanted to show him that she was trying to take his word for it. Everyone around them laughed at the surprised look on his face. When he met her eyes, she smirked at him.

"After our last meeting together, I think you owe me a foot rub." He instantly reached out and started massaging her instep, a smile on his face. Draco was still laughing.

"Don't worry, she's going to use that against you until you finally tell her you're done." Hermione waved her wand in his direction and cast a light stinging hex at him. He still hissed when it hit him in the arm. Everyone laughed at him now.

"Don't tell them lies, Drake, it isn't becoming of the heir of a noble house." She used her most prim voice and everyone was howling. Harry squeezed her foot to catch her attention and when she met his gaze he mouthed the words at her.

"I really didn't mean it like it sounded." She gave him a soft smile and nodded.

This was a leap of faith that was either going to give her wings or bite her in the arse. She supposed that either way, she was going to know where she stood with Harry Potter. After how many years, she was finally going to know if he really meant what he said when he told her that he was going to stand by her and have her back. She hoped against everything that he did. As foolish as it was, she hoped.

Just knowing was going to be a relief.

A/N- There we are, folks, another chapter down. Nothing too exciting in this chapter but it takes us one step closer to the end of the year. We're almost there and I can't freaking wait! Anyways, as always, big thanks to everyone out there that keep me writing. Let me know what you think of the chapter, your thoughts are like chocolate and whiskey shots (:

Next chapter, Fred and George get tired of waiting for Umbridge to leave Hogwarts.

Love,

Alicia


	103. Chapter 103

A/N- I'm back with another chapter, quicker than I had planned. I decided to bust one out for you guys since it's my birthday. However, I'm going to take a few days to breathe after this chapter. I work the next four or five days and I just need to relax a day or two. I hope you guys understand. This chapter isn't going to be really long, mostly it's just silly and fun. I hope you all enjoy!

**Shout out to SugarQueen93 for being my 5100th reviewer! You rock girlfriend!**

Disclaimer: Still don't own anything but the personal plot twist. Still haven't made any money from this story or any other. Still a broke bitch. 'Nuff said.

Chapter 103

May 3, 1996

Hermione ran through her plans for studying for the day as she ate her breakfast. It was just two weeks until the O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s and she wanted to make sure that she was more than ready for them. Everyone assured her repeatedly that she would do great but she wanted to get a perfect score on all of them. Probably not realistic but a girl could dream.

Umbridge was still glaring at them from the High Table; Hermione wasn't sure how the aurors hadn't put her on trial yet. It had been plenty of time for them to go through the recording crystals and when she had sent a letter to Madam Bones complaining, she had received the answer that the Azkaban breakout had taken precedence. While it grated on her very last nerve, Hermione couldn't say that she didn't understand. Her cousin alone could kill untold numbers of people and the longer she was free, the more dangerous the situation became.

Therefore, this meant that they were stuck with her. It hadn't been so bad now that she couldn't do anything to anybody. However, this also meant that Hermione and Harry had to watch their backs at every second. They didn't believe that she would just leave them alone and slink off into the night without trying to get revenge on them.

Harry had gone back to how he had treated Hermione post Christmas; she was feeling better about taking him at his word that he hadn't meant his hurtful words to her like they sounded. She knew that he had had words with Draco but she hadn't discovered exactly what had been said. Frankly, she didn't want to know. She had enough drama with Harry on her own that she didn't need to add in whatever he had going on with Draco. They weren't arguing and that was good enough for her.

Hermione had done as she had promised him and recalled the troops from being awful to Marietta. She had lifted the curse on the Ravenclaw girl even though Hermione felt just a little bit vindicated for how the girl had treated Luna through the years. Marietta had formally thanked her out in the courtyard a few days after she had explained the situation and told everyone to back off. Hermione hadn't necessarily been warm to the girl but she did tell her that she should have come to herself or Harry and told them what was happening, that they could have figured something out. Marietta had apologized again and Hermione had accepted it and it appeared that everyone else had as well. She knew that the lions were like that, they were all about loyalty to family.

Nothing all that exciting was happening in school now. They still held the D.A. but it was mostly taught by the professors now, each of them taking a turn. Remus and Dory were teaching Defense now and they were welcomed back with open arms by the students. The boys all thought that Dory was quite attractive and when they learned that she was with Remus, everyone thought they were the perfect couple. While Hermione still wasn't as enamoured with Remus as her father was, she knew that he was a good man. He would take care of her beloved cousin no matter what he had to do.

Hermione pushed her plate away and realized that everyone around her was still eating. She sighed; she had things to do and study for and knew that they were going to take forever to finish eating. Therefore, she grabbed her bag and stood, shooting everyone a look that told them they better not complain.

"I'm going to go ahead to the room. I'll see you guys in there whenever you get there."

There were a few groans but Hermione paid them no mind. Rather than use the library now that there were so many of them studying together, they had taken an empty classroom and made it their own. Hermione had transfigured couches and tables so there would be places to work and read, hopefully enticing her fellow students to join her. When it was just her and maybe Draco or Harry, they still went to the library. However, more often than not, when their large group went to the library, they were nearly thrown out because they were just too loud for Madam Pince's liking.

Hermione wound her way through the corridors, her mind wandering to what subjects she needed to study. Her study plan had been followed to a tee and while she didn't feel that anything was getting ignored, she wanted to make sure. It was for this reason that she didn't even realize that someone was heading her direction, meaning she slammed right into them. She lost her balance but a quick hand shot out and caught her elbow, balancing her again. Her eyes flew up to see Theo Nott, her very first crush, staring down at her. His eyes were hooded and his expression blank. It was clear that someone had been teaching him occlumency. His words were much gentler than the words she recalled from their last encounter.

"Pardon me, Hermione, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." Hermione narrowed her eyes at him but decided that if he was going to be civil, she would be as well. She didn't particularly enjoy open warfare in her own house.

"It was just as much my fault. I had my mind on other things." Theo gave her a brief nod but still hadn't released her elbow.

"You remember how it was when we were kids? We were all friends and spent time at each others houses? Draco was my best friend and you were my first crush" Hermione felt warning bells go off and tried to put some space between them. Her voice remained steady, however.

"Of course, I remember. I thought we were all going to be friends forever." He snorted at her words but didn't dispute them. A flicker of emotion flared in his eyes before they went impassive again.

"That's changed now. We're on opposite sides now, you and I. I know you don't believe it but I wanted to marry you when we started Hogwarts. Now, that just isn't possible. You know who my father serves." She nodded his way, unsure of where this conversation was headed.

"His master wants you, Hermione. He wants you to be his wife. If they find out I'm telling you this, they'll kill me but I had to warn you for old times sake. We used to be friends and I want more for you." Hermione stepped forward and gave him a soft look, which in turn caused him to shake his head angrily.

"Don't get sentimental, don't get sappy. You're on the light side, Hermione, and if you refuse the Dark Lord, I'll kill you in battle if I meet you. My future was decided for me a long time ago; not everyone has the privilege of having a father with power that also serves the light." Hermione stepped even closer and wrapped her hand around his wrist. His eyes never left hers and she saw a flicker of vulnerability in them.

"We can help you, Theo. You just have to come to us." This angered him and he jerked his wrist from her grip and shoved her up against the stone wall. His wand came out and the point rested on her chest. His own chest was heaving but his eyes were completely in control. She knew that she could overpower him easily but wanted to see what he had to say.

"Don't try to reform me, I'm proud to follow my father. I believe in the ideals, Hermione. I just wanted to warn you what was to come for you because we were once friends." She said nothing and didn't even nod. She let him walk away, not even glancing back to make sure that she wasn't going to attack him from behind. Once he had disappeared around the bend, she breathed out a sigh of relief.

Hermione hurried to the room to find that most of the others had already arrived; they were shooting her strange looks when she was the last to enter. Knowing that she couldn't keep something like this to herself, she waited until Jules, Daphne, Blaise, Neville and the twins were preoccupied to tell Draco and Harry everything that had conspired. Draco's face went hard and Harry turned red, clearly trying to reign in his anger. Her cousin glared at her, totally incredulous at her actions.

"You let him point a wand at your chest and you did nothing?" She nodded.

"He wasn't going to hurt me. He wanted to warn me, he told me he knew that if anyone found out what he was doing that they would kill him. He doesn't want that future for me but he very much believes in what he's doing." Harry pulled her into the circle of his arms and held her close. Hermione let herself rest against his chest and tried to ignore just how perfect it felt to be there. His words were assured and confident, which made her feel better.

"We'll just have to heed his warning and now keep our distance. There's nothing else for it. You told him that we would help him if he came to us. He can think on it and act on it later if that's what he decides to do." Hermione nodded against his chest for a moment before pulling away to start for her bag. Just as her hands were getting ready to pull her potions text out, Fred spoke, his voice quite serious.

"I think today is going to be a day of reckoning. Umbridge has been here for over a month since we gave our proof to the aurors. Frankly, we're sick of seeing her day after day even though she can't do anything to us but glare. If the Ministry isn't going to do anything about it, I say we do. This is our school; I know they haven't gotten the policies and rules all worked out yet but they will. The one thing that never changed was us. Hogwarts has had our backs and I feel it's high time for us to have hers. I say we run the toad out today and show that we never want her back." There was silence all around the room for almost a full minute before Neville spoke happily.

"I'm in. I say we do it. I'm sick of looking at the awful pink hag sitting at the High Table like she deserves to be there." One by one, they all agreed until it was just Hermione and Draco that hadn't committed. They eyed each other, conversing silently with their eyes. Hermione finally swung her gaze to the twins and raised an eyebrow.

"If you want us involved, this is going to be planned. No impetuous behavior that is going to get us caught and punished. We're going to do this, do it fast, and do it right. Are we agreed?" The twins whooped and rushed her, pulling her from the couch and into a twin sandwich hug that they were fond of giving her. She laughed as she batted them away and settled back into her seat. She leaned forward and folded her hands under her chin.

"Now, we plan."

-O-

Harry ate his lunch happily, looking forward to the events of the afternoon. They had only planned a few things but they figured that they were good enough to start the process of getting the pink cow out of the castle. He understood the twins frustration, he shared in it to be honest. He hated seeing that cunt sitting up at the High Table and watching Hermione, knowing that Hermione had a permanent scar from the bitch.

His eyes flickered over to Theo Nott; he was sitting a little ways down the table with Crabbe, Goyle, and Parkinson. Pansy was hanging on his arm and she was feeding him. It was quite sickening to watch but he supposed that there was nothing he could do about it. He had spent time with Parkinson and he could admit now that he regretted her more than most of the others. She had been a clingy witch and he had caught her trying to negate her contraception charm after they had fucked. After that incident, he had told her that he was done with her and that they would never spend time together again. He wondered how long it would be before she ended up pregnant with one of the three boys child.

Hermione was smiling to herself next to him and he caught himself wondering why. Things had gone back to normal between them and he had done all he could to show her that he really was sorry. Past that one foot rub, she had demanded nothing else fo him, even though he would have given her a hundred of them to show that he was genuine. Now, it was as though nothing had happened and he liked to think that they were growing as individuals if they were able to get past things now rather than let them fester and finally explode in his face.

The whole group had sat together since they were planning the afternoons events together. The first disturbance was happening right after lunch; the twins had already gathered their supplies and were ready to go as soon as they were done eating. Harry was happy to see that their plates were almost clean. Neville was to go with them for this one while the others returned to their study room to act as though everything was normal.

Once the twins pushed their plates away, they hurried to their feet. Harry and Neville followed, Harry pressing a kiss to the top of Hermione's head before he gave them a quick goodbye. He could see Severus eying them from the High Table and he was sure that the man knew they were up to something. There really was no way to hide anything from him without extremely careful planning. However, Harry had a feeling that he would be the last one to stop them in what they were about to do.

They went to the fourth floor corridor, deserted now that it was lunchtime. Each of them took a little cube to each corner of the corridor and set it on the ground. Harry and the twins had the power to levitate themselves and cast at the same time so Neville was given the corner that he could make an escape from.

On George's sign, Harry levitated himself into the air and pointed his wand at the little cube. He cast silently, activating the spell on it, causing it to mutate and expand. He was quick to levitate himself to the end of the corridor where the now expanding swamp wasn't going to reach, much as the twins did. The four of them stood there and watched as it grew, getting deeper, plants and animals popping up to the surface as it finally finished. Harry couldn't believe what he saw before him and he couldn't help but to look at the twins with pride.

"What is this?" George grinned mischievously at him.

"We designed them for our shop. They're called portable swamps. We just set four off together so it's going to be four times worse. Nobody will be able to cross that without a boat or something. I know there are no classes today but nobody is going to be able to get to their dormitories tonight in Gryffindor and Ravenclaw if this isn't moved. By the way, normal means of dispelling it just make it bigger." Harry burst out laughing but had to quickly stop, shoving the other three into the alcove so they could watch. He knew that Hermione was going to be angry since the library was on the fourth floor and now inaccessible but things had to be done to ensure that the toad left.

There was a shriek of horror as Madam Pince saw that she now couldn't reach her beloved library. The few students that followed her were clearly flabbergasted at what they were seeing; Harry didn't blame them. Madam Pince was cursing at the swamp, doing her best to dispel it, succeeding in only making in larger and deeper. Finally, Severus arrived and shoved the woman's wand down to her side and pinched the bridge of his nose. Harry reached out with his mind to brush against his teachers. When he felt that the man had lifted his shields enough to push a thought forward, he told his friend that they were going to terrorize the school until Umbridge left, begging him not to get rid of the swamp. There was a warm brush against his mind in return and then nothing.

"Madam Pince, we must get Minerva and Albus. They shall know what to do. I'll send for them." He sent a student to retrieve them and minutes later when they both arrived, there was a quick conference in private. Harry was sure that Severus was telling them their plan. When Dumbledore stepped forward and pretended to cast on the swamp and it did nothing, he knew that they were going to back them up. Just about this time, Umbridge came strutting up, probably to head to her quarters. Her eyes flashed with fury when she saw that she wasn't going to be able to cross.

"I demand you to get rid of this at once. We need to be able to pass." Dumbledore just gave her a soft smile and a brief nod.

"I've already tried, Madam Umbridge. It just gets larger. We'll have to wait until Monday to call in some curse breakers. Until then, I feel some gondolas would work wonderful for traversing this wonderous swamp." Harry snickered audibly at the look on Umbridge's face. Dumbledore waved his wand and six gondolas appeared, oars to complete them. He promptly turned on his heel and left, probably to go make an announcement to the rest of the school.

Harry, Neville, and the twins stayed there and watched the reactions for another hour, if only to bring some amusement to their lives. It was mid-afternoon when they headed for an empty classroom on the first floor. When the four of them entered, Draco, Hermione, and Daphne were waiting for them. Once the door was locked and warded, Hermione's eyes were twinkling.

"How was it? I know you stayed and watched." Fred burst out in laughter.

"It was great, the toad was so mad. Not sure how Snape and Dumbledore couldn't get rid of it though." Harry blushed a little and looked to the rest of the group.

"I brushed against his shields and told him we were doing it to run Umbridge out. I think he told McGonagall and Dumbledore our plans and they went along with it." Hermione just stared at him for a moment before bursting out into laughter. She ruffled his hair happily.

"Only you, Harry, could get the professors involved." Draco eyed them all now, ready for phase two of their plan.

"Let's get started. I think that we should have Hermione cast the spell. She's easily the most powerful; we'll all link with her and power it with her since it's going to affect the whole castle." Everyone else nodded and Hermione sighed goodnaturedly. Since not everyone knew what they were about to do, Hermione spoke.

"We're all going to join hands and when I start to cast, you just imagine your magic flowing into me so I can use it for what I need." There were nods all around and Harry reached out to take her hand. It held her wand so he could feel the power flow through it when she began.

"Omnino clauditis."

It was simple enough spell, something that would lock every single door in the castle, no matter where the residents were. It was usually easily countered but since there were several witches and wizards powering the spell, it might take a fair bit longer to break. When the power stopped rushing through him, Harry let out a heavy breath and released Hermione's hand. He could see that everyone else was surprised at how powerful it felt as well. Hermione was the only one that seemed unaffected. Daphne walked over to check the door and found it locked. They tried the standard unlocking charms on it to find that none of them worked. It seemed as though Hogwarts was helping them. Hermione called out Kreacher's name and the little elf appeared before them.

"Mistress needs Kreacher?" She smiled at him and nodded.

"Yes, Kreacher, I need you to tell me where the other professors are." Kreacher bobbed his head and happily told her what she wanted.

"Most professors are in the Great Halls. It be getting times for dinner." Hermione patted his head and held out her hand.

"I need you take all of us to the Great Hall then, Kreacher. The doors are locked and we don't have the time to break the spell." Kreacher reached out and took Harry's hand while he took Hermione's, popping them into the Great Hall in an instant. Two by two, their friends arrived behind them and they were garnering looks from the professors. Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow at them as they approached the table and Harry felt it was his place to answer since they already knew he was a part of this.

"Every door in the castle is locked, professor. We've tried all the standard spells to unlock them and they just won't work. Kreacher had no problems getting us to dinner though." It was clear that the animagus was trying not to burst out in laughter. She nodded and hurried back to the High Table to spread the word.

There was banging on the door and it was clear that there were some students that hadn't been locked behind a door somewhere in the castle. Hermione had made sure to tell the elves to serve everyone in the castle a meal so they wouldn't starve but this was going to be for the long haul. Probably wasn't fair but they were sick of Umbridge and they were willing to make sacrifices. Finally, the Headmaster stood and called for his personal elf, Tippy. When she appeared, he whispered something to her. Tippy strode forward and snapped her fingers at the door and it fell open, students and professors alike spilling in. Dumbledore's voice rang out above the angry calls.

"It seems as though every door in the castle is locked. Please forgive that it took a few moments to break the spell." There was a twinkle in his eye that Harry was sure meant that he was amused. Everyone filed in and took their seats, though it was clear that these people had all been outside. He felt a touch guilty for locking everyone away in the other rooms of the castle. However, he instantly felt better when he saw that Umbridge was among them and had a heavy scowl on her face at the thought of being locked out from the meal.

Everyone available took their seats and dinner appeared. Hermione looked far away and he assumed that she was contacting her godfather to tell him that they had the elves in charge of feeding everyone else in the castle. They ate quickly since they knew that the last phase of their plan was coming soon and they wanted to ready for it.

Just as they all pushed their respective plates away, Fred and George swished their wand and then did a figure eight movement with an unknown spell. Harry wasn't sure when they had had time to invent the fireworks they had described to them, but he had to admit that they were brilliant.

Dragons, chimaeras, and lethifolds of sparks and flames licked up the spaces between house tables, headed straight for the High Table. The chimaera blew a fiery flame from its mouth that spelled out the words that warned the school of what was to come.

'Chaos will continue until Umbitch is gone.'

The fiery beasts then started to chase said woman from the High Table. There were cannon blasts of fireworks going off behind them and all sorts of different colors exploded in the cavernous room, showing everyone just what kind of talent the twins really had. Nobody paid attention, however, because they had their eyes glued to the woman in pink who was running for her life from the dragon and lethifold.

Umbridge made numerous rounds around the Great Hall, looking for a way out before Hermione called for Kreacher and demanded that he open the doors again. Everyone else seemed content to watch her running from the flaming conjurations, screaming for her life. As soon as she realized that the door to the Great Hall was open, Hermione instantly sent Kreacher to the main entrance. As soon as it was open again, Umbridge ran screaming through it. Everyone else followed after her, watching her cross the grounds with their arms crossed over their chests.

Umbridge entered the Forbidden Forest with all three beasts hot on her tail; it wasn't likely that was going to escape that encounter without a few burns. There were cheers behind them and Harry couldn't help but want to join in. Umbridge had caused not only himself but his family so much pain and hardship. To know that she was gone was like lifting a weight off his chest. Maybe it made him a terrible person but he just didn't care.

Harry threw his arm around Hermione's shoulders and then over Draco's on the other side. They looked just as happy as he felt and he didn't blame them. Hermione had suffered the worst at Umbridge's hand, after all. Dumbledore stepped up behind them and did a complicated wand movement silently, not showing any reason why he should be casting at that very moment. Once he was finished, he turned his gaze to the two of them and smiled.

"Madam Umbridge is in the company of the centaurs right now, meaning she is past the school wards. I just altered them to not allow her to return. Now that she is gone, might our school go back to normal?" Harry grinned at the old man and wrapped an arm around Hermione's waist. He tipped an invisible hat to the Headmaster and smiled.

"I'll go gather our team and we'll have everything taken care of tonight." Dumbledore smiled back and Hermione laughed, probably the first time ever in the presence of the Headmaster. The old man didn't say a word when he pulled her away, clearly in search of the twins. They needed to get to work on the swamp and they would need to cancel the locking charm.

Hermione was in his arms, Umbridge was gone, and there was no detention in sight on this particular Saturday evening. It was a good day.

A/N- There you are folks, a fun little revenge-filled chapter that gets Umbridge out of the castle. I did have fun writing this one even though it's short. I hope you all enjoy it too. Anyways, let me know what you think, I do enjoy hearing what you think.

Next chapter, Umbridge returns and picks a fight.

Love,

Alicia


	104. Chapter 104

A/N- I'm back, y'all, so I hope you're ready for another chapter! Thanks to everyone out there reading and reviewing, you guys keep me going even when I hit writer's block. You have no idea how much I appreciate it. I won't go on and on but seriously, thank you.

Trigger Warning- Briefly mentioned non-con. Nothing explicit.

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing about this story aside from the personal plot twist. I haven't made any money from this story or any other, though I really wish I had. My children are money-sucking demons (:

Chapter 104

May 16, 1996

Harry took a deep breath as he focused on what he was to do that day. It was the first day of N.E.W.T. and O.W.L. testing and he knew that he was ready. He had studied long and hard with his friends and family and there was no way that he was going to fail these tests. He was going to make them his bitch. He needed good grades on these tests to ensure that he could get a good job and care for his wife the way she deserved. He didn't want to rely on his family fortune entirely.

Hermione was a mess of nerves beside him while Draco was cool as a cucumber. Harry was rubbing circles between her shoulder blades while she ignored her meal completely in favor of her Potions text. It was maddening to see her so worked up over something that she was completely genius at but she just wouldn't be Hermione if she didn't worry.

Harry did his best to eat a good breakfast, knowing that he needed his nutrition to keep his brain going through his tests. Hermione was eating nothing so he was pushing her plate closer while she was pushing it further away. She would glare at him briefly before looking away and finally, he had had enough.

"Hermione Alula, eat some of your damned breakfast. I don't want to hear about you passing out in your tests because your blood sugar dropped too low because you didn't eat." His voice was stern and normally he wouldn't have dared speak to her in that tone. However, today, she didn't seem to notice. She shot him an annoyed look before pulling a piece of toast her way and folding it half so she could stuff two slices of bacon and a fried egg inside, making a makeshift sandwich. She crammed the first bite in her mouth and chewed sloppily, completely unlike her. He had a feeling that she was trying to annoy him. However, it never would because no matter what she did it could never compare to Ron's horrid table manners.

"Happy?" He grinned at her nodded.

"Yes, actually, I am. Thank you." She continued to work on the sandwich so he kept his mouth shut.

Hermione finished most of it before setting it down and turning back to her text. Harry sighed but let it go. It was better than what he had thought he would get and was going to consider it a win. Daphne, Blaise, Neville, and the twins were all cramming at the table as well, none of them willing to fail their exams either. Harry wasn't sure that he had ever seen the twins so serious before.

Harry had just cleared his plate when the bell rang, signalling that breakfast was over and they were to head to their first exams for the day. For Harry, that meant Divination. He wasn't worried in the slightest about it since he knew the theory by the back of his hand and made the practical up as he went. There was nobody that could really tell him that the practical of his work wasn't true so they had to pass him. That was the beauty of the whole subject and why he had taken it in the first place. Ron, Draco, and Neville would be joining him.

Hermione, however, would be heading for her Potions N.E.W.T. He found it a little humorous that she would be taking a N.E. before she would be taking any O.W.L.s. She didn't see the humor, per se, but it was Hermione. She would see the humor afterwards.

Harry stood and threw his bag over his shoulder, holding out his hand to help Hermione from her seat. She took it and gathered her things quickly, clearly not wanting to chance being late. Harry grinned at her and offered her his elbow, warming instantly at her touch when she accepted it. He led her out of the Great Hall and towards the main junction of stairs; it was the main hub that led people to all levels of Hogwarts. It was usually quite crowded but still the quickest way to get anywhere in the castle. Harry leaned down so he could whisper in her ear.

"You're going to be fine, Mia, I promise. I know that you can do this. Severus knows that you can do this." She sighed deeply and nodded his way, shooting him a grateful smile. He patted the hand that rested in the crook of his elbow and smiled at her. They had just got to the staircase, the place where he would go up to the North Tower with Ron, Draco, and Neville and she would go down, when they ran into Umbridge with the examiners. It was clear what they were since they had tiny glasses on their faces and their faces were buried in books as they walked. Not to mention, there wasn't a single one of them under the age of 120. Umbridge was the first to squawk in indignation at how little reactions they gave when they saw that it was she that they ran into.

"How dare you not apologize for running into the Wizarding Education Board and the High Inquisitor? You would do well to pay more attention, Miss Black." Hermione had stumbled only slightly but narrowed her eyes at the pink hag, no longer needing to be nice to her.

"Why would I want to do something like that, Madam Umbridge? You've been quite horrid to me, only for me to realize that it's because my father wouldn't sleep with you for years and my real father wouldn't enter a betrothal contract with you." There were snickers of laughter behind them and Harry knew that it was going to be bad judging by the almost purple color of Umbitch's face. A crowd was beginning to gather, no longer interested in heading for their exams. He briefly wondered if Dumbledore had lifted the ban he placed on the wards.

"You impertinent, little bitch. You think that you can say and do whatever you want because of who your daddy and uncle are. I sure showed you that you were wrong, didn't I? You're going to have that scar on your hand for the rest of your life, I made sure of that. I cast an everlasting charm on the wound every time I walked past you in that detention. Hopefully that will remind you that you are just as infallible as everyone else." Harry saw Hermione's cheeks flush and he felt his own anger rise. How dare she throw something like that in her face? Who was she to try to put Hermione in her place? She was nothing in Hogwarts anymore and he wasn't even sure why she was leading the examiners in. Wasn't that a job that belonged to someone much lower on the totem pole than the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister?

Harry, however, despite his mounting horror, noticed the one thing that could make the whole situation even worse and he knew that it was about to go that way in about one point three seconds flat. Severus is only a meter behind Hermione and an expression of pure fury crossed his features. He knew that the man was about to commit murder so Harry did the only thing he could to keep his family safe, despite the aurors that were flanking Umbridge.

He stepped forward and raised his wand.

-O-

Hermione couldn't believe that the horrible hag would bring up the scar on her hand as a way to bring her to heel in front of the student body. Sure, it was embarrassing but did she really think that it was embarrassing enough for her to back down and let the troll have her way? Never in a million years. She would die before she backed down from Umbridge.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Harry stepped forward and drew his wand. Hermione reached out and grasped his wrist, trying to stop him. However, there was a fire in his eyes that she knew she wasn't going to be able to halt. He waved his wand silently and spells poured out of it, despite the aurors that were standing next to Umbridge. Honestly, Hermione was sure that she had brought them with her for protection from this very scenario.

Hermione watched as her nose turned into a pig's snout, her arse into a horses arse, and her feet into cloven hooves. Her hair started to slither, snakes now very much alive on her head and the final spell appeared to have no effect whatsoever. However, when Harry spoke, it was clear that it had been a honesty hex.

"What happened to you when the fireworks chased you into the Forbidden Forest?" She whimpered, though Hermione wasn't sure if it was at the thought of what had happened to her or because of her current appearance.

"I was chased through the acromantulas and I was caught by a giant. He flung me around a bit before I escaped. The centaurs found me and stripped me naked; I think they were going to sacrifice me. A troll crashed into their camp and when they abandoned me to protect their young, the troll took me and violated me for two days straight before I finally got an opening to crack it in the head with a rock hard enough to kill it."

The entire corridor was silent and Hermione couldn't help but feel just a shred of pity for the woman. To be raped by a troll for two days was worse than any fate she could think of. She wasn't sure what to think about any of it and the fact that her secret was going to be public knowledge in less than a day was horrible to consider.

These thoughts of pity left her head quickly when the aurors on either side of Harry lifted their wands and shot spells at her family; her wand came up and cast a spell around him, adding her power to his own. Much to her surprise, it was Professor McGonagall that stepped forward, wand in hand and shot a spell at the both aurors, trying to disarm them. The aurors, however, saw it as a clear attack, and hit the older woman with everything they had.

Hermione wasn't sure what they hit the animagus with but she dropped like a rock after the fifth spell hit her shield and broke through, hitting her square in the chest. As if it wasn't enough that they had already fallen her, they cast several more spells at her before the rest of the student body could even react. Hermione brought her wand up to point in the auror's faces, her features hard while her godfather stepped up on the other side of her that Harry didn't occupy.

"You cast another spell on that woman, I'm going to show you why everybody in this school fears me so much. I will make a bloody fool out of you, that much I promise you." Hermione was surprised to see the rest of the students raising their wands in defense of their Transfiguration professor. It was one of the examiners that spoke, a woman that had to be at least a hundred and fifty years old.

"That's enough for today. Everyone lower your wands. There will be no more conflict here today. The first day of O.W.L.s has been cancelled since there will be no concentrating after this. Septima, Severus, please take Minerva to the Hospital Wing. Mr. Potter, please reverse the spells you've cast on Madam Umbridge. After what she's gone through, she doesn't deserve to suffer like this." Harry glared at the woman. Hermione knew that he wasn't going to comply before she looked at him. His voice was hard as he spoke and everyone knew that he wasn't going to back down.

"I won't be reversing anything, Madam. That woman has done nothing but bring heartache and pain to not only me but my family. Hermione and I spent hours cutting words into our skin with her blood quill. I will not reverse those spells. If you want them reversed, do it yourself. Ma'am." Hermione wanted to snort at his last minute attachment of respect.

However, the witch didn't comment further on his words. She simply shooed them off and turned her wand to the witch that was mismatched parts. Hermione was about to turn and walk back towards the library, eager for another day of studying, when a hand clamped down on her shoulder like iron. She was sure that it was going to bruise so it was to her complete surprise to see that it was Uncle Sev. His eyes were a glittering onyx and his voice was steel.

"My quarters, now. Family meeting. Tell Draco."

Hermione knew that it was going to be bad. She knew that he knew she had lied and he was likely to never to speak to her again. If there was one thing that her godfather prized above all else, it was honesty. She had known that going into lying to him and she hadn't cared. She had insisted on lying to him to save him from Azkaban and truthfully, she would do it all again.

Hermione caught Draco's eye and gestured that they were to follow their godfather. She noticed that Juliet was on the sidelines of the crowd and had noticed her gesture. She supposed that it was about time that her sister learn that she wasn't the perfect child that she assumed she was and nodded for her to join them.

Uncle Sev didn't wait for them; in fact, he left them in the dust. Harry had his arm wrapped around her waist and was trying to show her the support that she was surely going to need. However, Harry had yet to see her get a true dressing down from anyone save her father; even then, it hadn't worked because she had told her father to fuck off and thrown his last name back in his face.

It took the four of them almost ten minutes to work their way to Uncle Sev's quarters; the crowds were unbelievable and they were all thrilled to have another day free of testing. Hermione only hoped that Professor McGonagall was alright and that Madam Pomfrey could help her. As rocky a start as the pair of them had had in the beginning, Hermione did consider the animagus one of the professors that she could trust going to for just about anything. Not quite family but close.

Hermione didn't bother knocking on the door that led to her uncle's quarters; she just let herself in. Much to her surprise, she found not only her godfather, but her father and uncle as well. Aunt Cissy was perched close to her uncle and Helena was seated next to her father, a concerned look on her face. Even Alexandre was there, his face stoic as ever. It seemed that her humiliation was to be complete.

Juliet rushed forward to throw herself into her mother's arms and they reunited quietly. Hermione could see the quiet rage on her father's face and knew that there would be no hugs and kisses for her at this point and time. She stiffened her spine and raised her chin, readying herself for what was to come; she was going to meet was coming head on and not show a lick of weakness. She knew what she was doing when she had made the decision and she was going to own it. Her father glared at all of them except for Juliet, though his question was aimed at Draco.

"Why did you lie to us about what Umbridge was doing to Hermione?" Draco remained silent so Hermione shot a glare his way.

"Tell him the truth, Drake. This is my fight." Her cousin sighed but kept his eyes forward.

"Hermione asked us to keep it a secret. She didn't want you to know the truth." Her father glared at both boys but waved them back. Both fell away but not without shooting her worried looks.

"You outright lied to not only me but your uncle and godfather. You lied to us about your safety. Did you know that you would be breaking our trust when you did it?" Hermione couldn't stand the disgust in his eyes when he stared her down so she dropped her gaze. Even though she kept her shoulders back and spine straight, she let her chin fall just a little.

"Yes, I knew what I was doing." Her father didn't get to respond before her godfather was on his feet with one of his knicknacks in his hand. He threw it as hard as he could against the wall, shattering it a few feet from where she stood. Even though it caught her off guard, Hermione remained impassive, keeping all her emotions off her face.

"Why, Hermione, why would you lie to all of us like this? You clearly have no remorse." Hermione met his gaze and made sure that her shields were up so he couldn't get in her mind.

"You said that if she hurt me, you'd kill her. You would go to Azkaban and I couldn't stand it if you were gone to that awful place. I would rather suffer than have you there. I couldn't bear to lose you like I did last year." Her words were sincere but they clearly angered her uncle. Uncle Sev strode forward and grasped her shoulders so he could shake her to and fro with every word that poured from his mouth.

"You think that I want to see you under her quill? I would rather suffer in that place than see you with that quill cutting into your skin. I assume you've glamoured it? Let us see what you've been hiding." Hermione sighed and waved her wand over her hand, knowing full well that she wasn't going to get away with hiding it any longer. The words appeared and there was a collective gasp as everyone leaned forward to read them aloud.

 _I will always do as I'm told._

Uncle Luci was the only one not throwing a fit at the moment. Hermione just stood there and listened to them, listened to her family lose their minds over the scar that she was going to have to bear for the rest of her life. She thought that the hysteria was going to go on forever but her beloved uncle stood and held his hands up, shouting for them all to be quiet.

"Hermione is almost seventeen. She is going to be the matriarch of the House of Black and we are all going to have to trust her judgement because none of us are going to be able to stop her from taking her rightful place. She thought she made the right decision and did what she could live with. It does no good to lambast her now." Her godfather stood and glared at her uncle.

"It was a stupid decision. She should have came to me and told me her fears. I would have controlled myself. Hermione should know by now that the last thing I would ever want to see is her in pain." He turned her way and his eyes were cold. She felt the stab of pain at his words way down deep.

"I'm so disappointed in you, Hermione. How am I supposed to trust you in anything that you do if I can't trust that you'll communicate with me?" Hermione couldn't hold his gaze and let her eyes fall to the floor. Her voice wasn't as strong as she would have liked.

"I suppose you can't. It's my own fault so I hold none of it as fault of your own, sir." Uncle Sev didn't get to speak because her father beat him to it.

"I can't believe that you would be so unbelievably stupid about this, Hermione. You had to know that we would figure something out and you deliberately went behind our backs. After years of trusting you, this is hard for me to swallow. I can't hardly stand to look at you right now, let alone trust you. I need to calm down before I think of a suitable punishment. Until I do that, go. Get out of my sight and make sure that you don't cause problems for your godfather."

Hermione felt her resolve weaken for the first time that day. Not only had her father not forgiven her, he had sent her from his sight, basically saying that the sight of her made him sick. Tears pricked her eyes and she blinked them furiously so they wouldn't fall. She turned abruptly on her heel and left, not paying attention at all to the cries from her aunt and uncle.

As soon as she was out of her uncle's quarters, Hermione hurried out of the castle, determined not to let anyone find her. Most of her family had just witnessed her humiliation and the last thing she wanted was to have someone come try to make her feel better about it. Even the thought of Draco didn't make her feel better like it usually did.

Hermione found herself on the edge of the Forbidden Forest and decided to use the time wisely. She transformed into her animagus form, the clouded leopard surfacing. She found a sunbeam next to a tree and curled up in it, letting it warm her fur. Her eyes drifted closed though she didn't let herself fall asleep; though she could be fierce when she wanted as her leopard self, it was still unwise to let her guard down in the Forbidden Forest.

Hermione was unsure how long she had sat there as a leopard enjoying the sunshine when there was a rustling in the brush; her ears perked up and her nose twitched. She recognized the scent immediately and even though she cringed inwardly, she remained silent and still. Harry appeared a minute later in his human form, taking a seat next to her to enjoy the sun as well.

They were silent for almost an hour. It was more than she could have hoped for; it was nice to have company but not have to talk. Maybe she should run off and utilize her animagus form more often. However, she doubted that the adult members of her family would allow it all that often. His hand reached out and stroked her back, scratching her ears and smoothing her fur. Hermione couldn't help but to purr in pleasure.

"They all argued for quite awhile after you left. I don't think they solved anything but not everyone thought that sending you away was the best solution." Hermione snorted in her cat form, a quite entertaining sound. Harry chuckled at her.

"It doesn't matter, Mia, they'll get over it and apologize. They're angry now but it'll fade. Just give it time. For now, Draco and I have your back. Uncle Lucius too. Strangely enough, Alexandre as well." Hermione purred at his words but still remained in her clouded leopard form.

It didn't seem to bother Harry though. He stayed there with her, his hands stroking her fur and calming her minute by minute, even though there was no way in hell that he could possibly know the effect that he was having on her. Hermione didn't care though; it was a free day and she was going to spend it doing whatever she wanted and at the moment, that was doing exactly what she was doing.

A brief moment of heaven in a day from hell.

-O-

Sirius was livid. His daughter had lied to him; not only had she lied to him, she had lied to him about her safety and well being. If it had been about snogging a boy, he would have gotten over it. If it had been about playing a trick on a professor, he would have been proud and given her tips on how to do it better. No, instead, she had lied to him about using a blood quill and having a permanent fucking scar on her hand from that toady cunt because she was mad at him.

Yes, he knew that his anger was irrational. He knew that he had taken it too far. Most of it was powered by guilt; if he had found a way to get the toad off his tail without angering her, she wouldn't have taken her fury for him out on Hermione and Harry. There was guilt because he knew that he had raised her to do what needed to be done and she knew that she needed her godfather in her life and had done what she had to to make sure that he stayed there. It wasn't ideal and he hated it but it was what it was.

There was also a bit of anger at Severus mixed in as well. If the git hadn't told her he was going to kill the horrid hag if she touched Hermione, she would have told them of her punishments a long time ago. Of course Hermione was going to try to save her godfather from prison, it's who she was. She would do anything for her family and friends, she had always been that way. It wasn't fair of him to hold it against her now but it was so hard for him to let go of that anger right now. Seeing those words etched into her skin brought a new sort of fury to the surface and it wasn't one he felt comfortable with.

Unsurprisingly, it was Lucius that defended her. He always did. Alexandre was on his side, which took Sirius by surprise. Lucius told him that it was time that they started to trust Hermione's decisions, that she was going to rule the Black family someday soon, right by Sirius' side. By doubting her now and telling her how stupid she was, she was going to doubt herself and her instincts later. Sirius knew it was true and while he hated it, he still wanted to tell her what a fucking idiot she had been. If only she had told someone, they could have figured it out together.

Alexandre had told him that she was young and used to doing things on her own; it has a way of wearing on a person and making them feel like everything in life needed to be that way. Sirius felt the guilt weight even heavier when he considered it. It was true and he knew it. Helena was staying out of it; she told him from the start that Hermione was his daughter and she would never try to take her mother's place and parent her. She would most assuredly be her friend if she liked but would never act as a parent would. Sirius had balked at first, thinking that she didn't want the responsibility but after considering it, thought it was the best way to go about Hermione, her feelings, her position, and her future.

Severus, on the other hand, wasn't being forgiving in the least. He refused to see that Hermione had done the right thing in the tiniest way and stood by the fact that she should have come to him no matter what. They had argued about it for hours after returning to Malfoy Manor and it had boiled down to a duel between Severus and Lucius. Sirius had had to intervene and Cissy had been in tears. Severus had stormed out, heading back to Hogwarts, and Lucius had stomped out of the library, telling Sirius to get the fuck out of his house until he could pull his head from his arse.

It had been an enlightening experience.

Now he lay there in bed, Helena breathing deeply beside him while he considered his options. He wasn't sure how he was going to go about fixing what he had done but he knew that he was going to have to. There was no way that a letter was going to fix it either so it was going to have to wait until summer. That meant that he was going to have to wait, something that he hated doing more than anything. However, if something was worth doing, it was worth doing right. Hermione deserved the best since she hadn't deserved that level of reaction from him in the least.

Therefore, it gave him a little bit of time to think of some way to apologize to her. He wanted it to be a grand gesture, something to say that he was sorry and she would never be able to doubt it. However, he wasn't sure what that was. He had just under a month to figure it out though, so it was bound to be good. Sirius closed his eyes and tried not to picture his daughter blinking back her tears.

He would start brainstorming hardcore in the morning.

A/N- There you go, folks, another chapter. Not as long as usual, but Umbridge got her punishment. I really wanted to kill her off but couldn't. Don't forget, she plays a part during the war...I'm not sure how much of a part she'll play in my story but I didn't want to take her out of the running completely. Besides, I thought her public humiliation was nice (: Big thanks to everyone out there reading and reviewing, you guys are the bomb dot com! Let me know what you think, reviews are like chocolate and whiskey shots.

Next chapter, Department of Mysteries.

Love,

Alicia


	105. Chapter 105

A/N- Well, folks, here we are with the chapter that you've all been waiting for. I can't believe we're already at the end of fifth year. Seems like just yesterday our favorite trio were going after the Stone. Thanks to everyone out there reading and reviewing this story, you have no idea how much it means to me. This chapter is ridiculously long but I couldn't bear to split it up; if I had been the reader and someone had split it up on me, I would have been livid. Therefore, you get all glorious 11,800 words of it in one go. Enjoy, my lovelies!

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing about this story. The characters belong to our queen, the original story line belongs to Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle, and the plot twist belongs to me. I'm still a broke bitch so I still haven't made any money off this story or any other.

Chapter 105

May 30, 1996

Harry sat to eat his breakfast, thankful that this was the last day of O.W.L. testing. It had been a long and stressful week, one that he really didn't want to ever repeat again, but knew he would have to when N.E.W.T.s came around. Since the one day had been cancelled, the tests have been shifted around so it left them with History of Magic as the only test today, something that he was immensely grateful for. He just wanted an afternoon to spend with his family and friends in the sunshine without any worries. Hopefully, they could accomplish that this afternoon.

Hermione was reading her notes for History of Magic next to him while eating a slice of toast; he had learned that she ate even less when she was nervous about something. He had never seen her truly nervous for tests; the ones they had taken so far in Hogwarts had been nothing for her. O. and N.E.W.T.s, however, were a different story.

Harry also had a feeling that she was trying extra hard to get perfect scores on her tests to make her family proud of her. Uncle Lucius had come to visit her the day after their family had exploded at her, telling her that he still believed in her. He had told her that he had known about her glamour since Christmas and had been trusting her to make the right decisions. Hermione had broken down and cried in his chest, telling him that she wasn't cut out to run a family if she messed up something like not telling about a blood quill.

Harry had felt awkward as fuck being there and witnessing her insecurities, even more awkward seeing Uncle Lucius soothe her and tell her that she was going to make a wonderful matriarch that would bring the Black family to greatness. He and Draco had both hugged her after Uncle Lucius had released her but he knew that they didn't soothe her fears about her responsibilities in life like her uncle did.

Sirius and Severus still hadn't spoke to her. Sirius had sent Harry a letter telling him that he had overreacted and was planning a grand gesture once summer arrived to tell her how sorry he was. He didn't want to apologize through a letter and Harry didn't blame him. He had hurt Hermione and it was obvious in the drawn expression that she wore daily. Daphne and Luna tried to get her to smile and laugh all the time but her smiles never reached her eyes. Even the twins failed, something that rarely happened.

Severus, however, hurt her the most. He was there, her Head of House, and saw her every day, refusing to speak to her. She tried to act like it wasn't a big deal but it was clear that it was eating away at her, little by little. She wouldn't look up at the High Table anymore and she kept her eyes downcast when she passed him in the corridors. Harry had gone to him and begged him to speak to her, begged him to even yell at her if it would make him feel better, but the Head of Slytherin had told him to mind his own business and thrown him out of his office. Draco told him to just leave well enough alone, that the man wouldn't speak with anyone when he was like this.

Juliet was the only one that Hermione tried to pretend that all was well for. The young girl had no idea what was going on, only knew that her father and Severus were angry at her. Frankly, Harry was sure that she liked being in the dark because there was no way that she couldn't have picked up where Hermione's scar had come from. She hugged her sister often and brought Hermione sweets when she stayed outside away from everyone to study. It was sweet and Hermione seemed to appreciate the gestures, so in return, she let Juliet continue to live on it oblivion.

The bell rang, dismissing them to their last test of the day. Harry stood and gathered his bag, knowing that he likely wouldn't need it anyways. Hermione, Draco, and Daphne followed suit while the rest of his friends did the same at the Gryffindor table. Ron looked like he was going to vomit, though he couldn't really blame him. The redhead was probably the least prepared lion in their year, mostly because he had quit studying when Harry had started hanging out with his Slytherin family more.

Harry slipped an arm around Hermione's waist, something he was doing more since Sirius and Severus had dressed her down in front of the family. The time he had spent with her in her clouded leopard form had been calming for the both of them. To be able to touch her and soothe her without making her uncomfortable had been nice; he found that it had calmed him as well.

They stepped out of the Great Hall and milled about outside; the testing was to take place in where they had just exited but the examiners needed to ready it. The rest of the students scurried off to their classes, Juliet giving Hermione a quick hug and a wish for luck as she headed to Charms. Luna gave them a wave and headed for Transfiguration.

Draco was whispering softly to Daphne and Neville looked like he was about to sick up. Ron and Pav were quizzing each other as if last second preparations were going to help them. Harry felt confident in the exam; Madam Cambridge demanded excellence and he had been quick to learn that when you didn't give it, you didn't like the dressing down that she gave you. It had only taken once for Harry to learn. Hermione leaned into his side slightly, resting her head on his shoulder, a sign on weakness that she rarely showed around others. Harry laid his head on hers for just a moment.

"You did the right thing, Mia. Sirius already feels terrible, though I doubt I'm supposed to tell you. He wants to make a grand gesture to tell you how sorry he is but he can't do that through a letter." She chuckled for just a second but sighed heavily.

"Uncle Sev won't ever forgive me. I broke his trust and that's the most important thing in the world to him. I knew that when I made the decision to keep it from him. I'm not angry at anyone. It's just adjusting. It's hard." She suddenly looked like a deer in the headlights and Harry could only assume that it was because she had shown him weakness, something that she struggled doing with him because he had thrown them in her face so much. Harry wrapped his arms around her and hugged her, burying his nose in her curls.

"It's going to get better and he isn't going to hate you forever. I'll duel him if I have to." She burst out laughing, the first time he had heard her laugh in days. Before she could respond, the doors to the Great Hall opened and Professor Tofty beckoned for them to enter.

"Please lay your bags at the back of the room and find the seats that have been marked with your name. Take nothing with you." Harry dropped his bag at the back of the Hall and headed for the seats at the front, knowing that he would need to find his own. He left the group to search, finding his seat between Pav and Oliver Rivers. It was clear that they were lined up in alphabetical manner, meaning that Hermione was clear at the front of the Great Hall all by herself.

Harry sighed to himself as Professor Tofty appeared before them and called them all to order, telling them that they were free to start the exam before them. Harry opened it and began, ready to take on the test that was his last exam of the year. He blew through the questions like they were nothing; he had never been more thankful that Madam Cambridge had been his tutor. She had more than prepared him for this test.

When he set down his quill and lifted his head from the exam, Harry realized that there was still almost forty-five minutes left of the exam. Since they didn't want anyone disrupting the exam in any way, they were supposed to just rest their head on their arms and leave their test there until they could be collected at the end of the time; too many people leaving the Great Hall had been deemed a distraction.

Harry closed his eyes and let his mind drift, knowing he still had quite a while before he was going to be free. He wondered about Hermione and her family, how things were going to be this summer. He wondered how things were going to be for Umbridge, if she was going to end up in Azkaban like he had predicted. He couldn't help but wonder about Voldemort and just what he had in store for not only himself but Hermione. The girl meant the world to him and he didn't want anything bad to happen to her. Suddenly, Harry felt his mind drift even further, somewhere he hadn't been since Christmas.

 _Harry was running through the rows, much like he had with Arthur. There was screaming all around him, though for the life of him, he couldn't pinpoint exactly where it was coming from. He was searching, hoping against hope, that it wasn't someone that he cared about. He couldn't bear for someone else that he cared about dying._

 _Harry remembered seeing row 97 when he had seen the snake attack Arthur so hurried along until he came close. However, there were numerous black-robed figures blocking his way two rows away. Harry started to yell, calling out for whoever it was that Voldemort was torturing; all he received in return was a tortured scream that was clearly male. Bellatrix stepped forward and pressed her wand to his chest, burning him with it's tip._

" _Aww, Potty learned exactly what my master is doing here. It's about time he showed up alone to meet his destiny." The crowd of robed figures moved just enough and Harry was able to catch a glimpse of a dark-haired figure in distance on his knees. From this distance, he couldn't be sure that it was his godfather but he had no idea of who else it could be. Voldemort cast a glance his way and gave him an evil grin, shoving the dark haired figure to the side, causing whoever it was to groan in pain._

" _It's about time you showed up, Potter. While I do find torturing people to be an entertaining way to pass the time, I have other things to do tonight."_

Harry woke with a jolt, screaming, hand on the scar residing on his forehead. It had been so long since he had felt the maniac in his head and he had almost forgotten how fucking awful it was. He was fighting the urge to vomit and it felt as though someone had driven an ice pick right through his brain. Hermione and Draco were at his side instantly, Draco with his arm thrown around his shoulders and Hermione pushing his hair back from his forehead. Her voice was soft but urgent, pulling him to his feet before the tester could approach.

"His scar is bleeding, we need to get out of here." Hermione took his hand in hers and started to pull him out of the Great Hall. She led them into the nearest empty classroom and warded it shut before silencing it. She whirled on Harry and he could tell that she already knew that the Dark Lord had infiltrated his mind.

"You saw something from Voldemort. What did you see?" Harry conjured a cloth and started to wipe the blood from his face but Hermione took it from him and started to do it for him. He let his arms fall so she could do it. He closed his eyes and replayed the scene in his mind.

"I was back in the Department of Mysteries, the same place as Arthur. I was running, I could hear someone screaming. I remembered row 97 but I couldn't get there because by row 95, I was surrounded by men in long black cloaks and masks. I could just barely see a man with black hair and Voldemort was torturing him. Bellatrix was there and she pressed her wand into my chest and burned me. When Voldemort realized that I was there, he shoved the man away and told me that he was glad that I could make it." Harry paused for just a moment before opening his eyes and staring directly into Hermione's. "I think it might have been Sirius, Mia." Her breath caught for a moment and Draco stepped up behind her to lay his hands on her shoulders. However, she shook the terrified look off her face just moments later and then shook her cousin's hands off her shoulders right after.

"Kreacher?" The elf appeared and bowed low before his mistress.

"Go to Blackmoor and make sure that my father is safe. There's no need to make your presence known." Kreacher bowed again and disappeared with a pop. Hermione began to pace, something that Harry had never seen her do before. It was a rare show of emotion that hardly anyone ever got to see; he counted himself lucky that he got to see her so open with her emotions. Kreacher appeared again, bowing once more.

"Master Black was sitting at dining room tables with Miss Helena eating his lunch. They was talking bout laws, Mistress." Hermione blew out a breath of relief and Harry felt himself sag next to her. However, she stiffened once more and Harry knew that they weren't out of the woods yet.

"Kreacher, I need you to make sure that Uncle Severus is in the castle for me." Harry felt his heart drop into his stomach. If he had discovered somehow that Severus was a spy and was torturing him, making Harry think that it was Sirius, it would serve more than one purpose.

It made perfect sense.

Kreacher disappeared again and now Draco looked worried too. Harry stood and stopped her pacing with both hands on her shoulders so she had to stop and face him. She tried to give him a tremulous smile but failed miserably at it. He brought his hands up to her neck and let his fingers stroke her jaw softly.

"Calm down, Mia. I'm sure that Severus is down in the dungeons tormenting his students." She tried again to crack a smile but was cut off by Kreacher reappearing with a somber look on his face.

"Mistress, Kreacher could not find Master Snape in the castles. Hims was not anywheres." Hermione blew a breath out of her mouth and started to pace again. Kreacher stood there and waited. Harry knew that she was planning something but Draco confirmed it when he glared at her and spoke.

"Don't even think about it, it's completely stupid." Hermione whirled on him and fireballs were shooting from her eyes at him.

"Tell me what our options are then. Dumbledore is out of the school for Circe only knows what and Professor McGonagall is still in St. Mungo's thanks to that awful hag Umbridge and her aurors. Remus and Dory are out as well, both of them on family business. As much as I like Flitwick and Sprout, they aren't going to believe us if we go to them with this story. There is literally nobody else." Harry shook his head.

"There is, we can tell Sirius and Uncle Lucius. They can help." Hermione seemed to be considering his words but finally nodded.

"Fine. We can send Kreacher to them when I leave. I'm still going, I need to prove to Uncle Sev that I still love him. That I would still do whatever it took to keep him safe." Draco gave her a sharp look but his tone was soft.

"That's what got you in this position. He's pissed you did whatever it took to keep him safe. You kept things from him and betrayed his trust. Now, you're going to go barrelling off into danger to keep him safe. He's likely going to be even more angry with you." Hermione's lip quivered for just a second but her gaze hardened after that.

"That may be but he's my godfather and I love him. I'm going." Harry sighed.

"I'm going with you. You're not going to face Voldemort and a dozen of his Death Eaters alone until your father and uncle get there. Especially when they want you as much as they want me." Draco sighed and growled in frustration.

"I'm going too. If we die, I'm going to haunt you for the duration of our afterlife, Hermione Alula." Hermione rolled her eyes at him but unwarded the door.

"If we're going to do this, let's go do it. If we don't hurry, Voldemort could kill him. We need to get to Uncle Sev's office so we can use the floo."

Harry swung the door open and hadn't made it three steps when they were accosted by not only Daphne and Neville, both present for his show he had put on at the end of the History of Magic O.W.L., but the twins, Ron, Ginny, Luna, and Juliet. They were looking on worriedly and Harry groaned. There was no way that they were going to get past without some sort of explanation and they were more than pressed for time. However, he also had to be careful because there were some of them that didn't know how close Severus was to their family. Hermione audibly groaned in frustration.

"I don't have time for this. Harry, you have five minutes to deal with this and meet me at Professor's Snape door, otherwise I'm leaving you." He gave her a quick nod and watched her hurry away. He waved his wand and cast a silencing spell around the others and himself, making sure that nobody else could hear what he was about to say.

"I had another vision from Voldemort, like I did with Mr. Weasley. I saw somebody being tortured by Voldemort and he has Death Eaters there. Dumbledore is gone from the castle, so is Snape, and McGonagall is in St. Mungo's. We're going to save them ourselves. Hermione is going to send word to her father and uncle but we're going to floo there to help. With all our training, we should be able to help." Everyone starting yelling and Harry had to hold up his hands, quieting them.

"You can't all go." It was George that spoke for the whole bunch.

"We've been learning in the summers with you too, Harry, not to mention in the D.A. That's why we've been learning, to help with something real. Otherwise, it's just words. Let us help." Harry sighed. The three of them weren't going to be able to hold off a dozen Death Eaters until two adults arrived so it would be prudent to let them help if they wanted to. However, if they got hurt, or even worse, killed, it would also be his fault. Therefore, he sighed before speaking.

"Jules, you aren't going. You don't have the skill. Daph, you're out too. Draco will be too worried about you to worry about himself. Sorry, not sorry." She didn't look all that upset about it. Luna stepped forward and wrapped an arm around both girls shoulders and smiled softly. Harry, realizing exactly what she was doing, nodded appreciatively.

"I'm going to stay behind with these two. That will put your numbers at an even eight. You better get going, Hermione didn't sound like she was going to wait around for you." Harry shot a look at Ginny, unsure if he could trust bringing her. Her occlumency shields still worried him but she had never done anything to him to bring him harm. Besides, even he had to admit that she was wickedly quick with her wand. Not as quick as Hermione but she would still be helpful in a fight.

The five of them took off running through the corridors, hoping that no professors caught them. Harry couldn't help but worry about Ron being there as well, it seemed a bad idea that somebody that hated Draco and Hermione so much wanted to go and help them rescue someone from Death Eaters. He wondered if they were curious as to what exactly would happen when they came face to face, almost like they thought that everyone was covering for them or something.

They turned the corner heading to Snape's office and saw that Hermione and Draco were waiting outside. Her eyes glazed over with fury when she saw just who was following him. Draco didn't look thrilled either but his face went impassive. Hermione's hands clenched at her sides when Harry held his hands up to speak.

"They want to come help and the three of us against a dozen Death Eaters doesn't seem like great odds." Hermione's ire seemed to cool just a little but she still didn't meet his gaze.

"Fine. Keep your friends away from me. They've made clear time and time again that they hate me and mine. I don't trust them any further than I can throw them." Harry could feel the righteous indignation growing behind him from Ron and Ginny. Even Fred and George had looks on their faces that said they couldn't believe Hermione had gone there, not when their siblings had clearly shown up to help. However, they held their tongue and Harry just nodded.

All eight of them entered the already unlocked door and headed for the floo. Draco went first, flooing to the Atrium. One by one, they all followed, until only Harry and Hermione remained. Hermione called Kreacher to her side one last time, the elf appeared at her side with a pop. She knelt before her elf and gave him a serious look.

"I need you to go to my father and Uncle Lucius, tell them both that Harry had a vision like he did at Christmas. Voldemort was in the Department of Mysteries and we believe he's torturing Uncle Severus. We and a few of our friends have gone after him and we would appreciate it if they could meet us there to help with the Death Eaters. Tell my father that I'm sorry I disappointed him and if something happens to me, that I love him very much." Kreacher had tears rolling down his cheeks, tears the size of softballs, but he was nodding his head emphatically. He bowed one last time to her.

"Your will be done, Mistress."

With a pop, he was gone. Hermione shot him one last look before taking a handful of floo powder and stepping through the green flames, ready to take on the world. Harry had no choice but to follow after.

-O-

Hermione couldn't believe that Harry had agreed to letting Ron and Ginny watch their backs in this fiasco. Sure, Neville and the twins had been a great idea, even Blaise would have been a good idea. However, the two had expressed quite a bit of hatred for not only Hermione but Draco as well. Nothing about this situation made her feel good about it. She could only watch her back and hope against hope that they proved her wrong today.

Hermione was worried sick about Uncle Sev. Yes, he wasn't speaking to her; he hadn't breathed a word to her since the day he had learned of the scar on her hand and the lengths she had gone to to keep it from him. She no longer blamed him. Trust was very important in their family and she had knowingly and willingly broke that trust. Actions had consequences and she was just paying the price. It was to be expected. It was the getting used to it part that was hard for her.

She stepped into the Atrium of the Ministry to find that the others were waiting for her and Harry. Harry stepped out directly behind her, his hand resting lightly on her waist to let her know that he was behind her. Hermione turned and headed for the lift, completely bypassing the wand check; there wasn't anybody there anyways. In fact, the whole Ministry was empty, something extremely odd for this time of the day.

All eight of them crammed into one lift and headed for the very bowels of the Ministry, Hermione remembering well from not only Harry's trial but Pettigrew's as well. They traveled in silence, almost as though they were scared of drawing attention to themselves even though they were completely alone. Hermione even cast the spell to reveal human presence to make sure.

When they reached the door that led to the Department of Mysteries, Hermione steeled herself visibly and made sure that everyone was ready. When she got the nod that they were, they entered as a single unit. She led, though Harry and Draco flanked her closely. Ginny walked in the middle, followed by Ron and Neville, while the twins brought up the rear. Everyone had their wands in their hands and their eyes open.

The first room they came across was enormous and filled with nothing but doors. Hermione had no idea which one they needed and since Harry was the only one who had seen the one they needed, she needed him to help her find it. She beckoned for him to join her as she stepped forward, shooing the others back into the middle.

"I need you to tell me which room it is that we need." She opened the first door to find it filled with stars and constellations. Harry gave her a hard no. They moved to the next to find it filled with a strange writings on the walls and a tank with live, moving brains inside. Harry's eyes bugged a little and shook his head in the negative. Next was a room filled with time turners, something all too familiar for Hermione. Again, no. On, they continued, another six rooms, until she finally opened one that contained rows and rows of milky white orbs on thousands of shelves.

"This is it." Hermione took a deep breath and then gestured for everyone to join them. She shot a spell at the door, marking it with a red x to show her father and uncle just where they were. "Everyone keep on eye open and your wand out."

Harry stepped forward to take the lead now, knowing that it was him that Voldemort wanted. He wished that he knew why the Dark Lord wanted him, especially down in this strange room with white orbs. As they moved through the rows, only on row 36 right now, he wondered if Hermione knew where they were. It wasn't as though information on the Department of Mysteries was readily available, but her father did work for the Ministry. Maybe she had a clue.

"Mia, do you know where we are?" She gave him a grim look, one that he knew meant she wasn't too happy.

"We're in the Hall of Prophecy."

Hermione knew what this meant; her father had told her from childhood that the goblins had told him there was a prophecy about Harry but they had never heard the contents. Uncle Sev had told her that he had delivered the prophecy to the Dark Lord many years ago and it had caused the Dark Lord to target Harry's parents. To this day, however, he had never spoken the prophecy aloud, most likely because he had made a Vow to Dumbledore to keep quiet about it. He had shared that he had only told part of the prophecy, meaning that they were here for the entirety of it today.

It was starting to unnerve her, the closer that they got to row 97. There were no screams and nobody in sight. Hermione wasn't sure what to expect now that there wasn't somebody actively being tortured; she had come prepared to dole out justice. Was the Dark Lord even here at all? She shot a confused look to Harry only to see one mirrored back on his face, same as Draco's.

They reached row 97 to find it deserted. All eight of them were looking around, making sure that there wasn't anybody hiding in corners, ready to jump out and surprise them. They spread out just a little to peer around the other shelves and take a look around. However, it was Ginny that finally broke the silence.

"One of those white things has your name on it, Harry." Hermione went to his side to go look at the prophecy orb. It was labeled on the shelf below it.

S.P.T. to A.P.W.B.D.

Dark Lord and

(?) Harry Potter

"You should get it, Harry. See what it says." Hermione wasn't sure it was such a great idea but before she could voice that Ginny probably didn't know what she was talking about, Harry had reached out and plucked the orb off the shelf. It glowed brightly for a brief moment before returning back to normal. Hermione had read that only the people that they were made about could retrieve them, likely the reason they had been lured down here in the first place. A voice she hadn't heard in two years spoke from behind her, causing her to whirl around, her hair whipping her in the face. Rookwood stood behind them, wand drawn, with a half smile on his face.

"Hand it over, Potter, and we won't have to get ugly about this." Harry stepped forward and shoved Ginny and Hermione behind him. His wand was out and at the ready, his eyes determined. Bellatrix and Dolohov materialized next to him, both looking a little crazed. Neville appeared on the other side of Ginny but Hermione could see that Draco was a row over with Ron and the twins. They were surrounded by their own growing set of Death Eaters, five now, while the number surrounding her group had swelled to six.

Her father and uncle could arrive anytime now.

Harry bounced the orb in his hand, clearly toying with the man. She could see that Draco, Ron, and the twins were all standing back to back, wands out. She didn't think that they had a hope of winning this fight but she thought they could perhaps hold their own. She tried to maneuver in the same way with Ginny and Neville, guarding Harry's back. After a minute, it seemed that the other two caught on and moved into position.

"What if I don't want to?" Rookwood didn't get a chance to answer because Bellatrix sidled forward and cackled with glee.

"That just means little Bella gets to play with wittle baby Potter and her blood traitor cousin." Harry growled in her direction.

"You aren't coming anywhere near Hermione, you psycho bitch." Rookwood held up his hands, trying to de-escalate the situation.

"Nobody is touching Miss Black, in fact, the Dark Lord wants her in pristine condition. He doesn't want her harmed at all." Harry looked at the man with disgust.

"You're not taking her to Voldemort, she's sixteen and he's how old? Disgusting. You're not getting the prophecy. I take it that Sirius isn't here either?" Hermione was briefly confused but realized that Harry was protecting the fact that they thought he had been torturing Severus. They didn't want to give away how close he was to Hermione and what his place in her life really was. Bellatrix laughed again, her cackle sending shivers up Hermione's spine. The worst part was that Hermione could feel how powerful her family magic was; it turned out to be such a waste. Sad that her family and their ideals had twisted her into what she was today.

"That was just a trick, you stupid child." She turned her gaze to Hermione and curled her lip up in a sneer.

"He's not going to want you for long, you'll never please him like I do. You could have been great, you know. You're everything a Black should be and you let your weak father corrupt you." Hermione couldn't figure out if she was jealous of her or disappointed. Either way, she wasn't interested in hanging around to find out. Just barely loud enough for the four of them to hear, she whispered.

"On three, run left and blast shelves."

Hermione counted to three and they took off, blasting the shelves and knocking them to the ground. The Death Eaters were right behind them, shooting spells in their direction through the thousands of breaking orbs. Hermione caught a nasty slicing hex to her thigh, cutting right through the tights that she wore under her Hogwarts skirt. She saw Neville falter from something that hit him in the back but was quick to turn around and blast the closest masked man in the face with something from his wand. Hermione took the first opportunity to turn and send a bombarda at full power to the chest of the unlucky cloaked man following her. He screamed as he was blown backwards.

Hermione, Harry, Neville, and Ginny managed to find their way out of the Hall of Prophecies and hoped against hope that Draco and his group did the same. They entered the next available room, this one being the time turner room. They had gained a fair lead since she and Neville both had managed to take out two of their opponents. She was hoping that they would choose another room in which to search for them in. The four of them were quick to find something to hide behind, cover was always a good thing to have. However, in rooms such as the Department of Mysteries, it was also good to know exactly where you were standing as well.

Luck was not on their side. Bellatrix, Jugson, Dolohov, and Travers entered, wands at the ready. Hermione made eye contact with Harry, hoping he understood that he knew that it was going to be the two of them doing all the heavy spell work. While Neville was great with spells, he could never match the pair of them for power. Ginny was...Ginny. Harry gave her a nod, showing her that he understood so Hermione started the assault.

The Slytherin stood, her wand held aloft, and cast a blasting charm with three-quarters of her power. All four of her opponents threw up a shield so while it didn't harm them, it did do damage to the room and force them back. Harry instantly stepped up, his wand casting some sort of spell that blew hurricane like winds through the room. Hermione was quick to step in with another blasting curse, this one sending Jugson into a wall.

Bellatrix was livid and had started shooting spells out like lightning, far quicker than Harry or Draco ever had. It suddenly made Hermione realize that while they had come a long ways, they had so much further to go. Dolohov had started to follow suit; the worst part of the whole thing was that since Hermione was to remain untouched, of the three Death Eaters that remained, only Bellatrix was sending spells her way. The others were focused on her friends.

Hermione watched as Dolohov sent a bright purple spell Harry's way, one that would have hit him if he hadn't dodged it by rolling to the side. Her anger took over and she cast her own cutting curse, aiming for his leg but hitting him across his groin instead. She couldn't see the blood blossoming across his robes but she knew that it had to be. Hermione could see that he was getting ready to cast on her so she readied her wand to cast a protego, her hand up.

Out of nowhere, her body went stiff and she couldn't move.

Hermione did the only thing she had the power to do and silenced Dolohov. The bright purple spell he had shot at Harry shot from his wand and hit her directly in the chest. It felt as though her flesh was being ripped open with a dull blade and her bones were being cracked open. Even her organs felt as though they were exploding. She let out a silent scream through her frozen mouth and let the darkness pull her under.

-O-

Harry felt his heart stop when he saw Hermione fall, frozen in her silent, excruciating pain. After she hit the ground, he saw her go lax again. In that moment, he knew what had happened and there would be hell to pay. However, his attention turned to Dolohov who was wearing the largest grin on his face.

Harry let his power gather under the surface of his skin; he knew that it was going to explode out of him and he didn't care in the least what it did to Dolohov. In fact, he hoped that it killed him. The Gryffindor didn't bother to channel the power through his wand, he just let it burst from him completely uncontrolled to hit Dolohov right in the chest. The man ruptured into five different pieces, gore spattering not only Harry, but the other Death Eaters, and Neville and Ginny as well. Bellatrix and Travers took one look at their cohort and turned tail and ran. They left Jugson slumped against the wall, not even sure if he was alive or dead. Harry rushed to Hermione's side and felt for a pulse; it was there but it was faint. The white of her oxford was soaked with blood and he feared that she was going to bleed out if he didn't do something. Before he stopped to doubt himself, he called out Kreacher's name. The elf appeared in front of him and cried out in anguish. Harry, however, didn't allow the elf to throw himself on his mistress.

"Kreacher, I need you to fetch blood replenishing potions from Hogwarts, take them from Professor Snape's personal stores. Return here and feed them to her, one every five minutes. Wait here until Sirius or Lucius comes to retrieve her." Kreacher nodded, disappearing with a pop. He reappeared just moments later, his arms laden with potion vials. Harry stood, ready to leave the elf to his task.

"Protect her with your life if need be, Kreacher." Kreacher nodded his head emphatically.

"Yes, Master."

Harry turned to leave the room, knowing that Kreacher would keep Hermione safe until he or his family could return. Neville and Ginny were hot on his heels, wands still out and at the ready. He was still bristling with fury at what had happened to Hermione but the time for retribution would come; now was not the place.

They left the time room and found that all the doors were blown wide open, open warfare in more than one of them. He caught sight of Hestia Jones and Dedalus Diggle fighting off two Death Eaters that he didn't know the names of in the brain room; they seemed to be trying to protect Ron who was covered in one of the brains that had been locked in the tanks. The twins were taking on their own Death Eater and were doing quite well, driving him back against the wall behind them. Harry left them to it; he had family he needed to find.

Harry found them in a strange room that had a huge arch in it; he could hear soft whispers and they were calling him to join them. He took a step towards it but shook his head, trying to rid his mind of the hold it had on him. This was the last thing he needed at the moment. Neville seemed to be just as affected as he was though Ginny seemed perfectly fine.

Sirius was dueling fiercely with Bellatrix, something he had never seen before. Sure, he had seen his godfather go against his uncle and Severus, but never at the speed and ferocity that he was witnessing now. Uncle Lucius was battling against Rodolphus Lestrange, though the patriarch of the Lestrange family wasn't near as gifted with a wand as Uncle Lucius. Remus and Tonks were against Avery and Nott, having both lost their masks at some point in the fight. Moody was battling against a younger Death Eater that Harry didn't recognize and Kingsley was up against Mulciber.

As he was standing there surveying the scene, Arthur and Molly streamed in, followed closely by Bill, Charlie, and Fleur. They hurried to the sides of their friends, quick to jump in and help the fight. Bill appeared to be trying to fight his way to Sirius' side but couldn't quite get there fast enough. Harry could see that both Bellatrix and his godfather were tiring, meaning that it was going to get dirty. He took off into the fray, determined to help his godfather.

Just as he reached Sirius' side, Draco appeared next to his father and was throwing spells as quickly as he could, powerful ones that allowed his father to swiftly stun and bind Rodolphus after relieving him of his wand. Sirius, however, glanced his way when he arrived, giving Bellatrix the moment she needed to blast him with some sort of stunning spell. Harry watched as his godfather went flying through the air towards the arch where the voices called to him. In his heart of hearts, Harry knew that if Sirius went through it, he would never come back. His wand came up and he screamed his spell to put all his magical force into it.

"Accio Sirius Black!"

Sirius came flying through the air at the speed of a bludger and Harry barely had time to duck before his body slammed into him. However, rather than hit Harry, he hit the wall behind him instead. However, Harry would rather him be sore and bruised than gone forever. Bellatrix was cackling madly as she turned and ran, calling out loudly.

"Maybe that will be two dead Blacks in one evening. My master will be ever so pleased." Harry knew he shouldn't do it but he just couldn't help himself. Remus was trying to get through the crowd to stop him but there was no way that he'd stop him. Uncle Lucius stepped forward and threw his arms around his shoulders, stopping him momentarily but Harry just stopped and stared at him.

"Hermione is almost dead and she was a party to it. If you don't let me go I'm going to end up hurting you too. Please don't make me hurt Hermione's favorite uncle, mine too for that matter." Lucius let him go and stepped back, though Harry could see worry in his eyes. He left the man standing there, taking off at a run after the psychotic witch.

Harry chased her through the Ministry, only to find her prostrate on the ground at the feet of Voldemort. He was petting her head of curls, sneering down at her, and she was kissing his feet. He was still the same handsome man that Harry had seen in the graveyard, though there was a hint of red to his eyes.

"Did you get my prophecy, pet?" Bellatrix shook her head but her tongue snaked out to lick at his toes. Harry had to fight the urge to barf.

"No, master, Potter has it in his robes. He refused to give it to Rookwood. We destroyed the Hall of Prophecy chasing after them. Most of your followers are caught down below, including my fool husband." Voldemort's hand gripped her curls and ripped her to her feet so he could snarl in her face.

"Where is Rookwood?" As much as it sickened Harry, he could see that this type of behavior was turning the witch on. He wondered if the Dark Lord was doing it on purpose.

"I'm not sure, master. I don't remember seeing him down there but he could have been. Maybe he stayed with the girl, Dolohov nearly killed her. Potter killed him for you." Voldemort threw Bellatrix away from him and she stayed where he threw her.

Voldemort advanced on him and even though he was shaking in fear on the inside, he kept his calm demeanor on the outside. His wand was held aloft and his chin up. Hermione would have been proud. The Dark Lord just smirked at him before he started to circle him slowly; Harry decided to turn with him, not daring to show him his back.

"It seems I owe you thanks, young Potter, for keeping my bride-to-be safe twice in a row from my more foolish followers." Harry just smirked right back.

"I would have to thanks to you for ensuring her safety if you didn't have such idiot followers. None of them seem to think your commands are worth following. It's a good thing I'm not only a better aim than they are, I'm more powerful too." Voldemort's eyes blazed a brighter red and Harry knew that he was well and truly pissed now.

"Give me the prophecy, Potter, or I'll rape away her innocence and then pass her to every single Death Eater in my company, even Bella here. She's been known to have unique tastes when it comes to women. I promise you, they'll break her and you won't ever have the pureblood princess that you so desperately crave." Harry must have had horror written on his face because Voldemort laughed openly at him.

"Oh, I've been trolling around in your mind for months, remember? No, I can't see anything too important. You've placed those things behind shields too strong for me to get behind but your feelings for the girl are always present. Anyone with a brain can see them. You won't ever have that girl, Potter, I swear it. Give me the prophecy." Harry was saved from having to answer by Dumbledore arriving, swooping in in lavender robes and looking as though he were ready to kill something.

Harry was shoved unceremoniously behind him and he let the wizard take over his fight. Their duel was fast and furious and Harry wondered if he would ever be able to duel like Dumbledore did. However, then he realized that he was someday going to have to go up against Voldemort and there was no way that he could duel like that. It was likely that he was going to die when it was his turn to seriously face the Dark Lord.

Water, fire, glass, wind, all these forces erupted through the Atrium. Harry could feel tiny cuts all over his face, arms, and hands from the glass but he refused to turn away. Dumbledore had just swept the glass from the ground with a strong rush of water, leaving him wet and freezing. Voldemort howled in fury and turned his wand to Harry. The Gryffindor felt a sharp pain in his mind and he instantly knew that the Dark Lord was trying to infiltrate his defenses and see just what he was hiding.

Harry reinforced every shield he had, knowing he had to protect Hermione, Severus, his whole family. He had to protect their secrets. If he failed now, Severus' life would be forfeit and Hermione would never forgive him. However, in order to do this with that fucking potion poking holes in his shields, he had to sacrifice the less important things.

The Dark Lord wormed his way into his mind and Harry let him see the mundane things, the things that were unimportant. Classes, his relationship with Sirius, growing up with the Dursleys, catching Pettigrew, his trial, his friendship with Ron and Pav. His feelings for Hermione were there at the forefront, his fantasies, how much he wanked to the image of her in his mind completely starkers, how he longed to pull her into his arms and snog her silly, spilling his heart to her and telling her how much he loved her.

Everything else he stuffed back behind the shield that Severus had helped him build and the attack on the wall drove him to his knees. He was face down on the Atrium floor, writhing in pain, holding his head, doing his best to keep the Dark Lord out. Who knew that that fucking potion could make such a difference?

However, as the seconds turned into minutes, the pain lessened and his shields strengthened, much like the used to be. Harry couldn't be sure but it felt as though the holes in his shields had healed over and the potion had worked its way out of his system. He could still feel the Dark Lord trying to breach his mind but it no longer near as painful and he wasn't trying nearly as hard to keep him out. In fact, Harry lifted his wand and shot off a slicing hex at Voldemort's direction. The Dark Lord was so preoccupied that he didn't react as quickly as usual, taking the hex across the chest.

The Atrium lit up with light, the floos came alive, and people started to floo in, everyone gasping at the scene before them. The Dark Lord standing, clearly dueling Albus Dumbledore, and Harry Potter shooting a spell at him and it finding its mark. Bellatrix Lestrange still sitting on the ground and watching her master with a sick sort of devotion in her eyes. Cornelius Fudge was the first to gasp out loud and stutter a few footsteps backwards, trying to put distance between himself and the Dark Lord. Voldemort held his arm out to Bellatrix and she flew into it, the Dark Lord apparating them away without a single word.

Pandemonium ensued. Harry could feel himself being passed around from the Minister to Dumbledore, then Rita Skeeter. He fought against them all, trying to get free so he could get back down to the rest of his family. Finally, the third time Dumbledore tried to steer him away from the Ministry, Harry had had enough and put his foot down and raised his voice. The entire Atrium went silent.

"I don't want to go back to your office, Headmaster. Hermione was injured and I want to go wherever she and the rest of my family are. I demand it and if you don't allow it, I guarantee you that my godfather and uncle are going to have very cross words with you." Dumbledore reached in his pocket with a sigh, tapping his wand on a quill. The Minister glared at him when he handed it to Harry.

"Lord and Miss Black have been moved to Hogwarts. The rest of your family and friends were taken there shortly after. This portkey will take you directly to the Hospital Wing. I will be along shortly but first, I must deal with the casualties and the other injured." Harry's heart froze and his words. Who had died trying to save them? He never should have let Hermione talk them into this completely stupid charade of a plan. He should have just let his dream be chalked up to just being that: a dream.

"Who died? Who's injured?" Dumbledore sighed heavily and placed a hand on Harry's shoulder as Fudge started to sputter about how Dumbledore couldn't make an illegal portkey.

"Miss Jones was killed and Mr. Diggle was injured badly enough he may not make it through the night. Your friend Ronald was attacked by the brains in the Thinking Room and while he will survive, we aren't sure how they'll affect his thought process. Miss Tonks was cursed quite thoroughly and will spend at least a week in St. Mungo's; Moody insisted that she go there since she's an auror. Lord Black appeared to have a few broken bones from hitting a wall but other than that and a concussion, he was fine. Miss Black is on the brink of death; you need to go to her and be her strength in her time of need, Harry." Harry gave the old man a sharp nod, holding the quill out for him to activate. The Headmaster tapped it again with his quill and with a quick pull against his navel, Harry was gone.

Harry found himself in the Hospital Wing, surrounded by his family and friends. Most of them had tears down their cheeks, especially since Hermione was out of sight. Sirius was seated in a hospital bed, leaned against the headboard, Juliet curled into his side, with tears down his cheeks. Juliet was sobbing quietly, her face buried in his chest. Uncle Lucius was sitting as close to her bed as he could without breaching the curtain pulled around it, his arm around a silently crying Aunt Cissy. Silent tears tracked down his favorite uncle's cheeks and he made no move to hide them. Remus wasn't there, most likely with Tonks, though Harry didn't blame him. Draco was the only one trying to have a stiff upper lip, comforting Daphne while she just shook in his arms. Luna and Neville were there as well, Luna crying softly as Neville stroked her spine comfortingly. The twins were sitting at Ron's beside and Ginny was holding his hand. Ron was gibbering to himself about he wasn't sure what but the fact remained that the only ones missing were Helena, Alexandre, Aunt Andie, and Uncle Ted. Suddenly, he heard Severus curse from behind the curtain.

"Idiot fucking children, I'm never going to speak to any of them again. She's lucky she silenced him or she wouldn't have lived long enough for the blood replenishers." Harry's heart clenched. At least she had had the power to cast one spell.

It was at this point that a few things happened at the same time. Harry remembered that he needed to dole out some retribution of his own. Molly Prewett and Arthur Weasley strode into the Hospital Wing and headed straight for Ron's bed, Ginny rising to let them take her seat. Severus threw back the curtain and glared at everyone.

"Everyone who isn't related to this family, get out now." Luna, Neville, and Daphne rose to their feet. Juliet made a token protest against Luna leaving but the blonde just shook her head and took Neville's hand and guided them from the Hospital Wing. Severus looked like he was just getting ready to get started in on all of them but Harry was brought back to his plans when Ginny sidled up next to him and slipped her hand in his and gave him a small smile.

"I'm sure that all will be well, Harry."

Harry didn't even give her a chance to react. Even though he had just fought like a madman and had burned through enough power for six wizards, he still felt like he could fight another six duels. He reached out and snagged the hair at the crown of her hair and pulled it hard, tugging her locks until she was forced to look up into his eyes. He could tell that she was hurting but he didn't care. He drew his wand and pointed it right in her face and poured every ounce of strength he had into the spell.

"Legilimens."

Harry was fair at legilimency; he had to be in order to teach Ron and Ginny. He knew that Ginny had natural shields, ones that he hadn't tried to breach when he saw that they were indeed quite strong. Now, however, after knowing what he knew tonight, he was determined to break through them.

Ginny fought him with everything she had, trying to expel him from her mind. The twins were yelling and he could hear the shrill voice of Molly Prewell in the background. After he wasn't sure how long, Harry found the tiniest crack in her defenses and he burrowed through it, finally breaching her shield. A flood of memories hit him, memories that she clearly didn't want him to see.

A vision of Ginny hiding out by the Black Lake and watching Hermione as she ran by, flinging a spell at her that sent her sailing out into the water, watching as she flailed about trying to get back to the surface. Ginny throwing a handful of stones at Hermione as she passed by her hiding spot in an alcove, hitting her in the back of the head and drawing blood. Ginny, hiding in the shadows and casting a balding spell on Hermione as she stumbled to the dungeons sick as fuck with the wizards flu. Ginny, raising her wand behind Hermione as she was casting spells back and forth at Dolohov and hearing her petrify the Black heiress right before she was struck down. Ginny casting the Imperious on a Hogwarts elf and telling it to put the potion in Harry's drink to affect his occlumency.

Harry couldn't be sure why she would do anything against him; so far, her animosity and hatred had been against Hermione. Suddenly, he stumbled against the very heart of her secret. A tiny part of Tom Riddle's aura still resided inside her. He saw her memory of it telling her to poison him, that Harry needed to have weakened shields. He worried about how much she had told the aura but quickly realized that the aura belonged to sixteen year old Tom Riddle, not the Voldemort of now.

Harry expelled himself from her mind and realized that he was breathing hard; his chest was heaving and he wondered if this was how it had been for Severus at the beginning. Ginny just glared at him, not even the tiniest bit afraid, but he knew that something was going to have to happen tonight. She knew too much about too many things and it was likely going to fracture everything they had with the Weasley family. Harry spoke through gritted teeth.

"Call Bill." His voice was deadly and everyone seemed to realize that he was one the edge of losing control. Draco pulled his wand and called forth his dragon, sending the message immediately. Uncle Lucius and Severus stepped forward and both got close, meeting his gaze. Severus' voice was low and dangerous.

"Show us what you saw." Harry opened his now fully functional shields and replayed everything that he had seen inside Ginny's mind from start to finish. Just as they were finishing up, Bill and Charlie entered, both flushed from hurrying up four flights of stairs. Madam Pomfrey was still there but was standing back and wringing her hands worriedly.

Without warning, Uncle Lucius drew back and backhanded Ginny, sending her flying to the floor, blood splattering the bed closest to her. Bill and Charlie surged forward but Severus and Harry both pulled their wands and pointed them at the redheads, Sirius struggling to his feet to stand with them. Aunt Cissy rushed to push him back to the bed and Harry just glared at them all.

"She's lucky he didn't kill her. She petrified Hermione in the back which is why Dolohov was able to curse her. If she hadn't silenced him, she would be dead. Not only did she do that, she threw her in the Black Lake and tried to drown her. She threw rocks at her head, she cast the balding spell on her when she was sick with the wizards flu. She also gave me the potion that has weakened my occlumency because the remaining aura of Tom Riddle that still resides in her told her to." There was silence in the room. This time Sirius stood and probably did the best thing he could have done to prevent bloodshed. He made his way to the rest of his family and pushed their wands down to their sides. He squared his shoulders and met Molly's gaze as the Head of House Prewett.

"I am going to suggest that you allow Severus to obliviate your daughter. Everything that she knows of our family will be gone. Knowing that she has a piece of Tom Riddle in her, aura or not, isn't safe. You will then check her into St. Mungo's for mind healing. She will remain there until she is cleared of the taint of the Dark Lord. She will never again be welcome near or in my home again. If you do not choose to follow this plan, your family can try to protect her from mine. I guarantee they will fail. She almost killed the Black heiress. If they do manage to protect her from death, she will face charges before the Wizengamot and will face time in Azkaban if convicted. I really hope you choose the former because the Weasley branch has come to mean a lot to me but know that I will do what must be done to protect my daughter." Molly looked terrified and looked to Arthur. Arthur just looked exhausted. The twins were staring at their sister as though she had grown another head and Ron was giggling to himself. Charlie finally helped Ginny off the ground and Bill finally looked at his mother.

"Mum, you'd be an idiot if you didn't take it. I, for one, am not going to fight against the Blacks if they go after Ginny. She tried to kill Hermione, their daughter. They're giving you a way to heal her that doesn't involve killing her even though it's what she deserves." Harry was still fuming but he could see the logic in it. Sirius didn't want to damage the alliance he had with the Weasleys unless he had to. However, if it came down to it, he would in a heartbeat. Molly finally nodded.

"I suppose we have an accord." Ginny started to wail about how it wasn't fair that Hermione always got everything. Severus stepped forward and grabbed her chin tightly. Ginny started to fight him but George grabbed her from behind and held her still. Severus' wand hovered in front of her face and he worked his magic silently. For almost ten minutes, he picked his way through her memories and erased everything he thought she didn't need to know.

Harry relaxed a tiny bit when he released her and she was drooling slightly. Molly drew her into her side and Ginny leaned heavily into her. Her eyes were already closing and Harry had a feeling that she was going to be asleep soon. Sirius gave Molly a hard look and spoke as he headed back for his bed.

"You will check her in St. Mungo's tomorrow morning. Any later than noon and I'll call the aurors." Molly gave him a solemn, silent nod and headed back to Ron's bedside. Arthur followed after a respectful nod. The twins clapped Harry on the shoulder to show that there were no hard feelings before heading over to sit with their parents. Bill and Charlie went to sit with the Blacks and Malfoys, not ready for the drama of their own family. Of course, how were they to know that they entered into the drama of someone else's?

The curtain had been thrown back and Hermione was laying on the bed on her back, her face almost while, her curls loose on the pillow. Harry could have sworn that she looked almost dead. He approached her, wanting to take her hand in his but Severus stepped in front of him, his face featuring fury.

"How dare you think that you get to get near her after leading her into that shite show? You still haven't told us what happened?" Harry glared at the man, not in the mood for his shite either. He was the cause of this whole mess.

"I had a vision during the History of Magic O.W.L. Voldemort was torturing someone in the Hall of Prophecies. I thought that it was Sirius but Hermione sent Kreacher to see if he was alright. When he was, she was worried that it was you. You weren't in the castle and she instantly knew that you had been discovered. She insisted that we had to go after you because Dumbledore was gone and McGonagall is in Mungo's. We sent Kreacher to tell Sirius and Uncle Lucius where we were going. Draco, myself, the twins, Neville, Ron, and Ginny all demanded to go as well. We tried to talk her out of it but she wanted to save you, to make you proud of her again." Severus snarled in anger.

"Stupid girl, that wouldn't make me proud. Calling for help would make me proud. Letting me die so she could live, that would make me proud. Laying here in this bed with a scar the whole length of her chest, a crushed pancreas, spleen and gallbladder, that's a fucking disappointment. She's nothing but a fucking disappointment." Harry drew back and punched his Potions professor right in the mouth. He didn't care that he would likely get detention for the rest of his school career, he didn't care that he would probably never speak the Harry again, and he surely didn't care that the man would probably curse him until he was close enough to dead to wish he was completely there. He deserved the hit and everyone knew it. Nobody stepped in and nobody uttered a word when Harry started to yell back at the surprised man in black.

"You don't get to be disappointed, you arrogant, egotistical fucking arsehole! You were so angry at her for not telling you about Umbridge that you tore her heart out and threw it at her feet, stomping on it a few times for good measure. You won't even look at her in the corridors, she's entirely convinced that you hate her. She would face death a thousand times over if she thought it meant making you love her again, you fucking idiot! Now, here you stand, telling me what a disappointment she is because she just wanted you to love her again. For someone so Merlin-be-damned brilliant, you're unbelievably stupid." Severus sank to his knees and hung his head at Harry's words and Harry was trying to calm his breathing once again. It took only moments for Harry to realize that his professor's shoulders were shaking in silent sobs. He sighed and bent down, helping Severus to his feet and putting him in the chair next to Hermione's bed. He took Hermione's hand in his own and bent his head over it and cried silently. Harry awkwardly patted his professor's shoulder until he bent down and whispered softly in his ear so nobody else could hear what he was saying.

"She loves you so much and just wants you back. When she wakes up, tell her how much you love her and you'll make her happier than she's been in months. I promise." Severus didn't say anything but Harry thought that his shaking might have lessened. Finally, he looked up to see that everyone was watching him. He took a deep breath and sighed yet again.

"Is she going to live?" Madam Pomfrey materialized from the shadows.

"If she makes it through the night, she should live. The next twelve hours will be touch and go. He hit her with an organ crushing curse that was tweaked with something extra. You were right, if she hadn't silenced her attacker, the curse would have crushed her entire chest cavity." Harry flopped down on the chair next to Severus and laid his head down next to Hermione's knee. He laid his hand on her thigh above the sheet, liking that he could feel her warmth as proof of life. He knew that everyone had questions but he felt like they could be asked and answered tomorrow.

"Can we just do the whole questions and answers thing tomorrow? I'm suddenly in need of a nap." There was a chuckle on the other side of the bed and Sirius spoke.

"Sure, pup. Tomorrow, we'll all talk as a family. Helena will be here with an update on Tonks by then." There were agreeing sounds from everyone and that was the end of the chatter.

Harry closed his eyes and let his mind wander as he searched for sleep. Hermione might still die and she had no idea how he felt about her. If this wasn't a wake up call to the fact that he needed to tell her how he felt about her, he didn't know what was. As soon as she woke up and things died down a little, he was going to tell her how absolutely bat shite crazy in love with her he was. How he would do absolutely anything in the world to prove it to her, how he would wait as long as he needed to if that's what she needed.

Even though it had been the worst day of his life to date, Harry smiled softly to himself as he let sleep pull him under. Hopefully, happiness would be within reach soon enough.

A/N- Holy. Balls. How's that for a long chapter of nothing but action and drama? I hope you all liked how I changed things around and handled Ginny. Trust me, I really wanted to kill her off and may yet do it in the war but knew that I couldn't let them do it now. It probably would have ended in the Weasleys and Blacks hating each other again. I couldn't bear to separate Hermione from the twins now! Anyways, let me know what you thought. Reviews are like chocolate and whiskey shots.

Next chapter, discussions and the prophecy.

Love,

Alicia


	106. Chapter 106

A/N- I'm back, everyone! I'm sorry that it took me so long to get this chapter out but I have been ridiculously busy with the end of school things. I officially have a freshman and a third grader now and I feel so old! To those of you that have been patient, I greatly appreciate it! To everyone out there reading and reviewing, thanks bunches, you guys keep me writing. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: I still don't own this story line, it belongs to Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle. I still don't own the characters, they belong to J.K.R. I still haven't made any money from this story, I'm still a broke bitch.

Chapter 106

May 31, 1996

Harry groaned as he sat up, his back screaming in protest as he straightened the muscles. He had slept hunched over, his head resting on the bed next to Hermione's leg while sitting in a chair next to Severus all night. The dark-haired man didn't look to be in a better state than he was. He glanced around the room to see that Sirius was awake and watching his daughter's chest rise and fall while Uncle Lucius was standing, staring off out the window. Aunt Cissy was gone, to where he wasn't sure, and Draco was wide awake. It looked as though his friend hadn't slept all night. Juliet was still asleep next to her father where she had slept all night long.

Ron was still asleep and Bill was sitting with him; he had ordered the rest of the family home to their beds. The twins would likely be back soon. There was no way that they wouldn't want to be there when Hermione woke up. Harry really couldn't blame them; they loved her and she was as much their family as he was. He knew that Arthur and Molly were taking Ginny to St. Mungo's first thing this morning before they even came back by to visit Ron and Harry couldn't help but agree that it was a good idea. While he had wanted revenge more than anything last night when his rage had been running hot, now that he had cooled down, he knew that Sirius had done the right thing. Sure, Uncle Lucius could have killed Ginny and he probably could have gotten away with it when it went before the Wizengamot because of who Hermione was but it would have caused a blood feud between the three of their families and the Weasleys and Prewetts. It wouldn't have ended well.

Madam Pomfrey bustled over to Hermione and sponged her forehead off, brushing her curls from her face before waving her wand over her body. Numerous diagnostic runes appeared over her body and Harry wished that he could read them at the rate that they were appearing and disappearing. Severus seemed to be following just fine, however, and he wiped a hand down his face and sighed when they finally came to a stop. Harry frowned.

"What does all that mean?" Severus gestured to the mediwitch and Madam Pomfrey shot a look at Sirius. His godfather nodded, silently telling her that it was fine for her to tell everyone the prognosis of his daughter.

"She has a long recovery ahead of her. Not only did it crush three of her organs, it caused her skin and bones to explode open. She's going to have a horrendous scar the entire length of her chest from the dark magic and she's going to have to take around twelve potions a day for about a month to purge her body completely of it's taint. She probably won't wake for a few more days at the earliest. I was not playing around when I told you that she would have died if she hadn't silenced her attacker." Harry fought the rage that surged up from deep in his gut but he shoved it back down. He took a deep breath and counted to ten while he composed himself again, finally nodding at Madam Pomfrey, smiling at her slightly.

"Thank you for taking care of her, I'm sure she'll tell you herself when she wakes but I want to say it as well. It's partly my fault she's here." There was a rustle on the bed next to her and Harry knew that it was his godfather shifting his weight. It was unsurprising when he heard him speak.

"I think that we've waited long enough for an explanation as to what happened yesterday." Harry sighed and raked a hand through his hair. It felt grimy and he knew that there was still blood and gore in it from Dolohov. He nodded his head.

"Can I take a shower first? I still have Dolohov parts in my hair." Sirius sighed in frustration but nodded.

"Just make it quick." Harry nodded and stood, reaching out to squeeze Hermione's knee a single time before he left to shower in the Hospital Wing shower. He called for Dobby to retrieve him some clothing from his dorm before stepping under the hot spray of water, letting it warm his muscles. He scrubbed his hair twice over and then his body several times over, making sure that he was clean of blood and gore.

When he finally stepped out from under the water, he felt clean. He toweled off quickly and dressed in the uniform that his elf had brought him, bringing a sense of normality back to his world. He really wasn't looking forward to going out there and explaining to everyone just how they ended up in the Hall of Prophecy and why they were there but there was no more putting it off. He was a Gryffindor and he was going to face his family and make sure that they understood that he had done his best to protect Hermione.

Harry stepped back into the Hospital Wing to find that Aunt Cissy had returned and everyone was waiting for him. Draco had a look of dread on his face and Harry wondered if it was because he had been in this position before and it hadn't ended well for him. Whether that was the truth or not, Harry lifted his chin in true Hermione fashion and took the seat he had vacated to shower and met the eyes of every adult in the room before beginning.

"First off, I want to apologize to everyone in this room that cares for Hermione. I should have known what I was getting into when I first told her of my vision. I should have known that she would want to run headfirst to save someone that she loves and that nothing would stop her. I should have played it safe but I didn't think and that's on me. I hope that you all know that I did my best to protect her." Sirius held up his hand to stop him.

"Harry, you don't have to apologize for her being foolish. We'll yell at her when she's better, trust you me. Right now, we just want to hear what happened. I already gathered that it was my daughter that dragged you all down there." Harry wasn't sure why this statement rubbed him the wrong way but it did. Hadn't she already paid enough? Did she really deserve to be yelled at? Chastised, maybe, but yelled at? She was going to have a scar down the length of her chest the rest of her life to remind of her of her rash decisions. She was going to have the next month of twelve horrid tasting potions a day to remind her that she needed to think things through. Suddenly, Harry stood and glared at his godfather.

"If you yell at her, I'm going to be very disappointed in you as a parent. She already has a scar the length of her chest for the rest of her life to remind her how foolish she acted. Twelve potions a day is going to remind her that she should have thought things through a little better. She is going to need love and support, not yelling at her. She's going to be self-conscious and think that everyone hates her more than she already does. She still thinks that Severus hates her and she doesn't think that you love her either, Sirius. You never apologized because you were waiting for summer to make a grand gesture. The only one that she thinks wants anything to do with her is Uncle Lucius." Sirius had the good grace to look ashamed of himself so Harry let himself fall back into his chair again, mussing his hair once more.

Harry began the story with the History of Magic O.W.L. telling them of his vision and how real it had felt, just like when he had seen Arthur attacked by Nagini. He continued through the whole story, how they had found their way to the Ministry with Neville and the four Weasleys in tow, making their way to the Hall of Prophecies. Harry could see Sirius clench his fists when he told them of the showdown with Bellatrix and Dolohov, barely mentioning Jugson and the others.

Aunt Cissy started to cry when he told them how Ginny had petrified Hermione in the back and Dolohov's curse had hit her in the chest after she had stepped in to protect him from the very same curse. Lucius, Severus, and Sirius all had grim appreciation on their faces when he told them how he had let his anger take control and he had ripped Dolohov apart and then called for Kreacher to make sure he got her blood replenishers from Severus' stores.

Harry moved on and told them about following Bellatrix and Dumbledore arriving in the Atrium and how Voldemort had attacked his mind and Harry had fought him off, kept him out of the things that were important, and the effects of the potion had finally disappeared. Uncle Lucius had even smirked his way when he told them how his hex had caught the Dark Lord across the chest, right before everyone appeared in the Atrium, catching sight of the whole scene.

When Harry finally came to an end, the rest of the room stayed silent. He wasn't sure if he wanted them to rage at him or tell him that they understood that he did his best but some kind of reaction would be better than nothing. Draco still seemed to be waiting on tenterhooks, his hands clasped behind his back and his back ramrod straight. Harry stood and walked over to him, not caring that everyone watched him closely, clearly wondering what he was up to. He threw his arm around his friends shoulders and spoke softly.

"She's made it through the night. Madam Pomfrey said if she made it through the night, she would survive. It's my fault that I even told her. Don't blame yourself, you know that she would have went regardless." Draco seemed to be battling with emotions within himself because Harry could feel him shaking. He could tell that his friend wanted to break down but he didn't dare because it wasn't acceptable. Finally, Uncle Lucius stepped forward and put his arms around his son and let him bury his face in his chest. His words were soft but Harry still made them out.

"Let it out, son. She wouldn't want you to hold it in and hurt like this. I cried like a baby last night after you fell asleep. You can show weakness but never to your enemy. You have no enemies here." Draco's sobs were muffled by his father's robes but everyone could hear his pain. Draco's words were Harry's own fears and his voice was raw when he spoke.

"I was so scared that she was dead, that she was going to die in the night. I tried to stay awake all night to make sure that she wasn't alone if she did pass on but I couldn't help it. I fell asleep and I feel like I failed her in so many ways yesterday." Lucius pulled away from his son and steely grey met steely grey.

"You didn't fail her. Neither did Harry. You three did the best you could in the situation you found yourselves in. Yes, I wish you would have waited for Sirius and I but you called for help which I commend you for. You brought help and while Ginny Weasley was clearly a bad decision, the other three Weasleys did help you and fought bravely beside you all. I'm not sure that I'm disappointed but I wish you had handled things a little differently. However, in the situation you were in, you all did extremely well. I'm proud of all of you, Weasleys included." Harry wondered if Lucius realized that he had lumped Ron in with the Weasleys but he decided to just leave it be since Ron was still asleep and missing everything. He wondered idly what was wrong with his friend. Sirius cleared his throat, smoothing Juliet's hair as she stood to go sit by Aunt Cissy.

"I'm proud of you all as well. Even though I wish you had done things differently as Lucius said, you acted commendably. You fought well and looked after each other. Draco saved Ronald even though they clearly hate each other and Ron deflected a curse from hitting Draco. We ended up catching quite a few Death Eaters and sending them back to Azkaban and not only did the Minister of Magic witness Voldemort in the Atrium, so did a hundred other people. Harry has been proven to have told the truth that night in the graveyard and maybe they will take the war effort seriously now. Most of all, maybe they'll kick that fucking idiot Fudge out of office now after this shite with Umbridge and now Voldemort." Harry sighed, a breath of relief that he really wasn't sure that he deserved. Hermione was still laying on the bed, looking close to death. Who was he to deserve to breathe a sigh of relief? Severus, however, gave him a sharp look.

"Are you sure, Harry, that you kept him out of your mind? You kept your shields strong? My secret is safe with you?" Harry walked forward to meet the Potion Master's gaze and let him inside his mind. He waited for the probe but never felt it. His made his voice as sincere as he could.

"I swear it, sir, on my magic, that I didn't let him anywhere near your secret. I let him think he got past my shield. I let him see things that would make me uncomfortable if the public knew but I never let him know about you. You can trust me." Magic swirled around him as the vow took hold. Harry pulled his wand and cast the simple spell to prove he wasn't lying.

"Lumos." His wand tip lit up and Severus breathed a sigh of relief. He gave Harry a small smile and nodded his head.

"Thank you. I wasn't looking forward to dying a slow and painful death and the end of his wand." Harry snorted.

"That would have been ironic since we went to the Department of Mysteries to prevent that very thing." Severus snorted but was saved from answering by Dumbledore arriving. He had a serene smile on his face but he wasn't fooling a single person in the room.

"How is Miss Black?" Sirius' gaze turned hard and Harry wondered if there had been hard words between the pair of them.

"Poppy said she thinks she'll survive but only time will tell. You might as well get used to us as we won't be leaving until she at least wakes up." Dumbledore nodded his head in agreement.

"That's to be expected. I heard about what happened with Miss Prewett. Isn't that a bit too far? I heard that Mr. Malfoy struck her." Harry stood and even as Lucius stood, Sirius beat him to it. His gaze was ice cold and his words were even icier.

"Lord Malfoy struck the girl that cursed his heir in the back and almost killed her. Her parents are lucky that he didn't kill her. I felt that obliviating her and having her admitted to eradicate Tom Riddle from her mind was a much better solution than burying her. Don't you agree?" Dumbledore sighed and finally nodded.

"Since her mother agreed, I see no reason why I cannot. I hate to see her memories erased but there isn't much I can do about it now." Sirius growled at him in anger.

"No, you hate to see her memories erased because you wanted to see Harry fall in love with her and that won't happen now that she doesn't remember the instructions she received at some point in her childhood." Harry stepped back, completely floored. Dumbledore chose to ignore his godfather and looked at Harry, serene smile back on his face.

"Harry, I was wondering if I could speak with you about that prophecy, I'm hoping that you still have it." Harry started. He had completely forgotten about it. He had shoved it in his robe pockets during the fight and left it there.

"Well, speak away." Dumbledore shook his head.

"We need to speak in private." Harry scoffed.

"You know that whatever you say to me in private, I'm going to come tell them anyways. Besides, you know that I have the prophecy, all I have to do is play it for all of them right now." Dumbledore's eyes flashed with anger before he tamped it down and tried again.

"I won't try to keep you from telling them what we speak of. However, there are things that we need to speak of privately." Harry glared at his Headmaster and he glanced at Sirius. The look from his godfather told him that he was going to back whatever Harry wanted to do. Therefore, he looked to Dumbledore and forced him to do the one thing he was sure that he hated to do.

"If you want to speak to me in private, you're going to have to tell me the truth first. What were your plans for me in regard to Ginny Prewett? Don't think about lying to me either." Dumbledore shot him a hateful glare but finally nodded that he conceded.

"I had told Molly when Ginny was born that it would be nice if we could match her with you so we could be assured that you would be placed with a light family. I know that she urged Ronald to befriend you before your first year but I don't think that it went beyond that. She told Ginny to try to seduce you, that you would eventually fall in love with her if she used her feminine wiles. I'm fairly certain that's why she pursued you so persistently. Now that she's been obliviated, those dreams are dead, along with obtaining the Potter wealth along with it." Harry couldn't help but see red and he picked up the nearest item on the table next to him and throw it at the Headmaster. The old man ducked with amazing agility and Harry screamed at him.

"How much did the rest of the family know?" Dumbledore held up his hands, trying to calm him down.

"To my knowledge, I don't think any of them knew anything. Even Ronald was just told to try to make friends with you but beyond that, there was nothing more. I think they were told to hate the Blacks more than they were told to like you." Harry felt his anger start to simmer just a little but not enough to leave with Dumbledore. He sneered at the Headmaster.

"Sorry, I just don't feel comfortable in leaving with you. This is a time for family so if you want to speak with me, you'll have to do it here and now. Before I break this prophecy here and now, is there anything you want to tell me to try to explain yourself?" Dumbledore glared at him but stood there, tall and intimidating.

"I was going to wait until you were older to tell you because it's far too much weight to put on your shoulders. However, now that isn't an option. You know there is a prophecy and you have it in your possession. I'm not so confident that I believe I can take it from you without damaging it or you hearing it. I never wanted you to have to deal with any of this but in the end, that wasn't fate's design. I want you to remember that when you hear what that prophecy says." Harry reached into his robe pocket and pulled the glowing orb out, holding it out before him. Uncle Lucius stepped forward and laid an arm on his shoulder.

"Destroy it; saving it will be temptation for the Dark Lord to try to steal it again." Harry nodded and dropped it, letting the orb smash on the ground. For a split moment, he wished that he could have waited until Hermione was awake to listen. She had earned it more than any of them. He would let her view his memory as many times as she wanted to though to make up for it. Trelawney's voice ghosted up from the ground, hoarse and sounding quite unlike herself.

" _The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live if the other survives...the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…"_

Harry replayed that Merlin-be-damned prophecy over and over in his mind and tried to make sense of it. Clearly, they thought that he was the one who was meant to vanquish the Dark Lord because he had been born on the last day of July and Voldemort had marked him when he had tried to kill him. That much was fact. What was the power he knew not? Either must die at the hand of the other and neither could live while the other other survived? It seemed that he made the same connection that Aunt Cissy did because her voice trembled when she spoke.

"You're saying that one of them must kill the other because they can't both live in this world?" Dumbledore tangled his beard in his fingers and nodded his head wearily.

"Yes, that's the meaning I took from it as well." Suddenly, Harry was livid. His magic lashed out like it did when Hermione was in danger and he didn't even try to control it. He started to scream at the Headmaster, not giving two fucks about respect or anything of the like.

"You're telling me that you've known since before my parents were killed that I was prophesied to kill the Dark Lord and you sent me to the fucking muggle world where I received no training whatsoever? Are you hoping that I fail the wizarding world and get myself killed in the process? How fucking stupid are you?" Both Uncle Lucius and Severus stepped forward and pulled Harry away from the Headmaster which calmed him down just a little. Sirius, however, looked just as angry. He went to his feet and was only stopped by Aunt Cissy. However, the Black temper was clear and present on his features.

"You are to have nothing to do with his training from here on out. You might have been trying to save his childhood but you stuck him with muggles that hate him. He had no childhood with them. He could have trained with Hermione and Draco and still had a childhood with them. I will never forgive you for keeping him from me." Dumbledore looked truly surprised at the level of vitriol that he was experiencing. He turned to Harry again and even though he was still breathing hard and the windows were still rattling from the force of his magic, the Headmaster continued.

"I'm aware that now isn't the time so next year we're going to have to have lessons, you and I. There are things about Tom Riddle that nobody knows and that you're going to need to know in order to defeat him, Harry. I know that I've made mistakes in the past but I'm going to rectify that now. You do what Lord Black wants over the summer and I'll get you the information you need starting next term." Harry didn't bother to answer him; it really wouldn't do any good. The Headmaster was going to do what he wanted regardless. Dumbledore turned and swept from the room without another word. The room stayed silent as Harry brought his magic under control. Just as he Uncle Lucius and Severus released him, Sirius turned on the Potions Master and started to shout.

"You knew this whole time, didn't you? You knew what the prophecy consisted of and you never told me. You let him rot with the muggles just like Dumbledore." Harry had already made peace with the fact that Severus had known the prophecy, at least part of it, and had told the Dark Lord. He had confessed all the Harry the summer after his third year and he had forgiven him his part in it. Therefore, he put himself in between the two men and put his hand on Sirius' chest to stop him from advancing further.

"I already knew about this. He didn't hear the whole prophecy, only part of it. He did tell Voldemort but then he told Dumbledore. How do you think he became a spy in the first place? He couldn't tell you because he's under an Unbreakable Vow, otherwise he would have." Sirius stepped back and let Aunt Cissy pull him back to his seat on the bed while Severus took his seat next to Hermione again. Harry raked his hands through his hair and blew a breath through his lips.

"I've never wanted a drink so bad in my life." Surprisingly, it was Uncle Lucius that laughed with him.

They all settled back in their seats and Harry leaned forward to rest his head on the bed next to Hermione's leg. Her chest still rose and fell rhythmically and her face was still pale as death. Harry had just started to doze off when the door to the Hospital Wing opened again and soft voices started speaking. He lifted his head to see not only had Helena and Alexandre arrived, so had the twins, Neville, Daphne, and Luna. They all quickly took seats around the now-crowded room and Aunt Cissy asked the question that the students were all wondering about. After all, Tonks was their professor and they all loved her.

"How is Nymphadora?" Helena sighed and fussed over Sirius, running her hands through his curls and straightening his day-old robes.

"She's awake and thoroughly angry with herself. She lost her left arm but they're able to regrow it. It's going to take her a bit to get used to it again but she'll recover. Remus won't leave her side and is having a hard time letting the healers near her. I think that as soon as you can, Siri, you should go see him. It's hard for him to be alone and feel like he has to protect his mate by himself. Andi and Ted were told to go home by their daughter and they listened. Remus won't though." Harry sighed in relief. Tonks was going to be alright. Hermione would have felt terrible if Dory had lost her arm permanently going after her in the Department of Mysteries.

Harry tuned the rest of their conversation out; they had started talking about funeral arrangements for Hestia Jones. He felt bad for the woman and while he would certainly attend, he didn't want to focus on that right now. It made the situation all too real. Right now, he wanted Hermione to wake up and smile at him, he wanted her to squeeze his hand and reassure him that she was okay. However, she wasn't even going to wake up for several more days.

Just when he thought that the Hospital Wing couldn't get any fuller, the door swung open again to reveal Master Auror Moody. Harry groaned inwardly, sure that they were going to get their arses chewed out right and proper now. As if their parents weren't enough. However, he was surprised when the one-legged man stumped in with a vase full of purple lilacs in his hands. He paid no mind to the fact that he leaned over Lucius to put it on the table next to Hermione's head. He growled at Neville and Daphne when he caught them staring at him in complete astonishment.

"Nothing to see here. Put your eyes back in your head." His words were gruff but Harry knew that he was slightly embarrassed. He really cared about Hermione and he wasn't used to people seeing it. He looked straight at Harry.

"How'd she fight?" Harry smiled at Moody.

"You'd have been proud, sir. She held nothing back and she was winning against Dolohov. She protected me from him and I think she might have cut his prick off. I didn't stop to check. If she hadn't been petrified from behind, I think she would have beat him." Moody chuckled darkly before he leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to her forehead before backing away quickly and heading for the door. He called out over his shoulder, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"As soon as she's well enough to train, all three of you are starting intensive training, more intensive than last summer. I hope you're ready. This was proof that while you're good, you still aren't good enough to not die." As insulting as his words were, they were the truth. The Hospital Wing doors banged shut and Harry could see that Sirius was getting ready to protest.

"You're not doing all your training with Moody. He's in the Order." Harry wondered just how much they were supposed to be saying in front of Daphne and Neville. Not to mention, Severus was still there. However, when he looked over, the Potions Master was sitting back with a look of distaste on his face, like he was being forced to be there. Harry had a feeling that this summer they were going to have to decide to whether or not to bring them in on the family secret or not. After all, the twins and Ron already knew. Neville was just as close to the family. Harry sighed.

"I want to train with all of you as well but admit it, Siri. We need help. I'm not ready to face Voldemort and you can't possibly think that Hermione is going to let me get there alone. Draco isn't going to let her help me without him. We all need help. I want you all to train me, Remus and Tonks too, but Moody is crazy good. We need his help too. Not to mention, he seems to have a soft spot for Hermione. She's probably the only reason he's offering to help us. Let's not look a gift horse in the mouth. I'm not too keen to be rubbing shoulders with the Order either but we still have family members that are members. We have to play nice." Sirius sighed and nodded, rubbing his hands down his face.

"You're right, of course. We'll do it as a family." Harry nodded, this time laying his head down for good.

There was nothing else to do and he was determined to get a nap in. He was exhausted and he had all the time in the world. The only thing he was waiting for was for Hermione to wake. He let his eyes slide closed and hoped against hope that he wouldn't see that bright purple curse slam into her chest over and over again as Morpheus pulled him into his care.

A/N- A short chapter but I didn't think that it would be overly long. Just getting everyone's reactions. I hope you all enjoyed. Thanks again to everyone for reading and reviewing, you guys are seriously my heroes! Leave me a message after the beep and tell me what you think!

Next chapter, Hermione wakes up and Leaving Feast.

Love,

Alicia


	107. Chapter 107

A/N- Here we are again, y'all, with another chapter. You guys have been waiting for Hermione to wake up and I hope that I've done this chapter justice. You'll have to let me know either way. Once again, as always, thank you for always showing me so much love and support, you guys are simply the bomb. Enough for now, I want to get this written!

**Shout out to Espiritu Salvaje for being my 5300th reviewer! You're the freaking bomb diggity!**

Disclaimer: Nothing about this story belongs to me, I feel as though I've mentioned that before. Nor have I made any money from this story or any other. Still a broke bitch over here so I'll just leave this disclaimer at that.

Chapter 107

June 6, 1996

Hermione fluttered her eyes open, a little at a time, the sunshine hurting it every time they opened. Her chest hurt with every breath but she tried to focus on keeping her eyes open. There were voices all around her but she couldn't focus on what they were saying. She could tell that it was Draco, Harry, and Uncle Sev though. Hermione slammed her eyes open when she realized that her godfather was sitting next to her. Uncle Sev was there and he wasn't yelling and cursing about her. Maybe he had forgiven her after all. She moved her arm to wipe the sleep from her eyes, hoping that it would help her focus better, when suddenly, three faces appeared before her. Her godfather's hand smoothed the hair back from her forehead and smiled down at her.

"What do you need, poppet?" Suddenly, Hermione needed a drink more than anything. She didn't think she could speak at all.

"Water." Her voice was croaky but she couldn't help it. A straw appeared, Draco holding the glass next to her face, and she greedily drank the glass down. After the slurp signified that it was gone, she cleared her throat again.

"Can you wipe my eyes so I can focus with them? It feels like there's a film over them." Her godfather disappeared and Harry moved further up, his thumb coming up to stroke the soft skin of her temple. He smiled down at her.

"We're glad that you're awake. You gave us all quite a scare." She opened her mouth to ask how long she had been asleep but Uncle Sev reappeared with a hot washcloth and started to clean her eyes thoroughly. After he was through, Hermione could see much better. When she focused on the three men in front of her, she was appalled at what she saw.

"You three look terrible. Why haven't you been taking care of yourselves?" It was true. Uncle Sev's hair was lank and greasy and his robes were creased. Harry and Draco both had several days worth of stubble and she was sure that she saw a gravy stain on Harry's outer robe. Draco's hair hadn't been styled and they both looked quite unkempt. However, she wasn't given an answer because Madam Pomfrey bustled in and smiled down at her.

"Let's run a diagnostic on you and see how you're doing. If all is going well, we'll let you sit up. Your Head of House promised to call for your father and uncle anyways. I know you're wanting answers but they will want to be here for that." Hermione sighed, knowing that she was right. Uncle Sev shooed the two boys away, telling her that he was going to call for her father and uncle. Hermione lay there motionless and waited as the mediwitch cast her diagnostic, watching the runes flash by above her while Madam Pomfrey recorded what they meant. When they disappeared, she conjured several pillows and helped pull Hermione into a sitting position. While it hurt her chest, once she was sitting up, the pain was quite a bit less. Since the curtain was still pulled, Madam Pomfrey sighed.

"I'm going to go ahead and show you since you won't be able to see once they all arrive. You will have a scar, dear, a rather large one. I did the best I could with it, as did Professor Snape, but it was laced with dark magic. You should look at it before everyone gets here." Hermione remembered the pain in her chest from the curse Dolohov had sent her way and knew that it was going to be bad. Madam Pomfrey helped her with the tie at the back of her gown and then came around front to help her lower the gown to her waist.

Hermione gasped and tears flooded her eyes when she saw the scar that marred her perfect skin. While she had never considered herself to be a vain person, now that the long ropey, twisted flesh danced its way from the top of her left breast to the top of her right hip, she wondered if she really was. The scar was raised and red and the flesh around it looked irritated as well. She didn't dare touch it and she covered it back up quickly, not able to look at any more.

She was hideous.

Her hopes that Harry would someday find her attractive were long gone. Sure, she had a pretty face but the second she took her clothes off in front of any man, they would be disgusted with her. She knew that men valued a pretty face and a great body. Who would she ever trust enough to bare herself in front of? Madam Pomfrey noticed her distress and tied her up in the back before putting an arm around her shoulders in comfort.

"It won't always look like that, dear. The redness will go away and with time it won't be so raised. I'm sorry I couldn't do more for you, dear." Hermione nodded her head, trying to blink away the tears.

"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey, I appreciate what you've done for me. I know that you did your best." The woman was saved from responding by the curtain pulling back to reveal Draco, Harry, Uncle Sev, her father, and Uncle Lucius. Even though she was thrilled to see her family, she couldn't help but be a little apprehensive at her father and godfather. Last she knew, they were still angry with her and refused to speak to her. However, her father led the charge her way, his arms open and small smile on his face.

His arms held her close and she breathed in his familiar smell. He kissed her head several times and she made sure to hold herself carefully so he didn't hurt her chest. When he released her, Uncle Lucius was next, holding her close and whispering to her that he was so happy that she was alive and fairly well. Finally, he released her and Uncle Sev approached, moving in to hug her tightly when she didn't shy away from him. He kissed the side of her head again and again before he finally spoke.

"I'm so sorry for how I treated you, Hermione. I didn't mean any of the things I said to you, I was just so angry that you had been hurt by that awful woman and you hadn't come to me. You'll bear her scar forever and I hate that I could have done something and I didn't get the chance to. Please forgive me for the things that I said and how I acted afterwards. I felt so fucking guilty and even though it isn't a good excuse, it's really all I have." Hermione let out a sob and buried her face as far in his robes as she could without hurting her chest. He held her close and rocked her like he had when she had been a small child. After a minute, she had brought herself under control and spoke.

"Of course I forgive you, I love you. I was so scared that you hated me and that you would never talk to me again." Uncle Sev combed his fingers through her hair and shushed her softly.

"I could never not talk to you. You're my world, Hermione. Sure, I get angry but I would do anything for you." Hermione stayed leaned against his chest and just soaked his attention up like a sponge. Her father raked a hand through his own curls and grinned at her sheepishly.

"I'm sorry too, poppet. I was sorry as soon as I made it home that night after I found out. I knew I had fucked up but I wanted to make a grand gesture to apologize since I had fucked it up so royally. I was going to throw you a huge ball this summer, I was going to surprise you with it. It got ruined though since you were hurt and I'm here with you. I just hope you can accept my apology when I tell you I was just an idiot and overreacted." Hermione leaned out of her godfather's arms and hugged her father close.

"I love you, daddy." Hermione felt him kiss her forehead before gently pushing her back into her pillows behind her. She made to pull her blankets up over her chest to make sure that nobody could see her scar but remembered that her gown covered it completely. Her godfather didn't miss the action and narrowed his eyes at her.

"Did Poppy show you the scar?" Hermione lowered her eyes to her hands and debated about lying for a moment but finally nodded her head. Uncle Sev would know instantly anyways.

"She said that I would see it anyways and that I should see it before you all got here. It's hideous." It was Harry that spoke, surprising her completely.

"Beauty isn't judged by outward appearances. Someone who really cares about you isn't going to care about a scar so you shouldn't either." Hermione felt her heart leap with joy until she remembered that she had never seen him with a single less than attractive girl. Her face turned hard as she stared him down.

"It's funny that you say that. I've never seen you with a single girl that wasn't ridiculously pretty. I bet you haven't shagged a single girl with a scar from the top of her breast that reaches clear down to her hip. Not a pretty thin little line but a huge red ropey scar. No, no man is ever going to want to look at that. I'm hideous and I know it. I don't need you to try to make me feel better. I'm strong enough to face the truth." Harry glared at her in turn.

"No, I haven't ever shagged a girl with a scar like that because all the girls I've ever shagged have been vapid airheads that would never have dreamed of running off to fight Voldemort because they thought their godfather was being tortured to death. When I tell you that the right man isn't going to care about your scar, I know what I'm talking about!" Hermione didn't believe him but didn't want to argue about it further so she left it. She directed her questions at the adults.

"What happened after I was injured?" Uncle Luci leaned back and smoothed his robes.

"After you fell to Dolohov, Harry killed him. He called for Kreacher and your elf cared for you until you were transported here. We arrived, as did the Order, and we faced off with the Death Eaters in the Death Room. Your father was almost killed by Bellatrix when she sent him sailing through the Veil of Death. Harry saved him by summoning him; however, he sustained a few broken bones when he slammed into a wall instead." Hermione tried to sit up straighter but it hurt her chest. Harry took over since he knew that he was the only one that could.

"I followed Bellatrix through the Ministry and found Voldemort in the Atrium. Dumbledore arrived and they dueled. He broke into my mind but I made sure to hide everything important and let him see everything else. The longer he was inside my mind, the stronger I could feel my shields getting and eventually, I was able to shoot a spell at him. It him in the chest and caught him off guard. The Atrium starting filling up with people and he took Bellatrix and left. I kept getting passed around but finally told Dumbledore that I was going wherever you and Sirius were. He told me who had been injured and then I came here." Hermione felt overwhelmed at the information but tried to reason out what was most important.

"How long have I been here?" Draco spoke for the first time.

"We went to the MInistry eight days ago." Hermione sagged even further into the pillows behind her and let out a breath she hadn't even been aware that she was holding. Finally, she asked the next important question.

"Who else was hurt?" Her father answered this question.

"Nymphadora was injured and was forced to stay in St. Mungo's for four days while she re-grew an arm. Ronald Prewett was kept here until a few days ago because he was attacked by the brains in the Thinking Room and they still aren't quite sure how the thoughts have affected him. He still seems just a little off. Hestia Jones was killed and Dedalus Diggle is still in Mungo's." Hermione felt guilty for their injuries, an innocent woman's death. She had never even met her. They were all her fault, all because she had decided to go to the Ministry and save the day. She shoved it to the back of her mind and took a deep, steadying breath, employing her occlumency to help keep her emotions under control.

"Did Voldemort get the prophecy?" Harry shook his head.

"No, I kept it from him. We'll talk about it later. Right now, I have something I need to say to you that I should have said a long time ago." Hermione stiffened, not sure that she wanted to hear what he had to say. It sounded serious and she wasn't sure that she could handle any more serious for the day. She already had enough guilt on her plate for five people. Rather than speak, Hermione remained silent until Harry forged ahead.

"You were right about Ginny, about everything. She threw you in that lake, she threw the stones at you, she cursed you bald. She even gave me the potion to mess with my occlumency shields and she had been planning to marry me since before she knew me, Molly has been telling her to get with me under the orders of the Headmaster. You were right about all of it, Hermione, and I'm so sorry that I didn't listen to you when you told me time and time again about it." Hermione couldn't believe what she was hearing. How was this even possible? How did he know these things? Just what had she missed while she had been unconscious? She cleared her throat slightly to ask the million galleon question.

"How do you know all this? There is no way she would ever admit it to you." Harry sighed and leaned so far forward that he was ready to topple out of his chair on his face. It was clear that he didn't want to meet her eyes.

"I wondered why you had just froze when Dolohov cursed you. Once we got here, I attacked Ginny with legilimency and broke through her shields. I saw everything. She still had some of Tom's aura inside her from that diary possessing her, it told her to have an elf feed met that potion. She petrified you in the back, that's why Dolohov's curse hit you." Hermione felt her magic surge but it wasn't even strong enough to do much more than flare. It was rather pathetic. Tears stung her eyes and for the first time, Hermione hoped that somebody had killed her. Harry must have seen the look on her face because he shook his head slowly.

"She isn't dead. Uncle Lucius backhanded her but your father decided that we shouldn't lose the rest of the Weasleys. Severus obliviated her and she's in St. Mungo's until the mind healers deem her healed. After that, she won't be allowed near you or your home ever again. She knows nothing more about any of us than very general information." Hermione still didn't feel like that was enough. She was going to have a scar the size of Asia for the rest of her life all because Ginny was a jealous hag. However, she understood where father was coming from as well.

"It doesn't seem fair. It wasn't enough." Her godfather laid his arm around her shoulders again and jostled her slightly to get her attention.

"It wasn't enough but would you have rather lost the twins? Bill? I know you're growing closer to Charlie. Would getting even with her have been worth losing all of them? Molly would have demanded that they declare a blood feud and your father and uncle would have declared one back. There would have been no way to save the friendships." Hermione nodded, showing that she understood.

"I know, he made the right decision. I'm just saying that she wasn't punished enough." The room fell silent and Hermione leaned heavily against her godfather until he sighed.

"Don't get too comfortable, sweetness. It's the Leaving Feast and I must attend. We leave tomorrow for Blackmoor, you included. The boys have already requested to stay behind with you but I must attend. I believe that your father and uncle have wives and girlfriends to update. Some rest would do you wonders and we can fill you in on the rest of the details tomorrow once we travel back home." Hermione shot a look over to Harry and he grimaced. He shook his head.

"No, I don't get to go with you. I have to wait until Dumbledore comes to get me. Trust me, he knows I'm livid and he swore that I wouldn't be there as long this year. I'm hoping for only a month." Hermione opened her mouth to complain but Harry just help up a hand and shook his head.

"It will do no good. I tried for over two hours and all he would tell me is that I had to be there because my mother's blood protects me there. I can survive for a month. Just means I'm going to have to train even harder when I get back to Blackmoor." Hermione sighed, knowing he was right.

The adults all stood, kissing her goodbye and promising to see her the next day. Her father told her that if she was well enough he would allow her to ride the train with her friends but if she wasn't, he would come retrieve her. She grimaced, hoping against hope that she could suffer through the train ride. It would be the last time she got to see Harry for who knew how long; she wanted to go.

They all departed and it left only Harry, Hermione, and Draco. She was quite tired and the boys seemed to realize it. However, she wasn't about to go to sleep. She wanted more information and she wasn't about to quit until she got it.

-O-

Harry wanted to tell her how he felt about her so badly but knew that he couldn't do it today. It wouldn't be right to do it the first day that she woke up but he wanted to make sure that he told her before he left for Privet Drive. Maybe he could tell her on the train ride home, if she got to ride the Express that was. All the adults said their goodbyes, promising to see her the following day, Severus later that evening. After it was just himself, Hermione and Draco, Harry gestured for her to lay back down but she shook her head stubbornly. He sighed.

"What are you wanting that you won't rest?" She gave him a small smile.

"You're getting to know me so well. I don't want to go to sleep until I know what happened with the prophecy. Clearly it it was big deal. I don't like not knowing what's going on." Harry sighed again as Draco tried to hide his smile behind his hand. The blond was clearly enjoying how his cousin was working her charm on him to get exactly what he wanted. He watched as a shiver ran down her spine, telling him that she was cold. He stood and slid into the spot that Severus had taken, putting an arm around her. She snuggled into his side, giving a soft little sigh of contentment when he pulled the blanket further up over her chest and arms.

"I kept the prophecy from Voldemort. The Headmaster came here the next morning and tried to speak to me alone about it. I found out that he's known about the prophecy since before I was born and has done nothing to train me, nothing to ready me for meeting Voldemort. I was angry and I refused to go with him. Uncle Lucius told me to just break the prophecy so the Dark Lord could never get his hands on it or the knowledge inside it. I'll let you look inside my mind at the memory so you can remember it just as clearly as I do. It's something that I won't ever forget." Hermione nodded and looked around for her wand. It was nowhere to be seen and Harry shrugged his shoulders. He was actually certain that Uncle Lucius had it but rather than make a big deal out of it, handed her his instead. She rolled it around in her fingers for a few seconds before raising it to point at his head.

"Legilimens."

Harry let his shield down, pushing the memory from only a few days before to the very forefront of his mind. He let it replay over and over, telling her the content of the prophecy as many times as she wanted until she finally backed out of his mind respectfully, making sure that she didn't look at anything else on her way. Her fingers were still clenched around his wand as she just stared at him incredulously.

"You're supposed to go against him and kill him, or let him kill you, and the Headmaster thought that he would let that happen without you having any training whatsoever?" Hermione's voice was getting shrill so Harry started to rub her shoulder just a little so he could calm her down. Draco reached out and rubbed her foot just a little.

"Harry told him that we're doing nothing this summer but training. Moody came by and left you flowers and he said that all three of us are training as soon as you're able. I don't think we're going to get an easy summer this year." Hermione was clearly starting to calm under his and Draco's ministrations but he wondered if it wasn't also because she was starting to tire. However, she wasn't able to sleep because Madam Pomfrey appeared before her with a tray of food in hand.

"I know you're tired, Miss Black, but you must eat. You're ready for sleep, which I completely understand, but you must eat a little bit first. I should have insisted you eat first but let your father and uncle's charms get the better of me." Hermione chuckled just a little and sat up off of Harry so she could eat a little. Harry and Draco helped make sure that she was properly propped up before they let her start to feed herself the soup and crusty bread that she had been served.

Harry and Draco were served a plate of chicken and potatoes, probably what they were serving at the Feast. Harry cleaned his plate in little time but Hermione ate slowly, probably trying to keep it down since it had been many days since her stomach had had anything but potions in it. It took her almost forty-five minutes to eat half the bowl but when she finally pushed it away, there was more color in her cheeks. Harry could tell that she wasn't going to last much longer so he gave her a look that told her that he was serious.

"You need to lay back down and sleep. Especially if you mean to convince them that you want to ride the Express for eight hours tomorrow." Hermione nodded this time, sliding gently so she could lay flat again. Harry reached out to help her, Draco lifting the blankets to make it easier. She rolled on her side to face Harry and snuggled into her pillow, Draco tucking the blankets in around her. She had just closed her eyes when the door banged open, causing her to jump. Harry cursed loudly when he realized that it was the twins, Juliet, Neville, Luna, and Daphne.

"Could you guys be any louder? She's trying to go back to sleep, she's exhausted." They all looked at the bed quite shame-faced and Harry saw that Hermione was giving them a sleepy smile. Her voice was soft and muffled when she spoke.

"Sorry, everyone, I'm just so tired. Not sure why after sleeping for eight days straight." Daphne stepped up to her bed and reached over Draco to fluff her curls.

"It's alright, Hermione, we'll see you tomorrow. We just wanted to come say that we've missed you and can't wait until you're better. It isn't the same without you bossing us around." Hermione snorted softly but Harry watched as her eyes fell closed. The rest of their group looked a little disappointed but Jules just smiled.

"She'll have more energy in the morning. Hopefully she'll get to ride home with us and we can talk to her then. We know she's awake and that she's going to be okay. That's what we came here for so let's not get sad about it." The twins visibly shook themselves and nodded their heads, throwing their arms around the young Gryffindor. Neville wrapped an arm around Luna's waist and started to pull her towards the Hospital Wing door.

"We'll just go so we don't get in trouble for having too many people in here. We'll see you all in the morning." Daphne leaned down and kissed Draco, who returned it quickly, but he sat back down. Harry frowned at him as he watched the blonde girl leave.

"If you want to go spend some time with her before the summer, you can. I'll keep Hermione company." Draco shook his head.

"Nah, it's fine. She'll be over plenty over the summer. I think my father plans to see just where her father stands this summer. I can't be certain but I have a feeling it's going to happen. Besides, she understands. She knows that Hermione is important to me and won't make me choose." Harry just nodded his head, enjoying that she was asleep next to him, trusting him enough protect her while she slept. The room fell silent for quite some time, Harry almost dozing off himself. Draco's voice pulled him from his almost-slumber.

"I really hope that you meant what you said about her scar. She deserves someone that isn't going to get disgusted when they look at it. You haven't even seen it and you seem pretty sure of yourself." Harry sighed and looked down to make sure that there were no signs of Hermione waking. However, her breathing was even and deep, telling him that she was indeed sleeping deeply.

"I can tell you that I don't care because her scar really doesn't matter to me. I love her now and I haven't even seen her tits. Why would it matter once I have? I told you, I want her, not her body. Well, you know what I mean." Draco smirked at him slightly but nodded.

"Yeah, I know. I just hope you mean it." Harry rolled his eyes. He knew that he had been a manwhore before but it had been coming up on a year since he had had sex. Hadn't he earned the right to have someone give him the benefit of the doubt? He answered a little more snappishly that he meant to.

"I mean it for Merlin's sake. Can we drop it now?" Draco raised his eyebrows at his tone but nodded.

Harry leaned his head back against the headboard and closed his eyes while Draco leaned back in his chair and pulled out a book. He let his mind drift to finding the perfect time to tell Hermione his feelings and decided that tomorrow was going to have to work since he didn't want to wait any longer. He could only hope that she didn't laugh at him outright. That would probably break his heart if she did.

Harry slipped off to sleep as he promised himself that he wouldn't let fear get him down, that he wouldn't let it make him back down. He was going to tell Hermione how he felt about her before it was too bloody late.

A/N- Another short chapter but it was meant to be a filler chapter from the start. Just enough to show that Hermione woke up and is still alive and kicking so to speak. I hope you all enjoyed the little by-play between our favorite characters. Big thanks to everyone that is still reading and reviewing, you guys are my heroes. Let me know what y'all think.

Next chapter, everyone leaves Hogwarts and Harry gets honest with Hermione.

Love,

Alicia


	108. Chapter 108

A/N- Once again, the love you guys show this story blows me away. You guys are just awesome. I actually paid attention today and realized that this story is already over 800,000 words and it's just over eleven months old. That tells me that I really have no freaking life. All the better for y'all though. I won't say much else aside from thanks for the love...

Disclaimer: Still don't own the characters or the plot line. Those belong to J.K.R. and Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle. Still haven't made any money off this story or any other...maybe someday I'll write an original and become rich and famous. Someday…

Chapter 108

June 7, 1996

Harry watched Hermione carefully as she ate her scrambled eggs and toast from the hospital bed. She wasn't the most thrilled about not being able to eat her fruit and porridge but Madam Pomfrey had insisted that eat something with protein in it. Hermione had begrudgingly told her that if it meant her being set free that much sooner, she would do whatever it took. Harry had chuckled softly at how vehement she sounded.

It had been decided that even though Hermione was still in a fair bit of pain, she would be allowed to travel home on the Hogwarts Express with the other students as long as she was careful and didn't over-exert herself. Harry and Draco had promised to be by her side the entire time to make sure that that very thing didn't happen. The last thing that they wanted was for her to back-slide and end up back in the Hospital Wing again.

As it was, Hermione was going to be on a dozen potions a day for at least the next month, maybe longer. Madam Pomfrey couldn't say for sure how long since it depended on how long it took for her body to heal. She was hoping that it wouldn't take as long as she feared since her magic was so strong but she was guessing long so nobody would be disappointed when it took longer than she had predicted. Hermione had been disappointed at the news but had accepted it rather quickly, telling herself that it could have been a lot worse.

Harry put his empty plate on the tray that Kreacher had delivered for himself, Draco, and Hermione. He and Draco had finished and they were just waiting for Hermione to finish so she could change into her comfortable clothes to go home in. Usually, students were required to wear their uniform on the Express home as well but she had been given special dispensation to wear something loose and comfortable so it wouldn't irritate her wound. She had confided in himself and Draco that while it wasn't open, it was still rather red and irritated.

Finally, she pushed her plate away, half the food eaten. It was more than he had hoped for. Since going eight days without food, her appetite had dropped considerably. Madam Pomfrey assured them that it would return but Harry couldn't help but worry. She had hardly ate anything before. Kreacher appeared as soon as her plate was set on the tray and he popped away with it, leaving them with the task of Hermione changing before them.

Kreacher had chosen her outfit for her, probably the most muggle outfit that he had ever seen her wear in his life. He was sure that Aunt Cissy had to be behind her even owning something like yoga pants but he personally couldn't wait to see how they hugged her generous curves. The long sleeved tee shirt was loose on her but it still showed how petite and perfect her breasts were. She still had her school robes to go over the top of her clothes but he knew from experience that she would remove them once they were in the compartment on the Express. It felt wrong for him to think about how wonderful her body would be when she was injured but the fact remained that he was still a teenaged boy. He was brought out of his daydream by Hermione throwing back the blankets and groaning just a little as she stood. Draco was at her side, instantly, hand out to help her. She took it gratefully, using it to get her balance. After she was standing, she flashed him a smile.

"Thanks, Drake. Who knew that standing would be so difficult after only nine days?" She grabbed her clothes from the bed and headed for the bathroom. Harry watched her go, stumbling slightly.

"Kreacher." The elf appeared, bowing low.

"What can Kreacher do for Master?" Harry smiled at the elf, taking a page from Hermione's book.

"Your mistress went into the bathroom to change but she isn't very steady. I'm not sure if she's bathing or not. Please go and make sure that she doesn't need help. Draco and I can't help her and Madam Pomfrey has gone to breakfast." Kreacher bowed again.

"Yes, Kreacher will helps his Mistress." Kreacher disappeared with a pop and Harry sighed. He stood and made the bed while she was gone, straightening the blankets. Draco just watched, a smirk on his face. When Harry looked up and saw him, he just glared at his blond friend. Draco openly laughed.

"What has you so nervous? I know you hate your muggle relatives but you can't possibly be worried about them mistreating you now." Harry debated telling him the truth and decided to just go for it. She would tell him anyways.

"I'm going to tell her how I feel about her before we part ways today. I almost lost her in the Department of Mysteries and I don't want anything to happen to either one of us and her not know that I'm arse over kettle in love with her." Draco's face turned serious and he nodded at Harry.

"Alright. I'll make sure that you have an opening before you leave with the muggles. Just don't fuck it up. She's my cousin and you're my friend. I'd like to see you two happy. Know that if it comes down to it, I'll always pick her first." Harry laughed softly.

"I would never expect you to choose me over her, mate. She's your best friend. Your family. I don't expect you to ruin that for me." Draco nodded his head and snapped his head to the side when he heard the shower head turn on in the bathroom.

"She's ridiculous. She's going to shower and exhaust herself before she even starts on her exhausting journey. You know she's going to sleep most of the way to King's Cross." Harry chuckled.

"Oh, I know. Can you imagine nine days without a shower though?"

Her shower really didn't last too long. She appeared only ten minutes later in the yoga pants and tee shirt that Kreacher had chosen for her, her hair long, sleek, and shining down her back. Harry couldn't help fantasizing about fisting his hair in her curls and tugging her hair hard enough to expose her throat so he could taste her pulse point with his teeth. His cock hardened painfully at the thought. Kreacher popped in next to her and tugged on her hand.

"Mistress, yous things is all packed and I's taking it to Blackmoor. Would Miss like mes to take the Masters?" Hermione looked to Draco and he nodded his head. She turned to her elf and smiled.

"You may take Draco's but Harry has to return to his muggle relatives for awhile before he comes home." Kreacher frowned but nodded and then disappeared. Hermione sighed and squared her shoulders.

"Shall we, gentlemen? The Express leaves in forty-five minutes and I'm going to be moving slower than usual. Is everyone going on without us or are they waiting on us?" Harry put an arm around her waist while Draco laid a hand between her shoulder blades.

"I think they're just going to meet us on the Express. I think Jules and the other lions had some last minute packing to do." Hermione nodded as she allowed them to guide her out of the Hospital Wing. Harry was sure that she was supposed to get checked out by Madam Pomfrey again but it seemed as though she was flying the coop. Not that he blamed her. She had been thoroughly examined earlier that morning and had the list of potions tucked away in her robes, the actual potions shrank down to fit in her pockets as well in case she needed them on her trip on the Express.

Several people called out hellos to them on their trip through the castle. Professor McGonagall stopped them and gingerly hugged Hermione, telling her that she was happy that she had recovered enough to go home. She had promised to visit over the summer so she could test her and see if she was ready to take her N.E.W.T.; Hermione was considering testing out so she could possibly pursue and dual mastery. She was still undecided.

Finally, the three of them reached the entrance of the school and saw that the carriages were lined up as usual. Draco stepped up into one and held out his hand for Hermione while Harry helped boost her up by the waist. She hissed slightly in pain but said nothing. Harry settled next to her for the ride to Hogsmeade and made small talk about what their plans were going to be when Harry finally got to Blackmoor. It was clear that Hermione wasn't going to last long once they reached the Express because she was already leaning into his side by the time they pulled up to the train station.

Harry stepped out first this time, Hermione following. He helped her step down and steadied her until she had her balance. Her robes were fluttering in the early summer breeze, lifting her curls slightly. Draco took her hand and started to pull her towards the Express, children of all sizes and ages already filling up the inside. Draco led the way, pulling them along by Hermione's hand until they were onboard. They quickly found an empty compartment and Harry helped Hermione settle in next to him while Draco took the bench seat across from them.

Hermione shed her robes and stuffed them in the corner next to the window and he wondered briefly if Kreacher had transported Tenebris to Blackmoor as well. Usually he traveled with his mistress but since she wasn't well, he figured that the elf had taken it upon himself to do what he could his mistress. Her eyes were already heavy and Harry reached out and tugged one of her curls.

"Already ready for a nap?" Hermione gave him a tired smile.

"Yes, but I'm going to wait until I see everyone. I missed them last night. Then I'll sleep." Harry grinned at her and nodded. Draco pulled his wizards chess set out of his pocket and enlarged it, setting it up on a small table between himself and Harry. He raised an eyebrow in Harry's direction and Harry just laughed. Hermione even grinned at the exchange. Before they could officially start the game, however, the door opened and their friends poured in. Daphne, Luna, Neville, Jules, and the twins all entered, laughing boisterously. They all squished in as tightly as they could, making room for everyone. Fred and George spoke together.

"Welcome back to the the land of the living, Black! How gnarly is your scar? You could get so many blokes attention with a scar that is totally badarse." Harry felt Hermione stiffen next to him but she tried to play it off that it didn't bother her.

"It's pretty big but very ugly. I don't think any man would want to see it. Good thing my robes cover it." Even though her words were meant to be nonchalant, it was clear that the twins got the message that their words had bothered her. Fred stood and plopped himself right on Harry's lap while George squeezed in between Hermione and the window. Both hugged her close and Fred sounded sad when he spoke.

"Hermione, any man would be lucky to look at that scar for the rest of their life. We were just trying to make the situation lighter." Hermione nodded in their hug and Harry managed to shove Fred off his lap. Hermione laughed as Fred landed on the floor and started to rub his bum. Juliet gave her sister a fearful look.

"Are you sure that you're alright, Hermione?" Hermione gave her sister a smile and nodded.

"I still hurt a bit but I'm good overall. Madam Pomfrey said that I'll get better each day. I have to take quite a few potions but they're going to help me get better faster. I just have to take it easy and not overdo it." Jules gave her a small smile and her anxiety seemed to lessen. She relaxed between the twins once they took their seats again. Daphne and Draco were talking quietly, her legs curled underneath her, her arms wrapped around his while he bent to whisper in her ear. Neville and Luna were both leaned against each other and he was twirling her hair around his fingers. Harry had heard that she was spending half her summer with him and his grandmother.

Draco made the first move of the chess game and the game was off. Hermione leaned against him and tried to help him but she was truly terrible at the game. Much worse than he was and that was saying something. Eventually, he looked over and saw that she was asleep against his side. He shifted her until she was laying down with her head in his lap facing his belly. He rested his free hand on the side of her neck, his fingers toying with a long curl.

Harry played Draco several more times before his friend bowed out, snuggling up to his girlfriend and holding her close. Daphne closed her eyes and Draco wrapped her up tight. Harry laid his head back against the headrest and closed his eyes, resting them as his fingers danced across the soft skin of Hermione's neck, relishing the soft thrumming of her pulse. It still scared the life out of him when he considered that he had almost lost her.

Slowly, their friends trickled out to go visit other friends. The twins left with their girlfriends, Jules with her friends from Gryffindor. Neville and Luna left to take a stroll to work off the candy they had bought from the trolley. Daphne slept on in Draco's arms while his friend read a book. Harry had pulled out a book on warding as well, reading until they got closer to King's Cross.

They were only half an hour from London when Harry finally reached down and shook Hermione awake. Her eyes fluttered awake sweetly and she seemed genuinely surprised to find herself in his lap. Her cheeks colored prettily as she struggled to sit up, stammering out an apology for putting him in an awkward position. Harry just smiled at her and told her that he had put her like that since it looked most comfortable. There was clearly a chill in the air since her nipples were hard and quite visible through her long sleeved tee shirt, unable to wear a bra with her injuries. It was both a blessing and a curse.

Before Harry knew it, they were pulling into King's Cross station. Draco shot him a meaningful look while he stood and helped Daphne to his feet. Since Draco's things had been taken to Blackmoor by Kreacher already, Draco bent to gather Daphne's trunk and started to pull it from the carriage. Harry called for Dobby, only to tell him to take the trunk to his room at Privet Drive, but to leave it packed until he could get further instructions from his aunt and uncle. When he turned to face Hermione, he noticed that she was giving him a sad smile.

"You're so brave, Harry, for returning there, year after year." Harry could hardly believe his ears. Returning wasn't brave of him; it was a necessity. If he didn't have to, he wouldn't.

"It isn't brave. It's a necessity. If I could go with you right now, I would. Wild horses couldn't drag me away from you." Hermione laughed softly but her hand found his and Harry squeezed it softly.

"You'll do just fine without me, Harry. You always do." Harry jerked her to him roughly, almost feeling guilty when she hissed in pain. His hand curled in her hair and forced her head to look up to him, green eyes meeting ice blue. Now that they were alone in the compartment, it was the perfect time to tell her how he felt. His hands gentled because he didn't want her to remember the first time him telling her that he loved her as her being manhandled.

"I wouldn't do just fine without you, Hermione. I love you. I would wither away and die without you. You have come to mean so much to me that it just isn't right. I can honestly say that you mean more to me than anyone else in this world. I have done my best to prove to you that I love you, that I have changed for you. I've given up the girls; the last time I had sex was almost a year ago. I don't fantasize about anyone but you because you're already so far down deep in my heart and soul that it won't even let me picture another girl naked. Every morning I wake up and wonder how you are, how you slept. I'm sure that every bloke alive would die laughing if he knew how besotted I was but I really don't care." Harry stopped just long enough to pull a hand through his unruly hair.

"I almost lost you, Mia, right before my very eyes. You almost died right in front of me and there was nothing that I could do to stop it. I swore to myself that when you woke up, I was going to tell you how I felt no matter how hard it was. I was going to tell you that I loved you and let you make the decision on what to do with our relationship. If you want me to just forget how I feel, I'll do my best to abide by your wishes. However, I really want you to give me a chance, to let me prove to you that I can be the man you need me to be." Harry was panting by the end of his speech and Hermione was still silent. There was a dumbfounded look on her face and it was obvious that she had no idea how to respond. Harry took that to be a moment of truth and acted upon impulse.

The Gryffindor in him stepped forward and cupped her cheek with one hand, relishing the soft silkiness of her skin. The other hand cupped the back of her head and he pulled her close. There was plenty of time for her to pull away if she wanted; she simply didn't. Therefore, Harry didn't feel an iota of guilt when he lowered his mouth to hers. His tongued tasted the line of her lips and groaned at the sweet taste she left in his mouth. His tongue plundered her mouth ruthlessly when she opened her mouth the tiniest bit, tasting every inch she offered.

She tasted like honey.

Harry made sure to take his time. His tongue wrestled her for dominance, winning easily, stroking hers into submission. She whimpered softly into his mouth, bringing his cock to life. Her breasts pushed further into his chest and her hands clenched into the robes at his sides. He pushed his cock into her belly and gave a sharp yank at her curls before releasing her. It was clear that her head was hazy because her eyes couldn't focus. It took several seconds for her to realize that he was no longer kissing her and he felt a sort of masculine pride in that. Her next words, however, were like cold water on his erection.

"Are you sure that this isn't just a saving people thing, Harry? I mean, you always want to save everyone and you feel guilty when you can't." Harry felt a surge of rage run through him and he did his best to control it, telling himself that it was a fair question. However, by now, Hermione should know him better than that. His words were incredulous when he spoke.

"You think that I would declare undying love for you because I felt guilty for you almost dying in my presence? Doesn't that sound just a little preposterous to you?" Hermione raised an eyebrow at him, showing him that it was he that she considered to be preposterous.

"I think that you feel guilty for trusting Ginny when she was very clearly the reason for me being attacked and almost dying." Harry opened his mouth to protest and quickly shut it again. There was nothing he could say to refute her words. Hermione crossed her arms over her chest and just stared him down. Harry sighed and raked a hand through his hair.

"Okay, maybe you have a point there, but I've felt something for you since the first second I saw you." Hermione's gaze softened and for a moment, Harry was sure that he had , when her mouth opened, his hopes were dashed.

"Harry, I truly think that this is coming from guilt. You made very clear that we would never be suited. You've always found your pleasure in numerous girls and liked it that way. You made sure to tell me that you didn't want things between us to change." Harry reached out and took her hand.

"Things change, Mia." She smiled gently at him and nodded.

"I understand that. I'm not convinced that this isn't your guilt talking. Even though that was the most mind blowing kiss I've ever had, I don't want to get my hopes up that you really want me when it's really just guilt talking. Therefore, I'm going to propose a deal with you. While I would love nothing more than for you to mean every single last word you just told me, I don't think you do. I say that we put this on hold for the summer. You put your feelings on hold for the summer. If you still feel this way for me at the end of the summer, after the fear of my dying and the guilt of being responsible has passed, I'll give you a chance, Harry Potter. I'll let you court me. I won't stand for anything less. However, if you discover that guilt and fear is what motivated these feelings and this kiss, we'll never speak of it past August 31st and there won't be any hard feelings either way." Harry knew exactly what she was doing and he supposed that he couldn't blame her. He had hurt her plenty of times in the past and she was merely protecting her heart. She didn't think that he was really serious about her, she thought that he was only wanting her because he felt sad and sorry for what had happened to his friends and family because of his relationship with her. Of course he would strive to make it better. Therefore, she had done all she could to make sure that she didn't get hurt in the matter. Never could he fault her for that. Since she was ever so logical, Harry bowed his head no matter how much it hurt.

"Yes, Hermione, I will abide by your wishes. I will make my true intent known by August 31st and you will be rest assured that you won't ever have to worry about me doing this because of the guilt I feel for what you have suffered at my hands. I will suffer that the rest of my life." Hermione laughed just a tiny bit and grabbed his arm, pulling him towards the entrance to the Hogwarts Express.

"Come on, let's go. I'm sure that everyone is waiting on us."

Turns out that Hermione was right. Not only was Sirius, Uncle Lucius, Aunt Cissy, Remus, Dora, Aunt Andie, and Alexandre waiting for them at King's Cross, so were the Dursleys. Harry scowled in their direction and hoped that they saw it. He hated to return with them, especially when he knew that his place was with Hermione, taking care of her and making sure that she made a full recovery. Hermione was the first one to catch sight of his relatives and without a second thought to her own health, she started out towards them. Harry was quick on her heels, hoping that she didn't do anything to overtax herself. She had only just woke up yesterday. Rather than start with the intimidating first, she smiled brightly at his aunt, uncle, and cousin.

"Hello, I'm Hermione Black. I hear that you're relatives of Harry's. It's so pleasant to meet you. I bet that you're the most wonderful people." Hermione was simpering, a sight that Harry had never seen. It floored him to say the least. His aunt flushed happily even though it was clear that Hermione was one of his kind. Uncle Vernon, however, wasn't fooled so easily. He gripped Hermione's shoulder and shoved her back roughly, causing her to stumble. Harry, not even giving the others a chance to jump in, had his wand out and pointed under the chin of his portly uncle. His voice was hard and his eyes were cold as he spoke.

"You ever touch her again and I'll kill you without a single care, old man. You may get away with touching me but you will never touch her. Do you understand me?" Uncle Vernon had fear in his eyes and for the first time, Harry felt powerful. It was the first time that he saw why Voldemort ruled with fear.

"I'm not going to hurt her." His uncle's voice warbled slightly with fear. Hermione laid a soft hand on his arm and shook her head. When he lowered his wand, she turned to his family and shot them another smile.

"I'm going to let you know right now that in my world, I'm a very powerful witch. I'm warning you that if you hurt Harry, even threaten to hurt him in a single tiny way, I will fucking end you. I won't kill you quickly like Lily Potter was killed. I'm going to make sure that I take my time and savor it. After all, you've made his life a living hell for how many years now? I figure that you have it coming." Uncle Vernon was getting ready to scoff at her words but clearly the look on her face was enough to prove to him that she was serious. When that look of understanding crossed his face, Hermione smiled and bowed ever so slightly.

"Thank you for your understanding and I'm sorry to take up your day. Harry, would you care to wish me goodbye?" Harry pulled her off to the side and pulled her into a hug, still speechless from her act with the Dursleys. Only Sirius had ever dared act so bold before. His arms held her tight and he buried his face in her shoulder, his nose in her curls. He breathed her scent in deep, committing it to memory so it would last all summer long. When she finally pulled away, she gave him a soft smile.

"I love you, Harry. I know that I've never said it but I've meant it for a long time. Longer than you can imagine. I really hope that you mean your words from earlier because they would mean the world to me. If you don't end up meaning them, however, it's going to be alright. We'll get through things and it'll be okay. I just want to know that we're going to remain friends if nothing more is possible." Harry chuckled and brushed her curls back behind her shoulders, his fingertips softly skimming the skin on her cheeks.

"Oh, Mia, I'm going to do everything in my power to prove to you that we are more than just friends. Just wait and see. When the end of summer arrives, you won't have any more reasons to put me off because you're afraid. I've waited this long, what's a couple more months?" He heard her breath catch and he smiled disarmingly, bending to catch her lips in a short but sweet kiss. Without a goodbye to the others, but a short wave, he headed off with the Dursleys to spend his time in Durzkaban.

Hopefully this year, it would be short lived.

-O-

Hermione was still reeling over that kiss. She couldn't get over how absolutely perfect it was, how she would never forget it no matter what happened in her life. It was everything she had been waiting and hoping for but everything she feared as well. What if Harry really did feel guilty? What if that was why he wanted to be with her? She didn't think that she could stand for him to want to be with her for only those reasons now that it was coming to light that he wanted to be with her at all.

Hermione returned to the side of her father and uncle while she watched Draco tell Daphne goodbye. Her father laid an arm around her shoulders and he smiled down at her. She leaned into her father's side and let him guide her towards the floo network that was available. As much as she hated flooing, it was better than apparating. Draco hurried behind them, Jules bringing up the tail. She caught Hermione's hand and gave it a squeeze and a smile. Together, as a family, they all traveled by floo to Blackmoor. Hermione almost stumbled when she landed in the main foyer but Sipsy was there to catch her. Once she was righted again, Hermione gave her elf a smile.

"Thank you, Sipsy. What would I do without you?" Sipsy just scowled at her and Hermione knew that she was in for it.

"You's would be safe at home and not gallivanting all over the Department of Mysteries trying to die. Thank the stars for Kreachers, he's be making sure that you don't die and leave us with no Mistress to care for." Hermione carefully went to her knees to hug both elves, Dot appearing moments after Sipsy.

"I would never leave you if I had a choice. Besides, Harry called Kreacher and they saved me. Neither one of them wanted me to die there. You're both stuck with me being a whiny baby now that I'm injured." Both elves started to protest but Hermione held up her hands to silence them.

"You always say there isn't enough to do. Now there will be. First, I want you to ready my bed. I'm exhausted. I think I want to take my dinner in bed and sleep. Come morning, I'll want to bathe and take my morning ride and run. I refuse to let this curse get me down for long." Juliet and Draco were both glaring at her, as were her father and uncle. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"I never said that I was going to go for as long as I'm used to. I figured that I would work up to it." Both visibly relaxed and started whispering softly between themselves. Uncle Lucius put an arm around her shoulders and started to pull her towards the dining room. Hermione growled at him, knowing exactly what she was doing. He just smirked at her.

"It's your first dinner home. Have a short dinner and you can go to your room. Everyone is going to be there." Hermione narrowed her eyes.

"Everyone?" Her words were pointed and her uncle caught her meaning immediately. He shook his head.

"No, your father banned her from the wards. She's not allowed within so many feet of the wards without deadly repercussions." Hermione sniffed softly and nodded, happy that she was safe from Ginny in her home. She didn't have to ask that Malfoy Manor was just as safe. She arched a brow at her father.

"What about the Death Eaters?" Her father blew a small breath out of his mouth and eyed her uncle. Uncle Luci finally looked her way and gave her a stern look.

"They've been testing our wards since the Department of Mysteries. They haven't found an opening and they won't. I think they're just trying to intimidate us. Not once have they come close to breaching our wards since it happened, in either house. If the situation starts to look dire, we'll choose a house and we'll all pour our heart, soul, and blood into the blood wards. They won't break them." Hermione leaned into her uncle's side and sighed. It was really beginning.

War.

"Wherever we move to, I don't care. I want to make sure that Bluebell is safe. I want that to be a priority, along with the other horses. I know that you don't all ride but those horses have been my friends since I was small. Please remember that they're important to me as well." Her father reached out and tugged one of her curls while her Aunt Cissy gave her a fond smile.

"Your horses are protected, sweet. Smog has a special portkey that was crafted for them. It works either way. If they are attacked here, he is to transport them to Malfoy Manor. If they are at Malfoy Manor and are attacked, he is to move them here. If neither of these homes are an option at the time, he is move them all to the vacation home in Rome. Fear not for your loves." Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. Her horses had been her friends since she could remember walking. She wanted to make sure that they were safe. She just hoped that Rome never became an option.

Dinner was laid out and they ate quietly. The whole family was there but it was much quieter than they usually were. Hermione knew that they were probably doing so in respect for her but she hoped that wasn't the case. Finally, closer to the end of the meal, she let her fork clank to her plate, drawing a surprised stare from the rest of her family.

"I really hope that the rest of you aren't being so quiet and withdrawn because of me. I would never want anyone to quit laughing because of me. I want laughing to continue, I want people to be happy. I really hope that this is just an off day for everyone." Draco reached out and gave her hand a squeeze, sheepish smile on his face.

"I'm just missing Daphne. Not anything to do with you, Miney." Her father chimed in next.

"Just pissed off that Harry still can't come straight here after school." There were no other outbursts but it proved to her that they weren't all sad about herself. Just as she was about to excuse herself and lean forward to make plans with Severus to continue with their cure for lycanthropy, the door to the dining room blew open and Dot hurried in after, sputtering angrily.

"Yous can't do that to Mistress' things, she's going to be angry and never do's what you want. You have to sweet to hers." Hermione turned in time to see that Moody had arrived, ready and raring to go, wand at the ready. Rather than show that she was ready for a fight, mostly because there was no way that she was ready for that, she decided to embarrass the Master Auror just a little.

"Did you come all this way to protect me from my elves, Master Auror Moody? They are awful bossy." His cheeks flushed bright red and Hermione stood and floated into his embrace, hugging him tightly. She whispered so she wouldn't embarrass him further.

"Your training saved me more than once in the Department of Mysteries. I want to train further once I get stronger. Will you consent to train me?" The grizzled auror's arms snaked around her and held her tight, something he had yet to do. When he released her, she heard his words, his brogue out there for everyone to hear.

"Aye, lassie, I'll be training you. I'll be making sure that you never get hit in the back again. If it weren't for Potter, it wouldn't have happened this time. You're going to be my greatest achievement yet." Hermione warmed at his words. Sipsy appeared at her side and started to pull at her clothing, the strange pants that Aunt Cissy had bought for her to sleep in.

"Now, Missy, it's time for yous to go to bed. Yous should have been in bed a long times ago." Hermione let out a small chuckle at how pushy her elves were but then realized that she hadn't learned as to why Master Auror Moody was there. Did he come to make a point that she wasn't ready to duel? She stood and allowed the elf to push her to the door but turned back to the grizzled man still watching her.

"What did you come for, Professor?" The older man cracked a smile at her.

"I thought you'd be happy to hear that Madam Umbridge's trial has been scheduled for the fifteenth. Not sure if any of you will be called to testify but there's a chance. I think that Madam Bones is trying to spare you since you've been injured." Hermione knew that the grin she was now sporting was enormous but she didn't care.

"Thank you, Master Auror, you just made my day. I think I'll retire for the evening. I'll see everyone in the morning for breakfast." There was a chorus of goodnights and remember to take your potions as she closed the door and headed for her room.

The familiar warmth of her bedroom welcomed her back, though it seemed as though it had been longer than six months since she had last been there. All her things had been put away courtesy of Kreacher so she was able to change into a loose nightgown quickly. Her scar was starting to itch so she lined up an itching potion with the array of potions she had lined up on her bathroom counter.

Hermione downed them all quickly and climbed into bed right after since one of them was a minor sleeping draught. Her eyes grew heavy and her mind turned to Harry's kiss. It truly had been wonderful, a dream come true. She only hoped that come the end of the summer, he felt the same way. He had gone almost a full year without being with another girl just to prove to her how serious he was about her. If he was willing to go to such lengths for a chance with her, considering her own feelings for him, she felt she owed him that chance.

Hopefully, she would be enough.

A/N- Another filler chapter, y'all. However, Harry and Hermione finally kissed! You can't say you haven't been waiting for it. I know I have been! I hope you all enjoyed it and it lived up to your expectations. Leave me a message after the beep and let me know what you think. Reviews are love.

Next chapter, informational chapter and family time.

Love,

Alicia


	109. Chapter 109

A/N- Damn, y'all, you guys are just so awesome. The level of outreach after that kiss was equal to when the truth came out about Sirius being innocent! I have tortured you guys for forever though so I don't mind. I will admit to having a few problems responding to reviews. It keeps saying invalid message when I click to reply and it's so frustrating! So if you didn't get a response, it wasn't my fault! Anyways, thanks to everyone for reading :)

**Shout out to afraidofspiders for being my 5400th reviewer! You're freaking awesome!**

Disclaimer: After all this time, y'all have to know that the characters belong to J.K.R. and the original plot line to Part One belongs to Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle. You must surely know that I still haven't made any money from this story or any other since my bank account literally has thirty two dollars in it. Sucks to suck, or so they say.

Chapter 109

June 21, 1996

Harry rolled out of bed at the sound of the muggle alarm, groaning at the sight of the sun barely peeking out from the dawn. It was early, but then again, it was always early when he had to get up and cook for Uncle Vernon. He wasn't sure how they managed to make it through the school year without him. When he was home, Aunt Petunia always slept in, telling him that she needed her beauty sleep. He knew it would just cause trouble if he told her that there was no amount of beauty sleep in the world that would help her.

Uncle Vernon put away four fried eggs, four slices of toast, a whole rasher of bacon and some beans. It seemed that there was one person in the world that could match Ron bite for bite and he wasn't sure that that was a compliment. He briefly wondered how his friend was spending his holiday, having only received one letter from his redheaded mate. It had rambled on aimlessly without really telling him much; Harry hadn't been sure how to respond and had decided to wait until he had made it to Blackmoor to get advice from Hermione and Draco, even perhaps the twins.

Ron had been released from the Hospital Wing long before Hermione had been, though Harry wasn't sure that he had been quite ready. Ron had still yammered on about things that didn't quite make sense but Madam Pomfrey had assured him that being around his friends and getting back into his routine would help with the mind problems that he was having. It seemed that the brains that had wrapped themselves around him had affected his mind more than Madam Pomfrey had hoped. Not his intelligence, but more his impulse control and his inhibitions. He no longer had a filter, not that he had had much of one to begin with.

After his walrus-sized uncle lumbered away from the table, Harry started to clean up from the meal, only to realize that his aunt and cousin had come down the stairs following the front door slamming closed after Vernon. Dudley had been surprisingly pleasant this summer; he hadn't hassled Harry at all and had thanked him for the things that his parents had made Harry do for him. It was a nice change that Harry laid at the feet of the dementor attack the summer before. Neither his aunt or uncle had really changed their behavior, not that he had expected them to, but it was nice that his cousin had shown some appreciation and maturity about the matter.

Aunt Petunia and Dudley fended for themselves for breakfast, Aunt Petunia making herself some toast while Dudley ate some sort of bran cereal. Harry knew that he was trying to lose some weight so he didn't begrudge him the healthier diet and the fact that he had caught him running in the park. Harry didn't even bother to pretend that he ate with his family anymore; they knew that Dobby brought him food and there was no sense in pretending that he didn't.

Harry dashed upstairs and ate the breakfast that Dobby had waiting for him from Blackmoor; his elf had been given the run of the manor and brought him three meals a day, plus snacks if he asked. This morning he brought him French toast with whipped cream, bacon, and sausages. It was delicious and he chased it down with both milk and orange juice. He thanked Dobby profusely before the elf disappeared with the dishes, knowing that he still had to go do his chores, otherwise listen to his relatives bitch and complain for the rest of his time spent in this hell hole.

Harry moved through the motions, cleaning and dusting the house. He let his mind drift, worrying about Hermione and just what his family was getting up to. She wrote often, every other day, but he still worried that she wasn't really healing as quickly as she told him. It had been two weeks since they had parted and she had been on a dozen potions a day; now, she claimed to be on eight. It wasn't ideal but it was most certainly an improvement.

Hermione hadn't mentioned their kiss in her letters but he could tell that writing him flustered her. Just knowing that gave him hope. He liked that he kept her off balance, that she wasn't her usual in-control persona around him. He wanted her to lose control around him; he wanted to be able to prove to her that she could trust him to take care of her if she handed complete control over to him. He knew that was a ways off but it was a long-term goal.

Draco's letters weren't much more insightful. They told him the same things that Hermione's did, which meant that she had threatened him and told him to back her story or she was actually telling him the truth. Harry hoped against hope that she was telling him the truth so he wouldn't have to worry about her. He knew that she had feelings for him but he wasn't sure if he had killed what little chance he had with her by sleeping with every single willing girl in school.

Not to mention the whole fiasco with Ginny Prewett. She had told him from day one that she had been an evil little twat and he had told her time and time again that she had been wrong, that she had been exaggerating. He had been wrong for ages and she had just taken his abuse, knowing that she was right the whole time. Now, he had had Ginny's guilt smack him in the face and know that it was entirely his fault that Hermione was now sporting a new scar along the length of her chest. It was disheartening and she hadn't even made him feel terrible about it, even though he deserved it. He really wanted her to just punch him in the face and get it over with but he had a feeling that that wasn't going to happen.

Harry finished the indoor chores and started for the backyard, knowing that he had to mow the yard at the very least. He thought that the weeding would hold until the next day so he wanted to get the mowing done so he didn't spend his whole day doing chores. If he did, his aunt and uncle would just find new ones for him in the morning. As it was, he wasn't able to go for his daily run in the evenings and by that time, he was usually exhausted, thanks to his relatives. He was certain that his cousin knew what he was up to but he wasn't worried about him telling them. Even if he did, what were they going to do to stop them? His relatives knew exactly what he and his family were capable of; Sirius had demonstrated for them what he was willing to do if they mistreated Harry by turning Vernon halfway into a pig.

It took several hours to get the entire yard mowed and by the time that he pushed the mower back into the shed, the sun was high in the sky and there was sweat running down his back. Harry swiped at his forehead as he pushed it into its spot in the shed, putting the gas can back where it belonged as well. He went through the back door and saw that Aunt Petunia had fixed a lunch for herself and Dudley, something that looked like a sandwich and crisps. He noticed that while Dudley was eating the sandwich, he was ignoring the crisps. Deep in his heart, he believed that Aunt Petunia was trying to keep Dudley overweight, though why he wasn't sure. He only hoped that his cousin held strong.

Harry strode past them up the stairs and straight to the shower; he was sweating so much that he was offending himself. He stripped his clothes and stepped into under the hot water, showering off quickly. It really was a pain doing everything muggle while he was here, like drying his unruly hair. It just seemed to make it even worse when he let it air dry.

After redressing in jeans and a tee shirt that fit him fairly well now that Dobby was shopping for him over the summers, Harry walked into his room to find that his elf had delivered lunch from Blackmoor. It seemed that the household had served roasted chicken and mashed potatoes, along with corn on the cob. Harry dug in heartily, eating to his heart's content, no longer having to worry about starving while he was at his relatives home. In fact, he was quite sure that he ate better than his relatives did. Not that he would ever tell them that. The Blackmoor elves served only the best, after all.

After showering and eating, he went back downstairs since he had finished all his schoolwork the week prior. He knew that once he returned to Blackmoor, they were going to be focusing on training, even if Hermione wasn't quite ready to go back at full power yet. She had told him that she was getting close, only requiring an afternoon nap now. She had only twinges of pain now, which made him feel better. Regardless, once he returned, there would be training abound.

He hadn't really considered what he was going to do with the rest of his day since his chores were done but it was decided for him when Aunt Petunia stepped in front of him and smacked him in the chest with a wad of cash and a slip of paper. Harry groaned, knowing instantly that she wanted to go do her shopping for her. He wondered when she had gotten so lazy; he had never been trusted with the shopping before this summer. There was a tight smile on her face but he could see that it was forced.

"You need to go to the market and get the things on this list. I've included plenty of money and make sure that you bring back the receipt so I know you aren't trying to steal our hard-earned money." This was just a step too far. It was insulting that he had been providing for himself since he had started school, feeding himself since he had been gifted Dobby from the Malfoys and they were still accusing him of trying to steal from them. He took the cash and list and threw it on the floor at her feet. Her eyes blazed with fury but Harry was done taking her shite.

"I will have you know that I am the next Lord Gryffindor, I actually have a claim on the entire castle of Hogwarts. I own my own fucking manor in Wales. When I come of age, I'll inherit millions, not counting the properties and jewels. I have a trust vault that I can access right now that is refilled every year to 50,000 galleons or a quarter of a million pounds if I were to convert it to muggle money. I pay for my own schooling, I pay for my own clothing, I even feed myself while I'm here. Why in the blue fuck do you think I want to steal your lousy hundred pounds?" The sneer was gone from his aunt's face, only to be replaced by disbelief. Dudley was in the background, a smirk on his face. Harry just wasn't sure if he was smirking at Harry or his mum. His aunt's hands went to her hips and she started to berate him.

"If you have so much money, then you don't need to be here. Leave and don't ever darken our doorstep again." Harry laughed and took a menacing step forward, only a little amused when his aunt took a step back.

"Trust me, I'm counting down the days until I never have to return here. However, until I turn seventeen, I have to spend time here to renew the wards. Not only do they keep me safe, they keep you safe. Would you like me to tell you what Voldemort's followers do to muggles like you? Not only muggles, but muggles that are related to the person that killed him when they were only a year old?" Aunt Petunia continued to back away from him but Harry wasn't done.

"My godfather's daughter was with me in the Department of Mysteries at the end of the year; she's the most powerful witch in decades. She's brilliant and conniving and vindictive and wonderful. She was cursed in the back by an ally and she was hit by a curse from a Death Eater, one of the people that would rape and torture you to death. It split her chest wide open, like a fucking canyon. It crushed three of her organs. Sure, they were able to repair the damage but now she's going to have that scar for the rest of her life. That's what they did to a pureblood darling that the evil fuck wants to marry. What do you think they'll do to you when they find you? Trust me, my magic powering these wards are in your best interest, not mine. I suggest you start doing your own fucking cooking and chores." Harry was sure that Uncle Vernon would have plenty to say when he got home but that was fine. He'd let him get one swing in before using his wand for protection. When the Ministry showed up, he'd proudly show them the bruise. Maybe it would get him the fuck out of there even quicker.

Harry strode outside, not sure what he was going to do now that he was all fired up. He was dressed comfortably so he decided to head to the park and run. He tried to wait until it wasn't as hot but at the moment, he didn't care. He needed to burn off his excess anger lest he cause accidental magic. Even though the air was heavy with humidity, Harry didn't let it bother him as he reached the entrance to the park.

There were children playing on the equipment and their mothers were sitting in the shade reading while they played. There were older children off by the trees doing he wasn't sure what. There was a group of teens over by the fountain, all of them talking and laughing loudly. A few of the girls appeared to be sunbathing in bikini tops and shorts while the boys ogled them. He was sure that he recognized Piers Polkiss but he couldn't be sure. It had been quite a while since he had last seen him.

Harry ran the perimeter of the park for a long time. Hours. It didn't help that he had an audience; he could feel the other people in the park watching him. He was aware of the stories that his aunt and uncle had told the community about him, going to a boys school for criminals. They probably thought that he was going to lose his mind and go crazy, shooting them up or something insane like that. His belly rumbled as he started to slow, telling him that it was time for him to start heading back. It was clearly past dinner time which meant that Uncle Vernon was home and Aunt Petunia had surely told him everything that had transpired.

Harry stopped and leaned over, bracing his hands on his knees to catch his breath. He pulled the neck of his shirt up to wipe the sweat from his face before standing, only to realize that there was a girl standing before him. She was beautiful, wearing the shortest shorts he had ever seen, coupled with a bright pink bikini top. It was more skin on a woman than he had seen in a long time and even though he was so helplessly in love with Hermione, his cock twitched just a little. This girl's body was banging and he couldn't help it. She smiled at him and moved forward to hug him close, even leaning up to kiss him deeply. Harry wasn't sure what the fuck was going on; did he know this girl? Had he sent her some signal that he was interested? Finally, despite his cock hardening completely in his pants, his hands found her shoulders and he shoved her back with a glare.

"Who the fuck are you and what do you think you're doing?" The girl that was still clutching his forearms looked hurt. She backed away with a confused look on her face.

"I'm Casey. We spent time together last summer, remember? Here at this park even. We hooked up over by the fountain. I saw you running and just thought that you'd want to have another go." Gods, it was so tempting because it had been so long since he had gotten his cock wet but he knew that he couldn't. He loved Hermione and he truly wanted to make things work with her. She was the type of witch you married and she would never give him a chance if he was getting it on the side in the muggle world and lying to her about it. Plus, he had made it this long and he was better than that. No matter how much a good hard fuck would do him, he deserved better and so did Hermione. He was going to be the man she deserved. Therefore, he lied.

"Sorry, it's been a while. I was surprised. I can't hook up with you though, I actually have a girlfriend. I'm all about having fun but I don't believe in cheating. Sorry." The girl's cheeks stained red and she lowered her head in shame.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't even think. I would never ask you to cheat on your girlfriend. My last boyfriend cheated on me and it doesn't feel good. I'm so sorry, please tell her that it was my fault and it won't happen again. Please forgive me." Harry felt bad for putting her through such distress but knew that if he saw her again, she would hound him to sleep with her. He was determined to stay faithful but he wasn't made of stone. This was for the best. He gave her a small smile.

"It's fine, Casey, she won't be angry. She'll appreciate that you didn't continue to push yourself on me. Besides, she lives in Wiltshire so I doubt you'll ever meet her. Thank you for respecting her though." Harry wasn't sure where Blackmoor was located but knew that Malfoy Manor was located in Wiltshire. It made sense to use it. Casey nodded her head one last time, bid him goodbye, and then left.

Harry started to walk home, his erection deflating on the way. He was glad that he had stayed strong and denied the muggle girl; he really hadn't remembered shagging her the year before. There had been a few nameless fucks but they hadn't really stuck out in his mind. Hermione meant so much more and he was happy that he had stayed strong for her. There was no doubt in his mind that she would have done the same for him.

Harry neared 4 Privet Drive and entered, smelling the mediocre smell of chicken cooking. There were soft voices in the distance and he was sure that he was going to be in for it. Better to mentally prepare himself for it. Therefore, he squared his shoulders and raised his chin, much the same as Hermione did when she went into situations that she wasn't prepared for. He really wished that he could transform into his animagus form and cause some mischief but knew that it would just complicate matters. He would use the matter of needing a drink of water as an excuse. He strode into the kitchen for his uncle to lumber to his feet and instantly shove him into a wall. His arm was laying over his windpipe and Harry was finding it hard to breathe.

"You think that you can tell my wife that you aren't going to do her chores? You think that you get to tell her that you're rich and you aren't going to pull your weight here any longer? You ever pull that shite again, boy, and I'll make sure that they don't find your body." Harry searched for that burst of magic that only seemed to surface when Hermione was in danger. He knew that she would want him to find it so he could protect himself. It was a bloody miracle when he found it. His magic bubbled under his skin for only a moment while he tried to breathe before it blew his uncle across the room and into the wall. Vernon slid down it painfully, clutching his side with a howl. Harry rose, fury in his eyes. This was the day of the reckoning and he would be damned if he was going to take his uncle's shit any longer. He had sported more bruises and broken bones from this man than he cared to admit; it all ended now. Harry planted his foot on the man's chest, grinding it into the clearly broken rib that was impeding his breathing. Uncle Vernon howled in pain but Harry didn't care. His words were controlled and concise so nobody could say that he had been misunderstood.

"I'm done taking your shite. I'm done being your slave. You will never touch me again. I don't need your money and if my Headmaster hadn't guilted me into staying to protect your arses, I wouldn't even be here. In fact, the only reason I am here is because your son turned out to be a decent human being and he doesn't deserve the fate that the Death Eaters have planned for him. You do. So does your wife. If I have my way, I won't be back next summer. Prepare yourselves because the Dark Lord will have fun with you." Harry stood and removed his foot from his uncle's chest, turning to Dudley who was watching with wide eyes. He made sure that he had his cousin's attention.

"When I leave here this summer, you make sure that you have alternate lodging for the upcoming summer. You should be safe through the school year while you live here but if I don't return for the summer, you'll be fucked. Once the wards here break, the Death Eaters and Voldemort himself will be able to get in. Trust me when I say that you don't want to be here if that happens." Dudley gave him a fearful look.

"Voldemort is…" His voice was shaking and Harry knew that he was way out of his comfort zone. Therefore, he took pity on him.

"Voldemort is the wizard who murdered my parents in cold blood. He's the wizard who wants to marry the witch that his follower crushed three organs in her body. He isn't kind and he isn't going to show you mercy. He's ignorant of the muggle world so your best bet is to disappear and not use your name again until you know that the war is over. Otherwise, it's likely that he'll kidnap you, let his Death Eaters rape you, torture you for information you don't have, and then kill you when he becomes bored. If you're smart, you'll move away and use a different name until you hear differently from me." Dudley gave him a terrified nod before Harry turned to his aunt and uncle.

"You two can stay right here and die horribly for all I care. I have no idea if I'll be back next summer but I hope and pray that I won't. You know what's coming so nothing that happens to you is on my conscience. I'll spend the rest of my time here pursuing my own interests. Aunt Petunia, that means you'll have to get up and prepare your walrus' breakfast from here on." Harry didn't bother to stick around and see if they understood what he was saying. He was honestly past the point of caring.

Harry took the steps three at a time, knowing that he had dinner upstairs waiting for him. Not only had he taken care of his Dursley problem, he now had time to kill. He had no idea what he was going to do with that time but he was sure that he would find something worthwhile. After all, he wasn't sure how much longer he was going to be there and he had nothing but time.

It might be time for a little mischief.

-O-

Hermione felt great. Not great compared to her past self but great compared to her latest self. Lately, she hadn't felt worth a pinch of shit and she knew that it was expected but it still sucked. She wanted to feel like she had before, like before she had been injured, but rationally, she knew that it just wasn't possible. She had taken an organ crushing curse straight to the chest and while her silencing the curse had lessened the damage, damage had still been done. Depressing but true.

She was down to eight potions a day rather than twelve, quite an accomplishment if you asked Madam Pomfrey. She wasn't sure where a normal person with normal magical abilities would be but she knew that her magic aided her in every way possible in her healing process. It was both nice to know and a burden.

Her healing had been done almost permanently at Blackmoor; while she hadn't been scared to travel outside the wards, her father and uncle were worried as to what it would mean for her to even floo. The Death Eaters that escaped the aurors that day in the Department of Mysteries constantly attacked the wards of Blackmoor, testing for weaknesses she was sure. She knew that her father, Aunt Andie, Dory, and Aunt Cissy had joined with her father to strengthen them in a blood ritual. She had been rather pissed that she hadn't been asked to join but had realized that at the time, she hadn't exactly had the strength. Now that she was getting stronger, she hoped that her father would ask her to help protect them all. It was her right as the burgeoning Matriarch.

It had been just the week before that Dolores Umbridge had finally gone to trial; it had been a wonderful event that Hermione hated to miss. However, there had been no other choice since she had still been confined to her bed for half the day. Therefore, she had forced Draco to leave her and go in her stead so she would have a first hand recount of what happened, not just the word of her father and uncle, who would most certainly hide things to keep her peace of mind safe.

Draco had returned with the most amazing news; Umbridge had been found guilty unanimously for her crimes against the students of Hogwarts. It was nice to know that she was going to spend time in prison for the things that she had made them suffer for. However, there was one shining moment that had come to light that Hermione wanted to murder her for. Under the same truth hex that Harry had put her under, she had admitted to sending the dementors on Harry while he had been in Little Whinging. She hadn't even told him; they had agreed to tell him in person so he didn't lose his temper in a muggle area. That didn't mean that she didn't want to storm Azkaban and turn her wand on the dirty cunt.

Her father had assured her that no matter what she had done, Azkaban would make sure that she paid for her mistakes. To top everything off, Fudge had been fired for backing Umbridge, something that Hermione could only say was poetic justice. After all that she knew that he knew was happening, Fudge deserved it. However, she wasn't sure how she felt about his successor, Rufus Scrimgeour. He had been the Head Auror, a notable position but she had suspected that he was dirty. While Uncle Lucius agreed with her, her father and godfather did not. Not that it really mattered since there was literally nothing that any of them could do about it.

Her aunt had insisted on taking her for a shopping trip the week before even though she still tired easily. She had only taken short rides on Bluebell so this was the other way that she bonded with her aunt. Since it was the first one of the summer, Aunt Cissy had gone all out and invited everyone. Juliet, Helena, Aunt Andie, Dory, Fleur, Daphne, her mum, Luna and Aunt Cissy had all traveled to Paris for three days, shopping to their heart's content. They had met up with Apolline, Fleur's mum, and Gabrielle, her sister, and had spent a wonderful time together. Hermione had come away with so many new clothes that she wasn't sure when she would wear them all. Honestly, she was thankful that she had taken Kreacher with her to cart it all around for her.

They had also spent time in a spa and Hermione had had time to consider what she wanted to do with her hair. She had tried colored streaks in it the year before but she wanted to do something new this year. She just wasn't sure what. She had sat in the stylists chair for ages before the woman finally grew exasperated.

"Just cut it." Hermione had shut her down instantly. Finally, rather than just one streak of red or blue through her hair, Hermione had decided to do one color, red she decided, liberally through her hair. It had turned out great and everyone had told her how wonderful it looked. Daphne had even told her that Harry would love it since it was his house colors. Of course, she had blushed, mostly because she hadn't told a single soul about the kiss that they had shared. It was private and until she knew for sure what it meant, it was going to stay that way.

All in all, the shopping trip had been nice. She and Juliet had came home with more clothes than they knew what to do with, mostly because Aunt Cissy had no idea how to say no. Helena just smiled and told Hermione that she wished that she had had this experience when she was a child. While she hadn't wanted for anything, she had never been spoiled since her father's wife had hated her wholeheartedly and never wanted her to experience the finer things in life. It made her happy that her Aunt Cissy and Andie had bullied the woman into buying herself a few things on their trip.

Luna had left as soon as they had returned, once again because she wasn't allowed to be around the male Malfoys. It was so dumb considering that she wasn't even returning to her father but to Longbottom Manor. It was on the agenda that summer to clue Neville and Daphne into their family secrets since they were so close but it had been decided to wait until Harry was with them again. Lucius had had a talk with Gerald Greengrass and signed a betrothal contract between Draco and Daphne; it would be pure folly for them to not back the Malfoy family now. There was no way for the Greengrass family to back out, only for Draco to decide that he didn't like his choice in bride. It was extremely sexist but he had promised Hermione the night that it was signed that if Daphne wanted out at any point that he would let her out with no questions asked. It had made her feel better and made her realize that when it came time for her own betrothal contract that her father be far more new-aged.

Of course, this also meant that as long as Daphne was up to date of her occlumency, she could now be privy to family secrets. It wasn't right to keep her out of them since she was set to marry Draco. She had been told to brush up on her skills and Hermione had made sure to tell Neville that he needed to either learn or brush up on his skills as well. It wasn't fair or right that they had to continue to be sneaky when only one of their friends was around, a friend that they trusted very much. However, it wasn't worth Severus' safety to not make sure that he would be safe. Neville had acted as though he had training and promised to brush up on his training, promising to let her know when he was ready for testing.

Hermione had wondered just how everyone else in school was doing. It was no secret what had happened to her but they had managed to keep secret that it had been Death Eaters that had cursed her. They had managed to play it off as though she had been injured by nothing of consequence. Of course, this had meant nothing when her father had found her in the library two days before and told her that she had a visitor. She had hoped against hope that it was Harry but knew deep down that it wasn't him. There was no way in hell that they had let him go on a sunday during dinner. It had been the shock of a lifetime when she had realized that it was Cedric there to see her.

It had been sweet and awkward at the same time, Cedric telling her that he wanted to give them another chance. It was the last thing that she wanted to do, not only because Harry had finally made a move on her but because Cedric had been shagging Cho all year long. She wasn't sure what had ended that relationship but the last thing she wanted was a reason for the Chinese girl to continue to look at her.

She had calmly told Cedric that while she still adored him as a friend, she wasn't interested in more. She had told him that Cho had given her dirty looks and she didn't feel comfortable in being the woman the he dumped her for; it was enough to make him stalk off from her in frustration and disappear from whence he had come. If anything, the whole situation made her remember Harry and just how much she missed him. It hadn't been a long visit but it had been enough to make Hermione realize that there were going to be other wizards after her after this fiasco at the Department of Mysteries, and not all of them honest. It was quite an enlightening moment, that was for sure.

Though Hermione was doing better both mentally and physically, what gave her pause was the information about Ginny from St. Mungo's. Since she was there on Lord Black's orders, he got daily progress notes in the mail and she still wasn't sure that he knew she could read them. It seemed as though Miss Prewett was doing better than Hermione could ever have hoped, blasting through her shields on impact and baring herself to their world. To say that she was surprised would have been the least you could have said.

Hermione hadn't gathered the courage to go see the girl that had landed her cursed but she knew that her Uncle had. She had caught him discussing it with Aunt Cissy one day and had almost felt betrayed until she heard him say that they were going to let Hermione discover the information on her attacker on her own. After she had confronted her uncle, he had told her all that he knew, not much more than she had discovered for herself.

The most important piece of information that affected her was that her healers actually thought she would be back in Hogwarts by the end of the summer. Even though the redhead no longer knew anything specific about her family, it was clear to her uncle that the girl still had an enormous crush on Harry. Severus hadn't erased enough to erase that, which was unfortunate. While Hermione loved that Harry had come clean to her about his feelings for her, she was scared to death as to what would happen if Ginny actually made a genuine move on him, not one that was preempted by her mother or the Headmaster. It was clear that he had already been pleased with her wares before so she couldn't help but worry.

Fred and George had been wonderful in their treatment of her; almost like they she was their lost sister. She had told them time and time again that it was alright for them to be angry with her and her family but they had refused. Fred had told her that they had embraced their family as best they could and embraced those that they could, meaning her. It had brought tears to her eyes, causing her to sob into both their chests while she did her best to get herself under control. Never in a million years had she assumed that she would command their loyalty over their sister. She had even questioned them over it.

"You know that I can't ever endorse your sister. I'm not sure why you're showing me loyalty right now." George had enfolded her in a hug and hugged her close, telling her how much she meant to him.

"You're our sister too. It doesn't matter that Ginny is blood. We chose you, that means more. We love you and we want you to be to happy." Hermione couldn't believe the words that she had heard and did what she could to let them go. It would make her day to have her friends hold a grudge but it wasn't for her to ask them to do so. Theresore, she just smiled and did as was expected.

Dinner was called and Hermione was called by Kreached even though he knew that dinner wasn't one of her favorites. It never had been and Hermione only smiled when the elf appeared before her. Dinner passed by quickly, nothing of note happening except for the twins being frozen in place by Uncle Luci when he caught them throwing rolls to each other. However, Hermione had seen the look of amusement in his eyes.

They were dismissed from dinner and while most everyone else retired to the library, Hermione begged off, claiming exhaustion. Since she had gone running and ridden Bells this morning, her father believed her and sent her on her way with a warning to take it easy. Hermione went upstairs to find that Kreacher had readied her pajamas for her, laid out all her potions, and drew her a bath.

Hermione soaked in the tub for almost an hour, enjoying the emptiness of her mind while she just closed her eyes and relaxed. After climbing out of the enchanted tub, she dried off and dressed quickly so she could go to her room and take her potions. Kreacher had them lined up and she downed them in the order they were laid out.

After crawling under the duvet, Hermione let her head hit the pillow and the sleeping draught took hold. Her eyes fell closed and she dreamed of Harry returning home. It was the sweetest of dreams.

A/N- There we go friends, another chapter down. This chapter felt like it took a hundred years and I'm not sure as to why. I can only hope that you approve and that you like the chapter. Anyways, let me know what you think. Review are love.

Next chapter, Harry brings Slughorn on board.

Love,

Alicia


	110. Chapter 110

A/N-You guys show me so much love and I adore it. Never change, lol. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for supporting this story, this ridiculously long journey you're taking with me. With that being said, here's your next installment.

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing, haven't from the start. Hope y'all have caught onto that from the 109 chapter that have come before this, haha. I still haven't made any money from this story or any other.

Chapter 110

July 1, 1996

Harry finished his lunch with relish, calling Dobby to take it away. His elf appeared with a smile and snapped away his plate before disappearing again. He picked up the book he had abandoned in favor of his meal and started to read again. He knew that he was going to start learning German with Hermione this summer so he wanted to get a head start on the subject. He knew that Hermione had likely already done the same.

He wasn't sure when he was going to get to leave Durzkaban since he hadn't heard from Dumbledore despite the owls that he had sent asking for a date that he would get to leave. Frankly, it was annoying that he was being ignored. All he wanted to get back with his family; the sooner that happened, the less he would annoy the Headmaster.

Harry had just finished the introduction to the book he was reading when there was a thundering up the stairs. He was sure that it was Uncle Vernon coming up the stairs to scream at him; he did that a lot since he had put him in his place. However, he hadn't touched him a single time and he hadn't demanded that he do his chores either. He was a bit surprised when there was a polite knock on his door, quite telling that it was Dudley. He stood so he could open the door, indeed revealing his cousin.

"Harry, there's an old man here that wants to see you. Dad is down there glaring at him and refused to come get you." Harry rolled his eyes and nodded.

"Thanks, Dud. I'll come down." Harry followed his cousin down and saw the Headmaster standing in the foyer waiting there with a small smile on his face despite the fact that Uncle Vernon was glaring at him with a sour look on his face. Harry bowed his head slightly in deference to the older man before he spoke.

"Go pack your things, Harry, I'm here to take you to Lord Black." Harry's face broke out in a grin and he gave a quick nod. He turned on his heel and started for the stairs but was stopped when Uncle Vernon spoke.

"Do you know what the little freak did to me? He threw me against a wall and broke my ribs! He threatened my wife and I!" Harry figured that he would be strongly admonished by the Headmaster and was extremely surprised when Dumbledore merely raised an eyebrow at his uncle.

"You can only kick a dog for so long before it'll bite you back. The thing with abusing a magical is that when you do it over an extended period of time, their magic will eventually learn to protect them. Honestly, I'd say that you're lucky he didn't kill you. Harry is powerful enough that his magic certainly could have done so. You would do well to remember that in the future, Mr. Dursley." Harry hurried up the stairs and started to gather his things, throwing them in his trunk.

"Dobby." The elf appeared.

"Master Harry be needing me?" He laid an arm on his elf's shoulder.

"The Headmaster is downstairs waiting on me to pack. Please help me." Dobby snapped his fingers and Harry found his belongings inside the trunk, neatly folded and packed away. Even the bed was made in his wake. He grinned at his elf.

"You're good." Dobby grinned back.

"I's be taking it back to you's room at Blackmoor." Harry nodded, gesturing for him to take Hedwig's cage as well. With a pop, Dobby and his things were gone. Hedwig gave a baleful hoot from her place at the window. Harry walked over to stroke her head.

"Girl, I'm heading to Blackmoor. I want you to head there too. You should make it by nightfall. Be careful though, you're distinctive and everyone knows you belong to me." She hooted again and took off, winging out the open window.

Harry didn't bother with a second look at his room, hoping that he wouldn't return the following summer. If he had any choice in the matter, he wouldn't. He hurried back down the stairs and when the Headmaster gave him a questioning glance as to why his hands were empty, Harry just stared back. After a few moments, Dumbledore turned to go leave and Harry made eye contact with Dudley.

"Don't forget what I told you. I wasn't lying about any of it." Dudley gave him a solemn nod before Harry followed after the Headmaster. He felt a sensation like an egg cracking over his head and looked down to see that he had disappeared from sight. The Headmaster had disillusioned him. He felt a hand on his arm and knew that Dumbledore had grabbed him so he wouldn't lose him. They walked just past the ward line before the Headmaster pulled him into apparition.

Harry was squeezed into a tube of nothingness and reappeared in front of a house in a neighborhood much like the one they had just left. There was a sign off in the distance that said Budleigh Babberton and he assumed that it was the name of the street. He turned to see that the Headmaster had lifted the disillusionment charm and noticed for the first time that Dumbledore's right hand was black clear to his wrist, making it look quite withered. His eyes narrowed.

"Headmaster, what's wrong with your hand?" Dumbledore gave him a grandfatherly smile and patted his shoulder.

"Nothing to worry yourself over, Harry. Today, we're here to see an old friend of mine. His name is Horace Slughorn. He's actually the man who taught Severus everything he knows. I need him to return to Hogwarts and teach this year and I'm hoping that you'll help me convince him." Harry frowned.

"If he's going to teach Potions, what's Severus going to teach?" Dumbledore arched an eyebrow, probably at the informal use of his name. However, he didn't comment.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts. The Board only agreed to let Remus return on a temporary basis and Miss Tonks has refused to stay without him. Not to mention she has her Hit Witch job at the Ministry. This also places someone highly skilled in Defense in a position to continue your training while in school." Harry frowned.

"You know how Sirius feels about you being in charge of my training." Dumbledore sighed and nodded.

"It's not a discussion for here and now. Not even with you to be honest. Will you help me?" Harry sighed and nodded.

"What do I need to do?" The Headmaster smiled.

"Just be you. Name drop Miss Black and Mr. Malfoy if you can. Horace likes to collect famous and talented people. You fit the famous bill and there is no doubt that the other two are quite talented in his field of choice. In fact, your mother was one of his favorite students." Harry nodded, hating that he was being exploited this way. However, it made Severus their Defense professor, he supposed that it would be worth it.

Together, they entered a house on the far end of the street. The inside was destroyed and Harry had to wonder just what had happened inside. He was sure that they had missed the old professor. However, he could feel someone watching him. Dumbledore was moving into the kitchen and Harry was moving slowly through the living room, wand out and at the ready. The Headmaster hadn't commented on his readiness so he assumed that the danger could indeed be very real. He realized that he needed to be smart about this, much smarter than he was being at the current time.

"Homenum revelio." Harry smirked when the spell revealed that there were indeed three people inside the house, two inside the room he was standing in. This meant that the man was disillusioned. He was hoping that it was indeed Horace Slughorn and decided to take a chance.

"Professor Slughorn, you can see that we aren't here to do you harm. I know that you're disillusioned. You should just show yourself before I start spraying water everywhere to show me where you are." He could hear Dumbledore approaching so he raised his wand higher, prepared to cast the aguamenti charm. There was a loud sigh and a very rotund little man appeared in the far corner. His eyes were a little too small for his head, reminding him a little of Greg Goyle if he were truthful but he didn't voice that.

"Who are you, son?" Dumbledore had just stepped up alongside him but he remained silent. Harry sighed and figured that this was the moment of truth.

"I assume that you know Professor Dumbledore and I'm Harry Potter." There was a small intake of breath and the Headmaster smiled serenely.

"We came to see you, Horace. I have a business proposition for you." The man was already shaking his head.

"You can't expect me to teach again, Albus. I couldn't hardly stand it anymore when I quit all those years ago. I quite thoroughly enjoy my retirement." Dumbledore nodded dejectedly and Harry decided to just get it over with. He wanted to get to Blackmoor and this was already taking longer than he wanted it to. He turned to his Headmaster and shrugged his shoulders.

"It's okay, sir, you can't say that you didn't try. You'll just have to settle for someone less qualified and I'll get Hermione and Draco and to help me with my Potions work. You know that she's already taken her N.E.W.T. and she won't mind even if she has already started her Mastery work." Dumbledore nodded and turned away. They started for the door but had only made it three steps before Slughorn spoke.

"Are you talking about Hermione Black? She's going to be starting her Mastery already? In her sixth year? Draco Malfoy?" Harry turned around just enough to see the possessive gleam in the older man's eyes. Collecting was an understatement.

"Yes, Hermione Black. Her father is my godfather. I'm on my way to stay the rest of my summer with them right now. Draco is with her all the time. She took her N.E.W.T. in Potions when we took our O.W.L.s and if she passes it, Professor Snape has consented to take her on as his apprentice. Draco probably could have taken it as well but he's not nearly as ambitious when it comes to academics. It's fine though, Professor, they'll help me through." He turned and continued to walk again. It was only one more step when the next question came.

"How is she going to obtain a mastery with her other classes?" Harry drew his brows together but answered.

"She's testing out at N.E.W.T. level on some of her classes at the end of the summer." They made it clear to the door before he spoke again.

"I'll do it, Albus. I can't say no to teaching Potions to Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy while watching the youngest student in Britain obtain her Mastery." Dumbledore clapped his hands together happily and his beard shook as he spoke.

"You just saved me so much extra work, Horace, thank you. Report to Hogwarts no later than August 28th." Harry followed the Headmaster back out into the sunshine, the now familiar egg cracking on his head feeling happening the second they were visible in the muggle world. They walked out just far enough to make it past the basic set of wards that Slughorn had erected and Harry braced himself for apparition.

When they reappeared, they were standing just outside the wards of Blackmoor. Harry prepared to step across them, having been added to them a long time ago but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. Harry turned and glared at the Headmaster and Dumbledore sighed.

"If you would just cast a patronus and ask Lord Black to come allow me past the wards long enough to speak with Severus, I would appreciate it. I'm not sure that he would answer me and I must tell Severus about Horace." Harry sighed again and made sure to step inside the ward so the Ministry wouldn't pick up his magic usage.

"Expecto patronum." His stag burst from his wand and he gave it a quick message before sending it on to his godfather. It was only minutes before Sirius appeared, a frustrated look on his face.

"You should have come through the floo. Death Eaters have been testing our ward line since the Department of Mysteries. It isn't safe here." Harry didn't stick around to listen to their conversation. He started for the manor and went careening through the door only to run into Draco who had a broom in his hand. Both boys were knocked on their arses and both burst out in laughter. Draco scrambled to his feet first, reaching out to help Harry up.

"Eager to go see her?" Harry knew that a blush stole across his cheeks and Draco just laughed.

"You know I am, you twat." Draco let his laugh taper off and pointed in the direction of the library.

"You know where she is." Harry nodded and started off again, this time at a much more sedate pace.

Finally, he was going to get to see Hermione again. He had to say that it felt like coming home.

-O-

Sirius led Albus across the grounds and into the manor, sending his own patronus to Severus. He knew that the man wouldn't consent to speak with his spy in front of him and planned to speak outside but he invited him inside if for no other reason than to not be rude. Not to mention, he wanted to to question the man about his withered and black hand. They were standing in the foyer, waiting for Severus to arrive, when Sirius raised an eyebrow at the Headmaster.

"Going to tell me what's wrong with your wand hand, old man?" Albus shrugged his shoulders and gave him a grandfatherly smile, something that made Sirius want to strangle him.

"Nothing that needs concern you, Lord Black. You made quite clear that you didn't want to work together unless it benefited you and that's fine. That also means that I'm not bound to give away my knowledge or secrets either. It's a two-way street, Lord Black." Sirius had to bite his tongue from cursing the old man but managed to refrain. Therefore, he issued his own sassy comeback.

"Perfectly understood, Headmaster. Just understand that it's your wand arm that's injured. If anything or anyone were to attack the school and my daughter or godson were to go missing or become injured because you were unable to protect them because of an inability to use your wand, you'll regret it. You automatically assumed I was asking because I wanted Order information. Which tells me that's exactly what it is." He didn't give the old man time to answer, turning and walking off. Severus was coming his way and even though he wanted to question his best friend about the things that he knew, he knew the man couldn't answer them. He was bound by his Vow to the Headmaster and he didn't want the man to endanger himself to break them.

There was one thing he had to do before he forgot and he wasn't looking forward to it. He needed to make sure that Harry learned the truth about Umbridge before he read it in the Prophet or the Weasleys told him; he deserved to know who had sent the dementors after him. He found his way through the manor and entered the library, knowing instantly that he would find Harry wherever Hermione was. He knew that they had grown closer over this last year; Draco had told his father that he had quit sleeping around and he was quite serious about her. Sirius was sure that he was going to make a serious move on her soon. Sirius would leave it up to her what she did when it happened. He would trust her to make the right decision.

Both Harry and Hermione were seated on the sofa together, Hermione's book in her lap forgotten. She was smiling at him and he was explaining something with his hands. He looked serious but suddenly let out a laugh before dropping his gaze to his lap. She reached out and took his hand and with just a word, he looked up and smiled at her. It was clear that whatever she had said to him made him feel better. Sirius cleared his throat and his daughter jumped slightly, dropping his hand to meet his gaze. Sirius grinned at her embarrassment and she just glared. He sat down across from them and gave them a serious look.

"First of all, pup, I made the decision to not tell you because I didn't want you to lose control of your temper around the muggles. Don't go getting angry with the others for not telling you." Harry frowned at him and sat forward, clearly unsure as to how he was supposed to act. Sirius sighed.

"I should have told you it's good to have you back first." Harry blew an angry breath out.

"Just tell me, Sirius. I already knew that." Sirius sighed.

"Umbridge went to Azkaban, yeah? They told you that, right?" Harry nodded so Sirius continued.

"During her trial, they discovered that she sent the dementors to your house in Surrey, kid. She tried to have them suck out your soul." Sirius watched as Harry went still and he was expecting a blow up. Even though he was a Potter, Harry still had Black blood flowing through his veins. His grandmother's temper had been a thing of legend. Lily's had been nothing to scoff at either. However, there was no blow up and he was quite calm when he asked his question.

"Why did she do it?" Sirius rubbed a hand down his face.

"She did it to shut you up about the Dark Lord. She didn't want you making things hard for Fudge. He didn't order her to do it, she did it on her own." Harry nodded his head.

"Doesn't surprise me a bit. That woman was pure evil. I should have suspected her from the start. I'm glad they figured out it was her." Sirius just watched his godson, surprised that he wasn't going to throw a tantrum. Harry grinned at him.

"Honestly, it's going to be fine. I'm not going to lose it. I knew she was evil last year and just looking at Hermione's hand is reminder enough. Knowing about the dementors is the same kind of reminder." Sirius nodded, appreciating the newfound maturing his godson seemed to have found.

"Good, I'm glad to hear that you're going to be mature about it. There really isn't anything that you can do about it now. If everything is fine now, I'm going to get everything in line for tomorrow's session and leave you to it. Hermione, you should let him know the training schedule now that he's here. It's going to be quite full." With that, Sirius stood and left them to it.

He'd let them get reacquainted and he really did have things to do.

-O-

Hermione watched her father leave and considered what Harry had told her about cursing his Uncle Vernon. She had been inordinately pleased that he had stood up for himself and even more happy that he hadn't gotten in trouble with the Ministry while doing so. The fact that it meant that his uncle wasn't going to abuse him anymore was just icing on the cake. She turned back to Harry and smiled. Before she could speak, he started in again.

"I just went to some muggle neighborhood with the Headmaster and recruited Horace Slughorn to teach Potions next year. I had basically prostitute myself, you, and Draco as famous people he'll get to be around to get him to agree, all so we'll get Severus as our Defense professor." Hermione scrunched up her face at the thought of what he said but nodded after a minute of considering it.

"I suppose it was worth it if we get Uncle Sev as a Defense professor. We can train with him privately that way and they won't say anything." Harry nodded.

"That's what I figured but it didn't make it any less horrible to try to convince him." Hermione laughed as he continued.

"How have you been feeling? Still having to take a nap in the afternoon?" She shook her head in the negative.

"No, I'm still taking five potions a day but the healer thinks I'll be down to three in just a few days. I don't get tired anymore and my magic is at full strength. I have to be careful that I don't put too much power into the my spells yet but the healer said that I shouldn't have to worry in a week or so. I've been training with Draco for a week now and feel fine afterwards as long as I follow the healer's instructions. Rather than working on power in spells, I'm working on agility and speed." Harry reached out and took her hand, smiling at her.

"I'm glad, Mia. I've been worried about you while I've been gone. I don't like not being able to keep an eye on you." She leaned her head against his shoulder briefly before sitting up, wondering if he was thinking of the kiss they shared.

"Well, you're here now. That's what matters. Want to hear about training now or later?" He chuckled.

"Lay it on me. I've gotten my homework done and just barely started on the German we agreed to do together. Tell me what I have to look forward to." Hermione sat up straight and started to lecture him on what they were slotted to learn that summer and just what their family and Moody had planned for them. She made sure to include her study schedule for her N.E.W.T.s since she was taking them in some of her classes. She made sure to include time for them to study German and also his studies for Madam Cambridge. It took a good half hour to explain and by the end of it, Harry was staring at her as though she were mad.

"We're going to do all that in that matter of two months?" She nodded her head with a smile.

"It's going to be a busy two months. Don't forget we have our birthday party to look forward to as well. I think we decided to just have all three of them on your birthday." Harry laughed.

"At least there will be something fun thrown in there." Hermione was saved from answering by Sipsy appearing at her mistress' side, envelopes in hand.

"Come now, Missy, the owl just comes and dropped off yous grades. Come to dinner and you can have yous grades." Hermione squealed and started yelling at her elf.

"Sipsy, you horrid elf, come back here and give me my results!" However, Sipsy was already gone and Harry laughed as he stood up. He held out his hand to help her up. She took it, huffed angrily, and allowed him to pull her towards the dining room. She entered to find that everyone was there waiting and Draco was glaring at them, clearing irritated with having to wait on them. Hermione made sure to glare at her elf as she passed her while heading to her seat. As soon as she was in her seat, Sipsy snapped her fingers and her envelope appeared before her. She snatched it up and ripped it open. Her fingers started to tremble when she pulled the parchment out. Everyone was looking at her expectantly while Draco and Harry were both calling out their results. Harry sounded the most excited.

"I got twelve O.W.L.s, O's in everything except Warding, I got an E. I can live with that." Her father congratulated him loudly and her Aunt Cissy rose to hug him warmly. Even Helena smiled at him for doing a great job. Draco handed his results to Uncle Luci, a smirk on his face.

"Eleven O's and one E in Care of Magical Creatures. No small wonder considering who our professor is." Hermione still hadn't even looked at her results. She watched as Uncle Luci congratulated his son and her aunt hugged him tightly. Finally, her father looked at her expectantly. Hermione turned to Harry and handed him the slip of parchment.

"I'm too nervous. You have to look for me." Harry took the parchment and Hermione tried to calm her stomach while he opened it and scanned it. He looked up and met her gaze.

"Eleven O's on your O.W.L.s and an O on your Potions N.E.W.T. You literally worried for nothing." Hermione snatched the parchment from his hand and studied the results carefully. Sure enough, O's in everything and a huge surge of relief shot through her. All the tension left her shoulders and she slumped forward. A smile crossed her face and everyone laughed at her. Uncle Sev raised an eyebrow at her and shook his head in exasperation.

"I don't know why you were worried, princess. I told you that you would do perfectly fine." Hermione smiled at everyone as her father let out a whoop.

"My baby girl is going to get her mastery before she graduates!" The room burst out laughing and Hermione felt herself flush.

Kreacher brought out the champagne and served it with dinner, a loud and joyous affair, not only because of her N.E.W.T. result but because Harry was finally home. Everyone laughed and joked and ate to their heart's content, enjoying each others company. It was nice, especially since it felt like they were complete again.

After dinner, they adjourned to the library and spent time together following their own pursuits. Hermione tucked in close to Harry and she started to read a book on German. Harry had his own and they had agreed to start practicing after they finished their first books. Severus was playing a chess game against her father while Uncle Lucius was sharing a book with Aunt Cissy. Helena and Alexandre were both reading as well but she was unsure as to what. Juliet was asleep in an armchair.

Hermione felt herself drifting off and Harry shifted until his arm was around her. He kissed the side of her head before he shook her awake. Her eyes came open to see that the rest of the room was watching them with amused expressions on their faces.

"Come on, Mia, let's get you to bed." Hermione stood and let him pull her towards the stairs and into her room. Kreacher appeared and snapped his fingers, magicking her out of her robes and into her pajamas. Hermione let him guide her to her bed and was barely awake as he settled the blankets over her. She felt him kiss for her forehead and brush her hair back while her eyes fell closed.

"I love you, Mia."

Hermione wasn't sure if she heard him correctly or not but it didn't matter. Sweet sleep pulled her under and she could think about it in the morning.

A/N- There we are, folks, another chapter complete. I hope that you enjoyed it. Nothing too exciting but we have to get this summer moving along. Let me know what y'all think. Once again, thank you all for reading and reviewing, I really appreciate it.

Next chapter, combined birthday party for our trio.

Love,

Alicia


	111. Chapter 111

A/N- You guys are so freaking awesome. Thank you so much for the continued support you show this story, it humbles me every single chapter I post. There are only two more chapters of summer left so I hope you enjoy this one!

**Shout out to VioletBuckBeak for being my 5500th reviewer! Thanks for being so awesome and reviewing every single chapter!**

Disclaimer: I still don't own the characters, they belong to our queen. I still don't own the original idea of this plot, that belongs to Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle. I do, however, own the expansion of that plot line. I have made this story my own. I haven't made a single penny, pound, sickle, or otherwise from this story, evidenced by the fact that I'm still a broke bitch. My account balance tells no lies.

Chapter 111

July 31, 1996

Harry sat in the library, contemplating just how he wanted to go about speaking with Sirius. He knew that his godfather was in a meeting with Gerald Greengrass and Uncle Lucius, about what he wasn't sure, but he knew that he needed to talk to him today. He was going to ask his permission to court Hermione if he could convince her that it was a good idea. Granted, she had already told him that she wouldn't consider his suit until the end of the summer but it was getting nearer and nearer, it was already the end of July. Just one more month and they would be heading back to Hogwarts. Already, the month he had been at Blackmoor had flown past.

Daphne and Neville had been let in on the secret of Severus being a spy and Hermione's godfather. Both had had their occlumency tested and both had taken vows on their magic to keep the information quiet; Hermione had insisted on it. She refused to take a chance with her godfather's life and while her friends had been mildly offended at the thought that she didn't trust them for a few moments, after realizing that if the secret got out it could end with the torture and murder of Severus Snape, they quickly took the vow.

Neither one of them seemed as surprised as Harry had expected them to be. Maybe not so much Daphne; she had grown up around the Malfoys and Blacks and had seen Severus around Draco since he was his godfather. Perhaps she had seen some affection for Hermione along the way. However, when he considered it that way, he realized that Neville had been around just as much as Daphne had been; before Hogwarts, it hadn't been about Slytherins vs. Gryffindors but purebloods being with purebloods and Neville had very much been a part of their clique.

Needless to say that it had went over well and both were more than happy to keep the secret.

Hermione was now completely well, down to one potion a day, one to continue to purify her magic. The dark magic used on her was still present, though it was almost completely gone. Her healer guessed that within the next couple weeks she would be finished with her potion regimen completely. Her strength was at full capacity and her magic was no longer restricted. Her wound was healed over and though he hadn't seen it, she had told him that it was better than it had been in the beginning, though it was still atrocious. He had reassured her that the right man wouldn't care about a scar but he could tell that it still bothered her. Harry had vowed to always make her feel beautiful, to make her forget that the scar was even there.

Their training was brutal. They had started running again; well, Harry hadn't really stopped but Hermione had had no choice. Since she hadn't been running, neither had Draco. It had taken her two weeks to get back to where she had been before she had been injured and he was sure that she had pushed herself hard enough to make herself sick because he had heard Draco lecturing her about how throwing her guts up on the lawn wasn't ladylike.

On top of that, Moody showed up every day and put them through a series of physical training that made Harry want to melt into a puddle of the floor and cry for his mum. Push ups, sit ups, calisthenics, more running, the list went on. He knew that the Master Auror was building their endurance but he wasn't sure why. Finally, three days into their brutal pacing, Harry had fallen to the ground and glared at the man.

"Why are you doing this to us? I get that if we can keep going we have a chance at living but this seems insane." Moody just glared right back at him.

"Building your body's strength and endurance also builds your magic's. If you have more magical endurance, you'll last longer in a fight. You'll do this with me for two hours a day and then you'll move on to dueling and spells."

That had been the end of that.

In the end, he had been right. They were all stronger magically because of the training they had been doing with Moody even though they cursed the very thought of him when he arrived every day. After their two hours of physical training with him in the mornings, Moody would get with Remus, Tonks, Sirius, Severus, or Uncle Lucius, whoever was available that day, and would train them in spells and speed.

Whereas they had learned on dummies before, they now dueled actual people, trained witches and wizards that they had to fight and get better against or suffer the shame of losing against. Harry was proud of himself in the fact that he rose to the occasion when it came to speed and agility; where he had been scared to death that he would never be able to match Voldemort's Death Eaters in how fast and accurate they cast their spells, he was quick to catch up to them. He was able to match Severus and Uncle Lucius after only a month practicing. However, he lacked the ability to put his power into the spells. Sure, the spells landed but they didn't do a whole lot of damage unless he caught his opponent unawares. It was still quite frustrating. He needed to figure out a way to free his power that had nothing to do with Hermione getting hurt.

Hermione was the complete opposite; where she struggled with the speed and agility, she poured every ounce of her strength into the spells she cast. Moody was coaching her on how to focus on her power less and more on her casting but it was still a work in progress. Harry had every faith in her that she would improve but until she did, she was still going to need training. They were going to continue working on it when they returned to Hogwarts, he had promised her that he would help her.

Draco was probably the best of all three of them. Where Harry couldn't pour all his power into the spells and Hermione wasn't yet up to par on the speed and agility, Draco was quick as a snitch and used his power appropriately. HIs problem was that while he was a powerful wizard, he just wasn't as powerful as Harry or Hermione, but he was just as quick. The fact that he had mastered both areas while they hadn't made him smug and Hermione had threatened to smack the smug look off his face more than once. Harry thoroughly believed she would do it too.

Harry sighed as he continued to wait for Sirius to arrive after his meeting. He briefly wondered just what the meeting was about but figured that it was probably about gathering more people to back them during the war. During the first war, Greengrass had been neutral but since he had agreed to the contract between Draco and Daphne, he couldn't very well remain on the sidelines this time. Therefore, he was trying to take a more active stance and support their side.

Harry's thoughts drifted to the Weasleys and how they had been faring over the summer. Fred and George had been over constantly throughout the summer, had even partaken in some of the training exercises they had been doing. Moody and the family never seemed to mind since they didn't mess around during them. It wasn't too often but at least once a week. In the evenings, they would play quidditch on the family pitch after stuffing themselves on Dot's excellent cooking.

Bill and Charlie would come and drink whiskey with Sirius and Uncle Lucius, Severus even joining them occasionally. Alexandre would watch and listen, piping in here and there with an odd smile on his face. Harry still wasn't sure how he felt about him but the old man was growing on him. Arthur would come sporadically and when he did, he always seemed to enjoy himself. However, Harry heard Bill confess to Sirius that Molly rarely let him come because of what they had done to Ginny.

Ron came by the house a few times, still welcome mostly because of his actions in the Department of Mysteries and how he had helped Draco. None of the family were big fans of him but they hadn't run him off yet and he kept his distance from Hermione. Mostly, however, Harry visited the Weasley/Prewett home to see Ron to keep the tension between the two families at a minimum.

The Weasley estate wasn't as large as Blackmoor but it was still beautiful and housed them all quite comfortably. Ron was always thrilled to see him and they would play quidditch on their family pitch for hours. Parvati would be there some days and it would be just like when they were younger, when they had all been the best of friends. It would make him a little nostalgic but when he considered where he was in life now, he didn't regret the changes that had been made. His life was great now.

The only disturbing thing about life at the Prewetts was that Ginny had finally come home from St. Mungo's. He had visited their estate just two days before and he had seen her sitting in the courtyard reading a book, her red hair shining in the sun like a copper penny. She had looked up at him and smiled shyly. He knew that Severus had removed all her memories of him but he wondered if there was a genuine crush there because for a moment, he had seen it flash in her eyes. He had just glared at her before rushing on to find Ron on the pitch.

When he had demanded Ron tell him when she had been released, he had told him just the day before and that she seemed perfectly fine, like she had been before she had ever gone to Hogwarts. Harry couldn't help but wonder and worry if she had fooled the mind healers at St. Mungo's; they were dealing with Tom Riddle in her head, after all. However, it was only his aura, not actually the person so he told himself to calm down and that they would know what they were doing. He would keep his distance and keep on eye on not only Ginny but Hermione as well. There was no way in blue fucking hell that she was going to get near enough to Hermione to ever hurt her again.

Harry hadn't told Hermione that Ginny had been released but he had told Sirius. The man was furious but there was nothing that he could do about it. The Weasleys had done exactly as he had asked them to do and as long as the girl stayed away from Hermione he would keep his end of the bargain and do nothing. So far, Ginny had made no move to come to Blackmoor. Nobody had said a word about her coming to their party so he assumed that she wasn't going to try to come. There would definitely be hell to pay if she did and he hoped and prayed that the Weasleys knew that.

Hermione had been wonderful in the month since he had been there. Sure, she had spent time with Juliet and Luna, Daphne as well, riding Bluebell and going shopping with Fleur and Aunt Cissy, but she made sure that she spent time working on the werewolf cure with Severus and reading with her father and Uncle Lucius. Harry made sure to take her for walks in the evenings, holding her hand and sitting with her in the courtyard to watch sunsets. It was the most romantic thing Harry had ever done for a girl and he could tell that Hermione enjoyed it. He really wanted to kiss her again but didn't dare; he didn't want to scare her off before the summer was over.

Harry was pulled from his thoughts by the door opening to reveal his godfather heading to the sideboard, pulling a bottle of firewhiskey out and pouring himself three fingers worth. Harry snorted at the sight, knowing he probably shouldn't. His godfather glared at him but Harry just smirked. Once Sirius was sat in the chair across from him, Harry grinned.

"Meeting go that bad?" Sirius took a healthy swallow.

"Greengrass couldn't be bothered during the first war to lift a finger. This time around, he wants to do absolutely everything. I swear, he's running his family on the behest of his daughter. Don't get me wrong, I'd do the same thing, but this time it's so she can get the Malfoy family fortune. It's just a little sickening. He doesn't care that she's really in love with Draco. He just sees the money." Harry shook his head, now understanding his godfather's disgust. He should have known that it would be something like this.

"That's actually really sad. Doesn't he love his own wife?" Siri nodded.

"Yes, but he didn't love her when he married her. Most purebloods don't. They grow to love each other. Your aunt and uncle are a rarity in this world, Harry, as will be Hermione and Draco." Harry sat back and rubbed his hands on his thighs. This was the moment of truth and he needed to be brave. Sirius smirked at him, completely aware of his discomfort.

"Lord Black, I humbly ask your permission to court your daughter. It would be my greatest honor." Sirius raised an eyebrow at him but remained silent for almost a full minute before finally speaking.

"Have you asked her yet?" Harry shook his head.

"No, I told her that I loved her and that I gave up sex last summer to prove to her that I was serious about being with her. I kissed her on the train before I went to the Dursleys. She told me that she thought that it was my guilt talking and that if I still felt the same way at the end of the summer that she would allow me to court her because she deserved nothing less. If I had changed my mind, we would forget anything had happened and we would continue on as friends and nothing more." Sirius blew a deep breath out of his pursed lips and gave him a serious look.

"You're sure, Harry? You're sure that you love my little girl? I don't want you to get halfway through this and realize that she's more witch than you can handle. It would break her heart and I don't want to be in the middle of something like that." Harry nodded his head.

"I'm sure, Siri. I feel like I have wings when I'm around her, like I could fight off a thousand dementors and not even tire. She gives me strength, I don't know how else to describe it. She makes me a better person, makes me feel whole. I've gone an entire year without shagging another witch, I even had a muggle girl stick her tongue down my throat this summer and proposition me and I told her no. Hermione would never have known but I would have felt so guilty. She deserves the best and I want to be the one to give that to her. I know that I've been a shite to her in the past but I've worked this past year to change that, to prove myself to her. Aside from the Department of Mysteries incident and trusting Ginny, I feel like I've done that. Trust me, I'll never stop trying to make up the Ginny incident to her." Sirius gave him a small smirk.

"Alright, pup, if you can convince her, you've got my permission. However, if you hurt her, you won't answer to me. I took certain vows to never hurt you before I ever adopted her. Don't think for a second that Lucius or Severus would ever let you get away with anything. Honestly, I think Lucius has been a better father to her than I have. I've used her her whole life and I've been emotionally distant. She deserves better but I keep trying. I'm going to talk to her before the summer is out and try to tell her myself." Harry could see the deep well of guilt in his godfather's eyes but Harry knew that it was the truth. He hadn't done his daughter well in most cases and it did need addressed, especially since he seemed to have no problems doing right by Juliet. Although Hermione had never spoken of it to him, he could see that how her father treated her sister hurt her down deep. However, it wasn't his problem so he was going to stay out of it. Therefore, Harry grinned and stood so he could offer his godfather his hand. Sirius stood as well and shook his hand.

"Thank you, I won't make you regret this. I'm going to treat her right." Sirius smiled and nodded.

"Make sure that you do. Lucius was very good at being a Death Eater before he gave it all up for Hermione." Harry audibly gulped before pulling back his hand. Sirius laughed and shooed him away.

"The party starts in an hour. You better go get ready or Cissy will have your hide. There is one thing you don't mess with and that is one of her parties." Harry chuckled as he nodded, leaving the library and heading up the stairs to his room.

Harry found that Dobby had already laid out his robes so he quickly jumped in the shower, washing away the day's labors. Mostly, he smelled like horse since he had gone for a ride with Hermione. While he didn't love it like she did, he had no problems going with her here and there to keep her company especially when she seemed to enjoy it so much.

After he finished showering, he climbed out to dry off with a spell and dressed quickly in the robes that Dobby had chosen for him. He ran a potion that Severus had given him through his hair, taming it slightly. Nothing helped completely but this did keep it from sticking straight up. He still had half an hour to kill so he made sure to pick up his book from the night before and read a chapter to kill the time. He couldn't wait to see what kind of robes Hermione would be dressed in; he was sure that she would be beautiful in them.

In no time at all, Dobby popped in and grinned at him. It was his sixteenth birthday and he was going to be spending it with family and friends, hopefully dancing the day away with the witch he hoped to someday marry. If there would be a better birthday than this, he hadn't had it yet. Dobby bowed slightly.

"It be time, Master Harry. We must go." Harry stood and bowed slightly back before following.

He couldn't wait.

-O-

Hermione sat before the mirror at her vanity, having just showered after her ride on Bluebell. She was finally able to ride her as she usually did; up until recently, she could only ride her for short periods at a time and even then it was still a little painful. Now, they were back to racing all over Blackmoor and the estate, taking the forest and hills by storm just as she had when she had been a small girl. Aunt Cissy hadn't been able to ride with her today and Daphne hadn't been interested in joining her. She was still convinced that horses were just waiting for an opportunity to kill her, complete nonsense of course, so she had stayed behind with Luna. Juliet had said she would join her but she was much more interested in spending time with the twins, therefore, Hermione had told her she didn't need company for this ride.

Life was busy but Hermione didn't mind busy. She was learning constantly and she had always loved to learn. It was true that she was exhausted every night when she went to bed but she had noticed how much stronger her magic was, how much more stamina she had. Not only that, she had noticed how toned her body had become and how her Harry's eyes had followed her more and more. While she had never been fat before, her tiny bit of baby fat had long since disappeared, leaving behind lean muscle.

Hermione would be the first to admit that she was frustrated with herself for not being as quick and accurate as the boys; they teased her about it mercilessly and she wanted to blast them right in the arse when they refused to stop. It was at this point that Moody would usually do it for her, mostly because when she would get upset her casting would get even worse. However, she was determined to reach their level by the end of summer if it was the last thing she did. She was already practicing extra, sneaking down into the training room after everyone else had gone to bed with only Kreacher to keep her company and reset her dummies.

What thrilled her the most about the whole summer was that she was down to only one potion a day. Her healer said that it was to continue to leach the dark magic from her body and that she was only going to have to take a short while longer. She was so sick of taking potions that she hoped to never have to take another. It wasn't a realistic hope, that much was true, but she couldn't help that a dozen potions a day had ruined her on taking potions.

Hermione had also spent her free time learning German with Harry and studying for her N.E.W.T.s. She was scheduled to take them at the Ministry in just a few short weeks so she could begin her Mastery training with Uncle Sev this coming September. It would greatly affect the time she spent with her friends, Draco, and Harry but she couldn't let that affect her future. She still hadn't decided which subjects to test out of for sure yet but she was studying them all just in case. She planned to sit down with her father, Uncle Lucius, and Uncle Sev in a week or so and figure out which subjects she felt would be best to continue with in school.

Hermione put the last touches on her hair and makeup charms, making sure that she looked perfect. Aunt Cissy would have a melt down if she looked anything less than. Her hair was still streaked liberally with red and Sipsy had pulled it into a charmed braid that fell to the side of her head, brushing over her breast. It wasn't a common hairstyle that the pureblood elite wore but Hermione didn't care. It looked good with the colors in her hair and with her robes so she was going to go with it.

Her robes were ankle length, crimson to match her hair, the silken material clung to her generous curves with a slit in the side that reached mid-thigh. She worried that it wasn't proper enough but her aunt had assured her that it was perfect for a birthday party, especially since she was only months away from being of age and the official Matriarch of her house. Hermione still wasn't sure but decided to trust her aunt and take her at her word.

Hermione stood as Kreacher popped into existence behind her, bowing low. She smiled at him and couldn't help but compare him to the elf he had been when they had discovered that he was still alive at Grimmauld Place last summer. He had asked if they would be returning there this summer and while the other Order members were in and out of there constantly, her father had decided that they would not be staying. After Dumbledore's confession of trying to manipulate Harry into marrying Ginny to give them the Potter fortune, he was trying to distance their family from the Headmaster. Not that she blamed him. Hermione wanted to gut him like a fish for what he had planned for the boy she loved.

Hermione wasn't stupid though. The Headmaster had told Harry that there were things that he needed to know about Tom Riddle, things that only he could tell him, and that he would start teaching him next year when school started. As much as she hated the thought of Harry having private classes with the Headmaster, she knew that it was going to have to happen. While Albus Dumbledore might be manipulative, he was most certainly not stupid. She believed wholeheartedly that he did indeed know something that nobody else knew about the Dark Lord and that he probably couldn't be defeated without the knowledge that he had.

Therefore, it had fallen to Molly Prewett to take care of Grimmauld Place. Hermione was sure that she was in her element; of course, it made her sick to know that Ginny was in her home, a Black property that she wasn't supposed to reside in but there was nothing that she could do about it. She couldn't very well ask the Weasleys to leave her in their family home by herself. Yes, Harry thought that she didn't know that Ginny was out of St. Mungo's but Uncle Lucius had told her the day he had discovered the truth himself. It unsettled her, true, but there was nothing she could do about it. As long as the witch stayed away from her, Hermione could deal with it.

Hermione idly wondered how she was going to handle Hogwarts with the witch as she headed down the stairs with Kreacher on her heels. There would be nothing to keep her at bay there, nobody to tell the witch that she wasn't allowed near her. Sure, she knew that Harry and Draco would watch her back, even Luna and Jules, but it wouldn't be the same protection as she had here. Hermione knew that she could decimate the girl in a duel but that didn't mean that she wasn't scared of her. She had almost killed her once and not being afraid would be downright stupid. If there was one thing that Hermione prided herself on not being, it was stupid.

Her Aunt Cissy was waiting for them at the door that led to the stairs where they usually entered, a bright smile on her face. Harry, Draco, and Daphne were already waiting, all of them with wide smiles on their faces. Draco had Daphne's hand tucked in his arm and Harry was staring at her with his mouth open just a little. Hermione had to hide her smile. At least she knew that she looked good in her dress. Aunt Cissy gave her a knowing smile and pulled her over until she hooked Hermione's hand in Harry's arm.

"Since Draco and Daphne have a contract now, it's appropriate for them to enter together. That leaves the two of you to enter together. I think it will be completely appropriate, especially since Hermione is wearing Harry's house colors." Hermione felt color stain her cheeks since she hadn't really meant to do that on purpose. However, Harry smiled down at her and tightened his grip on her hand.

"You look beautiful, Mia." She smiled at him but couldn't help the voice inside her head that told her that she looked beautiful until she took her dress off. She ignored it as soon as she thought it and was just grateful that her dress didn't show any skin that would have shown her scar.

"You look rather handsome yourself, Harry." He smiled knowingly at her and turned to face the door since they were about to be announced.

Draco and Daphne led since his birthday came first having already passed. Hermione could hear them being announced as they made their way down the staircase, announcing Draco's birthday and that he had turned sixteen. There was polite applause and then Harry pulled her to the door. With a deep breath, Hermione stepped out onto the top stair and let the lighting blind her for only a moment before Harry started to pull her down the stairs.

"We're proud to announce Lord Harry James Potter, turning sixteen today, escorting Lady Hermione Alula Black, reaching her majority on September 19th of this year, taking her rightful place as Matriarch of the House of Black." The applause was boisterous but not overly so. After all, these were friends and family so they weren't looking to embarrass her.

Harry led her to the bottom of the stairs and she was pleased to see that all of her Slytherin friends were present. However, Crabbe and Goyle weren't there, which was no surprise considering their stance on the upcoming war and their father's loyalties. Theo wasn't there, no surprise there either. Hermione had hoped that after her conversation with him that he would seek them out for shelter but nothing of the sort had happened. Now that the Dark Lord had been spotted, she was worried that he was going to start marking new followers, starting with people like Theo. However, she had enough to worry about and Theo had made his bed. Now he was going to have to lie in it.

Hermione wasn't as pleased to see most of Gryffindor House at her party. However, she knew that it was Harry's party as well. As long as they behaved, she didn't see any reason why they couldn't be there and enjoy the festivities. She really didn't like the fact there was a house-war going on most of the time. Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw represented heavily as well, Hermione spotting quite a few witches that Harry had shagged. She wondered if they were there for all three of them or just for him.

The first dance began and Harry led her onto the floor, pulling her into a traditional waltz. It was a little stilted for a birthday party but she had a feeling that her aunt had let one of the elves have their way. Harry led her through it beautifully, however, and she told him so once it was over. He led her towards their friends but was stopped when Cho Chang stopped them halfway there and interrupted them with a smile.

"Would you dance with me, Harry? You're such a good dancer." Hermione let go of his arm and gave him a small smile, knowing that it would be rude of him to turn her down. She made it exactly two steps before his arm clamped down on her elbow.

"Thank you but no, Cho. I promised to deliver Hermione to our friends already. Maybe later." A hurt look stole over Cho's face as Harry continued on his way with Hermione. She was fighting the urge to smile to herself and just barely refrained.

"You lied. You don't have to lie for me." Harry arched one eyebrow at her and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"What makes you think I lied for you? I can't stand that girl and I'd much rather spend the evening with you." Hermione stood just a little straighter and practically preened with delight. She afforded him just a tiny smile.

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Mr. Potter, remember that." Harry burst out in laughter and took her to stand by her cousin before kissing her temple.

"I will endeavor to do so, Miss Black. Would you care for a refreshment?" Hermione gave him only a brief nod and he disappeared. Draco was smirking at her and she poked him in the side with a sharp fingernail. He yelped in pain and she just grinned at him.

"Keep your smirks to yourself, cousin." Draco grinned again but kept silent.

Everyone seemed to be in attendance. Neville was on the dance floor with Luna, the twins were dancing with Angelina and Katie, their sometimes-girlfriends. Ron was in a corner talking softly with Parvati and Seamus and Dean were laughing loudly by the punch bowl. Cedric and Roger Davies were conversing with their hands by the snacks while Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott were discussing fashion next to them. Millie and Tracey were off in a corner flipping through fashion magazines, clearly uninterested in what was going on around them. Juliet was dancing with Alexandre while her father was dancing quietly with Helena. Uncle Luci and Gerald Greengrass were conversing with firewhiskey in their hands while Aunt Cissy, Aunt Andie and Daphne's mother were carrying on over the food. Uncle Ted and Remus were discussing who knew what over by the entrance to the library. Master Auror Moody was sitting with Professor McGonagall by the fire and they were laughing softly. The only person missing was Uncle Sev but that was something that they couldn't get around, not with this many witnesses.

Harry returned with her drink and they spoke quietly with Draco and Daphne, then Neville and Luna when they returned from the dance floor. Harry didn't give her a chance to dance with anyone else because he pulled her back out right after she finished her drink, holding her close and dancing through six songs straight. Of course, if they were to adhere to society standards, it would have been clear that they were courting by this point. After three songs straight, it would have been a declaration. However, Hermione wasn't sure that he knew such things so she didn't say anything because she didn't want to ruin their party with talk of such things.

After their sixth dance, he pulled away and pulled her to a table so she could rest her feet. Without a word, he disappeared into the crowd and reappeared a short time later with a plate of her favorite snacks. Since she was ravenous, it was quite welcome. She devoured the dips, sausage rolls, and crackers while he did the same. The twins joined them halfway through and commented on how smashing the party was and how much they hoped that their first party at home was going to resemble this one.

Once their food was gone, Harry turned her over to dance with her father, then her Uncle Luci. Both wished her a happy birthday and told her that they knew she would make a wonderful Matriarch. After she had danced with them both, Bill arrived and pulled her into his arms and danced with her, twirling his cousin around with ease that told her that even though he had been raised poor, his parents had made sure that he knew the proper knowledge of a pureblood.

Harry claimed her back after that, telling her that he had no intentions of letting her go to anyone other than Draco after that. Even though it was high-handed, Hermione didn't care. She loved that he wanted to spend the entirety of his birthday with her. They spent the rest of the night dancing together until it was time to open gifts and eat cake and ice cream. Since everyone wanted them to open gifts first, Hermione resigned herself to opening her mountain of gifts and hope that Kreacher could keep them straight and know who to send notes of thanks to afterwards.

Many of the gifts were expensive but none of them really stood out. New clothes, new tack for Bluebell, a shopping trip to the new exclusive book store in Paris, knick knacks for her room, new books on magical theory, they all blended together. The one gift that stood out was actually from Harry and that was a voucher for an hour long neck and shoulder rub to be redeemed any time she wanted. It was quite childish but sweet in its own way. Honestly, she was looking forward to redeeming it. It was simple in the complexity of gifts she had received from everyone else that had seen fit to give her a gift.

Cake and ice cream came next, Hermione eating small portions since she was still stuffed from the snacks Harry had brought her. Harry and Draco, of course, put away three helpings of each. Dot was pleased to know that they enjoyed her cooking so much. After the dishes had been cleared away, there was one last dance and Hermione allowed Harry to pull her back onto the floor. His arms pulled her close and she laid her head on his chest in a completely improper stance. He kissed her forehead and chuckled when her eyes fell closed.

"Thank you for sharing your birthday party with me. I know that you never wanted to when I first started coming here." Hermione hummed against his chest; it was clear that she was exhausted.

"We really don't mind. You're family." Harry's fingers toyed with the end of her braid as he swayed to the music, keeping to the steps and making sure he kept time. Hermione just followed his lead and trusted him. He could have sworn that she had dozed off against him if she weren't still moving her kept this up for several minutes until the end of the song. When the song went silent, Hermione turned her face into his chest, groaning softly.

"I was so comfortable." He laughed again, this time his hand finding the soft skin of her cheek. He decided to make a bold move and hoped that she wouldn't slap him for it.

His fingers found her chin and he tipped her face up so she had to look at him. Regardless of the people around them, he made sure that she had her eyes open and that she knew exactly what was happening. He lowered his mouth to hers, his lips brushing hers in the softest of kisses, nothing like the kiss that they had shared on the Hogwarts Express. Where their first kiss had been full of passion and fire, this one was sweet and soft. Her lips pillowed against his perfectly and he didn't deepen it, didn't even dart his tongue out to taste her tempting mouth. He pulled back and smiled at her, to see that she was smiling at him too. He pushed a tendril of her hair back from her face.

"Let's get you to bed, Mia." She gave him a sleepy nod and allowed him to pull her from the room and towards the stairs, leading her to her room. Knowing full well that Kreacher would never allow him in her room, she turned to bid him goodnight at the door. Not sure exactly what to say to a such a perfect evening, she remained silent and instead went to her tip toes and pressed the softest of kisses to his cheek.

"Good night, harry. Thank you for a wonderful evening." He nodded silently as she closed the door on him. Once the door was closed, she let out a ragged breath and almost screamed.

Harry Potter had kissed her. Again.

Hermione got ready for bed in a daze, not sure what to do with herself. It was a dream come true and she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do or say. She had told him the end of the summer but he clearly wasn't ready to wait that long. Did he feel guilty or was she just imagining things? Should they talk about it or should she just let it go? There were so many things going through her mind that it was going to drive her crazy.

Maybe she could give it a few days and see if he took a first step before she made a complete and utter fool of herself. That would probably be the best move, the smart move. As she pulled the blankets to her bed back and crawled in, that's what she decided on. Looking like an idiot was the last thing she wanted to do. She smiled to herself as she closed her eyes.

Decision made, Hermione cleared her mind and willed herself to sleep. After all, Moody would be around in the morning to inflict his own personal brand of hell on them and she would need to be ready.

A/N- Boom, another chapter down. Hope y'all liked it. Little longer than they have been lately so that's a good thing. Anyways, thanks for reading and reviewing, my lovelies, it keeps me writing. Leave me a message after the beep and let me know what you think.

Next chapter, trip to Diagon Alley and heart to heart between father and daughter.

Love,

Alicia


	112. Chapter 112

A/N- Once again, thank you so much for the love you show this story. Your support keeps me writing even when I'm not really feeling it. Not going to lie, this time this chapter took so long to come to you because I was rereading Harry Crow and then rabradley09 sent me Cruel and Beautiful World. Omg, both are amazing stories and it was so hard to focus, haha. Forgive the reader in me (: Anyways, thanks for reading.

Side note: To the guest reviewer Sobstory: I never do this in my stories because I truly despise it but I really feel you need to get some help, girl. Seriously, it couldn't hurt. Nothing is worth hurting yourself and you'll only hurt those that truly do care for you. Please, please, talk to someone about how you're feeling.

Disclaimer: I still don't own a thing about this story except this specific plot twist. Original plot line belongs to Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle (who I'm fairly positive isn't even reading this story anymore, lol) and the characters belong to J.K.R. Since my bank account balance tells no lies and I'm still a broke bitch, I clearly haven't made any money from this story or any other.

Chapter 112

August 17, 1996

Harry made sure that his robes were laying just right since they were going to be out in public. He was the face of the name Potter and was known to be considered family by both the Blacks and the Malfoys. The last thing he wanted to do was embarrass them out in public by not being presentable. Besides, Aunt Cissy would have his hide if he showed his face in Diagon Alley looking like a street urchin after all the clothing she had bought him.

They were going shopping for their school supplies today. Siri and Uncle Lucius had business to attend to in Gringotts so they were going to be on their own for a portion of the day; Harry had questioned if this was safe since the Death Eaters had been attacking the wards of the Blackmoor at the beginning of the summer. Both men had told him that as long as they stayed to well-populated areas they should be fine, that none of the Death Eaters would venture out in the middle of the day into Diagon Alley.

Frankly, Harry wasn't about to complain. They had done nothing but train and study and learn since he had arrived at Blackmoor aside from the day of their birthday party. This was a day for them to take a break and do something outside of learning how to defend themselves, something fun for a change. Sure, Harry didn't mind learning spells and how to fight, in fact, he knew that it would save his life in the upcoming war. However, having a day to just be a sixteen year old boy with the girl that he was in love with wasn't something that he was going to turn down either.

Hermione was now off all her potions and even though she still had a scar, her healer had declared her completely fit and healed. She had progressed by leaps and bounds and was much quicker and agile; he was quite sure that she had to be sneaking in more practice time. She still wasn't quite as good as he and Draco were but she could now hold her own against them, even win against them if she got a good shot in. She was quite smug about it when it happened and he regretted being an arse to her about her needing extra help in training.

Harry made his way downstairs to find that everyone else was waiting on him, Hermione and Draco standing close together with their heads together. Hermione was laughing softly about he wasn't sure what. There hadn't been anymore stolen kisses since his birthday but Harry hadn't wanted to push her. He had almost regretted the one on his birthday but when she received it so gracefully, he was glad that he had ended their evening on such a perfect note. He was hoping to find a moment today to speak to her about their conversation on the Hogwarts Express; it was the end of the summer and he did indeed still feel the same way about her.

Sirius clapped a hand on his shoulder as he approached, alerting everyone to his presence. Hermione's eyes lit up when she saw him and he wondered if she thought he was as attractive as he thought she was. She looked absolutely edible in her royal purple witch's robes, hugging her curves perfectly while her curls hung long and heavy down her back to brush at her hips. His cock hardened at the sight of her and he had never been more thankful for wizard's robes; sporting an erection for the witch of his dreams in front of her father probably wouldn't make a good impression.

"Good, we're all here. Let's floo to the Leaky Cauldron from here and we'll decide where to go from there," Sirius said, ushering everyone towards the floo. Helena was present as well, Juliet standing in front of her with a put-upon look on her face. Sirius went first, stepping into the flames and swirling away in a flash of green. Juliet and Helena went next, followed by Hermione. Draco gestured for Harry to go next so he could bring up the rear since they were meeting Uncle Lucius there.

Once they were all in the Leaky Cauldron, Harry moved to accommodate another family coming through the floo. He realized that the tavern was ridiculously busy, probably because the Hogwarts letters hadn't been mailed out until late. They had just received them two days before, meaning that there wasn't as much time to go shopping and there would be a mad rush for families to get their shopping done. In fact, he was fairly certain that he spotted the Weasleys and Prewetts outside the tavern, probably deciding where they wanted to head first. Sirius gestured for them to huddle closer.

"Alright, I know that you three can take care of yourselves but I still want you to stay to populated areas. No wandering off on your own; always stay together. You all have plenty of money?" Harry, Hermione, and Draco all nodded. He turned to Jules and gave her a smile.

"I know that you're angry at me, little one, but you have to stay with your mother. I'm meeting Lucius at Gringotts to take care of some business that should take most of the morning. Let's say that we meet for lunch at The Wizard's Trap at noon?" There were nods all around and Sirius ushered them out the door. His last words were stern.

"Remember what I said, stay together." Harry nodded; he had no intentions of leaving Hermione and Draco. Hell, he was looking forward to spending time with the two of them that didn't include shooting hexes and curses at each other.

Hermione instantly took the lead, leading them to the apothecary. He should have known that this would be her first stop since she would be beginning her mastery. Severus had given her a list of things that she would need, both books and supplies. It was a rather large list but she hadn't batted an eye. It was no surprise that she would want to get most of her shopping out of the way now.

They spent almost forty-five minutes in the apothecary so Hermione could get what she needed; Harry and Draco just needed to replenish their student stores which took only ten minutes. Hermione sorted through ingredients and insisted on getting only the best of everything, which meant that she made sure that everything she was handed was of finest quality. Finally, when her list was complete and she said that she just wanted to browse, the boys put their feet down and pulled her from the shop.

Next on the list was Magical Menagerie. Hermione wanted more treats for Tenebris and Harry needed owl treats for Hedwig. It was a quick stop and before long, they were headed to Madam Malkins. Harry definitely needed new robes, as did Draco, but he wasn't sure that Hermione did. She hadn't really grown any taller since last year. They only had to wait about ten minutes before they were called up to be measured.

Draco went first only to discover that he had grown two inches since last year, putting him at 6'2". He ordered the appropriate Slytherin robes and stepped down so Harry could step up, only to learn that he had grown three inches, putting him an inch taller than Draco. His shoulders had broadened by two inches as well, something he hadn't expected, since his father had been a rather lean and athletically built man. He ordered several sets of Gryffindor robes and stepped down so Hermione could step up. He smirked her way when Madam Malkin started rattling off her measurements, uncaring of who was listening.

"Well, Miss Black, nobody can say that you aren't all woman. You've held steady at 5'3", you likely won't get any taller. Your bust grew a little, only a couple inches, now a 36. Your waist has slimmed down even more, are you dieting, dear? You know you don't need it. 25 now, Merlin. Hips are still at a 36. I'll adjust your robes accordingly and have them sent to you tomorrow, Miss Black." When Hermione stepped back down, her cheeks were flaming and Harry thought it was the sweetest thing ever. He took her hand in his and kissed her forehead before leaning down to whisper in her ear.

"Isn't the perfect measurement for a woman 36, 24, 36? I'd say you're pretty damn close." He chuckled as she started swatting at him, hitting him just hard enough to sting. However, she looked pretty pleased at his words so he figured that she wasn't really angry at his words and was just acting angry so she wouldn't lose face in front of her cousin.

They headed to Flourish and Blotts next, knowing that they needed their books for the following year. None of them needed parchment, ink, or quills so this was technically their last stop. They were hoping to make it a quick one so they could stop in and see Fred and George Weasley's new store, their pride and joy that they had been working on all summer. It had been a surprise kept from everyone until the day that they had opened it. Hermione had been so excited for them and had promised to come and see it as soon as they were allowed; that had been three weeks ago and they still hadn't visited. This was going to be that day, they were determined.

They rushed themselves through the bookstore, something that Harry had never seen Hermione do before. Rather than take two full hours inside her favorite establishment, even though she liked the Hogsmeade store better, she took only an hour and had only five extra books in her pile when she checked out. However, one of those books was an ancient book that made even Harry double take when he saw the title.

 _Defensive Spells and When to Use Them by Myrddin Emrys_

Harry reached out and took it off the stack of books to flip open the cover, revealing exactly what he thought. This book had been under lock and key in the back room of the book store and was likely to cost a bloody fortune, probably more than her trust vault. It was a third edition, one of the oldest copies in existence to date. She snatched it back from him with a scowl.

"Don't touch it, it's not for you." He glared at her slightly.

"You're going to spend your entire trust vault on a single book that you've already read a dozen times?" Hermione raised her chin at him and he cringed. He hated when she did that to him. It meant that she was getting ready to deliver some stinging retort that he wasn't going to like at all.

"If you must know, I'm only spending a quarter of my trust vault on this book and in exactly one month and two days, it will no longer matter as I will inherit the entire Black fortune from my father since Regulus was the rightful heir. I'm not sure if you were actually made aware of the fact that I will legally be Lady Black. My father will retain regency over the Wizengamot seat until I reach 21 years of age as is the law but I will be in control of all estate and financial matters. He has offered to help me, of course, which I have accepted but don't think for a second that I won't be every bit the Black Matriarch, just as my father intended. Sirius never wanted the title, he only claimed it to keep himself out of Azkaban and because he thought it would get him custody of you." Harry sighed and stepped forward, cupping her face in his hands.

"Mia, baby, I know all this. I know how great you're going to be at running your family. I can't wait to see you do it. I just wanted to know why you were spending so much money on a priceless book that you've already read dozens of times." Her eyes softened and her shoulders relaxed. She leaned forward and hugged him softly for a few moments before pulling away and looking at him guiltily.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't assume the worst when you say things like that." He shook his head.

"I've said things in the past to make you think that." She shook her head.

"You've been perfectly respectful for ages now and I should remember that. I'm sorry." She took a deep breath and gave him a small smile.

"I'm buying it as a gift for Moody. He's taken so much of his time this summer and taught us all so much. The things he taught us could save our lives and I just wanted to have something to tell him thank you with. I know that it's just a book but it's written by Merlin and it's a third edition. There's only one book in existence out there older and I thought he might appreciate that since it's a defense book. That's why I'm buying it." Harry leaned down and kissed her forehead. It was the sweetest fucking thing he had ever heard of. Moody was downright evil, torturing them every single day of the summer, and she had went and bought him a priceless gift.

"You're an angel, you know. I hope he realizes that when you give it to him." Hermione let out an embarrassed laugh and hurried away from him to pay for her purchases.

Harry waited for her with Draco, having already shrunk his own purchases and put them in his robe pockets. They still had an hour before they had to meet up with Sirius, Uncle Lucius, and Helena. Once they saw Hermione headed their way, they flanked her and pulled her out of the book store and started down the Alley towards where the twins had told him where they had set up their store.

It didn't take them long to find it. The storefront proclaimed it as Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes in bright orange and magenta, inviting them in. They were quick to enter and find that not only were the twins busy with customers, the store was cram-packed with customers. Therefore, despite the wave of welcome that Fred and George had sent them, they started to show themselves around, looking through the displays and going through the products as they traveled up and down the aisles.

It was when they reached the end of one of one of the last aisles that Hermione looked out one of the windows and just happened to catch sight of Theo sneaking down Knockturn Alley. Her hands reached out and grabbed both Harry and Draco, gesturing with her chin to what she was seeing. Harry stiffened when he realized what he was seeing. He turned abruptly to them both.

"We need to follow him. You know he could be a Death Eater now. What if he comes back to school as a Death Eater?" Hermione sighed but Harry wasn't about to let it go.

"Come on, let's go." Harry didn't even give Hermione a choice in the matter, he just grabbed her hand and dragged her through the store and out onto the street so he could hurry and follow Theo down Knockturn Alley. Draco was struggling to keep up and Hermione finally had the good sense to draw her wand and cast a disillusionment spell over the three of them since they were leaving the well-populated areas of Diagon Alley.

The trio followed Theo until they reached the popular store known to all called Borgin and Burkes. They slipped in behind Theo and watched him approach Borgin. There were soft whispered words and it looked as though Theo pulled up his left sleeve but Harry couldn't be sure. They watched him gesture to the large cabinet in the middle of the room for several minutes. After Theo shoved a large bag of coins over to him, he straightened and left. Harry felt Hermione's cool fingers on his elbow pulling him out of the shop and he allowed her to pull him out of the shop and straight out of Knockturn Alley. Once they were back on Diagon Alley, she turned and started hitting him on his chest again.

"Do you know how dangerous that was, you idiot?" Harry realized she was right and grabbed her wrists, stopping her from leaving bruises. He pulled her in for a hug, burying his nose in her hair.

"You're right, I'm sorry. We shouldn't have done it. However, you have to admit that it's rather suspect that he's a Death Eater right about now." Hermione sighed into his chest and nodded.

"I know but there is literally nothing that we can do about it. We can tell Dumbledore when we see him but other than that we are powerless." Harry smoothed her hair with his hand and nodded, not wanting to ruin their day out together.

"Yeah, alright. You're right. We'll tell the Headmaster first chance we get. Sorry again that I dragged you over there." Hermione pinched his side playfully and he let out a laugh. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her down the Alley, Draco following behind.

"Come on, let's go to lunch. They're probably waiting on us."

Harry led them down the Alley to the Wizard Trap where they were going to be having lunch. Just as he had predicted, the rest of their group were already seated and waiting on them. Hermione took the seat next to her Uncle, unsurprisingly, and started to fill him in on their morning while they waited for their food to arrive. Since she knew that they would have been in trouble for going to Knockturn Alley, Hermione left out that information. Harry was eternally grateful.

Their food arrived and Juliet filled the table with excited conversation about the things that she had bought and which of her friends she had run into. Helena smiled at her indulgently and for the first time, Harry realized how much the perfect little princess she really was. She specifically said she didn't want to know anything of the war unless she had to, her mother and Aunt Cissy adored taking her shopping, and her life revolved around her social life. Sure, she loved her family, there was no doubt about that, but she had truly evolved into what a pureblood daughter was raised to be. He wondered again how Hermione had escaped that, despite the fact that she grew up with that from the cradle.

After they had all eaten their fill, Sirius paid the bill and they made their way back down the Alley towards the Leaky Cauldron. It was just as crowded as it had been when they got there, this time most of the people were eating though. They were shuffled to the floo and they didn't wait around before taking handfuls of floo powder and stepping into the green flames to spin back to Blackmoor. Harry had followed behind Hermione and Sirius and had caught Hermione saying something about going to saddle Bluebell for a ride when Sirius laid a hand on her shoulder,

"Actually, poppet, I was wondering if I could speak with you privately?" His godfather sounded nervous so Harry figured that it was going to be about something big. He sincerely hoped that he wasn't going to tell her that he had asked for his permission to court her before he got to say anything to her. Hermione nodded her head in agreement and Harry watched them walked away together. He vowed that he would catch Hermione after her talk with Sirius.

He couldn't take waiting any longer.

-O-

Hermione wondered what her father wanted to talk to her about. Had her N.E.W.T. results come back and she had failed them? Uncle Sev had told her that she should stay in her core classes but if she could test out of her additionals, it would be helpful. Therefore, she had taken her N.E.W.T.s in Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Warding, Care of Magical Creatures, and Astrology. While technically Astrology was a core class, it was held at night and she didn't want a class to disturb her brewing with Uncle Sev or her time with Harry. She wasn't even sure that he was going to be continuing with it. She wasn't due to get her results until just before school started so she was unsure what this conversation was going to be about.

Hermione let her father settle her in her favorite spot on the couch in the library, sitting next to her and turning so he could look at her. She suddenly felt like a small child and wondered if she was going to get a scolding for what they had done at Diagon Alley earlier that day. She had been the oldest and should have been the most responsible so she should have been the one to stop them. Was that what this was? Her thoughts were brought to a halt when her father reached out and took hold of one of her hands, pulling it into his lap.

"I want to talk seriously to you first, princess. We both know that you turn seventeen in a month and you'll be taking over everything to do with the name Black except for the Wizengamot seat. I've agreed to act as regent over the seat until you're old enough and I've agreed to help you with the estate until you think you're ready to do it full time. However, we both know that you're completely ready now. You have been for years, sweetness. I've trained you well and the goblins love you. They won't steer you wrong. However, this is war and hard truths need to be examined." He took a deep breath and Hermione squeezed his hand.

"I had to make some hard decisions today, princess. If something happens to me, you are completely capable of taking over this family and taking it in the direction that it is meant to go. I believe that with every fiber of my being. If I die before you turn twenty-one, I've assigned Andie to be your regent for the Black seat. She'll do as you ask and she won't let anyone steamroll her. Cissy doesn't have the backbone for it and Tonks wouldn't take it seriously enough." It appeared that the next part of what he needed to say was the hardest. His voice was husky and low and Hermione moved closer so she could hug him if she needed to.

"However, in the event that you are killed, Hermione, I had to make the decision that Juliet would inherit. If we are both gone, Andie would be regent over the Black estate and title until she reaches her majority. The family must carry on and I hope that you understand that in no way am I hoping that you die or don't become all that you're meant to be. You are the true Lady Black, Hermione. I was disinherited and my brother was the true Lord Black. You were his pride and joy and he would be so proud of the woman you've become. Please don't look at this as me trying to steal your birthright from you." Hermione's eyes stung with tears as she flung herself into his arms, practically in his lap, something she hadn't done in quite some time.

"I know you aren't, daddy, you've never tried to take it from me. All you've ever tried to do is prepare me for it. I think that you made wise decisions. However, if that's the case, maybe we should start treating Juliet a little more like she's thirteen and less like she's an indulgent ten year old. Even if I die, I don't want my family ran into the ground because she's completely clueless." Sirius sighed heavily and nodded.

"Between the two of us, I'm not sure how well that will work out. Helena, as much as I love her, has let her have whatever she wants in her life to make up for me not being there. Her grandfather dotes on her and Cissy doesn't help the matter. You were spoiled rotten as a child but you never let it go to your head. I'm not sure why you were such an easy child to rear while she's proving to be difficult. Her tantrums are becoming legendary." Hermione frowned.

"Isn't Alexandre making her his heir? How is she going to run the family estate after he dies?" Sirius shrugged.

"Not my family so it's not my problem, poppet. I will warn you that Lucius has named you regent over the Malfoy family if something happens to him before Draco turns seventeen. He has chosen Andie to be his regent in the Wizengamot as well. This is merely a precaution since Draco only has to wait until June but with war approaching like it is, it is better to safe than sorry. Once he turns seventeen, he'll take the reins over his family as he has been trained and the pair of you will be a force to be reckoned with, much more formidable than even Lucius and I. Once Harry is of age and can claim his own Lordship, the three of you will be unstoppable. It really is too bad that Severus refuses to claim his own Lordship but I understand why he can't at this moment." Hermione let the information sink in, realizing that it really wasn't all that surprising. What else was there for her uncle to trust with his family and his fortune? She was his heir after all. Not the heir that would carry on his bloodline but one that would eventually inherit half his fortune regardless. She doubted that Draco would mind since there was literally no other Malfoys that they could trust to look after the family legacy.

"I suppose I should have seen it coming. There really isn't anyone else that's family and it would look suspicious if he asked it of Uncle Sev. I'm sure he'll pull me aside and talk to me about it but it's fine. I'm just going to tell both him and you that you better not die in this war. I don't want to think about running this family or the Malfoy family without either one of you. Yes, I know that I can do it. You've trained me well but I don't want to do it by myself until you're ready to stand back and play with grandchildren all day. We're all going to live long and happy lives because we're going to end Voldemort." Her father laughed at her vehement words before ruffling her hair.

"I sincerely hope so, poppet. There was something else that I wanted to say as well." Hermione looked him in the eyes and nodded, urging him on.

"I know that our start in life wasn't the best one. I didn't adopt you for the right reasons. I do love you, Hermione, more than life itself. I don't always show it, in fact, I usually show it very poorly. I wish I was a better father for you because you are such a treasure. You have been a wonderful daughter and I realize this now that you're about to embark on being the Matriarch of our family. You have become a true lady and while I do think that I helped in that, I am not responsible for how you turned out." He took a deep breath and continued.

"When you were small, I drank too much. I went out and slept around, I brought home witches and left you with Lucius and Cissy for months on end. I couldn't cope with the fact that not only had I lost James, Lily, and Remus, I had also lost Harry. I had lost Harry but gained you, the daughter of my brother. Oh, I loved you, don't think for a second that I didn't, but I didn't want the responsibility that came with raising a child, at least one that wasn't Harry. I had chosen Harry but I hadn't chosen you. That wasn't fair to you and I can't tell you how much I regret it now.

I regret telling you all about Harry. You wanted my love so badly that you took on my obsessions and that's when it started for you. I ruined your childhood by telling you and I let you do it. You should have had a childhood like Daphne or Pansy or even Juliet. You didn't, though. You spent it learning everything you could so you could help me win back Harry and protect him. You wanted me to be happy with the godson I couldn't have because you never felt as though you were enough and I'm a fucking idiot for making you feel that way. I used to get so jealous of how you always thought that Lucius was perfect, that you would always confide everything in him. It's only been recently that I realized that's it's because he never made you feel that way. Even when you were tiny, he called you his sunshine. You were the sun in his sky, you lit up his world. You still do, though I have a feeling that if Draco has a daughter you'll have to share your spot with her, your daughter as well. I didn't make you feel that way and I can't tell you how fucking sorry I am about that. You deserved better than me, Hermione, and I can only tell you that I'm going to try to be better for you." He stopped for a moment and and took a deep breath.

"When you went into the Department of Mysteries and almost died, I realized how completely stupid my anger at you over the Umbridge shite was. Lucius had been right again, we should have been trusting your judgement like we had taught you over the years. In just a month, we're going to be following your decisions in this family, Hermione. Yes, I'll be there to help guide you but ultimately, this family will follow your will and that includes me. I should have trusted you and I didn't. I'm so fucking sorry that I didn't see you for the incredibly strong young woman that you are and instead assumed that you were acting as an impetuous teenager that was acting out. I know you better than that, or I like to think that I do, and I should have known better.

I love you, Hermione. I know you think that Jules is my favorite because I let her do whatever she wants. I'm going to tell you, however, that most days I want to give her a good spanking. She's very spoiled and she makes me realize how easy I had it with you. I do love her but she's exhausting. I suppose she's my revenge because my mother said that I was exhausting as well. If it makes you feel any better, she's sure that you're my favorite but says that she doesn't mind because she has a mother and you don't." Hermione scooted closer to him and let him put his arm around her shoulders so she could lay her head on his chest. It was a position she hadn't found herself in in a long time. While she had snuggled like this with Uncle Luci and Uncle Sev after waking up in the Hospital Wing, her father hadn't gotten that close. Apparently, now she knew why. Immense amount of guilt. Hermione sighed happily at finally getting to be close to her father again. She had wondered if he had been so disgraced at her actions that he didn't want anything to do with her.

"I know you made mistakes, daddy. We talked about them after you first brought Harry here. I forgave you for those then. I just thought that you were disappointed in me over the Umbridge thing and then when the Department of Mysteries thing happened, you didn't come to me like this. I thought that you were ashamed of me or something." Her father wrapped both arms around her and started to rock her, telling her that she had been completely wrong.

"No, princess, I just felt so bloody guilty that I didn't know how to go about being around you. Helena kept telling me to just talk to you but I didn't want to make things worse. She hates when I'm upset about you. She doesn't think that you like her but she doesn't want to talk about personal things with you because she's afraid that you'll think she's trying to be your mother and that's the last thing she wants to do. She said from the start she would never be more than your friend." Hermione shook her head.

"I don't hate her, I actually like her. I just hate that she's letting Juliet become a spoiled brat like Pansy. She threw a fit last year about the dessert we had and if it had gotten any worse I would have had to use magic on her to calm her down. It's getting out of hand. You're to blame too, you know. You're her father, her patriarch. Put your foot down. She can be a lady and not be insufferable. I love her to pieces, she's my sister, but I'm telling you that once I'm seventeen things are going to change at school." Sirius took a deep breath and nodded. It was Hermione's right as Matriarch to change things as she saw fit. This would mean a serious talk with Helena and Alexandre. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"If it means that they take her and leave?" Hermione raised an eyebrow in return.

"She has been proven to be a child of the house of Black. Helena is a half blood and while Alexandre can maybe sue for visitation, he can't get custody of her. It would be in their interest for them to assist in making her less insufferable." Hermione knew that it was harsh, saying that she wouldn't allow them to take Juliet from the Black family, but the truth was that if anything happened to Hermione, they would need Juliet to take over as the heir. She didn't have to be involved in the war, but she needed to grow up a little and act her age, not like a small child. She wasn't sure what the twins saw in her. Her father bowed his head at her words.

"I will speak with both Helena and Alexandre. I would expect a frosty welcome at breakfast." Hermione laughed softly.

"I get that every morning at school from Pansy. Trust me, the pair doesn't have anything on Pansy. I hope you know that keeping her here ensures that the Black family has an heir if something happens to me." Her father nodded and kissed her temple.

"I know, poppet. These are the hard decisions of being the head of the family. They're never easy and someone is always going to be angry about them. Frankly, I'm pleased with the decision. I don't want to lose my daughter even if I want to smother her with a pillow most days." Hermione let out a laugh and snuggled further into his arms.

"I'm sure I had those days as well. Give her time, daddy." He kissed her head again.

"You really didn't. Maybe on the days where you wanted to ride longer and not do your extra estate lessons. Maybe when you wanted to skip quidditch to go read. But never because you threw a tantrum. The only displays of Black magic from you were because of strong emotions." Hermione nodded and just enjoyed being in his arms. It had been so long since they had been this close and she had missed it. Maybe now that she was almost an adult, he would trust her and this back and forth mistrust would end. She would love to count on her dad being in her corner again.

Hermione wasn't sure how long she stayed there on the couch in her father's arms. She had almost dozed off when Sipsy appeared before them with a small pop, grinning when the pair jumped. Hermione glared at her but the elf was immune.

"Master Harry is asking after Miss. Hims is wanting to know if hes can talks to you when you is finished with yous father." Hermione sat up and rubbed her eyes, disbelieving of how close she had gotten to sleep.

"Yes, that's fine, Sipsy. Tell him I'll come find him in his room when I'm done here. It's probably almost time for dinner, isn't it? I didn't realize that we had been here this long." Sipsy bowed her head in acknowledgement and popped away. Her father eased her out of his lap and pressed one last kiss to her head.

"It sounds like you have a pressing engagement to get to. Just don't ever forget that you are precious to me no matter how I've acted in the past. I'm going to do everything that I can to rectify that in the future." Hermione pressed a soft kiss to his cheek.

"I love you too, daddy. You're the only one I have since my real one departed this world so early on. I'm glad that I haven't lost you as well." He stood, pulling her to her feet and giving her a good natured shove towards the door.

"Sounds like you better go find Harry. Bet he has something important to say." She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Do you know something that I don't?" He shook his head but she didn't believe him for a moment.

"See you at dinner, poppet."

Hermione started for the stairs and found her way in front of Harry's bedroom door. It wasn't proper in the least for her to be in his rooms without a chaperone but since her father knew and didn't seem worried in the least, she decided to just let it go. She knocked on the door and it was answered instantly, revealing Harry in his trousers and button-up shirt, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His robes had been set aside but Hermione didn't mind. The sight was breathtaking. Of course, she had no idea that Harry was taking in the sight of her in her purple robes either. He gestured for her to come in, leaving the door cracked just a little so anybody walking by could stick their head in if they wanted. However, Hermione had no illusions; she knew that Kreacher was somewhere nearby. The elf was almost stalkerish in making sure that she needed nothing from him. Harry pointed to the seat before the fire and she took it quickly, wondering what exactly it was that he wanted to talk about.

Suddenly, she worried that it was to tell her that he regretted the kiss they shared at their birthday party. She had expected him to bring it up in the days since then but he hadn't said a word. Rather than make her feel better, it made her think that it was something that he regretted and that he wanted to forget it. It hurt her heart to consider it but that's what she had done. She had gone out of her way to put it out of her mind because thinking about it when she assumed that he was doing his best to forget it was just too painful. Harry knelt before her, fully on both knees, and she wondered what in the world that meant.

"Hermione, Mia, I wanted to talk to you in private today. I couldn't wait until the end of the summer to get the air cleared." Hermione nodded her head and waved her hand dismissively.

"I know, I already assumed that you wanted to forget everything when you never said anything after the kiss we shared on your birthday. Have no worries, I won't let it cloud our friendship and I won't be a problem when you begin to date again at Hogwarts." Harry looked at her, completely stunned.

"Wait, what?" Hermione gave him an exasperated look and shoved him back so she could stand and start to pace.

"You made it clear that you didn't want to pursue anything when you never said anything after kissing me on your birthday. I can take a hint that it was a mistake. I just told you that I won't be a problem at Hogwarts. What more could you possibly want from me?" It was hard to keep the complete annoyance out her voice and she knew that she had failed. Harry stood quickly and rushed her, pulling her into his arms. Hermione let out a startled eeep before his lips descended on hers, taking them roughly this time.

Hermione had vowed to be strong against him, to not succumb to anything he might try. However, that thought flew right out of her head the second his lips touched her. His mouth took hers with all the passion that possessed him, his lips moving expertly against hers, his tongue tasting every inch of her mouth. Hermione couldn't hold back the whimper and moan of pleasure and her hands clenched at the front of his shirt. His arms wrapped around her waist, hauling her as close as he could so her breasts were smashed against his chest. His hand traveled down to squeeze her arse, eliciting another groan from her. She could feel the hard length of his erection pressed against her belly and he thrust it against her. Her pussy gushed at the action and her knickers were no longer dry.

His had cupped the back of her head and threaded through her curls, tugging them just hard enough to pull her head back, exposing her throat. Hermione was helpless against him and it was embarrassing. His mouth trailed from hers across her cheek to her ear where he sucked the lobe into his mouth, sucking and nibbling on it relentlessly. After teasing her there, his lips followed her jawline only to press kissed down her throat to where her pulse beat rapidly at the hollow. Harry groaned when he realized how close he was to getting exactly what he wanted from her. He reluctantly pulled away and cupped her cheeks with his hands.

"Mia, my sweet, sweet angel. You have it completely wrong. I've wanted you from the first moment I laid eyes on you. You were on the platform telling Sirius and the Malfoys goodbye while I was on the Express. Ron told me who you were and even through my confused feelings I still couldn't help but think that you were the most beautiful girl in the whole entire world. I wanted you at the end of the school year and I've waited this long because you wanted to be sure. I kissed you at our birthday party because it felt right but I didn't want to pressure you. Now, I'm telling you that I still love you and I want to be with you. I'll court you, I'll jump through whatever hoops you want me to. I've already asked your father for permission and he's given it. I've gone over a year without sex to prove to you that you mean more to me than pleasures of the flesh, Hermione. I want you. You're more important than anything else to me." Hermione took a deep breath and looked up to meet his eyes, loving the sight of his lips swollen from the kiss he shared with her.

"You truly mean that? You're not going to be with me a week and then regret it? It would destroy me, Harry. I've loved you since first year. You've hurt me so much through the years." Harry pulled her further into his arms and peppered her face with soft kisses.

"If you're mine, you're going to know it. I'm going to treat you like a princess. Nobody else is going to treat you like shite either. I want you, baby, nobody else. I knew last summer that I was going to have to prove myself before you ever gave me a chance. That's why it's been so long since I've had sex. I only want you. Yes, sex would have been nice but I want to be with you more." Hermione felt warm all over at his words and smiled in spite of how nervous she was at accepting his words. She considered them for a full minute before finally nodding.

"You realize that if you hurt me, it will do serious damage to this family. Please don't hurt my family. I'm taking a huge chance on you, Harry." Harry stepped forward and kissed her softly, making her forget her name once more. When he backed away, he met her eyes seriously.

"I would never hurt your family on purpose. I won't ever cheat on you. I can't promise that other girls won't flirt with me but I won't ever cheat on you. I'll do my best to never hurt your family." Hermione could see the sincerity in his eyes and finally smiled at him.

"You seriously want to be with me? Not someone who is beautiful like Cho or Ginny?" Harry scowled at the mention of Ginny and shook his head.

"No, Hermione, it's always been you. You're the most beautiful girl in the world to me. You're all I've wanted for years now, I've just been too scared to chase after you until now." Hermione couldn't contain her exuberance and threw herself into his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him as though they would never see each other again. It wasn't a deep kiss but she could feel all the emotions that he was pouring into the kiss. When she pulled away, he grinned.

"Does this mean that you'll agree to court me, Miss Black?" Hermione grinned at him.

"Yes, Mr. Potter, I believe it does." Before they could say another word, Kreacher appeared before them with a satisfied look on his face.

"Kreacher is happy to inform Mistress and Master that dinner is being served." Hermione gave him a slight bow, sending him on his way. She took Harry's hand and pulled him towards the door, suddenly excited to spread the word that they were now officially a couple like Draco and Daphne.

They hurried down the stairs and into the dining room to find that everyone was indeed waiting for them like she had suspected. They took their seats and waited until the dishes had been served to surprise their relatives. Hermione had waited until her uncles had just taken a drink to announce it.

"Harry asked to court me and I've given consent. Apparently, my father agreed at some point." Wine spewed from both her uncle's mouths and she gave them an amused smile when they met her gaze. Both gave calculating looks to Harry and while he visibly gulped, he didn't back down. Uncle Lucius glared at her boyfriend coldly.

"After dinner, we shall have a chat with your 'boyfriend'." Hermione nodded, knowing that it was going to happen regardless. Harry should have expected it.

Dinner passed quickly with little incident. Harry didn't seem nervous at all about his upcoming meeting with Uncle Luci and Uncle Sev. It made her wonder where his newfound confidence had come from. However, she was glad for it because the pair of them would have scared away any other suitor that had come calling. While she could have dismissed them completely since she was the Matriarch, she didn't want to disrespect her family that way.

Hermione settled into the library after dinner while the boys all disappeared. Even Draco followed after his father and godfather, only her father following after her to keep her company. She wasn't sure if her father had already spoken to Helena and Alexandre about Juliet but they had disappeared right after the meal in quite a haste. She had figured that he would wait until the privacy of their quarters but she couldn't be certain. Therefore, she left it alone. She wasn't changing her decision no matter what regarding Juliet. As much as she loved her sister, she was spoiled and out of control when it came to her tantrums. When Hermione reached seventeen and received her final inheritance of magic, she would be fully in control of the family magic and that shite wouldn't be happening anymore, that would be for sure.

She began reading some defense book that Moody had assigned them to read before next week. She really hoped that he liked the book that she had bought him. Hopefully, he would escort them to the Platform 9 ¾ and she could give it to him there; it would be the perfect time. She wanted it to be a public enough place that he couldn't turn her present away but not so public that it would draw the attention of the entirety of Diagon Alley.

It was almost an hour later when Harry and the rest of her family entered the library. She was deeply involved in her book and glanced up to see an ashen-faced Harry sit beside her. She shot a glare at her Uncle Luci who promptly ignored her. He picked up the Daily Prophet and exclaimed that he hadn't had a chance to read the latest hogwash to come out since the day before.

Needless to say, she didn't believe him for a second.

It was an hour later that the clock struck ten and Hermione yawned, getting to her feet to head for her bedroom. Harry went to his feet as well, offering her his arm so he could escort her to bed. She hoped that this wasn't an invitation to more. However, Harry was a perfect gentleman, letting her give everyone in the room a kiss goodnight, including Alexandre who had reappeared at some point, someone that he knew she wasn't all that fond of. Once they reached the door of her bedroom, Hermione grinned.

"You know you don't get to go any further, right?" He smiled down at her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I'm well aware. I can make you want me anywhere in this home. I don't need your bedroom to make that happen." Hermione laughed at his audacity and reached up on her tiptoes to press a soft kiss to his lips.

"I'm glad that you decided to take a chance with me." He chuckled against her mouth.

"You're the one taking a chance with me, Mia. I love you, never let yourself forget that." Hermione let his words sink in and finally smiled.

"I think I love you too." Harry brought her forward and kissed her for all she was worth once again. When he released her, he sent her to her room with a gentle push. He didn't seem all too excited about sharing his experiences with Uncle Lucius and Uncle Sev.

Hermione headed to bed that night with a smile on her lips and hope in her heart. Harry truly wanted to be with her and her family had accepted it. Her father had cleared the air between them and had told her how much he loved her. Things were finally going her way and she couldn't be happier.

Hopefully, things continued in this manner.

-O-

Sirius crawled in bed next to Helena and knew that he was likely going to get kicked out of his own bed after he talked to her about Juliet. He had thought about talking to her about it before going to bed so she would have time to cool down but didn't want her to blow up at Hermione. That would have been a disaster and was something that he wanted to avoid at all costs. Therefore, when she snuggled up to his side, he sighed. Her hand came to rest on his chest.

"What's wrong, love?" He reached up and brushed his hand through her hair.

"I had a talk with Hermione today and I'm going to warn you now about some changes that are coming. You know that when she turns seventeen, she's going to be the head of this family. I'll still be Lord Black but she's going to shoulder the family magic as she's the most powerful. She also knows that if anything happens to her during this war, Juliet is going to be the rightful heir to the title." Helena sat up and looked down at him, her brow furrowed.

"What sort of changes?" Sirius sat up as well, not wanting to feel as though he was looking up at her when he told her what was going to happen.

"Hermione wants her to act like a young lady, not a small child. She's not going to stand for the tantrums that she throws. She didn't have them when she first came to live here; she's become increasingly spoiled and expects to get her way in everything. I love her dearly, she's my flesh and blood, but she has to grow up. If she is to someday take over the estate for your father and Merlin forbid, Hermione, she needs to realize that throwing tantrums aren't going to get her anywhere." Helena dropped her head and stared at her hands, knotting them together in her lap.

"I suppose you're right. I have let her have her way in everything. I tried to make up for her not having a father in her life by letting her have whatever she wants. Probably not the best decision. Father probably won't like it but I suppose that's neither here nor there. You know how he dotes on her." Sirius nodded as he pulled her into his arms.

"I know, love. I'm not saying that she can't go shopping and she can't have things. I'm saying that she isn't going to get her way in everything anymore and if she throws tantrums, she's going to be punished. Your father can get angry all he wants, she's our daughter, not his. If he doesn't like it and makes a scene, Hermione will tell him to leave as is her right. Ultimately, this is her home. You know that I won't go against her in this." Helena nodded against his chest.

"I know and I won't ask you to. I'll tell him what his options are if that's what he chooses, that's his choice. If Jules is going to take over his estate when he dies, you would think that he would want her to be able to do so properly." Sirius nodded and mentally sighed in relief. It had gone much better than he had expected and he hadn't even had to tell her that Hermione had been prepared to take Juliet from them if they had gone that far. He pulled her back down to the bed.

"Come on, love, it's been a long day. Let's get some rest." She giggled.

"You don't want to talk about Harry courting Hermione and how disastrous that could turn out?" Sirius shook his head in the dark.

"No, I already talked to him earlier in the summer when he asked my permission to court her. He's completely gone on her. Lucius suspects that they're soulmates like he and Cissy are. Nothing else makes sense for them to continue to be drawn to each other after everything Harry has done to her." Helena hummed softly in response before speaking.

"All they can do is sit back and discover it for themselves. You know when they'll know, right?" Sirius groaned and covered her mouth while she laughed.

"Shut it, woman, I don't want to think about my daughter having sex." Helena let her giggles taper off as she snuggled back into his chest. Sirius wrapped his arms around her again and buried his face in her hair.

"Goodnight, love." Helena hummed again, already half asleep.

Sirius closed his eyes and let the events of the day fall away. It had been a good day and he felt so much better after clearing the air between himself and Hermione and he felt hopeful for how things were going to go with Jules. One thing was for sure, it surely couldn't get any worse with that little girl.

Some days, he wished she were more like Hermione.

A/N- How was that for a drama-filled chapter!? I want to hear everyone sigh in relief and yell "FINALLY!". Haha, I would deserve it. Thanks to everyone out there for sticking with this monster of a story and hanging tough. It makes me happy to know that you guys show it so much love. Anyways, drop me a line and tell me what you think.

Next chapter, return to Hogwarts for their sixth year.

Love,

Alicia


	113. Chapter 113

A/N- Alright, y'all, I'm back once again. Happy to hear that you're all still enjoying the story. It's getting hard to figure out which story I want to update next, this one or The Price of Victory. TPOV is getting interesting, I have to admit. I have no good reason why it's been longer than normal since I've updated. I got caught up in Cruel and Beautiful World, sent to me by a friend, and just couldn't stop. I have a love/hate relationship with stories like that. Enough for now. Thanks for reading.

**Shout out to Lucy Greenhill for being my 5600th reviewer. You're freaking awesome!**

Disclaimer: I still don't own a single thing in this story. I still haven't made any money from this story or any other. Maybe someday…

Chapter 113

September 1, 1996

Hermione sighed as she made sure that Sipsy and Kreacher had packed everything that she intended to take with her to Hogwarts. It didn't seem like the summer was over already, in fact, it seemed like it had barely begun. She really wasn't sure that she was ready to go back to school, even though she was excited to start her mastery.

Hermione had been tempted to test out of Transfiguration and see if she could try her hand at dual masteries; she was sure that she could handle it. However, Uncle Sev told her that if she did that, he would refuse her as his apprentice. It hurt that he would threaten it to her but he had told her that he didn't want her to burn herself out. He wanted her to be the best she could at both subjects and that would only happen if she did them one at a time. Even though she hated to agree with him, she did. Therefore, she was only mastering in Potions at the present time.

Now that she had tested out of most of her other classes, school seemed almost pointless. She could be training for war, creating potions that could save lives, anything other than sitting in class doing essays over subjects that she had already mastered. She would only be attending Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology, and Defense Against the Dark Arts alongside brewing with Uncle Sev whenever he needed her. However, she wasn't sure when that would be since he was now the Defense professor.

Over the summer, they had made serious headway on their lycanthropy potion and they were almost ready to start testing it on werewolves. Remus had kindly donated blood and they were testing it on that currently. If there were no adverse reactions, they would be moving on. Hermione hoped against hope that it worked because it could turn the tide in the war aside from bettering the lives of so many people. She had heard her father talking about how Voldemort was already gathering dark creatures on his side, werewolves among them. Remus had already volunteered himself to be the first test subject and she hoped to have him cured by Christmas.

Hermione realized that everything was in her trunk that she had wanted so she closed it and left it there, knowing that Kreacher would pop it away to Hogwarts along with Tenebris. He usually traveled with Hermione but he had been grouchy the last few days. She suspected that he had a female friend that he didn't want to leave. She had asked him if he would rather stay at Blackmoor but he had declined; this didn't mean that he was pleased. It was better for everyone involved that he apparate with Kreacher and not cause a fuss with everyone on the train.

Hermione considered her relationship with Harry as she headed down the stairs for breakfast. So far, it had been rather chaste; they had shared a few snogs but nothing more than that. They had had a serious talk three days into their relationship, Harry being the one to initiate it. He had told her that he knew that she was relatively innocent and didn't want her to think that he was pushing her for more than she wanted to give. He wanted everything to happen at her pace because he most certainly didn't want to fuck things up.

It was probably the sweetest thing he had ever said to her.

For Harry to commit to her and then not expect sex right away was a dream come true. It had already been over a year since he had had sex and he appeared to be in no rush to go there with her. She could tell from his erection when he kissed her that he wanted her but he was ignoring it for her sake. Yes, Harry Potter had turned out to be a sweet man, indeed.

Therefore, a few sweet, passionate kisses was all that they had shared so far. He had pressed her up against the wall in the library back in the stacks and kissed her until she was breathless, then again out in the stables as she prepared to go ride up against Bluebell. Every time he kissed her, she lost her heart a little bit more to him and she was quite sure that he knew it.

However, he had done as he promised her and treated her like a princess thus far. Of course, she was realistic enough to know that it wouldn't always be like this but it was clear that he was trying. In fact, the way he treated her reminded her greatly of how Uncle Luci treated Aunt Cissy. It was a bit unnerving because she knew that they were soulmates.

Hermione entered the dining room to find that everyone but Aunt Cissy had arrived. She took her seat between Uncle Luci and Harry, pressing a kiss to Harry's cheek and rolling her eyes when her uncle looked affronted that he hadn't gotten one as well. She leaned in and kissed him as well while the others chuckled. Her uncle gave her a winning smile.

"It's time that Harry learns that just because he's courting you, he's not the only important man in your life." Harry snorted, his eyes darting around afterward to make sure that Aunt Cissy wasn't there to smack him in the back of the head for his unseemly manners.

"As if anyone in her life could ever forget that." Everyone laughed at his comment as food appeared on the table. Hermione shot her uncle a concerned look and he smoothed a hand down her curls.

"Don't worry, sweet one. Your aunt is fine, she is experiencing womanly problems and is staying in bed this morning. She wishes me to tell all four of you that she wishes you a good year at Hogwarts, she expects lots of letters, and that she loves you all very much." Hermione nodded and dished herself up some porridge and fruit with toast. She dug into her meal with gusto, knowing she was going to miss Dot's cooking once she returned to Hogwarts.

The conversation was light as they ate breakfast; there was slight tension between Hermione and Juliet. Just a few days before Hermione had made quite clear where she stood when the girl had thrown a fit of epic proportions over not getting a dress in the exact shade of blue that she wanted. Even after the discussion that her father and Helena had had with her, it hadn't gotten much better. Hermione hadn't even let her father attempt to handle the situation. In just a couple weeks time, she would shoulder the entirety of the family magic and it would be her responsibility to make sure that Juliet was reined in.

Hermione had struck quickly and efficiently. Her magic not only silenced her sister, it bound her as well. There was pure hatred in her eyes when Hermione had informed her that every single piece of clothing in her wardrobe was now as black as her name and would remain so until she apologized to her mother and her aunt for being so horrid to them. Juliet hadn't been like this when they had first found her and she wasn't sure when her sister had begun to think herself so entitled.

Needless to say, all her clothing was still black. However, Juliet would soon learn that Hermione was far more stubborn and powerful than she was and if she ever wanted to wear color again, she'd apologize to Helena and Aunt Cissy for the awful things she had said while angry. Just eyeing the beautiful shade of icy blue that Hermione wore that morning, she could tell that her sister was weakening.

Breakfast finished quietly and since they had just a little bit of time before they were due to leave for King's Cross, Hermione headed for the stables one last time to tell her Abraxan goodbye until Christmas. She hated leaving her since they had grown up together but there was nothing for it. The air outside was still warm and light but she knew that it wouldn't last long. It never did once September came.

Hermione entered the stables and headed straight for Bluebell's stall. She had said her goodbyes the night before when she had gone on her last ride of the summer. They were always bittersweet, those last rides. Hermione never wanted them to end and she could tell that Bluebell felt the same way. Her Abraxan threw her head over the gate and knickered loudly, nuzzling Hermione's neck once she got close enough. She laughed, stroking the soft nose of her mount.

"I had a few minutes so I wanted to come see you again before I left. I'm going to miss you so much, Bluebell. I hate that I can't ride at Hogwarts." Bluebell bent lower so Hermione could scratch her ear, her all-time favorite form of affection. She complied happily and leaned her face into the horse's neck, breathing in the scent that was unmistakably horse. A sense of peace that she had yet to find at Hogwarts enveloped her and she couldn't wait for Christmas to come so she could return to her horse.

"I better go, Bells. You be good for Twinks and make sure that you're ready to ride when I come back at Christmas. It's only four months away, surely we can wait that long." Bluebell knickered softly and Hermione smiled before pulling away, giving the velvety nose of her mount one last pat.

Hermione stole back to the manor as quickly and quietly as she had left. It was nearing the time they usually left and she didn't want everyone to be late because they were waiting on her. She went straight to the main foyer, where they normally flooed to King's Cross from, to find that everyone was already gathered there except for Aunt Cissy. Harry raised an eyebrow at her, silently asking her where she had run off to. She smiled and answered softly.

"I wanted to see Bells one more time before I left. I'll miss her." He put his arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head before pulling her towards the floo.

Her father went first, following by Uncle Luci. Then Juliet, Draco, Harry, then herself. Helena and Alexandre followed last, bringing up the rear. Aunt Andie and Uncle Ted, not to mention Dory and Remus had said their goodbyes the night before since they weren't able to be here this morning. Hermione was happy to note that her sister was now dressed in a lovely shade of pink, meaning that she had gotten humble and apologized to both Aunt Cissy and her mother.

The platform was bustling with people, students yelling across people to each other, greeting each other and asking after their summers. Parents greeted each other and younger siblings hid behind their legs. Hermione could see Arthur and Molly with both Ron and Ginny further down the platform and she felt that familiar roil of discomfort down deep in her belly every time she looked at the redheaded girl. She was pulled from her musings by her father pulling her into his arms and holding her tightly.

"I won't be there for your birthday but if you have any problems with your full maturation, go to Severus. He'll get word to me and I'll be there as soon as I can. I have no idea what time of day you were born so I have no idea when it will happen. Just know that you're strong and you can handle it. I have full faith in you, princess." Hermione nodded against his chest, a few tears squeezing from her eyes to be soaked into his robes. She wished that he could be there with her when it happened. It wasn't that she was scared, just more like she wanted someone there to reassure her that everything would be alright.

"I love you, daddy. I'll miss you." She felt her father kiss her head before whispering that he loved her as well. He released her and Helena pulled her into her arms for a quick hug and a soft smile.

"I wish you well this year, Hermione. Everything will go well, of that I'm sure. Continue to be the strong and wonderful woman that you've grown to become." Hermione nodded softly, smiling at her father's girlfriend. She wondered if they would ever marry or if they were fine with the situation as it was.

"Thank you, Helena. Watch over my dad for me, he'll get busy and not take care of himself like he should. I used to have the elves watch his every step before you moved in." Helena laughed out loud as she released her.

"I will make sure that he takes care of himself, Hermione, you have my word." She gave her a nod before moving on to Alexandre. She stuck out her hand, not quite comfortable giving him a hug like she had the rest of the family. She had planned to shake his hand but he surprised her when he brought her knuckles up to his lips and kissed them softly.

"Au revoir, cherie." Hermione raised her eyebrows at his farewell. Since when did the man call her darling? Harry seemed to be glaring at him but Hermione just smiled, vowing to watch her back. Alexandre had been acting oddly since they had told him that Hermione wouldn't stand for Juliet acting like she was.

"Au revoir." Hermione moved to the last person on the platform that was waiting for them. Uncle Lucius opened his arms and she threw herself into his arms. He held her close, his hand smoothing her curls down her back just like he had done since she was small. He kissed the top of her head before pulling away to speak to her.

"You have a wonderful year, poppet. Do well in your studies and make sure that Severus doesn't work too hard. Keep Draco and Harry in line and feel free to hex them if they don't listen. Also, make sure Potter continues to treat you as you deserve. If he can't treat you well, he doesn't deserve you." Hermione nodded her head, agreeing to his words while he continued. "I love you and never forget that I believe in you. In just nineteen days, you will become the Matriarch of the Black family and I can't imagine anyone else being more suited for the job. Believe in yourself as I do." Hermione let out a single sob and buried her face in his robes, completely baffled by his complete and utter trust in her. When she was sure that could speak without sobbing, she pulled away and met his gaze.

"I love you too. I'm going to miss you. Please have Aunt Cissy take Bells out for me here and there so she gets her exercise." Her uncle chuckled and kissed her forehead.

"Of course I will, sweetness. Now, there's someone behind us that is waiting to wish you farewell." Hermione turned to see that in the midst of their goodbyes to their family, Master Auror Moody had arrived. His voice was low and rough, clearly he was trying to hold back emotion.

"I just came to wish you all well this year. Remember your training and keep up with Snape after hours." Hermione walked towards him and didn't hesitate to hug him close. He towered over her but he now wrapped his arms around her without hesitation. When she pulled away, she reached in her robe and pulled out a wrapped package, though you could clearly see that it was a book. She placed it in his hands and he glared at her.

"What's this for?" Hermione pushed the gift closer to his chest and smiled.

"It's a thank you for taking time out of your summer to teach us everything you have. The things that I had learned from you and my family saved my life in the Department of Mysteries. I know what you taught us this past summer will save our lives again. This is just a gift to show appreciation, Master Auror." The grizzled man glared at her but opened the package anyways. His mouth fell open and he just stared for several seconds. Hermione took this as her opening.

"Well, we must get on the train to make sure that we can get a good compartment. We love you all and thank you for the well wishes. Expect letters soon." Everyone but Moody waved at them as she herded her sister, boyfriend, and cousin towards the train. Just before she boarded, she turned to look back and saw that Moody was staring directly at her, smiling widely. Hermione gave him a little wave and climbed on board.

They quickly found a compartment of their own, though Juliet didn't stick around long, citing that she wanted to go find her friends. Neville, Luna, and Daphne all arrived and took their usual spots. There was small talk about their holidays going on around her but Hermione remained silent. There had been a couple shopping trips but they hadn't gone on holiday or anything like that. Most of their summer had been spent training.

It was a complete and utter surprise when the door opened again and Ron and Parvati stepped inside the compartment and took seats. Everyone was looking at them like they were crazy but it didn't seem to faze them. Once they were settled, Harry cleared his throat.

"What are you two doing here? I thought you couldn't stand the snakes." Ron shrugged his shoulders.

"You never sit with us anymore. It appears that this is the only way you're ever going to spend time with us. We were your first friends, you know." Harry sighed next to her and she figured that he was already going to get angry. Besides, Ron had been a little off since his encounter with the brains in the Department of Mysteries, she had heard Harry confiding that in her father one day while they were speaking in the library. They hadn't been aware that she was searching the stacks for something to read. Before, he would have never come sit with the snakes regardless if it meant not spending time with Harry or not. She put a hand on his knee and shook her head at him so he sighed again.

"Fine, you can stay but you're going to be nice. You usually can't be nice to a Slytherin to save your life." Ron grinned and nodded his head.

"Of course I can, I just never wanted to. Who's up for a game of wizard's chess?" Much to his surprise, Draco accepted first. Draco was superb at chess and so was Ron. He remembered Christmas of fourth year being spent playing chess in the Slytherin common room but he couldn't remember if Ron had faced Draco or not. Harry had been far more fixated on Hermione.

The match went on in silence and everyone around them either talked quietly or read. Harry opened his arm to Hermione and let her pillow her head on his chest. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, curling her in towards himself protectively. His own book lay in his lap, one on advanced warding, and Hermione had hers in her hand. She looked up at him and smiled so he took the opportunity to press a soft kiss to her mouth. Hermione went soft against him and wished that they were alone. However, since they weren't, she pulled away to go back to her book. However, she realized that silence had fallen around them. She looked up to see that everyone was staring at them and remembered that they hadn't seen any of their friends since she and Harry had decided to court. Her cheeks flamed and Draco was smirking at her discomfort. Ron was the first to break the silence, not surprising Hermione at all.

"What the bloody hell is going on here? I thought you were going to go after Lavender, Harry?" Hermione sat up straight and felt a stab of unsurety in her belly. Had Harry been telling Ron that he was interested in Lavender and Hermione was just a front? Her emotions had to have been betrayed by how stiff she was because Harry reached out and pulled her as close as he could, taking her hand in his and linking their fingers together. He met Ron's eyes first but made sure to sweep around the compartment.

"I've realized for a long time that I loved Hermione and that I wanted to be with her. I asked to court her at the end of the summer and her father has agreed." Silence reigned for only a minute before Daphne stood and threw herself into Hermione's arms, hugging her tightly. There was a soft whisper in her ear, quiet enough that nobody else could hear.

"We're both going to get our happily ever after, you just watch and see." Hermione laughed at her words and nodded, hoping against everything that her best friend was right. However, they still had a war to fight and get through. Nobody's life was guaranteed. Neville and Luna were congratulating Harry and Draco continued to smirk until Daphne started smacking him in the arm repeatedly for not telling her in his letters. Hermione realized belatedly that Ron and Parvati were the only ones that were still glaring at them.

"You told me you would never date evil Slytherin filth, Harry. I understand that her father in your godfather and that he was innocent, he was also a Gryffindor. You've seen how close her and Malfoy are to Lucius Malfoy. He might claim he's all for the good now but I know he loved being a Death Eater. I can't believe you would turn down Lavender over Black. I say you should just let their Dark Lord have her."

Harry was up and out of his seat so quickly nobody had seen it coming. He had Ron shoved up against the door of the compartment, his arm across his throat. Even though Harry had grown in height, Ron was still an inch taller than him, therefore, he didn't lift him up. He met his friend's gaze just inches away from his face.

"You ever say those things about her again, you'll be in the same boat as your sister. I give no fucks that you're related to the Weasleys, I will have Sirius ban you from the property like your psycho sister. If you want to continue with this friendship, you're going to get over your opinions of myself and Hermione being together. I've never wanted Lavender for more than a shag; I want Hermione for the rest of my life. I won't listen to you try to tell me what's best for my life, I get enough of that from Dumbledore." Ron still glared at him but he finally nodded. Harry released him and Hermione could see a strip of red across his throat. He stepped back and Ron held out his hand to Parvati. Hermione watched as the pair left, Ron's parting "point made" all that was left of him.

Harry turned back to take his seat and Hermione tried to keep her doubts out of her eyes. However, she knew she had failed when he pulled her into his lap and let her rest her head against his chest, his hand wrapped around her hip and clutching her knee. His voice was soft in her ear.

"I don't want Lavender, he's just always wanted me to because she's Pav's best friend. Please don't doubt me now." Hermione sighed and relaxed against him and she knew that Harry could tell that she was better. She let her eyes fall closed, not really because she was tired, but more so to relax. Harry continued to read and Hermione worked on her occlumency shields. She was disturbed by a knock on the door. Neville opened the door and admitted a little second year Hufflepuff.

"Professor Slughorn is on the train in compartment 6 and he would like Harry Potter, Hermione Black, Draco Malfoy, and Neville Longbottom to accompany him for lunch." Hermione groaned and turned further into Harry's chest. She knew that the rotund man was going to try to "collect" her but she didn't think that it was going to start this early. Harry chuckled at her as he helped boost her out of his lap.

The four of them stood, leaving Daphne and Luna to their own devices, promising that they would return soon. They made their way to compartment 6 and saw that there were already several students inside seated around a table with a portly man who was chortling with laughter. They were beckoned to enter and Professor Slughorn stood so he could shake hands with Neville, Harry, and Draco and bent low over Hermione's hand to press a kiss to her knuckles. It gave her the creeps much the same as it did when Alexandre had done it.

"Come in, come in. Sit down and we'll all get acquainted with one another. I'm sure that everyone knows Miss Hermione Black, Mr. Harry Potter, Mr. Draco Malfoy, and Mr. Neville Longbottom. Let me introduce to you Marcus Belby, Cormac McClaggen, Blaise Zabini, and Ginny Weasley." Hermione stiffened when she realized that the red head was in the same compartment as she was. However, she greeted Blaise with a side hug and gave the other two polite smiles.

Hermione didn't know much about Marcus Belby or Cormac McClaggen but soon learned that Slughorn knew everything about them, which he was quick to tell them all. Slughorn expounded about how powerful Blaise's mother was and how he expected great things from him in the future. Hermione thought it a little crass since everyone knew that Blaise's mother married numerous wizards and murdered them when they no longer served their purpose. She was just so good at it that she hadn't been caught. Ginny was explained to be an astounding mind when it came to charms and that she would someday make headlines in that area. Hermione wasn't sure if that was true but even she could admit that the girl wasn't stupid and she was quite adept with a wand.

Neville was beet red by the time the professor was finished regaling them of tales about his prowess in herbology, how all the major potion masters in the world would beg for his ingredients once his mastery was achieved. Draco kept a stoic face during his description of being phenomenal in potions and that he hoped to someday mentor that young blond. Hermione could tell that he was a little disgusted, however. Then came her turn and she wanted to disappear.

"Miss Black, I can't wait to get to know you better. Already starting your Mastery in potions and you aren't even seventeen. Severus has never taken an apprentice so you must truly be a genius for him to consider it." Hermione gave him a brief nod.

"He did tell me he's never taken one but he offered it to me nonetheless. I've known him since I was small since he's Draco's godfather and we grew up together. I aspired to be as brilliant as he is." Hermione felt that was an appropriate answer but Slughorn just kept going.

"I heard that you tested out of five other N.E.W.T. level subjects aside from Potions to make room for your mastery and received O's in them all. Barely out of your O.W.L year and you have six N.E.W.T.s. You must be proud of yourself. Are you considering a second mastery?" Hermione gave another brief nod.

"I considered testing out of Transfiguration so I could pursue dual masteries. However, I was advised that it would be unwise and decided that those older and wiser than me were to be trusted in this matter." The portly professor nodded, his jowls jiggling unbecomingly.

"I suspect we'll see some truly wonderful things from you, Miss Black. I can't wait for us to get to know each other better in more of these parties to come." Hermione blanched silently. More of these parties? She wanted to run screaming from this one, let alone attend another.

Slughorn moved on to Harry, saving the best for last. The-Boy-Who-Lived, Defense Against the Dark Arts prodigy, has a deft hand at potions just like his mother before him. It was all the same tripe he had spewed for the rest of them and Harry seemed just as impressed as they had been. In fact, nobody at the table seemed all that impressed with their newest professor.

They were dismissed shortly after that and the four of them were happy to return to their compartment. They found Luna and Daphne asleep, though they woke them since they were getting close to Hogsmeade. Everyone hurriedly put on their robes and were ready to evacuate the train when they pulled into the station.

As they stepped off the train, Hermione realized that they were directly behind Theo, Greg, Vince, and Pansy. All four were whispering madly about something, something to do about a mission. She couldn't quite hear the details but knew that it was likely that there was going to be trouble afoot at Hogwarts once again.

-O-

Harry helped Hermione into a carriage and followed quickly. Draco and Daphne, followed by Neville and Luna brought the carriage to capacity. Hermione leaned over once the carriage was moving and made sure that she spoke softly so nobody outside of the carriage was listening.

"Did you hear what Theo was talking about while we were in front of him?" They all shook their heads and Hermione cursed softly.

"I could have swore that he said something about a mission but I can't be sure." Harry raked a hand through his unruly hair looked sideways at her.

"You know that if he has a mission, he's likely been marked?" Hermione knew there were tears in her eyes when she nodded. She didn't like Theo now, not what he had become. She was saddened for the boy he had been though, her first crush, the most handsome boy to ever come see her in her home. The friend he had been up until they had become friendly with Harry.

"Yes, I know. That's what I'm scared of." Draco gave her a grim look as Harry took her hand and laced their fingers together.

"We need to tell Uncle Severus and keep an eye on him." Hermione nodded.

"We'll try to get in tomorrow. You know we won't be able to get in to see him tonight. Welcoming Feasts are always crazy." They all nodded and rode the rest of the way to the castle in silence.

Professor McGonagall directed them to their house tables and Harry bent to Hermione and pressed his lips to hers. There was a loud gasp around them and then silence. Harry didn't let it bother him; he licked his tongue at the seam of her lips and grew impossibly hard when she moaned in response. He was quick to pull away because he didn't want to embarrass her with public displays; he knew she hated them. However, he wanted to let everyone know that they were together and that had been the easiest way. Hermione was glaring at him when he pulled back but he just smiled at her disarmingly.

"I won't do it again but it was the easiest way to tell everyone that I belong to you and you belong to me." Hermione smiled at him and smacked his chest.

"That was your goodnight kiss. After the Feast, Draco and I have to go down and get the firsties settled. I'll see you in the morning." Harry pressed a kiss to her forehead this time and nodded.

"Til morning, my lady." Hermione laughed out loud at his gallantry before starting for the Slytherin table.

While Harry did occasionally take meals with the Gryffindors, he usually ate with the Slytherins these days. He made sure to still sit with his house during classes and such but he normally only spent two or three meals a week in his house's company. Not that he could say that Neville or Juliet were any different. However, the looks he was getting as he got closer to his table were far from warm and welcoming. It seemed that they weren't happy with his choice of Hermione either.

Harry took his seat next to Neville and caught sight of Jules down the way with her friends, clearly holding court. It made him a little sick at his stomach to say so but she reminded him of Pansy before Hermione had socially made her an outcast. Although, Harry had to admit that Aunt Cissy was much the same way. As long as she grew up and didn't act like a brat all the time, he supposed he could get past it. After all, he hoped that someday she would be his sister-in-law.

The first years were sorted and Harry was preoccupied for the Headmaster's speech. His blackened hand was there on display though he seemed thoroughly unconcerned about it. There were whispers up and down the table about what could have happened and while Harry was most certainly curious, he knew that Dumbledore would never tell unless he wanted to. The likelihood of that was zero.

None of his house spoke to him aside from Neville who acted as though everything was perfect. Harry was glad that he had at least one person on his side, especially since he was sharing a dorm room with three boys that clearly had problems with him now. As a house, they trooped up seven flights of stairs and the prefects quickly directed the firsties as to where to go and instructed them to wait for them at breakfast and they would take them back down. Harry briefly wondered what it was like in Slytherin for first years. He would have to remember to ask Hermione the next day. After all the little kids were gone to bed, Harry stood up from the couch and called the attention of the rest of the house.

"You've made it clear that you don't like my decision to be with Hermione Black. I'm making it clear right here and now that I don't give a fuck. You'll be respectful of her or you'll answer to me. For all the purebloods in the room, you might want to remember that she becomes the official Lady Black in just nineteen days. Moving against her would be suicide." Harry watched as everyone started whispering amongst themselves. It was quite comical when he considered it. Why these people were so invested in where he stuck his cock, he had no idea. However, it was getting pretty old. He had just turned to go up to his dorm when Seamus yelled out at him.

"Are you going to be bringing her in our room and shagging her like you did all the other girls? We going to have to listen to her too?" Harry turned and met the eyes of the Irishman.

"I haven't had a girl in that bed in over a year. To answer your question, no I won't be shagging her in my bed. I respect Hermione and I would never put her in that position. Like I just told you, she'll be the Matriarch of the Black family." This time, he started up the stairs to his dorm but was stopped by a quick hand to his arm. He looked down to see Ginny giving him a soft smile. There was no maniacal gleam there and he could honestly say that if this Ginny had approached him before, he probably would have given her more of a chance. However, he wasn't in the mood for anything at the moment. He threw her hand from his arm.

"I just wanted to say I hope you have a good night, Harry. I'm happy for you and Hermione." Harry narrowed his eyes at her but he couldn't see any duplicity there. However, he'd never been able to. Maybe he would mention it to Hermione and see what she thought. His voice was offish and gruff when he answered. He was sure that if he alienated her completely, she's go after Hermione in spite. Right now, she was being kind and as long as she kept her distance from Hermione, that was fine with him.

"Yeah, thanks."

Harry didn't bother to wait and see what her reaction was to his tone of voice. He couldn't stand the girl, in fact, he could probably happily kill her. However, he had vowed to not make the situation worse and there was no doubt that being a complete cock to her for no apparent reason would only exacerbate the problems between them. Although, she wasn't supposed to remember anything about their relationship before or what she had done to Hermione. Really, thinking about it all made his head hurt.

He found that Dobby had laid out his pajamas and he was quick to shower and change. By the time he emerged from the bathroom, the others were just starting to trickle up the stairs. Neville clapped him on the shoulder and Ron looked as though he wanted to say something. However, Harry wasn't in the mood for it so he quickly dove into his bed and closed the curtains, activating the silencing charm that he always placed around it. Ron snored like a freight train and it was nigh on impossible to sleep when you heard it.

Harry worked on his occlumency shields for a short time before finally dropping off, his mind full of worries about Death Eaters with missions, redheads with agendas, and keeping his own queen safe from it all.

A/N- Boom, another chapter finished. Hope you all enjoyed it and how Harry revealed their relationship. Thanks again to everyone reading and reviewing, you guys keep me going. You are the bomb! Let me know what you think about the chapter and where the story is headed. Reviews are love.

Next chapter, a huge misunderstanding that threatens our couple's relationship.

Love,

Alicia


	114. Chapter 114

A/N- I'm back, y'all, though I have no good reason for taking so long to update. I just wasn't feeling writing and was reading instead. Through the Eyes of a Child and The Commoners Guide to Bedding a Royal have kept me busy. I would strongly suggest either story if you love Dramione. Since this chapter is a bit of a cliffhanger, I'm going to forgo updating The Price of Victory and my next chapter will be for this story. See how much I love you? Haha. I feel that I should also thank rabradley09 for pretty much taking up the mantle of being my alpha. I have no secrets from her when it comes to this story and she has helped me immensely with plot points. Do you have any idea how hard it is to decide who dies in this story? Kudos to her. As for now, I hope you enjoy (:

Disclaimer: After 113 chapters, I'm really hoping that y'all know that I don't own the characters or the original idea that brought on Part One of this story. Everything else past that, has been my creation. I'm still broke so I still haven't made any money off this story or any other.

Chapter 114

September 2, 1996

Harry ate lunch quietly, listening to Hermione prattle on about all the things that she had helped Severus with that morning. While she had been helping him with his lessons in Defense for the younger years, Harry had been stuck in Care of Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes. While he enjoyed both classes, they just weren't the same without Hermione in them. He really wished that he had tested out with her, he would have even been willing to pick up a Mastery to do so. However, it was too late for that now, maybe during the summer he could do that.

Hermione seemed to like teaching the younger years which didn't really surprise him considering how well she had done in the D.A. He wondered what the younger years thought about her; he hadn't heard anything in Gryffindor yet but he thought that she had only helped with third year Hufflepuff and Ravenclaws. It would be interesting to hear their thoughts.

Harry now had homework in both his classes of the day, though even he had to admit that Hagrid's was somewhat of a joke. A six inch essay on acromantulas was something that even Ron could accomplish inside a half an hour. While the half-giants teachings all matched Madam Cambridge's, it was clear that he had a very different teaching style. The only reason Harry had continued with the class was because while Madam Cambridge had taught the theoretical side perfectly, he hadn't had access to the practical.

Ancient Runes was the same as it always was. Professor Babbling had expressed sadness at the loss of Hermione in her class but pride that she had passed her N.E.W.T. with an O before getting on with the lesson. Harry sat with Draco in the class since there were no Gryffindors and Blaise didn't seem to mind that he tagged along with them.

They were now at lunch and Harry was seated with the Slytherins since his house was still being frosty. This threw him back to this morning when Ron had approached him.

*Flashback*

Harry was dressing quickly in his uniform, throwing a robe over the top of them when he realized that Ron had approached him with a contrite look on his face. He really didn't want to deal with Ron at the moment but figured that he should probably just get it out the way. He turned to his best mate and honestly wondered if that term even applied anymore. Neville and Draco acted more like best mates to him than Ron did half the time. However, Ron was his oldest friend and he didn't want to lose that unless he had no choice. Not to mention, they were first cousins. Of course, continuing this animosity with Hermione would be a sure-fire way to make sure that it ended. His tone was hard when he spoke.

"What do you want, Ron? To be a fucking dick about decisions in my life that don't affect you in any way?" Ron sputtered indignantly.

"This one does affect me. I'm your best mate and she hates me. I hate her. How am I supposed to spend any time with you?" Harry sighed heavily and pushed his hand through his hair.

"Ron, I was trying to get with her all summer yet I still saw you and spent time with you. Why would that be any different now? She hasn't told me she doesn't want me to be friends with you even though she clearly despises you. Yet here you are doing it. She's working towards a Mastery which means a lot of her free time is gone. I had planned on spending that time with you. However, I won't stand back and let you talk about Hermione like that. I love her, Ron, I have for awhile. I want to marry her. Don't fuck this up for me or I'll never forgive you." Ron sighed.

"Fine, I get it. I'll play nice and stay away. I obviously don't think I can be nice while around her so I'll stay away. Just don't forget that you have a best mate in Gryffindor still. I feel like you spend all your time at the Slytherin table and walking to and from class with them." Harry supposed that his words had merit, he did spend most of his meals with the snakes and he did walk with them just about everywhere.

"I'm sorry, Ron. I'll start eating with you more often if you can promise to let this animosity drop. I don't want it to ruin our friendship." Ron nodded.

"It won't. Thanks, Harry." Ron walked off to finish getting ready and Harry breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't bothered asking him to apologize to Hermione because she would know in a second that it was fake. However, keeping the redhead away from her was probably the best thing he could do about the situation.

Hopefully, she would agree.

*End of Flashback*

Hermione had agreed. She didn't want an apology and didn't want to feel obligated to accept it because it came from Harry's friend. Therefore, she was thrilled when he said that Ron was going to stay away from her since he couldn't guarantee that he could be nice to her if he was around her.

The bell rang, pulling him out of his thoughts. Hermione reached out and took his hand, shooting him a questioning look. He shook his head at her, telling her that nothing was wrong. Since Charms was next, Hermione would be attending, the one class that she would be with him that day. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pressed a kiss to her temple, feeling quite happy when she wrapped an arm around his waist and squeezed.

They were still drawing looks as they walked through the corridors, all students of all manner of ages stopping to stare at them as if they couldn't believe what they were seeing. Harry was still unsure as to why it was so unbelievable. He had been hanging around with Hermione and her group of friends since the beginning of their fourth year, two years now. Why was this such a drastic leap for them to jump to? Hermione had told him it was because the Blacks were a notoriously dark and insane family and he was the heralded hero of the light. It was a match that they weren't sure about and there were some that probably thought that Hermione would eventually turn him dark. After hearing Ron the day, it made sense to him even though he didn't like it a tiny little bit.

As they entered Charms, Harry took the seat next to Hermione even though Ron was sure to complain about it. He didn't get to see her at all during the day except in classes and some of her evenings would be busy as well. Therefore, he was going to take advantage of the situation when it arose and sit with her when he could. She gave him a sweet smile when she realized that he was choosing her over his best mate. Ron glared a little but took the seat next to Pav with no words spoken.

Draco sat with Daphne and Neville took the seat next to Tracey. Millie hadn't been around as much over the summer and Harry had a feeling that her family was leaning towards the Dark Lord. He had seen her talking to Pansy a few times already this year so he hoped that Hermione wouldn't be too disappointed if she lost another friend to the dark side. Professor Flitwick entered the classroom with his usual bubble of happiness and instantly started the class.

"Today, students, we're going to work on revision from the spells we learned last year. We need to make sure that they're mastered and as some of you had problems with them during your O.W.L. testing, we need to rectify that. We're going to begin learning non-verbal spells this year and you need to make sure that the verbal ones are mastered completely." Hermione was clearly upset; he knew that she hated revision classes. They bored not only her to tears, but himself as well. Draco looked just as annoyed so Harry found himself in good company.

They were paired off with other members of the class and given a list of spells to go over. Harry found himself paired with Pansy while Hermione was paired with Greg. Draco was with Ron which he was sure was going to go over wonderfully. As per their Charms professors usual behavior, he had paired the gifted students with the slower students, hoping that they would help them along. While Harry didn't mind helping another student, he would much rather have been paired with Ron than Pansy.

Harry stood and moved to where Pansy was seated with Theo. Theo glared at him but stood to move over to his place with Lavender. Harry took his seat and kept his face neutral. Professor Flitwick put the list of spells on the board and bid them to begin. Harry realized that Hermione was trying to be kind to Greg but he was being surly and uncooperative.

For the first several spells, Harry remained silent except to correct Pansy in one way or another on her spell casting. He seriously wondered why all purebloods didn't hire tutors for their children. They were all rich so why would you not give them every advantage that money afforded? He was thrilled that Sirius had hired Madam Cambridge and that he had extended that education to Harry as well. He no longer felt like he was light-years behind Hermione and Draco. He and Draco were pretty much even now and Hermione was in a class of her own. It was on the fourth spell that Harry tried to correct her and Pansy rolled her eyes at him.

"I can't believe you're courting her. You were never cut out to be cruel, Potter, and she's cruel as they come. Besides, she's a prude. She'll never get you off like I did. Don't deny it, you loved how I sucked your cock. You loved fucking me." Harry tried to ignore her, just staring at her impassively before asking her to repeat the spell again. Pansy laughed at him.

"You can't even speak because you know I'm right. You know she won't do it for you, you know that she isn't going to like doing any of the things you like." Harry had had just about enough of her shite. He knew that Professor Flitwick was busy with Draco and Ron so he reached his hand out and snatched her by the hair at the back of her head, pulling her in close enough to hear his words. She actually laughed.

"You're a big, bad Dark Lord slayer now, aren't you?" Harry tightened his grip and just stared at her.

"You don't know a fucking thing, Parkinson. You're as ignorant about life around you as you are about these spells. You know nothing about Hermione as you haven't spoken to her in years. Just know that your Dark Lord fears me and if you hurt her in any way, you'll answer to me. Never forget that." He released her with a small shove and stood, gathering his things to head back to his table with Hermione. Professor Flitwick raised his eyebrows at him.

"Is everything alright, Mr. Potter?" Harry gave a nod.

"Yes, professor, Parkinson just doesn't want to listen to me when it comes to learning. It's a waste of my time to just sit there and argue with her. I suggest pairing her with someone she'll listen to." Professor Flitwick looked a little taken aback but Harry didn't care. He wasn't going to spend every charms class with that stupid cow.

However, there was a small part of Harry that worried that her words were true. Hermione wasn't known for being overly affectionate in public, which was fine. She was raised to be proper and he had yet to see her deviate from that. Sure, she had enjoyed snogging him immensely and that gave him hope. There was still a niggling worry that she wouldn't like to suck his cock, she wouldn't like him burying his face and tongue in her quim, and she wouldn't like that he liked to be in control.

Pansy really had been everything he could have wanted in a shag. She handed over control with no problems, letting him do whatever he wanted to her. She really did suck an amazing cock but fucking her had left him feeling empty. Their affair hadn't lasted long and Harry had no urge to continue it. He could only hope that eventually Hermione would come around in the ways of her sexuality and she would be happy with it. Besides, they weren't even at that point in their relationship. Harry had firmly told her that he wasn't going to be making any moves she hadn't agreed to because he didn't want to pressure her. The last thing he wanted to do was lose her. He supposed that even if she didn't like pleasures of the flesh, he would still be happy, if only a little disappointed.

Harry pulled out his Care of Magical Creatures text and wrote his essay in the time it took for the rest of the class to dismiss. Hermione found his side again and gave him a look that told him she knew something had happened. Harry sighed; he really hadn't wanted to tell her the things that Pansy had said. He began to gather his books so he could head for Potions. Hermione was still looking at him expectantly so he capitulated.

"She made some comments about how you wouldn't keep me happy and the time I spent with her. Please don't ask me to get more specific." Harry saw a flash of an unknown emotion in her eyes and she nodded. He put his arm around her shoulders and he could feel the tension in her shoulders. He kissed the side of her head and sighed yet again.

"What's wrong, Mia? Don't let Pansy get to you." She blinked rapidly and nodded, lowering her head. When she looked up, her eyes were clear.

"I won't. That's just my greatest fear. You won't be happy with me because you're so experienced and I'm not. There's no way that I know the things that you like." Harry stopped her outside of the Charms classroom and forced her to meet his eyes.

"We are nowhere near that point yet, baby. When we get there, you're going to make me happier than ever just because it's you. We'll try everything and the things you don't like, we won't do. This isn't even a problem though because you aren't ready for that step." Hermione smiled at his words and nodded, the tension bleeding out of her muscles. Harry walked with her to the dungeons since he was headed to Potions with Slughorn and she was headed for more mastery work with Severus. At the junction they would part, Harry pulled her into an alcove and lowered his lips to hers.

Her lips were heaven, like coming home. She melted into him so sweetly, so completely, the trust she gave him in this was heady. His arm hauled her close to his body, pressing her flush against him, her breasts smashed against his chest. He wished they were naked so he could play with her hard tips but that was for another time. His tongue reached out and stroked her lips, causing her to moan and open willingly. The first few times they had kissed, it had been a struggle for dominance but since then, Hermione hadn't even put up a fight. She just gave in and let him ravage her mouth, tasting her in every which way he pleased.

His hand traveled down to cup her perfect arse, the furthest he had gone with her. She hadn't expressed any displeasure at him squeezing her luscious globes so he wasn't about to quit. Her arse was perfect and he hoped one day that she'd let him take her in it. Her hands were tangled in his hair, pulling on the fine hairs at the nape of his neck and Harry couldn't hold back a groan on his own, thrusting his erection firmly into her belly.

Harry pulled away, breathing hard. The last thing he wanted to do was push her too far and that was bordering on it. Sure, he had done this before but not since they had gotten together. He was being respectful and unless she made the first move, it wasn't respectful. He brushed her hair back from her face and his thumb ran the length of her lower lip.

"We're going to be late if we don't hurry. You don't want to disappoint Severus." Hermione eeped in shock and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek on the very tips of her toes before dashing out of the alcove with a yelled goodbye. Harry laughed at her antics and headed for the Potions classroom.

He entered to find that the only open seat was by Ron. While he considered himself a competent brewer, Ron was not and would do nothing but argue like he always did. However, he had promised to make more of an effort for his friend and this was one of those times. He would miss partnering Draco though.

There were several cauldrons lined up along the table at the front of the classroom and Harry wondered briefly if they were going to have to guess at what potion was in which cauldron. Not that he was worried. Both he and Draco were ready to sit for their N.E.W.T. testing and the man gave off the vibe of being much more lenient that Severus. Knowing that he had been taught with Severus' need for perfection would hopefully garner him a good grade in this class. Professor Slughorn came through the door in a rather lackluster manner. Of course, that could be because Harry was comparing him to Severus' billowing robes of the five years previous.

"Good morning students, it's so good to see you in Advanced Potions. I understand that a few of you weren't aware you would qualify for the class and are waiting on your text to be delivered from Flourish and Blotts. Please come forward and take an older version until yours arrives." Harry watched as most of the Gryffindors, even Neville, walked forward and grabbed a book from the pile. Professor Slughorn continued.

"Just for a bit of fun, I wonder if any of you can guess which potions these are. Don't worry if you're wrong, you haven't learned about them before." There were several wrong guesses before their rotund professor looked exasperated.

"Mr. Malfoy, could you tell us what the first two potions are?" Draco cleared his throat and stood, heading for the cauldrons. He glanced quickly at them, picking up the ladle of one and letting the liquid fall back into the cauldron. Draco stepped back and gave the professor an impassive look.

"The first is polyjuice potion and the second is veritaserum." The professor clapped happily, clearly overjoyed that someone in his class was advanced. However, he had to know that Draco was amazing at Potions after the meal they had shared on the Express. Harry was surprised to find that the professor had called his name.

"Now, Mr. Potter, perhaps you could prove to me that you're indeed your mothers son and tell me what the last two potions are?" Harry bristled slightly. Regardless if he was good at potions or not, he was still his mother's son. However, he stood and followed Draco's example, examining the potions in the last two cauldrons. They were easy enough. He returned to his seat and gave his answer.

"The third cauldron is amortentia and the fourth is felix felicis." Slughorn was almost jumping with joy at the correct answer.

"Ten points to both Slytherin and Gryffindor for correct answers. Today, we're going to be brewing Draught of Living Death. I want you to read the chapter and begin. You should be able to bring your potion to a point of stasis that we will continue next class period. Your homework is a twelve inch essay on the draught, it's counter, and how it can be used. Begin."

Harry had already read his chapter, several times actually, so he stood to gather his ingredients while Ron continued to read. He hadn't said that it was a partner project so Harry felt a little better about sitting with his best mate now. He was pulled from his thoughts in the student cupboard when Slughorn spoke again.

"Whoever can produce the best version of Draught of Living Death, will win a vial of felix felicis, otherwise known as liquid luck. Twelve hours of perfection." Harry felt his competitive nature stir but tamped it down. He had yet to beat Draco in potions and he knew that he wasn't about to start today. Besides, potions was Draco's specialty and defense was Harry's. He didn't mind. However, twelve hours of a perfect day would be wonderful.

Draco was headed into the cupboard as he was leaving and they grinned at each other. It was no secret to the class that Draco would win now that Hermione was gone. Harry briefly wondered if the professor would ever get to watch Hermione brew; it truly was an art with her.

He began his potion and prepared his ingredients just like Severus had shown him. He even tweaked the recipe of the potion as his honorary uncle had shown him, not thinking for a second that Slughorn would sneak up behind him and watch him.

"Now, Harry, my boy, why are you putting in too few sopophorous beans? Where did you learn to smash the beans?" Harry wanted to curse because he knew that the man wasn't questioning Draco for using the same techniques. However, Draco's could be explained since it was well-known that he was Severus' godson. Harry, however, had no such excuse. Draco was looking at him with wide eyes as Harry lied as smoothly as he could.

"I'm still rather advanced in potions, professor, just not to N.E.W.T. level." Complete lie. "Hermione Black is my girlfriend and she's been tutoring me in potions for two years now. I'm just applying what she has taught me." Draco looked relieved and Harry sighed in his own relief when Professor Slughorn clapped a hand down on his shoulder and laughed.

"Of course, my boy. I can't wait to see Miss Black brew. If Severus has agreed to teach her, she must be beyond compare." Harry knew that a response was needed so he grinned even though this man made him feel dirty.

"I like to think she is."

Harry was left in peace after that. He brewed his potion to the best of his ability and when Professor Slughorn called time, he bottled a small vial of his potion before putting the rest of it in stasis. He moved his cauldron onto the shelf labeled for their class and sent his vial up to the professor's desk. He was going through them and discarded most of them. The entire class waited to hear his verdict. Finally, they weren't disappointed. Professor Slughorn held up two vials and spoke.

"There are two vials that stick out in this competition. I haven't looked at the names of who they belong to but I know who they are. I just don't know which vial belongs to which person. Therefore, I'm going to just pick one because they're both perfect and there has to be a winner. Just be reassured, Mr. Malfoy, and Mr. Potter, that whoever doesn't win, it wasn't because of your potions skills." Harry watched as he shuffled them around on his desk and just chose one. Even if he lost, Harry didn't care. His potion was equal to Draco's and that was something to be proud of since the blond had been brewing since he was six years old.

"The winner is Draco Malfoy. Twenty points to Slytherin for both Slytherin and Gryffindor for turning in such superb vials of potions. Mr. Malfoy, come collect your prize." Harry watched as Draco went and got his promised liquid luck and tucked it inside his robes. Ron glared at the Slytherin so he nudged him sharply with his elbow.

"Stop glaring. He won fair and square. Even Professor Slughorn said that our potions were equal. It was all chance." Ron nodded and said nothing else, his eyes on his borrowed book.

They were dismissed shortly after that and Harry hoped that Hermione would be walking up the corridor to meet with him to go to dinner. They hadn't made a plan of it since Severus had a habit of getting lost in his work. However, he hoped that Hermione would keep him on track when it at least came to meals.

Harry wasn't disappointed. His girlfriend came striding up the corridor, head held high like she had just gone to battle. It was very strange since she was only with Severus. He held his hand out to her and she grasped it, pulling him towards the alcove they had occupied earlier. She placed herself against the wall and Harry reached up to stroke the side of her neck.

"What's wrong, Mia? You look like you just went to battle." Hermione laughed lightly and leaned forward to press a kiss to his lips.

"I'm fine, nothing happened. Just excited to see you and continue what we started." Harry's cock twitched in his pants and he lowered his mouth to hers once more. Hermione pressed herself against him more firmly than she ever had before, her hands reaching down to squeeze his arse. Harry could feel himself losing the tenuous grip on his control, grinding his cock into her belly. Hermione jumped and he caught her, her legs wrapping around his waist, lining his cock up with her womanly heat.

Harry wondered briefly what had changed in the course of an hour but he was so lost in the moment, his hands on her breasts, feeling how luscious and perfect they were, that he didn't stop to contemplate it. He couldn't contain the groan when her hand traveled downward to stroke his cock through his trousers. Suddenly, warning bells went off in his head. Hermione wasn't this bold when it came to their encounters. Did someone potion her? Just before he pulled away, a light from a wand shined into alcove and he was blinded. He dropped Hermione to her feet and realized that she was taller than he had realized. In fact, once he focused on the light from the wand, he realized it wasn't Hermione at all he was in the alcove with.

It was Cho Chang.

Harry shoved her away from him and stormed out of the alcove to see that it was Hermione who was staring at him from the corridor. There was a breeze lifting her curls, a breeze that shouldn't have been there, and Harry realized just how close she was to losing control. He moved closer to her, seeing for the first time the stony look in her eyes. They were full of loathing. Hermione stepped back, her wand still raised, while Cho stepped out of the alcove looking like the cat caught the canary. Her words were harsh and Harry knew that even though he couldn't see the effect they had on Hermione, it was most assuredly there.

"You had to know that you wouldn't be able to keep him happy. You couldn't keep Cedric happy. Never in a million years would he keep you around for anything other than your last name, your power, and your money. Run along, princess, the boy in the tower has moved on." Hermione didn't raise her wand, she didn't even whisper an incantation. However, that didn't stop the green pustules from forming on Cho's face, spelling out the word 'whore'. She started screaming and turned to catch her reflection in the mirror on the wall behind her. Her hand covered her mouth in a silent scream this time before she whirled to face Hermione, her eyes full of rage.

"You're going to pay for this, you cunt. I'll see you thrown from this castle yet." Hermione raised a single eyebrow at her and watched as Cho ran down the corridor, surely to go tell on her. Harry took another step towards her and Hermione stepped away once more. He wasn't sure what to say because he knew that in this moment, she wasn't going to listen to a word he had to say. She was too upset.

"I loved you, I gave you my heart even after I told myself that it was a horrible idea because you can't keep your prick in your pants. You have just proved to me that you can never be trusted. Don't talk to me, don't come near me, go about your way and I'll go about mine. This thing between us, however, is over." Harry felt a stab in his heart but he knew that she had every right to be angry.

"Hermione, I didn't know that it was her, I promise you. I wouldn't do this to you." Hermione just turned and walked away. Harry knew better than to chase after her right now; the last thing he wanted to do was end up looking like Cho.

After dinner, he'd try to talk to her. He'd eat with the lions and give her space before pouncing on her and demanding she listen to the truth.

-O-

Hermione had had a wonderful day working with Severus, they had made progress on their lycanthropy cure. She was floating on air and even working with a surly Greg that insulted her in Charms hadn't put a damper on her day. Snogging Harry in the alcove outside the potions classroom had just been icing on the cake.

She had come down the corridor looking for him, even stopping to ask Daphne if she had seen him since leaving Potions. She hadn't seen him but Pansy had volunteered that he had sneaked into an alcove. Hermione had smiled to herself, thinking that he was waiting there for her. She began checking the alcoves with her wand, shining a light in to see which one he had gone into.

Her world had shattered when she saw him there with Cho Chang.

Her legs wrapped around his waist, her hand snaked down touching his prick, his hand on her breasts. It was all betrayal, the very thing he had swore to her that he wouldn't do. It was a stake in the fucking heart and she wanted to hurt him. However, she knew that she couldn't. She loved him and her father loved him. Regardless of how much better she would feel, she'd feel guilty in the end because she truly did want his happiness. If boffing numerous girls was what did it for him, she was happy to set him free and let him go about his merry way.

However, that didn't mean that she had to stick around and be close to him. She couldn't watch it and wouldn't put herself through it.

She knew that Cho had run off to tattle on her so she lifted her head high and headed for the Great Hall. She doubted that Harry would sit with her but she would be ready if he did. Him telling her that he didn't know it was Cho just added insult to injury. He couldn't tell the difference between a girl that was clearly six inches taller than her and pin straight hair and herself? That was downright insulting.

She settled in her seat next to Draco and he leaned over to kiss the side of her head. Hermione remained silent but sent her cousin a quick smile. She noticed that Professor Flitwick wasn't present and she knew why. She was expecting the confrontation either during dinner or directly afterwards. Harry slunk in shortly after, heading for the Gryffindor table. Draco raised his eyebrows at that but said nothing.

Hermione had pushed her meal around her plate for half an hour when Professor Flitwick appeared, his face red with anger. He scanned the Slytherin table and marched right up to Hermione, his hands on his hips. She acted like she didn't see him, Draco nudging her with his elbow until she turned around and faced her professor. She could see Uncle Sev heading down from the High Table, a cloud of fury on his face. She only hoped that it wasn't aimed her way this time.

"Can I help you, Professor Flitwick?" He just glared at her, something that was new for her. Even in her younger years when all the other professors hated her because of her last name, Filius Flitwick had always been kind and fair to her.

"You know exactly what you did, Miss Black. You need to come with me." Hermione wasn't going to allow him to talk to her like that.

"I did nothing. I'm not against coming with you but understand that you have the wrong person." Uncle Severus joined the group and glared at Flitwick.

"Just what are you accusing my apprentice of, Filius?" The whole hall was silent as the half-goblin quailed under the gaze of her godfather.

"She cursed Miss Chang, she has pustules across her forehead spelling out a derogatory term. We can't figure out how to end the spell. Miss Black is going to tell us." Her godfather glared at her but she felt the barest of brushes against her mind. It was oddly comforting. When he turned back to Flitwick, his tone was icy.

"Have you any proof that it was Miss Black? It would never do to accuse her of something that you can't absolutely prove." Professor Flitwick cleared his throat.

"Mr. Potter was present. He would be able to tell us." Hermione could feel Draco's eyes on her and knew he would be questioning her ruthlessly if he got a hold of her. She intended to not let him get ahold of her. Uncle Sev motioned for Harry to join them and then gestured for everyone to make their way out of the Great Hall. Once the four of them were ensconced in an abandoned classroom, Professor Flitwick spoke again.

"Mr. Potter, we hope you can settle this for us. Miss Chang has brought up allegations against Miss Black, saying that she cursed her with a dirty word across her forehead. She said that you were present when it occurred. Did Miss Black in fact curse her?" Harry shook his head emphatically.

"No, Hermione didn't curse her. Those pustules just appeared and she started screaming at Hermione before running off down the corridor." Professor Flitwick started to bluster, accusing Harry of lying for him. She turned to Professor Snape and offered sweetly.

"Since the professor doesn't believe Harry, would you like to examine my memory of what happened?" Hermione could see Harry tense in anticipation of what he would see and she was glad. Let him be scared of what her godfather would do. He would deserve it. Professor Snape, for that's who he was in that moment, met her eyes and she let him in her mind, let him pursue the memory to his heart's content. After watching it several times, he pulled from Hermione's mind and looked to Flitwick.

"She didn't have her wand in her hand and she didn't utter a word. Yes, Miss Black is capable of casting silently but I've never seen her cast without a wand. It seems more like somebody put a curse on Miss Chang to activate whenever she tried to sleep with another boy. She is known throughout the school for letting numerous charges sample her wares. If you choose not to believe me, we can put the memory in the pensieve. The Headmaster has one." Flitwick was backing off, his hands held up in surrender. His tone was riddled with contrition.

"I apologize, Miss Black. I should have asked questions before I accused you." Hermione didn't care that his jump to conclusion had been right, it was that she hadn't been worth the consideration of asking her side. Therefore, her tone was frosty.

"See that it doesn't happen again." The diminutive professor bobbed his head, clearly regretting how he had handled the situation. He bowed out of the classroom with excuses that he needed to go help break the curse on Cho. When they were alone with Uncle Sev, he smoothed a hand down her curls and spoke softly.

"Good thinking, princess. When did you master wandless magic?" Hermione met his eyes.

"Today." He kissed her forehead and gestured for the door.

"Head on down to the dungeons. If you're still hungry, have Kreacher bring you something. I'll see you in the morning." Hermione realized that he was giving her exactly what she wanted. An escape to where she didn't have to talk to Harry or return to the Great Hall. She could lock herself in her bed and not be disturbed. She went on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his cheek and turned to leave without a word. Harry spoke before she could leave completely.

"Hermione, please wait. I need to talk to you. I wasn't lying, I didn't know that it wasn't Chang." Hermione met his gaze and her voice was ice.

"I find that you couldn't tell the differences between us even more insulting. I have nothing else to say to you." She turned on her heel and left.

However, Draco was waiting for her outside the door and grabbed her elbow, pulling her along to the Slytherin common room. There were only a couple people in there and as soon as Draco glared at them hard enough, they disappeared.

"What the fuck was that about?" Hermione started to rub her temples.

"Chang is accusing me of spelling a word with pustules out on her forehead. Harry was present when it happened so he was called in to be a witness. He told them that I had no wand and cast no spells. Flitwick apologized after Uncle Sev watched my memory of it." His eyes narrowed at her and she knew that she was caught.

"What's wrong with you and Harry?" Hermione decided to just be diplomatic about it and not draw it out.

"We're no longer together. I have nothing else to say about it past that." She turned to leave but Draco held fast to her, pulling her into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her down on the couch, holding her close. Hermione couldn't stop her tears from falling then, bitter tears for how things had turned out. His shirt soaked them up and he still held fast to her. When she had finally stopped crying, Draco pulled her away from him and spoke.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" Hermione shook her head.

"No, I don't want you to lose him as a friend just because of me. Just know that he's happy and that's what I wanted from the start." Draco sighed and kissed her forehead, pulling her back into his embrace.

The pair sat like that for over an hour before Hermione finally stood and headed for her dorm. She didn't even bother showering, she figured that she could do it in the morning. She quickly changed into her pajamas and crawled into her bed, closing her curtains tightly behind her. Thanks to her crying spell with Draco, she was all dried up now and she just wanted to drop from exhaustion.

As hard as it was for her to believe, Hermione fell asleep quickly, dreams of what could have been dancing in her head.

-O-

Harry watched Severus pace before him. It wasn't his usual pacing that he did in his classroom; this pacing was controlled and very sharp. It showed just how angry he was. However, he hadn't outed Hermione for her cursing another student so hopefully, he wasn't too far gone into anger that he would kill him. Suddenly, Severus was in front of him with his wand pressed into his throat.

"Lucius and I warned you what we would do if you fucked her around. We told you that we would cut off your balls and the Potter line would end with you. Give me one reason why I shouldn't castrate you right here in this classroom." Harry took a deep breath; the danger in this situation was very real and he knew that when he had agreed to court Hermione. He knew that she had two powerful Death Eaters wanting nothing but her happiness and he would be the one to pay the price if she wasn't happy. He believed one hundred percent that they would cut his balls off and feed them to the giant squid.

"I didn't know it was Cho at first, not until I pulled away because Hermione shined the light in the alcove. When I went into that alcove, it was with someone that looked exactly like Hermione. I swear it, look at my memory." Severus didn't give him a chance to ready himself. He dove into his mind and while Harry didn't fight him, it still didn't feel good. He pushed the embarrassing memory to the front of his mind and let the defense professor see it all, from seeing her in the corridor heading his way until Hermione had stalked away from him to go to the Great Hall. When Severus pulled out of his mind, he had calmed considerably. He began to pace again, though.

"Polyjuice potion used to capture the attention of a wizard of your standing could be brought before the Wizengamot for attempted line theft. You had no idea if she had a contraceptive in place or not. The fact that you do means nothing. The fact that it has cost you the courtship of the Lady Black would be even more damning for her." Harry sighed and starting pacing himself. This was so fucked up and it was only the second day of classes. Finally, he stopped and met his professor's gaze.

"I want the dirty cunt punished. She was unspeakably cruel to Hermione, playing on her insecurities. Nobody wants us together and I get that but nobody is going to get away with interfering. I put Ron into a wall because he smart-mouthed about her. I won't take it from the likes of Cho Chang. However, my primary concern is how to get Hermione to believe me? She won't even listen to me right now, you heard her." Severus snorted and shook his head.

"Who knew I would get this involved in my goddaughter's love life? Right now, you need to just give her a little space. She's extremely hurt and even if you swear an Unbreakable Vow in front of her, she might not believe you because she's so mad at herself for trusting you. Give me a day to figure out where the polyjuice came from and we'll go from there." Harry was quick to interject.

"I'm sure it came from the potions classroom. He had an entire cauldron of it bubbling right there in front of the whole class when we came in. It wouldn't have been difficult to get in and steal a vial. She had to have taken it right after the class started because it wore off right at the perfect time." Severus scowled at his mentor's stupidity but wasn't surprised in the least. Slughorn had never put much stock into how dangerous potions could be.

"I'll go take a sample of Miss Chang's blood now and go to Horace afterwards. Just give me a day or two. Keep your distance from Hermione and let her calm down. She's a logical person and when she sees facts, she'll stop and think. Then you make your Vow." It was clear that Harry wasn't getting a choice in making the Vow. Not that he minded, he was telling the truth, however, it was Severus making sure that he was telling the truth and not hurting his goddaughter on purpose. He could live with that.

"Alright, I'll stick to the lions table for a few days. Just make sure she's okay for me, yeah?" Severus put his hand on his shoulder and gave him a small smile.

"Draco was waiting outside the door when she left. I'm sure that he has her firmly in hand." Harry nodded, thanked his potions mentor and left.

He didn't bother returning to the Great Hall. He considered going to the Infirmary to hex Chang again but decided to just let Severus handle things. Therefore, he just went back to his dorm. Ron, Neville, and Seamus were all there, waiting for him and wanting to know what was going on. He finally held up his hands to quiet them.

"Hermione and I are arguing. Chang got cursed by someone but she blamed it on Hermione because she was in the vicinity. I let Professor Snape watch my memory of it and it showed that Hermione didn't have a wand in her hand and she didn't verbally cast anything either. She received an apology and she left with Draco." Ron grinned.

"What are you two arguing about?" Harry glared at his friend until he shrunk back.

"None of your fucking business. If I wanted you to know, I would have told you." A testy, sassy Harry that was clearly agitated already wasn't someone they wanted to deal with. Harry performed his evening ablutions and crawled into bed. His mind wouldn't settle so he made sure to work on his occlumency.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, he dropped off into a fitful sleep, wondering just how things could get so fucked up in twenty-four hours time.

-O-

Severus stepped out of the floo and into the library at Malfoy Manor. Everyone was gathered around, talking and laughing quite jovially. Sirius had his arm around Helena, likewise for Lucius and Narcissa. The wolf had Nymphadora in his lap, nuzzling her neck repeatedly. Everyone looked quite surprised to see him step through the floo. Lucius was the first one to speak.

"Tell us what's wrong." Severus went to the side bar and poured himself a drink before sitting down and drinking it halfway gone. He sighed before he started.

"I never thought I would be this involved in my goddaughter's sex life, for the record." Sirius burst out in laughter but Lucius looked ready to kill.

"What did the idiot to her? Did you cut off his balls like we said?" Severus shook his head.

"I had my wand in his throat and he offered to let me watch the memory of what happened."

Severus went on to explain everything, Hermione being accused of cursing Chang, her finding Harry in an alcove with her and ending things. Then he informed them of the memory he saw in Harry's mind and how Miss Chang had used polyjuice potion to turn into Hermione and how he was worried about not getting Hermione to forgive him. Lucius gave him an approving look.

"You did the right thing, telling him to wait. She's always been the most emotional of us and it'll take her a few days to calm down enough to listen to him. And his vow." The end of the sentence clearly showed that there would be a vow or else. Severus couldn't agree more. Sirius remained silent until Severus looked over at him.

"I think you would have a case in the Wizengamot against Chang. She polyjuiced herself to sleep with a young Lord Gryffindor. He gave no consent and had no idea of contraception at the time. Then factor in the loss of courtship of a certain Lady Black, a huge loss to his magical house, you could win this case." Sirius watched him carefully.

"You think we should take it that far? You think we should ruin her life for snogging my godson?" Severus' gaze turned stony.

"I think you should ruin her life not for snogging your godson. He's angry and worried but he's not traumatized. Hermione is the one that has cried herself to sleep tonight, heartbroken in the knowledge that the one love of her life has betrayed her. When Chang tells everyone what she did, do you think it will stop with just her? You need to make an example of her." Sirius' gaze hardened now.

"I didn't think of it like that. I suppose I'll be contacting my barrister in the morning." Severus nodded, fully supporting his statement.

"When he contacts the aurors, make sure he informs them that there was a cauldron of polyjuice potion open for the taking and her blood was taken after she was cursed. It should show a history of any potions in her system." Sirius nodded.

"I'll contact Leevy in the morning and let him know. He'll be honest about our chances of winning. Tell Harry to just play it cool and collected until we can get something underway." Severus nodded and finished off his glass of whiskey before standing.

He bade them all farewell and headed for the floo, spinning his way back to Hogwarts. He didn't bother to warn the Headmaster of his friend's intentions. He would find out soon enough and he most assuredly didn't want his evidence disappearing. For now, he was going to go to bed. Tomorrow would bring consoling his goddaughter and telling her that not everything is as it seems. It would likely anger her but there was nothing else for it. With that last thought, Severus headed for bed.

It had been a long day.

A/N- Wow, y'all, a long chapter for you. Please don't kill me! Everything will be resolved next chapter, I promise. However, you had to know that somebody would react badly to them being together. Thanks again for reading and reviewing, you guys are just awesome. Let me know what you think of the chapter.

Next chapter, bad news for Cho.

Love,

Alicia


	115. Chapter 115

A/N- Here I am with the second part of this cliffhanger, as promised. I'll be updating The Price of Victory next for those that are interested. I hope this chapter finds you all well and ready to get through your work day. Writing it sure got me through mine. Thanks for reading. I'm sure you can all appreciate that I get distracted at times and never get shitty with me. I thank you for that from the bottom of my heart. Enough for now, let's get on with it!

**Shout out to drsquirrel for being my 5700th reviewer! You're the bomb!**

Disclaimer: After over a hundred chapters, I still don't own the characters, the original plot line, or anything else for that matter. Maybe where the original plot line has taken me. I still haven't made any money off this story or any other. I freaking wish! Maybe someday I'll write an original story and make millions. A girl can dream.

Chapter 115

September 4, 1996

Harry pushed his breakfast around his plate at Gryffindor's table, Ron chewing loudly next to him while Pav chastised him for his horrible manners quietly. It had been two days since Hermione had told him to fuck off, two days since Severus had told him to just back off and let him see what he could do. He couldn't stand the heartbreaking look in Hermione's eyes every time she looked at him; if nothing was done before curfew that night, Harry was going to go to her and immobilize her long enough for him to make a Vow to her that he hadn't knowingly cheated on her.

Cho had spent the whole day the day before pointing and laughing at not only him but Hermione. Hermione, of course, acted like she didn't exist but he knew that deep down it was killing her. He hated that he was the cause of all this pain and heartache for her but he truly hadn't known that it wasn't Hermione in that alcove until it was too late.

Neville and Juliet still spoke to him but the Slytherins were decidedly cooler towards him. Draco still talked to him but he was unusually short and to the point; they hadn't spent any time flying together like they had originally planned over the summer. They had decided to train together so everyone would know just how friendly they were and that no matter who won in the Slytherin vs. Gryffindor match that it really wouldn't matter to them. Daphne refused to speak to him and simply glared.

Hermione, the few times that she had spoken to him in class because they had been paired together, treated him civilly but didn't act friendly in the least. It was clear that she was keeping her distance and honestly, Harry couldn't blame her. She thought that he had betrayed her and while he wished that she would take the time and try to let him explain, it her shoes, he wouldn't have either. She had seen him snogging Cho, her hand on his cock, and his hand on her breast. It was hard to refute proof that's right before your eyes.

Finally, the bell rang and Harry headed off to Defense with Ron and Pav. He hated going to all his classes with them because they didn't take anything seriously but it was better than going by himself. Honestly, he wondered how Ron had even qualified for N.E.W.T. level anything with as much fucking around as he did. He knew that his class work and homework didn't snare him very good grades so he assumed that he did better on exams.

Harry slid into a table with Neville. Draco and Daphne were together while Hermione sat with Blaise. He knew that the Slytherin would have loved to have a chance at Hermione but Harry also knew that Hermione wasn't about to get drawn into the dark-skinned boys games. He messed around with other girls way to much for her to be interested. Ron and Pav were together, Seamus and Dean, and finally, Faye and Lavender.

As they waited for Severus to arrive, Harry pulled out his text followed by his quill, parchment, and ink. Ron was looking at him like he was crazy but Harry paid him no mind. Therefore, when Severus came billowing into the room only a minute later, he was ready to begin. Harry zoned out when the snarky man started telling them just what he was going to expect of them and what punishments he would give if his expectations weren't met. It was a boring speech that he had heard every year since starting Hogwarts. In fact, he probably knew it by heart.

"I am going to go out on a limb and assume that everyone has read the first three chapters. If you haven't, you're going to be woefully unprepared. Since we're going to begin silent casting this year, let us all stand and move the desks to the sides of the room. I'm going to pair you up and you're going to try to cast silently at each other." Severus' tone meant business so Harry was quick to stand and start moving their desk. Severus began calling out the pairs and it was no secret that he was pitting Slytherins against Gryffindors.

"Longbottom and Zabini, Parkinson and Brown, Nott and Finnegan, Dunbar and Davis, Bulstrode and Patil, Weasley and Malfoy, Greengrass and Crabbe, Black and Potter, Goyle, you'll face the dummy in the corner." Harry felt his heart flare with hope. Maybe he'd get to talk to her in this class and she wouldn't blow him off like she had before.

Harry moved to the opposite side of them room so he could face her. Neither one of them had any problems casting silently so he wondered just what they were supposed to do. Hermione was the one to actually ask the question, which he was grateful for. Since Severus had a part to play, he would have had to take points from Harry for the question and even though he understood, he still hated it.

"If you can already cast silently, I want you to duel. Nothing dangerous, nothing harmful, just first or second year spells to show me how well you can do." Hermione smiled at her godfather and Harry started to concentrate. He didn't think that she would show the class her power but if she chose to, she could really hurt him. He was just going to have to make sure that his defense was where it should be.

"Begin."

There was nothing from most of the pairs. Neville and Blaise could cast a few things silently but they really had to concentrate. The same with Daphne, though since she was paired with Crabbe, it seemed unfair of her to just continuously attack him while he was trying to accomplish it for the first time. Draco, however, had no problems pelting Ron with stinging hex after stinging hex while he struggled to cast silently himself. Harry had to admit that every exclaimed "Bloody hell" brought a chuckle to his lips, just as he was sure that it did for the rest of the class.

Harry and Hermione, however, were clearly in a class of their own. They traded spells for ages, completely silent, while the others struggled around them. Harry could tell that while she was certainly trying to hit him with the stinging hexes and slicing spells, she was barely putting any power into them. They continued in their vein for almost the whole class period, Harry realizing that they were being watched by the entire class just before Severus called time.

"Thank you to Potter and Black for demonstrating what the rest of you should have been doing rather than watching them. Twelve inches of parchment on how silent casting is beneficial in everyday life for everyone but Potter, Black, and Malfoy. They clearly have mastered silent casting." There were quiet groans around them but nobody dared to complain out loud. Harry gathered his things and put them back in his bag. He shot Hermione a look but it was clear that she was back to ignoring him now. He sighed heavily; this was getting old fast. The bell rang but just as he was getting ready to leave, Severus called him, Hermione, and Draco to the front of the room. Once they were alone, he silenced the space around them.

"We're going to start training again in the evenings. I'm free tomorrow around seven. We'll meet in the Room of Requirement and things are going to be civil." Severus added extra emphasis on civil but Harry hoped against hope that he could fix things tonight. The dourman shooed both Draco and Harry out while he kept Hermione behind. Since they were headed to Potions next, she had mastery training with him anyways. Draco glanced sideways at Harry and he rolled his eyes.

"Just fucking ask." Draco glared at him but ended up asking his question.

"You worked so hard to get her, why would you do what you did? She's fucking heartbroken." Harry felt a stab in his heart at his words before he shoved the pain deep down.

"I didn't know that it was Cho. She was polyjuiced and looked like Hermione. I thought that I was snogging my girlfriend. It wasn't until she shined the light in the alcove that I realized that she wasn't Hermione. Severus watched my memory of it, I'm not fucking lying." Draco stopped cold and stared at him.

"You wouldn't lie about a thing like that? We both know that you can produce false memories." Harry raked a hand through his hair and shook his head.

"Yes, I can produce false memories just like you and Hermione. However, it isn't one. I'm willing to vow on my magic that it's the truth, she just won't listen to me. She won't even let me near her." There were students streaming around them and Harry heard Draco curse loudly and start muttering about stubborn women and stupid men. When he finally turned back to meet Harry's eyes, they were serious.

"We have to get her to listen." Harry nodded.

"Severus told me to just stay away from her for a few days. I know that he went and told Sirius about what Cho did and I think they're trying to bring her up on charges before the Wizengamot." Draco raised an eyebrow at him.

"On what grounds?" Harry sighed again and made sure that nobody was listening.

"Attempted line theft. She was polyjuiced to look like the woman I'm courting, the woman that I've made clear I want to try to marry. I had no idea that she wasn't protected from pregnancy, Severus said that it makes no never mind that I am. The fact that it cost me the courtship of Lady Black is an enormous shame on my house and will also be factored in. As much as I hate the way it sounds, Sirius said that it's a good chance she'd be convicted. I hate to be a cocksucker about this but she was unspeakably cruel to Hermione after she caught us. She deserves everything she gets and it'll set an example for other people that want to fuck with us." Draco nodded and clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"I know it's awful waiting but I'd wait until the Ministry makes a move against Chang. She's going to want answers and that'll send her straight to your arms." Harry nodded, happy that another person believed him.

The pair headed for Potions and took seats next to each other, surprising everyone in the room. Everyone had noticed the space and animosity between Hermione and Harry, and in turn Draco. It was nice to see the dumbfounded looks on their faces for a good reason. They had just taken out their books, clearly expecting to finish their Draught of Living Death from the class before. However, they were halted by Slughorn entering with Hermione on his heels. She had a disgusted look on her face and it was clear she wasn't happy. Slughorn, however, was practically skipping with happiness.

"Students, today we have a special guest in our class. Professor Snape has generously lent me the help of his apprentice for this class period so I thought that we'd have a little fun with brewing rather than return to our Living Death. We'll go back to that next period. Today, however, we're going to have a contest. The winners won't have homework for a week. Who wants to play?" Everyone started waving their hands, eager to get in a contest that could win them no homework for a week. Since most everyone hated Potions, this was quite the prize indeed. Slughorn clapped his hands happily.

"Miss Black and I are going to be team captains and we're going to have a brew-off. Neither one of us can actively help with the brewing process but we can tell the students what they need to do and offer advice. At the end of the period, we'll take a sample of each potion to lunch, unmarked, and let Professor Snape judge which one is better. The students on the winning team won't be required to turn in homework for a full week." Everyone cheered and while even Harry could admit that not having homework in a subject he already did well in would be appreciated, he wasn't going to absolutely die if he wasn't on the winning team. However, since he hoped that Hermione would choose him meant he probably would win. Severus had already told him that Slughorn wasn't really that talented anymore, having lost his talent through lack of use.

"Miss Black and I will take turns picking students for our teams until everyone is on a team. Then I'll reveal which potion we're going to brew."

Of course, Professor Slughorn started choosing with Draco. Hermione sighed and looked quite put upon but she called his name. He rose and went to stand by her side though she refused to look at him. They went back and forth until Harry found himself on a team with Ron, Daphne, Seamus, and Millie. It certainly wasn't the best team but it was the best they were going to get. The tables were moved around to accommodate everyone and Harry looked up when Slughorn cleared his throat.

"We're going to be brewing the Draught of Peace. I'm aware that most of you attempted to brew it last year but my notes left by Professor Snape that only a few of you succeeded. This is going to be a review lesson as well." He looked down at his watch and called for them to start.

Hermione sent Ron to the cupboard for all seven ingredients that they would need, not even consulting her book tucked away in her robe pocket. It was clear that she had probably brewed this in her sleep for how confident she sounded. She then ordered him to get their cauldron going, jacking the heat up to where it needed to be.

When Ron returned, she had Daphne powdering porcupine quills, Seamus powdering the unicorn horn, and Millie and Ron powdering the moonstone. As soon as there was enough moonstone for the first step, Hermione instructed him to add it to the potion until it turned green. Harry followed her every instruction perfectly through out the next hour, adding what she told him to, letting the others help stir it while he took over powdering more moonstone.

The other team was ahead of them, Harry could tell that much. However, judging by the sour look on Draco's face, it was clear that he didn't think his potion was going to win. There were loud cheers from Slughorn's side of the room when they finished; the rest of his teammates looked devastated but Hermione just snapped her fingers and demanded their attention once more.

It was fifteen minutes after they finished their own potion; Hermione leaned over the brew and picked up the ladle so she could pour some out and judge the consistency. After she had smelled it, made sure it was the right shade of white, and tasted just a tiny drop, a smile fell over features and Harry knew that they had succeeded. She turned to the other members of their team and grinned at them.

"You did very well. I'm saving this potion for use in the Hospital Wing. You made it perfectly." The members of his team stood a little taller, even though they weren't huge fans of Hermione. Her prowess in potions was well-known so that was quite a compliment coming from her.

She bade them to clean up their mess and she bottled all the potion, keeping one vial out to present to Severus in the Great Hall. He could feel the excitement amongst his classmates as the bell rang and they gathered their things. They went to lunch as a class, both Hermione and Slughorn handing their vials to one of the members of their team so Severus wouldn't know which one of them had made which potion. As they spilled into the Great Hall and headed for the High Table, the rest of the Hall stopped to watch.

Hermione had handed her potion to Ron and Slughorn had handed his to Neville. Everyone watched with bated breath as the two stepped up to the High Table and presented both samples to Severus. He looked irritated but examined both of them as closely as Hermione had, her technique clearly learned from her master. Even though the Hall wasn't sure what was going on, they remained silent until Severus stood and rendered judgement.

"The vial from Longbottom is passable. You would find this same brew in most apothecaries throughout the country. However, it's a little too thick to be considered perfect. The vial from

Weasley is nearly perfect. It could be a bit more pearlesque but overall, I'd drink it myself. Weasley's vial is the winner." Hermione's team started to cheer, fist pumping and hugging each other. The other team looked dejected but they took their loss well. Hermione stepped up to the High Table and removed numerous vials from her robe pocket and handed them over to Madam Pomfrey.

"Their potion is fit for the Hospital Wing so I saved you some." In that moment, it was clear to the entire Hall just who had led the winning team to victory. Severus watched her with pride in his eyes and Harry didn't blame him. He enjoyed spending time with her this year. Even though it was under the order of Voldemort telling him to stick close and protect her, it was still time spent together doing something they loved.

The group disbanded quickly, Harry heading towards the Gryffindor table while the rest of his friends went to Slytherin. He sat by Ron and had just piled food on his plate when the door to the Great Hall burst open and four aurors came striding in, serious looks on their faces. Harry could see that two of them were Kingsley and Tonks and when the rest of the students realized who Tonks was, there were loud cheers. However, the cheers didn't deter her from moving to the Ravenclaw table and jerking Cho Chang to her feet and stripping her of her wand.

The Great Hall fell silent as they watched their defense professor from last year arrest a fellow student, a student that was loved by mostly everyone in school. Harry could see the confusion on Hermione's face but when she looked over to meet his gaze, he raised an eyebrow at her. She quickly looked away but was distracted by Marietta Edgecomb standing up and moving in front of her best friend. Harry did feel a little bad for her friend since Cho had taken him on last year to make sure that her friend wasn't punished any longer for turning them into Umbridge.

"What are you arresting her for? She hasn't done anything, she's still a student!" Her tone was clearly upset and Harry wished that Cho hadn't been such a cow. None of this would have happened if she hadn't been. Kingsley was the one that answered, moving the girl gently but firmly out of his way.

"She's being arrested for attempted line theft. She'll be tried in front of the Wizengamot and given a fair trial. If she is found innocent, she will return to school afterwards." There were no more words spoken; not even Dumbledore said a word as they led a sobbing Cho Chang out of the Great Hall and from the castle. Once she was gone, Ron turned his way, a piece of bread half hanging out of his mouth with a confused look on his face.

"What the bloody fuck just happened?"

Harry could only shake his head.

-O-

Hermione wasn't sure what to think about Cho being arrested. She wasn't sad, not in the least, however, she wasn't sure just how she had gone about attempted line theft. Was she fucking someone other than Harry? She was pulled from her garbled thoughts by Draco tapping her plate.

"You better eat, there's only ten minutes left of lunch." She could see a gleam of something in his eyes; she had a feeling it had something to do with him sitting with Harry in Potions. She hadn't told Draco to stop being friends with him so she couldn't get angry that he hadn't. However, it felt a little bit like betrayal when she had walked in and seen them together. She supposed that she'd better get used to it since her father was still going to love him and want him around. Severus didn't seem to mind his presence either.

Hermione ate as much as she could, as much as her knotted stomach would let her, before the bell rang. Since she had had to participate in that ridiculous contest in Potions, she hadn't read her chapter in Transfiguration. Not that she was really all that worried about what they were going to be learning the first class of the year, but she did like to be prepared.

Draco threw an arm around her shoulders as they walked to Transfiguration together. He was uncharacteristically quiet and she could tell that he was contemplating something. However, she wasn't going to question him and annoy him. Besides, his main confidant was now Daphne. While she didn't mind most days, she did miss when it was just her and Draco against the world.

They entered Transfiguration and took their seats, Hermione sitting with Neville this time. She quickly removed her book and discovered that they were going to be covering human transfiguration. It didn't start out difficult, just a simple eye color changing spell. Hermione had learned it ages ago and had already agreed to help Neville if he needed it.

Professor McGonagall swept in and started class with no fanfare. Hermione had always appreciated that about her. She got straight to learning and didn't dally about, letting the students talk or joke around. Sure enough, they started with the eye color changing spell and Hermione was the first to show that she had mastered it. She was quick to help Neville, who appreciated it very much. He had mastered it himself after five tries, finally turning her eyes and vivid purple that she actually thought looked very attractive.

Around half the students in the class mastered the spell so McGonagall told them they would continue practicing it next class period. They were given eight inches of parchment on how the spell could be useful and exactly how to perform it before the bell rang. Hermione gathered her things and stowed them in her bag, waving to her cousin before she headed back to Severus' classroom. She had a free period and he told her that he wanted to speak with her before he had sent her to perform like a monkey in that damn contest.

Hermione let her thoughts wander as she trudged through the castle, unable to help that even though Harry had hurt her so deeply, she still worried about him and wished him well. Even now, she knew that he was headed to Care of Magical Creatures with Draco and that he was likely going to stand with his Gryffindor friends. Everyone had asked her what had happened between them but she hadn't said a word. Even though she hated him for what he had done to her, she didn't want him to lose his friends. Therefore, Draco was the only one she had told after extracting a promise to keep it from even Daphne. He hadn't been pleased but he had complied.

Hermione entered the Defense classroom and found that her godfather was sitting at his desk marking papers. She took a seat across from him and waited until he looked up at her. His face was surprisingly neutral, something that he rarely did when he was around her. She cocked her head to the side.

"Would you like help marking?" He pushed his marking to the side and shook his head.

"No, little one. You and I are going to have a very frank conversation about the argument between yourself and Harry." Hermione slumped her shoulders and hung her head, causing her godfather to laugh out loud.

"It won't be like pulling teeth, princess, I promise." She nodded and followed him into his office when he gestured for her to. He sat on the little sofa inside and she took the spot next to him. He reached out and started twirling one of her curls in his fingers as he searched for what to say. Finally, he took a deep breath and began.

"First, I don't want you to think that I'm taking his side in this. I'm not. After you left the night Flitwick accused you, I held my wand to his throat and asked him why I shouldn't castrate him then and there. He told me a very interesting story that the aurors have since corroborated." He paused and Hermione was sure that it had to do with Cho now. She sighed and shook her head exasperatedly.

"FIne, just tell me. If she's been arrested, I'll likely hear the entire story eventually." Severus reached out and brushed a thumb across the skin of her cheek.

"I watched Harry's memory of the entire event. Granted, it was disgusting to watch since it was quite literally you who pulled him into that alcove and started kissing him. It escalated from there and he truly thought that it was you. He didn't realize that it was Miss Chang until you shined your light into the alcove they were in." Hermione couldn't quite grasp what he was saying.

"You're saying that Cho Chang used polyjuice to look like me and get Harry to sleep with her in that alcove?" Severus nodded. However, Hermione wasn't quite buying it.

"You're telling me that he couldn't tell by my actions or words that it wasn't me? I've never thrown myself at him like that. We had just talked about taking it at my own pace, that he wasn't going to push me. Then I supposedly do that and he believes it?" Severus sighed and patted her knee.

"I know this isn't what you want to hear, dear one, but it's the truth. He did begin to suspect that it wasn't you right before you shined the light on him. However, when a beautiful witch throws herself at a teenage boy, the head on his shoulders isn't always the first one to engage." Hermione felt her cheeks warming and she met his gaze.

"Was there proof or just his memory?" Severus shook his head.

"No, I took a sample of the polyjuice potion that Horace had sitting in his classroom with absolutely on protection and compared it to the traces of potion still in her body that were taken in the Hospital Wing. They're the same potion. The investigation the aurors were conducting came up with the same answer." Hermione felt tears prick her eyes. Harry truly had been innocent, well as innocent as a teenage boy could be in the circumstances, and she had been horrid to him. She wasn't even sure that she deserved to be with him after not even giving him a chance to explain. Relationships are about trust and she hadn't extended even an ounce. She really wanted to just melt into the couch and never face him; it would be much easier that way. Uncle Sev, however, wasn't about to let that happen.

"Don't even think about avoiding him. You're going to speak with him tonight and you two are going to make this right. You were wrong to just jump to conclusions but you did have a right to be angry. Think of how he would have acted if the shoe had been on the other foot?" Hermione nodded her head, knowing that he was right.

"Alright, I'll talk to him after dinner."

Her godfather didn't keep her after that, sending her on her way to dinner since it was only ten minutes early. She dragged her feet so she wouldn't have to sit there by herself for very long. However, when she walked in, she found that the Care of Magical Creatures class had dismissed early and they were already sitting in the Great Hall waiting on the food to appear. Harry was also sitting at the Slytherin table, in his usual spot, chatting and laughing with Draco. Hermione approached cautiously, not wanting to start an argument. If Harry was angry at her, she would just visit the kitchen and see if Kreacher would fix her something. However, he turned a smile her way and waved her over.

Hermione went to her usual spot and took her seat, carefully placing her bag at her feet. The chatter continued around her and she pulled out a book so she didn't just sit there and stare into space. Harry and Draco were discussing quidditch, the house teams and who was going to be the team to beat this year. Of course, they were both trying to say that it was their house team and the others around them were laughing.

The food appeared and Hermione tucked her book away so she could spoon some food on her plate. While she ate little and pushed food around her plate, everyone else ate with gusto. Draco was eyeing her with raised eyebrows but she just shrugged and looked away. Halfway through the meal, Harry leaned over and spoke quietly so nobody else could hear.

"Will you please talk to me after dinner?" Hermione met his gaze and nodded, knowing that she needed to get it over with. Harry smiled brilliantly at her before turning back to his meal. She wondered if that meant that he wasn't mad at her.

Hermione pushed her meal away from her not long after that, not wanting to eat any more. Harry seemed to realize that she was done and not going to eat another bite because he finished the bite in his mouth and took a healthy swig of pumpkin juice before standing and offering her his hand. She took it reluctantly and let him lace his fingers through hers. She could feel the eyes of the Hall on them but she held her head high and refused to let them see that it affected her.

Harry led her through the entire castle, clear to the seventh floor. He paced in front of the Room of Requirement and when the door appeared, he pulled her inside. The room reminded her very much of the library at Blackmoor, though she could see similarities to Malfoy Manor's library. There was a roaring fire even though it was still September and the couch looked soft and squishy. Harry pulled her over and sat her on the couch and she met his gaze. Knowing that she was in the wrong, she decided to start the conversation.

"I owe you an enormous apology, Harry. I was so hurt by what I had seen that I didn't even give you a chance to explain. I should have trusted you and I didn't. I would understand completely if you wanted to never talk to me again, let alone be with me. I'm so ashamed of myself that I almost didn't face you. The whole school has been talking about what came between us and all along I thought it was you. Now I realize it was me." She was on the verge of tears but she bit them back so she could finish her plea.

"Can you ever forgive me?" One lone tear escaped her eye and rolled down her cheek, hanging there silently at her jaw. Harry just raised an eyebrow at her and opened his arms, beckoning her to hug him. Hermione was still a little wary but moved into his embrace easily. Harry crushed her to his chest and pressed numerous kisses all over her head and forehead. This complete acceptance crushed the last of her resolve and she began to sob into his chest. Harry put a hand under her bum and lifted her into his lap so he could cuddle her even closer.

Hermione wasn't sure how long she had cried. Harry's shirt front was wet and her eyes felt swollen. Her nose was full of snot but knew that it wasn't ladylike to deal with that in the company of others. However, Harry seemed to know exactly what she needed and cast the spell silently to clear her sinuses. He simply held her close, stroking her hair, occasionally pressing a kiss to her temple. Finally, Hermione needed an answer from him so she sat up even though she really just wanted to fall asleep in his arms. He reached out and brushed the tears from her lashes and smiled.

"Hermione Alula Black, you were forgiven the second you walked away. Yes, you should have given me the chance to explain but you were incredibly hurt and protecting your heart from a perceived threat. You saw proof that I was snogging Cho, you saw it with your own eyes. Why would you think there's a reasonable explanation to excuse that? I'm not angry at you and I haven't been from the start. Even when Severus knew the truth and said that he wanted to press charges, I was more worried about how I'd get you to believe me. I was serious when I said that I wanted to court you. I know exactly what that entails and I someday hope to marry you. I want you as my wife and the mother to my children. I want you to bear the Potter and Black heirs, I want you to raise them to be as amazing as you are. I want to grow old knowing that you're by my side and loving me just as much as you did the day you agreed to our courtship." Hermione burst into tears once again and Harry pulled her against him once more. However, this time she recovered quickly.

"You'd never said those words to me before. In the back of my mind, I wondered if you were just saying what you could to get me to sleep with you. I realize that's probably insulting but you were a complete manwhore. You told me that you didn't want to be with me, that sleeping around suited you. You should have told me your intentions from the start." Harry picked up her hand and pressed three kisses to her palm.

"I'm sorry. That is my mistake. I should have been more clear when I asked to court you. I've known for a long time that I wanted to marry you, I just never thought that I was good enough to ask you. After the graveyard, I slept with a few muggle girls to numb the pain and realized that they were making it worse. Nothing made me feel better than when I was in the Hospital Wing and you were standing guard over me and stroking my hair. I felt like I could take on the world. When I was fucking those girls, I would go home and feel empty, dirty, like I had no purpose. It was awful. It was then that I realized that I had to have you even though I knew you were better than me. I stopped sleeping around at the end of June of that year, determined to prove to you that I could control myself. I even had a muggle girl throw herself at me this summer, telling me that she wanted to shag me. I told her I had a girlfriend and she almost cried she felt so bad. I was instructed to apologize on her behalf and swear to you that it would never happen again." He paused for a second before he sighed again and met her gaze.

"I love you. I want you no matter how you'll take me. I want to marry you and have you be the mother to my children. I don't know how else to make it more clear." Hermione grinned at him were words she had wanted to hear for ages and they were finally sounding in her ears.

She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his, the kiss bittersweet. It tasted of both triumph and sorrow. Her arms wound around his neck and pulled at the fine hairs at the back of his neck, eliciting a groan from him. His arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her impossibly tighter against him. Their tongues fought for dominance for only a few seconds before she yielded; she had learned from the start that she loved the things that Harry did to her with his tongue.

Hermione lost herself in his kiss, his hands roaming over the expanse of her arse, heaving her core closer to his cock when she moaned. Harry groaned at her response and Hermione was sure that she was ready for more after his confession. She took his hand and pressed it firmly to her breast outside of her shirt. His thumb began to rub insistent little circles around her nipple, driving her half mad with want. Hermione pressed her core even more into his cock, begging for friction to relieve the need in her loins. Harry gasped against her neck, his voice showing his frustration.

"Shall I relieve your frustration, my lady?" Hermione couldn't even answer in the positive, she merely mewled and nodded.

Harry left her clothes on but slipped one hand up her shirt to cup her breast while the other slipped underneath her skirt to find the wet fabric of her knickers. He began to stroke her core through the fabric and she mewled with need. She bent down and kissed him aggressively, taking his mouth as if she meant to possess it.

Harry slid his fingers into her bra and began to rub her nipple, pinching it slightly to see how she responded. When he felt a gush at the finger between her thighs, he continued with his treatment. His finger slipped underneath her knickers and found her wet center, so, so wet. He dipped two fingers inside her and she thought that she was going to die from sensation. When he brought his sopping fingers to the top of her slit and started toying with her pleasure pearl, she couldn't control the bucking she did against his hand. His finger circled her nub relentlessly and Hermione could feel her orgasm building, stronger than when she had ever done it to herself.

It was only a minute later that saw Hermione's world imploding, her world around her shattering around Harry's fingers buried in her core. Her limbs felt languid and limp and she was struggling to keep her attention on him. She really wanted to sleep but knew that it was a bad idea. Harry snuggled her into his chest and kissed her soundly on the mouth. Hermione instantly felt guilty, leading him on like that. He seemed to feel her emotions and put a hand on the hand that had drifted to his cock.

"Tomorrow. If you want to reciprocate, do it tomorrow. I want to make sure that you're willing." Hermione understood where he was coming from and nodded. He didn't want to push her and wanted to make sure that she didn't do something in the moment and regret it rather than think it through. Hermione allowed him to pull her close and snuggle her into his chest again, clearly enjoying holding her tight. Her voice was stronger now.

"So we're okay now? Back together?" Harry laughed softly.

"I'd hope we are after you allow me to do something like that to you." Hermione knew that her cheeks were red so she turned to she could hide them in his shirt. He caught her chin and made her look up at him, a smirk on his face.

"Yes, baby, we're together. I don't ever want to be apart from you. Anything that comes our way, we'll figure out. Together." Hermione smiled at him and nodded before wrapping her arms around his middle and just relaxing completely against him.

After all, they had hours until curfew and she was happy where she was. Why not spend her evening in Harry's arms? Everything else they could deal with later.

A/N- Boom, another chapter down. You guys can't be too mad at me, I cleared that misunderstanding up real quickly. I hope you don't mind that I sacrificed Cho Chang, lol. Thanks again for reading and reviewing. Let me know what you think of the chapter, your thoughts are like chocolate and whiskey shots.

Next chapter, Harry starts his lessons with Dumbles.

Love,

Alicia


	116. Chapter 116

A/N- I'm back, y'all, sorry it's been a few days. I updated The Price of Victory and then had to take a break because I did something to my wrist and couldn't hardly type at all. It's still tender but I really wanted to get this chapter to you guys. I hope you enjoy it. Big thanks to everyone reading and reviewing, I really don't think you know how much I appreciate you.

**Shoutout to AlexClio for being my 5800th reviewer! You review all the time and you're just the bomb, girl!**

Disclaimer: I still don't own the original story line, I have merely made it my own. I don't own the characters, they belong to our queen. I still haven't made any money from this story or any others. My bank account balance tells no lies.

Chapter 116

October 1, 1996

Hermione sat next to Draco at breakfast, munching on her toast, fruit, and porridge. Harry was sitting at the Gryffindor table this morning, trying to keep his word to his friends from his House. She usually didn't mind since she still saw him more than she had anticipated that she would. Her godfather was very accommodating when it came to spending time with her boyfriend.

Her Mastery training kept her busy two nights a week while their extra defense training occurred three times a week. That left them with two nights together to spend time alone together or work on homework. So far, they had been spending it doing homework but there had been a little alone time as well. Her cheeks still flamed when she thought about the first time she had pleasured Harry.

*Flashback*

Hermione and Harry had been back together for four days now. Even though Harry had told her that she hadn't had to reciprocate unless she was sure that she could do it and not regret it, she still wanted to do it. She was just painfully shy and had no idea how to go about doing it since he didn't bring it up. Therefore, she was going to have to employ her Slytherin tactics and sneak him into an alcove and hope that they weren't discovered and that she didn't make a fool of herself since she had never done something like that before.

They were currently on their way back from Herbology and headed to dinner. She knew that they could skip the meal and raise no eyebrows; it was a free night and the others would think they just skived off the meal to eat together in privacy in the kitchens. Therefore, Hermione didn't feel bad about letting Draco and Daphne get far ahead of her, forcing Harry to drop back to be by her side. He gave her a worried look when she stopped just inside the castle, hoping that the alcove there was hidden well enough. She had found students there in her patrols but never this early. She shoved Harry inside the dimly lit space and hoped that he couldn't see the blush on her cheeks. He reached up and brushed her hair back from her face and smiled slightly.

"What's wrong, baby?" Hermione put her hand on his chest and let it slowly trail from his collarbone down to his navel. She felt his breath hitch as her fingers found the button to his trousers, flicking them open. His hands grabbed hers, stopping them in their tracks, and she was scared that she had already done something wrong.

"You don't have to, Mia. I want you to be sure." Hermione groaned in response and pulled her hand from his.

"I am sure. I want to make you happy like you made me. I won't be as good as the other girls but I've read the books. I think I'll do a decent job." Harry cocked his head to the side slightly and softened his gaze.

"Baby, you're going to be the best because it's you. I don't want those other girls, they don't compare to you. Don't you understand that?" Hermione really didn't but she said nothing. He released her hands and let her continue, her hands shoving his trousers and boxers halfway down his thighs.

His cock was enormous.

Hermione was unsure if it was because she had nothing to compare it to or because it really was a monster but she had no idea how that was supposed to fit inside her. Harry was smirking at her so she tried to appear confident, reaching out and grasping it lightly with one hand. Her fingers didn't even meet. The skin was velvety soft but rigid as steel at the same time. Her other hand reached down to cup his balls, testing their weight and tugging on them slightly. Harry groaned and Hermione felt her feminine pride swell just a little. His hands were clenched at his side and his breaths were shortened.

Hermione wrapped her fist around the the middle of his shaft and murmured a spell she had learned in a sex book long ago. Her hand lubricated and she began to stroke him, up and down in soft strokes. Harry hissed and Hermione smiled to herself. She began to move in longer strokes from base to tip, her thumb stroking over the top of the head when she would get to the tip. Harry was breathing even more shallowly as she tightened her grip and sped up, his hand reaching out and pulling her in for a bruising kiss.

His cock grew impossibly harder in her hand and he released her mouth with a groan so he could call out her name reverently as he spilled his seed into her hand. Hermione continued to pump him until his hand reached out and stopped her. Not only was the milky white fluid on her hand, it was all over the floor beneath them. Before she even considered what Harry would think of it, she brought her hand to her mouth and licked a spot of his fluid, wanting to see how it tasted. It was surprisingly salty but she was distracted by the adoration in Harry's eyes. He pulled his wand and waved it at her hand, cleaning it off completely. He then kissed her again, tasting himself on her tongue for only a few moments before releasing her to look into her eyes.

"Next time I have your essence on my hand, you can bet your sweet arse I'm going to taste you." He was practically growling at her and Hermione felt her knickers dampen at the thought. She knew her cheeks were red but she nodded.

"I hope it was good, I hope I didn't disappoint you too much." Harry lifted her chin with his fingers and stared directly into her eyes.

"That was the best handy I've ever had. I wouldn't lie to you." Hermione could see the sincerity in his eyes so she smiled and took his hand.

"Come on, let's go get dinner from Kreacher and go to the Room." Harry smiled at her now and nodded his agreement.

The Room sounded like a great idea.

*End of Flashback*

Their relationship hadn't progressed past mutual manual masturbation and Hermione was just fine with that. She wanted to take things slow but she was more than happy to bring Harry to orgasm whenever he pleased. When she was ready, they would take the next step and Harry seemed to be okay with that.

Cho was still missing from school and since her trial hadn't occurred yet, it was scheduled for the middle of the month, she wasn't likely to return anytime soon. The rumors were rife around the school and everybody asked Harry and Hermione both what had happened. Both kept their mouths shut, saying that it would likely come out during the trial. Of course, Hermione had broken down and told Daphne and Harry had went ahead and told Neville. Both had decided that the twins and Luna could be trusted but other than that, the secret was safe until trial.

The bell rang and Hermione stood, knowing that she had Mastery training with her godfather while her friends and boyfriend had Potions. Uncle Sev had reassured her that he wouldn't be loaning her out today and she had thanked Merlin. Taking part in that ridiculous contest had been embarrassing, especially after she had beaten the professor. She had expected Slughorn to glare at her when he saw her now but it was quite the opposite; he looked at her now as if he coveted her even more.

She entered her godfather's classroom and quickly put her things down so she could continue the tasks he had assigned her the night before. He was teaching her more advanced ingredient preparation and even though she had done it before, it was proving difficult to do it to his specifications.

As she set into mincing the rat spleens as tiny and perfectly as she could, Hermione let her mind drift to her new place in society. Her birthday had come and gone with a wave of new power that had washed over her around mid-morning, clearly the time she had been born. She could feel the power flood into her and swell inside her, filling her to the brim. She wondered if that was how it had felt for everyone. Since it was also the moment she became the true Matriarch of the family, she felt the magic of everyone else in her family; her father, Juliet, Aunt Andie, Dory, even a hint of Aunt Cissy and Bellatrix. Since her two aunts were married to old families with magic of their own, she likely couldn't control their magic like she could if they had been married to a muggleborn like Aunt Andie. It was sad but true.

Since maturing fully, her magic was more stable than it had ever been which was quite nice. She liked knowing that she didn't have to worry as much about her temper taking control and briefly wondered if that was how her father had stayed so calm through the years when bad things had happened.

Her father had enquired after her maturation and had been pleased with what he had heard. He had immediately handed over a third of the estate to her for running while he kept control over the other two-thirds. It was the arrangement they had come to before she had returned to school. She was going to work up to running the estate completely and then her father would stand in as an advisor for however long she desired. Hermione planned on that being quite a long time.

The hour and a half passed quickly and when the bell rang, Uncle Sev waved her on, telling her that her mincing was much better. She grinned at him as she left, happy to finally have earned his approval. She started towards the stairs to the main floor of the castle only to realize that Harry was waiting for her with a smile on his face. He offered her his arm and she took it with a happy smile.

Together, they headed up the stairs and towards the side entrance of the castle. Hermione could see the rest of the Gryffidors and Slytherins headed for the greenhouses as well. Herbology was her least favorite subject, something that really shouldn't be possible since Herbolody and Potions went hand-in-hand. Already, two months into school, she wished that she had tested out of it.

The couple and all their classmates took their seats in lecture area of Greenhouse Three. Hermione pulled out her text, parchment, quill, and ink before looking up to see that Professor Sprout was already there and writing on the board behind her. She had written the words Venomous Tentacula quite large at the top and Hermione wanted to groan inwardly. She had learned this ages ago.

She pulled out her notes from Madam Cambridge and listened as her professor went through her lecture on the dangerous plant. It took the entire class period since they were going to be working with it hands-on the next class period. They were dismissed with a six inch essay on the subject due by the next class.

Hermione wasted no time escaping the classroom, Harry hot on her heels. His arm was wrapped around her waist as he guided her back over the grounds and into the castle for lunch. He took the seat next to her at the Slytherin table and spooned up the beef stew that appeared before them, giving her a hearty helping that she could never dream of finishing. However, Hermione did the best she could and ate about half of it, also eating half a roast beef sandwich. Harry, however, ate two full bowls of soup and two sandwiches along with a slice of apple pie. Hermione merely rolled her eyes at him when he raised an eyebrow at how little she had eaten. Just as the bell was about to ring, an owl came winging through one of the windows and swept through the air to land in front of Harry. Hermione watched in trepidation as he reached out and pulled the rolled up parchment from the owl's foot.

-O-

Harry wasn't sure what the scroll was attached to the owl but he supposed that the only way to find out was to pull it off and read. The wards around the castle would surely keep anything dangerous from entering the castle so he wasn't too worried about it coming from Voldmort. He could feel Hermione stiffen next to him so he hurried to open it and read it.

 _Harry,_

 _I told you last term that there were things you needed to know about Tom Riddle before you could defeat him and that we would have lessons together this year so you could learn them. Those lessons begin tonight. Please report to my office at 7:00 p.m., our first lesson shouldn't take too long._

 _A.D._

 _P.S. I've always been fond of Chocolate Frogs._

Harry scoffed loudly before handing it to Hermione, only for it to burst into flame in her fingers. She cried out in pain and Harry was quick to douse her fingers in water, cooling the burn. It had only been on her skin a moment so it wasn't bad, just a little red. She turned a questioning gaze his way and Harry sighed.

"Fumbledore wants to start my special lessons tonight at seven. Apparently, he thought that was classified information. He's stupid if he thinks I wasn't going to tell you and Draco." Hermione nodded as she flexed her fingers, making sure that they were alright. Harry watched with a worried gaze.

"Do you need the Hospital Wing?" She shook her head in the negative, indicating that she was fine. Before they could say anything else, the bell rang and they were once again dismissed from the Great Hall. Once again, Hermione's arm was threaded through his elbow and Harry couldn't have been more pleased. He loved that she was his and that everybody was jealous of him; he knew they were all waiting for him to fuck it up but he had no intentions of doing any such thing. That much would be proven at Cho's trial.

The pair headed to Charms with the rest of their classmates behind them. Harry could hear Ron behind them complaining loudly about how Harry didn't spend any time with them anymore but he knew that his friend was full of shite. He had eaten breakfast with them just this morning. It hadn't been his fault that Ron had spent half the meal snogging Pav, a win for his Indian friend since she had diverted Ron's attention from his food.

Ron hadn't been the most pleased when he had patched things up with Hermione; he had warned Harry that she would drop him again for no good reason. Harry had told him not to worry about it, that it would be his problem and Ron had wisely listened. However, it was still clear that he didn't like that Harry was back with the Black Matriarch.

Ginny continued to remain in the shadows of Gryffindor, watching him carefully. Everytime their eyes met, her cheeks would color and she would look away. It was clear that her crush remained but he doubted that she had the courage to do anything about it, especially since his relationship with Hermione was so well-known. He had seen the redhead watching Hermione carefully more than once but he had never once seen malice in her gaze. He wasn't letting his guard down at all but he didn't worry quite as much as he had before.

Juliet was proving to be the problem child of Gryffindor. Since Hermione had taken over the family magic, she had made clear to her sister that she wasn't going to tolerate her acting like a child, even though it had been stated at the end of the summer. This had, of course, triggered a tantrum of epic proportions in the middle of the seventh floor corridor. Hermione had been forced to bind and silence her sister. After she had finally calmed down, his girlfriend had released her bindings but left her silenced for a full day before lifting the spell. Harry knew for a fact that both McGonagall and Flitwick had tried to lift it and hadn't been able to; after it was lifted, Juliet had been forced to apologize for acting like a child.

So far, that had been the only occurrence.

The pair took their seats together in Charms and listened to Professor Flitwick go over nonverbal spells once again. After he had summarized them for the tenth time, they were bid to practice whatever charms caught their fancy without using their voices. Harry cast spell after spell, from lumos to conjuring his patronus with flawless nonverbal casting, same as Hermione and Draco. He earned Gryffindor twenty points, just as he had last class period, as did his girlfriend and best friend.

They were dismissed to head to Transfiguration and Harry caved and sat with Ron this time, leaving Hermione to sit with Neville. His friend looked thrilled and happily threw an arm around his shoulders. He started to get his things out and was set when Professor McGonagall entered the classroom and called for order. She set them on continuing to practice the human transfiguration they had been doing the class before, changing their noses to beaks. Only a handful of students had mastered it, Harry, Hermione, and Draco included, so they were going to practice until at least half the class had it.

Harry worked with Ron on getting him to cast it. He tweaked his wand movement and tightened his grip on his wand. After a couple more tries, he was successfully sporting a beak and couldn't have been happier. Harry clapped him on the shoulder and called over Professor McGonagall so Ron could be passed on the assignment. He cast the counter spell as well and was happy to settle down and do nothing the rest of the period.

Class ended with Professor McGonagall telling them to continue to practice because they wouldn't waste any more class time on it. Harry traveled to Hermione's side and gave her a quick kiss on the side of her head before escorting her back to the Great Hall for dinner. They took their seats at the Slytherin table once again, Harry spooning up a good-sized portion of roasted chicken and potatoes for Hermione before serving up a huge serving for himself.

Harry dug in and ate his food, chipping in to the conversation going on around him about the upcoming quidditch matches. Since Gryffindor vs. Slytherin was the nearest one at the end of the month, not to mention the one most anticipated, it was quite a controversial discussion. However, it was all in good fun and there didn't seem to be any serious controversy. The bell rang dismissing them from dinner and Harry stood before pulling Hermione to her feet. He bent down and gave her a chaste kiss on the mouth before stroking her cheek softly.

"I'm going to go to this bloody meeting. See if you can round up Severus and meet me in the Room afterwards. I plan on sharing everything with you." Hermione nodded against his hand and smiled.

"Good luck." Harry kissed her nose this time and shooed her off with Draco. He turned and headed for the second floor, knowing that he was going to have to head for the Headmaster's office this minute if he didn't want to be late.

Once he reached the gargoyle that had once impressed him so much, he gave the password of chocolate frogs to watch the staircase slowly ascend. When he reached the door, he gave a respectful knock even though he wasn't feeling too respectful. The last thing he wanted to do on one of Hermione's free evenings was spend time with a manipulative old bastard. He heard a call for him to enter so he opened the door and walked in, finding that the Headmaster was alone. The grandfatherly smile was plastered on his face and he gestured for Harry to take a seat before him.

"We're going to start discussing Tom Riddle tonight, though we won't stay too long. I have heard that you're courting the delightful Lady Black and this is one of her free evenings. I'm sure you would like to spend a little time with her before curfew." Harry glared at him.

"I didn't appreciate that you set that slip of parchment on fire. It burned Hermione." There was censure in Dumbledore's tone.

"These meetings are private. I have to ask that you don't share the content of these meetings with anyone." Harry stood up and made sure that he met the Headmaster's eyes so he knew that he was dead serious.

"It's best you keep your lessons to yourself then. I didn't want to come at all, Hermione is the one who told me that I needed to come. I won't keep secrets from my family, I refuse to. If I can't tell them, you better find someone else to confide in." The old man sighed heavily before nodding and gesturing for him to sit again.

"Fine, you may tell your family. However, if that's the way you're going to play it, I suggest that you tell young Ronald as well. It would be a good idea for one person to know that isn't under the influence of your family. I'm not trying to insult your family. I just think it would be wise to include someone influenced by the Order as well." Harry sighed as he considered the Headmaster's words. He really didn't think that it was a great idea to bring the Order into anything that he was going to be involved in, even if it was just Ron.

"I'll think about it. Let's get this started, like you said, I want to spend some time with Hermione."

Harry got comfortable as the Headmaster started in on his tale, telling him how he had first seen Tom Riddle in Wool's Orphanage when he was eleven years old. He continued on telling him that Tom appeared to already know about magic and control his own quite well. Harry wasn't sure how this lesson was supposed to be important but he listened nonetheless. The tale really got interesting when he learned that Tom's mother had been a Gaunt, the only daughter of the last Lord Gaunt. Harry recalled the lessons he had had in pureblood lines and knew that both Marvolo and Morfin had died in Azkaban. To learn that Merope had love potioned a muggle to become pregnant with Tom blew him away. It was at this point that Dumbledore stopped.

"That's enough for tonight. Next time, I'll show you memories of these things and we'll begin to discuss other things that Tom has done to further his immortality and reign of power." Harry nodded as he stood. He headed for the door but stopped and turned back to ask one last question.

"Why is it so important that I know this?" Dumbledore just raised an eyebrow at him.

"To understand your enemy is a sure way to defeat him. Blurting out that he's a halfblood during battle would surely give you an edge, don't you think?" Harry thought about it for a second and decided that he was right.

"Goodnight, sir." The Headmaster nodded his head at him and watched as he left his office.

Harry started instantly for the seventh floor, knowing that Hermione and Draco would have gathered Severus by then and would be waiting. He had just made it to the top of the staircase on the seventh floor when a hand snaked out of the alcove, pulling him in. Warm hands circled around his neck and he could feel breasts against his chest as whoever was holding onto him tried to pull him down for a kiss. Harry knew that this could end very badly so he didn't bother to be nice about this attack. His hand went up and caught the girl's face in his palm and he shoved it away from him and held it against the castle wall, not caring that he was probably hurting her. His other hand slid his wand out of his holder and into his hand so he could cast a lumos.

Lavender Brown was staring back at him, her eyes wide and afraid. Harry glared at her for a moment before releasing her head and stepping back and out of the alcove. She followed him, her hand cupping the back of her head. He made sure to meet her gaze so there would be no room for misunderstanding.

"I'm not going to fuck you. I'm not going to date you. I'm not going to court you. I don't know what fucking idea you have in your head but get it out right now. You're out of your mind if you think that I'm going to mess things up with Hermione just to get a quick shag with you." Tears were starting to glisten in her eyes but Harry felt no pity for her.

"You shoved my head into the wall and it's bleeding. I'm going to make sure Professor McGonagall knows that you have no problems with hurting women." Harry just shrugged.

"Go for it. Make sure you tell her what you did to deserve it too. Toddle off to the Hospital Wing and get it looked at and make sure that you stay the fuck away from me if you can't respect my relationship." Harry didn't bother waiting for a retort, he turned and walked the rest of the way to the Room of Requirement. He paced before the wall and the door appeared. He entered to find that Hermione was sitting on a loveseat with a book in her lap while Draco and Severus both sat in armchairs before a blazing fire. Hermione looked up and smiled at him but it quickly fell from her face.

"What's wrong?" Harry scowled, knowing he had to tell her but hating it at the same time.

"Lavender just pulled me into an alcove and tried to kiss me. I pushed her up against the wall to get her away from me and told her to stay the fuck away from me. She's threatening to tell McGonagall that I hurt her head on purpose. She was bleeding. I told her to go ahead, just make sure to include what she did to get a reaction like that from me." Hermione's eyes hardened and she started to stand but Harry gently pushed her back down into the seat with hands on her shoulders.

"No, Mia, you're not going to go confront her. If she knows that it bothers you, she's going to think that you don't trust me. She's going to tell the whole castle and they're all going to try even harder. You need to stay calm and collected, unaffected, because there is no way that any man would ever choose Lavender Brown over the beautiful Lady Hermione Black." Harry could see that his words were hitting home so he released her and sat next to her, throwing an arm around her shoulders. Draco was smirking at him but Severus looked just as angry.

"If she does report you, I will tell Minerva and Albus that you reported the incident to me. After our discussion, I'll go to the Hospital Wing and make sure that she visited and tell her I witnessed the entire thing. That should keep things from getting out of hand." Harry nodded thankfully.

"Thanks. Now, let's get to the meeting I had with the old bastard. At first, he didn't want me to tell any of you. He wanted me to keep it completely confidential. I told him that would never happen so he needed to find someone else to confide in. He capitulated and told me that if I told my family, I needed to consider telling Ron so there would also be an influence from the Order of the Phoenix. I told him I'd think about it." Hermione reached out and took his free hand so she could pull it into her lap and play with his fingers. He gave her a quick smile as he started his story.

Harry told them everything he had learned from Dumbledore about Tom Riddle and his family, making sure that they didn't know that the Dark Lord was a halfblood either. Hermione and Draco seemed as surprised as he had been but Severus didn't. Perhaps Dumbledore had already told him. When he came to a finish, Severus leaned forward, eyes gleaming.

"I think you should go ahead and tell young Ronald whatever it is that the Headmaster tells you. He wants you to be influenced by the Order but we both know that won't happen. However, Ronald is an idiot and will probably have a loose tongue. I feel as though you could probably learn more from him than he could from you." Harry had to admit that Ron didn't always think before he spoke and if he did indeed know Order secrets, it was more likely that he would spill them to Harry then the other way around.

"Alright, I'll pull him aside when I get back to the common room. He's my friend and all but it's going to take a bit to explain this." Draco snorted and Harry couldn't even get angry. It was the truth. Ron's strength definitely wasn't his intelligence. Severus stood and laid a hand on his shoulder as he passed.

"I'll go check on Miss Brown situation and let your parents know what you've learned. We'll be keeping them in the loop through me. Absolutely, under no circumstances, are any of you to put this information in a letter." Harry nodded his head along with Hermione and Draco. His Slytherin friend stood and followed his godfather out with a little wave, leaving the couple alone. Harry grinned at Hermione before gripping her hips in his hands and boosting her onto his lap. She squeaked in surprise but quickly settled in comfortably against his chest. She felt so good there.

"What are you reading?" She closed her book and showed him the title, something obscure that she surely got from the library. He pulled her head down to rest in the crook of his neck and he started to fiddle with her curls.

"Read to me, baby." Hermione did as he asked and started reading to him from her book. He listened to her read about blood wards for over an hour, until there was only twenty minutes left before curfew. She closed the book at the end of the chapter and lifted her head.

"It's almost curfew. We should probably go." Harry nodded.

He reached out and tugged her curls just hard enough to tip her head back. Harry bent just enough to capture her lips, his tongue tracing the seam. She opened willingly and he devoured her mouth, tasting every inch of her. Her arm came around his shoulders and tugged at the fine hairs on his neck while the other hand rested on his chest, her fingers clutching at his robes. She groaned and mewled softly, the sounds going straight to his cock. He really wanted to touch her, dip his fingers inside her, feel her clench around his fingers, but he knew that they didn't have time. The last thing he wanted to do was get her detention.

Therefore, he gentled the kiss and pulled back little by little. By the time he was done, their foreheads were resting against each other and both were smiling gently. He reached up and brushed her hair back from her face and kissed her nose.

"You're perfect." She snorted, completely unladylike behavior that he adored because he so rarely go to see it.

"I'm far from perfect and you know it, Mr. Potter. Come on, we need to go." Harry kissed her chastely one last time and let her lead him out of the Room. He walked her to the stairs that led towards the dungeon and kissed her palm before shooing her along her way. Harry turned and headed for Gryffindor Tower, knowing that he still had to have a conversation with Ron about what Dumbledore had told him. It wasn't really something that he was looking forward to but he knew that it needed to be done.

With a sigh, Harry entered the Tower and found Ron laughing loudly with Seamus and Dean. It was going to be a long night.

-O-

Tom Riddle wasn't a patient man by nature. When he wanted something, he wanted it that second. However, he was also a Slytherin and knew that planning and patience were key to getting the outcome you wanted in most instances. It was for this reason that he had put his patience in Theodore Nott, Jr.

He was seated in the library at Nott Manor, Nagini curled up at his feet, staring out the window. Rookwood was off looking through books trying to find spells that could get them past dementors. There was the patronus spell but none of his followers could cast it. He had heard a rumor in his first reign that Lucius could cast it but that ship had sailed. If caught, he would face a traitor's death after luring his niece into Tom's welcoming arms.

He knew that his followers thought he was mad for wanting Hermione Black; sometimes he wondered if he was. However, he couldn't deny that he was the most powerful wizard on the planet and she was most likely the most powerful witch. The children they would create together would be second to none and he wanted it so bad he could taste it. The fact that she was the most beautiful thing he had ever set eyes on didn't hurt the situation either.

Of course, there would now be a horrible scar on her chest to deal with. It wasn't ideal since he wanted his Death Eaters to want her as much as he did but not enjoy the experience of having her. If her scar was as awful as he assumed it was, that likely wouldn't happen. His Death Eaters were all very shallow, aside from Rookwood. He knew that man was in love with his future bride but that didn't matter. He could love her from a distance all he wanted, in fact, knowing that Tom would be the one to have her and not Rookwood made him smile. Of course, Rookwood had no idea that he knew, he thought he hid those thoughts so well behind those occlumency shields. The only reason he hadn't said anything about the shields were because the thoughts about Hermione Black were the only things hidden behind them. It would be interesting to check them periodically as time went on to see if his loyal follower was as loyal as he acted. His thoughts were interrupted as Bellatrix and Nott rushed into the library, currently his only three Death Eaters that were aware of his location. Nott was holding a piece of parchment in his hand and his face was animated. He dropped to his knees beside Bella and kissed his robes.

"My lord, I just received a letter from Theo through our elf. He reports that he's working on his mission diligently and has also located the Room of Requirement. He's already found the cabinet and started repairing it. When he's ready to test it, he'll owl us and let us know." Tom smiled. It seemed that young Nott was living up to the praise his father gave him. He favored his followed with a stunning smile of his own.

"Tell young Theo that I'm very pleased and look forward to his next update. If he requires any assistance in solving the problem of repairing the cabinet, let me know. I'm more than happy to help. Tell me, does he mention the Lady Black?" Thoros Nott scanned the parchment in his fingers and finally looked up, nodding.

"Yes, he says here that Harry Potter is now courting her and that it looks serious. He hasn't had anything to do with another witch since the end of his fourth year. He thinks that Potter is aiming to marry her." Tom had known of Potter's feelings for the girl; he had also known his insecurities about not being good enough for her. It was clear that he had gotten past them and taken the bull by the horns so to speak. However, he refused to show his followers how worried he was about this development.

"Potter doesn't have what it takes to keep a woman like Hermione Black happy. She'll tire of him soon enough and kick him aside. I'll bide my time until then. When we break into Hogwarts, we'll attempt to bring her back with us." Nott nodded his head while Rookwood looked ecstatic. Bellatrix was the only one with a sour look on her face and Tom knew exactly why. While he had amused himself with the insane witch before, many times actually, it was never more than physical pleasure. He knew that she thought otherwise but that mattered not to him. He wouldn't have her going after Hermione and trying to kill her after she arrived.

"Now, Bella, you know that I will kill you where you stand if you try to hurt my future wife, right?" Her eyes teared up at his words and she stuttered her response.

"But, Master, I ju-just d-don't see-" Tom already knew what she was going to say and didn't want to hear it. He brought up his wand and the Cruciatus on his tongue.

Bella fell to the ground, writhing in pain and screaming loudly. He held the curse for longer than usual to make a point. Rookwood and Nott just watched impassively, he knew that neither one of them were fond of Bella though he knew that both had sampled her wares. When he finally lifted the curse, Bella was laying on the floor panting in a puddle of her own piss. He sneered her way when she opened her eyes to look up at him.

"I won't hear your words against Hermione Black again. I don't really care what you think and since I'm your Lord, you will do as you're told or you'll meet your end by my wand." Bella just nodded.

"Yes, Master." Tom waved his hand at Nott.

"Get her out of here, the whole damn room smells like piss now." Not was quick to comply, calling for his elf to clean the mess as well.

Tom watched them go and knew that he would have to make sure that Hermione Black escaped Hogwarts at the end of the year with his fleeing Death Eaters. Maybe that could be a job for Severus, he already had his spy sticking as close as he could to the girl to make sure she was safe. He hadn't heard anything from his spy recently so he made a mental note to call for him in the morning and see what his thoughts were on the courtship of his bride and the Potter boy. It only made sense since he was the closest of his followers to the girl. If actions were needed to be taken before then to remove her from Potter's presence, he would decide that after speaking with Severus.

It would require much thought, something that he didn't plan on rushing. These things must be done delicately.

A/N- There we go, folks, another chapter done. Nothing too frightfully exciting but they can't all be! I hope you all liked it. I realized after you all asked that I had planned this chapter before the trial chapter. So sorry for telling you the trial would be next! Seriously though, it is. Thanks again for reading and reviewing, you guys are just awesome. Leave me a message after the beep and let me know what you think.

Next chapter, Halloween and quidditch and how Cho ended up .

Love,

Alicia


	117. Chapter 117

A/N- I'm back, y'all. Sorry it's been a few days but I'm really struggling with my wrist. I'm afraid I'm going to have to go to the doctor. This chapter just about killed me. If my chapters slow down just a bit, I haven't given up on you, I promise! I also wanted to let you all know that I've had a few problems answering reviews...if you haven't gotten a response, blame fanfiction! It hates me sometimes! As always, thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing, I really do appreciate it. I really don't have much else to report so I suppose I'll just get on with my chapter. My continued thanks to rabradley09, though she doesn't consider herself my alpha, she really is. My sounding board in all things, a truly bomb-ass chick.

**Shoutout to AlexClio for being my 5900th reviewer….you're the freaking bomb, girl!**

Disclaimer: After 116 chapters, I hope y'all know by now that I don't own the characters nor the original idea. I totally claim the twist on the plot. Still broke as hell so I still haven't made any money from this story or any other.

Chapter 117

October 31, 1996

Harry was seated at the Gryffindor table for breakfast even though he really didn't want to be. It was the weekend, Saturday to be precise, and he never sat at his house table when there were no classes. However, it was different on the weekends they played quidditch. While he would rather be sitting next to Hermione and trying to steal a kiss, sitting with his teammates was good for their mentality before a match.

Harry had been made captain this year, something that he still wasn't sure that he wasn't going to fuck up. Not only was he following the footsteps of Oliver Wood and Angelina, two great captains, he also had to find replacements for half the damn team. Since the twins were now gone, he had replaced them with a couple of third years, Jimmy Peakes and Richie Coote. Angelina and Alicia had graduated so he placed Demelza Robbins and Ginny Prewett in their chaser positions. While he wasn't thrilled about Ginny being on the team, she truly was the best chaser and there was nobody that could compare. Katie Bell was still on the team, making the third chaser. Ron had even kept his spot as keeper, though he had almost been beaten out by a fourth year.

All in all, they made a good team. They still needed a little work but for the most part, he was happy with his choices. Ginny was the only fly in the ointment but since she remained shy and blushed around him, making no moves to have anything to do with him, he was content as long as that behavior continued. He refused to deal with her flirting at practice and knew that Hermione would drop him like a hot potato if she ever had to witness it.

There had been loads of good natured teasing back and forth between Harry and Draco, making bets on who was going to win today. They were pitted against each other once more and Harry knew that his friend was stiff competition. While Draco was a much better chaser, he wasn't the captain this year like Harry was. He had tried out for the chaser position but his captain had kept him as the seeker since there were no better options than Draco. The one boy who had tried out for the position had flown around for over half an hour without even a glimpse of the snitch.

The pair of them had already talked and neither one was going to get angry if they lost. Sure, Harry wanted to win the first match as captain but he wasn't going to get angry if he lost and put Hermione in the middle of something between him and Draco. Draco had agreed, knowing that she would be hard-pressed on which side to take and would probably retreat from the situation completely. Not to mention, he was hoping to spend a little quality time with her that evening so arguing with her would be monumentally stupid.

Lavender was glaring at him from her spot next to Parvati. Parvati had yelled at him the day after his encounter with Lavender for hurting her friend but Harry had very clearly told her that if Lavender hadn't pulled him into that alcove, she wouldn't have gotten hurt at all. Things were still a bit frosty between them but they weren't openly fighting. Ron thought the whole thing was hilarious and got smacked in the back of the head by his girlfriend if he even so much as chuckled about it when she was around. That made Harry chuckle but there was no way in hell that Pav was going to smack him like that. Though he would probably cringe in pain like Ron did if Hermione had smacked him too.

Of course, the witches were leaving him alone now. He wasn't sure if it would last but after Cho's trial the week before, none of them were willing to risk Azkaban. Harry, Hermione, and Draco had all left school with Severus and Professor Flitwick to attend Cho's trial. Harry had been the only one who was required to be there but they wanted to put up a united front. Severus had no reason to go but insisted on going, citing staying close to her for the Dark Lord as his excuse to Dumbledore. The old man had caved since he knew that his spy needed to keep up appearances. Professor Flitwick was going because he was her Head of House and was unsure if she would return to school immediately if she was found innocent.

However, the man shouldn't have worried. Cho was lead into the courtroom and had been holding back tears. When she saw Harry standing there with his arms wrapped around Hermione protectively, she had started sobbing. They ended up having to wait for a healer to arrive and administer a calming draught before they could even continue with the trial.

The trial hadn't gone well for the girl. As soon as veritaserum had been administered, she had spilled the truth with no fanfare, telling the entire courtroom and Wizengamot her master plan to break Harry and Hermione up so she could slide back into his life and his arms. Harry had been called to the witness stand and given the potion as well, testifying under the influence that Cho had indeed used polyjuice and accosted him, going so far as heavy petting between them before he realized just who she really was.

Afterwards, Sirius and Uncle Lucius had abstained from voting on her sentence. She had been found guilty unanimously and they didn't want to be accused of being harsher than necessary because they were related to Harry. Since Sirius was Harry's regent over the Potter seat, his house abstained from voting as well. Not that it mattered. It was clear by the one year sentence in Azkaban that the pureblood lords and ladies in the Wizengamot didn't like the thought of losing a powerful match to a witch that was clearly inferior. He supposed that they considered that if they let it happen to Harry Potter, it could just as easily happen to their offspring.

Harry had to admit that it was nice that the sentencing of Cho Chang was now keeping girls away from him.

The bell rang, echoing through the Great Hall, even though there were no classes. However, while it signified that breakfast was over, it also signified that everyone was going to start heading for the pitch for Slytherin vs. Gryffindor, the most epic match of the year. Harry stood, his team following behind him. He could see Hermione across the Great Hall hugging Draco and kissing him on the cheek. He watched as she broke away and hurried his way, a smile on her face. When she reached him, he smiled at her and bent down just enough to give her a chaste kiss on the mouth. He knew that she hated public displays of affection that were inappropriate. Her hand slipped in his as he hauled her close so he could hug her.

"Good luck out there. Be safe. If you or Draco get hurt, I'm never going to forgive you." Her words were stern but said with a smile on her face so Harry knew that she was being sincere. She hated quidditch and begged off any matches that didn't have anything to do with Harry or Draco but he knew that she wouldn't miss this match for the world. He ran his fingers through her long curls and kissed her once more.

"I'm going to be careful, Mia, I promise. It would be a shame if you've forgiven me for everything else I've ever done but you couldn't forgive me because of quidditch." Hermione laughed out loud, a tinkling sound that he'd never tire of.

"A crying shame. Remember that before you do something stupid and reckless on that broom." Ron snorted behind him, Harry forgetting that he technically had an audience. His whole house was watching and glaring.

"She's just trying to get you to go easy on Malfoy because you're her boyfriend now. She holds the snogging power over you." Harry turned and gave Ron a look that clearly showed how stupid he thought he was.

"Hermione doesn't even like quidditch. She brought a book along to the World Cup. The only reason she goes to matches is because Draco or I play and she's worried we'll get hurt. Trust me, she doesn't care who wins." Ron rolled his eyes but stayed silent. Harry knew that he needed to go so made sure that he said his next words loud enough for everyone to hear. Might as well prepare them if need be.

"We still on for the victory party?" Hermione smiled and went to her tiptoes to kiss him one last time. Harry bent down to make it easier for her. Her lips met his quickly as she started to shoo him away.

"Yes, whoever wins we'll celebrate victory together. Slytherin already knows you're coming if we win." He raised an eyebrow and turned to his lions as she sauntered off.

"If we win, you can expect Slytherin guests. Draco and I play against each other almost every day during the summer and we both catch the snitch first all the time. If we win, Hermione, Draco, and Daphne will be joining us. McGonagall has already given her permission and thinks it's wonderful. Get along with them or I'll make sure we lose the Cup on purpose." There were more than a few fearful glares but Harry didn't care. He wasn't going to stand for his housemates treating his family like shite.

With that, Harry started the procession to the locker room that Gryffindor used. The entire school was filling up the stands and Harry knew that Sirius and Uncle Lucius were going to be there to watch him, as was Alexandre. He was sure that Hermione would find them and sit with them though Juliet might give them a miss. She was still a little put out at Hermione having all the power in the family and having to curtail her tantrums. However, her professors had had nothing but positive things to say about her behavior so he doubted that Hermione would be letting up on her anytime soon.

Harry and the others quickly started to change into their robes for the match, the three girls on their side while Harry was joined by the other three boys. He pulled his hair back in a tie to keep it out of his eyes, knowing that Draco would be doing the same. When the girls had joined them, Harry knew that he was going to have to make a speech. He remembered the ones from Oliver and Angelina being especially long-winded so he did his best to keep it short and sweet.

"I know that we're a new team and have only had six weeks to practice together while most of the Slytherin team has been playing together for a couple years. I'm not worried. The girls are on point and will be completely unstoppable by the end of the year. Ron has only improved and is going to serve us well. Jimmy and Richie aren't Fred and George...yet. However, they're pretty damn close. As long as we go out there and play our best, I don't really care if we lose to Slytherin. Like I said, Draco catches the snitch just as much as I do. It could go either way. However, this also means that I want that Cup which means that we need to keep the points up there. Lots of scoring and saving. I know you can do this." Harry took a deep breath and smiled.

"Let's go and kick some Slytherin arse."

The other six started cheering and Harry just grinned as he walked up to the door and led them out onto the pitch to be introduced. There were banners flying with both his and Draco's names on them, each one clearly showing who they supported. His eyes scanned the professor's stands and quickly found his family. Uncle Lucius had his arm around Hermione's shoulders while Sirius was leaning over and kissing her on the side of the head. They looked happy and he smiled at the sight. He turned to his team and motioned for them to follow him. They met on the pitch halfway down and Harry grinned at Draco. While he shook hands with the Slytherin captain, he couldn't help his snarky mouth.

"You ready to put on a show, Malfoy? Hermione has already threatened me with no forgiveness if we get hurt." Draco laughed.

"You're the one she's going to be mad at. I'm the cousin, she'll punch me." Everyone laughed around them and Harry knew that it was time. Everyone moved to their positions just as they had in practice and he couldn't wipe the smile off his face.

He loved quidditch.

-O-

Hermione was squeezed between her father and uncle and they were waiting for the match to begin. Juliet had originally planned to sit with them but when her friends had begged her to sit with them, she had capitulated and gone. Therefore, Hermione was by herself with her family while the rest of her friends were sitting with their respective houses.

Uncle Lucius had been teasing her about all the boys staring at her as they had taken their seats when Madam Hooch beckoned both teams to the pitch. She watched as both teams jockeyed for position as the snitch and bludgers were released. She didn't know how there were no injuries in the mad scramble in the air to get to the quaffle first.

Hermione knew that the Gryffindor chasers were good and she didn't know that much about quidditch. They were almost seamless and Hermione had to admit that Harry had done a great job choosing them. It irked her that Ginny was one of them and she hated that Harry had to spend time with her in both practice and matches but so far, she hadn't done anything more than watch him shyly and blush when he looked at her. Her behavior was so different it was hard to remember she was the same witch. However, whenever she started to feel that way, she'd rub the scar that marred her chest, reminding herself that Ginny could never be trusted.

The Gryffindor chasers were so good that they were quickly climbing in points. Ron was actually doing a decent job at keeping, setting the score at 100-20 in Gryffindor's favor. Slytherin was doing their best, it was clear that they were no match for the trio of girls they were up against. The score continued to climb while Harry and Draco were on opposite ends of the pitch, doing their best to be the first one to spot the elusive golden ball.

It was almost two hours into the match that Draco spotted the snitch. However, Harry was only a little ways away, instantly seeing that Draco had shot away to chase it. The score was ridiculous, the only way that Slytherin would win was if Draco caught the snitch to bring the score to 310-300. The three girls chasing for the lions were just too good for them and her snakes had no chance of matching their skill.

Hermione had both her father's and uncle's hands clenched in her own as she watched her two favorite boys battle against each other for the snitch. It was nothing that she hadn't seen on their pitch at home but she usually went riding while they played quidditch for this very reason. They were barrel rolling, swooping through the air, and weaving around each other in an attempt to win. The entire crowd was cheering, everyone on their feet. Hermione was scared to death that something was going to happen and they would plunge to their deaths.

It was minutes later that the snitch ran them aground, both boys going sprawling in a way that reminded her of their match second year. This time, however, a rogue bludger wasn't chasing Harry and Draco didn't have to blast it from the sky. Both laid there on the ground, clearly panting, until Draco's hand shot up in the air, wings fluttering between his fingers.

"Draco Malfoy has caught the snitch, the only seeker to ever beat Harry Potter. Slytherin wins 310-300!"

The crowd went wild and Uncle Lucius and Sirius were both cheering loudly. Hermione applauded her cousin but was more worried that they were injured. She started for the steps, intent on making her way down to the pitch to make sure for herself that they were fine. It seemed that the entire school had the same idea and they were all rushing the pitch.

By the time Hermione reached the pitch, Harry and Draco were both on their feet and had their arms thrown around each others shoulders, laughing together. The rest of the two teams just watched, flabbergasted. Hermione cared for none of that. She ran to them and since they were so close, threw herself into both their arms. There was laughter in each of her ears as they hugged her back. She didn't care if they laughed as long as they were alright.

"You're both alright? You need Madam Pomfrey to look at you." Harry leaned down and kissed her. Hermione usually didn't like too much affectionate displays but since Harry had lost and was possibly injured, she just melted into the kiss and ignored the catcalls around her. After several moments, Hermione pulled away and smacked his chest. He feigned hurt but she knew better.

"You better be injured to get away with that!" Draco was laughing beside them, now separated from them.

"Mate, you know how much shite she gave me for doing that. You're going to be in it so deep." Harry laughed and bent down to give her another small kiss. She allowed it but glared at him playfully.

"Sorry, baby, just excited. We may have lost but we're only ten points behind. If there's a good way to lose, that's it. Still means we have a chance at the Cup." Hermione smiled at him, knowing that it was important to him. Therefore, she nodded and let him put her down. Her hands went to her hips and she pointed towards where Madam Pomfrey was standing on the sidelines. Daphne arrived just as the pair started to head for the sidelines. Draco picked her up and swung her in a circle but was careful to make sure that their kiss was chaste. Her father and uncle were watching the scene unfold with smiles on their faces.

Hermione stood patiently by while Madam Pomfrey checked the pair of them over, handing over a tub of cream to put on their bruises. She let Harry pull her towards him and kiss her cheek before heading to the showers in the locker room. She was still a little worried about Ginny but was determined to trust Harry. Therefore, she let her father and uncle guide her back towards the castle. Just outside the door, her father pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head.

"We have to get back, poppet. Alexandre already left and he's probably told Helena that Juliet didn't sit with us. She's going to be upset." Hermione sighed and nodded. It was always so hard to say goodbye.

"Tell her I said hello. I can't wait until Christmas so we can come home. It's Malfoy Manor's turn this year." Her father chuckled and released her so Uncle Luci could take her in his arms and hug her tightly.

"Take care of yourself, little one. Make sure those two boys do what they're supposed to. Even though your sister is being a brat, make sure you let her know that you still love her. Don't let jealousy fester between you. It's likely she's the only sister you'll ever have." Hermione smiled as she kissed her uncle's cheek.

"Thank you. I know you don't really like Jules but thank you for accepting her anyways. You've always been the best uncle a girl could ever ask for." He smiled down at her and kissed the top of her head before releasing her.

Hermione watched as the pair strode across the grounds of Hogwarts, heading for the gate. With a soft shake of her head, she started back into the castle to take her seat at the Slytherin table for lunch. Even though she knew that Harry wasn't required to sit at the Gryffindor table at lunch, she knew that he was going to since they had just played a quidditch match. She was sure that he would join her for dinner.

Hermione took her usual seat and was joined by Daphne only minutes later. Her lips were swollen and bee-stung, a sure sign that her cousin had been snogging her before she arrived. She just raised an eyebrow at her best friend who blushed slightly. It made Hermione happy that they were so happy together.

The Slytherin and Gryffindor teams arrived shortly thereafter, the whole hall cheering for them as they took their seats. Even though she could see that the lions were disappointed, they weren't too put off at the loss since they were only lagging behind in points by ten. The cheering when Draco took his seat was ridiculous but Hermione said nothing. Slytherin had finally won against Gryffindor and they were excited. She couldn't blame them.

Lunch was nothing special but Hermione ate her fill even though the party in the dungeons was going to be serving food as well. She also knew that they were going to be serving alcohol in the punch and she had made a strict deal with Frederick Fawley that she wouldn't say a word as long as they drew an age line around the punch so nobody under fifth year could drink it. The second she saw anyone handing the alcohol to a younger student, she'd vanish it all and be done. Realizing what a deal it was, Fawley had agreed heartily and spread the word.

Hermione had no intentions of drinking though. She remembered how out of control she had felt after that Gryffindor victory party last year when she had drank spiked punch without realizing it. It was certainly something she didn't want to do again. It would be different if she were only around people that she trusted but that certainly wasn't the case here in Hogwarts. She had no idea if Harry and Draco were planning to drink but decided that she would be on guard for all of them.

As soon as the bell rang to dismiss them from lunch, Hermione found Harry at her side. His arm wound around her waist and started to aim them in the direction of the dungeons. Neville was quick to follow, wanting to come celebrate with them as well. Someone ahead of Hermione gave the password and they were all shuffled into the common room to find tables of food and drink already set up. Hermione wasn't sure who had conned the elves to help with this but she supposed that it didn't matter.

The party started instantly, music blaring from somewhere off in the corner. Harry had handed her a drink and made sure to let her know that it was the unspiked version. He had one in his hand as well and he smiled when she threw him a questioning glance. His hand rested just on the top of her arse when he pulled her closer.

"No, I'm not drinking today. I hoped that we could spend the evening together and I didn't want to be drunk if we did that." Hermione nodded her head happily.

"That would be lovely. What do you have in mind?" Harry shrugged his shoulders.

"I really don't care. You can read to me from our defense books for all I care. I just want to spend time with you since you'll be back working with Severus tomorrow." Hermione pressed a quick kiss to his jaw and nodded again.

The party lasted for hours. Hermione didn't really enjoy herself per se but loved that Harry and Draco had fun. The pair of them had gone through their epic battle for the snitch in detail three times by the time the bell for dinner rang. Hermione could tell that Draco was slightly drunk but Daphne seemed to have him well in hand. As they made their way en masse to the Great Hall for dinner, Hermione pulled her friend to the side.

"I'm going to spend the evening with Harry. Could you make sure that Draco doesn't drink much more? I don't want him to do something stupid that his father will kill him for." Daphne nodded her head silently so Draco wouldn't know their arrangement.

Harry joined them for dinner and the Slytherin table was much louder than usual. There were smiles all around at the High Table and she was glad that there didn't seem to be any animosity at the snakes winning. She knew her godfather wasn't the most well-liked person in Hogwarts and was pleased to see that even Professor McGonagall seemed content with the outcome.

Dinner passed by quickly, everyone eating their fill even though they had been snacking since lunch. Hermione didn't eat much but Harry managed to put away a full plate of roast and potatoes. Draco was much the same while Hermione wondered where they put it all. The bell rang again, dismissing them, and Harry pulled her from the Great Hall and towards the seventh floor where the Room of Requirement was awaiting them.

Hermione allowed him to create the room and was pleased to find the look-alike room to the library in Blackmoor. It was her all-time favorite room and she never tired of being in it. He took a seat on the couch after throwing his school robes onto the armchair and rolling sleeves up to the elbows. Hermione only grinned at how comfortable he was with her. She wondered briefly if he had been this comfortable with the other girls he had been with and decided that she really didn't want to know. However, he caught must have seen the look of uncertainty on her face because he narrowed his eyes at her.

"What's wrong?" Hermione smiled softly at him and cursed that he could be so perceptive sometimes. She took off her own student robes and laid them with hers, revealing her skirt and button-up shirt. She shrugged her shoulders as she started for the couch.

"I like how comfortable you are with me and then wondered if you were this comfortable with the others girls. Then I realized I didn't want to know." He reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her to sit in his lap. He moved her around until she was settled comfortably on top of and against him before meeting her eyes.

"I'm sure that there was a certain level of being comfortable. Not this level though. I didn't sit around with them in my lap and let them read to me. It was mostly meeting up in alcoves, shagging, and moving on directly afterwards." Even though Hermione hated hearing about his past sexual history, this made her feel better. She smiled at him and nodded.

"I'm glad that I get to be your first for something." He kissed her forehead before reaching down and nipping her bottom lip.

"You're my first girlfriend. The first girl I've ever courted. The first girl I've ever had a crush on or fallen in love with. You're a lot of my firsts." She giggled a little and turned her head to kiss him.

It started out as the sweet press of lips but Harry quickly traced the seam of her lips with his tongue, demanding entrance. She already knew that she loved his kisses and gave entrance, gasping softly when he took possession of her mouth, tasting every inch of her. She tried to fight for dominance, just this once, but Harry quickly put that notion out of her head.

His hand found her curls that hung heavy down her back and gave them a tug, tipping her head back to expose her throat. While his mouth trailed down her jaw to press sucking kisses that would surely leave a mark on the soft skin of her neck, Hermione twined her fingers in fine hairs on his neck, mewling softly when he sucked hard at her pulse point. One of his hands slipped under her shirt and slid up her belly, brushing against the puckered skin of her scar. His mouth went even lower, tasting the skin of her collar bone and Hermione wanted more. However, she tensed when she realized that Harry had pulled his hand out and moved his hand to the button of her shirt. He stopped immediately and met her gaze.

"I won't if you really don't want me to. Only if you're not ready though. Don't let that scar stop you, Hermione. You're a brilliant and beautiful woman, a scar isn't going to change that. I can guarantee you, it makes me see you as a warrior, not a victim. It won't change how I see you." Hermione knew that he was trying to placate her but she also knew that he was going to have to see it eventually. She would rather he see it and be sickened by it now rather than a year from now when she was so much more invested in their relationship. Therefore, she gave him a resolute nod and steeled herself for the worst reaction possible.

Harry leaned forward and kissed her again, gently, as he began to unbutton her shirt. However, there was no enjoyment in this kiss. After every last button was undone, he pulled her shirt from her body to expose her torso still wrapped in a royal blue satin bra. Hermione closed her eyes as he stared at the scar that traced its way from breast to hip and started only slightly when she felt the lightest of touches as his fingers trailed the length of her scar. Her eyes flew open when she felt his lips at the top of her breast, kissing it's length now.

"Just like I said, you're a beautiful warrior princess." His hand came up and found her breast, his thumb stroking her nipple through the satin of her bra. She gasped again as her nipples hardened at his attention and she knew then and there that she needed him closer. She shifted her weight around and reached behind her back to unsnap her bra, flinging it to the ground. She almost smiled when she saw that Harry was staring at her bare breasts like they were water and he was dying of thirst. She reached out and grabbed his hand, putting it on back where he had held it.

His lips found her neck again as his fingers expertly plucked and kneaded at her sensitive flesh. She had pleasured herself before more times than she could count but it had never felt this good. Deep in her belly, there was a longing that she recognized but had never experienced with Cedric; it had only ever been present when she thought of Harry while taking care of herself. The feeling only intensified when Harry released her neck and his head swooped down and his mouth caught one of her rosy tips, expertly pulling and nibbling at her now engorged flesh. Her hands clutched at the back of his head and her hips bucked, looking for friction only to find none. Hermione knew her whimper was needy but was powerless to stop it.

Harry's hand suddenly flipped her skirt up and vanished her matching satin knickers, exposing her most private area to him. However, in this moment, Hermione was past caring. She needed relief and only Harry could give it to her. He lifted his head to gaze down at her womanly core and groaned.

"I knew you were bare down there, so fucking soft, but to see it...you're fucking perfect, Mia. I can't wait until I feast on you." Hermione felt a rush of liquid desire at his words and whimpered again. His mouth sucked in her other nipple, giving it the same treatment as the other one while his fingers began to work their magic down below.

His finger slid to her entrance, swirling around in her arousal so he could bring them up to circle the bud at the top of her slit. She moaned at the contact and tugged his hair while he chuckled around her breast. His thumb started to press her pleasure pearl while he dipped just one finger inside her, moving carefully so he didn't break her barrier. Her hips bucked wildly now and he leaned more weight on her to make sure that she didn't hurt herself.

Hermione could feel herself quickly climbing the peak that she knew would bring her satisfaction. Between the mouth at her breast, the pressure on her nub, and the finger moving steadily inside her, it was a sensation overload and there was no holding back the wave of pleasure that overtook her. Her back arched despite the weight that Harry had pressing against her and she felt her world implode. Harry didn't stop moving inside her and she realized with growing horror that she had always made a bit of a mess when finding her pleasure and she had done that all over Harry's hand. It was as though he realized her embarrassment, however, because he finally lifted his head only to remove his hand from her and start licking it clean. Her face flamed but knew there was another gush at the sight and she wasn't sure why. He grinned at her unrepentantly.

"You taste like honey, baby. I love that I can tell you've enjoyed yourself. Most girls you can't even tell. I can't wait until I can lick you clean." Hermione flipped her skirt down and tried to get in a better position but Harry reached out and stopped her, a serious look on his face.

"I wasn't trying to embarrass you, I'm sorry. I just can't wait to do these things with you and I hope you love them as much as I will." Hermione stopped her frantic movements and focused on his face, finally nodding with a small smile.

"Alright. Off with those trousers." A wicked smirk replaced the smile and Harry grinned back. Hermione was going to try something that she had never done before and only hoped that it didn't blow up in her face.

Harry had no problems with nudity and stripped completely naked settling himself back on the couch. He was now smirking her way, clearly challenging her. The few times that she had manually pleasured him had gone well and he hadn't complained; therefore, she was going to step it up a notch.

Hermione pulled him out to the very edge of the couch so he was almost hanging off the edge. He raised an eyebrow at her but said nothing. She waved her hand and cast the lubrication spell, gently reaching out to stroke first his cock, then his bollocks. Harry closed his eyes and let his head fall back while he enjoyed the sensations, his hands clenching at the cushions beside him.

Hermione opened her mouth and put the head of his cock in her mouth, causing his eyes to fly open and stare at her in shock. She laughed around him which only made him groan. She sucked as hard as she could and started to move up and down his shaft, only able to take about half of him. Her hand stroked the other half in the same rhythm and Harry threaded his hands through her hair. He plunged himself a little too deep and Hermione choked, her eyes watering. Harry shot her an apologetic look and she just glared as she shook his hands off her head.

Hermione continued to suck on him like the books she had read instructed and she could tell by his actions that he was getting close. Hermione silently cast the lubrication spell on her other hand as well and grabbed his balls, slowly making her way down to his rear entrance. The book she had read had said that stimulating the prostate was the surest way to get a man to orgasm and she planned to put that to the test.

Hermione slipped her finger inside him and he squealed, the most unmanly sound she thought she had ever heard. However, when she crooked her finger just so, he came with a shout, his seed splashing the back of her throat. Hermione swallowed it down as best she could, not minding the taste as much as she thought that she would. There was still a little dribbling down her chin when she finally pulled off of him though and she was quick to wipe it away with the back of her hand.

Harry just lay there with his eyes closed while she reached for her wand, casting cleaning charms on not only herself but him as well. He finally opened his eyes and stared at her for a moment before he burst into laughter. She supposed that it was a good sign that he wasn't mad so she gave him a smile herself.

"You knew all along that you were going to do that to me, didn't you?" Hermione met his gaze and nodded, knowing her cheeks were red again and it had nothing to do with the fact that her breasts were still bare.

"Yes, I read about it and wanted to try it. You're always so smug and I wanted to wipe that look off your face. Looks like I did." Harry jumped up and lunged at her, making her squeal this time while he tickled her like mad. After a few minutes of this punishment, he relented and sat up, pulling her into his lap again even though he was still naked.

"You definitely win this round. I'll be taking the next one though so be prepared." Hermione leaned against his chest and snuggled deeper, laughing softly. He waved his wand and conjured a blanket, wrapping it around them. He kissed the side of her head and wiggled until he was comfortable.

"We have two hours until curfew. I set an alarm on my wand to wake us. Take a nap with me." Hermione nodded sleepily and settled even more fully against him. After everything, the sense of relaxation hit her and she closed her eyes and her breathing evened out.

Hermione and Harry both slept.

-O-

Severus strode through the corridors of Nott Manor anxious to see what the Dark Lord wanted. He had been summoned the week before but when he had arrived, the Dark Lord had been gone. Bellatrix had informed him that something had come up and that their Lord would call for him when he was available again. The call had come during the Halloween Feast, though the feast hadn't really been the focus of the day.

Slytherin had finally won a quidditch match against Gryffindor, Draco beating Harry. It was something that hadn't occurred in six years so it was certainly something to celebrate. The fact that Harry was celebrating with them was also nice; he was happy for his friend and Severus had to appreciate that he wasn't making Hermione feel as though she had to choose between him and supporting her own house.

The victory party had gone on all afternoon and would probably go on most of the night. Severus knew that there was alcohol involved but was also aware that Hermione had made sure that there would be an age line around it. His students knew exactly what would happen if they disgraced the noble house of Salazar Slytherin so he trusted them to act accordingly. If they didn't, they would answer to him.

He entered the library to find that the Dark Lord was sitting in his throne waiting for him looking as normal as ever. He still had just the slightest tinge of red to the eyes but that was all that was out of the ordinary. His snake, Nagini, was curled at his feet, hissing softly at he wasn't sure what. Bellatrix, Nott, and Rookwood were studying books in the background but it was clear that they were listening carefully to what was going to be said there that day. Severus walked up to his Lord and dropped to a knee, picking up the hem of his master's robe and kissing it while he waited for permission to stand. He hated bowing before this madman but it was his mistake and he intended to see it through. He felt a hand brush through his lank hair and he had to fight the urge to shudder.

"Rise, Severus, and have a seat. The rest of you, find somewhere else to be." Severus took the seat across from the throne and watched as the other three Death Eaters glared at him as they left. Once they were alone, the Dark Lord waved his wand, clearly silencing the door.

"I've called you here for information on my bride-to-be. Young Nott has written home and told his father that she in now courting Potter. Is this true?" Severus nodded.

"Yes, she has agreed to court the boy though I'm not sure that he has what it takes to keep a woman of her caliber interested and happy. She considers him family and I'm not sure if she's agreed out of family duty or true emotion but the relationship is new. I'm doubtful that it will last." The Dark Lord nodded.

"Those were my thoughts as well. How has her apprenticeship been coming? Have there been any threats against her?" Severus shook his head.

"Not that I've been aware of and I spend time with her every day. She still doesn't trust me but that's to be expected. However, she has admitted that she is learning much and I will say that she is the most brilliant student that I have ever taught. Horace used her in a competition, pitting his students against hers and hers won. He was astounded. She will be a boon to your side, my Lord. She will one day surpass me." The Dark Lord grinned and Severus couldn't tell if he was happy or proud.

"That is good to know, Severus. I know that you know of the plot that young Nott is working on. I believe that when we get inside Hogwarts and after the old man is dead, we need to bring Lady Black with us. You've already said that she could sit all her N.E.W.T.s right now. There is no need for her to return to Hogwarts. Depending on who ends up in the school, this task may fall to you. We shall see as the time nears. If things change or the situation becomes dire, I will have you abduct her before that time and bring her to me." Severus froze at those words. There was no way in fucking hell that he was going to abduct his own goddaughter and deliver her to the Dark Lord. However, he kept his face impassive and nodded.

"I will do my best, my Lord. However, I want to remind you that I'm not sure that I could accomplish this task. The girl is powerful. I watched her up against the old man her second year and she has matured magically since then. She could end up killing me. I fear you would be the only one powerful enough to take her." His master seemed to be considering his words, something that he usually didn't do. However, his words made clear that he didn't care.

"I will take your words under advisement, Severus. However, if I order you to take the girl, you will do as you are told or suffer the consequences." Severus bowed his head.

"Yes, my Lord, of course."

He was quickly dismissed and he left the same way he came. Severus apparated to the gates of the castle and headed for the Entrance Hall. Once inside, he took the stairs two at a time until the reached the second floor where the gargoyle was located. He gave the password and entered to find that Albus was waiting on him. He threw himself into a seat and glared at the old man.

"He isn't happy that Harry is courting Hermione. When they somehow find their way into this castle, they're going to kill you. He then plans for me to abduct my own goddaughter and bring her to him. If circumstances change before then, I'm going to have to do it sooner." Dumbledore sighed heavily and picked up a lemon drop, popping it into his mouth. His fingers combed through his beard while he thought through the problem at hand. It was several minutes later when he spoke.

"We must make sure that circumstances don't change. Harry will abandon our side of the war if she is taken. He will sacrifice himself for her. I saw how he felt for her years ago. I tried to change it then because it's a dangerous emotion in war. At least with Miss Weasley, he wouldn't have stormed off to war if she were harmed." Severus just shook his head at the manipulative old bastard. He was a Slytherin but there was only so much that he could take.

"You really make me sick sometimes, Albus. I'm telling you right now that I won't be delivering Hermione to Tom Riddle. I would rather die than do that. Figure out a way to make sure that she's safe or you're going to be out a spy because he's probably going to torture me to death." Albus sighed again and nodded.

"I will do my best, Severus. It's hard to come up with solutions to things that are yet to come." Severus rolled his eyes.

"I'm going to tell them and that should help." Dumbledore's eyes raced to his and there was fury dancing in them.

"You will do no such thing. You are bound by the vows you gave me. You will say nothing about your meetings with Voldemort to your family unless you have permission from me. They are the ones who didn't want to work together in the endeavor. They are the ones who are going to wish they had collaborated." His tone made it clear that his words were final and this betrayal was final for Severus. Once he was dead, there would no longer be anything of the Vow left. Albus wouldn't last much longer, not much longer than the end of the school year. The curse was slowly draining his life force. He flew to his feet and shoved all the parchment on his desk off onto the floor in his rage.

"You'll get your way but just remember, once this curse kills you, my Vow to you is dead. If this causes anyone in my family to get hurt or killed, I will end you myself and make sure you understand exactly what it means to die by a Death Eater's hand. You get your weekly lesson with Harry but other than that, stay the fuck away from my family. Every single last member. Do you understand me?" Severus was panting from the amount of magic he was exuding but he didn't care. Albus simply nodded.

Severus didn't give him another chance to speak. There was truly nothing else left to say. Their friendship, what was left of it, was done. He had manipulated his family for the last time and he could only hope that the old bastard died sooner rather than later. It would be no great loss as far as he was concerned. Let the world mourn him but Severus and those important to him knew the truth. While Albus Dumbledore did indeed want Tom Riddle dead, he was willing to do whatever he had to to make sure that it happened. Nothing and nobody was safe, sacred.

The sooner Albus fucking Dumbledore died, the fucking better.

A/N- Whew, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! A little lightheartedness and little intensity, stuff to keep everyone happy (: Thanks for reading and reviewing, you guys are just awesome. Let me know what you think, it makes me smile and keeps me motivated.

Next chapter, werewolf cure and Harry gets a task.

Love,

Alicia


	118. Chapter 118

A/N- I'm finally back, y'all, sorry it's been a red hot minute since I updated. I took some time for my wrist, which is doing a little better. Then I remembered that I had committed to doing a book club event on a dramione facebook site on The Prophecies. That meant that I had to reread the story and come up with discussion questions. It ended up being a lot more time consuming and difficult than I had imagined it to be. It is ongoing at the moment so if you want to participate, PM me and I'll send you the link. After that, I took a day just to breathe. Now, I'm back with the next chapter and I can't wait to see what you think. Thanks to everyone reading and reviewing, you guys are the bomb.

Also, I've really been having a hard time responding to reviews. It keeps telling me that the reviews are invalid. If you haven't received a response, I apologize!

Disclaimer: I still don't own the characters or the original plot for Part One. Those would belong to J.K.R. and Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle. I do claim the personal plot twists since the Part Two began. Since my bank account balance is just barely in the positive, it's pretty clear that I haven't made any money from this story or any other.

Chapter 118

November 18, 1996

Harry sat with the Gryffindors for lunch, listening to the gossip going on around him. Lavender and Parvati were giggling about a girl from Hufflepuff while Ron was laughing uproariously about something a bloke from Ravenclaw had done the night before. Neville was sitting with Hermione and their friends, his arm settled happily around Luna's waist, so he wasn't even there for Harry to talk to. Honestly, it felt as though he had outgrown his house since the twins had left. Even Juliet was sitting further down the table holding court with her own friends.

Sure, Ron still talked to him when he was around but if there was something else going on that was entertaining, Harry was shunted to the side. He supposed that he deserved it, he had ditched his friends for the Slytherins after all, but it really made him realize that his house wasn't like his family at all, not in the sense that Professor McGonagall had meant it. He had more ties to Slytherin than his own pride of lions.

Harry stood before the bell rang, tired of feeling like the third wheel. Ron squawked in indignation but Harry ignored him. He threw his bag over his shoulder and headed to the Slytherin table, stopping behind Hermione so he could rest his hands on her shoulders. He dropped a kiss on her head as she turned to smile up at him. She started to scoot over but he shook his head. There were only a few minutes before the bell rang anyways.

Harry began to massage her shoulders, using his thumbs to get down deep in her muscles. She groaned in pleasure, letting her head fall forward and the entire table turned to stare. Harry just grinned at them all; he knew exactly what they were turning their heads for and Harry couldn't begrudge them looking. She had sounded pretty fucking close to how she sounded when she came around his fingers. It was the best sound in the world.

Soon enough, the bell rang he stopped his massage, Hermione whining only a little at the loss of contact. He helped her stand and gather her bag, though where they were headed they weren't going to need them. It had all worked out that since they all had a free period now, they would work on their defense with Severus since he had a meeting with Dumbledore that evening and Hermione and Severus were going to finally test their lycanthropy cure. They had wanted to cure him by Christmas and this was one of the last full moons before then.

Daphne followed the rest of them to the Defense classroom, locking, warding and silencing the door after they entered. Severus was already there waiting on them, moving the desks and chairs to the side of the room. Hermione was quick to help him while Harry took off his robes and laid them across his bag that he had deposited on a desk. Draco was instructing Daphne to stay well out of the area that they would be practicing in. Severus turned to them when he and Hermioine had finished.

"What will the teams be today?" They all turned to Hermione and she laughed.

"Someone other than me can choose too, you know." she said. Harry shrugged his shoulders.

"It's easier to just let you choose than listen to you complain about the teams later," he teased her back. She rolled her eyes at him.

"Alright, Harry and Severus haven't paired with each other in awhile. Draco and I will face the pair of you," Hermione decided. Daphne was sitting on one of the desks behind a ward that Severus had put up. Harry was a little disappointed. Hermione usually wanted to be on his team but he supposed that this would have to work. It was just hard to throw hexes at Hermione when he knew there was a chance that she could get hurt.

They fell into fighting stances, Harry next to Severus. He really couldn't remember the last time he had fought at the man's side. It was definitely going to take some getting used to. Both Harry and Severus favored offense rather than defense which was part of the reason why he liked partnering Hermione. She favored defense and he felt they made a better team.

The duel started out hot and heavy, curses, hexes, and jinxes flying through the air at an alarming speed. Harry was throwing everything he had at Draco, mostly because he didn't want to fire anything at Hermione. However, since both he and Severus were focusing on the offense that was Draco, they weren't paying attention to Hermione aside from the shields that she was casting right, left, and center.

Hermione lowered her shield and a spell got through to hit Draco in the thigh. Blood appeared and he cursed, distracting both he and Severus further. Hermione lifted her wand and cast a lumos charm so bright that he saw stars. While he was blinking, trying to regain his vision, he cast a shield around himself but it was already too late. A blasting curse flew through the air and hit both himself and Severus, sending them flying through the air. They both landed with a thud and Draco seized their wands half a moment after landing. Harry was grinning at Hermione, happy that she had outsmarted them rather than overpowered them but Severus wasn't as pleased.

"Did you sacrifice your shield around your cousin, your best friend, to hit us with that?" Hermione's smile faltered just a little before her face finally went impassive. Harry hated it when she did that. He loved seeing how her expressions changed with her emotions.

"Yes, I suppose I did," she admitted. Severus walked over to her and put his hands on her shoulders and shook the tiniest bit.

"I understand that self-preservation is a trait that Slytherins embrace quite closely but when it is your family you are sacrificing, it's a completely different story. Don't do something that you'll live to regret. Just because we weren't throwing deadly curses doesn't mean the enemy won't be," he advised her. Harry could tell that Hermione had tears in her eyes but she nodded silently. Severus put a hand on her hair and smoothed her curls, letting her know that he wasn't angry.

"I only did it because I knew that you wouldn't really hurt him. I was using the situation to my advantage," she explained softly, her voice small. Her godfather smiled at her.

"Excellent use of strategy, poppet. Just remember that in battle, the situation is different," he warned her. Hermione nodded and turned to Draco, hugging him close. Draco rolled his eyes but held her tightly, whispering something in her ear that made her laugh wetly. When they separated, Hermione nodded that she was ready to continue.

They dueled for an hour and a half, each team taking a handful of wins. By the time the bell rang, they were all hot and sweaty. Harry really wanted a shower but knew that there was no way that he was going to get one until tonight. Therefore, he cast a scourgify on himself and made sure that he didn't smell. He saw that Draco and Hermione were doing the same.

He and Draco parted from Hermione and Severus at the door; he kissed his girlfriend goodbye, a chaste kiss to her lips that passed her godfather's inspection. While Hermione was staying with Severus to make sure that everything was ready for that evening, Harry and Draco were heading to Ancient Runes. Hermione had actually gotten permission from McGonagall to miss her Spell Creation class to prepare.

Harry took his seat next to Draco in Ancient Runes and pulled out the homework that was due. He really wished that he had followed in Hermione's footsteps and tested out of some of his classes. While the homework wasn't hard, it was time consuming and it seemed pointless since he had already done the assignments for Madam Cambridge. He knew that Draco felt the same way. Maybe this summer they could test out of most of their subjects and he could convince someone to let him apprentice under them. It was something to consider at least.

Professor Babbling arrived and they turned in their homework before she began on the newest lecture on Egyptian runes. Harry pulled his notes from Madam Cambridge and Hermione out and referenced it, making no new additions to them. He noticed that Draco did the same. They were given a set of runes to translate as homework and were dismissed when the bell rang. Harry hadn't made it far, in fact, three steps from the doorway and Draco, when Lisa Turpin slipped next to him and laid a hand on his arm.

"Can I talk to you in private, Harry?" she asked sweetly. Harry just raised an eyebrow at her.

"We can stand right here and Draco can walk off a bit and wait for me," he said. She huffed in annoyance but nodded. Draco walked halfway down the corridor and turned to watch the scene unfold. Harry crossed his arms over his chest and waited for her to speak.

"I wanted to know why you chose Hermione Black. I thought that we were really good together, that you were happy when you were with me." Harry sighed heavily and pushed his hand through his hair, showing just how annoyed he was.

"Look, Turpin, I have nothing against you personally. Yes, we had fun together but that's all it was. I never did anything to make you think that we were ever going to be anything more. I'm really not trying to be a dick, actually, you're the first girl to actually ask me. I love Hermione, I have for ages. This is what I've wanted for a very long time so I would appreciate it if you would just forget about me," he told her beseechingly. Turpin's eyes filled with tears but she nodded. Without another word, she turned on her heel and stormed off down the corridor.

Harry met up with Draco, who was smirking like mad at him. Harry growled at him but said nothing as they made their way to the Great Hall. Hermione was already in her seat at the Slytherin table so Harry followed Draco that way. He wasn't going to sit with the lions tonight, he had already put in his time with them at lunch. He kissed the side of Hermione's head before taking a seat. Before he could even pull a plate in front of him, Draco flashed him another smirk.

"Mia, you should ask Harry about his private conversation with Lisa Turpin," Draco tattled. Harry shot him a glare but smoothed it away when Hermione turned to face him. He reached out and tugged on one of her curls, smiling softly.

"Draco was there watching. She wanted to speak to me alone. She asked me why you, why not her? I was honest and told her that I love you and that I never promised her anything more than what we had together. She nodded her understanding and walked away. No great story and it just happened so don't start thinking I was hiding it," the Gryffindor explained. Hermione's eyes softened and she rubbed his thigh with her hand.

"I'm guessing that wasn't taken well? You were honest, Harry, and while it hurts now, she'll appreciate it later," she assured him. He nodded and started to load his plate. He wasn't too keen on meeting with Dumbledore that night but he supposed that he hadn't had any choice. So far, he had shown him memories of Tom Riddle's childhood. While he supposed that it could be classed as interesting, he'd much rather spend the evening with Hermione.

Dinner passed without incident and before he knew it, the bell was ringing, signaling to Harry that he needed to start heading for the Headmaster's office. He bent to Hermione as he stood, his fingers under her chin so he could tip her face up to meet his. A soft press of lips that could possibly promise more and he was gone. He knew that Hermione would be busy that night, though he was excited for her.

He gave the password at the griffin that guarded the Headmaster's office. After slipping up the stairs and through the open door, Harry took the proffered seat and declined the lemon drop he had been offered. It seemed that Dumbledore was in no mood for pleasantries either since he jumped right into what they were to discuss. His eyes were doing that creepy twinkle that they did when he was planning something.

"Harry, my boy, I have one final memory to show you and it's the most important one so far. It's important because it is false. It is from Hogwarts when Tom Riddle was in his sixth year of schooling, much like yourself. Professor Slughorn would have little parties and invite his favored students, the ones he wanted to collect. Tom Riddle was one of those students and this memory is during one of his parties," the Headmaster revealed. Harry nodded and bent his head to peer into the pensieve.

Harry watched as Slughorn preened and postured over the students as they sat at a table talking. He reminded Harry of Uncle Lucius, trying to play Lord of Manor. He finally sat back and realized the time, sending all the students on their way. A much younger Tom Riddle lagged behind so he could ask his professor about horcruxes. The professor told him that he wouldn't ever answer questions about such dark magic. Even Harry could tell that the memory didn't feel like the others had; Dumbledore must be right. It had been tampered with somehow. When he pulled his head from the pensieve, the Headmaster was watching him carefully. Harry wasn't sure why he was staring at him.

"I can tell the memory isn't right but I have no idea what a horcrux is. How is it so important?" Dumbledore seemed nervous and in turn, made Harry more wary.

"This information you cannot share with your family, Harry. Severus absolutely cannot have this information. If he were to go before the Dark Lord and let his shields falter, the war would be lost before it started. Promise me that you won't tell your family." Harry knew that this was big and there was no way in hell that he wasn't going to learn the information. He nodded his head quickly, fully intending to tell Severus anyways.

"A horcrux is a soul container. You split your soul into two pieces and put half of it in a container that is nearly indestructible. I believe that Tom has made at least two horcruxes and I truly think there are more." Harry just sat there, trying to process what he was saying. He cocked his head to the side and hoped against hope that he was wrong.

"A horcrux would keep his soul alive in our world while his body perished. That's how he was able to return to another body." His words were stated, not questioning. He hoped that the Headmaster would deny it but there was no luck on that front.

"Yes, exactly so. Horcruxes have been made. Mr. Malfoy destroyed one your second year when you were down in the Chamber of Secrets. Basilisk venom is one of the only ways to destroy a horcrux. The second was a ring that I found over the summer in Riddle's family home, the one where the Gaunts resided. There were protections on it and that is what happened to my hand. Severus was able to halt the curse." Harry leaned back into the chair and rubbed a hand down his face.

"How many do you think there are?" Dumbledore gave him a grave look.

"I'm not sure. This is where you come in. I know that Horace Slughorn gave him information, I'm just not sure which information. I need you to get him to give you the real memory so we know what we're dealing with." Harry let his mouth hang open in surprise.

"How am I supposed to get him to give me the real memory? It makes no sense." Dumbledore's eyes hardened.

"You must. Allow yourself to be collected, he won't give it right away. Appeal to his better nature, I don't really care. I just need that memory. All the horcruxes have to be destroyed before you can face Tom and have any hope of winning." Harry let the weight settle on his shoulders, the burden of knowing he had to save the world already heavy enough. Suddenly, he wanted Hermione. Nothing else would make him feel better. Therefore, he nodded at the Headmaster.

"Alright, I'll do my best. How long do I have to get it?" he asked, his voice tired. The Headmaster looked instantly relieved.

"No later then the end of the year. I fear it will take him that long to trust you. Getting this memory is imperative." he reiterated.

"You've made that clear, Headmaster. I'll get your fucking memory. Are we done here tonight?" Harry snapped. The Headmaster was clearly surprised but only nodded.

Harry rose to his feet and saw himself out. He knew that Hermione was planning on meeting Remus in the Shrieking Shack and he needed her now more than ever. The things he had learned tonight had not only put more weight on his shoulders, it also told him that facing Voldemort wasn't going to be as easy as he had hoped. His feet were carrying him outside and across the grounds.

He needed Hermione's arms around him.

-O-

Hermione felt bad for Harry as she watched him leave the Great Hall, headed for Dumbledore's office. So far, there meetings hadn't been too terribly interesting but she supposed that learning all you can about your enemy was actually sound advice. Not that she would ever admit that in the presence of the Headmaster.

Hermione rose and kissed her cousin on the cheek before leaving the Great Hall, headed for Uncle Sev's quarters. Remus was going to come through the floo from Malfoy Manor and she wanted to be there when he arrived. While she still wasn't particularly fond of the man, he had agreed to be their test subject and she was ready to see the fruits of her labor be as sweet as she hoped.

Hermione let herself into her godfather's quarters, uttering the password just loud enough for the portrait to hear. Remus was already there, speaking quietly with Uncle Sev while sipping a liquid that she assumed was firewhiskey. Her godfather smiled at her and held out his hand, wrapped it around her shoulders so he could hug her close. It made her feel better after his rebuke earlier in the day. He kissed the top of her head and positively beamed at her.

"Remus, if this potion works, it's going to be patented in Hermione's name. With my position in the war, I can't be the creator. When asked about it, you must omit anything to do with me and make it sound like you dealt only with Hermione." Hermione knew that it was coming but still frowned. She didn't like the idea of taking all the credit for something that her brilliant godfather had most certainly had a part in. However, they had already argued over it and there was no sense in revisiting it.

"I'll make sure to remember. I can't tell you how thankful I am that you even took the time to make this potion," he said, clearly grateful. Hermione shook her head slightly.

"Don't be thankful until you know it works." Remus laughed.

"It's you and Severus, of course it works." Hermione just hoped that he was right.

They stayed in his quarters for almost half an hour, making sure that the way out onto the grounds would be clear. Remus disillusioned himself and let Hermione and Uncle Sev lead him out of the castle. If people saw them leaving, it wouldn't raise any suspicions since they frequently left the castle at night to gather potions ingredients.

It took them a good fifteen minutes to make it to the Shrieking Shack and Remus was quick to volunteer to hit the notch on the Willow to reveal the opening. The swinging branches came to a stop when Remus hit the notch and he beckoned them to follow him. Hermione could see her godfather tense up upon entering the opening, though for the life of her she couldn't figure out why. She cast a questioning gaze his way but he just shook his head minutely at her. Maybe he would tell her later.

They traveled the tunnel until they had reached the actual Shrieking Shack. They planned to give him the potion just a few minutes before the moon rose, locking themselves into a separate room immediately. While he had already taken his requisite wolfsbane, they weren't entirely sure what the effect of the potion they gave him would be on the wolfsbane. Uncle Sev would be ready with ridiculously strong wards to lock the werewolf in if need be. It wasn't a perfect plan but it was the best they had.

There was only ten minutes to moon rise and Hermione wanted to make sure that the room was ready one last time. Everything appeared to be in place, just like she had left it the night before when she had dragged Harry out there with her. Her godfather watched her with a smirk on his face; he knew exactly how nervous she was and it deeply amused him. After she had made sure that everything was ready, there were only minutes left. Remus started to take his shirt off and Hermione quickly turned her head to give him privacy. Uncle Sev wasn't as kind. Once he was completely naked, she held the vial of liquid over her shoulder so he could take it from her grasp without turning around. Uncle Sev watched him quaff it quickly, grimacing at the taste.

"Taste's like absolute shite. Totally worth it if it works." Uncle Sev was quick to chivvy her out of the room so he could close the door and ward it properly. He made sure that Remus was locked inside and that there was no silencing charm in place. He wanted to be able to speak to the werewolf if he remained human. Hermione watched her watch and waited for the minute of moonrise to strike. She had looked it up the day before so she would be prepared.

The minute struck but everything remained silent. Hermione knew that the change was painful but she heard no screams on the other side of the door. Her heart skipped a beat with excitement and she hoped against hope that their months and months of hard work had paid off. After a full five minutes of silence, Hermione finally called out.

"Remus, what's going on in there? Talk to us." There was a shuffling sound that Hermione couldn't place but then Remus' voice called out.

"Is moon rise past? I forgot my watch." Hermione let out a whoop of triumph and hugged her godfather close. He kissed her head and smiled broadly, a sight that most people would have ran at.

"It's been over five minutes. How do you feel?" Remus didn't sound extremely excited.

"Well, I'm not a slavering beast if that's what you mean. However, I'm still a werewolf." He admitted. Hermione waved her wand over her uncles wards and they fell instantly. He gave her an incredulous look but she paid him no mind. She yanked the door open to find a very naked Remus on the other side. She blushed and turned her back quickly, gesturing for him to put his clothes on. Once he was properly dressed, Hermione turned and demanded answers.

"How do you mean you're still a werewolf? You haven't transformed." Remus scowled slightly.

"No, but I can still feel the wolf inside me, pacing at the back of my mind. I still have wolf senses. I'm still a werewolf, I just haven't transformed." Hermione felt herself sag in disappointment. Their potion had been meant to eradicate the wolf but that clearly hadn't happened. However, it had suppressed the transformation. She tried to look on the bright side of things as she knew that Remus would eventually be happy about it.

"You still have all the wolf instincts and tendencies?" She asked. Remus nodded.

"Yes, I still feel Moony in there. I still know without a doubt that Tonks is my mate. I just haven't transformed." Suddenly, his sullen mood was pissing her off.

"You would think you'd be happy. You never again have to endure transforming into the slavering beast you like to call yourself," she snapped. Remus looked at her for a moment and she saw the guilt creep into his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Hermione, I wasn't meaning to sound ungrateful. What you've managed is a feat beyond comprehension. I'm one lucky bastard. I had just hoped that it would free your cousin if she wanted to be." Hermione knew that her gaze softened slightly at his confession.

"She doesn't want to be freed. She's in love with you so just accept it. Just because you aren't a werewolf wouldn't send her packing. Now she doesn't have to worry about you a night every month and just what you're getting up to. However, I doubt that you'll ever be able to pull off the animagus transformation. Your body is already essentially another animal, it just doesn't transform anymore," she explained. Remus grinned.

"That doesn't bother me in the slightest. You two really are the smartest people I know. I don't deserve this kindness from either of you but you've done it anyways. Thank you from the bottom of my heart." Hermione smiled at him.

"You are most welcome. Now, let's get out of here. I bet there are a lot of people you'd like to surprise." Remus grinned and they headed for the tunnel that led back to Hogwarts. However, there was somebody trudging their way and they didn't look happy. Hermione had her wand out, as did the other two of her traveling companions, only to realize that somebody was Harry. He gave her a lopsided grin but she could tell that it didn't reach his eyes.

"I see the potion worked. Not that I'm surprised. You're both brilliant." Harry tried to avert their attention from him but that was never going to work. She rushed to him, hugging him close, and he clung to her, burying his face in her curls.

"Harry, what's wrong?" She could feel Uncle Sev and Remus approach and she didn't have to look at them to know that there was worry in their eyes. Harry refused to release her, holding her close to his chest.

"I just left my meeting with Dumbledore and I learned the point of all these meetings. Voldemort has made horcruxes." Hermione had never heard the term but she heard her godfather draw in a shocked gasp.

"Is Dumbledore quite certain?" Harry met his eyes over Hermione's head.

"Yes. Draco destroyed one in the Chamber of Secrets and the Headmaster said he destroyed one that he found in the Gaunt home. He's left me to get the real memory of horcruxes from Slughorn in any way that I can. I have until the end of the year. He thinks that the memory will tell us how many he made." Hermione was still confused and she shoved herself away from Harry's chest to look at everyone questioningly. Her godfather sighed.

Uncle Sev explained what horcruxes were and how they were made, how they would bind the soul to the land of the living as long as they existed. The fact that the Dark Lord had already made two was completely insane. Hermione knew that he was arrogant enough to make more without thinking that it would damage his magic and mind. It was after everything that Harry finally revealed the most hurtful news of all.

"Dumbledore made me promise that I wouldn't inform any of you, especially Severus. He said that he couldn't know, that if his shields ever failed before Tom that the war would be lost before it started. He obviously places no trust in him. Severus wouldn't let anything get to information that would harm his family." Hermione could see her godfather stand a little taller and prouder at that statement and Hermione threw her arms around Harry again.

"I'll help you get the memory. There's no way that Slughorn is a match for the both of us ganging up on him. You know Draco will help as well." Harry kissed her hard and she could feel his need.

"Thank you. You have no idea how much weight I feel on my shoulders right now. I'm expected to end this war and now he's going to expect me to find these horcruxes, you know he is." Hermione sighed against him and nodded.

"You won't be alone. You'll have your family with you every step of the way so no more feeling sorry for yourself. I'm not going to abandon you anymore than Daddy or Draco is. No use telling us to stay away." Harry chuckled lowly and kissed her forehead.

"Thank you. I knew that I needed to see you and knew that you would make me feel better." Hermione just smiled up at him.

"You can always count on that. Now, we should be heading back. Remus has people to surprise and I'm tired. I'll fill in Draco and I can assume that you're going to fill in Ron as the Headmaster asked?" Harry nodded as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. It really was getting late and she knew that she needed to be up early to face the questions from Dumbledore and Slughorn in the morning when they saw that she had partially cured Remus of his lycanthropy.

The four of them left the Shrieking Shack and re-entered the castle. Hermione said her goodbyes to the other three, reassuring Harry that he would most certainly not be alone for anything that he had to face. She could tell that he wasn't the most comfortable with it, probably not wanting to put her in danger, but he stayed quiet this time. She headed for the Slytherin dorm, knowing she still had to clue in Draco.

However, Draco and Daphne were nowhere to be found and she refused to wait up for them from their shagging date. She vowed to tell her cousin everything on their run in the morning. She went upstairs to her dorm and quickly showered off, changing into a comfortable gown so she could sleep. After her nightly ablutions, she crawled into bed and reviewed everything that she had learned.

There was so much they didn't know, so much that needed researched, so much that needed to be done. Harry was feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders and while she couldn't relieve it, she was going to do everything she could to help shoulder it. She had vowed that years ago.

With heavy eyes and heart, Hermione slipped off to sleep, hoping that the next day would be better. However, she wasn't holding her breath.

-O-

Severus had just returned from Malfoy Manor. He had known instantly that he needed to update the family and it had gone as well as expected. While Cissy and Helena had been completely clueless, Lucius and Sirius had both cursed. A lot.

After explaining everything that he knew from Harry, an age-old tiredness took over him. He knew that his role as a spy was going to get more difficult. There were things that his family needed to know but he couldn't tell them. The kidnapping attempt was only a part of it. He had been forced to make an Unbreakable Vow to Albus that he would kill him at the end of the year rather than Theo Nott. Not only would if save the poor boy's soul, it would solidify his standing with the Dark Lord. He was just unsure as to whether his family would think him a murderer or wonder if there was more to the story.

Hermione, he was quite sure, would question everything. Sirius and Remus, he knew would probably believe the worst of him. He liked to think that they wouldn't but there was no way to know for sure. Harry was the one he worried most about, who knew him the least. While he had connected with the boy and they had made their peace, he wasn't entirely sure that he could forgive cold-blooded murder. The boy was more black and white than Hermione was and there was no getting around that.

Sirius and Lucius had begged him to watch over Harry and make sure that he ddin't do anything stupid now that he knew that he was going to have to hunt down and kill horcruxes. Severus had promised but he couldn't help but be plagued by self-doubt. No, he had never let the Dark Lord through his shields but what if it happened? Albus hadn't been lying, the war really would be over before it started if the Dark Lord knew that they had discovered his secret.

Severus steeled himself as he readied for bed. Like Harry said, there was no way that he would ever let the Dark Lord in his mind, not when it meant danger for Hermione and Draco. They were his world since he had no children of his own. Yes, Hermione was dearer to his heart but Draco would always hold a special place of his own. Even Potter was gaining a spot in the dark expanse that he considered his heart.

He laid there in bed, wishing he had indulged in firewhiskey before bed, as he tried to clear his mind. Tomorrow would be a busy day since he knew for a fact that Remus had surprised not only the Headmaster but Minerva as well. Horace would be after his goddaughter and there was no way in hell that he was going to allow him to get his slimy hands on her. Horace had always made him uneasy but never had a shred of proof for his instincts.

It was several hours later than an uneasy Severus finally fell asleep.

A/N- Lordy, thank goodness this chapter is finished. Hope my explanation for the werewolf situation was adequate. If you have questions, PM me. Other than that, another chapter closer to the end, my lovelies. Bittersweet. Thanks for reading, as always, and let me know what you think.

Next chapter, Slughorn's Christmas party.

Love,

Alicia


	119. Chapter 119

A/N- I know it's been ages and I can only apologize. However, I've been suffering from migraines lately and they're killing me. The glare of the screen is absolutely horrible when it feels like there is someone inside my head with a pick axe. Therefore, I'm headache free today so I'm writing you this chapter (: Thanks to everyone out there reading and reviewing, you guys are just awesome! Enough for now, I know you're eager to get to the story.

**Shout out to Narcissa Louise Snape for being my 6000th reviewer! Thanks for being awesome!**

Disclaimer: Still own nothing. Still haven't made any money on this story or any other. Everything you recognize belongs to someone else.

Chapter 119

December 13, 1996

Hermione pushed her meatloaf around her plate, not really hungry for the meal now that she had sat down. Harry was sitting with his lions for this meal, not that she minded. She wasn't sure why he remained friends with Ronald Prewett when he was a complete prat but there was nothing for it. It was Harry's decision and she wasn't going to make him choose as long as the redhead stayed away from her or kept a civil tongue in his head.

Draco and Daphne were being disgustingly cute next to her, feeding each other bites of food in between kisses. It was adorable and sweet and even though at this moment it made her want to vomit, she was thrilled for her cousin and best friend. However, this didn't stop her from kicking her cousin under the table and glaring at him.

"Can you two get a room?" she asked, clearly perturbed. Draco just grinned at her, relishing in her annoyance.

"We could, yes. Will we, probably not. Just a little jealous, Mia?" he teased her. Hermione stuck her tongue out at him before shaking her head.

"No, honestly, I'm just dreading this stupid party tonight. I know you're all thinking that it's going to be the best thing since the Tri-Wizard Tournament but I'm rather dreading it. You know that round ball of a man is going to accost me and try to tell everyone that he taught me everything I know." Draco burst out laughing, mostly because he knew that she was right.

She knew that she was right. To say that her werewolf potion had been a sensation would have been an understatement. Remus had made sure to see the Headmaster and Minerva on his way out of the castle, running into Slughorn as he left the castle. The man instantly knew what day of the month it was and had been struck silent. Remus had merely grinned at him. When the portly man had finally gained back his speech, he had demanded how this was even possible and Remus had said only two words before disappearing through the main doors of the castle and into the night.

Hermione Black.

Of course the man hadn't been waiting for her and Draco when they headed out for their run but he had playing sentinel as they had returned. He had accosted her the moment she had passed through the doors, not even letting her return to her room to shower. Draco had come between them and removed the man's hand from his cousin, glaring at him harshly, telling him that she would meet with him in the Headmaster's office after she showered. It was a meeting that she would never forget.

*Flashback*

Hermione would admit to herself that she was nervous about facing the Headmaster and Slughorn about her cure. It wasn't because she was afraid of them breaching her mind, but more that it was because she felt like a fraud doing it. While she had done more than her fair share of the work on this cure, Uncle Sev had been the one to show her techniques of brewing that she hadn't learned yet, filling in her gaps of knowledge with his experience and the like. He deserved just as much credit as she did and once the war ended, she intended to see his name added to the patent. All arguments aside, Uncle Sev had demanded that she patent the potion.

She pushed her way through the door and found that not only was Slughorn waiting for her in the office, so was McGonagall, her godfather, Remus, and a reporter from the Daily Prophet and the Quibbler. It seemed that Remus had spread the news far and wide and while she was grateful, she couldn't cure werewolves if they didn't know, it was still a little overwhelming. She really wanted her father and Uncle Luci there but knew that they wouldn't be. They were letting her prove herself as the Lady Black.

All the men rose and the Headmaster gestured for her to take a seat by the fire. Uncle Sev chose to stand near her chair, lending her silent support as he was sure that she was going to need it. Remus was grinning fit to bear, the only one that seemed unaffected by the reason they were there today. It was the Headmaster that broke the silence.

"It seems that you accomplished an impossible feat last night, Lady Black. Would you care to explain how you went about curing Mr. Lupin's lycanthropy?" he asked though she could see in his gaze that it was more of a demand. She raised a single eyebrow at him and he had the good grace to look sheepish. She recited the story that she and Uncle Sev had come up with, having gone over it a dozen times already before heading this way.

"The summer after my fourth year, I was in my uncle's library reading. I found an old potions journal and started to read it, I adore reading old journals like that. I have Lily Potter's old charm's journal as well, she really was brilliant. I found an entry about how the author had wondered if by drinking liquid silver, you could cure a werewolf. If was just speculation but it made me wonder. I researched for ages and came up with a way to mix the silver with other ingredients so it wouldn't kill the werewolf, only the transformation. Remus is still very much a werewolf with all the instincts and abilities. However, I killed the ability to transform, therefore, he is no longer a danger to society. No, I won't share with you the recipe or process, I will be patenting the potion. My family insists," she told them. It was Slughorn that asked the next question.

"How did you know it would work? Did you test it?" Hermione gave him a look that asked him how stupid he thought she was.

"Of course I tested it. Remus is a close family friend, having grown up with my father. He volunteered the blood that I needed to test it and then to be my first test subject. He knew that meant he could be harmed just as easily as being cured. It would be pretty difficult to get any other werewolf to agree to drink liquid silver." Slughorn looked chastened. Hermione knew the next question was coming and she merely gave the Headmaster a look of disdain.

"Did Professor Snape know what you were working on and aid you in any way?" Hermione smirked just a tiny bit and answered as rehearsed.

"I asked him numerous questions about things like advanced preparation of ingredients and brewing techniques, I'm still learning after all. However, I never asked him about brewing this potion specifically. I know that in order to obtain a Mastery in Potions you have to invent a potion. I was hoping that this would count for mine even though it is a little early on in my apprenticeship," she explained. The Headmaster looked appalled but said nothing more. Slughorn, though, was grinning like a loon.

"I'm on the Potion's Guild board, Lady Black, and I can assure you, the Guild is most certainly going to let this count as the potion you create on your own. Many Masters have failed at this task only for a seventeen year old witch to come along and show them how it's done. They're going to want to count you among their number very badly. Not to mention what this could do for the war effort, that's just extra points in your favor," he said excitedly. Hermione was a little relieved to hear that. She hadn't been lying when she said that she hoped that they would let this count as the potion she invented since Uncle Sev was demanding that she take the credit. She had a feeling she would be too busy with the war to create one later.

"That's actually the reason I wanted to create it. I've heard my father talk about Remus' transformations when they were in school and how horrifically painful they are. It's no secret that Lord Voldemort is going to use werewolves on his side of the war just like he did last time. If we offered them a cure, there would be no need to fight for him, meaning he wouldn't be nearly as strong. I'm just lucky I was mostly successful." The reporter from the Daily Prophet finally spoke up.

"Mostly, Lady Black?" Hermione gave the man a charming smile, knowing that the flash from the camera that caught her picture would be plastered all over the publication the next day.

"Well, I had hoped to eradicate the werewolf completely but alas, that didn't happen. The instincts to mate and to eat rare meat are still there, they'll never be gone. However, those instincts didn't pass the affliction of lycanthropy along, the transformation did. Since that is all that I cured, I say mostly. I still consider it a success, as does Mr. Lupin," she reported. Remus was nodding vigorously with a smile.

"Absolutely, I do. I'll never be able to repay Lady Black for what she's done for me. She's a hero to my kind, let nobody say otherwise," he said genuinely. Hermione knew her cheeks were red but she smiled kindly at Remus anyways. There were a few more questions about when she hoped to have enough potion to start curing the werewolves around the world but soon, they were talking in circles. Uncle Sev stepped forward and told everyone that his apprentice had a full schedule for the day and needed her breakfast, effectively ending the interview.

Hermione was grateful as she let her godfather lead her out of the Headmaster's office to where Harry and Draco had been waiting eagerly for her. Both had congratulated her before leading her away to breakfast.

*End of Flashback*

The bell interrupted the conversation they were having, signalling that she had pushed her food around long enough. They were all meeting in the Room of Requirement for a training session and Hermione was glad for something to take her mind off everything. While she hadn't necessarily been hounded by the students about her cure, the press and owls had been ridiculous. Kreacher had been superb at helping her deal with it but it was still stressful getting all that mail at meals and being stared at for it.

There had been no more mishaps with other girls and Harry since Lisa Turpin. Either she had spread the word or they were still terrified of what had happened to Cho. Hermione, however, had had a seventh year Slytherin approach her and try to entice her into an alcove after leaving her godfather's lab one evening. She had very clearly told him no, that she was seeing Harry, and was perfectly happy with him but he had proceeded to grasp her wrist and pulled her in anyway.

Needless to say, it was the last thing he had done.

Hermione hadn't even pulled her wand before blasting him backwards into the castle wall, much the same way she had done to Viktor Krum. Needless to say, Edmund Vaisey slumped to the floor and Hermione left him there before fleeing back to her godfather's lab to inform him of what had just happened. Of course, there had been no punishment for her and Vaisey had received a month's detention with Filch and Uncle Sev. The hilarious part was the Vaisey's father had sent her father a howler, complaining about how Hermione was a prude and clearly needed a strong hand to rein her in. Her father had sent her the parchment and she had delighted in passing it around, delighting in making sure that Vaisey knew that she would never be reined in.

Harry slipped his arm around her waist and gave her temple a quick kiss as they left the Great Hall together, heading for the seventh floor. They would be heading home for Christmas soon and their training would step up again since it was likely that Moody would be attending once more. Not that Hermione minded. She missed the gruff Master Auror, though she knew Harry and Draco did not. Even though his training sessions were complete hell, it was how he showed that they were worth his time, that he cared.

It seemed that the gods were listening to her thoughts because as soon as they entered the Room of Requirement, they caught sight of Moody standing off to the side talking to Uncle Sev and Professor McGonagall. Hermione grinned and started running, throwing herself into the grizzled wizard's arms, not even letting him realize that she was hurling her way towards him. He caught her easily and held her tightly, McGonagall's eyes nearly popping out of her head at the sight. She hadn't been around much last summer and hadn't witnessed their relationship getting closer. When Hermione pulled away, she was grinning.

"You surprised us! It's so good to see you! You haven't answered my last letter," she told him accusingly. Moody just brushed her hair back from her face much the way the rest of the males who adored her and let out a short chuckle.

"Considering I just got the fecking thing last night, no I haven't. I figured that a visit would be better," he told her with a gruff smile on his face. Hermione hugged him again quickly and let him go.

"What are you going to teach us today?" she asked eagerly. He goodnaturedly shoved her away from him and shook his head exasperated.

"Nothin'. We'll leave the new stuff 'til Christmas. Today is about making sure that you haven't forgotten what I've already taught you. That's why Minerva is here," he informed her. Harry and Draco fell in behind her and they were all ears. Moody continued.

"You know my style of dueling, you know Severus'. You don't know hers since you've never dueled her. We're teaming up, Remus is almost here too. Lucius and Sirius wanted to be here but they just couldn't get away. The four of us against you three. We thought about getting Filius but decided that we couldn't since he's not a part of the Order or your little brigade," Moody explained. Hermione nodded excitedly. This would be fun since she had never dueled her Transfiguration professor. It also meant that it was likely that they would all be underestimated. However, that ship sailed with Moody's next words.

"Don't let these three innocentish faces fool you, Minerva. They're deadly. I promise you, they could take most of the auror force. I trained 'em all summer long." McGonagall gasped slightly but nodded her head gamely. Hermione pouted and stuck her lip out but Moody just laughed, gesturing for the three of them to take up one side of the room. Remus entered at a run, out of breath but smiling. After surveying the room, he quickly caught on to just what was going on and took up residence on the side of the room with McGonagall, Moody, and Uncle Sev.

This was a scenario that had happened often during the summer holidays so Hermione, Harry, and Draco were well used to fighting together. Harry and Draco always favored offense and Hermione played defense, though she was famous for slipping spells through when she could that usually knocked everyone's socks off. She was sure that today would be no different. She was so glad that they had training today rather than just sitting around and waiting to prepare for Slughorn's party. She was also glad that Daphne had plans with Luna so she wasn't going to be there watching making Draco nervous.

Moody called fight and the duel was fast and furious. Hermione was blocking around all three of them, Harry and Draco not even bothering to shield since they trusted her to do it. The spells coming at them were hot and heavy, all four adults sending their best their way. It was a phenomenon that they had only speculated on but it had been assumed that it was since the three were so close that it was even possible. Usually, it wasn't possible for spells to be cast through a shield. If they were to cast at a shield, the spell would be rebounded. However, when Hermione, Harry, and Draco fought together, Harry and Draco were able to cast through Hermione's shield but not the other way around. They weren't sure why or how but they most certainly used it to their advantage in battle.

Therefore, Hermione kept a constant shield around the three of them while the other two cast spells through it at their opponents, making them dance while trying to cast their own shields. It was clear that they weren't near as good a working unit as the trio were. However, McGonagall, Remus, Uncle Sev, and Moody were all extremely powerful and Hermione knew that the level of power that they were continuously hitting her shield with would soon bring it down. While she was the most powerful witch in generations, she wasn't invincible. She took a chance and yelled to Harry, knowing that he would obey her without questioning her like Draco.

"Cast the strongest lumos you can, just like I did that day!" Harry instantly did as he was told. As soon as all the adults were blinded, Hermione lowered her shield and cast another blasting curse, sending them all flying. Draco summoned their wands as they flew, all four wands flying into his hand. It was the exact same plan that had earned her censure from Uncle Sev but this time she hadn't dropped her shield until everyone was blinded. There was a groan from the floor and she knew that it was Remus.

"They just whipped us, didn't they?" Uncle Sev was grumbling to himself as he climbed to his feet.

"In exactly the way I chastised Hermione for last time, only this time she waited to drop her shield like I told her." Hermione let out a tinkling laugh as McGonagall just looked surprised. Moody, though, had already gotten to his feet and was demanding his wand.

"That was fecking brilliant, who's idea was that?" Both boys pointed to Hermione and she blushed.

"I got in trouble last time I did it because I sacrificed my shield around Draco to do the lumos and then the blasting curse. Uncle Sev yelled at me for sacrificing family. I told him it was only because I knew they weren't going to hurt him but I did it differently this time," she justified herself to the Master Auror. Moody strode forward and threw an arm around her shoulder, holding her close as he walked he back to her teammates.

"You did well this time. You're always the best at defense so you do your best to keep them safe. Even though you've vastly improved, they're still quicker than you. Let them fight the battles unless you see an opening. Don't give up your shields unless you have to or it's safe. Severus was right. Never sacrifice your friends or family. You'll regret it if the unthinkable happens," he warned her. His voice sounded almost haunted so she was sure that he knew from experience. Therefore, she nodded quickly and promised that she wouldn't. Professor McGonagall still seemed to be in shock but since they were preparing to go again, she was shaking herself out of her funk.

The six of them went several more rounds, the adults even winning once after ganging up and blasting Hermione's shield to dust. It took most of the afternoon and Hermione had to admit that it was an afternoon well spent. However, it was called because everyone knew that Hermione needed to prepare for the Christmas party and Moody needed to get back to London. Hermione hugged Moody tight and he hugged her back, Hermione chuckling at the still-surprised look on McGonagall's face. She gave Remus a quick hug as well and he wished her luck at her party. Uncle Sev told her that he would see her there and she grimaced at him. Neither one of them were looking forward to this party. Professor McGonagall approached and she had a fiercely proud look on her face.

"I have to admit that I underestimated the three of you at the beginning. I'm proud to say that I was wrong, even if two of you are snakes," she said with a smile. Harry laughed openly.

"Well, it's a good thing I started hanging out with them, otherwise, I would be woefully unprepared for war," he told her. Her brow furrowed.

"Isn't Albus the reason Alastor is here?" she asked. Harry snorted and shook his head.

"No, he's here because he adores Hermione. He was training us here and there before the Department of Mysteries but when she got hurt there, he stepped up and took on the whole summer of training. Trust me, it's been misery. Sirius doesn't want us having anything to do with Dumbledore and his training. He's only agreed to Moody because he knows we need it. The only way he agreed was if Dumbledore had nothing to do with it," Harry confided. McGonagall looked completely flabbergasted but Harry shared no more. It was Hermione that offered up more information.

"There's a lot you don't know. My father and family refused to join the Order for a reason. He has my godfather under an Unbreakable Vow and he can't share things with us. I'm scared that it will kill him. If you ever begin to mistrust the Headmaster, talk to my father and uncle.

They'll be honest," she told her professor. McGonagall nodded her head.

"Thank you, I'll keep that in mind."

Nothing else was said since Hermione really did need to be going so she could ready herself. She bid Harry and Draco goodbye, heading back down to the dungeons. Upon reaching them, she quickly undressed and showered, not having to fight anyone for them since the only other person going was Daphne and she was already seated in front of her vanity primping like a princess.

Hermione showered off quickly and dried her hair before leaving the bathroom. Upon entering her dorm, she noticed that Daphne was still in front of her vanity and Kreacher had been through and laid out her dress robes. She could always tell when Kreacher laid out her robes because they were almost always in the same icy blue color of her eyes. She wondered how she hadn't been re-wearing them, a high crime in pureblood circles. She donned them anyways since she knew the color flattered her.

She sat before her own vanity and since Sipsy wasn't there, had to work out her own hair and makeup charms. She twisted her hair up into a French twist that her aunt would have been proud of and made sure that her makeup was flattering but not gaudy. The light brown shadow that coated her eyelids showed that they worked well with her ice-blue robes rather than fighting with the color. Long ago, she had learned to listen to her elves.

By the time the clock struck six, Hermione was showered and primped like any other princess ready for a ball. She knew that Harry was waiting for her outside the common room door, he had promised her that he would be. They had decided that the pair of them would agree to being collected tonight in efforts to collect the memory needed on horcruxes. It was a sacrifice but one that must be made. There was no other way around it.

Hermione made her way down the stairs with Daphne and Draco was waiting at the bottom for them. He offered them both his arms and Hermione took it, knowing that Harry would be outside to offer his own. Her cousin told her how beautiful she was and kissed her knuckles but she paid him no mind. After he led her outside, Harry greeted her in much the same fashion, though his eyes flashed with the same fire that they usually did.

Maybe tonight would be a night to remember.

-O-

Hermione looked beautiful.

Draco led her out of the Slytherin common room and he held his hand out to her, bending at the waist, just as he had been trained to press a kiss to her knuckles. She smiled at him and he couldn't help but think about how much he wanted to rip those dress robes right off her delectable body. Rather than let his thoughts stray more than they already had, he tucked her arm into his elbow and started heading the four of them towards Slughorn's quarters.

They were ushered in quickly, one of the younger Hufflepuffs serving as a doorman. There were more of them serving as waiters and Harry wondered if Dumbledore had refused the use of the elves for this event. Slughorn was reigning like king, moving about and speaking to everyone. Much to his surprise, everyone else looked quite happy to be there. Did they not feel just a little bit dirty after the man so clearly only wanted to know them for their abilities or reputation? The second that Slughorn saw them arrive, he headed in their direction and Harry had to grit his teeth to keep from frowning. He had to play nice so he could get that damned memory and he hated it. Not only was he going to fawn all over Harry, he was going to prance around Hermione and try to get close to her because of her werewolf cure. There was a man and a woman in tow behind him as he approached.

"Harry, my boy, Lady Black, so good to see that you could make it. Let me introduce you to Kirin Forthwright and Arabelle Warbler. Mr. Forthwright is the current head of the Potion's Guild and Ms. Warbler is sure to be his replacement in the coming years. They were thrilled to come and make your acquaintance," he carried on, clearly proud of himself for making the introductions. Severus appeared right behind them and Harry was glad that there was somebody there that could help Hermione field this conversation.

"Aww, Severus, my boy, you know everybody here. I was just introducing your apprentice to the best minds in the Potion's Guild," he explained. Severus gave them a respectable nod and laid a hand on Hermione's shoulder.

"I am most proud of my apprentice. I hope that you consider counting this potion as part of her requirement for her Mastery even though it is two years early," he intimated. Both were nodding their heads eagerly. It seemed that Slughorn had been right that day he had met with Hermione in the Headmaster's office. He had assured her that they would be eager to count her amongst their number.

"There has already been talk of it amongst the Guild. Nobody has a word to say against Lady Black, we are eager to welcome her when her time comes," Mr. Forthwright assured her. Hermione, who had been silent until now, gave a slight bow of her head before smiling.

"Thank you very much for making me feel so welcome, I look forward to the day I receive my Mastery. Professor Snape has been a brilliant teacher," she said, complementing her godfather. Mr. Forthwright nodded his head happily.

"He was a brilliant student himself, surpassing all goals set before him during his Mastery training. I'm sure we'll see just the same from you Lady Black." Hermione blushed a little and Slughorn was nearly wetting himself in excitement. Harry decided that he had had enough of that conversation and put his hand at Hermione's lower back.

"Please excuse us, gentlemen, my date is in need of refreshment. I'm sure we'll speak again before the night is through," he said, smiling politely. All of them nodded their heads and Harry led Hermione over to the refreshment table where he poured her a glass of elf wine. He did the same for himself even though he wasn't of age; nobody was going to say anything as long as he didn't end up making a scene. Severus had followed them and poured himself a firewhiskey. His voice was low but Harry clearly understood him, as did Hermione.

"Watch yourselves in here. Be very careful of what you say." Hermione and Harry both gave a discreet nod before turning to face the room. Before they could really mingle with anyone else, a table appeared with place settings all around the table, splitting the guests apart from their dates. Harry wasn't the most comfortable with it but knew that Hermione could handle herself if need be, she had proved that with Edmund Vaisey.

Therefore, Harry took his seat and looked over to see that he was seated beside Gwenog Jones, captain of and beater for the Holyhead Harpies. She gave him a flirty smile that looked out of place on a woman that much older than himself. Harry could admit that she was beautiful but she had nothing on his Hermione. She gave him another smile as the first course was served.

"What's your name and what did you do to get invited to this party?" she questioned him. Harry couldn't believe that she even had to ask. However, if she was anything like Oliver Wood, she probably paid attention to nothing else but quidditch. He gave her a grin.

"Harry Potter at your service. I think the name is enough of an explanation," he told her. She started and started to laugh, clearly surprised.

"Bet you've never had someone not recognize you. You're as famous as I am," she told him laughingly.

"I think you might be the first. It's kind of nice. I usually get mauled by girls who want to make their name by sleeping with me or something equally as stupid. However, now that I have a girlfriend, that's slowed down. She's kinda scary," he revealed, hoping that this would discourage the witch from flirting. While he could look at it that it was harmless, he didn't want Hermione to get upset over it. Gwenog laughed as though she completely understood.

"Who's your girlfriend? Hopefully someone that can understand what it's like to be famous," she told him. Harry chuckled a little before smiling at her.

"Lady Hermione Black, most powerful witch in generations. Rather than two strands of family magic in her core, she has three. She heads the Black family now and she just created a cure to lycanthropy while studying for her Potions Mastery," Harry bragged. He just couldn't help it when it came to Hermione. Gwenog's eyes bugged out just a little.

"I have heard of her but never met her. As captain of an all-girls team, I'm all about girl power. Hermione Black is the epitome of girl power. Do you think you could introduce me to her?" she asked pleadingly. Harry laughed a genuine laugh now, happy that the woman had gotten the hint and was happy to see Hermione.

"Sure, after we eat, I'll be sure to introduce you. Be warned though, she doesn't care for quidditch. Says that it does nothing but make her worry about myself and her cousin Draco Malfoy. He's around here somewhere too," he warned her. Gwenog's tone became more serious.

"Is it true that she dated Viktor Krum and he tried to rape her? There were rumors all over the world about it," she asked him. Harry nodded solemnly since the story had circulated in the papers and across the world.

"Yes, her magic went wild and threw him off of her. I found her and carried her to the Hospital Wing. She could do nothing against him since he was the son of a diplomat," Harry seethed.

"I never would have wished his fate on him but I'm not sorry he's dead. He would have raped her in that alcove. He wanted to bind her to him in a dark ritual, he confessed it when he was drunk," Harry told her. Gwenog was getting more and more angry.

"Britain did nothing against him?" Harry shook his head.

"They said that they couldn't because his father was an ambassador. It gave him diplomatic immunity. That was why Hermione went public with the story. She wanted to ruin him if she couldn't prosecute him." Gwenog just grinned ferally.

"I think I like your Hermione even more now." Harry laughed.

There were no more conversations as they ate. The food was delicious as was Hogwarts food everyday. There was inane conversation going on around him but there wasn't anything that Harry wanted to take part in. He kept his eye on Hermione but was pleased to see that she was seated between Draco and an elder witch that he had no idea of the identity of. After dinner was dismissed, the dancing started. Harry instantly found Hermione and pulled her onto the floor into a waltz.

He held her close and told her about his conversation with Gwenog Jones. She couldn't fathom that the witch would want to meet her but was game to meet the most famous witch in quidditch. Harry introduced them after three dances together and Gwenog had gushed at meeting Hermione, telling her how pleased she was that Hermione wasn't scared to demonstrate "girl power". Hermione had laughed and they hit it off instantly. Harry had refrained from telling her about the flirting looks before the conversation, not wanting to ruin the budding friendship right before his eyes. The girls exchanged floo addresses and moved on, finding new people to talk to.

All went well with the party, Harry and Hermione only getting stuck with Slughorn once more before Filch appeared in the entrance with Theo in his clutches. The Slytherin was scowling but it was clear that he had been spying. Hermione's gaze tightened when she saw him trying to tell everyone that he was gatecrashing. Once Severus had taken him away to talk, she had slipped away, telling him that she would be right back. He knew that she had gone to spy on the conversation, especially curious since she knew there were things that Severus couldn't tell them. He had simply found Draco and Daphne while she was gone and tried to look natural.

It was nearly twenty minutes later when she returned, her face an impassive mask. He led her to a deserted corner and cast a silencing spell to make sure that nobody else could hear. His words were urgent as he urged her to tell her what she had learned. She lowered her voice to a whisper, even though the area was silenced.

"Theo has a mission from the Dark Lord and Severus knows what it is. He was offering to help him. I'm not sure what it was but he kept saying that he had things under control, that the Dark Lord was helping him. Severus told him that he wanted to help him but Theo refused to tell him what he had planned. I'm not sure what is going on but it's clearly things that Severus can't tell us because of his Vow to Dumbledore. I hate that old bastard for binding him this way," she vowed. Harry leaned down and kissed the side of head, echoing her thoughts exactly. He smiled down at her and decided to make her night.

"Let's get out of here, head for the Room of Requirement. We still have an hour until curfew," he pointed out. Hermione gave him a seductive smile and he knew that her line of thinking was right there with his own.

They made hasty goodbyes to the rest of the party, already noting that Draco and Daphne were already gone. Severus had shot them a questioning look but by the time they were out the door, he looked almost exasperated. He knew exactly what they were sneaking off to do.

Harry took Hermione's hand and led her through the corridors, leading her up the stairs to the Room of Requirement. It was their go-to room since the only people that knew how to open it were himself, Hermione, Draco, and Neville. He knew that Draco favored the classroom in the dungeons not far from the Slytherin dorms. Less time to get back to their rooms before curfew meant more time together. After he had paced the corridor and the door appeared, he pulled Hermione through to their normal room.

Harry didn't give her a chance to speak. He pushed her up against the door and kissed her roughly, biting her lip when she was too slow to allow him entrance to her mouth. There was a startled gasp but she quickly opened and threw her arms around his neck. He pressed all his weight against her, making sure that her breasts molded against his chest, their full weight against him as the tips hardened. His tongue plundered her mouth, tasting every inch of her and she didn't bother to fight him.

Harry let his mouth drift from hers, kissing down her jaw to her pulse point, noting the irregular beat of her heart. Knowing that he had caused it made his heart swell with pride. His hand palmed her breast, his thumb rubbing insistently on her nipple while his other hand undid the buttons on her robes. He didn't care if he got nothing from the evening, he wanted to taste her tonight. He knew that she was going to taste like heaven and he had put it off so she wouldn't be uncomfortable.

Not tonight.

Harry was going to bury his face in her pussy and was going to lick her to completion, eat her until she exploded her desire all over his face. He couldn't fucking wait and he had dreamed of it for months. Once her robes were open, he shoved her bra up over her breasts so he could bend his head to latch onto one of the rosy tips that just begged him to suckle at it. He tugged at it roughly, not even bothering to be gentle. He had learned early on that while Hermione enjoyed him being gentle, she thrived on him taking what he wanted from her body and giving her pleasure in return. She trusted in him that she would enjoy herself and that trust was heady.

After letting the now swollen tip of her breast go, he trailed his tongue down her abdomen to swirl around her navel and he found his knees. Her hands were clenched in his hair and he pulled his wand while his hands were not busy and vanished her knickers. She gasped softly but gave no protest. He shoved her robes up to her waist and made her hold them there, enabling him to lean his face down to her pussy and inhale deeply.

She smelled divine.

Harry reached out and lifted her leg, resting her knee on his shoulder. She had already given him oral sex, blowing his mind away when she had done it too. He had pictured her as a little swot that would likely be a prude. To have her stick her finger in his arse during a blow job had been quite surprising, though not unwelcome.

Harry buried his face in her quim, his tongue licking the long length of her slit. She moaned under his ministrations and Harry had to continue for more. His tongue found her entrance and plunged inside; if his cock couldn't call this cunt home, his tongue surely could. He tongue-fucked her until she was nearly weeping with need and her liquid arousal coated his face. Harry loved it.

She tasted like honey.

After tormenting her by tongue-fucking her for he didn't know how long, his tongue slid up to carress her pleasure pearl. Her hips bucked in response and Harry knew that she was his. He lovingly sucked and caressed her nub, bringing her higher and higher until she just couldn't take anymore. Her world exploded and her pussy flooded Harry's face; even though she was embarrassed, there was literally nothing she could do. Her body just rode out the wave of ecstasy that Harry seemed to draw out and he relished in cleaning her up with his tongue afterwards. She just stood there languidly and let him do as he wanted; there was no embarrassment or anything like it anymore.

To Harry, it was heaven.

After he was finished, he rose to his feet and kissed her languidly, noting the time for the first time. Fifteen minutes until curfew so there was no time for her to reciprocate. He made sure that she tasted herself quite thoroughly on his lips before pulling away to stroke her cheeks.

"You must head back to the dungeon. You don't want to be late." Hermione frowned at him.

"What about you?" she asked. Harry just grinned at her.

"I now know exactly what you taste like. I'll dream about this. Suck me off next time and we'll be even," he told her. She gave him a shy smile and nodded.

"You can bet your pretty face on it," she promised him.

Harry stood and made her fix her robes quickly, not wanting her to get detention. They bid a hasty goodbye and promised to see each other in the morning. Harry headed for Gryffindor common room and hoped that he wouldn't encounter anything nasty when he arrived. Everyone was still awake when he entered, though nobody paid him any mind other than a few admiring looks from the girls of his house. He had almost made it to his dorm stairs when a hand reached out and grabbed his arm.

"Did you have fun at Slughorn's party?" Ginny asked him. He glared at her only slightly. He had figured that she would warrant an invitation since she had been at that meeting in the Hogwarts Express. However, she hadn't been there and Harry hadn't been disappointed.

"It was alright if you don't mind being paraded around like a damned animal," he told her. There was sympathy in her eyes but he just continued on his way.

He headed instantly for the shower, taking his pajamas with him. After cleaning himself, he dressed quickly and headed for his bed. He wanted a wank and while he could have accomplished that in the shower, it wasn't nearly as private as his bed. Once ensconced in his bed, he cast the appropriate charms and let his hand drift into his pants, taking his cock in a stranglehold to give himself pleasure.

His strokes were sure, long, and slow while he remembered back to exactly how Hermione had tasted on his tongue, felt against his mouth. His movements became more erratic and there was no stopping his movements now. He stroked himself until he came in a spurt on his hand and belly, making a complete mess.

Harry reached for his wand and cleaned up the mess with a simple wave, making nothing of all of it. However, as he settled back into his blankets, there was sure to be an effect from tonight's activities. Harry just hadn't seen it before he had sent her away. There had been one every single time so far, not all of them bad. So far, the trust between the two of them was much deeper and they were even closer.

Not that he really wanted to talk about it. He and Hermione had come to an understanding and there was no way that he was going to disrupt that. He settled back into the blankets and wondered if Hermione would tell anyone what had conspired between them; he knew that she was an intensely private person but he wished that he could rub it in some of them men who stared at her faces. Not that he would ever reveal those things without her permission.

As he drifted off to sleep, Harry only hoped that things would get better, that Severus knew what he was doing. They had to.

A/N- There we are, folks, another chapter down. Hope you enjoy. Let me know what you think, your thoughts and reviews make me happy. Thanks again for reading and reviewing, you guys are just awesome. Leave me a review and tell me what you think.

Next chapter, back to Malfoy Manor for Christmas.

Love,

Alicia


	120. Chapter 120

A/N- Hello all, I'm back much sooner than last time. However, I have terrible (for you) news. I'm getting ready to move so will be extremely busy. I'm going to do my best to get some writing done in my down time but I make no promises. If you don't get normal updates for a few weeks, that's why. I promise to do my best though. I appreciate your understanding.

On another note, to the absolute troll who continues to PM me (you know who you are) and trash talk this entire story, put me down, and hound me relentlessly after I've asked you to leave me alone, I will be blocking you if you send another message. I hate addressing this here but telling you in private message doesn't seem to work. You've been warned.

As for the rest of you, thank you bunches for being loyal and following this insane endeavor I've taken on. I hope you continue to do so.

Disclaimer: I still don't own anything but the personal plot twist. I still haven't made any money from this story or any other. Maybe someday I'll come up with an original idea and make millions. Not holding my breath though!

Chapter 120

December 21, 1996

Hermione was almost finished with her toast, fruit, and porridge, listening to the excited chatter around her. All the students were headed home for Christmas today and the excitement in the air was palpable. Even Hermione would admit to being enthusiastic about going home; Christmas was going to be at Malfoy Manor this year. Her uncle always went all out in decorating when it was his turn to host the holiday.

Harry was currently over at the Gryffindor table, making sure to tell his friends that had come around goodbye and wish them happy holidays. Hermione wasn't sure that it was worth his time; sure, most of them were decent to Harry but they had all given him the cold shoulder when their relationship had been made public. However, it was his life and his friends and she wasn't going to tell him what to do with or about them. She wasn't going to make him resent her by making him choose.

Draco and Daphne were holding each other close but not kissing since they were to be separated until the new year. Daphne would be attending the traditional Malfoy New Years Ball but Daphne was going to be out of the country until then. Neville and Luna were going to be spending the holiday together, Xeno going to Longbottom Manor for most of the holiday. She wondered briefly how Madam Longbottom was going to handle that since Xeno was still as fantastical as he ever was.

The twins had written her and told her that her uncle had extended an invitation to join them for Christmas but their mother had decided that it wouldn't be proper to leave Ginny on her own when she was still so vulnerable. As far as Hermione could tell, Ginny seemed fine but knew that she would never consent to go somewhere for Christmas that Draco wasn't welcome. Family was family and that was that. She was sure that she would see the twins at Malfoy Manor throughout the holiday, though, there was a quidditch pitch after all.

Kreacher had already popped her trunk to Malfoy Manor after making sure that everything was packed for her. She had double checked his work and made sure to praise him when he had done exactly as she asked. All that was left for her to do was head for the Express, even though it was still almost an hour before it left. Something swept her hair off her shoulder, exposing her neck, and lips pressed against her pulse point quickly before she could complain. She turned to glare at Harry, who had apparently abandoned the lions. He just laughed at her.

"You know you can't be mad at me for long. It just looks like I whispered something in your ear. You're the one who's making it look like it was something untoward," he told her laughingly. Hermione realized he was right and just glared now while her cousin laughed at her.

"I don't think that glare works on Harry anymore, Miney," Draco informed her. Hermione really wanted to stick her tongue out at him but refrained since they were in public. She was supposed to be refined and ladylike at all times now that she was the Matriarch of the Black family. Since she couldn't retaliate as she would if they were alone, she changed the subject.

"Is everyone packed and ready? Did Dobby deliver your trunk?" she asked imperiously. There were nods all around and Harry grinned.

"Yes, Mia, Dobby delivered my trunk first thing this morning," Harry assured her. She gave him a shrewd look to make sure that he wasn't teasing her but in the end let him be. Harry started a conversation with Neville about one of their herbology assignments and Hermione leaned over to ask Draco if he wanted her to have Kreacher deliver his things to the Manor as well. After he nodded his agreement, she discreetly called her elf and he appeared at her side. Everybody knew she had her personal elf there and nobody even blinked an eye now.

"Kreacher, I would like for you to please go to Draco's dorm and gather his trunk and owl cage and deliver them to his room at Malfoy Manor. We'll be leaving shortly so you can just stay there if that's what you wish," she told him kindly. Kreacher nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes, Mistress, Kreacher will be doing as you asks," he said before popping away.

Everyone was starting to stand around her so Hermione decided to follow suit. Since Daphne still had to get her trunk, Draco followed her to the dorms to help her with it. Neville and Luna both disappeared, leaving her with only Harry. He grinned at her and pulled her into the corridor and while nobody was looking, into an alcove. His mouth descended on hers, roughly demanding entrance. Hermione acquiesced quickly and was pleased when Harry began tasting every crevice of her mouth. He always consumed her and it made her feel both beautiful and wanted.

His hand cupped her breast and his fingers pinched her nipple just hard enough to make her gasp, his other hand slipping down to squeeze her arse. Hermione couldn't help but to grind her core into his erection; her knickers were no longer dry and they still had a long train ride ahead of them. She broke away with that thought and realized that they were both panting.

"We have to stop. We still have a train ride to get through," she told him, bringing him back to reality. He rested his forehead against hers and smoothed her hair back as he caught his breath.

"You're right, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have taken it that far. I just remember how bloody lucky I am to have you sometimes and just have to have you. I'm not pressuring you, I swear it, I just have to remind myself that you're mine," he confessed. Hermione threaded her hands through his hair and pulled him down just enough to give him a chaste kiss, one that didn't set her blood to boil.

"I feel the same way. I know you're not pressuring me, trust me. I love you, Harry, and as long as you don't screw up monumentally, I can see myself with you for a very long time," she also confessed. The smile on Harry's face grew as he wrapped an arm around her waist.

"We should start heading for the carriages. The others will wonder what happened to us," he said regretfully, clearly not wanting to leave.

Hermione pulled him out of the alcove and into the corridor, leading him out of the castle. Draco and Daphne, Neville and Luna were climbing into a carriage with a pair of Hufflepuffs so the two of them got into the next carriage. It was much to Hermione's surprise that Lisa Turpin, Ron, Parvati, and Lavender all entered the carriage with them. Hermione stiffened her spine and lifted her chin, knowing this had the potential to go very badly. Parvati smiled, forced of course, but smiled nonetheless. Ron gritted his teeth.

"Hey, Black, ready for the holidays?" he asked, clearly not wanting to speak to her but making an effort for Harry. Since he was, Hermione supposed that could as well.

"I'm very ready for the holidays, yes, Ron. Thank you for asking. Do you have any special plans?" she said pleasantly. Ron's face lost a little bit of tightness in his features.

"Just spend the holiday with family and friends," he said, almost normal. Hermione gave him a small smile.

"That sounds quite nice. I hope you enjoy yourself," she said, this time genuinely. Lisa was staring at her with a sad expression on her face and Hermione remembered that Harry had had an encounter with her. She looked as though she was truly upset that Hermione was with Harry and not her, that it wasn't just about Harry's money, fame, power, and status. It was Lavender that couldn't manage to be nice, probably because she was the one Gryffindor that Harry wasn't being nice to at the moment.

"We know that the lofty Lady Black is just going to read and study on her holiday since she is too much of a prude to shag the boy courting her," Lavender sneered. Hermione lifted one eyebrow her way and just stared until Lavender started to squirm.

"Now you just sound jealous, Lavender. Yes, I will read. That's how I've already started my mastery and developed a cure for werewolves. Where have your makeup charms gotten you? As for what I do with Harry, it's none of your business. Rest assured, he won't be needing to sample your wares any longer. He's mine now, make no mistake. I'm sure you remember what I'm capable of," Hermione said, completely calm. The fear in Lavender's eyes was discernible and Hermione gave her a small smile. Harry wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her as close as she could be without sitting in his lap so he could kiss the side of her head.

There were no more words shared between them on the way to Hogsmeade Station. Once they came to a stop, Harry jumped out of the carriage and helped Hermione down before doing as Aunt Cissy would have wanted and helped the rest of the girls out as well. Hope flared in Lisa's eyes but vanished when he paid her no real attention past making sure she didn't fall off the step.

Hermione let Harry guide her onto the Express and quickly sat with Draco, Daphne, Neville, and Luna. Hermione settled between Harry and Luna, relishing that she could snuggle closer to her boyfriend without fear of judgement. The Express took off with no fanfare and an hour into the trip, Juliet arrived, sticking her head in to find Hermione.

"Hermione, do you think Mandy could come stay a few days with us this Christmas?" Hermione cocked her head to the side. While this would be an appropriate question if they were staying at Blackmoor, she needed to ask Uncle Luci.

Juliet had been doing better. She was much more controlled and had stopped demanding things. She had even let go of the grudge she had against Hermione for reigning her behavior in. Of course, she would save her final judgement for when they returned home to where her mother and aunt would spoil her rotten.

"You would have to ask Uncle Luci about that. We're staying at Malfoy Manor this year. You know that," she told her little sister. It dawned on Jules just what she had done and she laughed.

"I didn't even think, sorry. Didn't mean to bother you," she said, embarrassed. Hermione smiled at her sister, happy that they might become close again.

"You're not bothering us. You can come sit with us whenever you want, you know," she told her. Juliet's eyes flared with an unknown emotion and she smiled.

"I'll think about it," she promised.

Juliet disappeared and Hermione closed her eyes and tried to doze against Harry while he played wizards chess against Neville. Draco was coaching them both while Luna and Daphne looked through magazines. She was sure that she had dozed off for an hour against Harry when she stood, needing the loo. She yawned as Harry gave her a questioning look.

"I need to visit the loo. I'll be right back," she promised. Harry caught her knuckles and pressed a kiss to them as she passed, turning back to his game. They way he treated her really did remind her of how Uncle Luci treated Aunt Cissy.

Hermione found the loo and took care of her business, washing her hands afterwards. She made sure that her hands were dry before leaving, her eyes downcast as she tried to fix one of the wrinkles in her robes. She turned to head back to her compartment when she ran into something hard. There was a slight shove at her chest, though she couldn't tell if it was intentional, that sent her sprawling to the ground. She landed with a pained cry, twisting her wrist in the process. The door to her compartment slid open and Harry and Draco burst out, looking for her with wild eyes. Hermione finally looked up to see what she had run into.

Ronald Prewett.

Harry rushed to her side while Draco stood between Hermione and Ron. Ginny was behind Ron and she looked frightened, though Hermione wasn't sure why. Then Hermione realized just why Ginny looked frightened. Draco's wand had slid down into his hand and the compartment doors were all opening down the length of the train so people could see what was going on in the corridor.

"What the fuck did you do to her?" Draco asked, his voice low and cold as ice. Harry was busy helping her to her feet and Luna slid through the people to reach her side, her wand brushing the dust from her robes. Hermione stood up straight and tall, her chin high while she guarded her injured wrist. It throbbed painfully so she wasn't sure if it was twisted or broken. Harry wrapped an arm around her as she focused her attention forward after smiling her thanks at Luna. Ron had his hands held up in surrender and Ginny was clutching at the back of his robes.

"She wasn't paying attention when she came out of the loo and ran into me. I put my arms up out of instinct, I didn't shove her on purpose," Ron explained. Draco turned to Hermione and saw she was cradling an injured wrist and the anger in his eyes was more than visible. Hermione stepped forward to where she was shoulder to shoulder with her cousin, Harry coming with her. His arm was still firmly around her and his mouth in a firm line.

"I was worried about my robes when I walked out of the loo and into something hard. There was a slight shove against my chest and I landed on the ground," Hermione revealed. Draco looked down at her wrist again and glared at Ron. Draco was normally pretty easy going but he really hated Ron and she was sure that if he did it on purpose, he was going to administer a beat down, regardless of the rules of the Express and of the fact that he's Harry's friend.

"Pull your wand, Prewett," Draco ordered. Ron gave him a confused look but did as he was told. Ginny was still standing behind him, her hands clutched in Ron's robes.

"If you didn't shove her on purpose, you'll have no problem swearing on your magic that it was an accident," Draco said, making it clear by the tone of his voice that he wasn't asking. There were gasps all around but everyone remained quiet. Ron looked nervous but raised his wand.

"I swear on my magic that I didn't push Hermione Black down on purpose. I ran into her. So mote it be," Ron said, his voice shaky. There was a faint glow and Draco just glared. Ron cast a lumos charm and the entire corridor of the train to sigh in relief. At this, Draco put his wand away and strode forward, hand outstretched. Things had been better between them despite their mutual dislike but this would surely break that tenuous co-existing if things weren't smoothed over.

"I'm glad that I don't have to duel you here in this corridor. You already know how protective our family is of each other. If I hadn't done it, or Harry, it would have been Lord Black or Malfoy. However, I'm glad that you've overcome some of your hatred for our family and didn't do what I thought of you. I apologize for the aspersions it cast on your character," Draco said formally. Ron shook his hand and bowed his head.

"I accept your apology, Heir Malfoy," Ron said, falling back into the formal address that Draco had used. He turned to Hermione and bowed even lower.

"I apologize for injuring you, Lady Black, it was not my intention. I hope your injury will heal quickly," the redhead told her. Hermione, though she absolutely detested it, knew she must act honorably for her family image. She knew that Ron hated her immensely but it was clear he hadn't meant to injure her. Plus, he had gifted her a formal, public apology, even though that was more for his benefit than hers.

"I accept your apology, Heir Prewett. I'm sure that I will heal just fine," Hermione said, her voice showing only a little bit of warmth. Everyone in the corridor started to slip back into their compartments and Harry pushed Hermione under Draco's arm so he could stay back and talk to Ron. His gaze was still hard so Hermione squeezed his hand with her good hand, silently telling him to keep his temper. He kissed her temple and shooed her away with Draco, who kept an arm protectively around her and led her back into their compartment.

Hermione took her seat by Luna and the rest of them were silent for several minutes before Harry returned. He took his seat next to her and pulled her close, taking her bad wrist in his hand for examination. As he turned it over, she winced in pain, noting the swelling that had already appeared. Harry growled in anger.

"It's either severely twisted or broken. I've suffered both so know the symptoms," he said and Hermione felt her heart break. She had always suspected that the muggles he lived with beat him but to hear him say it so casually devastated her. Tears pricked her eyes and he looked up at her silence. He instantly regretted his words, she could see it in his eyes, so she remained silent. It wasn't a discussion for now.

The rest of the ride home was much quieter and by the time they unboarded the Hogwarts Express, Hermione just wanted to go home so she could be healed. She knew the spells to diagnose what was wrong with her but she knew that her father and various uncles would want to make sure that she was alright. Her family was waiting for her, minus her Aunt Andie and Uncle Ted and Dory and Remus. She was sure that they were both working so she didn't mind.

Hermione went to her father first, hugging him as best she could with one arm. The entire platform was quiet, quite strange, and Hermione wanted to leave before her family discovered the reason as to why. She briefly hugged Helena and hugged Aunt Cissy tightly. Uncle Luci, hugged her exuberantly and she let out a squeak of pain. He looked down at her, worried.

"What's wrong, poppet?" her uncle asked. Hermione sighed.

"Let's go home and we'll explain once we get there. I'm going to need someone to heal my wrist," she revealed. Her family's faces hardened but they nodded. With a flash, her uncle had her in his arms and apparated her to Malfoy Manor, Aunt Cissy following with Draco, while her father appeared with Harry. Helena brought Juliet and Alexandre brought up the rear. Hermione sighed in relief.

It was good to be home.

-O-

Harry landed in Malfoy Manor with Sirius' arms around him, though they barely reached. He gave him a smile as he released him and Harry wondered how he could have rejected this family for the first three years of his schooling. They really did love him and reminded him every day of what family should be like. The muggles who had raised him were far from a shining example and thanks to his slip up earlier, it was likely he would have to discuss his Merlin-be-damned feelings with Hermione at some point during this holiday.

Hermione was led to the library and shed her robes, sitting between her father and Uncle Lucius. Harry couldn't help but feel a little jealous but kept quiet. It would only serve to hurt her if he complained. Her father cast the diagnostic, showing that it was indeed broken and Uncle Lucius called for his personal elf to bring Skele-Gro. He, Draco, and Juliet watched while Hermione grimaced while drinking the potion down and relaxing into the hold of two of the most powerful wizards in their world.

Skele-Gro's side effect was that it made the user drowsy so Hermione dozed off between them. After she was resting quietly, both men demanded to know what had happened and Draco and Harry had been more than happy to supply what had happened.

"She went to the loo and was more worried about her robes than watching where she was going when she walked out. She ran into Ron Prewett and he instinctively lifted his arms, shoving her to the ground. She landed on her wrist and broke it," Harry explained.

"I pulled my wand and when Prewett said it was an accident, I demanded that he swear it on his magic. He did and it held. I formally apologized and he accepted it, he formally apologized to Hermione and she accepted it. I just wanted to make sure that she wasn't being hurt because she's with Harry. We all know he hates that she's with him," Draco stated. The older men looked placated, though still not happy. Harry didn't blame them. He felt the exact same way.

When he had taken Ron aside, he had made sure to let Ron know that he was ecstatic that he hadn't hurt her on purpose and that he had appreciated him truly trying in the carriage. However, he also made it extremely clear what would happen if he ever hurt Hermione on purpose; he had already seen him slap her and that would never happen again. Ron had said that he understood, still understandably shaken from what had happened, but Harry had made his place clear. While Ron was his friend, his first friend, Hermione was the love of his life and he would always choose her first.

Talk turned to lighter things and after an hour, Hermione started to stir. Her father and uncle were right there, doting, and making sure that all was well. Since it was only a tiny break, it was already healed and Hermione flexed her wrist several times to prove to everyone that she was fine. Before anyone could tell her to take it easy on training or riding, Sipsy appeared. Uncle Lucius gave a look of suffering; he hated Hermione's elves but always put up with them without a single complaint.

"Dinner be ready. Dot makes something special," the elf informed them.

Harry was happy to slip his arm around her waist again as they headed for the formal dining room. They usually used the informal one but on the first night back, they used the formal. Not that their meal would be formal, much to Uncle Lucius' dismay. Sirius and Remus would just sit back and smirk about it as well.

Severus, Remus, Tonks, Aunt Andie, and Uncle Ted had arrived earlier, in the middle of their story and were headed to the meal with them. Harry loved that his family was large and caring, even if some of them had some darkness about them. Honestly, he didn't hold it against them. Even Severus and handing the prophecy over to Voldemort. He had regretted it and tried to save them; that was more than most people would have done. The fact that he had embraced Harry so willingly into the fold after hating his father so completely spoke of untold maturity. Harry wasn't so sure he could do it himself.

Dinner was wonderful. It was Greek cuisine tonight, one of Hermione's favorites, though it should have been expected since it was her elf that cooked it. Everyone ate until they were full and the table was full of conversation and laughter. Afterwards, they retired to the library and Hermione spent almost an hour wandering through the stacks before finally settling on something to read. However, once she sat down, she turned to her father and uncles.

"When are we starting training again? Master Auror Moody said he would teach us new things at the holidays," she inquired. Uncle Lucius smiled indulgently at her.

"Tomorrow morning after your run. He's hoping to catch you all out so I hope you're ready for his challenge," he warned her. Hermione smiled sweetly and nodded.

"Oh, we're ready. We haven't let our training fall behind. I'm just excited to see him," she revealed. Uncle Lucius smoothed her curls once before turning back to his book. Harry settled in to read a book on runic magic and how it could protect you while Hermione had chosen something completely out of the ordinary.

 _Boris' Werewolf Mate._

The cover had a horrid beast on the front and a young woman that was clearly lusting after him. It was most certainly a trashy romance novel and Harry had never seen her read one before. He raised an eyebrow at her but she simply blushed before diving into her choice of intellectual pursuits.

It was several hours later that Hermione yawned and told the family that she was heading to bed. Harry rose too, offering to escort her. Draco raised an eyebrow at them, as did the other males in her family, but none of them said a word. He supposed that they considered Hermione an adult and a witch capable of taking care of herself. Therefore, he offered her his elbow and showed her up the stairs to her room. She made sure to pull him inside, Kreacher popping away as soon as he entered.

Hermione began stripping her clothes, leaving her robes on the floor as she headed for her bed. She threw a saucy look over her shoulder at Harry, clearly inviting him to do the same. However, Harry wasn't quite so sure they should be doing this in his uncle's house.

"Mia, don't you think you should wait and not disrespect your uncle by doing things under his roof? He would happily castrate me," he reminded her. Hermione laughed as she stripped naked and laid herself out on the bed like a meal. Her confidence in the last month had grown by leaps and bounds.

"My uncle wouldn't hesitate to castrate you if you hurt me. In fact, you came quite close with the Cho incident. This, however, won't hurt me. He's already told me that he considers me to be an adult and make adult decisions. He never asked me to remain a virgin, did you know that? He just asked that I feel something for the person that I gave that gift to," she told him. Harry relaxed slightly. That was slightly comforting. He began to strip his clothing off and head for the bed where she was waiting for him, clearly horny as hell. Not that he blamed her; he had teased them both relentlessly this morning.

He crawled onto the bed over the top of her and took her mouth, not waiting to see if she was willing. She always was. Her mouth opened automatically and he ravished the warm, wet cavern, tasting every inch of her. His lips trailed from her mouth down her neck, leaving biting kisses along the way. She arched her back up into him and his hand found her breast, tweaking her nipple just like she liked. A moan escaped her mouth and Harry couldn't handle anymore. It had only been a few days but it had been a few days too long. He rolled onto his back and met Hermione's gaze.

"Put that sweet pussy on my face. I want to eat it while you ride me," he told her, taking note of how his dirty talk affected her. He loved that she was so poised and controlled in everyday life but in the bedroom, she let completely loose and let him take complete control.

Hermione obeyed, straddling his face. He yanked her hips downward, smothering himself with her sweet cunt. She cried out in pleasure as he ravaged her clit, drinking in her essence, and driving her to heights she'd only begun to experience. However, Hermione wasn't as naive as he had thought. Her mouth engulfed his cock, sinking as low as she could on his rod of steel, sucking as tightly as she could. Her hand came around to cup his bollocks, kneading them softly and Harry was sure that he was in heaven.

He wasn't sure how long he drank her arousal fluid down; a minute, an hour, time had no meaning with Hermione's pussy on his face. He did know that his cock was on the verge of exploding, her finger had slid in his arse not that long ago. Her mouth was coaxing him to new heights since he knew that he was actually in Hermione's bed.

Harry exploded first, coating Hermione's throat with his seed. She swallowed it down in large gulps while moaning around his cock as he brought her to completion. Her cunt watered on his face, him licking it away hungrily, eager for her taste of honey. As they both came down from their climax, Hermione shifted in bed until she was lying flush against him, her back to his chest. Harry's arms came around her and he couldn't help but feel that this was heaven on Earth.

"Stay with me tonight. Please," Hermione begged. Even though it was surely a horrible idea that they would get in trouble for later, Harry couldn't refuse her. Therefore, he kissed the back of her neck and nodded against her head.

"Yeah. It'll be nice to see what's like to wake up with you in my arms," he told her. He could feel her beaming at his words.

They didn't bother to dress. Just let the languor and sleep overtake them. Harry's last thought was that he hoped nobody discovered what they had done and killed him in the morning.

A/N- Another chapter down, folks. Not gonna lie it's kind of short but I hope you like it. Kind of a filler chapter if you will. Thanks for reading and reviewing, it's greatly appreciated. Leave me your thoughts after the beep, they're like chocolate and whiskey shots (: In case you couldn't tell, I adore both.

Next chapter, Christmas and some bonding.

Love,

Alicia


	121. Chapter 121

A/N- Well, I'm back with another chapter, y'all. The house that I was going to rent fell through so I had a little extra time to update. However, I'm warning you that I'm going to work on The Price of Victory next. It needs some love, lol. Even though my place fell through, I still have to move and will be packing diligently until I find another place to live. Send me good vibes and luck, y'all! To everyone reading and reviewing, thank you so much for your encouraging words. They really mean a lot and keep me writing. Enough for now, hope you enjoy! This is the chapter you've all been waiting for!

**Shout out to Loukritia for being my 6100th reviewer! Binge reading this monster in two days is impressive!**

Disclaimer: I seriously don't own anything about this story except the personal plot twist. I haven't made any money from this story or any others. Maybe someday I'll become filthy rich from my stories but I'm really not holding my breath. Let me have my dreams. They keep me from having nightmares (:

Chapter 121

December 25, 1996

Hermione awoke slowly, naked and in Harry's arms. Her head was pillowed on his chest, her curls fanning out on his pale skin, her breath soft on his skin. His fingers were tracing the line of her spine, soft and slow, and she smiled against his chest, tightening her grip on his belly. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"Finally awake, Mia?" he asked her. She nodded against him, relishing the feel of his fingers moving against her skin. She loved it when he touched her.

"What do you mean, finally? It's barely seven," she grouched at him. Harry just laughed.

"You know that the others are going to be awake already. Especially Juliet," he told her. Hermione just sighed. Of course she was going to be. Christmas was her sister's favorite holiday and hadn't stopped talking about it since before they had arrived at Malfoy Manor. Therefore, Hermione pressed one kiss to Harry's chest before pushing herself up and rubbing rubbing the sleep from her eyes while Harry sat up and stretched. She couldn't help but stare at his lean muscles as they bunched and stretched in front of her. He caught her staring and laughed, tugging on a strand of her hair.

"Quit objectifying me and get dressed. I already know I'm gorgeous," he said laughingly. Hermione knew she blushed but did as he told her. It wouldn't do for them to draw more attention to their sleeping arrangements.

Uncle Luci had known instantly where Harry had slept that first night they had been back. He had pulled Hermione aside that next day to have a quiet word with her. While he wasn't thrilled with them sharing a room, he had given them his blessing as long as they were being careful and safe and Harry wasn't hurting her or forcing her. Hermione had instantly informed him that they hadn't had sex yet, that she wanted to make sure that she was completely ready before she took that step, and that Harry hadn't pressured her once. Her uncle had been thrilled for her and had been much happier with the situation than he originally had been.

Harry slipped out of her room after giving her one last kiss, only to run straight into her father. Hermione wanted no part of that conversation, she had already had the one with Uncle Luci, so she hurriedly ducked out of sight as the door closed. She dressed quickly, the witch's robes that Kreacher had laid out for her were a Slytherin green color, probably in honor of Christmas. She left her hair long and heavy down her back, just pulling a brush through her curls so it didn't look like she had bed head when she appeared to open presents.

After slipping into her shoes, Hermione knew she couldn't put off the inevitable any longer. She felt a little bad for abandoning Harry to deal with her father but she doubted that it was that bad. Her father had been the most accepting of their relationship. She made her way out of her room and through the corridors to the library where the rest of the family was waiting for them. Harry and her father were already there, chatting together amicably. Of course, this meant nothing. Even though her father had apologized and expressed that he trusted her judgement, he could be waiting to express his displeasure with her choices until later. She took the seat next to Harry and smiled at everyone. Uncle Luci sat at the head of the room and smiled at everyone, the entire family was present.

"Snitch, hot chocolate for everyone," he ordered. The elf that appeared nodded and the popped away, a tray appearing on the table before them. They were passed around and Hermione savored the rich chocolatey taste before setting hers to the side. Uncle Luci gestured for her to take her customary spot at the foot of the tree; for years she had passed out the gifts and it seemed as though coming of age wasn't going to stop family tradition which thoroughly pleased her.

Hermione spent over half an hour just passing out gifts to the person they belonged to. Most were from her Aunt Cissy; the woman really did have a shopping problem. The pile in front of Juliet was definitely the largest, which Hermione had fully expected, and she knew that it was mostly clothes. The girl loved clothes as much as Aunt Cissy did. Once the space under the tree was empty, Uncle Luci bade them all to open up.

Hermione always took her time opening her gifts; she liked to treasure the memories of opening them. Harry and Draco were the complete opposite, Juliet too. They ripped through them as fast as they could. The adults all opened at a more sedate pace with the exception of Dory; she was no better than Harry and Draco.

Hermione received numerous wonderful gifts. From her Aunt Cissy, a new riding habit that matched Bluebell's tack. Uncle Sev had given her a Master's set of journals to keep her notes in, complete with locking charms that were keyed to her magical signature. Remus and Dory had gotten her a set of books on defense, a brand new set that had just been released a few days before. Aunt Andie and Uncle Ted had gotten her a beautiful sable cloak. Uncle Luci had gifted her a whole new set of emeralds, earrings, necklace, bracelet, and ring, that was simply breathtaking, telling her that it was a family heirloom. Draco had given her a new quill set that was supposed to be self- correcting. Moody had sent her an old battered book that she had looked at curiously. She flipped open the cover to see that he had written on the inside

 _Little One,_

 _This book holds all the spells I've created through the years pertaining to offense and defense. Nobody knows them but me. Learn them and teach those two idiot boys of yours. Keep yourself safe and make it through this war. Afterwards, may you never need them again._

 _All my love, just don't tell anyone,_

 _Moody_

Tears pricked her eyes but she blinked them back. She flipped through the pages and found pages upon pages of handwritten notes. It was a goldmine of information and it would most certainly help keep them alive. She wasn't going to see Moody today but she would definitely thank him profusely in person. She stopped and flipped through her father's journal for a few moments and realized that they were from his Hogwarts years and she got excited. She would get to see her parents relationship through her father's eyes.

She turned her eyes to Harry's gift, having saved it for last. She had given him a quaffle signed by every single member of the Falmouth Falcons and Puddlemere United, his two favorite teams. It had been extremely hard to find and she had paid a small fortune for it; however, she knew that he would love it. It was small, which meant that it was probably jewelry. She shook it just a little and when it jiggled slightly, she knew that she was right.

Hermione unwrapped it slowly to find a platinum charm bracelet inside. There were several charms already on it and she bent close to examine them. A kneazle, clearly representing Tenebris. A wand, for magic, a snake for Slytherin, the Black family crest for her legacy, his family crest along with the Malfoys, a cauldron for her love of potions, an Abraxan for Bluebell. It was quite beautiful and she pulled it from the box and held it out to him, silently asking him to put it on her wrist. He smiled at her softly.

"Do you like it?" he asked her. She nodded her head emphatically.

"I love it. Are there more so that I can add to it through the years?" she enquired. He grinned now.

"Absolutely. They also make custom ones, like the crests. I wasn't sure which others you would like," he confessed. Hermione leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"I love it, you did just right," she told him. Uncle Luci glared at Harry.

"I gave her emeralds and I didn't get a kiss," he pouted. Hermione laughed out loud and rose, going to plop herself in her most favored uncle's lap so she could wrap her arms around her neck and kiss his cheek noisily.

"Your emeralds were amazing, I'll wear them to the Malfoy New Years Ball," she promised. Even though the kiss was rather sloppy, her uncle looked thrilled. Uncle Sev had a put-out look on his face.

"I didn't get a kiss and neither did Sirius," he complained. Now everyone was laughing as Hermione obligingly moved to Uncle Sev and her father and gave them the same treatment as Uncle Luci. She settled on the floor at her father's feet and started to examine her gifts closer, just as everyone else was. Daphne had sent her hair combs and Luna and a phoenix quill. The twins had sent her joke items that they were sure that she was going to use but she was sure she wasn't. Neville had sent her a beautiful plant for her room.

Her family sat around for another hour going through their gifts before Sipsy appeared, announcing Christmas breakfast. Hermione called for Kreacher and bid him to move all her things to her room and to put them in safe places. He handled her father's journal almost reverently and she wondered if he would be interested in reading it. She would have to ask him later.

The entire family adjourned to the dining room and were greeted with an enormous Christmas breakfast. Uncle Luci sat at the head of the table as was proper, Aunt Cissy at the opposite end. Hermione and Draco took the seats at his right and left, Harry and Sirius at their sides. The family filled in the rest of the way down the table and once they were all seated, Uncle Lucl bid them to begin.

Hermione ate herself nearly to sickness on the wonderful food that Dot cooked. Her elves always followed her to Malfoy Manor when she visited. She knew that it drove Uncle Luci mad but he never complained and she was grateful. They were overbearing and she knew it but they were family. They just wanted to spend the holiday with her and she was thankful that her uncle understood that.

Conversation around the table was light and laughter was abundant; Hermione was grateful for that as well. She had a feeling that that wouldn't be the case for much longer. Voldemort had returned and war surely wasn't too far around the corner. Dumbledore was teaching Harry about horcruxes for Merlin's sake. Surely, terrible things were to come. She just hoped that they were all ready for what he was to bring.

Christmas breakfast ended on a happy note, Hermione even sending a breakfast roll soaring through the air to hit her Uncle Luci in the face when he told her that her team would surely be beaten at snowball fighting this year, even though he intended on fighting at her side. Everyone sat there stunned but were even more surprised when he sent one right back at her, only to catch her right in the collarbone. It was the first time in history that food had been thrown at the Malfoy table and Hermione was glad that they had all paid witness to it.

War was coming and they needed to have a little fun before it was too late.

-O-

As everyone filed out of the dining room, Sirius called out that there would be a family snowball fight and that everyone would be playing this year, no exceptions. There were several good natured groans, Hermione being one of them, but everyone filed back up the stairs to go dress to play in the snow. He watched Draco throw an arm around Hermione's shoulders and make her take the lead with him, both of them laughing at something he had said.

Harry headed to his room as well, though he had yet to sleep there. He still couldn't believe that he had ran right into Siri when he had left this morning. He knew that Hermione was aware and that she had thrown him to the wolves too. He would have to give her a hard time about it later that night. Much to his surprise, Siri hadn't been upset.

*Flashback*

Harry was trying to shut the door behind him, not at all paying attention to where he was going. He knew that he had run into a person the second he felt himself run into a wall. He could only hope and pray that it was Draco. None of the other men in the household would be so forgiving. However, luck wasn't on his side because he turned his head to see that it was Sirius.

Lord Black had caught him sneaking out of his daughter's bedroom.

"Good morning, Harry, I really hope that you're on your way to get dressed. Everyone else is already waiting to open their presents. We're only waiting on you and Hermione. I was drafted to come check on you both by Lucius," his godfather said, a mischievous gleam in his eye. Harry wasn't sure if he should lie and say that he was making sure Hermione was awake before getting dressed himself or just be honest. It seemed that his indecision was written all over his face because Sirius burst into laughter.

"I know you're sleeping with her. Everyone does. You really think that Lucius' elves, the same elves that have helped raise Hermione, aren't going to report that she has a boy in her room to the master of the house? He knew the first night and instantly told me. We both told Hermione when she turned seventeen that we trusted her judgement and that she was an adult. We also both told her that we didn't require that she remain a virgin, we just didn't want her to throw it away on some boy she didn't care for. She's loved you for a long time, Harry. The only way I'm going to care that you're sleeping with her is if you hurt her," Sirius told him seriously. Harry could only nod his head dumbly. He hadn't even considered the elves.

"We're not having sex. She isn't ready yet," Sirius clapped him on the shoulder with a smile.

"Then way to go for being a good man and not pressuring her. Now get in there and change, I want to open my presents!" Sirius said excitedly. Harry laughed as he headed for his room. The perfect revenge on Hermione for leaving him to deal with her father on his own would be to let her stew on what had been said.

*End of Flashback*

Harry hurried and changed into warmer trousers and a woolen jumper, finding his cloak, hat, scarf, and gloves. He charmed his boots waterproof, along with his gloves, that way his hands wouldn't freeze. He trooped back downstairs and stood next to Hermione who looked quite lovely in her bright cloak, knee high boots, and matching hat, scarf and gloves set. Her hair was still long down her back so he gave it a gentle tug to tip her face up to his so he could give her a chaste kiss. Uncle Lucius finally arrived with Aunt Cissy, all twelve of them present and ready.

Together, they trooped out into the snow and down into the hills of the manor, the places that Hermione and Aunt Cissy usually rode. There were trees and bushes all over the place and it was an ideal place for a snowball fight of epic proportions. Uncle Lucius named himself and Sirius captains of the teams and said they would be taking turns choosing their teammates. He instantly chose Hermione first thing and Sirius instantly chose Remus, the two high-fiving each other in what he assumed was true Marauder fashion. The choosing process continued until Harry found himself on a team with Uncle Lucius, Hermione, Tonks, Alexandre, Aunt Andie, and Severus. They were facing Sirius, Remus, Draco, Helena, Aunt Cissy, Uncle Ted, and Juliet.

It was decided that magic would be allowed for the snowball fight and the two teams split to make their plans. It was decided that Hermione and Aunt Andie were going to be in the front since they were the weakest at playing, that way everyone would target them. The rest of them would take out the competition while the two women played sacrificial goats. Hermione wasn't too thrilled with the plan but had agreed because of her uncle's need to win against her father.

The plan actually went better than they had expected. The entirety of the opposite team pelted Hermione and Aunt Andie with snowballs, completely forgetting that there were four other members of their team. Uncle Lucius led the charge and they won that first round hands down in only a matter of minutes. Hermione was soaking wet and looked quite bedraggled by the end of it but she was laughing and cheering at their success as well.

After getting bored with snowball fights, Hermione conjured sleds and they all trekked up the hills to take turns sliding down. Harry rode behind Hermione, his face pressed against her neck while she laughed joyously at the thrill of it all. Uncle Lucius rode behind Aunt Cissy and they were both laughing, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist while she steered. Everyone took turns riding with everyone and then turned it into a race, Harry and Draco being the most competitive.

Hermione insisted that they fill the hills with snowmen before heading in for Christmas dinner. They had already been outside for hours but this was one thing she insisted on. Harry wondered if she wanted them out there so she wouldn't feel so lonely when she rode her horse. Therefore, they paired off into unlikely pairs and had a contest on who could build the best snowman, Harry finding himself Alexandre. Hermione was with Remus and they were currently arguing over how big the base should be. This took another hour and Helena and Severus ended up winning the contest.

The twelve of them stomped back in the house, their faces numb with the cold, and headed for the stairs so they could change again. Even though they still had Christmas dinner to eat, it was determined that casual dress would be fine. This usually wasn't the case in the Malfoy household but then again, the Lord of the Manor had never ordered everyone out to play in the snow before either.

After Harry had changed into a pair of jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt, something that Sirius had bought him, he headed back down to the library. Hermione hadn't arrived yet but everyone else had. Of course, he supposed that it probably took time to dry her curls. Harry settled in a chair by the fire and looked up just in time to see her enter, looking lovely as ever in a pair of black yoga pants and a loose cashmere jumper that was a soft pink. Rather than having bare feet, she wore slippers that protected her feet from the cold marble floors. She came his way and plopped herself in his lap, curling up and making herself quite comfortable. Everyone watched her with veiled amusement in their gazes but nobody said anything. Not that it mattered. Just minutes later, Sipsy appeared and announced dinner.

They all made their way to the dining room where Harry found a wonderful Christmas ham as the center of all the dishes on the table. Everyone took the same seats from breakfast and wasted no time in beginning their meal. Harry was starved and judging by how much the others were eating as well, they were just as hungry. Even Hermione had a full plate before her; it seemed as though playing in the snow had burned more calories than she had expected.

Once again, laughter and conversation were prevalent and even the elves found reasons to keep popping in just to take part in the joyous atmosphere. There had even been a little bit of elf wine, though Harry and Hermione both had limited themselves to only one glass. After everyone had eaten their fill, they adjourned to the library and took up seats around the library to pursue their own interests for the rest of the evening.

Hermione curled up next to him and leaned into his side and started to read a tattered old book that she had received for Christmas, though he wasn't sure who it was from. He pulled out the current book he was reading, one on advanced charms and how they were useful in battle scenarios. Everyone else was reading except for Draco and Uncle Lucius; they were playing each other at wizard's chess.

Hours passed this way, everyone together in companionable silence. Finally, Hermione yawned and closed her book after marking the page. She went to her feet and Harry followed, much to everyone's amusement. He supposed that if everyone already knew, there was no point in hiding that he was sleeping with Hermione on a nightly basis. Honestly, it was going to be terrible going back to school where they slept in different houses and he wouldn't be able to hold her close through the night.

They said their goodnights and final thank yous before heading up the stairs to Hermione's room. Both stripped down to nothing and crawled into her bed. Hermione immediately settled her head on his chest, a spot she had claimed as her own the very first night they slept together. Harry wasn't complaining; he loved it. He loved having her close, loved being able to smell her hair, loved knowing that he knew the exact second she moved away from him. Her hand rested on his ribs and her fingers stroked the skin there, leaving goosebumps in their wake. His fingers traveled the length of her spine, from her neck to her curve of her arse, stroking her softly. Her skin was silky smooth and he couldn't get enough of touching it.

"Harry, can I ask you something without you getting angry with me?" she asked, her voice hesitant. He kissed the crown of her head.

"Of course you can. Why would I get mad?" he told her, unsure why she thought he would get mad. She rarely asked about the other women in his life because he knew they upset her so much.

"Would you tell me about the Dursleys?" Harry had known this was coming since his thoughtless comment on the Express but hated that she was ruining a perfect day with this question. He pushed her off him gently so he could sit up and leaned against the headboard of her bed. She sat up and held the sheet to her breasts, suddenly feeling exposed because of his actions, he was sure. Therefore, he held a hand out to her, pulling her to straddle his lap so he could meet her gaze directly.

"I'll tell you about them this one time and then I don't ever want to discuss it again. It isn't a chapter of my life that I look back at fondly. I may have to return again this summer, I don't know. I know Dumbledore says it's imperative that I do. He won't tell Sirius why but Sirius believes him when he says that it's important. I struck the fear of Merlin into my uncle the last time I was there and I don't think anything will ever happen to me again while I'm there," he started. Hermione nodded her agreement, her hand coming forward to rest on his bare chest in support.

"My muggle family isn't a nice one, not to me at least. For as long as I can remember, I've done all the chores around the house. I cooked, cleaned, did the yard work, everything. I was fed one small meal a day if I was good. My bedroom was a small cupboard under the stairs until after I came to Hogwarts. After my first year, I was given a small bedroom but the window had bars on it and I was locked inside as a punishment. The Weasleys broke me out with their flying car. I was beaten for just about everything. The one time I got a better grade than Dudley, I was beaten unconscious and ended up with a broken bone in my arm. I didn't know my name until I was five; I thought my name was Freak or Boy. They told me my mum and dad were drunks that got themselves killed in a car accident. I learned to become invisible because I would get beaten if I didn't. I learned to do my work as best I could and not back talk because I'd be locked in my cupboard and starved. I was starved for attention and affection and you have no idea how much I regret turning my back on this family my first year when you tried to offer it to me. I only prolonged my misery," he said bitterly. Hermione shifted even closer, pressing her breasts to his chest. She kissed him slowly but chastely.

"I won't say that I'm happy with what you went through. I'd happily murder those horrible human beings if I thought I could get away with it. However, I do love the person that you became after surviving such trauma. You're an amazing person, Harry. You're strong, loyal, and beautiful inside and out. You deserve love and don't let anyone ever tell you differently. I love you and will try to show you every single day that you are worthy of having a family," she promised him. Harry felt something break inside him. She hadn't asked him a single question, just accepted him and what he had told her and vowed to make him feel accepted, loved, and wanted. It was more than he could have ever hoped for in his life.

Harry surged forward, his lips meeting hers in a bruising kiss. His arms tightened around her, pulling her as close as possible. Her arms wrapped around his neck and tangled in his long hair, pulling it roughly, making his prick harden immediately. She ground herself against his cock and he could feel her silky arousal fluid getting him wet. It was heady and he wanted nothing more than to fuck her into the mattress.

Harry rolled her over so he hovered over the top of her, trailing his lips across her cheek to her ear so he could start nipping his way down her neck. One hand found a breast, his fingers toying with her nipple, rolling it, elongating it to perfection. Once it was as hard as he could make it, he pinched it roughly and she keened beneath him just as he knew she would. His other hand slid lower and found her folds, stroking her pleasure pearl for only a moment before going lower to plunge two fingers inside her. He couldn't go very deep for fear of breaking her barrier but she was still tight as fuck and he could only imagine how tight her sheath would feel on his cock. Her hips rocked against his hand and her head came up so she could nip his cheek softly.

"More, Harry, I need more," she muttered. He stilled above her and just stared. She stared back at him with needy eyes, half-lidded with lust.

"Are you sure about what you're saying, Mia?" he asked. He had to be sure. He didn't want to take advantage of her and have her regret it later. She looked him straight in the eyes and nodded.

"Yes, I'm positive. I'm ready for this. I want you inside me," she swore.

Harry didn't waste any time. He knew that she was ready for him. He bent down and gave her nipple a playful nip while he lined himself up with her entrance. Her thighs were spread for him and her hips cradled him gently. He met her eyes one last time to make sure that she hadn't changed her mind. She gave him a nod and he plunged home, completely to the hilt.

Immediately, he stilled. She was so fucking tight around hiim and it felt like he had finally come home. There were tears at the corners of her eyes so Harry leaned forward and kissed them away. It was the hardest thing he had ever done, holding still and waiting for her to acclimate to him, but when she nudged him with her hips to start moving, it was well worth it.

He started slowly, letting her get used to his girth. He knew that he wasn't the smallest wizard there was. She let out a small breathy gasp at the beginning and before he knew it, she was urging him to go faster with her hips, her hands reaching around him to grasp his arse. Finally, her arms moved up to wrap around his middle so her legs could wrap around his hips, her heels now digging in his arse, her nails digging into the skin of his back.

Harry was doing his best to hold his orgasm back; he hadn't had that problem in ages. Of course, nobody had felt as amazing as Hermione did. Of all the witches he had been with, Hermione surpassed them all. Her breaths were becoming shorter in his ear and her inner muscles were fluttering against her cock; he knew she was close.

"Harder, Harry, fuck me harder," she ordered.

Harry broke loose, unable to hold back. He pounded into her, gripping her hips roughly enough to leave fingerprint marks. Hermione's cunt tightened around him and her face went into raptures. Her moans and whimpers were music to his ears and he didn't last more than three pumps past her orgasm. He exploded inside her, painting her cervix with his seed. A bright golden light encompassed the room, though he had no idea at the time what it meant. He buried his face in her neck and her arms encircled him, holding him close.

After several seconds, he rolled off of her and pulled her into his arms, spooning up behind her. He pressed a line of kisses to her shoulder and neck and she sighed happily into them. They laid there silently for several minutes before he finally spoke.

"Do you regret that?" he asked quietly. She half turned to shoot him a glare.

"No, I told you I was ready. It was wonderful. I never expected it to be that good. As much as I hate the idea of you with other girls I suppose I can thank them that you're so accomplished now," she joked. Harry chuckled softly and reached for his wand so he could cast cleansing charms on them. On a whim, he cast a contraceptive charm, unsure if she was taking a potion of any kind. They hadn't really discussed it. After he was done, he dropped the wand on the other side of the bed.

"Was it good for you too?" she asked, her voice small and insecure. Harry couldn't blame her. She knew that he had many to compare her too. He forced her to roll over and face him so she could see the sincerity in his eyes.

"I swear on my magic, Mia, you're the best I've ever had. I've never been with a virgin. You were so tight and wonderful. It was a gift that means so much to me and I can't thank you enough for thinking that I'm worthy enough to receive it," he told her, brushing a kiss against her forehead. She smiled sweetly and pushed him onto his back she could settle onto his chest. Harry chuckled softly and let her settle herself before he wrapped his arms around her.

"It was truly beautiful, Harry. Thank you," she swore. Harry stroked her cheek softly though he couldn't see her face.

"You're welcome. Thank you for trusting me and gifting me with your first time," he told her. She nodded against his chest and fell silent.

It wasn't long before her breathing became even and Harry knew she was asleep. Today had been amazing, even him telling her the bare bones of the abuse he had suffered at the Dursley's hands. She had accepted him and promised to continue to love him. It was more than he deserved. All that after a wonderful Christmas with family.

All in all, it was the best day of his life.

-O-

Voldemort sat straight up in bed. He had felt a shift in his core and he wasn't sure what had caused it. It had felt light in nature, though he couldn't be sure. It made no sense since he had been in a deep sleep and the only person that he had any sort of connection with was Potter and he had him blocked with occlumency and had for awhile now. Not to mention, he couldn't remember the last time light magic had affected him in any way.

It made no sense.

He settled back into his blankets as the feeling settled, fading into the background. The feeling was there but it was faint and somehow removed. He couldn't tell what it was but he assumed that it had to do with Harry Potter. There was no other explanation for it. Not that this made him feel any better. Surprises from the Harry Potter front were never good ones. He closed his eyes once more, determined to figure it out tomorrow if he could. There was no use worrying about it in the middle of the night.

There was no sense in borrowing trouble.

A/N- Another chapter down, y'all. They finally had sex and if you didn't guess by the golden glow, they soulbonded. Yay! Bout time, right? Only 121 chapters in ...lol. Anyways, thanks for reading, it really means a lot. Leave me a message after the beep, I really want to know what you think.

Next chapter, Katie Bell gets cursed.

Love,

Alicia


	122. Chapter 122

A/N- It's been ages, I know. I haven't forgotten you all, I promise. My grandfather started to get worse and I wanted to spend as much time as I could with him. He passed just yesterday and I wrote this to get my mind off things. You probably won't get another chapter for a week or so. Things are going to be crazy. On another note, thank you to everyone for leaving me your feedback on my chapters. It really does keep me writing even when it takes me so long to get a chapter to you! Enough for now, I want to get this chapter out!

Disclaimer: I still don't own anything you recognize in this story. If you recognize it, chances are that it belongs to J.K.R. or a wonderful fanfiction writer that came before me. Since I'm still broke as hell, I haven't made any money from this story or any others. Maybe someday (:

Chapter 122

January 16, 1997

Hermione pushed her plate away from her, finished with her breakfast even though those around her were still eating. There was a ribbon of excitement in the air and Hermione chalked it up to being the first Hogsmeade weekend since returning from the holidays. Returning had been bittersweet. While Hermione was eager to get back to her mastery training and getting the memory out of Slughorn, everyone could tell that war was on the horizon. She didn't want to leave her family because she didn't know if it was the last time she would see them or not. One never knew what the future held and she wasn't arrogant enough to think that her family would be safe for the duration.

Harry was sitting at the Gryffindor table, still holding true to his word he gave to Ron. She hated it but she refused to make him choose between herself and the redheaded twat. She knew that eventually Ronald would fuck up and lose Harry completely; it was only a matter of time. She was quite sure that Harry knew it as well. What she suspected was that he didn't want to kick his first friend to the curb until he had no other choice. It would feel like betrayal and Harry was nothing if not loyal. Therefore, Hermione let it continue while keeping quiet. It was for the best because she wasn't willing to argue with her boyfriend over it.

Hermione was most pleased to see that most of the girls in school had backed away from him and no longer approached him in the corridors, begging him to give them a chance. They had attended the Malfoy New Year's Ball together and had featured on the front page of the Prophet along with her aunt and uncle, Draco and Daphne. It was announced that Draco and Daphne had a betrothal contract and it was implied that there was or would be one for Harry and Hermione. While she hadn't been pleased at the time, she had to admit that she liked the effects quite a bit.

The Ball had been a resounding success. She had worn a shimmering silver dress that her aunt and sister had helped her choose with the emeralds her uncle had gifted her for Christmas adorning her neck, wrist, finger, and throat. Harry's robes matched her perfectly and they had led the first dance with the rest of her family. There had been hundreds of people watching and afterwards, those hundreds of people had told her how beautiful they looked together. Harry had been a perfect gentleman and had made Hermione feel like a princess. It had been a perfect night. The sex afterwards had been sublime as well.

After that first night together, Hermione hadn't abstained from having Harry inside her a single night. They hadn't talked about what the golden light that had enveloped the room was but Hermione was fairly sure that she knew. She remembered the book that Harry had sent her for her birthday years before, detailing soulmates. He couldn't possibly have known or suspected the truth when he had bought it. However, she had read every single word and she was quite certain that that's exactly what they were. She hadn't asked her uncle about his experience with Aunt Cissy but everything made sense. Why no matter how much he hurt her, she just couldn't reject her feelings for him. Why no matter how much of a bitch she was to him when he first started coming around, he still wanted to be near her. They were fated, the other half of each other, and nothing would ever take that away from them. If they met death in this life, they would meet again in the next.

Hermione had considered speaking to Harry about it, she knew that she should. However, judging by the way he had watched the light and seemed wholly unconcerned about it, she had a feeling that he already knew. Honestly, she didn't think that he would really mind. He had already told her that he planned to marry her and have a family with her. This wouldn't do anything to hinder that plan, only help it.

Life at school had returned to normal as soon as they had returned. Sure, the mood was heavy at first but once classes started, that was quickly overcome. It wasn't the same sleeping in her dormitory without Harry at her side but there wasn't much that she could do about that. Daphne and Tracey wouldn't snitch on her if she stayed in the Room of Requirement here and there but Pansy and Millie surely would. Hermione wasn't sure where she had gone wrong with Millie; she had been her friend, treated her well, and still she gravitated towards Pansy, Theo, Vince, and Greg. Blaise wasn't as close as he used to be but he still kept plenty of distance from that bunch.

Her mastery training had picked up as though it hadn't stopped. Honestly, it really hadn't. Her and Severus had still worked together through the holiday, just not as much. She had refused to let her godfather be overshadowed by work. They were still brewing for the werewolf cure since they could only do so much of the brew at a time. It made Hermione's heart happy to think that there would be no more suffering unless the people really wanted to turn. She knew that some, like Greyback, relished in the pain.

The bell rang, dismissing them from breakfast, telling them that it was time to start heading for the carriages that would take them to Hogsmeade. Hermione knew that Draco and Daphne were going together on a date, much the same as she and Harry were. They had considered making it a double but she and Harry had wanted some privacy. They didn't get many chances to spend time alone together since their schedules were so full.

Hermione stood and her eyes found Harry striding her way. He had a smile on his face, though she could see that Ron had a sour look on his. She wondered briefly if he had wanted to hang out with Harry today and he had turned him down before letting it go. It didn't matter. Harry would never renege on plans that he made with her for Ronald. Not without a damn good reason anyways. Harry wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pressed a kiss to her temple.

"Hey there, beautiful. You ready for our date?" he asked. Hermione giggled softly and nodded. She loved it when Harry was like this.

"Yes. Do you have any plans?" she questioned him. He shook his head.

"Nope, I thought we'd just see where the day took us," he told her. She nodded her head and let him lead her towards the door that would lead them to the Entrance Hall. Kreacher appeared at her side and thrust her cloak at her and she laughed, thanking him quietly before he popped out of existence.

Harry led her out of the castle and towards the carriages that were lined up. Harry handed her up into one that already had one couple inside, though they hadn't been aware. Lisa Turpin and Michael Corner were already inside, snogging like mad. Hermione took a seat as far away as possible since the whole situation was beyond awkward. Harry looked on with distaste but just pulled Hermione closer to him.

The ride to Hogsmeade passed in silence. Hermione hated that it was so awkward but she didn't feel that it was her job to make it all better that she had ended up with Harry when Lisa hadn't. The girl wasn't glaring but it was clear that she was throwing her new relationship in Harry's face. Honestly, it was quite juvenile. When they reached Hogsmeade, Harry stepped out first and made sure to help Hermione out of the carriage just like Aunt Cissy would have demanded before turning his back on the scene.

He pulled her towards the main square and Hermione wasn't sure where he wanted to start first. She was sure that Honeydukes, Zonko's and Quality Quidditch Supply would be on his list and that was perfectly fine. She could be patient while he shopped since he was always patient while she did. However, the first store he pulled her to was one that she hadn't expected.

Scrivenshafts.

Hermione gave him a confused look before lifting an eyebrow his way. "This is our first stop?" she asked. He nodded.

"I figured you would need new parchment, ink and quills. You're always busy," he explained. Hermione gave him an impulsive side hug.

"I do, thank you," she mumbled.

The pair shopped in Scrivenshafts for half an hour, Hermione restocking her supply of ink and parchment. She had received several quills for Yule and was using those currently. Harry found a new journal that he liked and a pot of ink that flashed red and gold ink. Hermione rolled her eyes at how ridiculously Gryffindor it was. However, she would be the first to admit that if she had found it in green and silver, she would have bought a pot for herself.

After paying for their purchases, the couple moved onto Zonkos. Hermione let Harry roam free through this store since she had absolutely no interest in anything they sold. She wandered aimlessly while Harry was on a search for something specific, though what it was she couldn't tell you. She had just turned around the aisle that held the love potions when she spotted her soul mate locked in conversation with Ginny Prewett.

"I really like you, Harry. Can you ever see yourself fancying me in return?" Ginny asked him, completely innocent expression on her face. Hermione had to admit to herself that it looked genuine. Without her memory of things past, it probably was. Harry, however, had a hard look on his face and his voice was unforgiving.

"No, Ginny, I will never feel anything for you but contempt. You don't remember it but you caused my family a great deal of pain. The memory was removed from your mind. Don't ask me about it. Don't ask your family. They were sworn to secrecy. You almost killed someone that I love dearly. The fact that you're even alive is only because I didn't want to disappoint the person you hurt. You should stay away from me and my family. There will never be a chance between the two of us so you should just move on and forget all about me. It would be for the best," he intoned, no emotion whatsoever in his tone. Ginny burst into tears, confusion clouding her eyes but Harry offered her no comfort. He turned and walked away, leaving her there alone, embarrassed and hurt. Hermione tried to slink out of sight but Ginny just barely caught sight of her movement.

"Come to gloat? Make fun of the girl that's in love with the boy that will never want her?" she spat. Hermione tried to find compassion inside her for the young girl. It was clear that she wasn't the same girl as before but it was truly hard. This girl had almost caused her death and Hermione wasn't sure that she could forgive something like that.

"I haven't come to do either. I'd rather you just move so I can leave and we can pretend that I never witnessed this," Hermione said. Ginny crossed her arms and glared at her.

"What is it that I did that is so bad? I can't remember anything. I just want him to like me. I don't want him to look at me like I'm a bug he's going to squash under his shoe," Ginny admitted. Hermione felt a twinge of guilt but still couldn't bring herself to feel bad for the girl. She was the source of so much of her own pain and uncertainty.

"I would do just as Harry told you. Don't worry about it anymore. Just move on. He's never going to want you so just find a boy who does. Besides, if you don't back off of him, I'll make sure they never find your body. I don't care that your family is my family. I'm fairly certain that most of them wouldn't even care," Hermione toned. She knew that it was harsh and probably not true but she didn't care. Ginny burst into tears and dashed off but Hermione had made her point. She was happy. It might have been a little callous and cold but she had no room for sorrow or pity for Ginny.

Hermione found Harry waiting for her at the front of the store. She gave him a small smile when she saw the bag of purchases that he had. He pressed a kiss to her palm as they left and she wondered if he was going to tell her about his run in with Ginny. She wouldn't be offended if he didn't since she had witnessed it herself. She truly could trust Harry now and it warmed her heart.

They visited Honeydukes and Quality Quidditch Supplies next, Harry spending a fair amount of money in each. Hermione smiled at his chocolate addiction and just shook her head in exasperation at the sheer amount of money he spent in the quidditch store. He bore her exasperation well, just laughing at her while he paid for his purchases.

After those places, they decided that lunch was in order. Harry pulled her towards the Three Broomsticks and found them a table to themselves, something that was usually impossible. Harry ordered them both fish and chips and butterbeer, one of Hermione's favorite meals there. They talked quietly through the meal and made sure that they didn't bring a lot of attention to themselves. Draco and Daphne were off in the distance having their own meal while the rest of her friends were in a large group laughing loudly at she wasn't sure what.

After lunch, they headed for Flourish and Blotts. Hermione was looking forward to seeing Barney Blott, her favorite of the two owners. Harry arm was wrapped around her waist and she was held up against his side, his body heat helping keep her warm. They entered the store and the warmth was instantaneous. Hermione shucked off her cloak and hung it up, Harry following suit. Mr. Blott came forward and gave her a smile.

"Lady Black, how wonderful to see you. It's been awhile," Barney Blott said warmly. Hermione smiled at the man and let him take her hand in his.

"Thank you, Mr. Blott. It has been awhile since I've been in. Do you have anything new that I would be interested in?" she asked him. The man proudly led her towards the shelf where his new releases were held and she lost herself in the world of books for who knows how long. She caught sight of Harry sitting in a chair at the front of the shop reading something so he was suitably distracted.

Once she had chosen thirteen books, Hermione knew she needed to stop. She levitated her stack towards the counter and smiled at Mr. Blott as he started to ring them up.

"Congratulations on your werewolf cure, dear. I was very proud of you when I read about it in the paper," he told her with a smile. Hermione knew there was a light blush on her cheeks.

"Thank you, it was a lot of hard work," she admitted. She paid for her purchases as she glanced at the clock and realized that they had been there for three hours. It was almost time to start heading back towards the castle for dinner. Harry stood once she had said her farewells to Mr. Blott and waved his wand, shrinking her packages so she could easily carry them in her pocket.

Harry's arm found its place around her waist after she put her cloak back on. They ambled through the streets of Hogsmeade, slowly making their way for the carriages that would take them back to Hogwarts. Hermione couldn't help but compare this date to the ones she had been on with Cedric. While those had been enjoyable, there was a sense of peace when she was with Harry. Nothing she had ever felt came close to it.

"Ginny hit on me in Zonko's. I wasn't going to tell you because to me it wasn't a big deal but I feel guilty not telling you," Harry confessed. Hermione leaned further into his side and smiled into his cloak.

"I know. I was wandering around while you looked and happened to witness the entire scene. She actually had words with me after you left," Hermione admitted. Harry stopped and turned her to look at him.

"What did she say?" he demanded. Hermione reached out to play with the buttons on his shirt.

"She wanted to know what she did that was so bad. She went on about how she just wanted you to like her," Hermione said. His hands caught hers and he pulled her into a hug.

"You know that I'll never have anything to do with her again, right?" he asked. Hermione nodded against his chest. She really did know that.

"Yes, I know. I trust you, Harry. After Cho, I won't make that mistake again. You know what that golden glow was, don't you? The first time we made love?" Harry nodded against her and she could feel his fingers in her hair.

"We're soulmates. I didn't say anything because I didn't want to scare you. I've already told you how committed I am. It makes me happy," he told her. Hermione wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed.

"Me too. I don't think we should tell anyone though. Maybe Draco and the rest of the family when we see them but nobody else. Especially with the Dark Lord having a weird thing for me. It'll probably piss him off and make him do something rash," Hermione said. Harry pulled her away from him and nodded before dipping down and catching her lips with his. Hermione surrendered instantly to Harry's mouth, she always did, and he thrust his tongue in her mouth, tasting every inch of her. She moaned softly into his mouth and his hand came up to cup her breast under her cloak so nobody could see.

A scream rent through the air ahead of them, breaking them both from their lust-induced haze.

Katie Bell was raising in the air, her limbs completely lax, while her best friend Leann screamed. Harry broke away from her and ran for his friend, catching her by the ankle and dragging her back down. Hermione went to Leann and tried to calm her down, to get her to stop screaming so she could learn just what had happened, but it was no use. The screaming was drawing the attention of numerous students, however, so Hermione was quick to send a young Hufflepuff off in search of a professor.

Minutes had gone by when Hagrid came lumbering up the lane and Hermione groaned to herself. He was the worst choice possible but he would have to do. She caught sight of a package on the ground and watched as one of the third years went to grab it for Katie. Hermione shot a blast of magic at him, sending him flying. Leann was still screaming in the background. Finally, Hermione turned and silenced her.

"Don't touch it. We have no idea what happened to her. For all we know, it could have cursed her. I'll levitate it. Professor Hagrid, we need you to carry Katie to the carriages and into the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts. We aren't sure what's wrong with her but she isn't responding in any way," she instructed. Hagrid was quick to scoop her up and start for the carriages, Hermione taking care of the package while Harry took Leann by the hand and led her along with them.

-O-

Harry had Leann by the hand and dragged her towards the carriage that Hermione had emptied for Hagrid and Katie. Once they were all inside, the carriage seemed to take ages to get them to Hogwarts. However, Hermione cast her patronus and sent it to her godfather, beckoning him to meet them when they got there.

The space was cramped since Hagrid was so large but nobody complained. Katie was stiff as a board and though Leann was no longer screaming, she was limp against him. The package that Katie had been carrying was floating in the middle of them all, Hermione's magic keeping it out of reach. When they finally reached the castle. Hagrid went first, Harry second with Leann, and Hermione last. Severus was waiting for them, as was the Headmaster and Professor McGonagall.

Severus instantly took Katie from Hagrid and hurried her to the Hospital Wing, the Headmaster hot on his tail. Hagrid just watched for a few moments before turning to head for his hut. Professor McGonagall gestured for them to follow her inside where it was warm. There were already numerous students that had returned and Ron rushed to Harry's side.

"Was that Katie that Snape just carried through? What happened?" Harry ignored his friend in favor of his Head of House.

"We aren't sure what happened, Professor, We were caught up in each other and we heard a scream. Leann was screaming and Katie was floating in the air. Hermione sent one of the little kids to get a professor and he returned with Hagrid. He tried to touch that package and Hermione blasted him back with magic, told him not to touch it. Leann has just quit screaming so I think she needs to be seen as well," Harry said, pausing for just a few moments while he considered his next words. "I think it was Theo Nott that did it. I think he's a Death Eater and he's been acting strange all year. I've told the Headmaster but he just blows me off like I'm an idiot. Will you please at least consider it, Professor?" Harry begged her. Hermione stiffened next to him and he reached out to thread his fingers through hers. Ron gasped softly but Professor McGonagall just shook her head.

"I'll keep a closer eye on him but he's been in the castle all day, Mr. Potter. He had detention with me. There is no way he could have done this," Professor McGogagall said. Harry shook his head.

"That doesn't mean a thing. There are ways -" he was cut off by his Head of House and she sounded rather exasperated.

"I don't have time for unfounded accusations, Mr. Potter. Miss Bell is gravely injured and I need to get Miss Spinks to the Hospital Wing. See yourself to dinner," she ordered. She reached out and grabbed Leann by the hand and led her away, leaving Harry, Hermione, and Ron standing there together. Harry couldn't remember a time where the woman had ever been so short with him.

Harry pulled Hermione to him and led her into the Great Hall. It wasn't the best ending to a date but he supposed that it was better than it could have been. He headed for the Slytherin table where Draco and Daphne were still missing, pulling Hermione into her usual seat next to him. It wasn't until after they were seated that he realized that Ron had followed them over there. He leaned over the table right next to Harry and glared at Theo.

"So you're the one responsible for cursing Katie Bell. You should know that we don't allow Death Eaters in school here," Ron sneered. Harry cursed softly. He couldn't trust Ron to keep his mouth shut about anything. Why is the fuck was Dumbledore telling him to share the horcrux information with him? Theo jumped up quick as a snake and hopped over the table, grabbing Ron by the shirt.

"You don't know shite, Prewett. I can't even call you a Weasel anymore because your family was smart enough to leave you behind in the dust. At least they're decent now. I'd rather be a Death Eater than poor, pathetic Gryffindor Prewett that nobody can stand and people only take pity on because he's the first friend of Saint Potter," Theo spat. Ron was the one who swung first, catching Theo right in the nose. Theo was just as quick as ever, punching Ron right in the gut. Harry jumped up to break the fight up while the professors fled the High Table but it was Hermione that got in the middle faster than anyone. She put up a magical barrier between them and glared at them both.

"You're a fucking idiot, Ronald. Go away. Theo, you know better than to rise to his shite. Now look at you. Now you're both going to be in trouble," she lectured. Professor Vector was the first one who reached them and she was livid.

"What is going on here?" she demanded. Ron just glared at her but Theo had no problems explaining the situation.

Hermione settled against him again and Harry spooned up dinner for her while Professor Vector handled the situation. He was going to have to talk to Ron about keeping things he said in front of him to himself. The last thing they needed was for Theo to report this sort of thing to Voldemort.

He and Hermione conversed softly between them, both worried about Katie but not wanting to ruin the rest of their day. Draco and Daphne showed up towards the end of the meal, both of them red-cheeked from the cold, their lips swollen from snogging. Since Theo was sitting only a few people down, Harry didn't say a word about what had happened to him, leaving it to Hermione to inform him later that night.

After they finished eating, he pulled her from the table and led her towards the Room of Requirement. He was hoping that he could convince her to spend some personal time with him since it had been almost a week since they had done so. Between both their schedules, it was hard to find the time to be together like they had over the Christmas holidays. While Harry didn't mind since they were both genuinely busy, he did miss the time spent ravishing her body and bringing her to orgasm over and over.

Once inside the Room, Harry stripped his robes off to leave him in only his trousers and oxford. He turned to see that Hermione was stripping off everything. She gave him a smirk as she tried to remove her bra on run, heading for the bed while trying to keep out of his reach when he lunged for her. He laughed when he just barely missed her and she laughingly bounced on the bed away from him. She was still in her bright pink knickers but Harry didn't mind. He had no problems removing them.

He stripped himself at a much more sedate pace while she watched. He liked knowing that she found him attractive, that just looking at him turned her on. There was a certain amount of power in it and it made him stand taller. He crawled on the bed until he was hovering over the top of her, his head just above her own. His lips just barely brushed hers and she melted.

"I've missed this. I've missed feeling your cunt come around my cock, Mia. We need to try to find more time for each other," he told her. She reached up and her fingers stroked his ribs, sending chills over his body.

"I've missed you too. I wish we were in the same house," she said sadly. He didn't want her sad. He dropped his mouth to hers again and this time devoured her.

She tasted so sweet, like honey. Her mouth responded to his perfectly, submissive and responsive. He swallowed her moans and gasps while her arms wrapped around his neck so she could wrap her hands in his hair to hold him close. One hand still held him aloft but the other traveled south, finding her breast. He palmed it before finding the peak and tweaking it roughly. She gasped again, telling him just how much she adored the things that he did to her. He wanted her to visit him more often so he was going to make sure that she came as many times as she could in the short time they had together.

His fingers traveled the expanse of her flat belly, cherishing the softness of her skin. Her nether lips were bare and petal soft, he wasn't sure what she did to get them that soft. He worked two fingers inside her folds to find her entrance, already drenched in anticipation of what was to come, His fingers gathered her silky arousal fluid and pushed inside her, eliciting a gasp from her mouth. He dragged his mouth from hers so he could suck at her pulsepoint. He pumped in and out of her, his thumb pressing just so on her pleasure pearl at the top of her slit.

Her legs opened wide as he continued his ministrations and she moaned loudly. He loved that she was vocal, he loved hearing how much he pleased her. He released her neck to catch her nipple in his mouth, tugging at it before he suckled roughly. It was enough to send her over the edge, her pussy spasming around his hand, her liquid arousal soaking his hand. After her convulsions had stopped, quieting down to just random shivers, Harry pulled his hand away and began to lick his fingers, making a show of it to make her blush. He loved that she still blushed when he did this.

Once his hand was clean, he pressed a soft kiss to her nipple before sliding lower and burying his face in her cunt. She was still coming down from her orgasm and hadn't expected it, jumping the second his mouth touched her silky soft skin.

"No, Harry, it's too sensitive, I can't," she protested. Harry pressed her hips into the bed and looked up at her.

"You can and you will. You're going to come at least four times before you leave tonight. It's an incentive to come back more often," he told her. He didn't give her a chance to respond before lowering his mouth to her cunt once more. He loved spreading her wide and sticking her knees to the bed, a feast laid out before him and she could do nothing but absorb the pleasure. With her knees appropriately attached to the bed, he began his quest.

He nibbled at her outer lips first, knowing that if he went straight for her nub, she'd come too quickly and he wouldn't get to enjoy himself. He traced each fold with his tongue, varying his pressure. His tongue found her entrance and he lapped at the fluid that was still there, tasting her arousal. He dipped inside her and felt her fingers buried in his hair, trying to pull him up to where she wanted him to be. He gave in and pulled her nub into his mouth, suckling at it gently while sliding his fingers inside her again. Her hips were straining to rut against his face but he took his time with her.

Hermione keened loudly, moaning her need for him. He chuckled against her pussy, remembering how she had told him that she couldn't go again. Finally, after listening to her for several more minutes, he nipped her pearl and sucked it hard, sending her crashing over the edge of pleasure. Her liquid desire seeped from her hot, little hole and Harry gulped it down greedily.

He didn't give her a chance to recover. Harry lifted himself from between her legs so he could position himself to fuck her. His cock slid in easily and she gasped. Her cunt gripped him tight and Harry couldn't get over how much she felt like home. None of the other girls even came close.

Harry set a punishing pace, determined to bring her to orgasm twice more before he came. Her knees were still stuck to the bed and he watched himself slide in and out of her, one hand reaching out to pluck at her nipple while the other circled her clit. Since he wasn't leaning over her, she didn't have anything to hold onto and her hands were clenched in the bedspread, trying to find purchase. Moans and mewls of pleasure spilled from her lips and it was music to Harry's ears.

Harry had to hold himself back to keep from spilling inside her when she came again, moaning his name with a string of profanities Once he was sure that she was through, he pulled out and released her knees.

"Get on your hands and knees," he ordered. Hermione looked at him as though he was crazy but she moved to obey him. Her curls were damp, her skin glistened with a sheen of sweat, and she had never looked more beautiful.

He hadn't had her in this position yet. Since she was still relatively new to sex, he hadn't done anything more than her riding him and missionary. Tonight, however, he was going to introduce her to taking her from behind. His hands gripped her hips and he slid the head of his cock through her lips to make sure that he was still wet. He slammed home, filling her to the brim, and she gasped with pleasure.

He kept his pace steady, letting her get used to the position before he started pounding her. Judging by the sounds coming from her lips, the position was well-received. He drove himself in and out of her, relishing in how she clenched around him as he brought her closer and closer to the precipice of pleasure. He reached out and grabbed her curls, pulling her up until her back was flush against his chest. Her head lolled against his shoulder as he continued to drive into her.

"Do you like how it feels, baby? My cock driving inside you from behind? Does it feel like I'm splitting you wide open?" he groaned in her ear. Her arms came up to circle around his neck, hands tangling in his hair.

"Uh huh," she moaned.

Harry knew she was close so he slid one up from her waist to twist her nipple. It was just enough to send her over the edge and once again, her cunt squeezed down on his cock. Harry let himself go, his cock growing impossibly harder before spilling inside her. He jerked a few more times before stilling completely.

Harry pulled out of Hermione and guided her to lay on her side. He lay down next to her, gathering her close to him. He smoothed her curls from her face and worried that she hadn't said anything. He pressed a line of kisses down her neck to her shoulder.

"Are you alright, Mia?" he questioned.

"Mmm hmm," she mumbled.

Harry lifted his head and smiled to himself when he saw that she was already asleep. He summoned his wand and set an alarm for an hour before pulling a blanket over the top of them. They could afford an hour nap together before going back to their dorms. Harry settled his arm around Hermione's waist, his hand cupping her bare breast, and buried his face in her hair.

He'd deal with Ron when he woke up.

A/N- Nothing too exciting in this chapter, y'all, just a nice little filler chapter. With smut. Can't forget the smut. Hope you enjoyed. Thanks again for reading and reviewing, you guys keep me writing! Leave me a message after the beep and let me know what you think.

Next chapter, an Azkaban breakout.

Love,

Alicia


	123. Chapter 123

A/N- Here I am, y'all, I haven't forgotten you, I promise! My life is so insane right now. Finally found a place to move to, helping Grandma cope, and my daughter's school just got put on lockdown today! Talk about getting my heart rate up! All is well though so no worries. Anyways, thanks for reading and reviewing. I know that I say this all the time but you have no idea how much your feedback keeps me writing. I'll shut up now so you can get to reading!

Disclaimer: I still don't own this plot or the characters. Those belong to Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle and our queen, J.K.R. Hopefully, after 122 chapters, you're more than aware. Still haven't made any money on this story or any other.

Chapter 123

February 16, 1997

Harry sat with his Gryffindor friends for breakfast but he really wasn't enjoying himself. Most of them ignored him but Ron was decidedly frosty to him. Pav had taken his lead. Harry understood that he had been harsh with Ron but to hold a grudge for a month was just ridiculous.

*Flashback*

After Harry had left Hermione at the Slytherin common room door, he returned to Gryffindor Tower, knowing that he had to deal with Ron. It wasn't something that he was really looking forward to but it needed to be done. Ron needed to understand that it was not alright for him to go around and falsely accuse someone in public, especially since the accusation came from Harry himself.

Ron was seated at the chess table playing against Neville. Harry could tell that their game was almost over because Ron was grinning like a loon and Neville looked as though he wanted to jump off a bridge. Harry stood there and watched and sure enough, two moves later, Ron was crowing happily.

"I beat you again, Nev, I'm starting to think you're doing it on purpose," he said. Neville just shook his head as he stood.

"I'm knackered. Heading to bed. See you guys in the morning," he said with a yawn. Harry nodded while Ron started to clean up his chess set. There were only a few people left in the common room so Harry waved his wand, silencing the area for privacy.

"How are you not in detention right now?" Harry asked bluntly. Ron looked up and met his eyes with a smirk.

"Nott wanted first detention and since there aren't any other free professors, I'm starting mine tomorrow. Can't believe I'm getting punished for hitting a Death Eater," Ron said, almost sneering. Harry just stared at him, completely flabbergasted.

"Ron, you should have never said a word to Nott about anything. You heard me tell a professor my suspicions and you accepted it as fact and then made a huge scene. What happened to you keeping your mouth shut about my secrets? If I can't trust you, Ron, we aren't going to be friends. You already cause so much drama in my life that it would honestly make things easier for me. However, I've put off cutting ties with you because you were my first friend. You were there for me when others weren't. I don't want to lose you but you seem to be doing everything in your power to make sure that dropping you like a hot potato is exactly what I do!" Harry informed him, ending his rant at a shout. Ron just stood there dumbfounded before finally glaring at his friend.

"Life must be so hard for poor Harry Potter. Letting go of the poor friend would make life easier for you, huh? Good to know that the Slytherin disloyalty is rubbing off on you. Maybe you shouldn't snog your girlfriend so much," Ron shot back hatefully. Harry took a menacing step forward and noted that Ron quickly stepped back.

"Me letting you go as a friend has nothing to do with money, Ron. It has to do with the fact that you whine that I don't spend time with you and when I do come spend time with you, you can't take your hands off Pav. If you'd rather spend time with her, fine, I don't care. Just fucking tell me. I'm tired of you taking pot shots at Hermione, she's my girlfriend, hopefully she'll be my wife someday. She doesn't say anything terrible about you. Last, I'd like to be shot of you when you can't keep your fucking mouth shut. You know what Dumbledore has been telling me and I've trusted you. If I can't trust you to keep your mouth shut about Nott, why would I be able to trust you when it comes to the horcruxes?" Harry ranted, his chest heaving with the effort he had put into his argument. However, he was done arguing and this would continue all night if he let it.

"You figure out how trustworthy you're going to be, Ron, and let me know. If you're going to continue to be an idiot and spout off whenever you get angry, we'll call this our last conversation and part ways. If you're going to pull your head out of your arse and remember that this is war, not a schoolyard, I'll be happy to continue being your friend. The decision is yours. Just let me know what you decide because I'll be keeping my distance until you give me an answer," he said just before storming off to his dorm.

*End of Flashback*

It had taken a week for Ron to face him and tell him that he would keep his mouth shut. Harry had nodded and told him that he was happy to still count him as a friend and started sitting with him at meals again. Ron was doing better about ignoring him at meals but the animosity was still there. He wondered how long Ron was going to run with it because Harry had just about had his fill.

The bell was getting ready to ring so he shoved his plate away and stood, grabbing his bag from the floor. Since Ron felt that it was acceptable to speak as little as possible, Harry just walked off. He wasn't going to shove the redhead into talking to him if he didn't want to. He headed for the Slytherin table as the bell rang, dismissing them to Charms. He had Hermione in his classes all morning long and he was thrilled. It had been since Valentine's Day since he had seen her other than meals.

"Good morning, beautiful. You ready for Charms?" Harry asked as he slipped an arm around her waist so he could guide her through the throngs of people towards the entrance. Draco and Daphne were close behind and he knew that it wouldn't be long before Neville and Blaise caught up with them. Hermione nodded in the affirmative and he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

Harry took the lead and picked his way through the crowd in the corridors to make their way to Charms. They were the first to arrive and took their usual seats. Hermione readied herself and her things while Harry did the same. He wondered if she wished that she had just tested out of school completely. He knew that it was very frustrating for him to have to learn the same content twice, let alone do the assignments twice.

Professor Flitwick entered last and swept the door shut with a wave of his wand. He instantly began his lecture over the drought charm. It wasn't thrilling in the slightest but Harry made sure to add to his notes when the professor made a point that he hadn't noted. They were assigned an essay for homework and bid them to work quietly until the end of class.

When the bell rang, both he and Hermione gathered their things and put them in their bags quickly so they would have enough time to make it clear to the dungeons for Defense Against the Dark Arts with Severus. Rather than wrap an arm around her waist, he took her hand in his, lacing their fingers together. She smiled down at the sight, blushing ever so slightly. While she didn't like huge displays of affection, she did seem to adore when he showed her affection in front of people. Maybe it was because he had never been affectionate with the girls he had kept company with and it made her feel special.

They entered Defense and took their usual seats. Severus was already there, seated behind his desk and looking quite intimidating to those who didn't know him. Hermione started to unload her things as usual but her godfather looked up at her.

"Don't bother, Miss Black. We're going to be doing a practical today," he informed her. Hermione raised an eyebrow his direction but nodded gamely. The others started to filter in and took their seats quietly, not wanting to lose points from the dreaded Potion's Master. Even the Slytherins were respectful and they knew that they could likely get away with anything in this class. Severus really did look angry. Their professor stood and glared at them all.

"Today, we're going to see how much you've learned. Stand up and clear the room, push the desks to the sides. We're going to have a class duel competition," Severus stated. Hermione and Harry were quick to comply, using magic to expedite their endeavors. Draco and Daphne seemed to be doing the same. The others caught on quickly and started to obey as well. Once the room was clear, Severus waved his wand at the board and a list of names were paired together, clearly the partners for the duel. It was clear that he had tried to match them against the opposite house.

Harry found himself paired with Pansy while Hermione was paired with Neville. Draco had Parvati and Daphne was with Lavender. He didn't pay much attention to the other pairings since they really didn't affect him in any way. That is, until Severus spoke again.

"The winner of these pairs will be paired with another winner, on down the line until there is only one left standing. All spells are to be nonverbal. We've been working on that all year and it's time to prove to me that you aren't complete idiots and can manage it. Nott, Thomas, you're up first," Severus called out.

Harry watched as Theo and Dean made their way to the middle of the room and each took a side. There was a slight bow before the spells started flying. Harry knew that Dean was good; he had taught him himself. However, it was clear that Theo was better. Not only did he have a family manor to practice in, he was being trained by Death Eaters if his theory was correct. Therefore, it wasn't a surprise when Nott won in the end, sneaking a stunner around Dean's shield. The class erupted in cheers, clearly getting in the mood for this competition. Once Dean had been revived, the pair moved off.

"Potter, Parkinson, you're next," their professor growled. Hermione went to her tip toes and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek for luck. He grinned at her and moved to the middle where Pansy was already glaring at him. He lifted his wand and bowed ever so slightly.

Harry gave no indication that he was going to begin. He just started sending spells her way, quicker than a snitch. Pansy tried to shield but it was clear that defense was not her strong suit. Harry had her disarmed and defeated in under two minutes. There were snickers through the class but he wasn't surprised. He handed her wand back to her, handle towards her, and smirked before heading back to Hermione's side.

Daphne and Lavender were called next and it was far from epic. Daphne wasn't the greatest with defense but then, neither was Lavender. Lavender had been in his D.A. classes and while she could cast the spells correctly, Daphne was just a bit quicker, letting her take the win. The applause was lackluster since their duel wasn't thrilling at all.

Next were Millie and Ron, which Ron won rather quickly. Draco and Parvati came next and it was embarrassing how fast Draco took her out. Harry felt bad for his friend because even through her dark skin, you could see her blush. Seamus and Blaise were called to the front and began without fuss. Harry was quite proud to see one of his D.A. members win against a Slytherin.

Finally, it was time for Hermione to face Neville. He kissed the side of her head but had no worries. Neville was one of her best friends and they would never hurt each other. He also had no doubts that she would beat him. The pair squared off and Hermione gave him a legitimate bow, which Neville wholeheartedly returned. The duel began in earnest and Harry could tell that Hermione was holding back to let Neville prove himself to her godfather. While his fellow Gryffindor knew everything about Severus, the older man still unnerved him at times. It was ten minutes later that Hermione finally sneaked a disarming charm around Neville's shield, leaving him without a wand. Again, the class started cheering.

"Alright, the new pairs are on the board. Make sure that you're ready when you're called. Miss Black, since you have no partner, you will take the time to rest and join the winners in the next round," Severus said, his tone brokering no argument. Harry looked up to see that he was paired with Daphne, Theo with Seamus, Draco with Ron, and Hermione just sailing through.

"Potter, Greengrass, you're first. In the middle," Severus ordered. Harry and Daphne were quick to comply.

They bowed and the duel started. Harry knew that he could have taken her down in the first minute but he let her show off her skills to the best of her ability. After five minutes, he waited until she let her shield fall and disarmed her, her wand cleanly sailing across the room and into his hand. Daphne blushed slightly so Harry walked forward and handed it to her, throwing an arm around her shoulders in a show of support.

"Don't be upset. You know what I do in my spare time. You did great," he reassured her. Daphne blushed again but nodded. She went back to Draco and he kissed her chastely while Severus' back was turned.

"Nott, Finnegan, get out there," Severus barked. Both boys jumped, quick to comply.

Their duel was actually fun to watch. While Theo had the skill, Seamus had the speed. Nott simply couldn't land a spell on him because he was constantly on the move. It lasted at least ten minutes before Theo got a lucky break. Seamus tripped on his shoelace and fell to the ground, giving Theo the opportunity to disarm him. The cheering was extremely loud since it was the best duel by far so far. After his wand was returned to Seamus, the pair cleared off and Draco made his way to the center without being called. Ron followed. Harry couldn't quite read the look in Ron's eyes but he knew that the redhead wasn't completely stupid. He and Draco had called somewhat of a ceasefire since they had protected each other in the Department of Mysteries. However, the incident on the train home for Christmas had happened since then. Ron knew that he was no match for Draco.

There were no bows given and Harry watched the pair furiously duel. He had to admit that Ron wasn't that bad. He could certainly hold his own. It seemed as though Draco was just toying with him, though, since he was being deliberately slow in shielding and sending weak spells his way. Finally, around six minutes in, Draco threw in the towel and sent a stunner straight at Ron's shield with such force that it shattered. A disarming spell immediately followed and Ron's wand landed in his hand. Cheers once again broke out and Hermione had a pinched look on her face. He wondered if the cheering was giving her a headache.

"Five minutes to rest and regroup. The last two pairs are on the board," Severus called out.

Harry looked up to see him paired with Draco and Theo paired with Hermione. He couldn't help but worry if the boy would try to hurt Hermione on purpose. She didn't appear to be worried in the least but that was no surprise. Hermione always did well under pressure.

"Nott, Black, you're up," Severus said. Hermione stood up and went to the center of the room, waiting for Theo to meet her there. Once he standing several paces from her, they both bowed slightly to each other. He met Draco's eyes and he could tell that his friend was nervous as well.

Theo shot the first spell but Hermione put up her shield before instantly sending a volley of spells towards her ex-friend. The duel was fast and furious but he could tell that Hermione was holding back. He had dueled with her enough times to know when she wasn't using her full power or taking a second too long to shield. After ten minutes, Hermione finally had enough and used a stunner at full power to shatter Theo's shield, giving her the opportunity to summon his wand. He was so surprised that the wand flew right out of his fingers. Cheering abounded and Hermione handed him his wand back before returning to the spot next to him. He had just enough time to give her a quick kiss before Severus was calling him and Draco to duel.

Harry and Draco were no strangers to dueling each other. They did it all the time. However, they were usually not being watched by a room full of people. It was usually just members of their family. They met in the center and bowed, both of them smirking at each other. If everyone had thought they had seen a good duel before, they were going to be surprised when they started.

Draco threw the first spell, he almost always did. Rather than waste time and energy in casting a shield, Harry dodged it. He was sending his own spells towards Draco, who was dodging and ducking just the same. Neither boy relied on their shield all that much, preferring to use their speed and agility to aid them. Back and forth they went, Harry gaining the upper hand just to lose it to Draco minutes later. He wasn't even sure how long they had been going at it, just that he was certainly glad that they ran every morning. He would have never had the endurance otherwise.

It was all over when Harry just barely dodged one of Draco's spells, a nasty cutting curse if he didn't know any better, and he heard a startled cry from Hermione. He glanced her way for only half a moment to make sure that she was alright when Draco's spell hit Harry directly in the chest. What made it worse was that it was a tickling hex. Harry started laughing while Draco disarmed him. Harry couldn't quit laughing at the sensation of being tickled so was helpless with his wand. Draco walked over and handed him wand, casting the counter curse on friend.

Harry realized that the room was silent. There was no cheering like with the others and for a moment, he wondered if he had something on his face. He walked back to Hermione's side and wrapped an arm around her waist and looked to Severus. However, Seamus was the one that was brave enough to risk angering their professor.

"How in the bloody hell are you two so good? You're only sixth years for Merlin's sake," Seamus said, his voice full of awe. Harry snorted. The entire class was listening.

"Lots and lots of practice. We duel all the time, so does Hermione. We like it," he confessed.

"That was a perfect example of why you should do your classwork and practice spells like I tell you. Now, I believe we have one more duel left," Severus drawled.

Hermione went to the center and gave Draco a smile. Both bowed to each other and as usual, Draco was the first to throw a spell. Hermione was moving around like he and Draco did, dodging spells, since her shield was mostly useless against he and Draco. Not that it mattered; she didn't usually employ her shield against them anyways because she was always trying to improve her speed and agility.

The duel lasted over ten minutes; Harry could tell that Draco wasn't shooting spells at her quite as quickly as he had at Harry. Hermione wasn't as good at dodging and he didn't want to embarrass or hurt her. Therefore, it wasn't a surprise when fifteen minutes after they started, Hermione stepped in the wrong direction and right into Draco's spell. She was stunned and dropped unceremoniously to the hard floor. Draco didn't bother taking her wand, just hurried to her side so he could wake her up and make sure that she wasn't injured.

Severus walked over to her once she was sitting up and offered her a vial full of potion. Hermione instantly swallowed it and nodded in thanks. Draco hauled her up but let her brush herself off. She went back to his side as Severus started to speak.

"As you can see, Draco won but not because he's the best. All four of the top students are extremely good. They showed you a classic duel and then two that demonstrates you don't have to rely on your shield for all things. I want you all to continue practicing in your spare time and continue to use nonverbal casting. Even if your spells are weak now, they will get stronger the more you practice. Class dismissed," he said, irritation bleeding through his tone. They all stood to leave and Harry grabbed Hermione's hand as they made their way to lunch.

"Are you sure that you're alright? You didn't hit your head too hard, did you?" he questioned her. She shook her head.

"No, that's what Uncle Sev gave me. A headache potion with strict instructions to visit Madam Pomfrey if a headache returns. I'll be with him all afternoon for training so he'll keep an eye on me," Hermione told him, clearly anticipating that he was going to worry about her having a head injury. Harry just sighed and nodded and pulled her towards lunch.

-O-

Tom was excited. Today would be his first debut in the wizarding world, striking fear into everyone once more. Yes, there had been the unfortunate scene in the Ministry Atrium but he hadn't been meaning to strike fear into anyone; he had been dueling The-Boy-Who-Just-Wouldn't-Die.

Tom had gathered all the followers he had left, not that many to say the least. Bella, Severus, Rookwood, and Nott were the only ones who had known of his location so he had had them spread the word that today they were going to break into Azkaban in broad daylight and free all of his followers along with any that wanted to take his mark. It would show that he was still around, still taking over, and had no problem being bold if he needed to be.

There were no anti-apparition wards around the prison, something that Tom found to be utterly ridiculous. The Ministry counted on the fact that nobody could perform wandless magic after being affected by the dementors; while this was probably true, there are always different ways to go about things. Not to mention, it made it ridiculously easy for him and his Death Eaters to apparate to the shores of the island that housed the infamous prison.

Tom didn't bother to wait for anyone to come find them. They made their way across the rocky shore until they reached the main doors of the prison. Still, nobody had come out which meant that they didn't even have a ward in place to tell them that someone had arrived. But again, who in their right mind would want to visit a place like this?

He waved his wand, blasting the doors open. There was nobody in sight. There was a large desk where visitors clearly checked in, a cup of tea sitting on a coaster. Suddenly, a rotund man rounded the corner, whistling to himself while reading a piece of parchment clutched in his hands. His nametag clearly said Warden. Tom didn't waste any time. He whipped his wand, casting the Imperious on the startled man. The familiar dazed look came over his features and Tom grinned ferally.

"You're going to rescind the dementors. Call them off now," he ordered. The warden moved to a desk and pulled out a charmed parchment. He moved a special quill across what Tom could now see was a map. For several minutes, he made sweeping motions with the quill but never seemed to touch the parchment. When he put the quill down, Tom grinned.

"It's done. They're all on the back side of the island," he stated, no inflection in his voice. Tom waved at Severus.

"Go check and make sure that they're gone," he ordered. Severus disappeared and he turned back to the warden.

"How many human guards are here right now?" he inquired.

"Ten, one in each unit. They just make sure the dementors do as they're supposed to," he replied. He didn't get a chance to respond before Severus reappeared.

"There aren't any dementors on the first floor," he told them. Tom lifted his wand once more and shot the familiar green curse at the warden, who toppled over in his chair to land on the floor in a tangled heap of limbs. He turned to his group of fifteen followers and hissed out his directions.

"Split up. There are clearly ten units. I want every human guard dead before we leave. Release your brothers and any that want my mark. Kill the ones that don't," he ordered.

All of his followers sped off, eager to do his bidding. He strolled the first floor, doing exactly what he sent them off to do. However, there were none of his followers on this floor; it was clearly for short-term prisoners. He offered his mark to them all and most said yes. They were all fairly young men, looked as though they weren't too damaged from the dementors. He came to the end of the cells to find that a pretty Asian girl was housed there. She was clearly terrified, rolling herself into a ball in the corner.

"You've heard me asking the question. Do you wish to follow me, wear my brand proudly, or do you wish to die?" he asked her. The frightened girl trembled as she considered her choice. Tom was going to give her a minute to answer. When she did, her voice was so soft he almost couldn't hear it.

"I'll wear your mark. Please don't kill me," she begged. He cocked his head to the side and wondered just why this girl looked familiar. He considered her for almost a full minute himself before realizing just where he had seen her. She had flashed through Potter's memories that day in the Atrium. She was somehow close to him, spent time with him. He wondered what she had done to be here.

"What's your name and blood status?" he demanded. The girl cowered even more. This would never do. His followers were strong; he would have to see that her training toughened her up.

"Ch-cho Chang, pureblood," she nearly whispered.

"What did you do to get here?" Tom asked, getting irritated that he had to wait around for her answers.

"I used polyjuice potion to make myself look like Hermione Black so I could shag Harry Potter and break them up. I had taken a fertility potion so I would get pregnant. I'm here for attempted line theft," she explained, anger coloring her words now. He grinned wryly. If only the girl had succeeded. Harry Potter would be less of a thorn in his side. He flicked his wand and unlocked the door, beckoning her to follow him. She did so quickly and silently, falling meekly behind him as he headed for the group of men that were waiting for the others to return.

Slowly, his Death Eaters returned with handfuls of men, handfuls of Death Eaters. Everyone that had been captured at the Ministry was there, along with others that he had missed when he broke Bellatrix free. The number of new recruits was astounding though. He didn't realize that Azkaban had so many prisoners.

"Nott, Rookwood, get fifteen or so of those boards, the long ones. Bring them over here and spread them out," he snapped. Now that their job was done, it was time to leave. Both men hurried to do as they were told. Tom began casting a spell to make them portkeys. He had planned on apparating but there was no way his followers with wands could apparate this many people. Once he had finished, he turned to the enormous crowd.

"Everyone grab a board, The portkey activates in a minute. Thoros, they're going to your front gate. Make sure you allow everyone entrance," he demanded. Thoros looked less than pleased but nodded his head obediently. The minute passed quickly as everyone scrambled to touch one of the long boards. Someone was counting down seconds from the back of the crowd and when he reached one, the magic activated and pulled them through space.

They were gone and only a graveyard remained behind them.

-O-

Hermione knocked briefly on her godfather's door after lunch, to warn him that she was coming in. He had class in just ten minutes and she was going to be helping with demonstrations. Her godfather, however, looked very agitated as she entered. She moved to hug him but his arms around her weren't as welcoming as usual.

"What's wrong, Uncle Sev?" she inquired. He pushed his hair back from his face, a nervous movement he rarely ever let himself do.

"I have to go to the Dark Lord. I can't tell you anymore, Dumbledore has forbid it. I changed the lesson plans and left them for you. You should just be supervising and them reading. Assign both classes an eighteen inch essay on the material. If they give you problems because you're not a professor, send them to Dumbledore. He knows I'm telling you this so he'll be in his office all afternoon," he explained rapidly. She wasn't so sure what had her godfather so worked up but knew that it was most likely dangerous. She hugged him again.

"Don't worry about me and your classes. I can handle them. You promise me you'll be safe," she ordered him. He smiled at her and kissed her forehead.

"I promise to do my utmost to come back to you. I can't bear to think of making you suffer under Horace for the rest of your mastery training," he quipped. Hermione laughed and released him, knowing that time was of the essence.

"You better go. Don't want to keep the psycho waiting," she said. He snorted, pressed one last kiss to her forehead and was gone.

Hermione wondered what it was that the Dark Lord could possibly want him to do in the middle of the day. She knew that most of his nefarious deeds were performed at night, under the cover of darkness. It worried her slightly but she turned her attention to the class that was going to be arriving momentarily.

Third year Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws filed in, looking glum. She knew everyone hated her godfather and that was fine with her. They didn't know how wonderful he was and that meant she only had to share him with Draco. Maybe Harry. She had noticed that the older man's defenses were usually low around Harry like they were around herself and Draco.

They all brightened up considerably when she called attention to herself and informed them that she was going to be supervising the class today by order of Dumbledore himself. She figured that that might help control horsing around. She assigned them the reading on werewolves and she was instantly bombarded with questions about her cure once they were done. Since they were actually showing interest in the class, she appeased them and answered all their questions. She assigned them their essay and sent them on their way.

Fourth year Gryffindors and Slytherins were next and it went about as well as the first, if there a bit more quarreling. She explained that she was in charge and while the snakes bowed down instantly, the lions grumbled about it, saying it wasn't right that a student gets to play professor. She invited anyone with a problem to go straight to Dumbledore and air their grievances with him. This calmed everyone down and she assigned them their reading on the Cruciatus Curse.

After they were finished, she gave them their homework assignment and sent them to dinner. She was packing up her bag, she had unloaded it so she could work on her own homework while the students read, when there was a knock at the door. Harry stood there, an impish grin on his face.

"Thought I'd come escort the new Defense Professor to dinner. Heard the littles talking about it in the corridor," he told her. She laughed softly as she finished with her bag.

"That's very sweet of you. Uncle Sev said that he had to go to the Dark Lord so he left me in charge. I'm worried about what it could be that he's doing. He told me that he couldn't tell me because Dumbledore forbid it," she whined. He crossed the room and pulled her into his arms, hugging her close. It felt so right to be in Harry's arms, like she was home.

"You know that disagreeable man is going to be a tough kill. I wouldn't worry too much about him. If it's something important, I'm sure it will hit the Prophet tomorrow," he said soothingly. She nodded against his chest.

"Let's go to the Room tonight, just hang out. We haven't spent time together in awhile, Harry. All we do is shag," she told him as she picked up her bag and started for dinner. He ran his hand down the length of her hair and nodded gamely.

"Anything you want, baby. We'll go straight there after dinner if all your homework is done," he answered her.

Hermione nodded and weaved her way through the corridors to find the Great Hall. Harry sat with her, though she wasn't surprised. She knew that he was fed up with Ron's behavior and how he was getting the cold shoulder. She didn't think that her boyfriend would put up with it much longer but she was just going to keep quiet. She really did hope that he dropped Prewett though. The boy was a menace.

Dinner passed without incident, though Draco did receive a fair amount of praise for winning the duel in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Once dinner was over, Harry pulled her towards the entrance so they could start making their way to the seventh floor. He paced in front of the Room of Requirement and when the door opened, he ushered her inside. Rather than the bedroom they usually summoned, it was an almost perfect duplicate of the library at Blackmoor, her favorite place in the whole entire world.

They snuggled together on the couch, just enjoying being together. Hermione was sitting on Harry's lap, her face nestled in the crook of his neck. It was heaven to just sit there with him like that, especially when she never thought in a million years that they would get to be together. Harry's hand stroked her spine, further relaxing her.

"Harry, what do you want to do after the war? Are you just going to live off your fortune or do you want to do something specific?" she asked him randomly. His stroking slowed as he considered her words.

"If I survive the war, I think I'd like to become an auror. I want to make a difference but can readily admit that I'm not as smart as you and Draco. I'm no slouch but I'm not inherently academic like you are. I don't think law would suit me, or politics for that matter. If we end up married, I think I'll just hand over all that kind of stuff to you," he said, grinning down at her. She punched him lightly on the chest, causing him to laugh even more.

"If we're married, you'll be able to. However, most men don't do that. It's basically unheard of," she explained. He frowned down at her.

"Why is that?" he questioned her. She blew out a long breath quickly.

"Our system is very patriarchal. Men are encouraged to sleep around, sow their oats, while women are expected to stay pure until marriage. Women can inherit but only if there are no living males in the line. That rarely happens, that's why it's such a phenomenon that I'm Lady Black. My dad never had another male child so that puts me as the first female head of the family in almost five hundred years. Men don't give their wives full access to their vaults, they give them an allowance vault to do their spending from. It's usually all worked out in the marriage contract. Men are scared that if they give their wives too much control over their assets, they could be robbed blind," Hermione explained. Harry was pondering her words. After a measure, he spoke.

"It's because purebloods don't marry for love. It's just an arrangement so they have to protect themselves. That's quite sad actually. Are your aunt and uncle the same way? They truly love each other," Harry inquired. Hermione nodded.

"Yes. Their marriage contract was arranged for them by their parents. Abraxas Malfoy would never have allowed a Black access to his entire fortune. It didn't matter that Uncle Lucius trusted her implicitly," she explained. Harry nodded against her.

"What do you want to do after the war, after school? I know that you want to finish your mastery but you've never said as to what you wanted to do after that," Harry inquired. Hermione hummed sleepily against him for a moment.

"I want to change the world. I want to do more than one thing. I want to create potions that will save lives. Imagine if I could create a potion to help Neville's parents? I want to create spells that will change the world, that will help people. I want to vote on the Wizengamot, put forth bills that will give women more rights, that will protect creatures like house elves from abuse. I want several masteries. I just want to make this world a better place," she said passionately. He kissed her forehead.

"I'm going to help you do all those things, Mia. I promise you, you're going to change this world," he told her. This earned him a kiss, a long, deep one that he really wanted to take further but knew that he shouldn't. Hermione felt like all they did was shag and he didn't want her to think that. He wanted her to know that he valued her for her mind as well. They were silent for almost half an hour before she spoke again.

"How many children do you see yourself having?" He snorted softly. She kept saying "if they got married" and then asked about how many children he wanted.

"At least a few. I never had much of a family so I would love to have more than one child. What about you?" he said wistfully. She lifted her head and kissed his jaw in support but didn't say a word about his family.

"Well, I have to have at least two. One to become heirs for both Potter and Black. I love my sister but I won't relinquish the title to her unless I have no choice. My father was technically disowned so my real father was the rightful heir. If I don't have an heir for the house of Black, she'll inherit when I die," she told him. He pressed several kisses to her cheeks and forehead.

"We'll have as many children as you want, Mia. As long as they're with you, you can have a quidditch team for all I care. We'll love them all. Can you imagine how thrilled your father, uncle, and godfather would be?" he said teasingly. She pinched him but laughed.

"Yes, they would be thrilled. More children to spoil. Dad never seemed to want to have children but I know that Uncle Luci wanted more children. Aunt Cissy just couldn't after Draco. It was very sad. Plus, it's rumored to be a curse on the Malfoy line that the Lords can only have one heir, always male, so there is no fighting over the title. Of course that's utter rot, otherwise my mother wouldn't have been born. People still believe it though," she informed him. They were silent again, this time only for ten minutes or so.

"What are you going to do about Ron?" Hermione asked him. She knew that it was a dangerous question but she felt like she had the right to inquire. He squeezed her and held her closer than before.

"Right now, I'm just riding it out. I will admit that I have more in common with Draco and Neville; I consider them my best friends. However, Ron will always hold a special place in my heart. He was my very first friend and since I never had any before him, I have a hard time dismissing that. However, if he keeps up his shite, that's what's going to happen. I think he's starting to come around. He got pissy when I just got up and left this morning. That usually means an apology is around the bend," he assured her. Hermione nodded against him, letting her eyes fall closed.

"Set a wand alarm, Harry, I just want to nap in your arms. I miss sleeping with you," she confessed. Harry leaned over and fiddled with his wand before returning to his original position.

"Alright, sleep away, princess. I miss holding you every night too," he told her. She felt him kiss her head again and she smiled into his neck.

Hermione drifted off to sleep in Harry's arms, warm and happy in his comforting embrace.

A/N- There we are folks, another chapter down. I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know if you liked seeing Voldy's side of things this time around. I might try to incorporate more of it in the future. Thanks for reading and reviewing, I really appreciate it. Leave me a message after the beep and let me know what you think.

Next chapter, an incident with love potions go awry.

Love,

Alicia


	124. Chapter 124

A/N- Here's another chapter, y'all. It's only been a week or so but I'm warning you that it may be even longer next time. I'm moving this coming weekend and I'll have to get my house into some semblance of order afterwards. Then I kind of owe a chapter to The Price of Victory. Hands up for those that absolutely detest moving! Thanks to everyone out there reading and reviewing, you guys are just awesome. Hope you enjoy the chapter.

**Shout out to 09 for being my 6300th reviewer. You reviewed so many chapters as you went along and I can't thank you enough for the love!**

Trigger warning: rape and sexual assault.

Disclaimer: I still don't own anything about this story but the plot twist. Anything you recognize has been done before and not by me. I'm still a broke bitch so I've made no money from this story or any other. My bank account balance tells no lies.

Chapter 124

March 1, 1997

Hermione sat in her usual spot at the Slytherin table, just finishing off her breakfast. Draco was next to her and he was trying to eat and talk quidditch with Neville at the same time. Daphne was quietly admonishing him because he was talking while chewing. Hermione just chuckled inwardly at the scene. She no longer had to keep her cousin in line; Daphne was doing a fine job of making sure that he didn't embarrass himself or his family.

She watched Harry from across the room while he ate his breakfast, conversing quietly with Ron. The redhead had made amends with her boyfriend and even though Hermione wanted to tell Harry the same behavior was going to continue, she didn't. She didn't want it to be an argument between them. Harry looked over at her and when he realized that she was watching him, he smiled at her warmly before turning his attention back to his friend.

Hermione turned her gaze to the High Table. Her godfather was there, eating his usual breakfast of two eggs, two slices of bacon, and toast. It was the same breakfast he had eaten since she was little and she sometimes wondered how he never tired of it. She ate the same thing every morning as well but still changed it up here and there when the mood struck.

News of the Azkaban breakout had stunned the world; the story had broken the day after Hermione had taught the Defense classes on her own and she knew without a doubt that her godfather had been involved. It had been reported that all guards had been killed and every prisoner that wasn't missing had been killed. She knew without a doubt that her uncle had killed that day. In the days since then, Hermione took every opportunity to hug her godfather and reassure him that she loved him and always would, no matter what he had to do. Draco did as well, though not quite as on-hands as she did. Uncle Sev always seemed gruff when they brought it up but he seemed to brighten as well.

The bell rang, dismissing them from breakfast. Hermione knew that Harry and Draco were headed to Ancient Runes so she was happy to start for the entrance so she could go work with Uncle Sev on her mastery. They were going to be working on the mastery level potion she was brewing, felix felicis. She had started it ages ago as an assignment, it took six months to brew, but it would be done in about six weeks. She was considering giving it to Harry and telling him to go question Slughorn and see where it got him. However, she hadn't decided for sure since the portly man was more and more friendly to Harry every day.

Harry caught up to her as she was heading into the corridor and gave her a quick kiss goodbye before wishing her well as he turned the corridor to head for Runes. Hermione laughed at him before starting for the dungeons. A group of first year Slytherins were headed down with her; clearly they were headed to the common room. She warned them not to dawdle because it would cost their house points and they nodded obligingly.

Hermione knocked once on her uncle's door before entering. Uncle Sev was standing over a cauldron, his hair falling forward like a curtain to hide his face. She wasn't sure what he was brewing but he was intensely concentrated. She settled behind her own cauldron to check on her potion; it was bubbling nicely and appeared to be the right color. If it hadn't been, her godfather would have told her.

Hermione gathered the occamy eggshell and started to grind it up into a fine powder. The recipe was very specific that it had to be fine; her godfather told her it was because it would be absorbed into the potion easier. It took her quite a bit of time and by the time she was finished, her arms were aching. Uncle Sev appeared behind her and peered into her cauldron, assessing her work before she added the new ingredient.

"It's acceptable. Add the occamy eggshell," he told her. Hermione nodded and did as she was told. She began stirring the appropriate numbers of stirs and made sure that the color of the potion was right where it needed to be. Her godfather gave her an approving nod and wandered back to his own potion.

After she put her potion in stasis, she moved to the desk located at the far end and sat behind it. She picked up the special quill that was always there waiting for her. She pulled a stack of essays her way and began grading the Slytherin and Gryffindor fourth years defense essays. The quill she wrote with had been charmed by Uncle Sev to mimic his handwriting. While she wasn't nearly as scathing as her godfather could be, she still had a little fun being able to say what she wanted on their parchment. Honestly, it was as if they didn't pay attention in class at all and it clearly showed by the content of their assignments.

Hermione wasn't sure how long she graded essays. She had made it through most of the stack, which had been quite formidable, when the bell rang, alerting them that it was time for lunch. Hermione stood and gathered her bag while her godfather barely noticed that she was moving.

"Uncle Sev, you need to eat. Can it go under stasis?" she questioned him, hoping her reminder would pull him out of his new potion. He lifted his head and nodded his head.

"Yes, in twenty minutes it can. Go along, poppet, I'll be up there afterwards," he promised her. She gave him a quick side hug and left him to his work.

Hermione made her way up from the dungeons to the Great Hall to find that Harry and Draco were already there waiting for her. She settled between them and Harry leaned over and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. She smiled at him as he started to dish up her food.

"How was brewing?" Hermione watched as he piled an enormous amount of food on her plate.

"It was fine. I'm brewing a specialty potion and Uncle Sev is working on something new. Not sure what though," she admitted.

Hermione started eating with gusto, as did Harry. It was just a simple roasted chicken but it was flavorful and moist. Harry was engaged in conversation about an upcoming quidditch match with Draco and Neville, Daphne putting her two sense in when she wanted. Hermione let her eyes drift once more, just observing. It was an important skill that her father and uncles had told her to use. Observing things gave you more insight and enabled you to make better decisions.

Hermione noticed that Marietta Edgecomb looked thoroughly miserable at the Ravenclaw table and she knew exactly why. Cho had been in Azkaban when the breakout occurred and while her body hadn't been found, it also meant that she was in the hands of Death Eaters. There was no telling what she was going through right now. While Hermione didn't feel bad that the girl was in prison, she did feel bad that she had been taken by Death Eaters. Nobody deserves to be wished upon them.

Her eyes wandered to the Gryffindor table just in time to see an owl swoop down and land in front of Ron Prewett. It looked as though it was a package of some sort and he was quick to rip the wrapping off after shoving his chicken at the owl to eat. He appeared to have received a box of chocolates if she could see clearly. Of course, his face lit up and he instantly opened the package and began shoveling them into his mouth. Patil watched in fond amusement while Hermione just wanted to vomit.

The Slytherin turned her attention back to Harry and laid a hand on his thigh to catch his attention. He turned and smiled at her, kissing the side of her head before running a hand down her curls.

"I'm sorry for ignoring you, Mia. I haven't meant to," he told her. She gave him another smile.

"I'm not mad. I was just letting you know that there are only five minutes left of lunch and I need to use the loo. Meet me outside? We have Herbology next," she said, trying to reassure him that she wasn't angry. He leaned in and gave her another chaste kiss on her lips.

"Absolutely. Give me a few minutes to get my things together," he told her. Hermione nodded and stood, leaving the Great Hall with her bag over her shoulder.

The Slytherin headed for the girls loo just across the corridor, entering silently and finding an empty stall. She took care of her business and washed her hands at the sink, using a spell to dry them. After throwing her bag back over her shoulder, she headed back out to wait for Harry. She leaned against the wall as a few students started to trickle out the doors, already heading for class. However, Ron Prewett was one of them, strange in itself since he had to drag himself to classes. It was clear, though, that he was heading in her direction. She merely raised an eyebrow at him, sure that he was going to try to tell her off because of his latest fight with Harry. She really had no other idea why he would want to talk to her. Once he was close enough to hear her, she spoke.

"What are you needing, Prewett?" she questioned him. Ron just kept walking.

"I need you, Hermione. I love you," he declared.

He didn't give Hermione a chance to even process his words. He pushed her further against the wall and put his mouth to hers, his tongue shoving it's way inside her mouth. His hand held her cheek tenderly while the other one roughly groped at her breast. It took three seconds total for her to realize exactly what was happening. She shoved him away from her but he wasn't budging. Even though she was extremely powerful, she was always going to be at a physical disadvantage. She knew that she could use her magic to get him away from her but this was Harry's best friend and she suspected that he wasn't in his right mind. She didn't want to hurt him and have Harry mad at her.

Not that this mattered any. In the background, she heard a shout and Ron dropped, leaving her to stand there completely stunned while everyone around her just stared in shock. Draco's wand was raised in front of her while Harry stood there with his wand out but hanging at his side. There was a dumbfounded look on his face but Draco was livid. He strode forward and shoved Ron away from her with his foot, landing a swift kick to his belly. Her cousin pulled her from the wall and threw an arm around her, daring anyone to say something about what they had seen. Harry just stepped forward and she could see on his face that he was devastated.

"Why would you do that with my best friend?" he asked her, grief coloring his tone. She wasn't sure if she should comfort him or get angry because he thought that she was a willing participant. She was saved from having to answer by the drawl of her godfather in the distance.

"What is the meaning of this? What's going on?" he demanded. Patil came running through the crowd to drop at Ron's feet and shoot her a glare. Draco, her protector always, spoke before she could.

"We came out to meet Hermione and Prewett was mauling her, snogging her among other things. She was trying to push him off so I stunned the bastard," he informed their godfather. Uncle Sev sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose before looking at her.

"I came out of the loo and was waiting for Harry and Draco. Prewett followed me out and approached me. I asked him what he needed and he told me that he needed me, that he loved me. Then he forced me against the wall and kissed me. He got handsy. I think that he needs an antidote, Professor. I think he's been dosed with a love potion," she informed him.

The entire corridor went silent at the implication of her words.

-O-

Harry had felt his heart drop when he left the Great Hall to see Hermione snogging Ron, his best mates hand gripping her perfect breast in his enormous hand. It was as though his heart shattered but was still beating for some unknown reason. He saw Hermione shove him away but he outweighed her and she couldn't budge him. He had slid his wand into his hand but it had been Draco that struck first.

Now that she mentioned a love potion, Harry felt stupid for thinking that Hermione could have been kissing him willingly. He knew how she felt about him and he was ashamed to think that she would just throw that away for a snog session with a boy that hated her. Severus levitated his best mate's body in the air and started for the Hospital Wing, calling out for everyone to head to class. Harry rushed forward to pull Hermione into an unresisting hug. He pulled her away from his chest but didn't release his hold on her.

"Are you alright?" he asked quietly. Her eyes were full of unshed tears but she blinked them back.

"How could you think that I was kissing him of my own accord? The only reason I didn't use my magic to make him stop was because I knew he was under a love potion and I didn't want to hurt him and make you mad. How can you doubt me?" she demanded. Before he could answer, Professor McGonagall hurried around the corner and ushered them to the entrance of the castle so they could head to Herbology.

Harry wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close so the biting wind wouldn't get to her. He didn't want to talk about it in front of anyone else so he remained silent as they started across the grounds. Just before entering the greenhouse, he pulled her to the side while Draco watched him warily.

"We'll talk tonight. I'm going to blow off practice, we'll go to the Room and discuss this. Is that alright with you?" he asked her softly. After several moments, she finally nodded.

He led her into the greenhouse to their usual seats. Hermione wasn't her usual bubbly self and she didn't seem to be all that thrilled with being stuck in class at the moment. Not that he blamed her. She was more quiet than usual but wasn't terrible to him. He was extra attentive to let her know that he really was sorry.

Class passed with no incidents. Professor Sprout had set them free in the greenhouse and told them to choose three plants and draw a sketch of each one and then a short essay on them regarding where they're found, how they're harvested, and what they're used for. All in all, an easy assignment. They were dismissed and Harry escorted Hermione back to the castle so she could attend her Spell Crafting class while the rest of them went to Potions. Once Hermione was well on her way, Harry listened to the lions around him. Draco and Daphne were just a little ways ahead of him and he was doing his best to catch up until he heard Seamus muttering to Dean just loud enough for Harry to hear him.

"You know Black was lying about Ron. I bet she seduced him to kiss her like that. Anything to make Harry jealous," he said hatefully. Harry turned quickly and glared at his fellow Gryffindor.

"You are a complete idiot if you believe that. Have you not seen how much Hermione can't stand Ron through the years? Are you forgetting that he slapped her? He's done nothing but degrade her since starting school. Why in the blue fuck would she choose him to make me jealous, a disowned son of her own family. There is no arguing that the Blacks are related to the Weasleys, although distantly. She would have used Fawley when he accosted her in the corridor. You just want her to be to blame and are concocting explanations that really make no fucking sense. Keep Hermione's name out of your mouth or I promise you, you'll be spitting teeth," he said, standing up for Hermione. Seamus' mouth snapped shut and Dean stared at him in disbelief.

"I can't believe you would do something like that over a bird," he said, a confused look on his face. Harry snorted as he turned away from them.

"I plan to marry that bird eventually. I protect my own. Don't doubt me for a second," he warned.

Harry strode into Potions and took the seat next to Neville. He pulled out his text and readied his parchment and quill. Draco was shooting him strange looks but he ignored them. It wasn't like they could talk about anything in the middle of class. Slughorn appeared and began his lecture on felix felicis, also known as liquid luck. Harry compared his notes to those that he had taken from Severus' teachings and realized that he already had more written than Slughorn had told them. He sat there and listened, trying to focus so his mind wouldn't wander.

It seemed like ages had passed when the rotund man dismissed them after setting them an essay on the golden potion. He jotted it down on his homework planner before shoving his belongings into his bag unceremoniously. He stood quickly and tried to escape the classroom without Draco getting ahold of him but he had no such luck. Draco's hand on his arm stopped him and Harry sighed before turning to meet his friend's gaze.

"You don't really think she would do something like that on purpose, do you?" he asked quietly. Harry sighed again and shook his head.

"No, I really don't. It was a reaction because I really can't figure out why she would want to be with me after how I've treated her. She doesn't have a disloyal bone in her body," Harry confessed. Draco watched him closely for a few moments before nodding.

"Make sure you tell her that. You hurt her feelings. She thinks you don't trust her like she does you," Harry nodded again.

"I will. I know how she felt when she saw me kissing Cho now. On the other hand, now she knows how I felt too," he said offhandedly. Draco nodded gamely.

"That's true. Are you going to talk to her?" Harry nodded as they left the Potions classroom.

They wound their way through the dungeons and up to the first floor so they could make their way to the Great Hall for dinner. Harry split ways at the door, heading to the Gryffindor table. He found the other Gryffindor quidditch team members and pulled them together. Ron was still missing. They looked at him questioningly and he couldn't help but move closer to Angelina when Ginny pressed in closer.

"We're cancelling practice tonight. Ron's still in the Hospital Wing and I had things come up. We'll reschedule for Thursday night. Has anyone heard how Ron is?" he questioned. Ginny spoke softly.

"I just left there and he's fine. He feels terrible for what he did, he feels like he cheated on Pav. I'm not sure how they're doing but she had just come in when I left. She didn't look happy," she revealed. Harry's temper flared and he glared at Ginny.

"So he doesn't feel bad for what he did to Hermione, he doesn't care how she feels since she's the one he sexually assaulted?" he demanded. Ginny paled next to him.

"I, I'm not sure. He didn't say," she stammered. Harry just glared before turning on his heel and heading for the Slytherin table. Hermione was there next to Draco and she looked quite pale.

Harry took his seat and brushed the hair away from her face. She gave him a soft smile before turning back to her food. He served himself and dug in, not wanting to prolong their discussion any longer than necessary. He couldn't help but notice that Hermione didn't eat much, not that she usually did. Now, she was just picking at the food on her plate.

Several Slytherins down the table extended their apologies for what had happened, clearly upset one of their own had been accosted. Hermione thanked them for their concern and turned back to her plate. Harry finished quickly and wrapped an arm around her waist, leaning over to whisper in her ear.

"Are you ready to go talk, Mia?" he asked her. She gave him a stiff nod. She rose elegantly and he put his hand at her lower back, guiding her gently though he knew she didn't need it. They were silent as they made their way through the castle to the Room of Requirement. Harry paced the wall and the door appeared, leading them into a room that looked almost exactly to the library at Malfoy Manor. He led her over to the chaise lounge and let her take a seat. He sat next to her and reached out to take her hand in his.

"Mia, -" Harry started. Hermione shook her head and stopped him with a squeeze to his hand.

"I understand, Harry. I was hurt at first that you could think that but after I considered it, I did the same to you. You had no way of knowing that I wasn't willing considering what you walked up to. You asked me which is more than what I did when it was you and Cho. I'm not angry at you, I'm just feeling very violated right now," she confessed. Harry picked her up and planted her in his lap, his hand guiding her head to the crook of his shoulder, her favorite place to rest it. She hugged him close and relaxed against him. Harry stroked her spine, knowing that it calmed her.

"Still, I'm sorry the conclusion that I jumped to. I do trust you, Mia, sometimes I just can't believe that you love me and I'm wondering when the other foot is going to drop. I don't want you to think that I think you would do something like that; I know you wouldn't. You're loyal to a fault," he proclaimed. Hermione nodded against him.

"I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have been hurt knowing exactly what I did to you. Quite hypocritical, to be honest," she told him. Harry remained silent since he knew that she would talk when she wanted to. It was almost ten minutes later that she spoke softly.

"I wanted to use magic against him so badly. I've only kissed three boys, now four, in my life and I wanted to make sure that the choice was always mine after Viktor. I didn't like how it made me feel, even though I knew that Ronald wasn't in his right mind. I was afraid that you would be angry with me if I hurt him when his actions weren't his own," she admitted. Harry took her by the shoulders and pulled her away from him so he could meet her gaze.

"Hermione Alula Black, I would never be angry at you for hurting a friend if they were violating you, hurting you. I don't care if they're under the influence of something, your safety and happiness is paramount. Never hesitate again, I don't like that you're feeling violated and that you just stood by and let it happen," he proclaimed passionately. Hermione gazed up at him, adoration in her gaze, and reached her hands up to cradle his face and stroke his cheekbones.

"You're a wonderful man, Harry, a good one. Don't ever doubt it. Don't doubt that you don't deserve me. Yes, you were a prat when you were young but you've lived, learned, and changed. We're together and happy now and that's what matters. Never doubt my love for you. If you do, tell me so I can remind you just why it is that I love you," she said softly. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his in the softest of kisses. His hands tightened on her waist and he pulled her impossibly closer. Her mouth became more insistent but Harry pulled away, shaking his head softly, trying to clear away the lust.

"No, Mia, you were just assaulted today. I don't want to push you too far and have you resent me for it," he informed her. He was trying to control his breathing so he wouldn't give away how much he wanted her. She let out a frustrated groan.

"Please, Harry, all I feel is his tongue in my mouth and his hands on my breasts and backside. Make me forget, I'm begging you," she pleaded to him. Harry knew that he was going to give in the second he was reminded of Ron touching and tasting her. He was too possessive not to.

Harry caught her lips with his in a bruising kiss. Her arms wrapped around his neck while she surrendered complete control to him. It was a heady feeling knowing that a woman so very much in control of her life readily handed over her trust completely during sex. She rubbed against him as much as she could in the position she was in, bringing his frustration to an all time high.

His hand snaked out and caught her waist, lifting her to where she could straddle him. He waved his wand before discarding it next to him, vanishing her clothes completely. His hand reached up and squeezed her breast, thumbing the nipple with his thumb. It hardened under his ministrations and he ached to have it in his mouth. He fumbled with the buttons on his trousers and Hermione reached down to help him, pulling his cock out completely so she could stroke it lovingly. Her hands were soft as silk and the sensations she created in him were enough to drive him wild.

Hermione had never taken initiative during their sexual encounters before so to say that he was surprised when she lifted her bum and lowered herself onto his cock would be an understatement. She groaned as she sank further onto him, her tight sheath enveloping him completely. She was warm, wet, and felt like heaven. She had ridden him several times before but he had always helped guide her. This time, however, she was taking her pleasure into her own hands. While he wished that it was him plunging himself into her, he understood. She had lost control of the situation that afternoon and felt powerless. This was her taking her power back and he was more than on-board with it.

His hands reached out and gripped her hips roughly but he didn't guide her at all. He let her work his cock the way she wanted, grinding against him more than bouncing up and down. Her head was thrown back in pleasure at the sensation and Harry had to admit that it felt rather nice as well. He leaned forward to catch the hardened tip of her breast in his mouth, suckling at it just roughly enough to make her mewl with need. Her grinding became bouncing and Harry had his turn to groan with need.

Hermione reached out and grabbed a handful of his hair and hauled him forward, pressing her lips to his in a needy kiss. His fingers found her nipples and pinched them just hard enough to make her speed up her pace. He could hear their sweat-slickened skin slapping together with every thrust and he longed to have her lean back so he could watch himself invade her tight cunt. However, he refrained because he knew that this was something that Hermione needed to feel in control again.

Harry could tell that she was getting closer to her climax; her inner muscles were fluttering around him and her eyes were screwed tightly shut as she concentrated on reaching her peak. Harry reached down and found her pleasure pearl and rubbed it roughly with the pad of his thumb, helping her along. Her nails dug into his shoulders as she fell over the edge of bliss, riding out her orgasm on his prick. Harry took over when she slumped over in exhaustion, thrusting powerfully up into her since he still had a few minutes left in him. She was boneless on top of him for all of a minute before she sat up and started meeting his thrusts.

Harry gripped her hips and thrust into her roughly, his thumb once again finding the top of her slit. She groaned when he started rubbing again, softly this time since he knew she was overly sensitive. She leaned into his chest and let herself cling to him, entirely dependant on him for her impending orgasm.

It was only a minute later when he felt her explode around him once more. He thrust through her climax and let himself come, coating her cervix in his seed. She fell against his chest limply and just rested there while Harry made his final mini thrusts. His arms encircled her and he kissed her forehead lovingly. She snuggled even closer to him and let out a satisfied sigh.

"Thank you, Harry. I needed that and I know that you didn't really want to comply. I'm sorry if you felt as though I were manipulating you into it," she told him apologetically. He smiled down at her and shook his head slightly.

"You did nothing of the sort. I just didn't want to push you after what happened to you. I'm glad that I could make you feel better," he confessed. Hermione smiled brightly.

"I'd say you made me feel a lot better," she smirked back at him.

Hermione settled back against his chest and hugged him around the waist tightly. They didn't bother to separate. Harry enjoyed feeling so close to her and could feel himself getting drowsy. Hermione already had her eyes closed and mumbled something that he couldn't quite understand.

"What was that, baby?" he enquired. She opened her eyes and made an attempt to actually be understood.

"Set an alarm. I'm so tired and so comfortable. Let's just sleep for a bit. We discussed that we're not mad at each other and that we're fine. I just want to spend some time in your arms. I miss sleeping with you," she confessed. He leaned his cheek down to rest on her head.

"I miss sleeping with you every single night, baby. You being there meant that I didn't have nightmares," he confessed. She lifted her head sleepily.

"Nightmares?" she questioned. He smiled softly and kissed her forehead once again.

"Yes, nightmares. I haven't had the most wonderful life. I'll explain them to you when we're more awake. For now, let's rest, baby," he cajoled her. She nodded her head and laid back down, burrowing down into his chest.

Harry felt her go lax on top of him and made sure that they were covered when he summoned a blanket with his forgotten wand. After setting an alarm on his wand for twenty minutes before curfew, he let himself drop off to sleep.

It really was heaven falling asleep with Hermione in his arms and he couldn't wait until they could do it whenever they pleased.

A/N- There we have it, folks. Another chapter down. I hope you enjoyed it. I thought it would be kind of interesting to see Harry and Hermione in opposite roles of the Cho incident. What are your thoughts? Leave me a message after the beep and let me know. Thanks again to everyone out there reading and reviewing. You guys are just the bomb diggity.

Next chapter, apparition lessons.

Love,

Alicia


	125. Chapter 125

A/N- Alrighty, folks, I'm back with another chapter. It's not the longest, that much is true, but I wrote it as quickly as possible to get something to you. Now that my life has settled down some, I hope to have wayyy more time for writing now. Hopefully, I can get another chapter to you in a week or so. Keep your fingers crossed! Thanks to everyone for being so patient with me and the mini break I had to take. It's greatly appreciated. For those of you that weren't patient….well, screw off. Lol. Enough small talk now, let's get to writing!

Disclaimer: Still don't own a thing. Still haven't made any money from this story or any other. Anything you recognize has been the work of someone before me.

Chapter 125

March 31, 1997

Hermione was irritated. It was a Saturday and she was being forced to waste her afternoon on apparition lessons. It was going to cut into her study time and she needed to finish her homework since she had been neglecting it for brewing the werewolf cure. Rather than handling her business like a responsible adult, she was being forced to take lessons she didn't need.

Of course, nobody else knew that she, Harry, and Draco didn't need them. Daphne might but the others were completely in the dark that her father, Uncle Lucius, and Moody had taught them to apparate over the summer. No, they weren't licensed but that was the point. If they were ever in a spot of trouble and needed a quick escape, it was a way to disappear that nobody else would expect of them.

Harry didn't seem too bothered about taking a class over apparition; he had just shrugged his shoulders and went with it, saying that it needed to be done to eventually get their licences. Draco was much like Hermione, not wanting to waste his time on something that he already knew how to do. At least Hermione knew there was one person that would just as frustrated as she was.

The bell rang, pulling Hermione from her thoughts. Harry stood and held his hand out to her so he could help her rise. She took his hand and allowed it. His arm wrapped around her waist and he pressed a kiss to her temple. He was still speaking quietly to Neville and her cousin about something quidditch related. She knew that he had practice that evening so she assumed that that's what it was about.

Hermione and her friends left the Great Hall and loitered outside while the professors rearranged the Great Hall for their lesson. She had seen the Ministry official that had shown up to teach them. He was small and timid man that had sandy blond hair that was already thinning on top. His eyes were a watery blue and she wondered how he was going to teach a number of children when he didn't look like he could tell off a mouse.

It took about twenty minutes for the professors to open the doors back up, letting them into a completely cleared Great Hall with a bunch of hoops on the floor. Hermione had heard this is how they taught you to apparate by her father and uncle. It had not been the method they had used. Maybe if she accomplished the task quick enough, they would let her go early so she could finish her work before Monday. The small man was standing behind the podium and Hermione frowned when he started speaking.

"Welcome, welcome. My name is Wilkie Twycross and I'm going to be teaching you the art of apparition. If everyone would please find a hoop to stand in front of, we can get started," he called out, a sonorus charm clearly in place.

Harry pulled Hermione over to hoops on the far side of the room, Draco, Daphne, and Neville following them. Hermione stood next to her hoop and shot glares at anyone that looked at her. She wasn't sure why she was being so sore about the matter but she really hated wasting time. Harry was on her right and Neville her left. If they wouldn't release her early, she supposed that she would be able to help Neville.

Twycross started his lecture on the three D's and how applying them diligently would ensure that they could apparate. It was a load of bull, that was true, but she supposed that for children that weren't skilled in occlumency, it was more accurate. The lecture lasted about twenty minutes and they were bid to begin.

Hermione stood back and watched the students as they began to practice. Neville spun on the spot like he was supposed to but almost lost his balance when he didn't move. Hermione reached out quickly to steady him and he shot her a grateful glance. Daphne wasn't faring much better but she could see the look of determination on her friend's face. Ron was a little way off in the distance near the other Gryffindors and had landed on his arse. There were snickers all around him and he colored instantly. After letting Neville try on his own for about thirty minutes, she stepped over to him and tried to help him.

"Here, Nev, let me show you how I learned to apparate," she said. Neville nodded eagerly

"First, you're skilled in occlumency. The same way you keep the barriers up in your mind at all times, you need to put that same focus on your destination. Center yourself like you do when you meditate and then turn. See where it gets you," she explained. Neville gave her a determined nod. Hermione stepped back and watched him center himself and then spun on the spot. There was an enormously loud crack and Neville appeared in his hoop. There were several whoops from the lions, the first person able to apparate is quite the feat. Twycross headed in their direction, a glacial look on his face.

"How did you manage to complete this on your first day? I've never had a student do that before," he demanded. Neville shrugged his shoulders slightly.

"I couldn't get your way to work so Hermione showed me the way she learned. It worked better," he stated simply. The small-statured man turned his eyes to Hermione and she could tell that he was angry.

"Miss Black, would you like to tell me why you're undermining my authority?" he asked icily. Hermione raised an eyebrow at him.

"I was simply trying to help a friend in need. It had nothing to do with you," she explained, letting all emotions flee from her expression. Twycross crossed his arms.

"I haven't seen you apparate yet, Miss Black. You think you're qualified to teach the art?" he questioned her. Hermione was already tired of the confrontation. She kept her face impassive as she responded.

"It's Lady Black to you, thank you. I most certainly can apparate, I just thought my time would be better spent helping a friend than showing off," she said crossly. With a twist on the spot, she apparated to five different locations in the Great Hall before returning to her original starting place. Harry and Draco remained stoic next to her but the rest of the Great Hall was cheering. Hermione simply raised an eyebrow at the man before her. She could tell that he really wanted her to explain her methods but she was going to make him ask. However, that wasn't going to happen. The man had far too much pride. He spoke loudly again, the sonorous charm in use again.

"Is there anyone else that doesn't need these lessons?" Harry and Draco both raised their hands and much to the surprise of Hermione, so did Susan Bones. She supposed that she shouldn't have been surprised since the girls aunt was the Head of the D.M.L.E. Twycross gestured for Draco to go first and her cousin put on a show just like Hermione did. The snakes were all cheering for him and Hermione watched on smugly. Harry went next and once again, cheers. Susan decided to follow in their footsteps and put on a show as well. While the Ministry official didn't look impressed, McGonagall's eyes were twinkling in pride.

"That will be fifteen points to each of you and that includes Mr. Longbottom for accomplishing such a feat. Since you clearly don't need the lessons, you are excused. Mr. Longbottom, you may stay and practice if that is your wish," she instructed. Neville opted to stay and work on his apparition while promising Daphne that he would explain to her how Hermione had.

Hermione, Harry, Draco, and Susan all gathered their things and left, Susan heading for the dungeons where the Hufflepuff common room was located. Hermione instantly headed for the library and admitted surprise when both boys followed her. She raised an eyebrow, questioning as to why they would waste their Saturday afternoon in the library when the weather was decent outside. Harry gave her a sheepish look.

"You've been busy this week so I've been playing more quidditch than usual. I have a few assignments that I need to complete, especially since I have practice again tonight," he confessed, rubbing the back of his neck. She sighed heavily as she gestured for them to follow her.

The three of them settled at her favorite table and got to work. Hermione was working on Charms and Transfiguration while both boys were working on Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, and Herbology. They were silent as they worked but Hermione felt Harry rest his hand in her lap, twining his fingers with hers as he wrote. It was nice, domestic, and Hermione loved that even while he was concentrating on other things, he still sought out of her touch.

The trio worked for a solid three hours on homework before finally calling it a day. Hermione had accomplished all her assignments and had started researching ingredients for her mastery training. Harry had only one assignment left and Draco was through. It was a good study session, even Hermione could admit that, and she felt a million times better now that she was caught up. She really needed to make sure that she managed her time a little better.

Draco left before Hermione did, saying he needed to find Daphne. Harry escorted Hermione out of the library and towards the Great Hall. Just around the first corner of the second floor, he pulled her into an alcove while nobody was looking. He leaned her against the wall, carefully pressing his weight into her so as not to hurt her. Hermione wound her arms around his neck and opened immediately when his lips touched hers.

Kissing Harry was still one of her favorite things to do. It set her soul on fire and she felt as though she could do nothing but watch it burn. The soul bond between them let him know exactly how she felt too, that was one of the things they had noticed. They could feel the emotions of each other; it hadn't happened instantly. It seemed as though it was getting stronger with time. In one of the books that Hermione had read to research soul bonds, it said that if the bond was strong enough and enough time had passed, they would eventually be able to speak to each other in their mind. They weren't to that point yet but Hermione was sure that they would get there eventually.

Another thing that had been affected was their magic. Hermione could feel Harry's magic inside her and he confessed the same. It wasn't a huge power boost but it was enough for them to notice. Since nobody ever really saw them practice magic at full strength except family and Moody, nobody else had noticed yet. She was sure that it would be commented upon once they began their training again.

Hermione pulled back from Harry once his hand started tugging at her nipples, sending delicious little shivers pleasure through her body. She knew that her lips were bee stung and Harry's hair was in disarray. It took him a moment to control his breathing.

"We can't, Harry, not here. If we were caught do you know what they would say about us? About me?" Even though Hermione hated that her life had to function around what others thought about her, she wouldn't disgrace her family. She refused to disappoint and dishonour her family in that way. Harry nodded his head and tried to smooth down his hair.

"I know, I'm sorry. I got carried away. Forgive me," he whispered hoarsely. Hermione stroked his face with her thumbs before leaning in and giving him another soft kiss.

"Don't be sorry. You quit when I asked you to. There's nothing to forgive," she assured him. He smiled at her and fluffed her hair for her before offering her his arm.

"Shall we head to dinner, Lady Black?" he smirked at her. Hermione took his arm and allowed him to pull her back out into the now empty corridor.

"Absolutely, Lord Potter."

-O-

Dinner passed by with little distinction. Most of the Slytherins were still crowing about Hermione and Draco showing up the blowhard from the Ministry and were begging for instruction. Hermione had just shrugged her shoulders delicately and told them that if they were skilled in occlumency that they needed to employ its use. She refused to say anymore.

Harry kissed her goodnight just outside the door to the Great Hall. She was heading to Severus' office and he was heading to the quidditch pitch. After he started across the grounds, Ron fell into step beside him. They walked in companionable silence. Things with Ron had been strained for a couple weeks after the incident with Hermione, mostly because he refused to see how it had traumatized Hermione. He was more focused on how the incident had caused him and Parvati to break up for a week and how terrible it was for the pair of them.

Once Ron had finally bucked up the courage to talk to Harry about it, he had told him exactly what his problem with the incident was. Not that it had happened. No, Harry didn't like that his best mate had manhandled the woman he loved but he knew that it wasn't his fault. However, he made quite clear to Ron that he didn't appreciate how he didn't give a shite about how it would affect Hermione, especially after Viktor Krum. Ron had paled visibly when he remembered exactly what the Slytherin had done to the international quidditch star. The very next day, Ron had made his way reluctantly to Hermione's side and gave her a genuine apology for having assaulted her, telling her that it would never have happened otherwise. Hermione had accepted it graciously before Ron bowed at the waist before her and then disappeared.

He changed quickly in the changing room and met the rest of the team on the pitch. This late in the year, they really worked well together and their resounding victory over Hufflepuff just a week before had boosted their morale. They still had to play Ravenclaw closer to the end of the year but as long as they continued on as they were, Harry really wasn't too worried.

He ran them through their usual paces, flying obstacle course, dodging bludgers, shooting quaffles. Harry had charmed a contraption that shot quaffles in the air in front of Ron; his job was to save as many as he could. Harry could admit that while he still missed occasionally, he was much better than he had been.

After three grueling hours, Harry called for them to head back. He made sure that all their equipment was returned to where they had gotten it and that the shed was locked securely. He decided to go ahead and shower here rather than in the dorm. It was always a rush at night time since nobody wanted to get up any earlier than they had to.

As Harry showered off, his mind drifted to the Azkaban breakout. Cho hadn't been found dead so he knew that she had gone with Voldemort. Rather it willingly or not, he wasn't sure. He supposed that it didn't matter. Either way, he was sure that she was already branded and there was nothing he could do to save her now. While he truly wanted nothing else to do with her, he never would have wished this for her.

The other thing he couldn't get out of his head was Dolores Umbridge. That psycho bitch had been residing in Azkaban as well and they hadn't discovered her body either. He knew that she had gone with the Dark Twat willingly, there was no doubt about that. However, that didn't bode well for Hermione. She had been the mastermind behind her downfall and conviction. The ugly toad would surely seek revenge even though Tom Riddle would surely forbid it. He had no doubts that Hermione could wipe the floor with Umbridge but that didn't mean that he wasn't going to worry.

None of the escaped prisoners had been spotted anywhere so Harry wasn't sure what to think about it. Surely, some of them would be spotted doing something. The muggle attacks had increased, the Dark Mark floating ominously above the attack. The muggles had no idea what it was or what it meant but it was worrying.

Harry shook his head, clearing his mind of those thoughts. He headed back for the castle, Ron a little way ahead of him. He let his head hang just a little, not letting the sharp March wind sting his eyes. He entered the castle and headed for Gryffindor Tower. Severus had probably already sent Hermione to bed; she had been working far more in the last few weeks then she had been before. He missed seeing her as much as he had been but he understood that this was her passion. Nothing would stand between her and her education. Not that he would ever want to.

Harry gave the rest of the Tower a wave as he entered and headed straight for his dorm. He stripped off his uniform and into a pair of silk pajama pants that Aunt Cissy had bought for him at Christmas. He wasted no time in climbing under the blankets so he could start clearing his mind for sleep. Tomorrow was Sunday and a free day for both him and Hermione. He had a few assignments that needed to be done but other than that, he would be free to spend the entire day with her. It was the twin's birthday but the party wouldn't be held until the following weekend.

Sleep came easy, thinking about the day he'd spend with Hermione.

-O-

Sirius had never felt so old.

He was bone-tired and it was all because of that rat-fuck bastard Riddle. He was relentless in attacking muggles and creating havoc, something that the Wizengamot had to deal with. Not directly but they were being inundated with requests for more funding from the auror department. Amelia was demanding overtime from her aurors and they were starting to complain about the lack of incentives and raises. He didn't blame them; he didn't live paycheck to paycheck and couldn't imagine how they made it work. They deserved to be compensated for their time.

Mostly, he was tired of not seeing his family. Helena understood, she hadn't complained a single time, but he missed her. Sure, he fell into bed beside her every night but it was always long after she had retired. He missed seeing Hermione, Harry, Juliet, and Draco. The Gryffindor in him demanded that he stand and fight against Riddle and his minions but the very Slytherin core of him wanted him to gather those close to him and run for France. Of course, he knew that this absolutely wasn't an option because of the prophecy that foretold Harry's part in the war but it didn't change the fact that he wanted to.

Lucius and Cissy were in much the same boat. He knew that his cousin had been spending more time with her sister and Helena, trying to make up for the time that she normally spent with her soulmate. He didn't understand what it felt like to feel like you were missing a vital piece of yourself so he couldn't offer any assistance, only help distract her while her husband was busy. He knew that Lucius was tapping into resources on the darker side of things to get intel that they would need for the war. Their family had no intentions of flying into this situation blind if they could help it.

Sirius stripped off his robes and threw them onto the chaise in his bedroom. He knew that Sipsy or Dot would launder them before he needed them again. He had told the rest of the Wizengamot that he was taking a day at home tomorrow so he planned on spending the entire day tangled up in his sheets with Helena. It had been far too long since he had made love to his witch.

Once he was undressed, Sirius slipped under the duvet to find his witch sleeping, soft, and warm. He scooted up close to her, pressing his chest to her back and throwing an arm around her, drawing her close. She stirred enough to roll over, resting her head on his chest. Sirius snuggled her close and laid there, willing his mind to relax. There was just so much going on that he felt like he was losing his sanity at times.

Sirius closed his eyes and let himself relax to the sound of Helena's even breaths. He finally slipped off into Morpheus' care, thrilled that he would be able to relax on the morrow.

-O-

Tom was drumming his fingers on the arm of his throne while Nagini coiled around herself at his feet. He had summoned Severus and was waiting for his spy to slip away from his other slippery master. Tom had no illusions that Dumbledore was all that was good and light. He was as grey as they came and almost as manipulative as he was.

He had banned the other Death Eaters and followers from this meeting since this would deal with Severus alone. He was going to task him with retrieving his bride-to-be. To be honest, he wasn't sure that anyone could pull off kidnapping such a powerful witch. However, if anyone had a chance, it would be Severus. He looked up when he heard footsteps; Severus was striding through the library, black robes billowing behind him. The dark man knelt before him and gathered his robes in his hands, pressing a kiss to them. Tom smirked at the sight.

"You may rise, Severus. I have called you to plan the retrieval of my bride-to-be," he stated. Severus took the seat that had been offered and waited for him to begin. He always liked that about Severus; while the man served him most faithfully, he wasn't insane and overly demonstrative.

"Young Nott is extremely close to getting the vanishing cabinet to work. It will be ready by the end of the school year. His task is set, that much is fact. Theo must kill Dumbledore if he wants to prove himself in the ranks. If he fails, you will take the task. You have already agreed," the Dark Lord said. Severus nodded and bowed his head reverently. Riddle continued.

"I'm not actually certain that you can capture the Lady Black. She is quite a formidable witch considering her age. I can't believe that she created a cure for lycanthropy behind your back. It sets back my plans but rest assured, it planted you even more firmly on the side of the light. That's most helpful. Despite the doubts I have of your skills in this task, I want her at my side. Do all that you have to short of killing her to make sure you bring her to me. I will reward you most generously if you succeed," he promised. Severus bowed his head again.

"I will do as you say, my Lord. I'm not sure that I will accomplish it, I've seen the girl duel Potter in class. She will be quite the adversary. However, I will endeavor to bring her to you as you wish. May I ask about any plans that have been decided upon already?" Severus asked respectfully.

"The date is tentatively set for June third. It all depends on young Nott. However, I have been assured that he has been properly motivated. I plan to send Bella, of course, probably Rookwood and Nott. A few others. Those plans aren't set in stone. I do plan to send Greyback. Since Lady Black has been curing all his whelps, he is in need of more. As am I if we are to win this war. I'm going to instruct him to bite as many as he can," the Dark Lord said candidly. Severus nodded again.

"I understand, my Lord. I will be ready whenever it is you decide to launch this most wonderful attack. Killing Dumbledore would be my privilege," the potions master toned. Tom nodded and gestured for him to rise.

"You may go, Severus. I know your other master is most anxious to hear what we discussed. I'm sure that you can tell him I did nothing but rant and rave about the future attacks I plan to launch. Drop the name Buckingham Palace. I'm sure that will get him moving," Tom chuckled. Severus bowed again and kissed his robes before disappearing the way he had come.

Tom sat back and considered his Potions Master. Sometimes he wondered if he was really loyal; his mind was open even though Tom know that he was skilled in occlumency. There were never any barriers but sometimes he seriously wondered. He knew that Nott wasn't going to have the stones to kill Dumbledore. That was just a ploy to put Severus in the hot seat. If he was able to kill Dumbledore, he would never doubt his loyalty again. However, if he hesitated, he would likely have to execute him as a traitor. Even if he failed at bringing him Hermione Black, proving his faith was more important at the time. He knew that the girl would grow lax eventually and she would be his. The real question being considered in this whole endeavor was Severus' true loyalties.

Only time would tell.

A/N- There you are, folks, another chapter. Pretty short and a complete filler chapter but those chapters flesh out the story. Hope you all enjoyed it despite it's length. Thanks to everyone out there reading and reviewing, you guys are seriously the bomb. Leave me a message after the beep and let me know what you think.

Next chapter, Hermione gifts Harry with liquid luck and he decides to use it.

Love,

Alicia


	126. Chapter 126

A/N- Here I am again, y'all, with the chapter you wanted. This chapter took a day or two longer than I had expected but nonetheless, it's here. I hope that y'all like it. Nothing else here is important, unless you count me reminding you that the plot is neither mine nor something that i had originally imagined.

Disclaimer: Still don't own a thing. Characters belong to our queen, I just merely play with her toys in the sandbox of fanfiction. Original storyline belongs to Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle. Since I'm still broke, it's clear I haven't made any money from this story or any other.

Chapter 126

April 18, 1997

Hermione daintily picked up the ham and cheese sandwich sitting on her plate and started to eat. She had already finished her broccoli and cheese soup so she wasn't particularly hungry anymore. However, eating a few more bites would keep Harry from glaring at her and thinking that she was sick. After what she was going to have to do after the meal, she didn't want him angry.

Hermione was finally done brewing the Liquid Luck and she planned to have Harry take it and try to get the memory from Slughorn. They were getting closer and closer to the end of the school year and she wanted to make sure that she was prepared for what was to come. She was under no illusions that the war was going to really heat up very soon. Neither she nor her family would be spared when war finally did rear its ugly head.

Hermione knew that her godfather was keeping secrets. She also knew that he had taken a Vow to not speak of certain things. It made her nervous to think that there was something bad enough going on that her godfather never smiled anymore and his shoulders were in a permanent hunch. She worried that the strain would break him.

Harry smiled down at her and wrapped an arm around her waist. Hermione smiled back and leaned her head on his shoulder, pushing her sandwich away. Harry gave her a questioning look and she just shrugged her shoulders at him. She observed the other tables while he finished; she knew now that she had made clear she was finished, he would finish quickly.

The Ravenclaw girls were subdued. Luna had revealed that they were all worried about Cho since she had disappeared from Azkaban. Hermione wasn't all that upset about it, to be honest. No, she didn't wish terrible things on the girl but she could only shrug her shoulders at the fact that it had. She knew that Harry felt really bad but it wasn't her place to tell him how to feel. He hadn't grown up to be as cynical as she could sometimes be. Even though he had been terribly mistreated, Harry was still a good person, one that would never wish ill will on someone because they had wronged him.

The Gryffindors were all laughing loudly at something that Seamus and Dean were saying. She wasn't sure if it was a story but they were acting out what appeared to be someone snogging them. Hermione was sure that Harry would be laughing right along with them if he had sat with them today. Hufflepuff seemed tame in comparison to the lions, most of them sitting, eating, and studying quietly. She supposed that they could be studying for exams; they were getting closer with every passing day. Most of the Slytherins were speaking quietly, her group of friends being the loudest.

Luna, Daphne, and Juliet were gossiping over the latest fashion magazine from the store in France that Hermione knew her Aunt Cissy favored. It seemed that the summer styles were to die for, though Hermione was sure that she wouldn't agree. It would be a guarantee that every single one of them would be hanging in her wardrobe when she returned home though. Harry, Neville, Draco, and Blaise were talking about the upcoming quidditch match between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor; most of them were sure that Harry would bring home another win but Blaise had revealed that their chaser line had greatly improved and could be a problem.

Finally, Harry pushed his plate away and smiled at her again, this time pressing a kiss to her temple. He stood so he could grab both their bags, waving goodbye to their friends as Hermione stood as well. With a hurriedly called-out goodbye, Hermione started to pull him out of the Great Hall. Once they were a good distance away from the other students, she pulled him into an abandoned classroom and locked, warded, and silenced the door. Harry raised an eyebrow at her in question and Hermione just sighed. She dug through her bag and held out a small vial with a golden potion in it. Harry took it reluctantly.

"What is this? What is going on, Mia?" he questioned. Hermione sighed again and started to pace.

"I've been brewing Felix Felicis for Uncle Sev and I decided that you needed some. You need that memory from Slughorn and neither one of us has had any luck so far. He isn't willing to give it up to collect us. We need to try something different," Hermione explained. Harry stared at the potion for several seconds before meeting her eyes.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Harry asked. Hermione nodded.

"It won't affect anything that Slughorn tells you. It only affects you. You'll have a perfect few hours, judging by the dose that I gave you. Everything is supposed to go your way. Uncle Sev said he's taken it once and he felt invincible, like nothing could ruin his day," Hermione answered. Harry considered her words for almost a full minute before peering at her in a calculated manner.

"How long have you been planning on me taking this potion?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. Hermione could feel her cheeks warm slightly.

"It takes six months to brew. I hadn't thought of it until a month or so ago. I figured that it would be a nice back up if we got nowhere else," she confessed. Harry chuckled at her blush and brushed the back of his knuckles against her warm skin.

"Alright, I'll take it. Meet me in the Room after dinner and I'll tell you what I find out. If anything," he told her. Hermione went to her toes and kissed him softly, making sure to not start anything they would want to finish.

"Thank you. Yes, I'll meet you in the Room. I'm sure that it's going to be a terrible memory," she told him. Harry nodded and open the vial, throwing back the contents without a single thought. Hermione nearly preened with the amount of trust he had in her potion-making skills to not even question what had been used in the potion. He handed the empty vial back to her and grinned widely. Hermione peered at him closer.

"How do you feel?" she asked him. Harry leaned down and kissed her forehead sloppily. Hermione laughed but wiped away the mess he left behind. He just laughed at her antics.

"I feel great. I don't think anything could ruin this day, Mia," he exclaimed. Hermione chuckled at his exuberance.

"What will you do first?" she inquired. Harry looked at her, contemplating her question.

"I think I'm going to take a walk. It's a beautiful day and a walk just feels...right," he informed her. Hermione wasn't sure that this was the best course to take but kept her mouth shut. Since she had never taken the potion, she had no idea how it worked. Uncle Sev had just told her that you couldn't make a wrong decision. Hermione patted him on the chest and made a shooing motion towards the door, urging him to get started on whatever his day brought him.

"I'll see you tonight, Harry," she promised him. He blew her an ebullient kiss from the door and was gone.

Hermione followed after him, not sure what she was going to do with her time. She supposed that she could do more reading for her Mastery, Uncle Sev had given her three new books to read in her free time. However, when her thoughts turned to her godfather, she felt that she needed to go spend some time with him. He had been extremely stressed and the only time they had spent together lately was him telling her what to do during their Mastery training. Not that Hermione minded. She did want to spend some quality time with him though.

Hermione started for the dungeons, knowing that he was likely in his lab brewing away at who knew what. She knew that Draco and Daphne had had plans to go shag in a classroom somewhere, her best friend had confided in her that morning. Luna and Neville had made plans to take a walk around the grounds, most likely so they could snog in nature. Her sister had plans with her own friends, the lunch she had shared with them being a rarity anymore.

She knocked on the door that opened to his lab, heading inside before he could call out. Rather than brewing potions, she found him sitting on the sofa that the room housed, head buried in his hands. She didn't think that he was crying but it was clear that he was stressed. She walked to the couch and took the seat next to him, leaning her face against his arm. They were silent for many minutes until he lifted his head to gaze into her eyes. His eyes weren't red or puffy but she could see that they were troubled. His voice was laden with guilt.

"Princess, I want you to know that no matter what happens in this war, no matter what horrors I am forced to perform, I love you. I would do anything to protect you and I would never betray you. Please believe me when I tell you that most of the things I'll be forced to perform in this war are abhorrent to me," he begged her. Hermione scooted even closer to her godfather and wrapped her arms around his waist, giving him a side-hug. He hugged her back, almost desperately. Her voice was strong with conviction when she responded.

"You have nothing to worry about, Uncle Sev. I know what you are and what you do. I know that there may come a time when you have to really act like you're on Riddle's side. I know I won't be able to see you and I'm sure that he's going to put you up to trying to take me. You're a spy and you bring us valuable information that we'll end up needing to win this war. You can bet your bottom galleon that I'm not going to let anyone think worse of you for that," she stated calmly. His eyes flared with hope and she smiled.

"I've known you far too long to think you would turn your back on your family," she told him. He pulled her into the tightest hug she had received in quite some time and just held her close. He didn't say anything else. The pair sat there like that for several minutes before Hermione pulled away and smiled at the eased stress on his features.

"I came to spend some time with you. All we ever do is brew and I want to do something else. We should read together, like we used to when I was little. You read a chapter, then I will. I know I'm not learning to read now but it's a memory I think fondly of," she nearly begged him. He was quick to smile and she could tell that it was genuine.

"Alright, poppet, what book would you like to read?" he asked her. She grinned, knowing that he hated the book she was going to say.

"Pride and Prejudice," she told him.

Uncle Sev groaned out loud and Hermione just laughed.

-O-

Harry ambled through the corridors until he reached the door that lead towards the greenhouses. He whistled a tune that he faintly remembered hearing on the radio when he had last been with the Dursleys. Those thoughts didn't trouble him, though. He was more focused on just how he was going to get Slughorn to give him the real memory.

Harry traveled the expanse of the grounds, finally seeing a large figure moving on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. There was an enormous lump off to the right and he could just barely make out that the figure was Hagrid. While he had grown away from first friend, he still was friendly enough when they met in class or in the castle. He had long since stopped going for tea though.

Harry hurried along, eager to speak to his friend again. However, as he neared the half-giant, he realized that he was standing next to a dead acromantula. It was just as big as Hagrid and looked fearsome even in death. Just as he approached, luck had it that Slughorn stumbled out of the Forbidden Forest, a large pouch in his hands. He was sweating immensely, the slight sheen on his forehead giving it away. His eyes widened comically when he saw the enormous spider.

"What in the name of Merlin are you doing with a dead acromantula, Hagrid?" Slughorn demanded. Hagrid turned his teary eyes to the Potion's professor and Harry. He smiled weakly, tears still coursing down his face.

"'Is name is Aragog. I brou' 'im 'ere a long time ago when I wa' jus' a student. 'e was mah firs' friend," Hagrid explained. Harry nodded understandingly. He would have been heartbroken if Ron had died those first few years. However, Slughorn's demeanor changed entirely, no longer horrified but looking as though he had won the lottery.

"So terrible, losing a friend. It's comforting to know that he's no longer suffering or in pain," Slughorn explained. Harry was getting ready to speak up when Hagrid interrupted him.

"Thanks, perfessa, tha' means' a lo'," Hagrid wept.

Harry watched as Slughorn went around to the front of the beast, the opposite side of where he had Hagrid stood. He appeared to be admiring the beast but Harry knew better when he saw the professor reach into his satchel and pull out vials. Harry knew that he was bleeding the venom from his pincers; though he hated that he was being sneaky about it, he knew that it was a valuable potions ingredient. When the professor appeared before Hagrid again, he gave the half-giant a kindly smile. After what he had just reaped from Hagrid's friend, he felt that it was the least the man could do.

"Here, Hagrid, let me help you bury your friend. Then we'll head to your hut and have a pint. Harry can come with us since it's clear he's your friend as well. We'll send your friend off right," Slughorn said. Harry felt a twinge of guilt. He hadn't been much of a friend to Hagrid as of late. Yes, Hermione had a problem with him but that didn't mean that he couldn't maintain his friendship with the half-giant. She didn't say anything about Ron even though he knew she hated him with a fiery hot passion.

Harry stood by and watched as Hagrid agreed. Slughorn waved his wand at the ground, creating a hole big enough for enormous spider. He levitated Aragog inside and used the dirt he had moved from the hole to fill it back up. He didn't bother to listen to the short little excerpt that Slughorn read from memory afterwards.

Harry followed along, fighting the urge to whistle, as they headed for Hagrid's hut. He wasn't sure how much longer he had of the potion but figured that he needed to make the most of it while he was under the effects. Fang rushed to greet them as they entered the hut, Hagrid patting him heavily on the head before the dog rushed Harry and knocked him over to lick his face.

Harry finally got Fang off of him so he could take a seat at the table next to the two men. They already had tankards in front of them and Harry immediately saw his chance. If he got Slughorn drunk, surely he would reveal the real memory. He would have to encourage them to continue drinking. He pulled his wand and surreptitiously cast a refilling charm on the bottle they were drinking from.

Harry sat with them, nursing a butter beer while the two men traded stories about the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid had been traversing it for decades and Slughorn entered it quite often to gather potion ingredients. Harry had no idea that they could talk for almost two hours of just the flora in the Forest. However, as they talked, the continually poured the drink into their tankards, draining them regularly.

It was almost three hours later when Hagrid let his head drop to the table and started snoring. He had sent his friend off well, or so he said, and was content to pass out on his table. Slughorn, it seemed, wasn't far off. He smiled at Harry and the Gryffindor couldn't help but feel that same, constant oily feeling when he knew he was the object of the man's attention.

"Harry, m'boy, you're a wonderful lad for accompanying us. I never knew that you were such good friends with Hagrid," he started. Harry nodded.

"Yes, we were closer when I was younger but I still consider him a friend," Harry returned. Slughorn hiccupped and nodded.

"Did I tell you that your mother was my student when she was in school? She was one of my very best students, second only to Severus. She was exquisite, young, beautiful, brilliant, and brave. It was no surprise that she stood against Voldemort for as long as she did, nor the fact that she sacrificed her own life to save you," Slughorn muttered. Harry knew that this was his chance and he was determined not to blow it.

"You know that I'm going to kill Voldemort, don't you? He killed my parents. Every time I'm near a dementor, I hear her begging for my life. I think you can help me get revenge for her. Is that something you would like?" he asked. Harry sensed genuine like for his mother, though he wasn't sure if it was of the platonic kind. The thought made him shiver in revulsion so he tried to shove it to the back of his mind. He was rewarded with a sloppy smile and a nod. Harry continued.

"You once gave Professor Dumbledore a memory of your time spent with Tom Riddle. You have no idea how important it is. The memory you gave was fake, anyone could see that. I need the real one now. I need to know the truth so I can defeat him," he pleaded. Slughorn started shaking his head in the negative, indicating that he wasn't going to share.

"I can't, he will come after me and kill me. You don't understand how dire my circumstances will be!" he exclaimed. Harry wanted to growl in frustration but just barely kept it at bay. Instead, he tried to be supportive.

"If anyone knows how it feels to be hunted by Voldemort, it's me. Be brave like my mother. She faced him down and she lost her life. Be brave so her death can be avenged, so that it can mean something," he pled. Slughorn shuddered just a bit before finally nodding.

"You must destroy it after you watch it. Promise you won't think less of me," Slughorn demanded. Harry nodded his head in agreement.

Harry watched as Slughorn put his wand to his temple and concentrated. He wasn't sure how the man actually retrieved the memory due to his inebriation but after several seconds, a thin stream of silver was pulled from his temple. He tapped it into the open vial in his hand and thrust it at Harry. Harry took it and put it in his pocket.

"Thank you, professor. You have no idea how much this is going to help us get rid of Voldemort," Harry told him genuinely. Slughorn nodded and laid his head down on the table, much like Hagrid had. When he started snoring, Harry felt that it was appropriate to go ahead and leave. He stole out of Hagrid's hut, knowing full well that it was dinner time.

Harry didn't bother with going to dinner. Honestly, he wasn't hungry anyways. The potion was wearing off and he knew that he wasn't going to be lucky much longer. Therefore, he hurried through the corridors of Hogwarts to the Headmaster's office. Much to his unsurprising luck, Dumbledore slid the griffin that guarded his office out of the way, allowing him up. Harry bounded up the stairs, eager to share his prize, even though he wasn't a fan of the Headmaster in the least. He burst through the door to find that the Headmaster was sitting at his desk looking over a sheaf of parchment. Harry wasn't sure what it was over but the old man seemed very enthralled. Harry cleared his throat to announce his presence. Dumbledore looked up and gave him a serene smile that he knew was entirely fake.

"I've just gotten the memory, sir. I've got it right here," he proclaimed. Dumbledore stood with a sense of urgency and waved his paperwork away. He moved to where the pensieve was stored, gesturing with his open hand so it would come out of the alcove. He quickly poured in the memory and gestured for Harry to follow him inside. He only hesitated for a few seconds before he followed.

Harry watched as the familiar scene of Slughorn with a young Tom Riddle. However, rather than Slughorn waving him away when he asked about horcruxes, he gave him what information he could and then waxed on about how dangerous splitting your soul into seven pieces would be. The memory lasted only seconds after that statement but it was enough for Dumbledore to pull out of the memory and fall flat on his arse. Rather than get upset, the old man just buried his head in his hands, a rare show of weakness that Harry had never witnessed. He remained on his feet until Dumbledore spoke.

"This isn't good. It's far worse than I imagined. He's made six horcruxes. It's no wonder that his mind isn't stable," Dumbledore toned. Harry just sat there in silence, knowing now exactly what this meant for him. He wasn't stupid enough to believe that the Headmaster wasn't planning on sending him out to hunt these horcruxes down. He knew that it would be shunted off on him, even though he was still technically a child. He would rely on his family to get through, not that the Headmaster would approve. He just had to bide his time until the Headmaster told him, if he ever did. It seemed as though he expected blind loyalty, something Harry hadn't given since the end of his third year.

"All of these abominations must be tracked down before Voldemort himself can be killed. It's absolutely imperative that they're destroyed," he explained. Harry could only nod his head in agreement. Dumbledore still didn't seem recovered from the information.

"You may go, Harry. Thank you for fulfilling your word to me in retrieving this memory," he said. Harry just nodded and headed for the door.

Harry didn't bother going to the Great Hall. He headed straight for the Room of Requirement.

-O-

Hermione finished her dinner and instantly headed for the Room of Requirement. Harry hadn't shown for the meal and she hoped against hope that it was good news, that he had gotten the memory from Slughorn. She had been jittery throughout the entire meal and even though Draco had reassured her that all was fine, she couldn't help but worry.

She traveled the castle at an accelerated rate, reaching the Room of Requirement, hoping against hope that Harry would be there already. However, there was no such luck. She ended up waiting over an hour before he showed through the doors. He beelined for her and wrapped her in his arms immediately, slightly trembling. Hermione held him tightly, it was clear that he needed the support. They sat in silence for several minutes before Hermione broke the silence.

"What happened? What has you so upset?" she questioned him. Harry shuddered in her arms and kissed her quicikly.

"He made six horcruxes. There are seven pieces of his soul. How are we going to go after them?" he demanded. Hermione was shocked, unsure of exactly what she was supposed to say. Finally, she opted on reassuring him.

"No matter if we have to go after them or not, you won't be alone. Draco and I promised you that we would be right at your side for the entire thing. If we have to find all six, we will prevail. I won't allow otherwise," she decreed. Harry relaxed a little in her arms, allowing him to take a deep, relieved breath.

"Thank you, Mia, I don't know what I would do without you. I'm not even kidding, I'm not sure that I would survive," Harry told her truthfully. Hermione soothed his hair with her hand while she shushed him.

"Enough of that, we're going to think positive from here on out. Everything is going to work out for the best," she told him, hoping that her words would be true. He pulled his head from her chest long enough to give her a passionate kiss. Hermione deepened it and was battling for dominance as they spoke. However, she was pleased to say that she was losing her battle.

Harry's hand came up to her breast roughly, twisting and plucking at her peaks relentlessly. Hermione arched into his hand, her hand coming down over his to hold it there. He pulled from her kiss to shove her down to the bed that had appeared before them. With a wave of his wand, their clothes were gone and his mouth was at her breast, the wonderful suction on her tip almost unbearable.

Harry swiped fingers through her folds to make sure that she was ready for him. Hermione's hips lifted from the bed, eager for his touch. Harry, however, chuckled against her breast before pulling away and positioning himself between her legs. Her hips cradled him and she eagerly wrapped her legs around his waist, beckoning him to enter. Harry pressed one last rough kiss to her mouth before slamming into her. Hermione gasped at the pleasure and small hint of pain as she stretched to accommodate him.

Harry thrust into her fast, hard, and deep. It was unlike anything she had ever experienced before and she had to admit that she quite liked it. He was rougher than he ever had been and she liked the idea that he could lose control with her. Her hips rocked against his every thrust, driving her to heights she could never dream of attaining on her own. Just when she thought she couldn't take anymore, Harry slithered a hand between them and pinched her nub. Hermione fell off the edge into ecstasy, crying out her release as her nails found purchase on Harry's shoulders. Harry groaned his release against her shoulder, his hands tightening almost painfully on her hips. She would surely have bruises by morning. She smiled just a little at the thought.

Harry rolled off of her and pulled her into his side, her head resting on his chest while his hand stroked the length of her spine. They were quiet for almost an hour before Hermione sighed and sat up, looking down at his sated expression.

"As much as I would love to stay here with you, we need to go tell Uncle Sev. Everyone else needs to know," she said. Harry nodded and sat up, wandlessly summoning his wand. He cast a quick cleansing charm on them both before they proceeded to get dressed.

The pair left the Room of Requirement and headed for her godfather's lab; Hermione already knew that was where he had planned to spend his evening. She knew that this was going to further ruin his day but there was nothing for it. He had to be told. Once outside his door, Hermione took a deep breath and knocked.

After the wonderful bout of lovemaking, this was going to be awful in comparison.

-O-

Lucius stared at the fire before him and had been since Severus had left. Sirius had already returned home to Helena and Cissy had just retired for the night. As much as Lucius wanted sleep, he knew that it would eludge him tonight. Just knowing that Riddle had made six horcruxes was enough to make him shudder in revulsion. It was the darkest of magic, one that he had never been tempted to dabble in. His soul bond with Cissy was much too important. To split his soul would most likely sever their bond.

Knowing that two of the six horcruxes had already been destroyed, one by his own son's hand, didn't make him feel any better. There were still four left to find and who knows where that crazy bastard would stash them. They would surely be protected, though by what he wasn't sure. He was also sure that Dumbledore intended for Harry to go and hunt these objects down so they could destroy them.

The entire plan made him sick.

Yes, he had been training the children since they were young for war but had never made plans to actually send them out in battle. Dumbledore had the intention of using his children to go on a secret mission that the Dark Lord must never learn of, a task that grown men would find impossible. While he didn't doubt their abilities or determination, Lucius wasn't sure that they would be able to accomplish this task alone. It was near impossible.

He would have to consider ways to get them to not agree to this task. He knew that Harry was going to have to be the one to kill Riddle but he wanted him out of danger until that had to happen. Not only had he come to care for the boy, he was also the love of Hermione's life. He had never seen her so happy since she had given Harry a chance. Lucius was thrilled that he hadn't hurt her, that he was showing her that she could rely on him. Hermione had so few people to lean on that weren't family.

As expected, Sirius had blown his top at the news. After ranting and raving for nearly ten minutes, he flopped himself down on the couch in a most undignified way and seethed in anger silently. Lucius didn't blame him; he wanted to do exactly the same thing. Cissy had cried but that's what she did. She had always been very sensitive. Even now, he could feel the anger stirring in him just thinking about it.

With this last realization, Lucius stood from the armchair and left the library, looking for his bed. He wanted to curl up next to Cissy and hold her tightly, forgetting about this whole mess, if only for a night.

It would still be there, ready to taunt and haunt him, come morning.

A/N- Another shorty, I know. Huge plot point though, plus a little smut. Hope you all enjoyed! Drop me a line and let me know what you thought. Thanks again to everyone out there reading and reviewing, you guys are the bomb!

Next chapter, quidditch.

Love,

Alicia


	127. Chapter 127

A/N- I'm back, y'all. I'm sorry I haven't posted much lately but I just haven't been feeling writing. I do have to admit that it felt good to finish this chapter though. Hang tight with me. Like I said when I posted the newest chapter for TPoV, my work life is complete shit and I'm working overtime. Just so much stress. Thanks for reading, you readers are the ones that keep me going even when it's tough. Enough of me whining, hope you enjoy!

Trigger warning: non-con at the very end. If that bothers you, skip!

**Shout out to HarmonyAlways63 for being my 6400th reviewer! You da bomb, girl!**

Disclaimer: After 126 chapters, I still don't own the characters or the original idea for the plot. Those belong to J.K.R. and Hermione Lyra Malfoy Riddle. The plot twists that have made this story my own are all mine, however. Still haven't made any money from this story or any other. The fact that I live on ramen noodles and cereal is proof enough, haha!

Chapter 127

May 15, 1997

Hermione pushed her plate away from her, fully satisfied now that she had consumed her toast, porridge, and fruit. Everyone around her was still eating, talking merrily about the quidditch match that day. Hermione knew that Harry was excited; they were playing Ravenclaw and he wanted to stomp them into the ground so they still had a chance at the Quidditch Cup. Not that Hermione minded. She really didn't fancy quidditch but she was quite taken with the sight of Harry in his quidditch robes. Knowing that she was going to be the only one to see what was underneath was another feather in her cap as far as she was concerned.

Her mind tuned out the incessant chatter about the upcoming match and turned to the events of last night. She, Harry, and Draco had been practicing their dueling in the Room of Requirement since Hermione had a night off and Uncle Sev had been out doing business for the Dark Lord.

*Flashback*

Hermione let herself sprawl out quite unladylike on the couch that the Room had provided after they had dueled for nigh on three hours. She was drenched in sweat and was sure that she didn't smell very fresh anymore. Harry threw himself down next to her but rested his head in her lap. Hermione went to push her hand through his messy locks but grimaced when it came away wet.

"Gross, get off me, you git. You're just as gross as I am and I don't need to smell like you. I'm already bad enough," she exclaimed. Harry laughed while Draco chuckled from the armchair he was seated in. Harry obliged her and sat up, though he did reach out and take her hand so he could wipe the sweat away on his trousers. She smiled at his actions as Draco sighed.

"You know I've been watching after Theo. He disappears into this room all the time, Crabbe and Goyle are taking polyjuice to guard it for him. I saw them change this morning when they were all skipping Transfiguration. I'm not sure what his ultimate plans are but I think we need to tell our parents. It's clear that Dumbledore knows what he's up to because he's instructed Uncle Severus to not tell us. However, I don't think this means that we can't warn them. Uncle Severus might not even be able to do that much," Draco said. Hermione considered her cousins words and they rang true. Uncle Sev himself had told her that there were things he couldn't tell her because of vows he had taken. It hadn't taken an Unspeakable to figure out just what kind of vows he had meant.

"I think you're right. Uncle Sev told me that there were things he was hiding, that he had to hide. He's worried that the family will think that he's turned his back on us with things he'll have to do during this war. I assured him that I would never believe that he had turned against me, that I would fight with everyone in the family if that's what they started to believe. There is every possibility that this is the case for what Theo's up to," Hermione stated. Harry nodded beside her, quiet to this point.

"Alright, let's write a letter to the parents and tell them what's going on. We'll even include that we think Severus knows but is unable to tell us because of vows he's made. Both Siri and Uncle Lucius will understand. I agree, though, they deserve to know what's going on here as well," Harry agreed. Hermione nodded and the Room provided them with parchment, a quill, and ink so Hermione could slide closer to the table that appeared before her and began to write. It didn't take her long to jot out a few sentences that were needed. She sealed it quickly, using her family ring to mark it from the House of Black. She sat up, her back aching only slightly.

"Kreacher," she called. Her loyal elf appeared immediately, dust bunnies hanging from his ears. She bit back a grin as she cocked a head to the side.

"What on Earth have you been doing, Kreacher? You look a fright," she inquired. Kreacher launched into an explanation that he had been helping Professor Snape clean his cupboards. The man had left and left Kreacher to the task himself. Hermione gave an approving nod.

"I'm sure that he appreciates your help, Kreacher. Would you take a few moments from the cupboards and take this to my father? I can't risk anyone seeing it if I sent it by owl," she asked nicely. Kreacher was already nodding his head emphatically. She handed him the rolled up parchment and nodded that he could go. With a soft crack, Kreacher was gone. She turned to her boyfriend and her cousin, wrinkling up her nose in distaste.

"We all stink so I say we adjourn until tomorrow. Let's go shower," she stated.

So they went.

*End of Flashback*

Hermione had been surprised that Kreacher hadn't returned with a response but she figured that her father and uncle were very busy men and they would get around to reading her correspondence when they could. She expected an answer today at the very latest.

It was only minutes later that she was rewarded.

Kreacher appeared next to her, scroll in hand. She took it from him with a smile and he disappeared once more. Harry and Draco both leaned over her shoulder as she unrolled it, eager to see the contents of the letter. It was written in Uncle Luci's hand which meant that her father was probably riled up about the contents of her letter. She unsealed the letter and held it out so all three could read it.

 _Poppet,_

 _We appreciate you letting us know that there are still nefarious goings-on at Hogwarts. We figured that Severus wasn't able to tell us due to something with Dumbledore but knowing that he confirmed vows to you makes us feel better. He would never leave us in the dark if he could help it._

 _Your father is currently pacing the study while I write this, cursing under his breath about sneaky Headmasters and evil megalords. It's a good thing nobody else can see him because it would totally give away the fact that he's still a lion at heart. While I'm not really pleased with the information you sent along either, I'm controlling myself much better. Make sure you give him a hard time, sweetling._

 _As for young Theo, do nothing. We have no idea what Severus has vowed to do. If he has vowed to help him succeed and we thwart his plans, Severus will die. This is unacceptable. I want you all to watch carefully but do nothing unless your lives are in danger. I fully expect you to defend yourselves and each other but start nothing. Just watch and report your findings to us. Don't bother with Dumbledore. I guarantee that meddling old bastard knows exactly what's going on and is enjoying being the puppetmaster._

 _We miss you all and am sorry that you were unable to return for Easter holidays. However, know that we can't wait to see you all in a month's time. Until then, promise us you'll be safe._

 _All our love,_

 _Uncle Lucius_

Hermione sighed and rolled it back up, setting it aflame right there on the table. People watched with trepidation but when she reacted no further, they went back to their conversations. She turned to both Harry and Draco and gave them a pointed look.

"I want promises you'll do nothing unless absolutely necessary," she demanded. Harry nodded immediately but Draco shot her a glare.

"I can't believe you're even asking me. As if I would do anything to endanger his life," he sulked. Hermione sighed guiltily.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to insinuate anything bad about either of you. It's just that it's so important and we can't afford to mess it up," she explained. Harry kissed the side of her head and nodded reassuringly.

"We know, Mia, we aren't angry. Have no fear, we won't act," he promised. She gave them a small smile and nodded.

"Let's go take a walk around the Black Lake before lunch. The match doesn't start until afterwards," she suggested.

All their friends readily agreed, Juliet even tagging along for once. Hermione wasn't sure when her little sister had grown so far apart from their group but it seemed like she was rarely with them anymore. Therefore, it was nice that she tagged along.

The air outside was warm, only a slight chill when the wind picked up. The sun was shining and the sky was blue, instantly putting Hermione in a much better mood. She wrapped her arms around Harry's as they strolled the familiar path that they all ran every morning. While the sight of the sun coming up over the lake was breathtaking, it was nice to see the sunshine glinting off the surface as well.

They strolled the morning away, even stopping by Hagrid's so Harry and Luna could say a quick hello. While the half-giant wasn't overly friendly with her, he wasn't rude either. Hermione supposed that it was an olive branch that she decided to take considering that Harry considered him a friend. They spent a pleasant half hour there before heading back to the castle for lunch.

Hermione knew that Harry was going to eat with his team before they headed to the pitch. Ravenclaw looked quite nervous as they sat at their House table, picking at their food. Hermione wasn't sure why since they had already played that year. They should be used to the nervousness by now. Gryffindor didn't seem worried in the slightest. Although, Hermione knew how much Harry had pushed them this year and she realized that the Claws might feel unprepared going against Harry and his team. She let him kiss her openly on the mouth for only a few seconds before smiling and pushing him towards the Gryffindor table.

Hermione took her usual seat at the Slytherin table, next to Draco and across from Daphne. Juliet had gone back to her House table but Neville joined them as he almost always did. She wasn't even sure if he was still friends with anyone in his house since he spent all his time with either them or Luna. Luna, as the only Ravenclaw in their group, seemed nonplussed that her friend was going up against her house. Once again, Hermione was shown just how much loyalty her cousin didn't have to her house. It was quite sad considering Ravenclaw had done it to themselves.

Lunch passed in a buzz of conversation and Hermione tried to follow that that was around her. However, since she had little interest in the sport aside from how fit Harry was in his quidditch robes, she quickly gave it up. Finally, the bell rang, dismissing them from lunch. She stood, intending to head to the Slytherin stands outside in the brilliant sunshine, only to find that Harry had come across the Great Hall to kiss her one last time. She let him press his lips to hers for a few more seconds before pulling away with a smile.

"Wouldn't want to distract the star player, now would I?" she teased him. He growled at her and kissed her cheek.

"Wish me luck, Mia," he demanded. She reached up and kissed his chin quickly, the only thing she could reach when he didn't bend to meet her halfway.

"You don't need luck. You have skills and Ravenclaw is completely unprepared to meet you on the pitch. Be confident but not overly so. I'll be waiting for you afterwards," she promised him. With another quick kiss to her lips, he vanished from her side and through the throngs of students. Hermione grinned after him, linking her arm with Draco's on one side while Daphne did the same on the other.

"Come, cousin, let's go see if you lose the chance at the Quidditch Cup. Personally, I'm just hoping he doesn't kill himself."

Both Draco and Daphne laughed, winding their way out of the Great Hall.

-O-

Harry didn't want to let his mind wander before the match since he couldn't afford to be distracted. Even though he had lost to Draco, they still had every chance to win the Quidditch Cup. He needed to make sure that his chasers ran the score up while he took his time finding the snitch. He wasn't too worried about the Ravenclaw seeker that had taken Cho's place; he was a third year that was small and wiry. He was certainly quick on his broom but he lacked the experience that Harry had. That much was clear just watching him fly.

There was excited chatter all around him, the girls gossiping while they dressed. The boys were silent and he suspected that it was because they were nervous. Harry knew that Ron still got nervous whenever he played in front of a crowd. It was quite silly, though, since he was actually very good at keeping. Harry could hear a loud voice starting to commentate so he knew that it was almost time. He waved everyone over and gave them a determined look.

"Alright, guys, I know we lost the snitch to Slytherin. That doesn't matter now because we still have a chance at winning the Cup. That's what matters. This is the last match of the year and we need to beat the Claws by at least three hundred points to take the lead from Slytherin. Girls, I want you do what you do best. You've been on fire all year. Rack up points while I take my time finding the snitch. Ron, be on your game and keep their goals out. They can't win if they can't score. Beaters, keep your eyes open and on your teammates. We can't win if our team members are out of the game. I know we can do this. Remember, though, have fun!" Harry finished. He was shite at inspirational speeches so he tended to keep them short and sweet.

Harry grabbed his broom and started for the door that led to the pitch, his team falling in behind him. As they strolled out onto the pitch, he could hear the announcer calling out their names one by one, the crowd cheering heartily after each and every one of them was announced. The Ravenclaw team was announced next and even though the cheers weren't nearly as loud, the school body still cheered them on. Harry grinned internally when he realized that the Claws looked way more nervous than his team did.

Madam Hooch counted them down and threw the quaffle in the air after releasing the snitch and the bludgers. Harry watched his chasers do what they do best while he rose in the air, not even bothering to look for the snitch. Ron was manning the hoop and the beaters were already in the air. Harry was content to just sit back and watch the Ravenclaw seeker in case he managed to spot the snitch before Harry.

Harry wasn't sure how long they had been playing. The girls were on fire, just like he had told them. They had racked up almost three hundred points in the time they had been playing. Ron had let in a fair few scores, leaving the score at 120-300. He had started actively searching for the snitch now since they would win by over three hundred points.

He flew through the air leisurely, his eyes open for the snitch. He could see Hermione sitting with Draco and Daphne and they were all cheering for him. Siri and Uncle Lucius hadn't been able to get away from their duties to come this time and Harry tried not to let it disappoint him. Until today, they hadn't missed a single match all year.

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry spotted a glint of gold just behind the Ravenclaw keeper. He took off at breakneck speed and he could just hear Hermione lecturing him when the match was over. The Ravenclaw keeper, a boy by the name of Sanders, took off after him but Harry had already had a good head start on him. His broom was catching up but not quick enough. Harry shot through the hoop itself, startling the keeper, almost knocking him off his broom.

Harry weaved around the pitch, giving chase to the elusive golden ball. Sanders stayed on his tail, never once letting Harry get too far away. With a few years of practice, Harry knew the kid could be really good. The crowd was silent and on their feet, all of them anxious to see the final catch. He gave the crowd exactly what they wanted, finally wrapping his hand around the fluttering snitch only feet from the Hufflepuff stands. He held the snitch in his fist and lifted his arm in the air, claiming victory for his team. He was smiling widely and he wasn't sure that anything could wipe it off his face.

"Harry Potter has caught the snitch! Gryffindor wins 450-120! Gryffindor wins the Quidditch Cup!" the announcer was screaming with excitement now and Harry finally realized that the entire pitch was cheering and screaming. Harry landed to see the dejected seeker from Ravenclaw slumping away. He felt a stab of remorse and made his way over to the kid and clapped him on the shoulder.

"You did good, mate. Don't forget that you've only been practicing a few months. You practice a few years and you'll be damn good. Give me a run for my money then," he reassured him. The boy broke out in a grin and nodded.

"Thanks. I'll be sure to do that. I'll let you know when I'm ready for a rematch," Sanders told him. Harry clapped him on the shoulder again.

"You do that. For now, I have to go see about a girl," he revealed. Sanders burst out laughing and shooed him on.

Harry didn't get the chance to find his girl because the rest of his team surrounded him, cheering loudly and slapping his back. He bore it well and offered congratulations of his own. He could see the crowd parting and smiled again when he saw that everyone was moving for Hermione. Draco and Daphne flanked her but she was leading; there was a smile on her face a mile wide and Harry knew that she was proud of him. He opened his arms and she flung herself into them, holding him tightly around the neck while he lifted her into his arms. He kissed her chastely and he could hear the catcalls in the background. She laughed as he sat her back down on the ground.

"I'm so proud of you, you won the Cup! Great catch!" she exclaimed before her expression turned cloudy and she started poking him in the chest.

"You could have hurt yourself with some of those moves! I don't watch you at home because it scares the life out of me. If I'm required to watch here, you should take less risks for my sake," she chastised him. He just laughed, knowing that this moment was coming. It just seemed to make her more angry. He bent down and kissed her again, this time just a tiny bit longer than the last one. When he pulled away, he grinned down at her.

"I'll endeavor to do so since watching me play a sport I love is such a hardship. I'm always thrilled when you grace me with your presence," he whispered in her ear. She blushed lightly and sighed, finally hugging him again.

"Alright, as long as you try. I don't want to see you get hurt or knock yourself stupid. I love you, Harry," she confessed. His heart swelled at her words and he felt bad for teasing her. She was genuinely concerned for him.

"I love you too. I'll always be careful, I promise," he swore. Hermione smiled at him and turned him so he could see McGonagall headed his way, an enormous trophy in her hands. She had a smile on her face and Harry could only grin back. She thrust it into his hands and beamed.

"Congratulations to all of you, Gryffindor has indeed won the Quidditch Cup," she said proudly. He passed it around to the entire team, letting them hold it before it was passed back to him. Once it was back in his hands, he held it up in the air to celebrate their victory. The crowd went wild and Harry felt like he could run ten miles. When he finally brought it back down, he handed it back to McGonagall.

"I hope that this will take pride of place on your desk until next year," he told her, clearly teasing her. She blushed lightly and took the Cup, muttering to herself as she faded back into the background. Harry turned and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Let's go eat, I'm starving!" he proclaimed. Everyone cheered at the idea. He pressed a quick kiss on her forehead.

"I"m going to go shower and change. I can't abandon the team for this meal, I hope you understand. You can join us if you'd like," Harry told her, secretly hoping that she would. He knew that not many of the lions liked her but he wanted to show them that she was willing to do unpleasant things for him as well. She must have seen the glint in his eyes because she nodded.

"Of course I'll join you. It's your victory dinner after all," she promised, "I'll wait for you just outside the locker rooms." Harry nodded and jogged off, ecstatic that he was going to get to enter the Great Hall with her on his arm after his win.

Harry showered off quickly, ignoring the looks on his team's faces. He knew that they thought he was going to abandon them for the Slytherin table. He caught Ginny's admiring gaze as he left but she remained silent. He left to find that Hermione was seated on a bench outside, a book in her hand. He wasn't sure what the book was about but she was engrossed. He tapped the top of her book and she looked up and grinned at him unrepentantly. She slipped the book back in her robes and took the hand he offered her. The rest of his team filed out after him, a look of surprise on their faces when they saw who waited for them.

No words were exchanged as the eight of them started for the castle. He was sure that the elves had prepared a feast since it was the last quidditch match of the year. Harry made sure that his arm was visible around Hermione's waist as he threw the doors to the Great Hall open. The entire Hall was cheering yet again. Hermione held her head high, spine ramrod straight, as she followed him to the Gryffindor table. The whole Hall fell silent and watched as she took the seat that Harry offered her. She primly took her napkin from the table and laid it in her lap, finally looking up to meet the gaze of so many lions. Harry was proud to see that she arched a perfect brow at the entirety of his House.

"Have none of you ever seen the proper use of etiquette and manners? I didn't realize that placing a napkin in my lap was stare-worthy," she turned and looked at Ron and a slight look of distaste appeared on her features.

"Maybe here it is," she stated, deadpanned. The entire table started talking loudly, covering up the rebuke from the love of his life. Harry kissed the top of her head before taking a seat next to her. The food appeared and everyone dug in like wild animals, basically true Gryffindor fashion. Hermione's lip curled slightly but she remained silent, allowing Harry to serve her plate even though he knew she hated it. It was halfway through the meal that Hermione finally spoke.

"You all played very well. You've earned the Quidditch Cup this year," she simply said. Again, the whole table fell silent. Harry wanted to groan. Hermione cocked her head to the side.

"Again, paying someone a compliment is good manners and you're all surprised. Surely they don't all think I was raised a heathen?" Hermione questioned. Harry snorted and reached out to brush his thumb against the soft skin of her cheek. He chuckled slightly.

"Never change, Mia," he told her.

The meal concluded with no fanfare. Harry knew that they were planning a party in the common room and that he would have to make an appearance. Ginny and Ron had made sure to make use of the passage to Honeydukes to get food and drink. Katie Bell had already convinced the elves that they would need snacks for the party. He leaned over slightly so he could speak in Hermione's ear.

"Will you go to the party with me? I have to at least make an appearance," he enquired. She hesitated only a moment before nodding her agreement.

The pair rose together and the entire House followed after. Harry gestured to Draco and Daphne that they were welcome to join but Draco sent him a subtle shake of the head, meaning he probably had plans with Daphne. Hermione glided through the school like a princess and he knew that there were many jealous witches following after him.

Harry entered the common room to find that it had been decorated and the food and drinks were already in place. The bowl of punch on the end table had an age line drawn around it, telling him that it had been spiked. He made sure to whisper to Hermione that it was alcoholic since he remembered the last time she had spent time at a victory party there. Although, now that the twins were gone, he wasn't sure who had actually spiked it.

Music started, then dancing. Harry got Hermione a butterbeer and himself a drink of the non-alcoholic punch. He got himself a plate of snacks to munch on even though he really wasn't hungry. If he was seen eating, his admirers would leave him alone. Hermione sat next to him and appeared relaxed but he could tell that she was on high-alert, the tension clear in the way she held her shoulders. After an hour, he abandoned his plate and stood, offering Hermione his hand.

"Dance with me, Mia. A woman as beautiful as you should never be on the sidelines," he said. She graced him with a small smile before taking his hand and allowing him to pull her to the makeshift dance floor. It was pure luck that a slower song came on the wireless, letting him pull her in close and feel her body against his and they danced together. Space cleared around them and Harry tried not to be self-conscious.

The song didn't last long, only a few minutes, and Harry started to lead Hermione off the floor. However, he was stopped by Katie Bell, a smile on her face.

"Would you dance with me, Harry? It's my last year and I'm so happy that it ended on such a great note. That's because of you," she explained. Harry started to shake his head but Hermione sent him a look and pushed him ever so slightly in Katie's direction. Harry took Katie's hand and led her back on to the floor and he saw that Neville appeared at Hermione's side to dance with her. Harry could admit that Katie was a pretty girl but she felt like nothing in comparison to holding Hermione in his arms.

"I don't want to make this weird, Harry. I know that I was terrible to her at first but I actually kind of like her. Probably would full-blown like her if I spent more time around her. I really did just want to thank you for making my last year at school so amazing. I get to leave knowing that I helped win the Cup my very last year and that the team will miss my talent once I'm gone," she told him softly. Harry smiled down at her.

"You're more than welcome. We really will miss you next year. As for Hermione, once she trusts you and you're let into her circle, you'll find a completely different girl than you saw at dinner. Everyone expects her to be a pureblood snob and never gives her a chance to be anything but. I can attest to the fact that it's quite exhausting. I'm sorry that you didn't get to know her better in your time at school," he told her softly. Katie nodded.

"I can understand that. Better the devil you know…" she trailed off. Harry didn't get a chance to respond because the song ended and Katie ghosted from his arms. It had been nice to share a dance with a girl that didn't just want to sleep with him or somehow get him to marry them. Harry started to head back to Hermione who was now sitting on the couch once more. However, he was stopped by Parvati. He had once been so close to her but now he could only say that he was her acquaintance.

"Would you like to dance, Harry?" she asked breathily. He wasn't sure if she was just out of breath or if she was trying to flirt. He hoped the former.

"No, thank you. I'm getting ready to leave with Hermione. We had other plans originally," he told her. Pav glared at him.

"You mean you're going off to get a victory shag," she spat. Harry rolled his eyes at her.

"What I do with Hermione behind closed doors is none of your business, nor anyone else's.

Don't worry about what our plans are. You're the first to call her a swot, maybe we're headed to the library," he told her. He didn't wait for an answer, merely walked around her to hold his hand out to Hermione.

"I believe our time at the party has expired, Lady Black. Will you accompany me to the Room we both adore?" he asked formally, knowing it would get a smile out of her. He wasn't disappointed. She smiled and allowed him to lead her from the common room back out into the corridor.

Harry led her down the corridor so he could pace the three required times so the Room of Requirement would appear. Once the door appeared, they entered and both let out a sigh of relief. Hermione instantly started shedding her clothes, settling on the bed by the fireplace. Harry could only watch, the masterpiece before him enthralling him completely. She gave him another smile and crooked a finger at him. Harry instantly started stripping so he could join her on the bed. Once he was next to her, she reached out and started stroking his cock, testing the weight of his balls. He groaned in pleasure and Hermione just grinned again. It was what he called her Slytherin Smile.

"I just wanted to reward you for a match well played. Are you okay with that, Harry?" she purred. Since they had become intimate, Hermione's confidence had grown in leaps and bounds. Honestly, it was her sexiest trait. He had always thought so when it was only her magic and intelligence that she had confidence in. Since she had grown more confident, she was more amenable to taking charge and taking her own pleasure. It was quite refreshing since most of the other girls just let him do what he wanted and never complained. However, on the flip side of that, he loved when Hermione was submissive. It was a complete turn on that he could control a woman that it was in complete control of her life.

Harry just nodded.

Hermione winked at him and lowered her head, licking the head of his cock like a lolly. He was sure that she ran her tongue over every inch of his prick and balls before finally taking him fully in her mouth. She started slowly, taking an inch more than she had before with every pass. The suction she was using was mind-boggling. Somewhere after the tenth plunge on his cock, Harry couldn't help himself any longer. He wrapped his fingers in her curls and began to thrust into her mouth.

Hermione bore it well. He could feel her swallowing around his cock, driving him higher and higher. Her hand worked in the same motion as her mouth, driving him to orgasm twice as fast. Just when he didn't think that he could take any more, he felt her finger slide up his arse. With only a single stroke to that secret spot inside him, he spilled inside her and she swallowed him down.

However, rather than pull off and lick him clean like she usually did, she continued her ministration, softly stroking the spot inside him and taking him as deeply as she could. He could feel himself growing excited again, even after only a minute of recovery. Once he was fully hard again, she pulled off him and straddled him. This was his favorite part of Dominant Hermione. She rode him in exactly the way she wanted and not only did he get to enjoy climaxing in her sweet cunt, he got to watch her beautiful breasts bounce with every thrust.

Hermione lowered herself onto him, bracing her hands against his chest. She hissed in pleasure and pain as he stretched her, her eyes closing in bliss. Harry knew exactly how she felt. Sinking inside her was heaven every single time. It was clear that she was excited, seeking release. Her hips rode him in a furious fashion, her liquid desire soaking him. Her pace only increased as time went on and it was clear that she was wildly seeking bliss with abandon.

Finally, he could feel her inner muscles fluttering around him and he knew that it was time. He reached up and grabbed her hips in a bruising grip. He would feel bad in the morning but right now, it was perfect. He thrust up into her roughly, sure that he was hurting her. However, her cunt clenched around him painfully and she let out a moan in pleasure. It was followed by several mewls and finally an exhausted sigh. She sank to rest on his chest as he spilled himself for the second time that night, once again caught by one of her holes.

They recovered together but she never moved from his chest. His arms were wrapped around her, stroking her spine, and her arms were wrapped underneath his arms and up over the top of his shoulders. Neither one of them wanted to let go of the other. Harry had pressed numerous kisses to her face and head before he finally spoke.

"We should really clean up," he told her. She shook her head sleepily.

"No, I want to stay like this. Let's stay like this all night. We haven't done that since Christmas hols," she proposed. He tugged her hair until she turned her head to meet his eyes.

"Are you sure you want to take the chance of being discovered?" he asked, not wanting to put her in a position of ridicule. She nodded against his chest.

"Uncle Sev will back me if I tell everyone that I fell asleep in the library researching something for his potions. You just have to say that you fell asleep here after we split ways. I just want one night, Harry. Sometimes I feel so alone. We hardly have any classes together and Draco is caught up with Daphne. Yes, I have Uncle Sev but I miss being close with you," she confessed. Harry knew then that he couldn't refuse her. He kissed her deeply this time, taking his time to thoroughly enjoy her mouth. He could taste himself on her tongue and it made him want to fuck her into the mattress again.

"Alright, princess, anything for you. I just wanted you to be sure," he assured her. She kissed him again and he felt himself growing hard within her. He grinned wolfishly against her neck and gave an experimental thrust upwards. When she gasped in pleasure, he flipped her over on her back, determined to be in control at least once.

Tonight was going to prove to be a long night.

-O-

Cho couldn't hold back the sobs that had been threatening for over an hour now. She knew that she sounded pathetic and that it wasn't helping her case any. She wished now more than ever that she had chosen to die rather than follow Riddle. It would have been much more humane. A simple green curse rather than what she was now having to endure.

She had been branded immediately after going to Nott Manor and Voldemort had been most pleased that she had joined his ranks. She was sure that it was due to her connection with Harry and his bitch, Hermione Black. She couldn't imagine a reason beyond that. Her first mission, aside from sending the poisoned chocolates to Ronald Weasley, had been only the night before as she had been in training with Bellatrix since her release. Of course, training meant dueling, not one of Cho's strong suits. Every time she lost a duel to Bellatrix, she was treated to a few rounds of the Cruciatus.

She had been deemed fit for a mission just a few days before. Voldemort had sent her on a simple torture and kill mission, just a few homes full of muggles. The torturing had just about killed her but she had just barely managed to acquit herself. Bellatrix had looked disappointed but had said nothing about failing. However, when it came to killing the muggles, to casting the dreaded curse, she simply couldn't. Bellatrix had been livid, doing all the killing herself, and hauling her before the Dark Lord.

After numerous rounds of the Cruciatus at his wand, he had decreed that for the next twenty-four hours she would be of free use to his loyal Death Eaters. Of course, this didn't mean the ones that hadn't proved themselves on a mission. However, that still left more than sixty men. It was appalling that she had just been given away like that in punishment. Bellatrix had told her that it was a common punishment for the women who served Riddle. Men were ridiculed physically and women sexually. She was gleeful as she described her first and only public raping of over thirty men. She seemed genuine in trying to assure her that it had helped her become a better servant to their Lord..

Cho was currently leaned over a desk in a room. She was completely naked and her wrists were bound to the desk, holding her in place. Her feet were tied to the legs of the desk, keeping them spaced apart. She was completely on show for a room full of men waiting their turn with her. They knew they only had twenty-four hours to have their fill of her and they intended to make the best of it.

Cho had long since gone raw and her partners didn't see fit to do anything about that. She had been fighting tears since it began and that was only a little over an hour ago. Five men ago. She had assumed that their semen would be some sort of lubricant but that didn't seem to be the case. She had to endure almost twenty-two more hours of this and she was determined not to break. She couldn't. After surviving this much, she needed to make sure she didn't give up.

As yet another faceless man slammed inside her, tearing her insides brutally, Cho finally realized what she was going to have to do. Bellatrix's words suddenly made sense. She was going to have to embrace what was ordered of her, she couldn't fail her Lord again. The punishment was far too great. She wasn't sure that she could ever measure up to Bellatrix but Cho decided that she was up to the challenge.

She would never end up ass-in-the-air for a roomful of wanting men again.

A/N- I had so many questions about Cho that I decided to leave a little snippet of the Death Eater life. I'd say she's regretting her choice now. Anyways, let me know what you think. Thanks again for reading, y'all. Leave me your thoughts in a review, it's greatly appreciated.

Next chapter, Harry and Dumbles travel to a cave.

Love,

Alicia


	128. Chapter 128

A/N-Here we are again, my lovelies, with another chapter. This is the chapter that I had to write a while ago because I was so excited to write it. I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thanks for reading and reviewing, it really keeps me going.

**Shout out to Snowflake Dazzle for being my 6500th reviewer! You da bomb diggity!**

Disclaimer: I still don't own the characters or the original plot line of this story. They belong to J.K. Rowling and Hermione Lyra Malfoy Riddle respectively. Granted, I've come up with the twists and turns that have made this story unique (: Since I'm still broke as hell, I haven't made any money from this story or any other. Maybe someday I'll make millions from an original idea but for now, I just dabble in fanfiction.

Chapter 128

June 3, 1997

"Mr. Potter?" Harry turned to see his Transfiguration teacher standing before him with a serene look on her face. He acknowledged her slightly and she smiled in return.

"The Headmaster would like to see you. He said that it's about a matter of great importance. He said that you needed to hurry to his office," Professor McGonagall relayed. Harry nodded his understanding.

"Yes, ma'am, I'll head that way now," Harry promised her, pushing his plate away from him at the Gryffindor table. He shot Hermione a look from across the room, silently telling her that all was well and that he would let her know what was going on when he could. He rose to his feet and exited the Great Hall, heading for the stairs that led him closest to the Headmaster's office. He had no idea what the man could possibly want with him; he had gotten him the memory that he had wanted and there had been no further contact.

Harry didn't need to give a password at the griffin that guarded Dumbledore's office; it just swung open soundlessly, beckoning him forward like an old friend. Harry suddenly had an ominous feeling that he just couldn't shake. However, there was nothing he could do about it now since he was standing on the precipice of the Headmaster's office and the old bastard knew that he was there.

Harry took the stairs sedately, trying to calm his heartbeat. He wasn't sure why his adrenaline was pumping already but he couldn't afford to show weakness in front of the Headmaster. He was exactly the type of man to exploit it, he had done so with others on numerous occasions. Therefore, he ran through the shields in his mind and reinforced them, focusing on shields rather than his emotions. When the door to Dumbledore's office swung open noiselessly, the Headmaster stood from behind his desk and gestured for him to enter. Harry did so and the door nearly slammed behind him. There was also the telltale wash of magic over him as the door was locked and warded behind him. However, Harry didn't let on that he could feel that.

"Come, come, Harry, I thought that since I finally found another horcrux you would want to come along and help me retrieve it. What do you say?" Dumbledore asked him bluntly. It was a much different style than Harry had come to expect from him to be honest. Usually the Headmaster beat around the bush or tried to say things without really saying them. It was actually quite frustrating.

"Yes, I'd like to go with you if you're going after a horcrux. Where is it that we're going to? You made it sound like you had no idea where any of them were," Harry questioned. Dumbledore gave him a comforting smile.

"I've been searching for the cave he tortured those muggle children in all year. I finally found it this morning. I wanted to return under the cover of darkness and thought that you had earned the right to be there as well. I had thought we might destroy it together once we returned to the castle," Dumbledore told him. Harry simply nodded so the old man continued.

"We must leave right away since it's quite a distance away. I want you to hurry to your dorm and retrieve your invisibility cloak. Tell nobody where you've been or where you're going, not even Miss Black. This is of utmost importance, Harry, do you understand?" he demanded harshly. Harry made sure to put a chastised look on his face and nodded obediently.

"Yes, sir, I won't tell anyone," he promised.

Harry turned and fled the Headmaster's office, heading directly for Gryffindor Tower. He shot off a quick patronus to Hermione, hoping that she could meet him in time so he would be able to explain. She hadn't intercepted him before he reached the Tower so he hurried up to his dorm and threw his cloak inside his school robes, stuffing it in one of the deeper pockets. His heart sank when Hermione wasn't waiting for him outside the Tower when he left either. However, a smile broke out on his features when he literally ran into her on the sixth floor near the stairs. He reached out and caught her around the elbows, keeping her from falling on her very delectable arse.

"I'm so glad you caught me in time, I didn't want to leave without telling you where I was going," Harry panted. Hermione's hand clenched around his forearm and she gave him a sharp look.

"Tell me everything," she demanded. Harry let out a short chuckle.

"Well, the Headmaster found a horcrux in the cave where he tortured those muggle children I told you about. He wants me to go with him to retrieve it. He sent me after the cloak, though why I'm not sure. I thought for sure he was going to make me search for them on my own. It won't be so bad if he's going to help," Harry told her in a hushed whisper. Hermione gave him a look that made him stop and wonder if going with the Headmaster was a wise decision.

"I know you want to get this part of the war over with, Harry, but promise me that you're going to be careful. I don't like the way this sounds and even though I think Divination is a load of shite, something about this whole thing feels off. Please promise me that if anything happens, anything at all, you'll apparate out and go to Blackmoor. Or Malfoy Manor. I don't care where, just not where he's taking you. If you were going with someone I trusted, it would be one thing. However, I don't trust Dumbledore any further than I could throw him," she concluded warningly. Harry knew that her advice was sound. He had gotten so caught up in being happy that someone other than him was going to be in charge that he had forgotten briefly just how much he couldn't trust Dumbledore. He gave Hermione a quick kiss to her lips.

"Thanks, Mia, you always keep my head straight. I'll find you as soon as we get back and I'll be careful, I promise. I couldn't bear to leave you behind now," Harry whispered to her heartfeltly. She nodded and gave him a little shove in the direction of the stairs.

"I'll be waiting up for you, no matter how late. Come find me with your map," she told him as she sauntered away.

Harry hurried back to the Headmaster's office, taking the steps three at a time, just missing the trick stair. He skidded to a stop outside the griffin and entered at a much slower pace. Dumbledore was waiting for him impatiently. He gestured for Harry to hurry and take his arm, which he did so with a confused look on his face. Dumbledore smiled down at him.

"Brace yourself for apparition, Harry," he warned him. Harry narrowed his eyes.

"I thought you couldn't apparate in Hogwarts because of the wards," he said accusingly. Dumbledore merely smiled serenely at him.

"There are certain perks that come with being the Headmaster," he explained before popping them out of Hogwarts.

The pair of them landed on a rocky cliff, the murky sea crashing into the rocks below them. The spray of the water was high enough to almost reach them and Harry wondered if there was a storm off the coast, if that was why the sea was so violent. He turned to Dumbledore to see just what the plan was. The old man had his wand in his hand, pointed at Harry.

"You're going to have to trust me, my boy. I don't know the layout of the rock down there so we can't apparate down. I'm going to levitate you down to the rocks and then I want you to levitate me," Dumbledore explained. Harry felt a twist of apprehension at his words. If he lost concentration for even a second, he could plummet into the rocky sea and most likely die. However, he knew that the Headmaster was right. Without knowing the exact layout, apparition was extremely dangerous. He gave a resolute nod and braced himself, hoping that he wouldn't have to tell Hermione about this moment. She would likely blow her top.

The Headmaster lifted him into the air and moved him over the edge of the water. Harry wasn't scared of heights in the least but he would admit that it was very disconcerting to be floating through the air with no broom. He began to go lower, getting closer to the rocks and the violent spray of the sea. The water was freezing as it sprayed him, soaking him to the bone. Once his feet were on the uneven rocks at the base of the cliff, he let out a sigh of relief and raised his wand. He cast the first year spell that allowed him to levitate the Headmaster down through the spray and to the rocks below. Once his feet were on the rocks, he smiled that twinkling smile at Harry.

"Well done, my boy. Once we're inside we can cast warming and drying charms," Dumbledore told him. Harry quirked his head.

"How am I not getting in trouble for underate use of magic right now?" Harry inquired. The old man gave him a knowing smile.

"I know that life is going to be very uncertain in the months coming up. I know that your guardians didn't always treat you the best. I removed the Trace from your wand a week ago since you will be returning to them and there is no way of knowing what you will be facing. It's a gift to you to make sure that you have the ability to keep yourself safe if the need arises," Dumbledore explained. Harry was dumbfounded. He was almost touched at the Headmaster's actions and reasons behind them. However, it wouldn't do to get emotional about it. After all, he had put Harry in that home, knowing exactly what was going to happen to him. Therefore, he gave him a nod of thanks and left it at that.

Dumbledore moved to the rocky wall behind them, his wand moving over the surface as though he was searching for something. Harry had a feeling that he was searching for a magical signature but he kept quiet. He didn't want to reveal just how much he knew to the Headmaster. Therefore, he decided to play dumb.

"What is it you're doing, Professor?" he asked. The Headmaster turned and twinkled at him.

"Looking for the entrance. Tom has hidden it with magic. It seems that he left a little residual magic here so he could find the entrance again. Now all that's required is a blood sacrifice," Dumbledore explained. Harry stepped forward, hand out. Dumbledore just shook his head at him.

"No, I'll be the one to leave the blood. If he comes to check on his precious horcrux, he'll find my signature, not yours. It will buy you time if anything ever happens to me," he clarified. Harry nodded his head, supposing that the Headmaster was right in that regard. A small penknife was produced and the old man slashed his palm. He rubbed the welled up blood on the rocky surface of the cliff, smearing it liberally. The cliff began to quake and an opening appeared before Harry's eyes. Dumbledore reached out and grabbed his wrist, pulling him inside quickly.

"Go ahead and dry yourself off now. Use warming charms as well. I wouldn't want the lovely Lady Black angry with me because you got sick from being cold and wet. She already dislikes me enough," Dumbledore said jovially. Harry did as he was told but wondered about Dumbledore's comment about Hermione. It was just so out of place.

Once they were both warm and dry, they lit their wands and started forward carefully, not sure of what they would find. After a few minutes of stumbling through a rocky passage, an enormous cavern was revealed and lamps lit all along the edges. There was a pool of water with an island in the middle. Harry looked all around and noticed a boat anchored just a ways away. He had an ominous feeling when he realized that they were going to have to sail to the island in the middle of the lake. The water was dark and murky and it made him wonder what lurked in it's depths.

"I think it's clear that we're meant to sail across to retrieve the piece of his soul. I think it would be wise to make sure that we don't touch the water. If I know Tom, he won't have just left it here unprotected. Wand at the ready at all times, my boy," Dumbledore interrupted. Harry nodded and moved towards the boat, pushing it into the water just enough that they could still push off from the shore and not touch the water.

Both of them crawled into the boat and Harry shoved off as hard as he could with the oar. Since there was only one, he alternated sides as he steered them towards the small island in the center. Just floating over the water gave him the creeps and he had no doubt that there was something sinister below. After ten minutes of rowing, they reached the island to see that it was completely barren aside from one pedestal in the very center. It piqued Harry's interest; what could he possibly have hidden in such a small space?

They disembarked from the boat and Harry made sure to pull it far enough up on shore that it wouldn't float away and leave them stranded. The last thing he wanted to do was have to be levitated across the water. Although, now that Harry thought about it, he couldn't feel any wards around the area. If he had wanted to keep something protected with traps inside, he would have put up anti-apparition wards around the area to make sure that they had to face the traps. It didn't make any sense to Harry but he supposed that it was a good thing that he didn't understand the inner workings of a psychopath's mind.

The pair of them made their way towards the pedestal, Dumbledore waving Harry back behind him. He stepped forward to inspect it and Harry was content to let him do so. He was thinking about how the diary had made him feel, how he had felt connected to it in some way. It had been a horcrux. It would stand to reason that all horcruxes would feel the same to him. He didn't feel anything from whatever Dumbledore was examining in that basin. Dumbledore stood from his stooped position and Harry interrupted him before he had the chance to speak.

"I don't think there's a horcrux in there, sir. I remember what the diary felt like, how it called to me. I don't feel anything like that from whatever is in there. I don't think it's a horcrux at all. I think we should leave before whatever is in this damn lake comes up and eats us," he almost begged. Dumbledore sighed.

"While I do trust your opinion, Harry, I don't think we can afford to just leave it here. Just because you reacted to one horcrux doesn't mean that you'll react to them all. If that is the case, we're leaving a horcrux here for no good reason. We have to retrieve this," Dumbledore implored. Harry nodded. He hated to admit it but the Headmaster was right. While he was sure that he would feel if it was really a horcrux, there was the off chance that he wouldn't. They really couldn't afford to leave it behind. With a sigh, he hardened himself to what needed to be done.

"What is the plan? What's in there?" he asked. Dumbledore gestured for him to look. Harry leaned over the pedestal and saw Slytherin's locket was in the bottom of a deep bowl but there was liquid covering it. He leaned back and eyed the Headmaster.

"Can we just vanish the liquid?" he asked. Dumbledore flicked his wand at the fluid and it did nothing. He turned to Harry and gestured to the bowl sitting on the edge. Harry felt a sense of dread in deep in his gut when he realized what it meant.

"We have to drink it. It's why there aren't any apparition wards. It's going to kill us as soon as we drink it," Harry predicted. Dumbledore shook his head.

"No, I don't think it will kill us. I do think it will make us wish we were dead though. Therefore, I'm going to be the one to drink it. You're going to be the one to make sure that I drink every last drop no matter how much I beg. You will make me do it and grab the horcrux. Afterwards, you'll get us back in the boat and to safety outside. You will have to apparate us home, I'm quite certain of that. We're quite far from Hogwarts so if you need to make a stop between that is understandable," Dumbledore told him. Harry really didn't want to do this but knew that he really didn't have much of a choice. He nodded in agreement. He raised his wand and pointed it at the wizened wizard before him.

"I know you'll probably be able to overcome it since you're skilled in occlumency but I'm going to place a compulsion charm on you. It won't be as strong as the Imperious so I really don't think it will work but it's worth a try," he explained. Dumbledore nodded his agreement and gestured for him to continue. Harry cast the spell silently and could tell by the glazed look in the Headmaster's eye that he hadn't fought it yet.

"I want you to drink all the liquid out of that basin. Use the bowl," he ordered. Dumbledore moved into position before he hesitated. Harry was sure that he was going to break through the spell but it was only moments later that he scooped the first bowlful out and drank it.

Harry was sure that the old man wasn't fighting the spell at all, that was the only explanation that he could come up with. Bowl after bowl, Dumbledore drank them down. He was crying now, begging for someone named Ariana not to die, begging for what sounded like a lover not to leave. It was heartbreaking to listen to, especially since there seemed to be no harm done to his body, only his mind. Harry could only hope that when the potion wore off, the effects would as well.

Finally, the potion was gone and Dumbledore threw himself to the ground sobbing. Harry remembered his orders and reached in to grab the horcrux, quickly shoving it into his jeans pocket. He turned to the Headmaster and could see that he was no longer crying but he was gasping as though he couldn't breathe.

"Water, I need water," he gasped. Harry moved as quickly as he could, reaching for the bowl that he had drank the potion from. He cast the aguamenti charm and filled it with water but it was too late. Dumbledore had stumbled to the shore and was scooping water out of the lake and into his mouth.

"No!" Harry screamed, just in time to see a hand reach up from the water and pull Dumbledore in. He had no idea what was happening; dead bodies were emerging from the water in all sorts of different stages of decay. Dumbledore was thrashing below the surface and Harry had to make a snap decision on how he was going to handle the situation. Clearly, he couldn't leave the Headmaster and the inferi were coming for him now. He remembered Remus and Moody lecturing them for hours on inferi and how to handle them. The problem with inferi is that they're already dead so nothing affected them.

Nothing except for fire.

Harry stepped back and braced himself on his right foot. He had never practiced this spell, he only remembered reading about it over the summer after his fourth year. He could only hope that it worked because if it didn't, the Headmaster was likely dead.

"Turbine ignis!" he screamed, putting every bit of power that he could into the spell.

Fire shot from his wand like a whip, slashing through the inferi as if they were nothing. Body parts were rolling as Harry cast over and over, the heat from the whip almost overwhelming him. He jumped in the water as soon as the shore was clear and saw the Headmaster still struggling weakly against three more inferi. Harry pointed his wand and silently summoned the Headmaster to him, just as he had Sirius that day in the Department of Mysteries. The Headmaster didn't fly quite as fast towards him but he did vacate the inferi's grip long enough for Harry to cast the fire whip at them as well. To see the fire light up the depths of the water was something that Harry didn't think he would ever forget.

Harry dragged the Headmaster out of the water and laid him on the ground while he caught his breath. He could hear splashing so he knew that there were still inferi in the lake, most likely headed their direction. Dumbledore was breathing, though his breaths were shallow. Harry turned his wand on him again and cast a spell to clear his airway. It wouldn't do anything for the water he had already aspirated but it made a marked improvement in how he was breathing. Dumbledore was struggling to sit up so Harry helped him. Once he was upright, he looked at Harry with grim determination.

"We have to get out of here. Get us back in that boat and get us out," he demanded. Harry shook his head.

"I don't feel any wards. We're just going to apparate from here. I can take us both back to Hogsmeade. We can floo from there," Harry told him. Dumbledore didn't argue, he just nodded weakly and grabbed Harry's arm as firmly as he could. He gave another nod that he was ready and Harry concentrated as hard as he could. He could take others along with no problem but never at the distance that he was about to travel.

With a twist, the two of them disappeared. Harry was pleased to see that they were behind the Three Broomsticks. He was holding most of the Headmaster's weight so he started to drag him inside. There was hardly anybody inside since it was now late in the evening. Rosmerta didn't even give them a second glance as they headed for the fireplace. It was now that the Headmaster became insistent.

"Put your cloak on, Harry, I must insist. My instincts are telling me that you need to hide. No matter what you see, do not reveal yourself," Dumbledore ordered him. Harry wasn't sure exactly what was going on but he finally nodded. Was tonight the end of whatever the old man had been planning with Severus? He supposed that he would just have to play along so he could see.

Harry threw the cloak over himself and let Dumbledore guide him into the floo with him. It was quite cramped but there was nothing for it. The Headmaster sounded weak as he called out for the main floo of Hogwarts. Harry supposed that would be safe enough since it was late enough that most of the students would be in their common rooms. They stepped out of the fireplace together and Harry started as he heard a laugh. He turned just in time to see Theo advancing, wand drawn and held aloft.

Suddenly, Harry felt himself shoved away, a good ten feet, and frozen in place. He could do nothing but watch exactly what was going on before him. Dumbledore drew his wand but didn't aim it at Theo, he just gave him a serene smile as he leaned back against the side of the fireplace.

"Hello, Mr. Nott, you look troubled. Is there something that I can help you with today?" he asked. Theo flicked his wand and disarmed the Headmaster, his wand sailing through the air to land somewhere behind Theo. Harry still couldn't move so he knew the Headmaster was keeping him there wandlessly.

"I'm here to kill you. I've let the Dark Lord's finest in the castle and they're battling your little watch dogs as we speak. How does it feel to be the one on the losing side?" Theo stated proudly. Dumbledore just cocked his head to the side and shook his head softly.

"You don't want to kill me, Mr. Nott. You know that you have other options, you know that we could offer you protection from the Dark Lord and your father. You have only to say the word," Dumbledore implored. Theo scoffed but Harry saw his wand drop ever so slightly. There was nothing else for him to do because at that very moment, Severus came skidding through the corridor and saw exactly what was happening. He wandered over to the confrontation and judging by the long, pressing look that he gave Harry through the cloak, he knew that Harry was there. He stood at Theo's side and gave the younger man a stern look.

"You know what you have to do, Nott. Do it so I can fulfill the rest of my duties," Severus sneered. Harry held his breath. Was this really part of what he was supposed to do for the Headmaster? Or was this part of what he had been sworn to do by the Dark Lord? It made no sense and he wanted nothing more than to speak to Hermione about it. Theo trembled, his wand shaky in his grip. He raised his wand again but faltered when it came time to cast. Dumbledore gave him a beseeching look.

"I told you, Mr. Nott, you're no killer. Accept the protection I offer," he told him again. Severus sneered at the Headmaster.

"There will be no protection, that I can assure you. Nott will do as he's told," he said. Nott once again opened his mouth to cast but nothing came out. Severus shoved him out of the way.

"I'll finish your task, you imbecile," he sneered once again. There were footsteps in the corridor and Dumbledore looked to Severus, a silent plea in his eyes.

"Severus, please," the Headmaster begged. Severus gave the barest of nods and cast.

The green curse slammed into the Headmaster's chest and he dropped to the ground. Harry felt the spell holding him release but he didn't move. Even though he had just seen someone he completely trusted murder another person, he didn't want to give him away. Severus was family, after all. There were things that he knew that Harry didn't. He watched as Severus grabbed Theo roughly by the shoulder and shoved him from the corridor.

Harry waited only two minutes before following into the fray, determined to find Hermione.

-O-

Hermione couldn't dispel the feeling of unease as she strolled the corridors. Harry had been gone for ages, it was past dinner now. Students had been ordered back to their common rooms but she had already told Professor Cat that she was going to be wandering around until Harry returned. Draco had thrown his hat in the ring with her, just wandering a different floor so they could cover more area. Order of the Phoenix members were milling around, Dumbledore had obviously called them in since he was going to be gone and didn't trust Professor McGonagall to protect the school on her own.

She had already run into Bill and he had been quick to give her a hug and make her promise to be careful if she was going to patrol with them. Molly had glared when she passed her but had said nothing. Kinglsley had been mildly surprised to see her but had said nothing derogatory about it. He had simply warned her to be on her toes and to have constant vigilance. Of course, she could only chuckle to herself at his advice. Moody had drilled that in her for over a year now.

In fact, she had seen Moody as well, stumping through the corridors. Most of the Order members weren't aware of how close they were so she merely smiled and curtsied at him and he grunted in return. Then she moved on, her wand out and her eyes open, as she worried about what Harry could possibly have gotten himself into. She really wished that her father and uncle were here but since they weren't members of the Order, they hadn't been issued an invite. However, she had sent a letter to them with Kreacher as soon as Harry had left, letting them know exactly what was going on.

Hermione had just turned a corner on the seventh floor, near the Room of Requirement where she so often met Harry, when a cloud of black dust filled the air, obstructing her view. She could hear feet moving quickly past her, a few coughs as well, and voices that were hushed. Then she heard two voices that she recognized and she was scared as to what that meant for the school.

Theo Nott and Augustus Rookwood.

Suddenly, she knew exactly why the Order was placed at the school. Dumbledore knew what Theo's mission was and it was clearly letting Death Eaters in the school. Thank Merlin Harry was gone, though she wasn't sure how long that would be the truth. He had already been gone for hours. She hurried through the corridors, trying to be quiet, while she searched for one of the adults patrolling the corridors. Bill was the first one she found and she tried to remain as calm as possible. He put an arm around her shoulders and waited for her to get the words out.

"There are Death Eaters in the school. I think they came in through the Room of Requirement. I could hear Augustus Rookwood, I promise," she gasped. Bill pressed a kiss to her forehead and nodded.

"I believe you, Hermione. I'm going to send a patronus to the others. It's hard to tell where they are now. Thank Merlin all the kids are in their common rooms," he told her. Hermione nodded and waved her wand. Her fox appeared and she gave it a message to take to Uncle Sev; she knew without a shadow of a doubt that he knew exactly what was going on tonight. He would have to show he was on the dark side, that much she was sure, but she knew that he would do his best to keep as many people safe as possible.

However, she didn't get to have any more thoughts about what Uncle Sev may or may not know; she was distracted by a woman's voice that was coming from around the corner. The only woman that Hermione knew served the Dark Lord was Bellatrix Lestrange, the most dreaded witch since the last war. She also knew that she had tried to kill her father and knew without a shadow of a doubt that she would love to kill the Lady Black.

None of this mattered, though, because a hulking man almost the size of Hagrid came around the corner and spotted Bill. His hair was long and matted with blood, his eyes were amber, his teeth long and filthy. His nails reminded Hermione of claws and they were caked with blood. Suddenly, she knew exactly who Bill was facing.

Fenrir Greyback.

Greyback didn't even give a warning before lunging forward, his claws slashing at Bill's face. Bill screamed and fell to the ground, face down. Greyback jumped on his back and Hermione heard something break from his massive weight. He bent down and bit into Bill's shoulder and Hermione knew that she couldn't allow this to happen. She knew that werewolves were mostly resistant to spells so she did the best thing she could think of within two seconds.

She set him on fire.

There was a howl of rage as the werewolf launched himself off Bill. The smell of burning hair and flesh permeated the air and Hermione wanted to retch. He quickly put himself out and Hermione just stared him down. She had a plan of action; she would bludgeon him to death. No, most spells didn't work but a bludgeoning spell would still do physical damage. This was the man that had infected Remus when he was only four years old; the man who had infected most of the people she had already cured. There was no way she was backing down. Greyback grinned ferally at her and smacked his lips.

"You're the little bitch curing my whelps. I think just payment would be turning you, don't you? I'd even take you as my mate, quite an honor in my pack," he nearly salivated over her. Hermione twisted her mouth into a show of distaste.

"No, thank you. I prefer my partners to have basic personal hygiene and you are clearly lacking. I can smell you from here," she said primly. Greyback howled in rage and charged at her. Hermione was ready, however, her wand up and casting a bludgeoning hex in under a second. It threw the werewolf back on his arse and he growled in rage yet again. Hermione sent another spell at him, putting a little more power into it, and sent him almost all the way to the stairs. Judging by the way he was holding his midsection, she had injured something inside. However, with accelerated werewolf healing, who knew how long she had until it was healed.

Hermione had been set on facing the werewolf until she heard a cackle behind her. She turned her back to the wolf, noting that Bill was still down on the ground bleeding heavily. Her gaze met the familiar grey gaze of Bellatrix Lestrange. It was odd that her eyes were so comforting but the rest of her set Hermione on edge. She wondered if her father would be willing to charm his eyes a different color so he didn't have to look like a psycho bitch.

"Isn't it fun playing with doggies? He wants you badly because he can't get into the dormitories. Wittle Theo doesn't know the passwords," she revealed. Hermione wanted to throw up. Of course he would break into a school to infect young children with lycanthropy. She knew that Greyback was moving behind her, she could sense it, but knew that she was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Who was the greater danger, Bellatrix or Greyback?

Bellatrix struck, her wand moving as quick as lightning as she sent a volley of spells at Hermione. She shielded where she could, dodged where she couldn't, all while sending her own spells back at her cousin. She was still aware of Greyback but there was literally nothing that she could do about him. That was why she wasn't surprised when she was suddenly tackled to the ground, her body groaning at the weight of the werewolf on top of her.

Greyback howled in triumph and swiped down with his hand to rest it next to her. One of his claws caught her on the front of her shoulder and dragged through her flesh as it went to the floor. She bit back a scream of pain. At the smell of her blood, the werewolf howled again and Hermione took that opportune moment to bring her knee up into his groin as hard as she could. Greyback howled again, this time in pain, and she rolled him off her and tried to scamper away.

Hermione managed to look up as she crawled on the floor and caught sight of her godfather in the shadows. She felt him press against her mind and she allowed him entrance.

 _Fight me with all you have. Make it look good._

Hermione felt her godfather reach down and grab her curls, hauling her to her feet. He pulled her against him and she started to struggle as hard as she could, making it look good. She slammed her foot down on his instep and Uncle Sev stumbled but didn't let her go. She brought her wand up and sent the weakest blasting hex she could at him, sending him flying away from her. However, this meant that Greyback had time to grab her again and she yelped in pain.

Out of nowhere, she caught sight of her godfather once more headed her way. However, that didn't matter because Greyback's jaws were looming at her throat and she finally let her magic loose as she had with Krum. It blasted Greyback back into a wall, knocking him out cold. Her godfather was sent flying while Bellatrix was just barely missed by the impact of her magic. Her godfather stood once more and headed in her direction when Bellatrix called out.

"We don't have time, Snape, we have to get out. I can hear them coming!" she screamed. She ran to Greyback and punched him in the face, effectively bringing him around.

"Let's go!" she told the werewolf, sprinting away from them all.

With one last look at her godfather, Hermione gave him the tiniest of nods and watched him flee, noticing for the first time that he wasn't alone. Nott Sr. and Jr. were both with him, as was Rodolphus Lestrange. Hermione rushed to Bill's side as soon as they were out of sight; she could hear spellfire down the way meaning that they had run into the rest of the Order.

Bill's wounds were still pouring blood and Hermione was doing the best she could to staunch the flow. She had been trained in basic healing, that much was true, but these were wounds caused by a werewolf. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do about those. Let alone her own. Therefore, she held pressure and called for Kreacher. The elf appeared before her and blanched at the sight before him.

"Retrieve me some blood replenishing potions from Uncle Severus' stores," she ordered. Kreacher didn't even bother to nod, just disappeared and reappeared moments later. She wasn't sure how she was going to hold pressure and give him the potion so she looked to her loyal elf again.

"Kreacher, I need you to hold pressure on these wounds for me, please. He could bleed to death if you don't," she told him. Kreacher leaned down and placed his hands on the bleeding wound at Bill's shoulder, his hands instantly red. Hermione's were slick with blood and she fumbled with the top for a moment before getting it off. She hauled Bill's head up and put the vial to his lips, trying not to focus on the claw wounds that marred his handsome face. He slowly drank it down; once it was gone, Hermione threw the vial away from them and took back over for Kreacher.

The next minute, Harry was rounding the corner with Draco and they both stuttered to a stop when they saw her. Not that she blamed them; she knew that she was a mess. Both started again, rushing to her and dropping to their knees next to her. Draco had his wand out and was running a diagnostic on Bill. She read the readings just as easily as he did; Bill's pelvis was broken but aside from that, he was merely bleeding to death from his neck/shoulder wound. Hermione met Harry's eyes and what she saw there made her stop. He shook his head slightly so she let it go for now.

"We need Madam Pomfrey now. He's bleeding faster than I can give him potions. I don't dare close cursed wounds. Where is everyone else?" she asked. Draco answered without even looking up from the diagnostic.

"As the Death Eaters were vacating, they ran into the Order. They fought for awhile and now they're dealing with the aftermath. They dragged Theo out because he was unconscious and I'm pretty sure that Sr. won't ever walk right again. Pomfrey is dealing with the injuries on our end," Draco explained. Hermione sighed in irritation. She looked to Harry since he was just watching and listening.

"Send a patronus to Madam Pomfrey. Unless the injuries she's dealing with are life-threatening, she needs to get here immediately before Bill fucking bleeds out on the castle floor," she told him. Harry pulled his wand and his stag appeared but Hermione paid it no mind. She turned to Draco and gestured with her head to one of the other vials.

"Give him another one, this bleeding hasn't slowed at all," she ordered. Draco nodded and began to slowly feed Bill another vial of potion. It was only minutes later when they heard pounding footsteps and Madam Pomfrey, Molly Prewett, Arthur Weasley, and Mad-Eye Moody appeared around the bend of the corridor. Molly started wailing while Madam Pomfrey went to her knees and looked at Hermione.

"He was slashed across the face by Greyback, he was jumped from behind, and was bitten on his neck/shoulder. The diagnostic said he has a broken pelvis and severe bleeding. We've given him two vials of blood replenisher but the bleeding hasn't slowed at all. I didn't dare try to close cursed wounds without supervision. I've never done it before," she confessed. Madam Pomfrey shook her head as she started to murmur under her breath, casting more in depth diagnostics.

"You did well, dear girl, you saved his life. He would have already bled out otherwise," she said matter-of-factly. After she was through reading the diagnostic, she cast a spell and the bleeding stopped completely. She stood and looked to both Harry and Draco.

"I want you two to levitate him to the Hospital Wing as carefully as you can. I put his heart in stasis. I'll repair the cursed wound as well as I can. I need to examine Miss Black right now," she informed them. Hermione shook her head.

"No, I'm fine, fix Bill first. I have just a flesh wound," she tried to placate the witch. Madam Pomfrey put an arm around her shoulders gently and steered her towards the Hospital Wing.

"A flesh wound from a werewolf. You will be seeing me, young lady, I don't care if you're Head of your House or not," she told her sternly. Hermione chuckled softly and nodded.

"I will let you see me as soon as Bill's heart is restarted, I swear it," Hermione promised.

Moody threw an arm around her and whispered to her the entire way to the Hospital Wing, telling her that he had already sent her father and uncle a patronus and that they would be there momentarily. He settled her in a bed and waited next to her while Harry and Draco took seats on the other side of her. Hermione shot a look at Harry and he was unreadable. It wasn't until the doors of the Hospital Wing opened and Professor Cat and Remus levitated the body of Albus Dumbledore in to rest in a bed at the end of the room. Her eyes flew back to Harry and he nodded his head in affirmation that he was indeed dead. Her father strode in, Uncle Luci behind him and his word was law.

"We'll discuss this once Bill is awake and Hermione has been treated. I feel this is a story that both my family and the Order need to hear," he stated. Hermione turned to Harry and shook her head in the negative ever so slightly, indicating that he couldn't tell them about the horcruxes. That would be a story for when the family was alone. He reached out and took her hand for the first time and she instantly felt better. In fact, she pulled him to where he had to sit on the bed next to her so she could curl up against him. It made her feel whole again.

Eventually, Madam Pomfrey finished with Bill and Molly started to fuss over him as he woke. Fleur had arrived on scene and argued with Molly that it was her place to care for her fiance and she would not be put off. Hermione smirked at the sight of the half-veela staking her claim and making it known that she wouldn't stand for anyone to try to stand in her way. Madam Pomfrey headed her way and Harry moved off the bed and Draco and Moody moved away completely. After a dirty look to Harry, he finally capitulated and left so she could draw the curtain.

Hermione was quick to pull down her top to expose the shoulder that was injured. Madam Pomfrey quietly instructed her on what she needed to do if she was ever in the situation of cursed wounds again, teaching her the incantation she needed to know before sealing the wound. After sealing the wound, she slathered on some green goop that smelled as terrible as it looked. Hermione promptly covered back up while the mediwitch scanned her whole body.

"It looks like you have a cracked rib, dear, let's get you a dose of Skele-Gro. Those can take ages to heal naturally and are quite painful," she told her. Hermione nodded as Madam Pomfrey vanished the curtains. She retrieved the dosage she needed and handed it to Hermione. She could see that everyone was glaring at her and she sighed after she choked the potion down.

"It'll come out in the story. Let's get this started," she ordered. Her father chuckled and came forward to kiss her forehead, followed closely by Uncle Luci. Both took seats next to her, shuffling Harry and Draco to the foot of the bed. Professor Cat started the ball rolling.

"Harry, I know you left school grounds with Professor Dumbledore and he was found at the base of the floo. What happened?" she asked gently. Harry shifted further back so he could take Hermione's hand. She gave him a squeeze, supporting him while he told a story he really didn't want to.

"Professor Dumbledore has given me a special mission. I can't tell anyone that doesn't already know. We left the school to work on this mission and we ended up in quite a predicament. I can't go into details but the Headmaster was forced to drink a potion and it made him delusional. He wanted water. I tried to conjure it in time but he lunged for a lake. There were inferi in the lake and they pulled him under. He was fighting with everything he had and they started to come after me. I used a fire storm spell I found the summer after my fourth year. I had never cast it before but it worked. After I had taken care of those on the shore, I dove it and summoned him to me and used the spell on those under the water.

I pulled him on shore and cleared his airway. Next, I apparated us to The Three Broomsticks. Just as we were getting ready to step in, he insisted that I put my invisibility cloak on and to not remove it for any reason. We went through the floo and were found by Theo Nott. He disarmed the Headmaster and told him that he was supposed to kill him. The Headmaster had frozen me wandlessly so I couldn't move. He was faltering, he wasn't going to kill him, I could see it in his eyes, when Snape showed up. Snape egged him on and when he failed, Dumbledore said, 'Severus, please' and Snape killed him with the Killing Curse," Harry said before pausing when the room went wild. Hermione remained silent and strong; she knew that there was a reason that her godfather was being painted as the villain. She wasn't sure why exactly, not yet, but she knew that it was for a good reason, otherwise, Uncle Sev wouldn't have agreed to it. Only her family remained resolute, her father being the only exception.

Her father was cursing loudly while Moody threw a bedpan across the room. The Weasleys were all cursing while Professor McGonagall started to weep quietly. Hermione knew that it was important that they let the masses believe that her godfather was the villian but it was harder than she thought it would be. Harry took the chance to continue when there was a lull in the cursing.

"Snape took Theo and left, heading for the rest of the fighting. He said something about another mission. I gave them a couple minutes head start and then I followed. I ran through everyone fighting, frantic to find Hermione. I found her with Kreacher taking care of Bill," he finished. Just like that, his side was finished and everyone's gazes swung to Hermione. She cleared her throat and tried to focus on something other than her knitting rib.

"I heard people coming from the Room of Requirement and ran to tell someone. I found Bill first. I could hear Bellatrix around one corner but Greyback appeared around another. He didn't give any warning, he lunged at Bill and clawed his face. He screamed and fell to the ground. Greyback pounced on his back and bit his neck. I knew that I had to do something so I set him on fire. He put himself out but he went after me. I kept bludgeoning him, which worked, until Bellatrix showed up. I was trying to fight both of them but ended up getting pounced on by Greyback. I think that's when he cracked my rib. I don't think he meant to scratch me either, he did that when he put his hand down on the ground next to me. I kneed him in the groin and rolled him off me. Snape was suddenly there and had me by the hair, I couldn't get free even though I was fighting like mad.

I let my magic loose and knocked everyone away. I was keeping my eye on Snape and Greyback since they were both sluggish. Bellatrix had missed the entire blast of magic and yelled for them to come with her, that there wasn't time to finish the mission. They ran off with Nott Sr. and Jr. in tow. I knew that Bill was bleeding profusely so I put pressure on the wound. I called for Kreacher to bring me blood replenisher and had him hold pressure while I gave the first vial. When Harry and Draco arrived, Harry called for you and Draco gave the second vial while I held pressure. Then we all ended up here," she finished. She felt like she had been rambling, which she was sure that she had been, but that didn't make her feel any better.

Fleur was crying quietly at the revelations of what had happened to her fiance and the rest of the Order was looking at her with a new look of respect. She blushed ever so slightly and looked away. She managed to look towards Moody and saw something that could ruin everything.

That calculating look that said that he knew something was going on.

In that moment, Hermione knew that they were going to have to take Moody into their confidence. It didn't make her feel much better given how important their mission was but he had trained them for two years now. She supposed that he could be trusted. Not tonight though. She was exhausted and she just wanted to sleep.

The rest of the Order seemed to understand that the family wanted time together. Professor Cat started to shuffle most of the Weasleys out of the Hospital Wing, leaving Fleur there with Bill. Madam Pomfrey cast a privacy and silencing charm around them. She put a curtain around Professor Dumbledore's body and saw herself to bed. Moody didn't take a hint and stayed behind to glare at the rest of them.

"I know there's more to that story that you told. I can spot liars a mile away. I want the fecking truth," Moody demanded. Nobody said a word until Hermione broke the silence.

"You'll get the truth with an Unbreakable Vow. Not tonight though, I'm exhausted, Harry's exhausted, and the entire family should be there. Let's shoot for the day we all get back from Hogwarts. I imagine they're going to call off school early. I know that Harry has to go back to the Dursleys for awhile but we can make a stop at Blackmoor before he goes. When we discuss it, we have to be behind wards. Master Auror, how is your occlumency?" she questioned him. Harry was shooting her a look that said she was taking her life in her own hands but she ignored him. The auror just grunted.

"Dumbledore and Snape couldn't break my shields," he told her. Hermione smiled at him.

"We may not need the Vow after all. What we have to tell you is of utmost importance. I will say that we can't have you moving against Severus Snape. What you've heard is the truth but you don't have the full story. We'll share all at Blackmoor the day that school dismisses," she declared. Moody just nodded and rose to his feet. He bent and pressed a kiss to Hermione's head and she hugged him close.

"Thank you for teaching me everything you know. It helped me today," she whispered to him. He grunted in her ear and she smiled into his shoulder. He left directly after and she turned to her father and uncle.

"If you two are going to stay, no questions tonight. I meant what I said. Uncle Sev did what he had to. He talked to me in my mind when he was assaulting me. Pull up a bed and get some rest," she told them. Both men stood and pulled her into their arms, kissing the side of her head. Both wished her a good night and told her how much they loved her before they moved onto Harry and Draco. Hermione snuggled down into her bed and Harry and Draco snuggled in around her. Her father and Uncle Luci took chairs on either side of the bed and Hermione got comfortable between her soul mate and her cousin. The lights dimmed and Hermione felt herself drifting off. There was one last thing that needed to be said before she fell asleep though.

"Harry, you're not going to be alone. We're going with you to find them and don't even think otherwise."

-O-

Severus grimaced in pain as the Cruciatus ended. Riddle stood before him and gestured for him to move out of the way so he could move onto his next victim. Really, only one round was nothing. He was still clearly in favor. Bella had received ten rounds; he was surprised that she wasn't speaking in gibberish. Severus stood and watched dispassionately as Riddle moved onto Theo.

It was hours before the man had finished torturing his followers.

"Join me, Severus. I want to see your interaction with my future bride. I know that it wasn't your fault that you didn't get her but I had to punish you in solidarity," he confided in him. Severus was floored. He never would have expected the man to confess that. Riddle must have seen his confusion because he laughed.

"I'll be honest with you, Severus. I never expected you to get Hermione Black. This whole charade was a test of your loyalty. I knew from the start that young Nott wouldn't have the bollocks to kill Dumbledore. I have always doubted your loyalty just a little because of the mudblood. This was a test. If you were able to kill Dumbledore, I told myself I'd never doubt you again. It's a good thing you did because if you hadn't, you wouldn't have survived the night," Riddle revealed again. Severus tried to keep the surprise off his face but knew he had failed.

"I refuse to have followers that aren't loyal. Aren't you glad that you passed the test? Now, I require the memory of you trying to take my bride-to-be," Riddle told him. Severus nodded and put the memory to the front of his mind. Since he had spoken to her in his mind, he didn't even have to edit the memory.

The intrusion in his mind was a little more gentle than normal but not my much. The memory replayed itself and once the Dark Lord had watched it in its entirety, he pulled from his mind.

"You did all you could, Severus. She's a powerful little witch and I hate to admit that she's going to be a match for me. I'm going to have to woo her so life isn't a constant fight for me. Do you have any tips for me?" he asked imploringly. Severus wanted to laugh in his face but he didn't dare.

"She almost always roots for the underdog. She adores her house elves and she treats them well. They dote on her and would never dream of letting anyone upset her, not because she's their mistress but because they adore her just as much. She loves her family more than anything so if you hurt them at all, she'll never forgive you. Like she'll murder you in the night, never forgive you. She has a strong sense of what's wrong and right and will never support you if you aimlessly torture and kill. I'm sure that she's not all that heartbroken about Dumbledore since he worked against her and her family for years but don't make the mistake to think that she'll be so blase about everyone else you kill. She's going to be a tough sell to your lifestyle, my Lord," he said truthfully. Riddle sat back, stroking his chin, for almost an hour after Severus had spoken. When he did finally break the silence, it was a relief.

"Maybe my regime needs an uplift, a makeover if you will. You know her best, you make the new rules. We can't eliminate killing and torture completely but do what you can to make her more accepting. I want her as my wife, my willing wife. I'll do what I have to to make that happen. You know her best and I trust your judgement," Riddle told him. Severus bowed deferentially.

This war was going to be interesting, that much was for sure.

A/N- There we have it, folks, another decently long chapter. I hope that I did it justice for you. Please let me know what you think of the changes I made to the story, at least from canon. I am eager to hear your thoughts. Thanks again for reading and reviewing, you guys are just awesome! Leave me a review and tell me what you think.

Next chapter, Dumbledore's funeral and the talk with Moody.

Love,

Alicia


	129. Chapter 129

A/N- I'm back, my friends. I really have no good excuse for being away from this story for so long. I did have some drama and then the holidays but after that, I just have had no to urge to write. Today is the first day in five months that I have wanted to sit down and concentrate on this story. While I'm sorry that you all had to wait so long for an update, I hope the little hiatus has helped me. We still have quite aways to go with this story and I haven't abandoned one yet. Thanks to everyone for sticking with it and not hounding me for an update. You have no idea how much that is appreciated. As for this chapter, I hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: Nothing but the original plot twist belongs to me. The characters belong to J.K. Rowling and the original plot line belongs to Hermione Lyra Malfoy Riddle. I haven't made a single dime from this story or any other, my bank account tells no lies.

Chapter 129

June 11, 1997

Harry was dreading this day more than anything, not because of Dumbledore's funeral, though that promised to be a new level of hell he had yet to experience, but because he was bound for the Dursleys after they had their meeting with Moody afterwards. After going to Blackmoor, the last thing he would want to do was go spend time with his relatives, especially considering how the last summer had gone. He supposed that it would give him a chance to make sure that Dudley did as he was told and got the hell out. He knew that his aunt and uncle wouldn't listen at all. Not that it was his problem.

Hermione was trying to be strong for all of them. She had disappeared the day after Dumbledore's death with Bill, only to reappear a few hours later with a tear-stained Bill. Fleur had been looking for him desperately, going on about how he had left her because of words that had been exchanged the night before. When Bill laid eyes on her, he rushed his fiance and apologized over and over before she dragged him away from the rest of them. Hermione had just shrugged her shoulders and gave him a little smile.

Hermione was allowing Draco to spend as much time with Daphne as he could. Harry knew that she was feeling quite alone herself since her godfather had fled for the Dark Lord, but she also knew that Draco was planning on leaving Daphne behind while they hunted for horcruxes. Harry wasn't sure exactly what she had planned but it eased his mind to know that she had been making plans in general. It was further than he had gotten, mostly because he had no idea where the horcruxes were so had no idea what to plan for.

She had also been trying to reassure him that he wouldn't have to spend long at his relative's house at all. Hermione was insisting that he would be out of there by the end of the month, which meant only two and a half weeks. It was longer than he liked but better than any other year he had been sent there.

Harry knew that she was covering up her own fear and anxiety. Ignoring it and focusing on others meant that she didn't have to deal with her own feelings. While Harry couldn't say that he blamed her, he knew that it wasn't healthy. She needed to acknowledge how she felt before it eventually overwhelmed her.

Harry straightened his dress robes as he looked in the mirror. Neville, Ron, Seamus, and Dean were all getting ready around him, all of them wanting to look their best. Nobody in their dorm aside from Ron knew that Harry had been present when Dumbledore had been murdered. In the end, it would raise more questions than they were willing to answer. Nobody else needed to know that Harry had been off school property with the Headmaster.

Ron had been angry that he hadn't been included in any way, especially since Bill had come up injured. It had taken his mother and father telling him to cool off before he would quit going on about it to Harry. Harry could only shake his head at his friend's immaturity. It was like Dumbledore hadn't even been murdered and his own brother hadn't been seriously injured and almost died.

Now, all Ron could talk about was the horcrux hunt. He was pumped about going but Harry wasn't sure why. He knew that Hermione and Draco were going to be there as well and he had only sneered a tiny bit at that information. Harry had told him that he didn't know how long they were going to be gone since they had no idea where any of the horcruxes were. Ron had said that he didn't care, that it was going to be an adventure. Harry had only sighed in response. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to say to that. He did without a doubt know that if that's how he acted in front of Hermione about the hunt, she was going to take a chunk out of him that he was going to miss.

Harry slipped out of the dorm room since he knew that all his things were already packed and sitting in his room at 4 Privet Drive. Dobby had already done his job and would be staying with him in the muggle world. He would once again be delivering food from Blackmoor since he was sure that his relatives would attempt to starve him again. Of course, now Harry could apparate wherever he wanted but Sirius had warned him against visiting Blackmoor or Malfoy Manor. In order to get the most out of the protection of the blood wards around the dwelling, he needed to be there as much as possible. Harry had grudgingly agreed to only leave to exercise or something of the like.

Harry made his way through the corridors until he reached the Great Hall. It was where he was supposed to be meeting Hermione, Draco, and Daphne. They were supposed to be heading straight to the train from the funeral so he knew that their things were packed and ready to go. Kreacher had probably already delivered Hermione and Draco's things as Dobby had his. Rather than ride the train, however, Hermione, Draco, and Harry were going to be apparating to Blackmoor to meet with the family and let Moody in on the secret. Sirius and Uncle Lucius weren't most pleased, that much was true, but they were trusting Hermione's judgement just as Harry was.

Although when Harry considered it, he didn't think that the horcruxes needed to be as closely guarded secret as the Headmaster had wanted. If only he could let all his friends in on the secret, they could all help. Of course, he knew the dangers and understood why it was dangerous. He just didn't see why Sirius and Uncle Lucius couldn't search for them as well. He supposed that it might draw more attention to what they were doing but honestly, if they found them quicker it would be well worth it in his opinion.

Hermione had been researching ways to destroy the horcruxes once they had collected them. So far she had compiled a list of ways she had discovered and none of them were really conceivable. Yes, basilisk venom had been what had killed the diary but he had sneaked Hermione down there three nights ago and all the fangs that were left were dry. It had been too long since the beast had been killed to hope for venom now. This left fiendfyre. Yes, Hermione was sure that she could cast it easily; she was a Black, after all, and they all had an affinity for dark spells. However, she was unsure that she could control it. If it turned out that she couldn't, she could potentially kill them and anyone around them.

That left them back at square one.

However, Hermione had implored him to leave the research to her and Harry had been glad to do it. The only bad thing is that it left him with time to think about just how the war could end. It was entirely possible that he was going to die and probably take Hermione with him. Their souls were bound, he knew that in his heart of hearts. He just wasn't sure if it would cause her to follow him into the afterlife or not. He sincerely hoped not.

Hermione was waiting for him when he arrived and she floated into his arms, wrapping her arms around his waist and hugging him tightly. Harry hugged her back, dropping a kiss on the top of her head. She was wearing the customary black but her robes hugged her figure and flattered her. Daphne was dressed in much the same way so he figured that this must be a societal norm. She sighed against him before pulling away slightly.

"We better get out there. You know that everyone else is already sitting there and waiting for us," she told them. Harry nodded his head and wrapped his arm around her waist so he could guide her from the castle to the grounds where seats were lined up on the far side of the Black Lake. Dumbledore was being laid to rest today and not only had every Hogwarts student been invited, so had many of the public. Harry knew that it was likely that he was going to be accosted by Scrimgeour since he had been ignoring him since he had been sworn into office. After dealing with Fudge and his idiocy, the last thing Harry wanted to do was deal with politicians.

Harry found Sirius, Helena, Uncle Lucius, and Aunt Cissy quickly, taking the seats around them with no qualms. Juliet had decided to sit with her own friends since she would be taking the train home. She made clear that she wanted no part of this war and Hermione had respected that. Her opinion might change as time went on but for now, she was too immature to play a part anyways. Neville took a seat next to them, Luna on his arm, and they were soon accompanied by Augusta Longbottom. She gave a respectful nod to them but otherwise remained silent. Xeno didn't bother to show since he wasn't even in the country. Luna would be staying with Neville the first several weeks of summer.

The Weasleys fell around them, Bill sitting directly behind Sirius, his parents and brothers sitting all around him. They took up the entire aisle of chairs but that wasn't surprising. Fred and George were waving enthusiastically and Harry was sure that they would be in for a round of hugs after the funeral. After the seats were taken by the Weasleys' they really weren't bothered anymore since there weren't any seats free. It was nice to sit in the sunshine and feel Hermione at his side, trying to let the worry go if only for an hour.

The crowd hushed as Professor McGonagall stepped up to the podium at the front of the crowd. She started speaking but Harry tuned her out. He hadn't liked Dumbledore, he hadn't even respected him. Yes, he was a powerful wizard that had defeated an evil wizard of his own back in the day but he had become manipulative through the years and tended to treat everyone as chess pieces. Harry had been just a piece on the board for Dumbledore to move around as he so desired, to get the result that the old man had wanted.

Harry supposed that his grudge was personal. He had spent years with the Dursleys being mistreated. To discover that Sirius had been innocent and Dumbledore had been actively keeping him from him the entire time still made him sick when he thought about it. He could have had a loving home from the start but Dumbledore just had to think that he knew best. Harry was bitter about that and probably would be for the rest of his life.

Harry twined his fingers with Hermione's as she paid attention and he didn't. He kept his eyes on their hands so he wouldn't appear disrespectful. Just because he didn't respect the man didn't mean that others didn't. He would respect their thoughts and wishes, just as he hoped they would respect his if it were the other way around.

Harry let his mind wander to the Dursleys and how he was going to handle them this year. He was hoping for just ignoring them and hoping they would return the favor. However, he knew that his uncle didn't do that very well. He would probably try to hit him at least once, even after the last time he had done it over the past summer. This time, however, Harry could use magic. It was one thing that he could thank Dumbledore for, removing the Trace early. He briefly wondered just how he had managed that.

Harry looked up just in time to see Hagrid carrying Dumbledore' body up the aisle and laying him in the casket at the front of the crowd. There were enormous tears streaming down his cheeks and he was sniffing loudly. He returned to the back of the crowd where he had been standing before and he listened to Professor Cat's last words before they were all dismissed.

Harry stood and held his hand out to Hermione, helping her up like Aunt Cissy had taught him. They were due to apparate to Blackmoor but that meant that they had to get through the crowd before they could do so. There was no telling who would try to stop them and talk. Since evasion was what they were hoping to accomplish, it seemed to be a family decision for Uncle Lucius to lead. He was a pro at brushing off people that he really didn't want to talk to.

However, this didn't work completely. Rufus Scrimgeour managed to maneuver around the wizard he was speaking with so he would be directly in Uncle Lucius' path. Uncle Lucius tried to go around him but to no avail. Therefore, he was forced to greet him.

"Minister, how nice of you to come pay your respects," he said bitingly. The Minister raised an eyebrow at Uncle Lucius.

"It's strange to see you here since I know how you felt about Dumbledore. Nobody would ever describe you as bosom buddies. Nor Black either, in fact, I heard that the pair of them were on the outs," Scrimgeour revealed. Uncle Lucius raised an eyebrow in return.

"Does it matter what we thought of the man? We were here to pay our respects, the same as you. Our children were already here and we're now taking them home. I'd thank you for letting them pass, it's been a long day for them," he said bluntly. Harry was surprised; blunt wasn't Uncle Lucius' style at all. The Minister's eyes fell on the "children" and he smiled.

"Ahh, Harry Potter and the young Lady Black. We've all heard about your whirlwind romance. I'd like to say that I think you're a match made in heaven. Have you drawn up contracts yet?" he questioned. Harry felt Hermione stiffen next to him and he stepped slightly in front of her. His glare didn't seem to phase the older man.

"Hermione's family doesn't believe in contracts unless the person themself agrees. I have to say that I have the same belief. If we get married, it'll be because we want to, not because a piece of parchment tells us we have to," he stated. Scrimgeour seemed taken aback but nodded silently. Harry continued to glare.

"If you please, Lady Black has a headache and wants to lay down. Perhaps we can continue this conversation another time," he said, making it clear that there wasn't really a choice in letting them go. Harry felt Hermione pinch his side and he had to bite his lips together to keep from smiling. Scrimgeour finally nodded and moved out of their way.

As a unit, they headed for the apparition point just outside the gates. They had several hours until Juliet had to be picked up at King's Cross and until Harry was due to be dropped off at Privet Drive. He hadn't informed his relatives that he would be arriving; he figured it would give them more to complain about if they actually spoke to him.

Everyone was keyed into the wards so they took turns apparating away. Harry watched as the rest of his family disappeared, bar Sirius. His godfather gestured with his head for Harry to go next so he could bring up the rear. Harry gave a nod back and twisted on the spot, disapparating away.

-O-

Hermione landed in the Entrance Hall of Blackmoor and was surprised to find Moody already there talking quietly with Alexandre. There were drinks in their hands but Hermione couldn't imagine what they were speaking of. She had never really gotten the impression that the Master Auror particularly cared for the older man. Perhaps small talk. Moody turned and met her gaze and Hermione grinned widely before rushing his way and throwing herself in his arms. She hugged him tightly and was proud to say that he hugged her back. Both Harry and Draco still looked at her as though she were insane whenever she did that. She finally pulled away and grinned again.

"I hope you haven't been waiting long. We got sidetracked by Scrimgeour. Did you know that I have a headache and need rest?" she asked playfully, knowing that it would likely make Harry roll his eyes. Moody just snorted.

"I don't think I've ever seen a day where a headache kept you from doing what ya wanted, sweetheart," he told her. Hermione nodded triumphantly before turning to Harry.

"See, Harry, I knew that someone would have my back. I can't believe you used my delicate sensibilities as a woman to your advantage. The Minister just wanted to have a lovely chat over tea," she teased him. He scowled at her before tickling her sides to make her squeal.

"You hush, you didn't want to stay there and listen to him anymore than I did. You took one for the team," he informed her.

Before Hermione could say anything else, two elves slammed into her legs and nearly bowled her over in their excitement to see and greet her. Hermione laughed as she bent down and hugged Sipsy and Dot close, telling them how much she missed them. After they pulled away, Sipsy began giving Hermione a run-down of what had happened since Christmas in the household, something that it was common for a Lady of the House to demand. While Hermione was interested in knowing what had been going on while she was away, now was not the time. She laid a soft hand on Sipsy's shoulder to stop her non-stop flow of words.

"Sipsy, I'm very interested in what you're telling me but I need to ask you to tell me later, maybe tonight before bed. You can come in and help me brush my hair and update me. For now, we have a guest and I need you to bring plenty of tea and some firewhiskey. I believe the men are going to need it," she told her elf. Sipsy nodded happily and popped away. Hermione turned to everyone else and gestured for them to enter the library. It was going to be an interesting conversation and she knew that she would want to be somewhere where she was comfortable.

Even though it was June, there was still a fire in the fireplace to chase away the chills that only a large manor or castle could have. Hermione perched on the couch closest to it, her father and Uncle Lucius on either side of her. Harry glared playfully for a few moments before he took up seats on another couch with Draco and Aunt Cissy. Alexandre and Moody both took arm chairs furthest from the fire. Sipsy appeared and began to pour tea for everyone, adding generous splashes of firewhiskey to the men in the rooms cups, and passed them out quickly before popping away once more. Once Hermione had her warm cup wrapped in her hands, she knew that it was time to start.

"Tell me, Master Auror, just how much do you know about horcruxes?" she asked. Moody sloshed tea/firewhiskey over the top of his cup all over his hand and hissed in pain as he tried to mop it up off the floor. Hermione called for Dot quickly to have the mess cleaned and his cup refilled. Once all was well, she looked at him again for an answer. Moody gave her a stern look that said she probably wasn't going to like what he had to say.

"That's dark fecking magic that you don't need to know anything about, sweetheart. I don't know where you heard the term but put it from your mind now," he ordered. Hermione ignored him and took a dainty sip of her tea, her backbone ramrod straight just as her aunt had taught her. When she turned her eyes to Moody, they were cold as ice.

"That won't be happening. Dumbledore, before his death, confided in Harry just how Voldemort had made himself immortal. The answer, gentlemen, is horcruxes. Six of them if he guessed correctly," she revealed. Moody slammed his teacup down and glared at her.

"Are you telling me that when Potter and Dumbledore left the school, they were tracking a horcrux?" he demanded. She gave him a simple nod in the affirmative. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, hands clasped together in front of him.

"Tell me everything," he said simply.

Hermione did, with the help of Harry. Everyone knew that she was the one taking a chance at trusting Moody so this was her show. She explained every single memory Harry had been made to watch with the Headmaster, every little fact he learned of their opponent along the way. It took more than a couple hours to get the entire story out, including what had really happened the night that Dumbledore had died. Moody was scrubbing his face with his hands.

"Uncle Sev knew that he was going to be asked to do something heinous, he had all but confessed it to me in private. Just not the actual deed. He begged that we not lose faith in him and I refuse to. My godfather has never shown me anything but love and I refuse to believe that he would ever turn his back on his family. Trust me when I tell you, Master Auror, that we are all Uncle Sev's family, even Harry. He would never betray our cause in his heart," she proclaimed vehemently. Moody was nodding his head.

"Alright, I can see that. I don't understand why you're keeping this to yourself. Sure, it can't be told to everyone but surely the Weasleys? They're family, aren't they?" he asked. Hermione blew out a long breath. This is where the situation grew complicated.

"I trust all the Weasleys with my life. I don't, however, trust the Prewetts. Ron already knows all that we do and is going to be going with us to hunt these horcruxes since it was Dumbledore's idea. The problem lies in the fact that most of the Weasleys were members of the Order of the Phoenix before they became a true branch of the Black family. Yes, they were related but they weren't close enough to count. Daddy made them count by gifting them with the title that he gave Bill. Now, they're a cadet branch if that makes sense. I'm still above Bill in all matters but he does hold some power. I don't trust the rest of the Order in the least. Most of them are Dumbledore's lackeys and we aren't going to be doing things like Dumbledore in this war. That is why everyone else was so reluctant to trust you, not because they thought you couldn't keep the secret but because they thought you would share it with the Order," she revealed. Moody blew out a long breath between his lips and set back in his chair. His hands reached up and combed through his shaggy hair as he contemplated what he wanted to say next.

"I took certain oaths to become an Order member, just as I'm sure Sirius did. I will renounce them now and join your little band of rebels. I think you have more chances of making a difference in this war than they do. I might suggest that you give Minerva the same chance. They're going to ask her to head Order, I'm sure you've guessed, and that would put her in a precarious position. She would be of use on our end of things," he advised. Hermione smiled at him.

"I accept your offer to join our merry band of rebels. I counter it with leaving Professor Cat where she is. Harry is getting ready to go back to his muggle relatives and we know that Uncle Sev will have had to tell him that he won't have protection once he leaves the wards. We're going to need a plan to get him out. While I don't have one yet, it would be nice to have her in charge so she can help if need be. Besides, she isn't vindictive like Dumbldore. If she thinks that sharing information will end the war, she won't keep her mouth shut. It's easier for us to trust someone that is already honest," she countered. Moody gave her an accepting nod.

"That makes sense. Leave the plan to get him out up to me. Now I want to see the locket that Potter pulled from the potion," Moody demanded. Harry grimaced and Hermione wondered what that was about. They had spoken of the locket but only in passing. It had been agreed upon that they would wait to talk about it until Blackmoor. Her boyfriend reached down into his pocket and pulled it out, throwing it to Moody first.

"It's a fake. Dumbledore died for a fake horcrux, just like I fucking told him it was. He just couldn't trust my judgement. There's a note inside, though I don't know who R.A.B. is," he concluded. Her father's head snapped in Harry's direction with sharp eyes.

"What did you say?" he asked. Harry shrugged slightly.

"The bloke who wrote the letter signed it R.A.B. I have no idea who that is," he told them. Her father summoned it from Moody and Hermione leaned over to read the note over her father's shoulder.

 _"To the Dark Lord_

 _I know I will be dead long before you read this but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret. I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can. I face death in the hope that when you meet your match you will be mortal once more."_

 _R.A.B._

Hermione let out a gasp and automatically reached up to hug her father. He clutched her tightly and she suspected that he was just barely holding back tears. Everyone was looking at them in concern but Hermione ignored them. For so long, she and her father had believed that her real father had died in the service of Voldemort. To learn that he most likely died in trying to destroy one of his horcruxes was something else entirely. It bore thinking about but not this day. It was already stressful enough. It was Uncle Lucius that explained.

"R.A.B., Regulus Arcturus Black. Hermione's biological father. Everyone was sure that he had died in the service of the Dark Lord," he explained. Everyone nodded understandingly.

Hermione composed herself, as did her father. Talk turned to menial things that didn't really matter while she let the new information sink in her brain. However, this couldn't last too long since Juliet was due on the Platform and Harry had to find his way to Privet Drive. When the clock struck four, Harry rose with dread and Hermione rose with him, making a snap decision to accompany him.

"It's time I head for Privet Drive. Can't get too excited about going," he said jokingly. Hermione went to his side and wrapped an arm around him.

"I'm going to deliver you, make sure that all is well. Maybe give a warning or two," she said, a tiny grin on her face. Her father and uncle just chuckled at her and wished them well.

Hermione let Harry lead her out of the house and towards the ward line. As far as she knew, the Death Eaters had quit testing the wards some time ago but that didn't mean that she didn't plan on keeping a close eye as they crossed them. Once over them, Harry gripped Hermione's arm in his and twisted on the spot, landing them in the back garden of 4 Privet Drive. He let out a deep sigh and Hermione stopped him. She laid both her hands on his chest and made him look in her eyes.

"You can send a patronus whenever you need to. I don't plan on leaving the estate unless it's to Malfoy Manor. If you need to come home early and abandon the wards, just say the word. Dumbledore isn't here to make you stay anymore. I know that you're doing this out of the kindness of your heart. Don't let them punish you for it. You are a wonderful, good, young man and don't let them poison you into thinking any different," she implored. Harry pulled her roughly into a hug, telling her exactly how much he hated being here. She held him just as tightly before pulling away and straightening her shoulders in the exact way her aunt had shown her numerous, numerous years ago. She proudly strode into the back door of Privet Drive, casting disdainful looks at the family gathered around the table. It wasn't quite dinner time but close enough that they had gathered.

"What in the bloody hell do you think you're doing here? Neither one of you are welcome here!" Vernon screamed, the veins in his forehead bulging. Hermione had to do her utmost not to laugh out loud at the man. She just stared at him impassively while Dudley and Petunia remained silent. The blustering started again since it had gotten no response the first time. However, Hermione was going to nip that in the bud. Harry shouldn't have to worry about the great walrus and she was going to make sure that he didn't have to.

Hermione waved her hand and the enormous man flew through the air to slam into the kitchen wall behind him. She crooked her finger and Vernon began clutching at his throat, pulling at something that nobody else could see. Just as his lips turned a bluish shade, she released the spell and turned to see that both Petunia and Dudley were silent in their fear. One last spell sent a wallop across the face of Vernon Dursley, earning him his very own bloody nose. With a flick of her wrist, all spells were cancelled and she sniffed in disgust at the sight of the overgrown lout gasping on the floor.

"I will be inspecting Harry's quarters for his duration of time spent here. You will all wait here," she ordered. Harry led her out of the kitchen and through the corridor so they could go up the stairs. He showed her his room and she was livid when she saw the cat flap that they had passed him food through one of the past summers. The bars on the windows were gone but that didn't surprise her. Ron and the twins had ripped them off after all.

Overall, the room wasn't entirely unlivable. It was extremely small and there was only a twin mattress piled on the floor. There was a small wardrobe but it was falling apart and Hermione doubted that Harry had ever stored his things in it. His trunk and owl cage were parked under the window and Hermione thought that was the best feature. It gave a view that lent the sight of the public park just a couple blocks away. When she turned, Harry seemed almost embarrassed. She hugged him quickly and dispelled his feelings of inadequacy.

"This is not your home, Harry. You are only here to keep your relatives safe one more year. You are doing them a kindness and if it becomes too much, you send me a patronus and come home. I don't care how you were raised. I wouldn't care if you were dirt poor and not the Potter heir. I'm not so snobby as to think that money is everything. You have to know that I would give up my entire fortune to know my real parents, if only for one day. I love my family now but my parents are my missing links. I'd give it all up and live on the streets to know them. I don't judge you so don't judge yourself. In less than a month, you'll come home and you'll never have to see these arseholes again. Except your cousin. If you want to. I know you said that he had actually ended up being rather decent after you saved him from the dementors," she told him. Harry surged forward and kissed her roughly, loving her for soothing his feelings of inadequacy. She gentled the kiss with a smile.

"I'm not shagging you in your relative's house. When you return to Blackmoor, I want you to just move into my room. Do you think that's appropriate or should we wait longer?" she asked. Harry bent and kissed her again. It was over a minute before he broke it.

"If you think it's appropriate, I'll definitely move in with you. I love you and want to marry you. We just have to get through these short weeks and we'll never be parted again. The war is but a stop on the road," he proclaimed. Hermione chuckled slightly but kissed him again, this time chastely.

"It's appropriate. Besides, my father is no longer in charge. He'll approve because I'll be happy," she told him.

After saying their final goodbyes, Hermione and Harry traveled back downstairs to find that the family was once again seated at the table. They watched her warily and she knew that she needed to do her part. Harry didn't take a seat at the table and she made sure that they knew that that would never happen.

"I'm only going to say this once. If you harm Harry in any way, I'll return the second he notifies me. Trust me when I tell you that he doesn't need his wand to notify me. Harry, demonstrate," she ordered. Harry waved his hand before them and his patronus appeared, the stag pawing anxiously at the ground. He bent and gave it a message and it marched across the room and told Hermione how much he loved her. When his families' terrified gazes turned her way again, she continued.

"He will not be your servant. He's a Lord in his own right and will be treated with the respect that comes with his birth. You will not have to feed him; I will have my house send food for him for every meal. He will no longer cook or clean for you; he will do his studies and stay out of your way. You will in turn stay out of his. If I discover or hear otherwise, I will personally come see you and you will regret it. Don't think for a second that even if you could complain to anyone that they would care. You're muggles and that means to most of them, you're scum on their shoes," she revealed. She turned to Dudley.

"I believe that Harry warned you specifically last year. If you find that you can't leave the premises due to a financial situation, please let Harry know. We are more than willing to help you since you have seen the light in how you treat your cousin. If you don't wish for his help and wish to make your own way for your safety, which we would completely understand, you need only say and we'll step back from the whole situation," she told Dudley. Dudley spoke, though it was a bit of a stammer.

"I do want out in the next couple weeks. I had a place lined up but it fell through when my grades weren't quite what they wanted. I'm more than willing to work during school, don't get me wrong. I'm willing to work hard. I just don't know how I'm going to afford to move out without having the money to put down for an apartment outright, then working only part time since I"ll be in class," he explained. Hermione looked to Harry and let him explain since he was his family.

"Dud, you get with me tomorrow and we'll figure you out a place to stay. If this place won't let you stay, we'll find you a place. The Potters were millionaires and I'm going to come into that when I turn seventeen. Until then, my godfather will do as she asks since he's her father. We'll find you a place and if we can get you set up on a scholarship, even better. Then you can just work for extra spending money," he told his cousin. Hermione smirked only slightly when Dudley burst into tears. It was clearly more than he had been expecting and his gratitude had overwhelmed him. Hermione turned to his parents and wasn't nearly as nice.

"If I find out that you have used him as slave labor even one time, I'll come back and strip your flesh from your bones. If I think that this home has been infiltrated or don't hear from Harry every single day in some sort of way, I'll return. I'll make sure that I kill you. Trust me, our world doesn't think you're more than cockroaches. I'll be given a reward for killing the cockroaches that were torturing the nation's hero," she implored. Both Vernon and Petunia nodded numbly and Hermione smiled.

"I'm glad that we're understood. Leave Harry to himself and he'll leave you well enough alone aside from Dudley and his needs. Harry, dear, I need to go. Please come give me a kiss," she stated. Harry moved forward obediently though he was glowing with mirth at her actions. He wrapped an arm around her waist and dipped her as low as he could to cast suspicion away. After only a moment, he let her free and escorted her to the door. He kissed her one last time, one last time to last her until the end of the month, and then pushed her gently away.

Hermione knew that as much as it hurt them both, she needed to apparate, and apparate she did.

When she reappeared just outside the Blackmoor wards, Hermione was thrilled that everything had gone so well. The reminder at the end that there were others involved in this war did little to make him feel better. Maybe somewhere along the way, he would learn to trust. However, he had been shown at every pass how that thought process had fucked him over in some way. He supposed that moving forward was the only way to go.

Only time would tell.

A/N- There we are, folks, another chapter down. I hope you all enjoyed it! I do have to say that it felt good writing it. Hopefully I'll have another chapter out much sooner that it took me to write this one. Thanks to everyone for reading. Leave me a message after the beep and tell me what you think.

Next chapter, Battle of the Seven Potters.

Love,

Alicia


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